Page 4 of Ember and Eclipse
He looked up, mere steps away from her, his eyes widening at her appearance. Before he could draw his sword, she lunged at him. Unfortunately, large hands closed over her and threw her off before she could stab him anywhere that would do enough damage. Barely catching herself in the soft earth, she rushed him again, but his sword was out and slashing down.
She slid to a stop. She’d be easily cut down before she closed the distance.
“I’ve got her,” he called out, and in the pressing silence, his voice carried.
Snarling like a trapped animal, she did the only reasonable thing left to do. Taking quick strides back to create distance, she threw her dagger, accounting for its flaws the best she could. The blade was too fast for him, sinking into his eye with brutal precision.
Not waiting for his body to fall, she ran.
The muddy earth grabbed at her boots greedily, leaving clear tracks, but she didn’t care. There were only two left, and she just needed to reach the…
Something crashed through the trees behind her, and Rel instinctively ducked. A loud sound split the air, and she snapped her head up to see an ax sticking out of the tree in front of her. It groaned with its disapproval.
Gods. They were fast. Faster than any mortals she had ever had the displeasure of dealing with.
She ran, pushing herself even harder. The humidity clung to her skin, beading water and sweat on her brow. She kept a tree at her back, weaving as needed so they were less likely to have her in their line of sight. Rel wasn’t a runner, but the last two years of working, training, swimming, and climbing had strengthened her body. She collided into a drape of vines, hit and broke off large leaves, and narrowly avoided a black and red snake she knew was deathly venomous.
Finally, she smelled the subtle richness of the swamp waters as she jumped over a downed tree. The water’s surface held the same moss and algae as the rest of the surrounding forest. If one didn’t know it was there, they’d step into it unknowingly.
Which was exactly what she was hoping for.
Risking a look behind her, she didn’t see them, and her pounding heart blocked out any noise they could be making.
Turning her attention back to her possible salvation, she scanned the water, but no predators lingered in the open. Rel trailed to the edge until she saw her makeshift marker and stepped in. The swamp greeted her like an old friend, dragging her under and closing over her protectively. She swam out, propelling herself through its thick waters.
When her lungs burned with need, she surfaced—only the top of her head and her eyes showing above the waters. They weren’t on the bank’s edge yet, so she lifted her mouth out and took a lungful of air. Even as she did, she backed up until she was thoroughly hidden, shielded by a nearby willow’s graceful boughs hanging above. The film of algae and thick, blooming lily pads drifted back into place like she had never been there.
Only a moment later and she heard them, their need for stealth no longer a priority. Dipping below the water again, she watched as the one she recognized, ax now in hand, marked her perfectly placed tracks.
Stepping over the downed tree, Espin slowed as his chest heaved. The pursuit had taken more out of him than it did her. His gaze scanned over her spot, but never stopped on her.
Come on.
Deciding what path to take, he jogged forward. When his foot hovered above the swamp, the exact moment he realized that it was water flashed across his features, but it was too late. He plummeted in, large ripples undulating out. She took three quick breaths before he reemerged and gasped for air. Unable to get his bearings, he flailed wildly, his heavy clothes and weaponry weighing him down. It took crucial heartbeats for him to calm down enough to turn toward the bank.
He planted his palms in the mud to heave himself out, but it was much too slow. The creatures who let her be did not extend the same courtesy to the hunter. He was jerked down, his head dropping below the surface. She could just make out the crocodiles surrounding him as he was tugged down. When Espin resurfaced, he was shouting out of sheer terror. He scrambled to find purchase in the mud while he swung his ax, his panic evident even in that. The blade hit nothing but water—the splashing and struggle like a call for dinner.
Aloysius lunged upward, out of the swamp, jaws open. His large mouth snapped closed over Espin’s arm fully, curved teeth sinking into flesh like hooks. And when the crocodile dropped back into the water, he pulled the hunter under with him, already turning into a roll. Espin’s shocked cry became a gurgle, and then only bubbles as he disappeared. The swamp moved with his thrashing, and all she could see now were flashes of ridged tails and bright teeth. Crimson bloomed—staining algae and collecting in the white froth.
He didn’t come up again.
One hunter left. She waited for the other, hoping he would be as quick to meet his fate in the same way, though the blood in the water was probably a good enough reason for him to avoid the area. Time drifted by until darkness fell, and still, no one else appeared on the bank’s edge.
He was undoubtedly smarter than his counterpart and was waiting somewhere in the dark for her. As far as strategy went, it possibly hadn’t been well thought out, but it had been her only option.
When she had to clamp her teeth down to keep them from chattering, and her treading became increasingly challenging to maintain, she knew she had to risk moving. She’d swim to the far bank and travel the long way to the islet.
At least, the swamp had resumed its natural hum, and the gleaming eyes on the surface let her know the crocodiles hadn’t seen anything they considered a threat.
She went under the cool water again and swam slower this time, careful not to jostle the buoyed reptilians about as she did. Her respect and gratitude for them knew no bounds. They had saved her life—in more ways than one. She pulled herself out on the other side, the bank slippery beneath her. If there wasn’t a hunter waiting for her in the dark, she would be washing algae out of her hair the moment she got home.
Rel knew the way to her cottage by heart, but the lack of light and not knowing if a murderous hunter was in the area made her move cautiously, aware of every drop of water that hit the earth and every sound her water-logged clothes made.
Chapter IV
WhenRelslippedintoher home silently, she let her eyes adjust as much as possible to the darkness inside. The moon wasn’t bright outside, let alone coming through her cottage’s small windows. Two charmed lanterns gave off a warm, dim glow that lit the area only enough to allow shadows to play tricks on her. There wasn’t any way that someone could have reached the island, though. They’d have to be a strong and capable swimmer, and in which case, there would have been evidence of their arrival. Not to mention, she was almost certain that even larger beasts inhabited the expanse of water surrounding her home.
Blinking, she studied the sitting room, but everything was as she left it. Hurriedly pulling off her dripping outer tunic to be left in a thin-strapped camise, she carried it into the cramped dining and cooking area. She was about to drape it over the chair when a low-gravel voice shocked her.
