Page 2 of Consumed
The creature peeled away from the trunk and advanced toward me without a sound.
I found my footing at once and bolted. A scream caught in my throat. I refused to look back, certain the white hand would find my throat the second I dared.
Beware the banshees. The vengeful ghosts of the forest.
Such a creature couldn’t be reasoned with. Though I had not yet taken anything from its home, my very presence here was an affront.
A moan escaped me as I realized the world was getting darker instead of lighter. I had fled deeper into the forest instead of away from it. I had no choice but to slow and watch my footing, desperate to outmaneuver the creature long enough to circle back in the direction of the village path.
“You.”
The voice came from in front of me.
I shouted when I looked up to find the creature directly in my path.
My footing stayed intact this time as I reached for my axe and held it in front of me in defense. A braver man—or stupider one—might have swung it immediately. But I steadied my breath and stared the creature head-on.
“I-I mean no harm,” I stammered. “Stay back. Stay back and let me leave this place.”
My words were silenced as I took a longer look at it—ather. Although the dawn was dark, she was stunningly visible, as though the moon itself shone from within her. The creature had the form of a woman teeming with unearthly beauty. Long white hair flowed down the length of her back. She wore a gown that seemed spun from the air itself.
“Let me leave,” I breathed. “I won’t return. Please—spare me. I meant no disrespect.”
The woman tilted her head to the side, eyeing the axe. When her gaze traveled to meet mine, I couldn’t breathe. She didn’t appear frightened by the weapon nor moved by my plea. She stared at me with detached curiosity—animal-like and unsettling, like she hadn’t decided what to do with me yet. She didn’t seem to hold any particular emotion as she regarded me.
Perhaps she’ll only attack if I strike, I thought with tentative hope.
Still clutching the axe, I attempted to step back in the direction I’d fled from.
From one blink to the next, she was directly before me. I didn’t see her hand shoot out before it was grasping my arm. Her fingers dug into the still-bleeding wound.
“Release me!” I gasped, lurching back. Although she was a head shorter than I, the devastating strength of her grip kept me in place.
She leaned up while dragging me closer to her level until our faces were mere breaths apart. I was too frozen to fight. She looked up into my eyes, and the faintest flicker of…somethingstirred within those deep, dark pools.
Her voice, uncannily beautiful, surrounded me like a lover’s touch. “You cannot hope to live if you take from the forest without blessing it. Take what you need. And nothing more.”
A bout of dizziness swallowed me like a wave.
My eyelids fluttered madly, and all at once, I was surrounded by the soft light of dawn.
Staggering back, I drank in my environment, slack-jawed. Against all logic, I was back near the edge of the forest, as though I’d never left. The pain in my arm had vanished. I looked down in astonishment to find that the gash had completely closed, leaving no trace of a scar.
Breathing heavily, I searched in every direction for the strange, bewitching woman. Although I couldn’t see her, I was almost certain that her gaze was currently resting upon me, observing my every movement.
My attention settled on the oak tree I had selected—and a pulse rang through my body, dissuading me from taking my axe to it. I selected another nearby and stepped up to it reverently.
A blessing.
I pressed my hand to the trunk and murmured. “I take not from you selfishly. I am indebted to your sacrifice.” The words appeared on my lips as miraculously as the woman had appeared in front of me.
The first swing was the most frightening—but the woman was not toying with me. I was allowed to take what I could carry without punishment. All the while, I felt her watching.
The next trial—stepping out of the forest—was not met with any resistance, either. As my boots found the village path once again, I released a heavybreath and allowed my shoulders to relax. I had no intention of looking back, but something spurred me to do so.
Turning over my shoulder, I found two pinpricks of light hovering in the tall branches of the peculiar oak tree. Her eyes. As the faintest silhouette of her perched form became visible, I had a feeling I could only perceive her because she allowed it.
As I strode away, I couldn’t shake the thought of what it might be like to touch her—to run my fingers through her moonlight hair or caress her soft skin.
