Page 25 of Consumed
“You’d be surprised how often these things occur. If this is the creature I think it to be, even more so. They’re sirens of the forest. Beautiful as they are devastating.”
Desmond looked toward the others, still sifting through the remains. He couldn’t stop thinking of the urgency of the note, demanding their aid at any cost.
“Is it—”
“No, I doubt it’s our man. These are decades old,” the other hunter said, analyzing the jawless skull in his hand. “But we will keep a wary eye.”
Desmond plunged into the clearing, his boots sinking in against the strange grass. His stomach had grown stronger in his time hunting, but…Sweet Brigid,this was a nightmare incarnate. He brushed his hand over the ancient oak, gazing upward. A faint hum of energy pulsed through the air.I am alive,it seemed to say.I feel you. I know you.
He paused, feeling something damp on his palm.Warm.
Desmond held his hand toward the nearest torch. Others leaned in, murmuring as they caught sight of the crimson smeared across his hand.
“It’s fresh,” Desmond croaked, fumbling for hisblade. “We can’t have missed them by much.”
He locked eyes with a few of the others—their hardened stares turning to the dark silhouettes of the forest as they braced for battle.
The silence was gnawing. Mocking them.
“You four, follow the blood,” Chereth said, gesturing in Desmond’s direction. He took the torch from the older hunter beside him, a resolute clench to his jaw as he tread carefully over the tangle of roots and blossoms.
“The rest of us?” one of the riders called. “Shall we form a perimeter?”
Chereth took a long silence, staring up at the branches above as though he could understand some sinister truth in the frost-coated wood. Then, he held the torch to the base of the tree, patiently waiting for the flames to catch. The fire crackled, smoke carrying a distinct smell as it crept up toward the heavens.
“The rest of us, arm yourselves. We’ll burn the bitch out of hiding.”
