Page 1059 of One More Kiss

Chapter13

The crossing waslike nothing I’d ever experienced before. It felt like water, the cold liquid washing over me. But I wasn’t at all wet and my insides were twisted into a knot.

I could sense Fin beside me and feel his hand on my arm. There was resistance against my forward motion and if I’d ever had to walk through toffee this is what I imagined it would feel like. My movements were slow and sluggish. We weren’t going fast to begin with, but after several minutes it seemed like all forward motion had stopped. I was grateful for Fins touch, giving me a sense of place in this otherwise empty space.

Finally I could hold my breath no longer. I needed oxygen. I gasped, fully expecting to inhale liquid. But there was only air, the same precious air that I’d always taken for granted. I could breath.

The resistance grew and Fins grip tightened on my arm.

Suddenly, the resistance was gone. I popped out of the gate and stumbled forward. Fin glided beside me like it was nothing, his hand the only thing stopping me from face planting.

He let go my arm and pivoted back to the gate.

The rocks looked exactly the same on this side, and he plucked the gem from a slot on the rock. It must have passed all the way through from earth side.

I pivoted to the left as a low hiss from that direction caught my attention. My hand went to my knife.

“Don’t move.” Fins voice was a whisper in my ear. He was right behind me, too close for comfort, and I hadn’t seen him move. “Swamp rats are drawn to vibrations.”

I moved only my eyes in the direction of the sound and stifled a gasp. The ‘rodents of unusual size’ from The Princess Bride movie were right there, in plain sight, but bigger.

I squeezed the hilt of my knife. I was going to need my sword but was afraid to move. “What’s the plan?” I whispered the words, too loud. The ears twitched on the rat closest to us, swivelling my way. On all fours it’s head came up to my chest. It was huge.

Fin’s hand, out of sight of the monster, went to the small of my back. The rat’s attention turned back to the carcass it was eating. I wasn’t sure what type of animal it had caught and didn’t want to get closer to look. “We wait.”

The way he said it I got the impression we were going to be waiting here until the rats finished eating and wandered off.

No way. There were only two of them, we could take one each. I’d seen Fin fight. Actually no. I’d seen Fin evade my strikes but I hadn’t actually seen him fight. I was assuming he could though. He had a sword in a sheath at his side and knives on his person. Silver, I assumed, silver and gold being the only metals Fae could tolerate.

But first we’d try the sneak away approach. I could shelter us both using my shadow magic. It wouldn’t mask sound so we’d have to be quiet. Still better than standing here for how long? How long did it take a Fae swamp rat to finish it’s meal? Hours, maybe. My legs were already tired.

I gathered my magic and released it.

Fin’s hand tensed as he realized what I was doing. “Don’t!”

But it was too late. We were cloaked in shadow, and it was as if I’d set off fireworks while shining a spotlight on us.

Both rats heads swivelled around, staring directly at us.

“They’re magical creatures. They sense magic. And you’ve just told them we’re here.” The rat’s heads were tilted to the side and they chittered to each other, a creepy noise that made the hairs on my arms stand straight up. “They’re analysing us to decide if we’re food or foe.”

“Sounds bad either way.” If I wasn’t so scared I’d have assumed he was joking.

“We must run. Find a strong tree. Climb high. They can’t climb, but they jump.”

“Can my sword hurt them?” I wasn’t hiding in a tree. That was an absolute last resort.

“Yes, but it’s better if we run.”

I let go of my knife and reached behind me for my sword, drawing it from its spine sheath and holding it ready. “We fight.”

Fin didn’t have time to argue, the rats had decided. They launched and oh boy, they were fast.

Fin pivoted away from me, drawing his sword in a fast, fluid motion. One of the rats veered toward him and then the other was on me, jaws snapping.

Fin was right. We should have run.

Too late now.

---