“Duck?” he asked, tilting his head in the direction of their path. “You can change forms? And why would you sit when in danger?”
“Ughhh!” she groaned, throwing her head back. “It’s an expression. It means I’ll be defenceless.”
“If a fight happens… run north. Find the green or yellow lights, or the salt circle. They are wards belonging to three Mavkas, and the Demons cannot get through them.” He halted and tensed beneath her thighs. He didn’t face her as he said, “Just survive until I am me again, Emerie. No matter how.”
Until I am me again, her mind repeated, pity aching in her gut.
He knew what could happen, that his mind could switch over into some feral, frenzied state. It hadn’t taken long for Ingram to start developing a fear of his enraged self, and she was acutely aware it was because of her presence.
He’d likely once embraced that side of him, so she couldn’t imagine how it felt to suddenly be fearful of it.
He doesn’t want to hurt me.
And yet, his hands touched the bottom of the canyon and he immediately headed for the shaded and eerie trees of the Veil. The mist cloaking it was thick and white, making it appear like a haunted graveyard. Just staring into it brought on a wave of disquiet that had all the tiny hairs on her body standing on end, alert.
Emerie laid down on her chest to make her and her black uniform blend in with the darkness of his scales.
From above, and standing at the cliff’s edge, she’d been able to see out over the Veil. In the short distance, there had been noticeable gaps between the trees where there was space – she assumed they indicated where the swamplands were.
It didn’t take them long to reach them, but the ground had been miry under Ingram’s steps long before they truly did. No Demons attacked them, and weirdly enough, she found that more disturbing than she should have.
A place even Demons are afraid of.
Rather than letting his hands and feet thwap against the sticky mud, his movements were cautious and quiet as he slipped through mushy grass. He was wisely moving in a swift crawl, assessing each step before he took it. Moss and duckweed on top of the water’s surface gave the illusion that it was solid.
At first glance, had she not known any better, she would have thought she was above the surface of the Veil.
Since the canopy of leaves above wasn’t thick, dappled, dust-filled light filtered throughout. The area was bright when she expected it to be dark and foreboding. It was serene in its own way, and quiet except for the odd buzzing dragonflies that skated on the cloudy water’s unmoving surface.
Due to the cold moisture in the air and condensation from the sun, thick mist blanketed them wherever they went. Ingram, as much as he could, tried to remain in the sun, and she assumed it was for two reasons. First, because it was unlikely the Demons would attack them in it, and secondly because there was less mist to impact his vision.
She eyed the brightly lit, blanketed water they were skulking past. She knew, despite the light and heat, the greenery provided the perfect shade beneath the water’s surface. Everything was still.
The loudest thing in the entire area seemed to be them.
Ingram’s squelching steps and the tiny plops of mud that dripped from his fingers. The drag of his tail. Her huffing breaths of exertion from having to hold herself down and remain as still and unmoving as stone. Even her hair moving inside her hood was loud and scratchy.
A bird squawking from above made her flinch, and she looked up to find a swamp harrier’s yellow eyes on her. It flapped its brown wings, like a threat or a warning, before squawking again. It flew off in the direction they were heading.
Why did it feel like it was following them?
Vultures follow what they think will die so they can scavenge. Emerie shuddered at the thought.
A dragonfly flew close, and she wasn’t fond of it either, knowing the tiny fuckers could bite. To be honest, she just wasn’t fond of insects in general.
Against her torso and hands, Ingram began producing a rumble that had all her muscles tensing. She bit back her fear and squashed it as much as she could, hoping to keep it out of her scent. Her eyes darted to the same harrier as it landed on a branch, rustling the leaves, and one fell to the swamp water on her left.
Emerie didn’t mean to whimper, but when that leaf fell right next to a line of bubbles disturbing the duckweed, it escaped her.
She clenched her eyes shut and buried her face against Ingram’s back. Something is following us in the water.
It was lucky the ground became solid for a long while, with the water’s edge nowhere near them.
Just as they came to another body of water, Ingram’s spikes lifted as his growl started back up. He lowered, backed away, and diverted to a new path. Since she hadn’t seen any bubbles when they’d been approaching, she didn’t know what spooked him.
That was until she looked behind them and gulped when something void-like in appearance had popped half its head above the surface. She’d never seen a crocodile in person – only ever in books – but she knew what she laid her eyes on wasn’t… right.
The long scaley snout of its face appeared like a crocodile in shape, but its red eyes and short black hair didn’t. It also had pointed ears and, when it dived under the water, an odd set of wings on its back was briefly visible.
She clenched her jaw so tight in apprehension that her jaw muscles knotted. Any harder, and she worried she’d crack her teeth.
How much further? she thought, wishing she could ask him.
The quiet was starting to really creep her out after seeing that Demon. It hadn’t attacked them, despite obviously sensing and seeing them.
She glanced behind them even though they had long left where she’d seen it. Every part of her was on high alert and she wanted to scratch at her skin to make the raised hairs on her body go down.
Fuck. It feels like there are a million eyes on us.
Was it just the ones belonging to the dragonflies and the harrier that continued to follow, or was it the sinister creatures lying in wait just below the water’s surface?
She shuddered as wet vines crawled down her back when Ingram was forced to duck beneath a low-hanging branch. For the love of everything good in the world, please don’t let a snake fall on me.
They approached a section of dirt that ran between two different waters. One side was blanketed in duckweeds with bubbles right in the middle, the other was muddy and still. Ingram diverted to the mud side on the right to avoid what had made those bubbles.
The hissing roar bellowing from the mud happened at the same time a Demon exploded from it. Emerie squealed as Ingram released a surprised bark.
Mud flung on them in a wave as the Demon with the crocodile head from before flopped with its long fang-filled maw open to latch onto a limb. Ingram reared back and yanked his hand up to his chest just in time to avoid being bitten into. He backed up to the left when he landed.
Emerie knew a trap when she saw one. Since nothing came out of the moss side, it was obvious the Demon had set this one up. It was frightening that it had been smart enough to lay out a trap and wait.
Ingram didn’t hesitate to sprint forward to escape, forcing Emerie to hold on for dear life. Behind them, a hissing roar followed as the Demon gave chase, sprinting on four short legs. Its long tail swiped right and left, tossing dirty sludge and grass in its wake. Its fluttering wings gave it some speed, but not enough.