Chapter 46

Ryker

My hand wentto the knife at my side as my teeth ground together. That thing nearly hit her.

The skull rose from the ground, shook itself, and darted into the trees. It vanished almost immediately.

"What was that?" I demanded.

Before Ellery could respond, three floating blobs emerged from the trees. The one in front held a man's skull in its hand; it used its small fingertips to flick the see-through head up and down.

"Sometimes the poltergeists like to rip the heads off the ghosts and throw them at travelers," Ellery said. "In their hands, those heads become corporeal. Don't ask me why; the rules in the woods are far different than the ones we live with outside of the forest."

"They're good weapons," the ugly one in front said. His dry, raspy voice reminded me of leaves crunching beneath my feet.

"We're not here to bother you," Ellery said.

"Doesn't matter; these are our woods."

"These woods belong to everyone willing to enter them."

"No, these woods are a place for dead things. And we are dead things, not you."

Ellery waved her hand at the trees. "Look around you; everything here is green and teeming with life. These woods are a place for the living and the dead."

"These are our woods."

Ellery shifted her attention to me. "And sometimes you get a real pain in the ass poltergeist who thinks they rule the world."

"And what do you do about them?"

"Ignore them. It hurts when they hit you with things, but they eventually get bored if you don't react." She looked pointedly at the blob still flipping the skull in his hand. "They're like children in that way."

Ellery started forward as the poltergeist heaved the next skull at her. She stepped out of the way and didn't look back as it bounced across the ground before settling near a rock.

"Throw something at her again," I growled at the creature.

"And you'll what?" the lead poltergeist taunted as it lifted its fingers next to its ugly face and wiggled them at me. "Kill me? Ooooooh, I'm scaaaaared."

I glowered at the creature, but he had a point.

There was nothing I could do to make him stop. All I could do was forge ahead while ignoring them, but the infuriating creatures followed us. They bobbed around while taunting us and throwing rocks, sticks, and stones.

When a young girl ghost had the misfortune of passing between them, the lead poltergeist tore off her head. Her ghostly face faded until it became a skull with empty eye sockets.

He threw it at me, and I stepped aside to avoid taking a direct hit. The skull landed a few feet away and spun to a halt.

It stayed there for a few seconds before bobbing back into the air and drifting toward her body, which remained floating where she'd left it. When the skull settled back onto her shoulders, her youthful features reemerged and she floated away as if nothing happened.

I'd heard many tales of the Revenant Woods, but I'd never expected anything like this or the way Ellery forged ahead as if it didn't matter. I followed her into the woods, over logs and rocks, all while dodging the missiles the ugly fuckers threw our way.

By the time the poltergeists got bored enough to go away, I was ready to set the Revenant Woods on fire. Electricity crackled between my fingers as my lightning screamed to be unleashed on the floating menaces.

"I hate those things," I told her.

She shot an amused look over her shoulder at me. Her smile and the sparkle in her eyes caused a jolt of lust to push aside my irritation.

After my annoyance at those creatures, this desire was so unexpected that my cock hardened before I had a chance to stop it. Clenching my teeth, I willed my erection away. This wasn't the time.

"They're annoying and can injure you with some of the things they throw, but they're mostly harmless. I've seen them get their hands on a real weapon before, and that's when you really have to worry, as some of them are extremely good at wielding them."

"What do you do when that happens?"

"Run."