Chapter 10

Ten

Skyler

“Sky!”

Bishop and I both jump at the sound of my name as it rings through the trees.

“Sky!”

“Oh fuck, is that Holt?” Bishop whispers, pushing to stand. He pulls me with him, but I crumble back down to the ground with a shout as pain in my thigh rips through me like lightning.

I reach down, expecting to find some kind of wound, a cut or scrap. Instead, my hand meets the end of a stick and I let out a whimper when I realize what that means.

Fuck.

I know better than to pull it out, but I’ll be damned if that’s not my first instinct, anyway.

“Sky,” Bishop hisses, dropping back down to the ground with me. His confusion is clear in his voice.

“I can’t walk,” I tell him, gritting my teeth against the pain that’s now becoming my main focus. It wasn’t so bad when I was distracted, but as the adrenaline from Bridget’s attempt to kill me wears off, it’s all I can focus on.

I hear Holt before he comes through the trees. It’s impossible not to as he stomps and stumbles his way around like a herd of elephants.

Even with limited visibility, I can see that he’s buck naked, and as he stumbles closer, I know Bridget’s story wasn’t fake. Squinting, I can just make out the glossy white of his eyes and the dark trails she said were blood that runs from his eyes. Dark marks litter his skin, some simply red and raised, while others appear to be bleeding.

He looks crazed as he spins this way and that, searching for me despite his inability to see. Part of me feels bad, wanting to call out and tell him I’m here. But a much bigger part of me, the one that longs to survive tonight, tells me to stay quiet.

Neither Bishop nor I say a word, not daring to move as he stumbles around, slowly moving toward us. At this rate, he’ll happen upon us in just a few minutes, and I’m in no condition to flee. I try to push Bishop away, hoping he’ll get the idea and make a run for it, but he refuses, shaking his head when I glare at him.

Stubborn jackass.

Turning back to Holt, I find him no longer walking toward us but down on all fours, crawling and…

Is he sniffing the ground?

He moves forward, only a few feet from us now, before his head dips all the way to the forest floor.

What the fuck!

He makes a sound that’s somewhere between a moan and a growl before his head snaps up, and looks right at me. Well, he would be if he could see.

“I can smell you,” he says, his voice low and husky in a way that might be appealing any other time. As it is right now, it’s unsettling, and it only gets worse.

“You taste delicious,” he says with a whine, inching closer. “I can’t get you out of my head. I need you.”

He drops his head to the ground again, and he’s close enough that I can just make out what he’s doing as he licks at the leaves and dirt. This time, he keeps his head down as he moves forward, and understanding dawns on me, turning my stomach as I see the trail of blood that’s leading him to me. The same trail he’s currently licking off the ground.

I watch in horror, unable to look away as he inches closer and closer. I know I need to move, but even knowing I can’t doesn’t stop me from trying.

Silently, I curse myself for the noise, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because this time, when he looks up, his eyes are no longer white and glassy.

“I see you,” he says with a smile, but it only lasts a moment. Before my eyes, the white glassiness returns, and he whimpers as he whips his head from side to side. “No, no! Not again,” he yells in a panic, clawing at his face.

With him distracted, I keep edging back, trying to widen the gap between us. Even with Bishop’s help, it’s slow going, every movement sending pain shooting through me.

“Sky!” Holt cries out, and the pain and fear in his voice breaks my heart, but I can’t help him. I’m not sure anyone can now.

With more precision than should be possible for someone who’s lost their sight, Holt dives toward me. His hand closes around my ankle, and he yanks me back toward him.

I cry out both in fear and pain, but he doesn’t loosen his grip. If anything, he pulls harder.

He licks up my leg, starting at my ankle, and my stomach lurches. I’m not normally the queasy type, but this isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before. Whereas, the small amount on the ground seemed to be enough before. This time, he doesn’t stop at the blood that runs down my leg, instead moving all the way up to the piece of wood and sucking on the wound.

The scream that rips from my throat is all pain, and I almost wish I would pass out so I didn’t have to see or feel this, but I don’t trust him or these damn woods.

Pushing through the pain, I kick out with my good leg in an attempt to make him let go, but he only holds me tighter.

Tears pour from my eyes as the pain continues to consume me. Just when I think it can’t get much worse, he pulls back and glances up at me with bright orange eyes and a vicious smile. His teeth are sharp, looking more monster than man, and I only have a split second to realize what he’s about to do before he does it.

His teeth sink into my thigh not far from my wound, and this time, the pain is so consuming I must black out or something because one second he’s there, and the next he’s gone.

My leg falls back to the ground with a thump, and while it aches, it’s nothing compared to the feel of his teeth a moment ago.

Slowly, I peel my eyes open, almost afraid of what I might find. Maybe he’s only taking a break.

Instead of finding Holt, I look up and see Bishop. He’s staring down at his hand, his chest rising and falling quickly. I know the feeling all too well.

I push myself onto my elbows and find Holt on the ground at my feet, unmoving, a dark patch on the right side of his head.

Is that blood?

Turning back to Bishop, it all makes sense when I see the rock in his hand. I’d done the same thing with Bridget, after all, so I can’t blame him. But unlike Bridget, I’m pretty sure Holt is dead.

I’ve had enough.

“We need to get out of here,” Bishop says, speaking the very words on my mind before finally letting the rock in his hand drop to the ground.

I know he’s right, but I can’t. We both know I’m in no condition to walk.

As if on cue, Slate walks out of the woods, clapping slowly. I don't jump, this time half expecting the crazy to keep coming.

His eyes are black but somehow still glow, just like the others did.

"I wasn't sure you had it in you after you left the girl. I must say I'm impressed," he says with a wicked grin. His teeth are sharp and pointy, the same way Holt’s had been, and looking at them sends a shiver down my spine. The memory of how they sunk into my skin is still too fresh.

"Don't worry, I took care of her for you," he says, waving his hand as if it's no big deal. As if he isn't telling us he killed Bridget.

"Don't mind the fangs, dear. Your human forms can only contain so much, but they aren't permanent, not that it matters. Besides, I'm not here for you, at least not yet."

A cold sweat breaks out over my skin as I whip toward Bishop to find him also watching Slate. If he's not here for me, the only other person he could want is him.

"Run, Bishop!" I shout, startling him. He looks down at me, and I can see that he wants to argue. He's been stubborn about staying with me since he found me and Val earlier, and while I appreciated it before, right now, his life is on the line.

"Yes, Bishop, run. I do enjoy a good chase," Slate says with a laugh, flicking his hand in the air.

With the movement, Bishop turns toward the woods and starts running.

“Sky!” he calls to me, but I can’t look away from the black glowing eyes that stare at me as if looking into my soul.

“Have fun,” Not Slate finally says before disappearing into the trees after him. The second he’s gone, it’s as if I’ve woken from a trance. I blink hard and realize I’m alone again.

It’s probably for the best, considering my current condition. I can only hope that Bishop can get out, that one of us can survive.

The rain continues to fall at a steady pace, but I’m past the point of cold. Instead, all I feel is numb.

A rustle in the trees pulls my attention back the way Slate just disappeared, and I say a silent prayer that it’s not him.

No!

That’s not possible! I saw him die!

But despite what I know I saw, Caelan stands just a few feet from me. His chest is still covered in blood, and I can see the deep gash in his throat.

Yet here he is.

It’s not until I see his eyes that I realize it’s not him, not really.

I don’t know what the hell is going on, but his glowing purple eyes let me know this isn’t the Caelan I know.

“Sky,” he calls, and it sounds like him, but also not. There’s something dark and sinister just below the surface.

I watch as he takes a step toward me, and although I know I can’t get away, I still drag myself backward with every step he takes.

He follows me across the last bit of the clearing until my hand meets the empty air behind me. I don’t need to look to know it’s the river's edge.

“There’s nowhere to go now,” he says, seeming to give up his attempt to convince me he’s Caelan. “Since I’m going to kill you, it only seems right that I let you in on a little secret.”

He’s messing with me. I know he is, but I let him talk. Taking the time to try to find a way out of this. I don’t have a lot of options here, but I have one.

It’s a bad idea, probably the worst one I’ve had all night, but it might be my only choice.

“The mortal whose face I wear had wanted to profess his love to you before he met his fate.”

His words hit me like a ton of bricks, cutting off my planning and leaving me reeling.

No, that’s not true. We had a pact: no feelings allowed.

But even knowing that, I can’t help but think about Caelan’s last words to me.

He’d wanted to tell me something, and he’d almost seemed nervous…

Fuck.

A smile curves his lips, and true or not, he clearly got the reaction he’d been hoping for.

Well, he can shove that smile up his ass because I’m pretty sure I’m going to die no matter what, and if that’s the case, I’d rather it not be at his hands.

“Fuck you,” I hiss before moving back off the edge of the hill.

I see his eyes widen in shock and smile to myself, knowing I’ve caught him off guard. Clearly, he hadn’t expected me to go over the edge. Honestly, I hadn’t either, but it’s too late to take it back now as I free-fall a few feet and hit the freezing cold water of the river, which quickly takes me away.