Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Kellan

I swiped ash from my forehead for the umpteenth time that day and sat back against the base of a giant tree. The leafless branches whined in the wind, swaying back and forth in a gothic dance.

I dug the other pastry from my pocket, looking at the smooshed crumbs as I unwrapped it and shoved it into my mouth. A piece fell onto the ground, and within seconds a prehistoric-looking worm unearthed itself and swallowed it whole.

I cringed at the size of it, but I was too tired to kill it. It was just trying to survive in this hellhole. The lack of life in the Dark Woods had frightened me, though I noticed several strange animals peeking from holes in tree trunks and the ground throughout the day.

None of them looked brave enough to come out, which was good for me, but on the other hand, it just proved how deadly the woods were.

Not being one to complain I stretched my legs out in front of me and let my feet rest. I dug the small mug from the depths of my bag and sat it to my side in case it rained overnight. Getting some water would change the course of the next few days or however long it took to get there. I tried not to think about my parched tongue lying heavily in my mouth or the way my head throbbed due to dehydration.

It was almost as bad as the aching in my feet from carrying around my steel-toed boots. Using my bag as a pillow, I leaned back and closed my eyes, forgetting the aches and pains for rest.

My body gave up immediately and my mind shortly after.

I didn't have the energy to worry about possible animals or Deidamia.

The growing wind tossed my hair around my head and lifted the hem of my t-shirt. It was a bittersweet feeling from the heat but the promise of a storm would slow me down.

I didn't have time. Josie had been with Deidamia for two days. Was she hurting her? What was she doing to her while she awaited the arrival of her savior?

The images made my stomach turn.

The irrational part of me felt ready to face her. I wondered if she would remember me, but something told me she would indeed.

Not being able to see the smoke I saw from the farmer's market, I followed the smell of it. It was growing heavy, burning my nose and throat. A sticky film settled over my skin the further I ventured into the forest.

I wasn't sure what it was at that point.

However, my entire body was covered in grime so it didn't really matter. The growing wind whipped around me, sending up dead leaves and debris into a mini tornado.

A thundering sound pounded against my eardrums. It was so intense that it sent me down to my knees. I knelt, my fingers curling into the dirt, as flames licked the sky above me.

Fire brightened the woods, showcasing my deathly surroundings and the underbelly of a dragon above me.

I'd been alive for decades, and never had I come in contact with a real-life dragon. The stories were outrageous, but did little justice to the monster flying above.

The faint sound of someone yelling hit my ears, but pinpointing it through the noise was impossible.

The dragon slithered in the air, moving above the canopy of the trees, and disappearing from sight.

Silence enveloped the forest immediately.

The fear disappeared along with the shadow cast over me. I took a deep breath and rested my forehead against the ground.

What in the hell am I getting myself into?

My legs ached as I stood to my feet. Another faint call for help slammed into my chest. I'd never met her but I knew it was her voice. Eagerness took over me. A bone-deep need to get to her flooded through my veins. It was foreign for anyone's voice to touch me so deeply.

I began a determined run through the brush toward her. My inner beast was desperate for her. So much that it startled me. My footsteps were rushed, full of determination, and they left me out of breath to get to her.

"Help!"

There was fear in her tone.

I could relate.

I'd been scared many times in my life and most of them revolved around the witch.

The brush hid most of the ground. There was no trail. Nothing but a thick void of thorny brushes and decay.

Being alive as long as I had my senses had heightened.

It took minutes to get to her.

She sat on her knees. Those bright blue eyes seared me in half. It was the first time I'd felt anything remotely similar to lust since my wife was taken from me.

I didn't like it. It felt like a betrayal. Like raw acid in the back of my throat. It forced me to stop in silence. My mouth wouldn't work. All I could do was stare.

She looked prettier in person, even with her ebony hair stuck to her forehead and ash smudged against her cheeks.

Her heart-shaped face was feminine. The curve of her high cheekbones made her look younger than I knew her to be.

Before she thought I was a lunatic, I stretched my hand out to her, since words were unfathomable at the moment.

Like the gentleman I tried to be my gaze drifted to the top of her ripped t-shirt. A groan formed in my throat and guilt followed it.

What was wrong with me? I'd seen plenty of beautiful women in my life. This was madness. Everything about this woman called to me. Her smell. The shape of her small button nose. The tiny dimple in her chin--stop.

She called to a part of me that I thought died many moons ago.

"Who are you?" she asked in a soft voice.

Trusting a strange man in this forest would be foolish.

What other option did she have?

A small smile tilted upward on my mouth without permission and I was ripped away from her, darkness following.

I woke with a start. Rain pelted down on top of me, soaking my t-shirt and jeans. Groaning, I swiped my palm down my face and attempted to wake myself up.

Surprisingly, I slept longer than I anticipated.

The sun was up beyond the trees, not much sunlight making it to me, but I knew it was morning nonetheless.

A swift black orb flew toward me and landed on the toe of my boot.

That damn crow ...

Before I could kick it, I realized it had something in its mouth. A long golden thread. He flew away as I gripped the edge of it and pulled it from its beak.

The thread was thick and an oddly bright gold.

It felt almost real.

Shoving the thread into the depths of my pocket, I stood and dusted off my jeans which were covered in dried mud. I'd thought the rain was just part of my dream, but obviously, I'd slept through the storm.

Tilting my nose into the air, I took a deep breath of smoke.

It was coming from the south, deeper into the forest than I ever wanted to go, but there I was—on my way to face death for a girl I'd never met.

The small mug beside me was full of water. I downed it in one gulp feeling relief that touched my soul.

Swiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I grabbed my bag and tossed it over my shoulder.

The nonexistent trail made it hard to walk but after a while, I became numb to the thorns tearing at my skin. After what seemed like hours of walking, a clearing opened in the woods.

I fell to my knees and looked up at the sun, feeling the warmth on my skin as tingles raced down my spine. The terrain merged from a deathly forest to a deserted land with no grass or life.

In the distance, I made out what looked like a castle nestled into a mountainside. The sight of it chilled my blood. It was her castle. Josephine was yards away from me.

So was Deidamia.

Standing to my feet, I stared out at the valley between us. It looked harmless enough. However, something told me Deidamia would not make it so easy to get to her.

In that valley held what kept her inaccessible.

A dragon? Alligators? There was no way of knowing without enduring it. My fighting skills had developed over the last few decades, but my rationality hadn't obviously.

I started toward the valley, hearing my heartbeat thump loudly in my chest and my rational side scream for me to go back home.

Just go home to George. He misses you.

I chuckled to myself. George would be happy when I made it back. Dogs picked up on things that people didn't. He would sense the weight lifted off my shoulders. The extra pep in my step from avenging my family.

The red-eyed crow cawed from a low-hanging branch over the valley. He seemed irate. Annoyed that I'd come this far.

But the crow didn't understand—or maybe he did—that I had to do this.

My rational side hardly won anymore.

Deidamia had taken away my rationality, and my human traits and left me with a broken man who yearned to feel a sense of normality.

That was my plan. Save Josephine and win back my life, or at least the shell of it. I'd make a new one. One that didn't remind me of my failure every day.

The irrationality kept me on my toes. This time, the irrationality would gain me the revenge that I needed to regain my dignity and kill the witch that haunted my dreams.

The crow bounced on the limb, giving me enough time to swipe my slingshot from my pocket.

Picking up a rock, I hit him square between the eyes.

He didn't die.

He mocked me in a voice that brought tears to my eyes. It sucked the breath from my lungs and caused me to stumble backward.

"Help me," he said, in my wife's voice.

It wasn't a voice that you forgot. No matter how hard it was to imagine what she looked like. Hearing it was a slap of reality.

I ground my teeth together as he flew over the valley and toward the castle.

Lightning zigzagged across the sky behind the mountain.

I would make it to the castle by nightfall. I'd kill Deidamia, kill that godforsaken crow, and deliver Josephine back to her parents.

Then shut this chapter of my life forever.