Page 142 of Mortis

One breath.

Two.

Then I ran.

I sprinted through the woods as fast as my little legs could carry me. Which, admittedly, wasn’t very fast at all. Hopefully They were planning on giving me a generous head start, otherwise this was going to be the shortest hunt in recorded history.

I weaved between the trees, grabbing trunks whenever I changed direction and using my momentum to swing myself around them. Leaves crunched beneath my feet. Branches snagged at my clothes. My heart hammered. My legs burned. A stitch was already forming in my side, because apparently getting railed regularly did absolutely nothing for my cardiovascular fitness. Still, I kept going, deeper into Barrowfell Woods. Further from Blackthorn, and further from Kael.

For a while, all I could hear was myself. My heavy breathing. The clumsy thunder of my footsteps. The frantic rustle of leaves as I barrelled through the undergrowth with all the grace of a frightened baby deer. Nothing followed. I risked a glance over my shoulder, but the space was empty, so I slowed slightly.

Had Kael and the beastie forgotten They were supposed to be chasing me?

Crack.

I stopped.

A twig from somewhere behind me.

I turned slowly, but there was nothing.

Then came another sound.

Scrrrape.

Claws dragging against bark.

My pulse jumped when I found myself in a small opening between the trees, and I spun around, searching for any glimpse of black fur or curling horns. There was nothing. Only trees and shadows that grew longer as the sun sank lower in the sky. A growl rolled through the woods to my right. I whipped towards it, stumbling backwards in my haste. Still nothing. My chest heaved as I dragged air into my burning lungs.

“Don’t slow down, little rabbit.” Their voice came from somewhere among the trees, and I whimpered. It sounded like They were on my right. But then a twig snapped to my left. “You know what happens if We catch you.”

Leaves rustled behind me, closer than before.

Fuck.

I ran. Whatever exhaustion I’d felt disappeared beneath another rush of adrenaline. I tore through the trees, kicking up leaves and jumping over fallen branches. Something moved in my peripheral vision. Black and fast. I turned towards it, but again, nothing.

They were playing with me.

The realisation sent another shiver through my body. I stumbled over a root and caught myself against a tree. Rough bark scraped across my palm, and I hissed. A quick glance showed several shallow grazes, tiny beads of blood already rising to the surface.

Then everything went quiet.

I stared at my palm.

My blood, in a forest, with a demon who could smell it.

“Shit.”

I bolted and my legs screamed in protest. I barely made it another few metres when something caught the collar of my shirt. I yelped as I was ripped backwards, and my back collided with something solid, punching the air from my lungs. An arm locked around my middle. A clawed hand caught my chin and tilted my head sharply to the side.

And there They were.

One eye crimson, the other dark.

Kael and the Beast staring back at me from the same face.

“What a delicious piece of prey,” They purred.