Page 13 of Sacred Venom

The corn stretches forever, an endless maze of blackened green that feels intent on keeping me trapped inside. The night is heavier in here, thick air where even the moon refuses to shine too deep into the narrow rows.

A sweetness clings to the moisture, settling against my tongue as I suck in each breath. My lungs burn with the force of pushing my body forward. I claw through the stalks into the next row, leaves scratching my arms and snagging my nightgown. Everything remains in the same unforgiving pattern. I zig-zag through the rows to lose the man coming after me on a bad leg.

I have no sense of where I’m going beyond the promise of light along the horizon, so I keep moving east.

Damp soil sucks at my bare feet, trying to hold me back. I don’t dare to check if he’s followed me this far. My brother’s voice still echoes in my head, the only thing guiding me.

Up ahead, the corn breaks, giving way to a gravel road. I come to the edge of the field only to find my escape barred by three lines of rusted barbed wire stretched alongside it. An exhausted sob escapes, but I swallow it down.

I gather my nightgown, pulling it up to my waist, then bend over, threading myself between two of the wires. The fabric snags anyway, like a hand trying to drag me back in. I pull once, twice, and it rips, allowing me to fall to the ground on the other side, gasping as if I’ve surfaced from drowning.

I stay put for a moment, letting the realization settle over me in unbearable waves.

Asher is gone.

The thought sinks its teeth in, too wrong to even belong in my mind. I press a trembling hand to my mouth, but the sob forces its way through. When I pull it away, it’s stained with his blood.

My nightgown glows in the dim light, dirtied with streaks of soil and death. He’s gone because of me. Because I was too weak to fight, too slow to run.

Why would anyone want me? The question circles. For ransom? My father put all our family’s savings into his campaign. I’m not a prize. Not even a cost worth paying.

The medallion rests heavy against my chest. I curl my fingers around it, so tight the edges press into my skin. Blood smears across the gold, dulling its shine, but the shape of the snake still gleams faintly in the low light. I don’t know who these Serpents are, or if I’ll survive long enough to find them, but I have to keep going. For him.

My legs shake, each step a battle, but I can’t allow them to stop. I walk in the grass, avoiding the gravel that would tear my feet up more.

It’s so quiet that I wish I could hold my breath to not draw attention.

Then light floods the road behind me. Headlights.

My heart jolts and I dart back for the corn, but the sharp fence stops me. Panic takes hold and I drop to the ground, scrambling to drag my body beneath the wire, but my limbs won’t cooperate.

The light grows brighter, closer, until it settles just behind me. A pickup truck rolls to a stop, the engine idling softly, and I keep digging at the dirt, stuck on a barb, filth gathering under my nails as I try to force my way through.

The window lowers and an older woman sticks her head out, her voice soft and uncertain. “Hello? Are you okay?”

I hold my breath, unsure of putting my trust in her. I don’t even know what okay means anymore. The word is foreign, something from a life that’s no longer mine.

She waits, squinting as she peers down at me. I abandon the escape and pull myself backwards under the fence until I’m out of the corn, dew sprinkling down on me from the stalks.

“What are you doing out there?” she calls.

I can’t answer.

Tears sting my eyes as I step forward, lifting a hand to shield my face from the brightness.

“Mercy!” the woman gasps. She jumps down from her truck. Her tiny frame doesn’t reach the bottom of the side-view mirror. “What happened to you?”

I take another step. “I… I need help.”

She meets me down in the ditch and takes my shaking hand. “Come on now, I got you.”

Her kindness almost undoes me. She helps me up the incline and into the truck. The worn seat creaks under my weight, and I sink back as the last of my strength dissolves. Adrenaline is wearing off, and every muscle begins to throb.

“Where can I take you?” she asks gently. “Do you need a hospital? The police?”

“No.” The word comes out sharper than I intend. I shake my head, clutching the medallion. Asher is the only person I could trust. If he wanted me to find the Serpents, that’s where I’ll go. “I need to get to Shadow Bluff.”

She stiffens and looks away. “The next town over is Brightridge. Whatever you’re running from, you’d be much safer there.”