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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.
