And then a horrifying possibility occurred toher…
What if they all attacked at once?
CHAPTER 76
Then I’ll crisp fry their asses.
She didn’t let herself consider that she’djust figured outhowto use her fire and wasn’t great atwielding it yet. She would do whatever was necessary to keep themsafe and ensure Cole didn’t have to use the shadows to aidthem.
Something scooted behind a thick copse ofbushes with thorns the size of her fingers. It didn’t help that notonly were there monsters hunting them, but this was by far thethickest forest she’d ever entered.
She couldn’t see more than a few feet aheadof her as the massive tree trunks and copious bushes blocked herview. Overhead, only a few beams of the sun’s rays pierced throughthe thick canopy of leaves.
When the wind blew through the trees, theirswaying branches caused the shadows to dance across the earth. Notmuch light pierced through from above, but, like the plants, theshadows here thrived on darkness.
Despite the considerable amount of differentplants, no flowers bloomed in these woods. The only color was thegray bark of the trees and the lush green of the plants. When shelooked up, the leaves above were a brilliant green.
Sticks and dried, dead leaves littered theground beneath her feet, but there was no moss or mushrooms. Theforest floor was comprised only of debris, and… yep, that was askeleton over there.
Lexi decided not to look too closely at theother sticks and debris sticking out of the ground. She doubted shewould like what she discovered.
Cole edged around an enormous briar patchthat would shred her clothes and skin if she tumbled into it. Shewarily eyed the lethal-looking thorns as she turned sideways tosqueeze between them and a tree trunk so big she couldn’t wrap herarms halfway around it.
A strange whirring sound started fromsomewhere in the woods. She’d never heard anything like it before;it reminded her of a mixer churning through batter. It was strangeand out of place in a forest, but these woods were weird.
She sighed when she stepped out from thebriars and could walk next to Cole again. She was starting to thinkthey might get out of here without encountering anything.
Then, something dropped in front of her.
Lexi jumped as Cole’s head shot up. Shecouldn’t quite tell if the thing resembled a spider or monkey more.It possessed features similar to a monkey but dangled from a thickstring and had more legs than any mammal.
She didn’t take the time to count those legsas its mouth opened and two mandibles unfolded from inside. Lexialmost screamed when those hideous things revealed themselves.
Nothing this revolting and strange shouldexist in the world. Yet here it was, and it wasstarving. Itwasn’t much bigger than a small monkey, but she suspected it coulddevour her and Cole before happily searching out more prey.
When the shadows around them shifted andCole’s power swelled on the air, Lexi recalled her vow not to lethim use that ability. Drawing on her love for him, she flung herhand up, and a stream of fire erupted from it.
The flames hit the creature directly in itsopen, rotten-looking mouth. It screamed as fire consumed its thick,brown coat and reflected in its multiple, beady, black eyes.
As the creature turned and scurried up itsstring, fire licked at the air behind it. When the string broke, itfell to the ground and bounced away before going completelystill.
The sudden hush of the woods was moreunnerving than all the sounds before it. She could feel every eyein the forest focused onthem. And they werealleager for more death… preferably hers and Cole’s.
The hair on Lexi’s nape rose as the forestremained silent. Her head tipped back, and she searched the leafybowers above for more of those things. Nothing moved, but thatdidn’t mean they couldn’t be hiding there, stalking their prey.
“We’re almost out of here,” Cole told her.“Are you okay?”
“Fine,” she whispered.
“Let’s go.”
He gave a small tug on her hand, and theystarted through the woods again, but this time, they walked alittle faster. From behind, something released a high-pitch screechthat broke the hush and made Lexi wince as it battered hereardrums.
Lexi glanced behind her, but if there wassomething there, she couldn’t see it through the wall ofvegetation. When Cole pulled her a little in front of him, shetried to edge back to stand at his side again, but he put a firmhand in her back and nudged her ahead.
She shot him an irritated look, but he kepthis gaze focused ahead and purposely away from her. A muscletwitched in his cheek as his jaw locked. That steely look, morethan the returning sounds of the forest, frightened her most.
If something attacked again, he would use theshadows against it.
