Page 81 of Facade

My hand ran down her mane until I found a good grip and carefully swung a leg over.`

As I adjusted my grip and anchored my thighs around her—careful not to touch her scars—my unease dissipated. Sitting astride her felt natural. I’ve done this before…

Another roar vibrated loudly through the air, closer now, raising goosebumps along the back of my neck. Luna huffed, a cloud of smoke coming from her mouth. Without warning, she wheeled and bolted—her senses quickly picking up on the danger I still couldn’t see.

My yelp was swallowed as I nearly fell off from the sudden movement. Despite the familiarity, I could barely ride a horse in a saddle with someone behind me, much less bareback.

Luna bounded through the trees with grace, not hitting one branch or fallen tree. Pretty impressive for a large horse that used to have wings.

My eyes watered, blind to our surroundings. Then, between one blink and the next, everything became clear.

It was as if the sun were shining bright. Every tree, stick, branch, boulder—I saw it all. A smile spread as I marveled at the clarity of my sight. Did Aniah’s spell unlock more than just my memory? Did it—

Bam!

I flew off Luna, my head and shoulder striking a fallen tree. Luna hit the ground with a cry and rolled the opposite way. My vision blackened on the edges, but I stayed conscious. Blood flowed hot down the side of my face. I blinked a few times before stiffly sitting up, testing out my shoulder. It screamed in pain, but miraculously, it wasn’t broken or dislocated.

Luna.

Cradling my injured arm to my chest, I crawled toward her. She lay still on the ground, but the rise and fall of her chest made me breathe a sigh of relief. I wiped at the blood now on my face and hastily took in our surroundings.

What the hell was that?

My gaze snapped from tree to tree. Nothing.

We were in a small clearing. And even with my new night-vision, I saw nothing at all. No way something big enough to knock Luna over could hide here. The back of my neck prickled—we weren’t alone.

Luna still had the packs of supplies strapped to her. Keeping my gaze on the trees, I blindly reached back to the flap and felt around. My hand knocked into something hard. I curled my fingers around the smooth surface—a dagger. It was small, but it was something. I pushed to my feet. My body went taut as I strained to hear anything. But between wind whistling through the thick trees and the rain that began falling, all other sound was blocked.

Crack.

My head snapped toward the trees ahead.

A low, guttural growl erupted from the pitch black, grinding against my nerves. I fell back a step, placing myself in front of Luna, holding the dagger steady. Water splashed on the hilt as freezing rain worked its way through the thick, overlapping branches above.

The growl loosed again, but this time, a large, horrifying shape came with it.

The outstretched dagger shook.

A massive form wove through the trees with ease. Its gray, hairless body was as thick as three bears combined and towered above me, with numerous scars marring its flesh. Black spikes along its back led to a tail with needle-point barbs on the end, which whipped side to side angrily. Thick, muscular legs connected to paws as big as my face. Razor-sharp claws raked through the dirt in front of it. I slowly lifted my eyes to its bald head and pointed, bat-like ears.

Its lips peeled back, revealing rows of jagged teeth, beneath pitch black eyes—soulless eyes. Saliva dripped in large green globs down the sides of its mouth as it sized me up and lowered its long, extended snout to the ground, sniffing. I held my ground, my hand slick as I tightened my grip around my weapon. So this is how it ends. I ground my teeth as gruesome endings played out in my mind, a lump forming in my throat.

The monstrous thing sniffed some more, taking a step in my direction. White clouds puffed in front of me as my breathing picked up. I stepped back, keeping myself between him and Luna.

The demonic creature’s head jerked in Luna’s direction as the Empyrean neighed and lifted her head. My stomach lurched. No, no, no.

The demon coiled, ready to leap toward her. I held the dagger out as I took a defensive stance. I didn’t know what I was doing—but I’d die before I let it touch her. Luna struggled to stand behind me, but I couldn’t spare her a glance.

The beast lunged.

As did I.

An instinct deep within me took over as a roar left my lips. I sprinted toward the beast, sliding on my knees in the mud and snow until I was on it, slicing out and up, hitting its front leg and side.

The answering wail made me smile.

The small victory didn’t last long.