Page 50 of The Wicker King

Jack stopped walking. He slid his hand over August’s arm, pulling him back from the trees in front of them.

“What?”

“Shh. It will hear you,” Jack breathed. August looked at the empty forest, then turned back and watched his friend instead.

Jack’s nails bit into his skin. “Shit. Shit. It sees us. Fuck. RUN.” He bolted, dragging August along with him.

They crashed through the forest toward the town, leaping over fallen trees and dodging branches. August’s arm slipped out of Jack’s grasp, but he charged on because Jack was clearly running for his life.

“Come on, August. I can’t lose you, I can’t—” They were neck and neck now and August could just barely see the road through the trees. He slipped in the mud and fell hard.

“No!” Jack roared. He leaped in the air and kicked off one of the trees, curling his arm around the trunk and spinning himself in a stunning feat of desperate athleticism. Changing trajectory completely, he sprinted to August and pulled him up.

They flew toward the light.

Jack let out a cry when they burst out onto the open road. They both skidded to a stop. August couldn’t breathe. His heart was beating so fast that he felt like he was dying. Jack staggered a couple of meters ahead of him, looking up at the sky, panting just as hard.

“What … the fuck … What did you see?!”

Instead of answering, Jack gazed down at his hand. There were deep scratches from the tree bark, and they were starting to bleed.

“Jack. Fucking … tell me what’s … going on!”

“WOULD YOU JUST BE QUIET FOR A SECOND. Just a second … please.” He sank to the ground and covered his eyes with his hands, smearing his face with blood. He was shaking terribly.

August knelt before him and pulled him to his feet. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”

WORRIG

“It was horrible. It looked like a bison, but at least five times bigger. It was half rotten and its skin was hanging sloppily off its body. Its bottom jaw stretched all the way to the ground, and there was still meat stuck between its teeth. I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared in my fucking life.” Jack drank straight from the bottle of wine. When he put it down, Rina snatched it from him.

“The worst thing of all was that when it finally turned to look at us, its eyes were almost human. Like, you know, that part in the His Dark Materials series, in the third book where—never mind. Anyway, it was like it was smart. Like it could probably have talked if its jaw wasn’t a gigantic gaping maw of rotting razor-sharp death.”

“So I’m assuming this is the first time you’ve ever seen one of those,” August said dryly. He was still exhausted from having to sprint half a mile with absolutely no warning.

Jack glared at him. “You know what this means, right? It means we’re running out of time. Quests always have an ending, whether it’s a good one or a bad one. Always.”

August looked thoughtful. “I wonder what would have happened if I’d just let it get me,” he mused, rubbing his chin.

“We’re not figuring that out.”

“Why?” August insisted.

“Because we’re just not, you insufferable asshole.”

“I mean technically, I can’t touch anything in your world. Chances are, it wouldn’t be able to touch me either.”

“What if? I just had to watch you get violently eaten? Then I completely lost the ability to see you? What about that?” Jack spat angrily.

August went silent.

TRUE

August rested his forehead on the knob of Rina’s spine as she angrily did the dishes.

“You need to take him to the hospital,” she whispered.

“I know,” August said.