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“How does one kill a vampire for real?” Cash peers over his shoulder, his mouth in an oddly straight line. I kick his thigh with my good leg. “I’m not going to try to fucking kill you. Just out of curiosity.” Returning to trekking through the grass, Cash spots another sign on a tree up ahead and diverts to follow it.
“A stake to the heart with a diamond spear. The Cave of Wonders is writhe with clusters of diamonds jutting from every wall. Shards so thick, you’d need two hands to wield them. Ironically enough, only Tweed has access to the cave.”
“Let me guess, in the Red Queen’s Garden?” I scoff and Cash nods.
“Gifted to her ‘Champion’,” he scoffs. “Her first decree as Queen. She called it a peace offering from the realm. Giving access to the one way he could destroy his beloved twin for merely sharing his genetics.” I frown in thought. Why would Tweed need a peace offering from a realm that clearly hates him? The females that aren’t in his bed call him a reject and scorn him. But that’s not the biggest mystery being unraveled here.
“There must be more to Tweed’s hatred for you than that,” I comment. The trees around us are unnaturally still, not a bird or squirrel in sight. Cash shrugs, bumping me around as I hang over his shoulders.
“What does it matter? Too much bad blood has passed. There’s no way back.” Sighing, I bend my elbow and drum my fingers on Cash’s head. Tendrils of hair fallen free of my braid tickle my cheeks like the loose strands of my thought process fluttering around in the invisible breeze. Cash suddenly halts, his head flicking side to side. “You hear that?”
“Mmmm? Oh, it’s the cogs in my brain turning. They could use some grease.”
“No, listen,” Cash urges. Silencing my mind of oddities and theories, I focus. A trickle at first, but once I’ve latched onto the sound, I can’t unhear it. Water. Running water.
Bucking my hips on Cash’s waist, I point him in the direction I believe it’s coming from. Left, no, right. Wait, it’s behind us. The noise moves each time we do, Cash running in all directions trying to catch it. I grab his hair and pull back to make him slow to a trot before stopping completely.
“Stop, let’s be smart about this,” I ease myself from his back. Standing still amongst the grass as tall as I am, I close my eyes. Mud latches onto my boots. Cash continues trampling back and forth so I grab his hand, forcing him to be still.
“Think. What runs yet never walks, murmurs yet never talks? A river,” I provide the answer straight away. “And rivers run down. With the mountains southwest, we should be standing right on top of it.” Cash doesn’t respond but when I peek an eye open, I see he is facing downward. Now he gets it. The mud has crawled up to the rim of my boots, tipping over the edge to pool inside. Cold at first, the sludge bubbles and hardens around my ankles like two blocks of cement. Fuck, I hope I’m right about this.
Keeping Cash’s hand in mine, I lower us to the ground. Finding a Malice-shaped slot between the blades of grass, I outstretch my arms and exhale into the dirt. Each steady breath seeps me further into its cold clutches, willing the clay-like substance to crawl over my limbs and draw me into the ground. My hair sinks, my head being pulled downward until the mud is invading my ears, nose and pressing against the tight line of my lips. I hold my breath, clinging onto Cash’s hand like a lifeline. He struggles, his arm shaking as he refuses to relax. Come on, come on.
The longer the mud takes to seal over the light coating my eyelids, the more my lungs scream for air. Fighting against a convulsion, an alarm blares in my mind. Fuck, I was wrong. This was a suicide mission by mud and no one will find our bodies. Buried alive, I mumble an inaudible prayer to any god that may exist. Surely this will go down as the stupidest way to die in history, but at least I’d have accomplished something.
A heavy weight presses on top of me. Shoving me deeper into the ground, I sink beyond the point of return. My chest is crushed, my mouth clamped shut. Mud enters the back of my throat via my nose, and suddenly, I break free. Bursting through the other side of the ground, my slipping grip yanks Cash with me and we’re tumbling. Although, we’re not alone. The heavy weight remains on me, arms wrapping around my middle.
Still blind, my face caked in clay, I can’t push out the scream building up inside. At some point, I loosen my grip of Cash and hit water with a giant splash. Washing away the mud, I shove the weight off my middle and kick my legs, forcing myself upwards. Those hands on my waist give me a final shove and fade away as I breach the water.
“Malice!” Cash roars, splashing and fighting the water to tug me into his arms. I splutter and cough, struggling to produce a full breath. Wiping at my eyes, I blink against the harsh sun, my body laid upon the ground and I scramble to get off it. Not again, no thank you. Jumping upright, I hold my hands out in front of me while Cash remains in the water. A glistening pool of blue surrounds him, rippling where the thundering waterfall across the other side rushes from a cliff face. Luscious green frames the oasis, a mirror image of the jungle above reflected in the world underneath.
“You’re,” Cash raises a finger to point at my ankle. “You’re standing.” My gaze drops to my boots. Both feet are planted on the ground, not a hint of pain to be felt. I rock back and forth, rolling my ankles and aside from a crack I’ve always had, they’re as good as new. Smiling, I hunt around for a hint of Tweed. There’s no sign, naturally, so I leave him to his game of hide and seek that no one agreed to play.
Stripping, I dive into the pool butt-naked and roll my body like a mermaid. The water is a blessing for the sweaty, muddy mess I’d become. Pulling my hair free of its tie, it floats behind me all the way towards the waterfall. Coming up for air, I’m alone in the water until a hand grabs my thigh and tugs me underneath. Lips seal a kiss on mine before I follow the tweedle swimming around the edge of the waterfall. The clear water seeps into darkness but I don’t lose sight, keeping up until we breach the other side.
Concealed in a cave by the lack of lighting and echoing pound of water, I fall into his arms. A relieved smile plays on my lips. If there ever was a time to celebrate not dying by dirt, this is it. Fingers brush through my loose hair, a breath coating my mouth before he crashes onto mine. A hard reminder of how close we came to the end, a fevered rush of need. My legs wrap around his waist, his erection never failing to press into my core.
Gripping at the wet t-shirt molded to his body, I drag him impossibly closer. Parting my lips, I permit entry of the tongue in a race to seek out mine. Every second is rushed, every opportunity seized to grind my hips shamelessly over his waistband. He savors my taste as if for the first time, committing the feel of my kiss to memory.
Climbing him like a tree, he yanks my head back and takes the full advantage of my exposed breasts. Sucking, licking, massaging. His teeth sink into the soft flesh around my nipple, sending a sharp sting of pleasure to my cunt. There’s no denying the water lapping at my hips has nothing to do with the wetness between my legs. I give myself over to this moment, wholly and complicitly submitting to his desires. His hands can take me, his tongue can have me and his teeth. Fuck, those teeth evaporate any regrets and douse my senses in everything that ishim. Scraping my fingers through his hair, he travels upwards and buries his face in the crook of my neck.
“I’m starting to see what all the hype is about,” his deep rumble vibrates through the vein at my throat. Bringing my gaze back down to his, another quick kiss is pressed to my lips but I don’t respond this time. My brows knit together, assessing the strange glisten to his green eyes.
“Hey Malice! Where’d you go?!” Cash calls from the other side of the waterfall. I gasp. Tweed clamps a hand over my mouth. Beneath his wet palm, my lips tingle with the forbidden rush of realization. Tweed kissed me. He also tricked me but I’m used to that by now. Looking towards the thundering curtain barring us from his twin, Tweed regards me with the recognition of an enemy. The one I know too well.
“Call it my parting gift, because the next time you do something stupid, I’m not saving you.” I attempt to jerk my knee into his balls before he sinks beneath the surface, but all I connect with is water. Diving under, I hunt in the darkened depths with no avail. That asshole stole the kiss I’d already decided he didn’t deserve. Hovering lifelessly in the pool, I press my fingers to my lips. Then why did it feel so fucking good?
“There you are,” Cash grins when I swim back into daylight. Standing tall in the shallows, his t-shirt has dried in the warmth draping over my weary head. These boys are going to give me whiplash. Spear in hand, Cash closes one eye and aims directly for my head. The sharp point sails through the air as I yell and dive aside. Chuckling as he retrieves his weapon, Cash helps me to stand, observing my swollen breasts, and produces the strangest looking fish I’ve ever seen on the end.
“Lunch,” he tells me. I bulk at the slimy grey scales, rows of razor-pointed teeth and opaque white eyes staring back, my heart still hammering in my chest. Fuck whiplash, these boys will be the death of me.
36
Any hopes I had of this jungle being any different from the one above were dashed an hour into our trek. Aside from the animals present on this plane, and the miraculous healing of my ankle. Cash is still very much human, the shadow stalking us is as present as ever. Even more sloppy than before, I can hear Tweed rustling in bushes and stepping on twigs the entire way. It’s almost as if he wants to be caught, and then I groan at myself for aiding his nonsense.
“I have something to tell you,” I nudge Cash’s arm. “Tweed has been following us this entire time.”
“I know,” he nods, continuing to stare at the snowy peaks on the horizon. Catching me staring, his smirk doubles. “I don’t need super hearing to sense my own twin. We shared a placenta for nine months and he spooned me for several years after. I’d be more surprised if he’d actually cut the tie and leave me the fuck alone.”
