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“You hear that? You might as well come out and join us!” I call into the tall grass swaying in the breeze. A sigh comes from behind a nearby trunk and Tweed steps into view, his shoulders hanging in defeat.
“If I had my magic, you’d never have known,” he grumbles. Cash pats him on the back.
“Yeah, yeah. Come on. You know as well as I do once you’ve entered the Nightshade Trial; you can only leave via the exit. Show us the way out, then we can get back to killing each other,” he prods his brother a few steps ahead. I also give him a shove, just because. The valley dips, leading up and down a red, rocky path and around the side of a mountain. Across a bottomless gorge, crisp white snow coats the land, but on this side, it’s high season in the tropics. Peeling off my jacket, I place Mr. Budgerigar in the dip of my crop top to be my breast guard. Sweat prickles at my overheated skin, my tongue thick and dry.
Tweed, free of the amour he originally wore, takes the narrowing route, never once looking back over his shoulder. Not that I expected him to, no matter how many times I slap my hands on my thighs and exhale down the back of his neck.
“Something to say?” he asks after an eternity, passing beneath a precarious archway of crumbling stone. I narrow my eyes at the back of his head.
“Yeah, actually. You bit my tit,withoutpermission.” I growl, giving his shoulder blades another push. He spins, catching my throat mid-yelp and throws my back against the mountain. Rubble rains down his back, his expression deadly.
“Your body gave me permission, and you fucking loved it.” Leaning close, his lips vaguely touch mine. A feather-light tease I refuse to acknowledge.
“Break it up,” Cash warns, a lash of jealousy on his tongue. Tweed pays him no notice, too focused on trying to teach me a lesson by the hand tightening around my throat. My pussy clenches. He knows it, I definitely know it, and a curse tumbles from my lips. “I said that’s enough,” Cash tears us apart.
Tweed slams his chest into Cash’s side, almost knocking him from the ledge, but his intense stare isn’t on us. Following Cash’s eyeline, movement shifts within the rocks above. Still trying to pick a fight with his twin, I grab Tweed’s dick through his cargos and squeeze, halting his macho bullshit for the time being. Hundreds of tiny faces peer over the cliff face, tilting heads of pink and white set with beady black eyes.
“Move,” Tweed warns, ripping his dick from my hold and darting down the path. Shuffling from its hiding place, a small bear wobbles into view, growling at us with a set of cute teeth. Vaulting from the ledge, it free falls, arms stretched out. Cash and I step aside, allowing it to splat on the ground in a puddle of pink fluff. Scooping up a portion of its head with my fingers, I assess the substance before sticking out my tongue to lick them clean. Sweet, sticky and light.
“It’s marshmallow,” I share an amused look at Cash. An army of marshmallow bears that saw Tweed running for his life. Grabbing a handful of bear butt, I share the confectionary with Cash, much to the other bear’s stunned shock. Their loss. Strolling in the direction Tweed ran, we pass beneath another archway when the ground beneath our feet shudders.
Thump. Rocks free fall, cascading towards the small path and bounce into the gorge beyond.
Thump. Thump.Turning slowly, a huff of forced wind blows over me. Mr. Budgerigar flutters against my cleavage, his little heart pounding in time with mine. Glass eyes of fossilized auburn capture me in their narrowed glower, a pair of tusks jutting forward in the same polished resin. I step back, bumping into Cash’s chest as he too stares upon the beast – a rhinoceros made entirely of amber with four marshmallow bears sitting upon its back. Okay, now I’ll run.
A roar pursues me, the uneven ground quivering beneath my boots. Boulders tumble and crash, missing Cash and me by mere inches as we fly down the mountain as quickly as our feet can move. Tweed is already at the base, a stick in his hand which he’s jamming into the last of the stone archways. Heaving all of his weight behind it, he tries to dislodge the rock attached to an overhanging portion of the mountain. He’s trying to trap us in with the beast.
Pressing his hand on my head, Cash forces me to duck and my feet slip from beneath me. Skidding on my ass, weapons rain through the air and litter the ground. Swords, spears, catapulted stones. Panic surges my limbs, disabling my movements until Cash yanks me up and forces me back onto my feet. His hand remains on my back, pushing me the rest of the way down the slope. Tweed spots us nearing, his jaw tense and efforts doubling.
Another howl from the beast rocks our foundations, the heavy breath of his snout nearing closer and closer. Rocks soar past my shoulders, a wooden blade skimming my head. Nearing the stone archway, a weapon sits upon the ground. One I didn’t note as being thrown. Striking me as odd amongst my rush to flee, a hammer with the glint of an amber stone fixed into the rear lays ready for the taking.
Using my momentum, I crouch, skidding my biker boots along the path to scoop it up and sail through the stone archway just as it begins to tilt. Cash tumbles on top of me, sending us spiraling off the edge of the pathway. Collapsing stones pound against the mountain, shaking the clay-smothered side of the gorge as we fail to grasp it. A hand locks around my wrist, jolting me to a stop. Tweed’s face contorts, his muscles tensing as he drags me back up to safety. Peering behind with my heart in my throat, I spot Cash hanging from a rogue root. My cheeks puff outwards and the second I’m back on land, I race for the staff Tweed used to almost kill us and offer it to Cash.
“Help me or I’ll make your eternal life hell,” I growl at Tweed. His jaw is still tight, his vest filthy. Gripping the staff either side of my hands, he gives one swift yank to toss Cash up onto safety and storms away.Asshole.
Dropping back, I lie under the unforgiving sun, cupping Mr. Budgerigar in one hand and the hammer in the other. The rhino, if he’s still alive beneath the huge pile of rubble, has fallen silent.
“What you got there, Crazy One?” Cash tries to lighten the mood, his breath wheezing in and out as he collapses next to me. I lift the hammer, turning it over to inspect further. A symbol has been carved into the wooden handle, a simple spade that holds so much more meaning than I originally realized.
“I’m not sure, but I’ve learnt to trust my instincts.” Pushing it into the baggy pocket of my cargos, I plant a kiss on the budgie’s trembling head. Another instinct of mine. If this bird has something to tell me, he’d better start chirping soon. I doubt he’ll survive many more life-or-death situations. “Take care of him for me, I have a score to settle,” I tell Cash, handing over my feathery friend. Then I’m on my feet and speeding away.
“Hey fuckface! Get back here!”
Splashing through a shallow river, I catch up to Tweed amongst a field of white daisies. He hasn’t answered a single one of my shouted curses. Knocking his shoulder, he spares me a bored look while I double over and hold up a finger. Almost a decade in an institution doesn’t bode well for all this exercise. Thrusting my hand in his trousers to stop him from strolling away again, I heave from the uncomfortable burn of fresh air causing my chest to ache.
“You…you nearly killed us,” I use his clothes to drag myself upright. Tweed peels back my fingers, freeing himself from my feeble hold.
“Regardless of what you continue to convince yourself of,” he brushes himself down as if my touch were more tainted than the dirt covering his front, “I’m not your friend. I have a duty to fulfill and since you’ve trapped me in this trial to free Lillianna, I have no other choice but to kill her first. She will not be allowed to roam free.”
I roll my eyes, tired of the dramatics. What happened to the good old days of smoking hookah and having threesomes amongst the mushrooms? Sure, it was only a week or so ago, but the cold, unfamiliar expression on Tweed’s face suggests its long forgotten. No chance for a repeat then, even if this bed of daisies looks comfortable enough. Nah, we’re way past make-up threesomes. Everyone in this trial has an agenda, and its time I got back on track with mine.
“I never cared for politics, but I have a mission of my own. You don’t want to get in my way, Tweedle Dick.”
“Oh yeah?” he almost chuckles, holding his arms out wide. “Or what?” My nostrils flare, never one to fail a challenge.
“Or this,” I grab the hammer from my pocket and hold it high above my head. Tweed doesn’t even flinch as I bring the sharpened stone downwards, making no move to defend himself. That makes his death his own stupid fault, right? It’ll be a shame, a real waste of a good tongue and decent cock, but at least I’m free of the blame. The hammer sails through the air, nearing Tweed’s silky blond hair as a glint catches my eye at the last moment. Diverting its path, my arm falls wide and I peer around Tweed while he chuckles for real this time.
“Knew you didn’t have it in you.” Without warning, I swing the dull side of the hammer underarm into Tweed’s dick. He groans and sinks to his knees. I step on his back, following the light drawing me across the daisy field. Tree trunks stand side-by-side, creating a circular wall much like an arena. The only way out is the way we entered, directly opposite the tree that now has my full attention.
