A Gift of Three(54)

She started to convulse again, her eyes scrunched up in pain and her breathing coming out in the short pants that reminded me of when they’d all been unconscious on the hospital beds.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Field moved to pick Vita up, taking her in his arms. Before he could fly up with her, he paused, turning around in the direction we’d been heading.

“Everyone, hide!” he whispered, dragging Vita and me down into the undergrowth.





Serena





[Hazel and Tejus’s daughter]




As I ducked down, I realized what Field had been reacting to. I could hear someone, or something, running through the undergrowth at great speed, heading in our direction.

Vita’s panting, and her pain, hadn’t let up.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, covering her mouth with my hand. She looked up at me in panic, and I tried to hug her at the same time, to reassure her. I couldn’t let her give our position away if she cried out—I could only hope that whatever was running toward us would continue past, and that we weren’t their target.

I looked over to where Aida, Phoenix and Jovi had been standing, but I couldn’t see them.

Good.

Hopefully the large leaves and the bright colors of the various jungle plants would be enough to shield us from sight.

The sound grew louder. They could only be about a yard away from us now. I started praying that we wouldn’t be noticed, when another noise made my blood run cold. A loud shriek, high-pitched and vicious, sounded from above us. Whatever it was, it was horrible—like an animal in severe pain. I heard the flapping of huge wings smacking against the tops of the trees.

I clutched Vita tighter, glancing over at Field, his horror mirroring my own.

The next moment, I caught sight of the creature—or creatures, as I soon realized—who had been running through the undergrowth. I now believed that they were most likely running from the creatures overhead, and so when I caught sight of them, I was no longer worried about us being found, but more worried about their fate.

They were two men who would have looked entirely human were it not for two very small horns at their temples, and slightly silvery skin, which might have just been a trick of the light. As they ran, they repeatedly glanced up into the sky, their faces fixed in expressions of fear.

They were only a matter of feet away from us when one of them collapsed on his front, a spear protruding from his back. I gasped, covering my own mouth as soon as it slipped out.

The second man flung himself down on the ground next to his companion, and before I could cry out a warning, another spear shot through the sky, landing in the second man.

I turned my head away, not wanting to see anymore.

The screams from above grew louder, almost victorious. The trees directly above us shook as wings hit against them, then shuddered still. The cries grew fainter, and I heaved a sigh of relief when I heard a final cry, coming far off in the distance.

“Are you okay?” I whispered to Vita, removing my hand from her mouth. Field motioned for us both to be quiet, pointing at the two dead men on the ground. I was about to move back up when, to my surprise, the second of the two men slowly rose to his feet with a muffled groan. The spear must have missed him by inches, its tip protruding from the earth. He stayed crouched on the floor, clutching at the lifeless arm of his companion. I caught sight of his profile, contorted by devastation.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so very sorry.”

He muttered something else under his breath, and yanked out the spear. With a sudden explosion of rage, he snapped it over his knee, splitting it in half. Next, he took a hunting knife from a sheath at his side. He closed his eyes momentarily, his face etched in misery. In one single, fluid movement, he sliced the neck of his companion—thick silvery blood pooling out onto the forest floor.

I gasped, unable to help myself. The action had been so violent, so unexpected in his moment of mourning.

The man turned sharply in my direction.

“Show yourself,” he barked out, his voice thick with unshed tears.

Reluctantly, seeing no other choice, I rose to my feet. The moment I did so, Phoenix jumped up from his hiding place, looking menacingly in the direction of the horned man. For the first time since I’d laid eyes on him, I noticed how strangely beautiful he was—unearthly handsome, like an artist’s depiction of beauty, as unreal and inhuman as any I’d ever seen.

He didn’t look surprised to see either of us, and less so when the others emerged from their hiding places.

“Who are you?” Phoenix demanded.

“I feel like I should be asking the questions,” the man replied, his voice deep and husky, his eyes lighting on me and Aida. His stare was piercing and traveled up and down both of our figures with a lazy delight, making me feel like he was seeing right through my clothes. Vita was the last of us to stand, swaying slightly as she clutched a tree for support. The horned man’s eyes widened at the sight of her, and his gaze became even more intent.