Red Moon Rising(35)

He looked around. “It’s dangerous in the woods Bree. You can’t go alone.

She wanted to scream with frustration. Evan was right – it was dangerous in the woods. He might be a Lycan, but he was only fifteen and she’d never forgive herself if something happened to him.

“Come on.” She grabbed his arm and began to drag him back towards his home.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m going to take you back until we’re a few miles from your home, and then you’re going the rest of your way by yourself.” She snapped. “Your family will be worried sick about you by now.”

“I’m not going back without you.” He said stubbornly.

“Evan! This is not a joke, do you understand me? I have somewhere I need to go, and I can’t stay at your home any longer. Someone needs me and it’s very important that I help him. Okay?”

“We can help you. Just tell us what you need us to do.” Evan replied.

“No! You don’t – “

She stopped as he suddenly stiffened and lifted his head into the air. He inhaled deeply and she looked around nervously.

“What is it?”

He looked at her and her stomach dropped at the look of panic on his young face. “Faeries. I can smell them.”

Her hand tightened on her sword and she lifted it in front of her as she stepped in front of Evan. “How close are they?”

“I – I do not know. We need to go Bree. Right now.” His voice was shaking with fear, and she gripped his arm tightly.

“Evan, listen carefully. I want you to shift and run towards your home. I’ll hold the faeries off. Run as fast as you can and do not look back, do you hear me?” She muttered fiercely.

“I can’t leave you!” He whispered.

“You can and you will!” She shook him lightly. “Shift Evan - right now.”

A low and ugly laugh drifted through the trees. “Too late my pretty.”

Bree turned, herding Evan behind her as four fairies flew out from the trees. She held her sword in front of her and willed her hand not to shake.

“If you do not want to die today, you would be wise to fly away right now.” She could hear the tremor in her voice. Evidently the faeries could too because they grinned at each other and landed softly on the ground in front of them.

“Ooh, you’re a brave one then aren’t you my pretty?” One of the faeries, his face pierced in multiple places with bits of human bones, grinned at her. His teeth were covered with dirt and moss, and his large leathery wings flapped gently as he rose a few inches into the air.

Another of the faeries moved a little closer, she could barely make out his features through all the markings on his face, and she stepped back. She dropped her bag on the ground and pushed Evan back towards the trees.

“We don’t care much for the taste of dog,” the faerie said, “but since you’re too tiny for the four of us to share we’ll have to roast him up as well.”

The others grinned, and one of them raised the sharp spear he was holding into the air and hooted loudly. “I get dibs on tasting her first!”

Behind her, Evan was growling softly and continuously and she could feel his arm swelling under her hand. She dropped his arm and took a quick look at him. His eyes had switched from their normal light green to a glowing, brilliant shade of emerald. As his clothes exploded from his body and he shifted into a brown wolf, she screamed at him to run and charged at the faeries.

They weren’t expecting her to attack them and as she ran forward, slashing at the closest one with her sword, they scrambled backwards in surprise. She stabbed one in the leg, and he howled with pain as she sprinted past him and threw herself at the largest of the faeries. She hit him hard and he tumbled to the ground, pulling her down on top of him.

Panting with fear and adrenaline, she raised her sword and thrust it into his side. He screamed with surprise and pain, and she gave her own short howl of pain when she felt the sharp blade of a spear pierce through her skin.

She twisted away quickly, rolling off the faerie and wincing as she landed on the frozen ground. One of the faeries had stabbed her in the back just below her right shoulder blade, but the adrenaline in her body made the pain insignificant.

The faerie fell on her, his hands reaching for her throat. They tightened around her and he leaned down until his face was inches from hers and inhaled. A feeling of heaviness overtook her and before she could succumb to it, she reached up and jammed her thumbs into both of its eyes.

He screamed in agony as her thumbs punctured his eyeballs and she yanked viciously. His eyes popped out with a gruesome sucking sound and he released her and staggered away, clapping his hands over his eyes. Thick, black blood was pouring from between his fingers, and he made inarticulate grunts of pain as he thrashed blindly through the trees.