Chapter 11
The Words You Say
There was a hissing noise as they seemed to form words. “You failed us.” It accused Bree.
Calixto and Bree looked at the creatures. There were two of them and they did not have a definitive form. Instead, their outlines shifted and turned, making it nearly impossible to focus on them without getting a headache.
Bree stepped forward, “You are after me, not him. Let him go.”
The demons laughed, “Little witch, you have no room to negotiate.”
Bree slipped a hand into the folds of her dress and reached into another dimension where her chest was stored. She pulled her hand out of the dimension and stretched out her arm out. “I think I have all of the bargaining chips.”
The demons moved closer, “Give it to us!”
Bree pulled it back and dropped the object into the top of her dress. She felt it nestled between her breasts, “You must let him go first.”
“No!” Calixto and the demons all screamed at her. Calixto’s hand went around her wrist, “You promised!” His voice was firm and his red eyes looked as hot as the magma beneath them.
Bree gave him a smile and gently pulled her hand out of his, “Please, trust me.” He set his jaw but gave her an imperceptible nod.
“You will return this man to the top of the mountains, then we will begin negotiations.”
The demons hissed in response, “He himself has already expressed a desire to stay.”
Calixto stepped forward, “I consent to being returned to the top.”
The demons laughed, “What you will or will not allow has no place here.”
Calixto turned and looked at Bree. She winked at him and took several steps forward, “If you want your precious item, you will return him-”
The ledge under her cracked and fell away. Before she could fall, Calixto’s hands were around her waist, pulling her back to safety.
The demons cackled, “He is fast for a human.”
Bree was pleased when her companion did not answer the insult. Perhaps he was too angry by it. Hoping that was the case, Bree laughed. “You should have sent him back when you had the chance. My pet is not going to leave so easily now that he knows what you are trying to do.” She felt the air tense behind her, and Bree could imagine the angry look on Calixto’s face at her words. I’m sorry Calixto, she thought to him. Though she had not expected it, the air relaxed a little after her thought.
The demons moved forward, “We did not intend to drop you into the magma just yet, not until we retrieve what is ours.”
“Well, this is where we run into a bit of a problem, because the demons you had me steal this from seemed to have a very legitimate claim to it. I am curious to see which one of you is right so that I can determine who the real owners are.”
“It is us!” The demons swirled and shifted in agitation.
“But you have never produced any proof of that.”
“We do not need proof!”
“Are you sure? Because the Sentii had proof.”
“They are lying! It belongs to us.” One of the demons was doing little more than pitching a fit. The other one finally responded, “And what proof did they give you?”
Bree gave them a look of uncertainty, “I’m not sure if can tell you that.”
“It is ours!” The first demon shouted.
“Yes, yes, I have heard you say that several times, but saying it doesn’t make it yours. I mean, I could shout that right now, and you would dispute that it was mine.”
“You dare to mock us, little witch?” The second demon seemed far more attuned to what she was doing than the first.
She gave him a look of shock, “Mocking you? I am simply point out that one set of demons had proof, the others seemed to be lying to get something that they had no right to.”
The demons neared her, “What proof did they offer you?”
As soon as they were close, Bree stretched out her hand and wrapped them in a cold chill. The demons immediately started screaming and struggling against the web of cold, tightening it with every move they made. “The truth. You see, I'm not a little witch.” She squeezed the net, “I’m a sorceress.” The hissing and screams from the netting redoubled, causing the rocks on the walls of the volcano to come crashing down on all sides. An arm wrapped around her and Bree felt Calixto pressing her into his body. He was protecting her so that she would not lose focus.
Silently begging the gods to keep Calixto safe, Bree let out a loud laugh to make it look like she was not afraid. “The best proof they gave me was to let me borrow it. They told me to see for myself that it was theirs, and so I have.”
The yowls from the demons were unintelligible, but she pressed on. “Of course, this will not kill you, but by the time you recover, the true owners will be aware of your plans. So there is something for you to look forward to once you finish reforming.”
With that the demons disappeared. The instant they were gone, Bree turned and buried her face in Calixto’s chest. She pushed a field out several feet from his body so that he would not get further injured. As soon as the rock slide was done, she released the field and immediately began looking around them.
“And this is why I had not wanted to get caught away from their home.” The magma underneath them was rising. “I can’t fly.”
She turned to look at him, “I guess we can try climbing out of here, but I doubt that we will be able to get very far before this stuff over takes us. I am so sorry Calixto.” She wrapped her arms around him and felt his arms gently encircle her. “I am so sorry to drag you into this.”
“I don’t mind.” He stroked her hair.
She sighed, “I do. I mind very much.”
Calixto pulled away from her, “Do you mean that?”
She nodded, “I don’t mind dying, but I do not want that for you. I think it is even safe to say that I like you a bit.”
He smiled down at her as the heat from the magma began to reach them. She knew that meant they had a few minutes left. She wouldn’t exactly die happy, not knowing that he would parish too, but Bree could not imagine a better last view as she stared into his smiling face.
He pulled her close and whispered in her ear, apparently oblivious to the heat, “Do you like me enough to stay with me?”
Bree giggled, “I think that I can almost imagine a future like that. Almost.”
“Except…”
She pressed her face into his neck, “Except that we are going to die here and admitting that I could live such a life now might actually hurt.”
He squeezed her and whispered in her ear, “Say please.”
“What?” She pulled back and looked at his face to see if he was joking.
He was still smiling, but there was nothing to suggest that he was joking, “Say please.”
“Are you trying to make me feel less guilty now?”
He squeezed her hips with his hands, “Stubborn sorceress, do you trust me or not?”
Bree tilted her mouth in a half grin to humor him, “Please Calixto.”
He patted her on the head, “Good girl. I promise to be gentle.”
With that, Calixto stepped back and began to transform. His toned body began to expand and change in ways that should have been impossible. Bree watched in awe, her eyes catching every detail of the change, yet she had a difficult time believing what she saw.
The magma was spitting and bubbling below them as a large red dragon unfurled its wings and gently wrapped its claws around Bree.
As he moved away from the ledge, Bree looked up at the nearly perfect body of the man who had chosen her. If she had thought his human form was gorgeous, it was nothing compared to the beauty of the creature that he was by nature. “You are right, I don’t think I would have believed you if you told me.”
The dragon looked down at her, and if dragons could smile Bree knew what that smile would look like as she watched Calixto. She laughed as they flew out of the volcano top and headed toward a clearing that would have taken several days to reach on foot. His wings opened and the shadow he cast would easily have covered a small village. Calixto was big as a human – as a dragon he was gigantic.
“Do you think you could land us over that way?” Bree pointed to a location far from the volcano, a distance that would have taken several days with a horse. Calixto rumbled as if question was an insult. With impossible speed, they headed toward the place where Bree had indicated.
Bree was gently placed on the ground and a moment later Calixto stood beside her. His face wasn’t as cold as it usually was, but there was no trace of superiority or an oncoming lecture. The man’s eyes blinked a few times as he watched Bree.
Shaking her head, the young woman threw her arms around his neck. “And I thought you were attractive in your human form. Ye Gods, how many people know there are dragon shifters out there? It can’t be very many.”
Calixto looked down at her with a half grin, “A few more people know about the existence of dragon shifters than the continued existence of a sorceress.”
Bree’s lips formed an oh before she chuckled, “It certainly explains how you understand power. I can’t even imagine what that kind of power feels like.” Her hand ran along his chest.
Placing his hand on hers, “And I cannot imagine what it is like to have so much power in such a small frame.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it.
Stepping forward, Bree pushed her body against his, and she was pleased to hear the sound of his laugh.
He pushed her away from him, “Now is not the time for that.”
“There is never a better time for love making than after a near death experience.”
He looked down at her, “Is that so?”
“Here let me show you.” She took his hand and pulled him away from the erupting volcano. It was all but forgotten. There was very little life around it, and they were too far away from it for it to be more than a pretty sight to watch.
The pair reached a large cabin. Bree turned the handle and entered it, pulling Calixto behind her. He pulled his hand out of hers, causing her to turn around. “We cannot be here.”
Bree looked at him confused, “Is this place dangerous for you?”
He frowned at her, “It isn’t our place. We can’t go making use of a human’s domicile at our leisure.”
Bree smiled at him and reached into her storage dimension, “Here, this should make you feel better.”
He read over a short missive. “You just happen to know the owner of this place?”
Bree nodded, “I have this kind of agreement in pretty much every province, state, city, country, prefecture, and domain in Letera. A lot of people owe me.” She wrapped his arms around her and pulled him toward one of the rooms. “Now let me show you the proper way to celebrate a near death experience.”
Calixto did not need any coaxing. He pulled her to him and swept her feet off of the ground. She laughed as he began kissing her neck, a laugh that soon turned into a moan. He slipped her dress off of her body before they had even reached the bed. Bree was tugging at his shirt as he tossed her onto the bed. She laughed as she flew through the air. Almost as soon as she hit the bed, Calixto was on top of her, one hand cupping her breast and the other pulling her leg around his hip. Shocked at how aggressive he was being, Bree murmured in his ear, “I don’t remember you being this eager before.”
Pulling back and looking down on her, the man replied, “Perhaps it was the lack of a near death experience.” He began kissing her as she laughed.
His hands were fast and efficient as they explored her body. Calixto had brought her to peaking less than a minute after getting her onto the bed. Bree was panting as she flipped over on top of him and worked his pants off with her hands and feet. Before she could do anything else, Calixto’s husky voice broke her concentration, “I don’t think so.”
The world spun and Bree found herself once again under him, “I am no one’s pet.”
Bree laughed as he kissed her forehead and down her face, “It had to sound believable,” she panted into his hair. “If they knew you were anything else, they would have killed you.”
Calixto stopped and looked at her, “With what? Magma?”
“Of course, they were-Oh,” she looked into his eyes as he smiled at her. She gave his arm a slap, “I didn’t know you were a dragon.”
The bed vibrated as he laughed and spread her legs apart with his hand. The laughter stopped as soon as he began to move into her. Bree wrapper her legs around his hips and arched into him. For the first time in a long time, she allowed someone else complete control over her body.
Several hours passed before either of them was ready to stop. Bree ran her hand through Calixto’s hair as she rested against his chest when a noise caught their attention. Both sets of eyes turned to looked at several wisps hovering over the ground a few feet from the bed.
“We are sorry to interrupt your procreation, but we have business with the witch.”
Bree sat up and stretched her hand out to her dress. A small, shiny object levitated over it. “It’s quite alright. I didn’t expect you so soon, but it would be best that you get this back into a secure location before something happens to it.”
The creatures moved in a way that suggested they agreed. “We thank you for your assistance. It was much quicker and far less risky than the other option.”
Bree nodded, “I know. I was glad to be of service.”
“Have you decided on your payment?”
Bree was aware of Calixto watching her as she shrugged, “I still haven’t thought of anything for myself. However, I hear that there is an expedition taking off from Berenice in about a month. I don’t really care one way or the other about the main objective, but there is a young researcher on board. She is quite intelligent and rather witty, so I would like to see just what she is capable of. If you would guide the course of her ship to a location that is suitable for her purposes, I would say that is payment enough.”
The wisps moved around as if in thought, “Directing the path of ships hardly seems like adequate payment.”
Bree smiled, “It may not be quite as simple as you may think. The Aeoleans are planning to destroy the ships before they reach their destination.”
“Ah,” there was a little sound of excitement in the response, “That sounds more like a game than a payment. And what path would be most beneficial for this researcher?”
Bree shrugged, “I have no idea.”
“You need us to figure that out?”
“And that is why it is adequate payment.”
The wisps moved in a way that was hypnotic and sounded like a breeze travelling around the room. “We look forward to repaying our debt to you. And we wish you health in your future dealings.”
Bree bowed her head. The wisps and the item disappeared.
Calixto moved too fast for Bree to resist. His hands pinned her wrists to the bed and his body lay on top of her. He looked down at her, “You said that you were bored, but based on what you said to the magma demons, you weren’t just working because of boredom. It sounded like they were trying to start something more serious.”
Bree shrugged, “Yes, and I interfered because I was bored. I’m sure that things would have worked out alright because the Sentii are incredibly intelligent, just a little too trusting. All I did was help avert open conflict.”
Calixto blinked at her, “And roughly how many lives do you think that you saved?”
She gave him a half grin, “It’s impossible to see the future, even more impossible to see all possible scenarios. Perhaps I save thousands, or perhaps I didn’t save anyone.”
“You received no payment for your work.” His voice was low and his eyes kept shifting to her breasts. She watched as he forced his lovely red eyes to look at her face.
“She really is a bright girl, and seeing her potential come to fruition is the best payment I can imagine.”
Calixto release her hands and looked away, “I am sincerely humbled by what you have done, and I apologize for the things I said to you. You are not selfish and foolish. The world has no idea how lucky it is to have you in it.” His eyes darted back to her, “Well, you are foolish, but not out of selfishness.”
Bree smiled up at him, “And you are almost the perfect man. The only thing wrong with you is that on the very rare occasion, you are wrong.” Her hand traced an elegant red dragon covering his shoulder. “So, you all literally wear your shape on your body.” Smiling up at him, Bree realized that she never wanted the touch of another man. Calixto complimented her in a way that no one else could. “Gods, I actually found a virtually perfect man. Unbelievable.”
Calixto smiled down on her, “Your words hurt.”
Bree sighed, “Next you will tell me that my smile is painful too.”
Slowly Calixto lowered his head and began to kiss her neck. Bree let him move her thighs apart and stroke them with his hand. “No,” he murmured, “your smile is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.” His movements were slow and deliberate as he gently pressed into her. Bree let out a satisfied groan as his mouth sought hers. His tongue parted her lips as he worked deeper into her.
The End
Kain’s Rescue
Guardians of Lunar Wasteland
(Book 1)
Chapter One
The blizzard howled around her. Alyssa stumbled through the swirling white of the Lunar Wasteland, the chill biting into her, turning her limbs stiff and frost-nipped. Her face felt like a puffy slab of meat, and she didn't know how much further she could go, or if she could go anywhere at all.
Curses. Surely at this rate, the cold would claim her beating life, as it had likely done to many travelers in these lands past. The wastelands held nothing but the wildest of weather conditions, icy, dark and merciless in comparison to her warm, sunny home in the south.
Betrayal burned in her heart as she groped blindly forwards, shuddering violently as another slice of bitter, snow-flecked wind whipped into her soul, crystallized the blood in her body.
She knew there'd been something off about that sly guide, with his long, crooked fingers, and the hood that perpetually shadowed his thin, angular face. She'd been eager to start her trek into the Lunar Wastes – too eager. Maybe she trusted him because the two females on either side of him acted amiable enough. They'd taken her coin easily enough, swooped it into the folds of their pockets with a calm acknowledgement, announcing the start of their travel through the Wastes at first light. As it became abundantly clear, no one survived the environment without a native guide to show the way.
He and his two female companions seemed so promising, and looking over at the foreboding, white smeared landscape, with the Fractured Spine mountain range in the distance, the woods and the inclines and the choked rivers, she knew her mistake. She had come here without true insight into the Wastes and the dangers they contained. All for the sake of her missing brother. She had stumbled blindly into danger without understanding its true nature, clutching a sword that held more value than most people's lives.
Shadows, she could fight. Those evil, amorphous creatures that slithered in the night, tainting everything with their touch, terrorizing people north and south – that was why she had the weapon in the first place, engineered specifically for the purpose of slaying such creatures.
The environment, however, wasn't really something she anticipated in her game plan.
She thought about her brother. Erlandur Malgrave had vanished from Alyssa's life four years before, without a trace. Only the whisper of memory remained, that he had headed to the Lunar Wastes – for them, for their dead parents, for everyone who had ever lost something to the Shadows.
Four years later, Alyssa finally made it to the outskirts of the Lunar Wastes, after weeks of travel through a sparsely populated land, arriving at a small, cosily lit inn. Four years of training, of growing into an adult, of leaving everything she had ever known behind, just to find the only thing that she loved.
The owner of Blood Moon Inn had instantly appraised Alyssa as she barged in, shaking the snow off her shoulders and letting the warmth of the fireplace steal over her.
“You're not from around these parts, traveler,” the woman had said, as she buffed the side of the bar with a soft cloth until it shone. She put good elbow grease into the action, and Alyssa admired her for a moment, with her fiery red hair, her full lips and cold blue eyes. “Blonde hair, green eyes,” the woman continued, now sorting through her collection of drinks, “why, you're from the deep south. Not many southerners at all who would come to the end of the world.”
“Is it the end of the world?” Alyssa had asked in interest, stamping her boots on the welcome rug, before tramping over to the bar, where the woman poured her a welcome drink of foaming beer, tinged with a sweet aftertaste of honey and cherry. She slid one copper coin to the woman, who accepted it with a smile.
“Of course. The Lunar Wastes has always been where the world ends. The only things you'll find here are snow drowned lands, and monsters you would not find anyplace else. It is...” the red-haired woman pursed her lips, “cursed. To put it mildly. A terrible place with terrible things.”
“Then why would you have an inn on the edge of the world, with monsters?” Alyssa said again, raising one eyebrow. She didn't believe for a second that it was the end of the world, like the locals along the way had proclaimed. “Seems to me an odd choice of business for someone like you. I'm Alyssa, by the way. Alyssa Malgrave.”
“I'm Raine Lancer,” the woman said, offering a hand which Alyssa shook. “Well. Let's just say, Alyssa Malgrave, there are worst things in the world than the Shadows in the south, and the armies in the north. There are those who live in the Wastes who appreciate the supplies I obtain.”
Shadows. The image flashed in Alyssa's mind – of staring from under the bed, her brother's hand clamped over her mouth.
Be quiet, Erlandur had whispered to his little sister, all those years ago. Hard to be quiet when you saw the Shadow creeping across the floor, towards the father who hacked at it, but to no avail. Where the Shadow went, it left corruption. Where the Shadow touched flesh, it left nothing but bones. Its own flesh resembled a mockery of human skin, blackened and oozing, compared to pink, brown or tanned softness.
She saw and heard the clatter of her father's bones upon the floor, as the Shadow groped at his flesh, sucked it away from his skeleton in that impossible way of killing. A demon no mortal hand could touch, fight, or defend against. At least, not without the proper weapons, and why would a simple village in the deep south know of such things?
Somehow, it did not find them.
Somehow, she and Erlandur lived.
She dragged herself out of the memory, examined the edges of the bar, and noticed something. She saw charms, ancient bones and runes strewn across the walls, and charms sketched into the door. She examined Raine with sudden respect and caution. This woman was a witch. The south disliked witches, but Alyssa was well aware the same rules didn't hold true in the north. Alyssa's hand curled around the sword belted into her waist. The weapon, her only protection against the Shadows. Her chain mail clanked, and Raine tapped her fingers onto the bar.
“Alyssa Malgrave. What brings you here?”
Alyssa took a deep breath, not taking her eyes off the woman. She sensed no ill-intent, but she didn't know what kind of magic Raine used. Maybe there was a reason she ran her inn on the border, and it was not for the noble purpose she confided.
“My brother.” Alyssa closed her eyes, and took a long, deep draught of her drink. Erlandur, so consumed by vengeance, who had gone to the north, where people rumored that the Shadows originated from. He wanted to tackle the source, the chaos at its rotten heart. Madness. Sheer madness. She wanted to come. She cursed and screamed and kicked at him, but he refused with the authority of the man in the house. His little sister would not attempt the journey. She would wait for him to welcome him back home.
I was sixteen. Nearly seventeen. And he thought I wasn't old enough!
“I found something out,” Erlandur had said. His blue eyes glimmered in earnest, as he held the hands of his sister, who hated that he meant to go. She would have no one left then, no one who cared about her in the world. And she'd been too inexperienced with sword play and defending herself back then. “A secret that no one else knows. Trust me, little sister.”
Trust me. But how does a boy from the deep south discover how to end a threat centuries old?
“Your brother?” Raine examined him in keen interest. “He came to the Lunar Wastes, too?”
“Yes. He told me that there was a city beyond the Wastes, a city that might have answers about the origin of the Shadows. He found it on an old map. He went with others who had lost people to the monsters. They were desperate. They wanted answers.”
Raine looked troubled. “Interesting. I have seen no Erlandur Malgrave pass through this place in the years that I've worked here. I'm afraid I cannot help you in that quest. Nor do I know of some mythical city.” Was that a flicker of doubt in her eyes? “I do recommend, however, if you plan to travel the Wastes, that you take a guide, and some magical protection from me.” Raine handed her a small pendant with what looked liked a giant tooth, torn off some animal like a bear. It had something carved on it, though Alyssa didn't understand the language. She rolled it through her palms, admiring the simple beauty of it.
“It will protect you when you most need it. One last thing – please be careful. You are not the first who wants to find something beyond the Wastes. You won't be the last. Moon be with you.”
Moon? Alyssa scrutinized the witch carefully. No one spoke of the moon in the south, because they believed the Shadows came from it. They believed in the warmth of the Sun, and the light that banished evil.
Several more travelers came into the Inn during Alyssa's stay, until she found the hooded man and his two companions, willing to guide her across the Wastes. Just for a little bit of coin, and possibly a blade in the back.
Raine said little else, serving her customers, offering them bed and food, where several local hunters and gatherers delivered to her daily. For a remote place on the edge of nowhere, The Blood Moon Inn got a surprising amount of visitors.
At first light, they began their travel, she and the man in the cloak with his two female companions, ready to trek across the howling snow-scape, to the mysterious city that lay beyond the edge of the world.
The city that might have answers to where her brother had disappeared to, all those years ago. A city that few knew about, except for perhaps scholars and scribes.
It started off well. She had supplies, warm clothes, camping equipment and a clear plan of where they were meant to travel. The hooded man, who she only knew as Gorvald, along with his two female companions, Vislaug and Fora, pointed out landmarks, the Fractured Spine mountains, and said they would take a north-easterly route through the Dread Forest (not a name that particularly inspired Alyssa with feelings of safety) to enter the base of the mountains.
Five days of extensive traveling bit into Alyssa's endurance. One night, they rested near the entrance of the Dread Forest.
She should have realized something was off about the three of them. Remote locations attracted bandits, of course. Why wouldn't they? How easy would it be to rob lone travelers of everything they own, and abandon them in the Wastes to die? How many snow drifts concealed frozen bodies underneath?
She had woken up one morning, to find everything gone. No money, food, water or cooking equipment – nothing to help her survive the journey, and five days at least between her and the border. The only thing she kept thankfully, was her sword, and only because she slept with it under her blankets, sheathed and protected.
Those Shadow cursed bastards. Rage flooded her insides, as she stumbled and fell, face burying into the snow. So cold. So blasting cold...
She forced herself to stare forward, and saw one of the Shadows form in the blizzard. She saw its grotesque form as it shambled through the snow that hindered it, grubby clawed hands reaching for her, seeking to suck the life from her bones.
My sword. With frozen limbs, she wrenched at her sword, clutching the cold bone handle as hard as she could muster, preparing against the vile enemy that pumped hatred through her blood.
The creature seemed to have a tough time with the snows. The way it advanced reminded her of a crawling baby. Summoning up a vast reserve of strength, she advanced upon the Shadow, sword ready in her shaking hands, trying not to stumble. When it scrabbled within reach, she bit her fear away to strike at it with the magical blade. The creature shuddered as the blade pierced it, but tried to grasp at her arm. She sidestepped smoothly, yanking the sword out, and did a skilful low sweep, shearing through the monster's body.
It collapsed and disintegrated, and she lost her balance, rolling backwards down the slope she had fought on, spine impacting against a tree.
She lay there motionless for a moment, the weariness returning in force now that the adrenaline surge vanished. She couldn't die here. Not when she still didn't know what had happened to her brother. Not when he might be alive, and not before she avenged herself against as many Shadows as possible. The things which had ruined her life, turning it from a place of warmth to a place of endless winter.
I can't die here! The Lunar Wastes, it seemed, wanted to welcome her into its cold embrace. Already, her world turned itself into a dark, bleak smear of evening, with the snows relentlessly falling. The Lunar Wastes held only a few short hours of daylight, before plummeting into near perpetual night, illuminated by a moon that loomed larger here than in any place of the south.
How unfair. How stupid. Why was I so stupid? That woman. She warned me to be careful. She... with shaking fingers, teeth chattering, Alyssa dug for the bone pendant she now wore around her neck, with the intricate carved runes.
She didn't know what she expected. Something, maybe, some insane miracle to yank her out of the frozen death her body experienced. To find a way to live through the impossible.
Not this icy darkness, that reached to her with bony fingers, to lure the life out of her tiny body, and to smash her dreams into nothing.
She tried getting up, moving further, because standing still meant certain death – moving signified she at least still possessed the will to live.
So hard. Too hard. The cold consumed everything, beckoned at her and burned. Alyssa frowned. She was actually burning. How? Feverishly, she began trying to tug at her clothes, because it seared, and she didn't understand why, except she needed somehow to take everything off...
Something growled from the darkness. It dimly registered in her throbbing eardrums. She figured if something growled, it needed a reaction of fear. Fear, however, didn't exist anymore. All that existed was the blizzard swishing around, and the burning sensation undulating through every limb.
An enormous, shaggy brown creature with luminous yellow eyes emerged from the dark underbelly of the trees. Fangs protruded from a snow-crusted muzzle.
It's over, Alyssa thought, her teeth violently shaking, her top now undone with her front exposed to the cold. It still burned, though. Why did it burn so much?
Her vision glazed over. Her mind froze, and ceased all conscious function.