The Rising
Page 14
Chapter Eleven
A scream echoes through the forest, sliding down Serena's spine and leaving goose bumps in its wake. She climbs out of her tree and follows the sound. Pushing aside thick shrubs, Serena steps into a clearing. The scream subsides into gurgling coughs. The smells of rotten seaweed, wet dog, and dank earth greet her. She puts her hand to her mouth, trying not to gag.
Her toes hit warm liquid and she immediately draws them back, still peering at the pool of red goo, made darker by the brown soil beneath it. Serena's eyes follow the trickle feeding the pool. Forging its own path over the ground, the stream bends around rocks, collecting in depressions and dripping off…claws.
Yellowed talons tap, causing ripples in in the pool of blood. Matted fur, stinking of the coppery liquid of a recent kill, covers the beast. Serena takes a step back.
The beast emits a growl, forceful enough that it causes spit to fly out from in between his pointy teeth and splatter at Serena's feet. Fear roots her to the spot, even as the blood crawls closer to her feet. Instead of moving past, it seems to pool there, rising higher to cover the tops of Serena's toes.
"Help me," a voice whispers.
Serena's eyes snap up. The beast shifts, leaning back onto his hind legs, ready to pounce. He growls again, its stinking breath caressing Serena's bare skin. She shivers, goose bumps now popping up on her arms. Her scales must have retracted while she was sleeping, and try as she might, she cannot convince them to re-emerge.
"Help me," the voice is louder now, more desperate.
Serena tears her eyes from the beast and looks down, at the thing it has attacked. Dark hair, almost just as matted as the beast's, cover a face. But there is no mistaking the bioluminescent glow, winking out as the Undine maiden fights for her last moments of life.
Serena swallows. The blood at her feet is up to her ankles now. The maiden stirs, angling her head back.
Eyes glued to the wolf, Serena steps to the side of the maiden, trying to see her face. The wolf counters her steps, moving off of the maiden and onto the ground, revealing midnight blue scales.
Serena takes in a sharp breath, her eyes snapping back to the Undine's face. She pushes herself up on one elbow, extending her other hand.
"Help…" The rest of her tangled hair falls away from her face.
Serena looks directly into her own eyes.
The wolf lunges, not out, but down. Finishing off his prey, he tears a wide gash in her neck. Serena screams, the sound amplified by an identical shrill shriek—but one dies out, while another grows louder.
Serena snaps her mouth shut when the wolf looks up, fresh blood coating his face and teeth—his snout caught in a flap of skin hanging open from the neck. As he snarls, his lips turn up to bare more fang.
Serena shakes her head from side to side and tries to step back. She can’t. The pool of blood wraps like long tendrils around her legs, all the way up to her thighs. It bites into her skin, causing her to bleed—mingling her own blood with it so she can't distinguish between the two.
One more growl, and the wolf leaps with his paws extended out in front of him. His mouth opens wide, aiming directly for Serena's neck.