He was half naked, with shredded jeans covering his bottom half. His Ram, to her surprise, had shielded her from the storm, but he couldn't protect her from this. She softened toward him, knowing that he had tried. It may not mean love, but she was worth caring about and at least trying to protect. Did that make him just a good person? She could easily let go and die happy at the thought someone cared enough to help. She'd been alone so long she forgot what it felt like to have someone there for her. When was the last time she had seen her original home, her fellow nymphs? It had been so many years Echo had lost count. Her stomach churned as a deep ache set in the bones of her ankles. Like someone was drilling a hole in her bones. They'd broken the roots of the tree, it made sense her pain would be there too.
"I've got you. Tell me what's wrong. I can help. Did something cut you? Impel you?" Jace looked her over with worried eyes and his hands slid along her bare arms and legs finding no marks. His touch was soothing, but it didn't stop the pain working its way through her system.
"Listen, you can't save me. You can't fix this. Leave now. Leave before he comes back or something worse happens. You didn't ask to be a part of this. Go, shifter. The pain I'm feeling is the pain of my tree being ripped from its home, and it won't get better." Echo tried to push him away, but the energy it took to exert herself made her stomach roil. She swallowed bile coming from the back of her throat. Tears streamed down her face, hot and fast. Jace held her closer as she sobbed in his strong arms. His heat soothed some of the ache.
"I already told you, little nymph. I won't be leaving without my fleece."
Of course, the fleece was what he wanted. She winced at his declaration, partly because she was certain he meant every word and because deep down it hurt worse than the pain in her bones. A small bit of Jace kept hope, wishing he could keep more than the fleece. She was a fool in so many ways.
Why would she suddenly wish for him to want to keep her too?
Her loneliness had never been so present, clubbing her down as the end came near. A cry flew from her lips as the sharp pain reached into her stomach and wrenched the sound from her. She doubled over against Jace. His strong form held her up so she didn't hit the ground. "You don't understand. I can't give you the fleece. Fahd has it now and finding him isn't going to happen. He is a dark entity beyond myth, probably dating back as far as magic goes, maybe even beyond the gods and creation, I don’t know. His sole purpose is to eat magic. I can't get the fleece for you. Go. Go now!" This time Echo pushed with all her might, clenching her teeth through the pain. "Without my tree, I'm as good as dead. The old magic linking me to the tree was made not only as a way for me to gain more magic but also a tie for the trees, a promise from the nymphs they would be taken care of. No tree... no Echo." Her voice faltered.
Everything she had ever wanted—love and peace and her trees—would be taken from her. She would never feel the touch of a lover again, never smell the fresh spring air. After this point in her life, she would return to nothing, and no one would even remember her name. Her existence, kept at peace and what she thought was pain free, Echo could clearly look back on and see she had never even lived in all these years. Why hadn't she truly tried to experience life? To be more than she was? To let others in and be happy?
"I have no intention of leaving you. We could go get help. There are human doctors in town. They don't need to know you are a nymph."
"Jace, you aren't listening. You. Can't. Save. Me." Echo fell back against the ground, the edges of her vision darkening. She struggled to stay in the present to make him leave while he had the chance. She couldn't protect him if she passed out. Why wouldn't he get it through his thick ram head? Her gaze met his. Sadness and determination looked back at her. He was going to try and save her anyway. It was hopeless, but her heart warmed that he would even try.
"You want me to leave?" A grim frown formed along those kissable lips.
"You have to." She closed her eyes for the briefest moment as a wave of dizziness took over. The world spun even with her eyes closed. Again, bile formed at the back of her throat. Echo swallowed and forced her eyes to open. The crescent moon was beautiful with its silver light spilling along the forest. Jace was right in front of her.
With his mouth inches from hers he said, "I'll go, but not without what I want."
His damn fleece. "I told you—" Her words were cut off at her surprise when Jace put his arms underneath her and lifted her up as if she weighed nothing. There wasn't an ounce of strain on his face, even though Echo wasn't a small female. She blinked up at him. Her hopes ping ponged high and then dashed. "Jace. I'm dying." His broad shoulders left an amazing impression on her, and despite the pain inside twisting her knots, she wanted to touch his flesh. So, she did. Her fingers shook as she reached up, skimming her hand along his bare skin. His muscles bunched beneath her palm.
Her vision blurred—another wave of pain was coming. She couldn't stop it, couldn't wish it away. She held onto Jace as he started walking through her forest, toward the city. Every step jarred her, yet she held onto him as if her life depended on it, even knowing nothing would change. She would allow herself this small amount of goodness. She'd take it with her into the afterlife.
This wave of pain wasn't sharp or dull aches. Fire started at her toes, searing, burning, licking its way up her feet, her calves, and when it reached her thighs, she screamed. The pain yanked the sound from her throat until her vision darkened, pulling at her body as if some unknown force were dragging her through a bonfire, yet she couldn't see or hear anything.
Darkness consumed her.
***
Echo's eyes fluttered open. An orange light breached the darkness as her vision sharpened. Was she in Hell? Cast down for not keeping her word and protecting her trees? Echo was not surprised by where she had ended up. After all the land was sacred. She deserved to be here. She could have done so much better. She could have tried harder, maybe gone after Fahd first before he could strike at her. She should have known Fahd would feel the power from the fleece. After all, Echo had for almost a year—it took her that long to locate it. But Fahd hadn't noticed the fleece until she had brought it to her oak tree.
Dawning thoughts came to her. The downfall of the forest, her oak, herself, was because she had brought the fleece home.
Had Jace somehow shielded its power from Fahd? He didn't seem to know the dark entity. Perhaps he had a natural shield. What did he say he was, a guardian? Maybe some innate ability helped keep the fleece away from those who might destroy it? So why had fate seen fit to let her know the fleece was close?
It no longer mattered. She had lost everything she loved. It was her fault and she would accept fates’ punishment.
A hard substance jabbed into her back, and Echo slowly sat up. She was on the ground, deteriorated metal bars surrounding her. Her white outfit was stained with green marks from the grass and smudges of dirt. But there was no pain, other than the headache closing in on her. If she truly was in Hell, then this was a false start. She should be on guard, because Hell would punish her, and it was going to hurt.
A slurp came from behind her.
Was Hades already here to put her through her fate?
Echo slowly turned in her cage. Her body weak and a bit achy from the pain that had consumed her, she had no idea how long ago. Had she been here for hours? Days? Years? What was time like in hell?
Smoldering embers lit up the area. It was a huge cave like dwelling. She couldn't see the ceiling of it, but no light came through the black area either. Her tree lay along the ground, fallen, dying, parts of it missing. It had probably been used for the fire. Echo wanted so badly to touch the tree. Was this what her hell would be like? To have something she would give her life for just out of reach, forever? Echo glanced away from the oak. A gasp flew from her lips and her eyes bulged.
Fahd stared at her with his all black gaze, gray skin, and cloak bellowing out around him. She shivered as his gaze slid over her. He sat in a mak
eshift rock chair, a throne style perhaps? The gray rock matched him almost perfectly. If it hadn't been for his smoother skin, she may not know where the rock ended and Fahd began. He picked up insects from her tree, reaching his arm out, it stretched like a shadow. They were eating her tree, absorbing the magic in its very bark, within its bark. Slowly killing it. How much pain was her beloved tree in? He pulled his arm back and sucked the insects from his fingers. The tiny creatures apparently didn't know what was happening to them. Fahd's appetite was appalling. Echo's stomach lurched, and time she couldn't hold it back. The contents of her stomach came up all over the ground in front of her as Echo heaved on her hands and knees with the gravel digging into her palms. Her eyes burned and watered as she wiped her mouth.
This wasn't Hell, but she was going to wish it had been.
"When you appeared here in my chambers, I could hardly believe my eyes. The universe has given me a gift. I'll consume all the magic within you as well. It seems the gods and fate are pleased by my actions. How else would you have come to my home, wrapped so perfectly in sleep?"
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jace stared down at his arms, still posed as if holding Echo. She had disappeared right in front of him. He had been looking down at her sweet, tear-stricken face, lost in how he might help her, and then she was just...gone. Dark shadows cascaded where her body should be. She had said she was going to die, but deep down, Jace didn't believe that. The land still held magic, nymph magic, wouldn't it disappear with her? If she didn't die, then where the hell was she?
The shadows.
Fahd could have taken her, and he had the golden fleece too. The dark villain was like nothing he had ever seen before. A mythical creature, or at least a descendant of one. He didn't know why Fahd had waited to take her, but it was the most logical explanation. His ram snorted. If the shadowy bastard had his fleece, then Jace could track him, and he fully believed Echo would be with the dark entity. Jace said the magic word to start locating the fleece, and the ram tattoo moved against his arm, the horns pointing north. "Gotcha."
Jace headed back into Echo's small, empty cottage completely confident in his ability to find them. However, how he would get the fleece and the nymph back was a whole different problem that he would need to work on when he got there. He had no way of knowing where they were or what he might run into. Did Fahd have a home with humans around? Did he dwell in some kind of underground area? Or maybe high in some trees, though Jace suspected something beneath the ground given the insects that followed him, crawling amongst the ground.
No lights lit his way through the cottage, but he knew where he needed to go. He beelined straight for her bedroom. His pack was still leaning against the bed. Jace loosed the ripped up jeans from around his waist. He had a spare pair of clothes, but he didn't plan to travel in human form unless he had to. He'd take the pack with him, and then when it was time to face Fahd, he'd dress. His ram would be faster than a two-legged human. Jace slung the bag over his shoulder and headed back out into the moonlit night. Once he passed the threshold of the house, his nostrils flared as he took in the fresh air. Crickets sang out along the forest floor, frogs croaked, and then Jace allowed his body to shift.
Most of the time he shifted, he didn't pay attention to how his body moved. He just shifted. But here in the forest where no one was around but other animals and insects, Jace felt himself grow into his black ram, contorting his body forward, relishing the feel of his horns’ weight on his head. The cool air no longer wafted along his skin as wool grew from the hair follicles. There was a pinching sensation, but otherwise the shift wasn’t painful or even uncomfortable. It felt…natural.
He didn't spend a great deal of time these days in his ram form. He liked playing human. But the ram was easier. A simple beast, and yet it had his knowledge, his thoughts. There were other ram shifters in the world, ones who didn't even know who they were or what was happening to them when they shifted, which is where Demetri usually came in. He went out searching and protecting them. Though his other brother and Aries Guardian, Enzo, also tracked down shifters. He, however, worked to rescue them from those who "collected" shifters like some kind of damn pet or china vase. Jace had been lucky to find Demetri. His half-brother was a pain in the ass, but he had helped Jace and he was still out there helping and searching for more shifters like them.
Jace hooved at the ground and looked down at his front leg. He had never tried to see his tattoos through his wool before, and he hoped that the ram would still show him the way despite his fur. It flashed gold beneath his hair, and thankfully, Jace could still make out the direction of the horns. Otherwise he would have to shift back and forth constantly. Satisfied, he hooked his bag along one of his horns and headed north. He charged through the forest as fast as his four legs could carry him; the bag smacked against him every so often as his horns helped him barrel through the bushes and fallen trees.
Thank the gods he had actually eaten before he'd headed out to find the fleece earlier in the day. Though he had been wrong about how long it would take him to retrieve the fleece. All this energy running was wearing on him. He wasn't sure for how long or how far he'd been traveling. It seemed as if the moon had moved in the sky. His lungs heaved to keep going and his legs burned as if he'd been lifting weights for too long.
Jace slowed, eyes watering from the wind while he hoofed it. Loud snorts came out of his nose as his tail flicked back and forth. His chest moved in great big motions as air flowed in and out of him. Water would be amazing right now. He glanced down at his ram tattoo. It glowed a bit brighter, still pointing north. Jace shook his head, his ears twitching as he listened to the sounds of the night, including a stream. His tongue came out to lick his lips and nose. He rose his head and sniffed the air searching for the scent.
Once he caught it, Jace slowly headed for the stream. It couldn't be that far away if he could hear it. As a ram, he wasn't known for great hearing. He followed the scent of water until a few yards farther, the trees broke to reveal a small stream. But it was enough to quench his thirst. Large rocks and pebbles pushed the water around as it slowly trickled down the small path. It would barely fit all four of his hooves if he stood in it. Jace lapped at the cool liquid until his body told him to stop. He walked out into the water to turn around, since his body was too big to just abruptly turn. Once all four hooves were on dry dirt again, he heard the most horrifying sound. Sounds he had avoided since the last time he had heard it. His heart nearly stopped.
A rattle.
And a hiss.
The moonlight barely shone on the moving snake tail standing partially up in the air as a warning. By all the gods, it was snake. A fucking snake. A high-pitched sound shot out of his mouth, his heart frantically beat in his chest, trying to break free and run from the threat just as much as his body wanted to.
Jace froze.
He could only concentrate on his fear rushing through him with his hooves seemingly cemented to the ground. This serpent was going to bite him and eat him alive. It would hurt like nothing he'd ever known. It didn't matter that the snake was warning before striking. It didn't matter that the snake might be afraid of his hulking form. Rational thought flew out the window as he finally reacted.
Jace pounded into the ground as hard and fast as he could with his hooves, eyes closed, and trampled the horrific creature until he could no longer hear the rattle. Even then his hooves slammed into the ground over and over another ten times for good measure.
He snorted when he finally stopped. Snake parts were all over his feet in gooey squishy mess. Disgusted, Jace rinsed his hooves off in the water and started north yet again. He didn't want to stay in one place long. Who knew how many more rattlesnakes he'd find if he walked around. They had to travel in packs or something, he just knew it. Or that could be his phobia talking.
His energy mostly restored and adrenaline pumping through him from his encounter with the snake as well as fear of running into an entire nest of the serpent
s had him dashing off at an even pace again, stopping only to check his tattoo until finally the dam thing started shining brighter and brighter. Jace passed through thickets of trees and brush and found a hill.
He slowed and examined the rocky form, looking for an opening. Rocks jutted out all over with trees growing at the very top, which was higher than Jace stood tall. The mouth of a cave came into view along the other side, and his ram tattoo shone so bright he could actually see the green of the leaves twining up the cave entrance. He shifted into his human form. The bag had fallen to the ground with a soft thud as his skin transformed, hair receding back inside him, taking on the pink human hue. He unzipped the bag and donned another pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a pair of sneakers. He preferred boots, but they weighed more and took up too much room. He set his bag against the side of the cave and snuck inside.
His heart thudded like a drum inside his chest, the kind of sound one might hear in the movies right before something really bad was about to happen. Jace swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He was a ram shifter. He was immortal. He could do this—go in, take back the fleece, and save the girl. Assuming the girl was in there and still alive.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Echo's strained to keep her body up on all fours. In her weakened state she wouldn't be able to defeat Fahd, or even harm him. She wouldn't just sit around and wait for him to kill both her and the tree either. She refused. There had to be something she could do, even if just a small action. How many times had humans claimed one person could make a difference? Echo slid to the floor, unable to continue holding herself up, keeping away from the soiled area where her stomach won out and she’d heaved. Weakness took over any motivation she had to move farther than a few inches from the soiled ground. The insects clicked, moving over her tree, and then the idea hit her like a fallen limb.
Ram Wild: A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance (Aries Cursed Book 2) Page 4