Page 175 of Evil Hearts

Chapter 2

S he cocked her head, her talons clicking against the stone. Her lips parted, and her song shifted, the haunting melody taking shape into words.

“What strange thing wanders here tonight,

into my lair of death and blight?

Do you come to be devoured whole,

or does your flesh hide some sweet soul?”

Her voice filled the air, pressed against my skin, slipped into my ears, and wrapped around my mind. It felt... wrong. Too perfect. Too alien. My grip tightened on the dagger as I forced myself to answer.

“I didn’t come to die,” I said, my voice sharper than I meant it to be. However, if I were given the option to choose my death, it would be from something as beautiful as her. “I’m here for a relic.”

Her wings twitched, and she leaped from the pillar. My body tensed as she landed in front of me, her talons scraping against the stone with a sound that sent a shiver down my spine. She was taller than I’d expected, her presence towering, her feathers shimmering like oil in the moonlight. Blood glistened at the corner of her mouth, and I realized with a sick twist in my gut that she was just eating before I arrived.

“A relic?” she sang, her tone lilting and amused.

“A trinket bright,

a fool’s delight?

So many come with empty hands,

to steal the fruit of cursed lands.”

She took a step closer, and I resisted the urge to back away. I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction. Still, my fingers tightened on the hilt of the dagger at my side. “It’s not for me. My mother—she’s sick. They say there’s something here that could save her.”

She tilted her head again, her glowing eyes narrowing. Her lips curved into something that might’ve been a smile if it didn’t feel so sharp.

“Ah, a heart that beats for one so frail,” she sang.

“To brave the storm, the teeth, the gale.

But did you think that you could take,

from claws that guard and wings that break?”

Her talons scraped the ground as she took another step, and I finally caved, retreating a single step back. “Maybe,” I said, my voice steady despite the pounding in my chest. “Or maybe I’m just desperate enough to try.”

Her laughter came soft and strange, like wind through broken glass. It shouldn’t have been pleasant, but it was. She studied me for a moment, her glowing eyes scanning me like a predator sizing up its prey. And then her voice lowered, her song turning darker, sharper, almost a whisper.

“You intrigue me, little lamb,” she sang.

“Few speak so bold,

yet here you stand.

Perhaps I’ll play,

perhaps I’ll see,

what mortal fire burns for me.”

Her claws skimmed the edge of my coat lightlyI flinched despite myself, my skin crawling at the touch and took a few steps back. “I didn’t come here to play games,” I snapped, though I could feel my voice trembling now.

Her lips curved wider, her song rising again, sharper this time.

“Oh, but you’re already playing,

and in my game,

the stakes are steep.

For those who wake what should not sleep.”

Her song hung in the air, sharp and lingering, the last word slicing through the silence like a blade. I could feel the weight of her gaze, the pressure of her presence pressing against my chest. Running wasn’t an option. Not anymore.

“You said something about a price,” I said, keeping my voice steady, though my heart thundered in my ears. “What is it?”

Her wings shifted, the faint sound of feathers brushing against each other sending a shiver down my spine. She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she tilted her head, studying me like I was some puzzle she hadn’t quite solved. Her talons tapped softly against the stone in a slow, deliberate rhythm.

“The price,” she sang, her voice soft and low,

“A coin of flesh,

a slice of soul,

a mortal heart to keep me whole.

Would you give it, little lamb?”

I swallowed hard, gripping the dagger at my side. Her eyes followed the movement, and she let out a chuckle.

“I’ll give you whatever it takes,” I said. The words came out firmer than I felt, a lie wrapped in a shred of determination.

Her lips curved into a smile that wasn’t quite human. “Bold,” she murmured, her song softening into a dangerous hum.

“So many claim to pay the cost,

but few remain who count the loss.

Tell me, lamb—what’s left to give,

when all you have is blood to live?”

“What are you—”

The words caught in my throat as she moved closer. She was so close now that I could see the faint shimmer of blood still clinging to her claws. The scent of iron hit me, sharp and metallic, as her wings cast a shadow over me.

“You’ll see,” she said, her melody dropping into something darker, almost a growl.

And then the air shifted.

A scream tore through the night, high and piercing, nothing like her haunting song. I froze, my hand tightening on the hilt, as another sound followed—a guttural, snarling roar that sent a chill down my spine.

Her head snapped toward the noise, her wings flaring wide. The playful edge to her voice vanished, replaced by something colder. “It seems we have company,” she said, her words still sung but sharper, clipped.

Before I could respond, she turned and leapt, her wings beating once, twice, before she soared into the air. The scream came again, closer this time, and I caught the faintest glimpse of movement in the shadows—a shape, too big to be human, barreling toward us with terrifying speed.

I drew my dagger. My pulse thundered in my ears as I stepped back, bracing myself for whatever was coming.

And then she struck.

The Harpy descended, her wings slicing through the air with a sound like thunder. She collided with the creature mid-charge, and the impact shook the ground beneath me. Her talons tore into flesh, and a sickening crunch followed as the thing screamed again—a raw, animalistic sound that made my stomach churn.

She didn’t stop.

Her wings beat furiously, driving the creature back as she struck again and again, her claws slicing through skin and bone like paper. Blood sprayed across the rocks, the metallic scent thick in the air, and I couldn’t look away.

I’d seen death before—hunters returning with kills, animals caught in traps—but this was something else. It was savage. Precise. And yet, there was a strange grace to it, like she wasn’t just fighting, but performing.

It was beautiful.

It was horrifying.

And it was over in seconds.