Page 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

Syros

T he Ech is known for its brutality.

Driven by an insatiable hunger not unlike the one Grims suffer, the creatures prowl across our land stealing resources and demolishing anything in their path. They are mindless, killing machines, whose only instinct is to survive… by any means necessary.

They have destroyed our world, reduced it to a rotting carcass of what it once was, and have killed many Grim. Too many.

And this one has set its sights on me.

If only I could say the same.

The Ech’s most powerful—and endlessly infuriating—attribute is that they are invisible, making them nearly impossible to fight. Impossible to kill .

The underbrush shifts suddenly, and I launch myself out of the way, rolling through the grass and twigs, and landing on my feet once again. My hackles raise and I growl, hoping the fury in my roar will scare the beast off. It doesn’t.

Instead, the creature makes an angry hissing noise and takes several thunderous steps to the right, readying to charge again.

Echs are notorious wanderers. The stench of rotting corpses clings to them, the most obvious sign when one is near. Their guttural bellows and clacking teeth are also giveaways. But aside from the impression of their footsteps in the underbrush, the small plants bending and crunching under their weight, I can’t see them.

Though I’m no stranger to Echs, I’ve only fought a few since they first appeared many years ago. They rarely venture into this part of the woods, mainly because all the life that once existed here is long dead. Except for me .

Perhaps it caught a whiff of my scent the last time I foraged for food, or maybe the thing somehow picked up Erin’s human scent. While the gollilock plant can mask her from other Grims, there’s a chance the invisible beast has an extraordinary sense of smell. Maybe it scented her beneath the strong florals. Maybe it showing up now, of all times, is merely chance.

Hopefully, the latter. My entire plan to keep Erin for myself depends on my ability to keep her hidden, and if the other beasts in this realm can track her easily… Keeping her hidden won’t be an option.

My tongue flicks out to taste the air in anticipation of the Ech’s next move.

I could run; Ech’s might be brutal when it comes to combat, but they aren’t faster than Grims. I could lead it away from the hovel and lose it somewhere in the trees, but I can’t. Not when Erin is tucked just inside the nearby stone structure, unable to protect herself. I won’t leave her defenseless.

I won’t leave her.

Thoughts of my little human have a fresh wave of adrenaline shooting through me, and my hands curl into fists. This time when the Ech lunges at me, I stand my ground, crouching low and leaping at the last second. I slam into a slender form wrapped in leathery, armor-like skin. With a howl, the beast staggers away clumsily, and I whirl around to track its uneven footsteps through the grass.

I lurch forward without a second though, swiping my claws at where the Ech stood half a heartbeat earlier. It jumps out of the way to avoid my attack, and I growl out my frustration.

This isn’t good. Unless I can wound it, the beast will simply dance around me until I wear out from exhaustion, biding its time until it can kill me and Erin. Until it can feast on our carcasses, drain the marrow from our bones.

We dance around one another, my senses on high alert while I wait for sudden movements. It’s getting too close to the house, too close to her .

I need to draw it away, deeper into the woods…

Movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention, and my gaze flicks toward the fabric-covered entrance of my hovel. There, just visible in the darkness, is a wisp of silver hair and a sliver of Erin’s pale face.

No.

Erin is watching.

Erin is here, and the scent of the gollilock plant will only protect her for as long as it takes me to die.

My flash of distraction costs me everything, and the Ech slams into me full force, knocking me off my feet. I hit the ground hard, the air ripping from my lungs, and slide to a top with the weight of the invisible beast crushing down on me. I snap my jaws up at the empty space above me, hoping to grab any part of the creature between my teeth, but something wraps around my horn and slams my head against the ground.

I swipe at the beast with my claws, swinging my limbs and bucking against its hold, but I miss every time. Fury boils my blood, but everything around me shatters when white-hot pain rips through my side. Something hard like bone sinks between my ribs, and I roar, my rage exploding out of me.

I buck and lash out again, this time managing to hit something with my claws. The Ech yelps, and I kick into the air, planting my foot against its armor-covered abdomen. With a howl, it releases me, and I’m back on my feet a second later.

Pain splinters through me, my side where I was stabbed freely oozing blood now. My chest burns with every inhale, and I stagger while I get my bearings.

“Syros! No!”

My fur raises at the sound of Erin’s voice, and my eyes flick to her again.

It shouldn’t surprise me how she chose to ignore me. She is the most stubborn little human I’ve ever encountered. She should not have to witness my failure, though.

If I die, there is nowhere safe for her. She’ll have no chance here without me, absolutely none.

She’ll die a painful, agonizing death.

I should have let her go when I had the chance.

“Behind you!” Her scream burns through my thoughts, and reality slams into me. I’d been so distracted that I lost track of the creature’s movements in the underbrush.

I whirl around just in time for the Ech to slam into me again. Long claws wrap around my shoulders as we tumble to the ground, even more tearing at my fur and raking across my skin. Its claws are not as sharp as the Grim, but they will do untold damage if I allow it to gain the upper hand.

The creature bends close and roars out a challenge, once again pinning me to the ground.

I’m hurt, and there is a very real possibility that I won’t make it out of this alive if I don’t do something fast.

Regret mingles with the pain as something slender—probably a tail—wraps around my throat with enough strength to crush bone. I buck in an attempt to knock it off, kicking up with the strength I have left, but the Ech doesn’t budge.

Under normal circumstances, I’d be filled to the brim with food and prepared for such an attack. However, I’d opted to crawl up with Erin on my furs and feel the heat rolling off of her skin instead of eating her. The moment was peppered with memories of fucking her on the stool, her tight hot little body wrapped around mine.

Selfishness has been a way of life for me for so long… this world isn’t for her.

No doubt she will take this time to run. It’s her chance. Not that she will get far, with the other dangers lurking in this world. But I don’t blame her for trying.

The Ech’s tail squeezes tighter around my throat to choke off my air supply, and pain splinters through me, becoming my reality.

This is my fault for allowing the creature to get the upper hand.

I lost my focus. And with it, any advantage I could have hoped for.

Black spots dance in front of my vision as the Ech increases the pressure around my neck. My movements grow sluggish, ineffective.

I’m dying .

There is no room left for embarrassment either. My little human will watch me die, and there is nothing either of us can do. There is only shame at bringing Erin this far only to leave her behind.

There are so many other things I’d wished to explore between us.

We will never have the opportunity now .

I pry my eyes open, coughing, struggling to breathe when a flash of movement from the side captures my attention. A dull thwunk sounds and suddenly I’m able to suck air down into my lungs again.

The Ech yowls like someone has cut off its tail. The ground shakes.

I force myself up to my knees, shifting to the side while I get my bearings back, and there is Erin. She stands there, holding one of my trinkets, the look in her eyes promising death.

Rather than waiting for the Ech to recover, she slams the object down on the invisible monster again, hard enough for me to wince at the cracking sound that follows.

With a thud, the creature drops to the ground, the grass depressed in the shape of its long, slender form.

It doesn’t move again.