Page 6 of The Zagorath (Shadowed Dreams #3)

Chapter

Six

T he front door had opened only just enough to allow Liv to squeeze through the small opening left for her before it was slammed shut and locked firmly behind her.

She glanced back at the door for a moment, momentarily startled and somewhat amused in spite of herself.

They were really willing to abandon her out there if things didn’t go well.

Shaking her head, she crept slowly forward, listening carefully as her eyes blindly scanned the surrounding dark forest.

The sun was setting on the horizon, leaving bands of color in its wake, but the forest itself had quickly darkened to an ominous, impenetrable ring around the cabin that made her skin prickle with her rising unease.

It seemed that night fell far more quickly in the midst of the woods than she was accustomed to.

Her skin prickling, she froze in the middle of the porch, her breath catching. She was frightened to breathe when every inhalation and exhalation sounded unnerving loud to her ears. The woods beyond the porch were quiet. Way too quiet.

There was no response at all to her sudden appearance on the porch.

Nothing rustled within the bushes or trees.

No luminous glow of eyes watching her. It was like the woods were empty, but not just empty of monsters but every hint of life.

It was unnatural. Even in the city, the night teamed with the sounds of insects and urban wildlife.

But the woods, which had been heavily populated with the sounds of nature, was eerily silent as if everything was huddled fearfully, waiting as death made its rounds.

Liv swallowed and slowly moved to the porch’s edge, her eyes dropping to the ground.

Although it was growing increasingly difficult to see, she could just barely make out the dark shapes of fallen bodies strewn everywhere.

She was grateful she couldn’t see them clearly.

The scent of blood was thick in the air, and she didn’t really want to see evidence of how badly they had been torn apart.

Of course, if they didn’t get out of there, that could easily be their fate as well.

The reminder made her feel nauseous but also got her moving again.

One step at a time. She squinted in the direction of the road.

She could see the darker shadows of the cars in the dim light but couldn’t determine whether there was any damage to them from her current distance.

She glanced back toward the forest uneasily.

Still nothing. Fuck, that was creepy .

Descending the stairs one step at a time, her chest burned with the need to breathe and yet she couldn’t seem to draw in a single breath, far too conscious of the creak and groan of the stairs beneath her feet.

It wasn’t until she had both feet on the ground and glanced hastily around that she finally gave in and breathed in slowly.

The eerie silence encompassed her, but nothing moved.

Her ears strained to pick up sound as she continued to strike out from the cabin.

The trees loomed just ahead of her. The branches swayed slightly with the breeze, the leaves rustling with little sighs.

She didn’t have to go out very far before she was in position to make a clean break for the cars.

She could feel eyes on her in that moment as energy crackled in the air.

Slowly, she lifted a hand and sketched a ward into the air in front of her, feeding her energy into it.

All she needed was a little more time. She needed to check out the cars.

The ward shimmered in the air at the surrounding atmosphere shifted, distorting and bulging against its protection.

Though she heard nothing, she felt a vibration of a low, menacing growl roll over her as she turned toward the parked cars. It was now or never.

With a burst of energy, Liv sprinted forward as the surrounding air seemed to split, and the void of silence was filled suddenly with a cacophony of overlapping sound, muffled by her ward.

Shrieks cut the air but folded back in retreat as a monstrous roar quaked the woods.

Her ward bloomed, the energy expanding, thickening.

It vibrated, pulsing as she raced toward the vehicles.

Almost there. Her head lifted, swiveling as she looked around hastily for attack from the air.

The bat creatures weren’t there. Their screams sounded distant now, but the ground seemed to tremble with a far greater danger rushing toward her.

Her ward trembled and then cracked, expending its energy in an outward blast that brought on another roar from the monster, this time rattling with rage.

Fear tightened her throat, pushing extra adrenaline through her legs to close the remaining distance between her and the nearest car.

Her hands slid over it, running over its door and terminating abruptly when she came to its crushed roof.

Hissing a curse between her teeth, she sped around it, heading for the next car.

The car behind her squealed and groaned as something sharp collided against it.

The sound was deafening but was followed by the combustive sound taking briefly to the air and crashing, the crunch of metal piercing the air as it rolled and spun along the ground.

She didn’t dare glance back at it but darted in the opposite direction, her eyes skimming the remaining vehicles with a desperate aim of taking stock of their condition as she ran by them, taking care not to put any more of them between herself and the monster pursuing her.

Her gaze roved over them briefly as she passed. Two other vehicles appeared to be totaled but the remaining two appeared operational as far as she could visually ascertain. She cursed as she took off once more, this time fixing her path directly for the cabin.

Something skittered out of the path of her feet, startled out of hiding but she didn’t have the time or luxury to stop and examine what it was.

She stumbled over her own feet, slowly down minutely before regaining her balance and racing at full speed again.

It was probably a racoon. Gods, please let it be a racoon!

The air grew heavy with presence and panic surged anew through her in response.

It was getting closer. She turned her head very slightly as she rounded another vehicle and from the corner of her eye, she could see the dark outline of its massive form as it barreled towards her.

Fuck! It wasn’t just any creature; it was the monster—the nightmare that had emerged from the woods, its claws slicing through people like blades through the skin of a grape.

She tasted bile in the back of her mouth.

The cabin loomed ahead of her, but not close enough.

A tiny sob escaped her. Her legs were burning, and she could feel the muscle in her side beginning to cramp. She clutched a hand over it.

Just a little further.

The door of the cabin swung open, light spilling out in the darkness as someone hurried out onto the porch.

“Oh my gods! Liv, run! ” Jessie screamed.

Liv panted and shook her head. She wasn’t going to fucking make it. What was worse, she was drawing the monster directly toward her friend. “Two!” she shouted back. “Two fucking cars. Be prepared to move your asses!”

This was their only shot. The bitterness of the situation sank into her.

She wasn’t going to make it. She never thought she would be one to sacrifice herself.

But she was also a realist. For whatever reason the monster had its sights set on her.

It wanted her. Not only that, but it wanted her enough without any competition that it had frightened away the bats.

That provided an opening that the others wouldn’t get again.

So as long as she could lure the monster away from the cabin, the others would have a chance to flee.

“Fuck, this sucks ass,” she whispered brokenly under her breath as she changed her trajectory so that she looped back toward the woods, the monster gradually closing the distance between them across open ground now that there weren’t any obstacles between them.

Maybe she could regain some distance once she entered the woods.

What if this was some kind of nighttime horror that would return to wherever it came from in the morning.

Nothing was there when they all arrived or all day.

It wasn’t until the sun started to go down that all hell broke loose.

Maybe, if she could find her way to one of the cabins, she would make it until dawn.

“Liv!” Jessie screamed. “Wait, what are you doing? Stop! No, we can’t leave her! Put me the fuck down!” Jessie’s protests were drowned out by those forcibly moving her and Liv’s eyes squeezed shut in silent thanks.

Jessie would survive. And if the gods were willing, so would she.

With a silent prayer, she entered the woods just as the sound of engines broke the air and tires squealed with loud sprays of dirt before fading completely. Then there was nothing but the sound of the woods as they closed around her completely.