Changelings at Odds by Ken Altabef

Author:Ken Altabef [Altabef, Ken]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-31T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 29

When Nyx woke up, he thought he must be dead. A moment later, when the wracking pain hit him, he wished he was.

Every muscle in his body felt as if it had been set afire and burned to the wick. His teeth ached so badly he had to check they still resided within his mouth. He lifted his head from the ground and it felt as if it weighed a ton. He brushed dirt and stray leaves from his lips and chin.

He began to remember. The initiation into the Wild Hunt. The goluka had altered his senses, had transformed his body. The vision of Herne which had turned out to be Pox, a vicious Pox who had debased and subjugated him.

The small forest clearing was deserted and quietly peaceful. The moon shone brightly overhead. He saw not another soul about until he noticed the woman lying on the ground beside him and crawled over to her.

“Firewillow?”

She did not respond when he shook her shoulder. He feared the worst. Her body felt stiff. Too stiff. He turned her over and confirmed his suspicions without a doubt. Her eyes were open, her jaw agape, her features frozen in a rictus of death.

“Aaaahhhh!” He pulled his hand away.

“She didn’t survive the transformation,” said a high, reedy voice. Nyx turned. A tall, thin faery stood over him, his features obscured into silhouette by the big, round moon behind his head. “It happens sometimes.”

“She’s dead…”

“Tchh. That’s what I said.”

The faery sat himself wearily on a large square stone. His face was deeply lined with wrinkles, a shade of green that had faded so light it was barely discernible from the moon above. A long, peaked beard decorated his chin, looking less like hair than a fine filigree of bramble as white as a miniature ash tree.

“No one told me I might die,” said Nyx.

“The blood of Herne takes its toll. I’m much too old for it myself. The horn does nothing for me except bring back memories of hunts past. My name is Ocka, by the way.”

“But I’m in?” Nyx asked a bit frantically. “I passed the initiation?”

“You’re in.” Ocka chuckled shrilly. “There’s no way out now.”

“Why should anyone want to get out?”

“That’s the spirit! Be sure. Pox will know if you aren’t.”

“I saw a vision,” said Nyx, rubbing his sore jaw. “Was that truly Herne or only Pox?”

“One or the other. Maybe both. How should I know?”

Nyx scoffed. The old man was not particularly helpful. “Is he really the chosen one? Pox I mean.”

“Do you doubt it?”

“No,” said Nyx immediately. He must be careful what words came out of his mouth. Perhaps this man had been left here to babysit him, or maybe to test him. Maybe his initiation was not yet complete.

“What shall we do with… Firewillow?”

“Hmmph. Plant her in the ground, boy. You don’t expect me to do it? My back couldn’t stand it.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

Ocka jerked a thumb at the tree behind him. “Carving the face in the tree.

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