Palace of Moonlight by Payton Taylor & T Steele

Author:Payton Taylor & T Steele [Taylor, Payton & Steele, T]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Payton Taylor
Published: 2019-08-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Marzanna

Writhia, 5220

The Wastes

"Let go of me!" Marzanna yelled, twisting and turning, trying to get free as the Skifte dragged her back through the woods. It screeched at her in response, a loud, high-pitched sound that had her reaching to cover her ears.

She had just finished killing her look-alike Skifte by controlling a tree branch to wrap around its neck, decapitating it, when she was grabbed from behind. This Skifte looked like her as well, though, beneath its convincing appearance, the smell of death and decay seeped from its temporary skin.

As it pulled her, its nails digging painfully into her skin, she manipulated the grass and plants to grab its feet, trying to slow it down, but it was too strong and ripped through them.

It pulled her out of the trees, into a small clearing at the base of a huge rock formation, the ground covered in stones making it harder for her Gift to grab onto something.

She reached for her pouch, her hand coming up with a handful of acorns, but the Skifte wrenched her back, causing her to drop them.

Fear lanced through her causing her to let out a desperate shout. She felt Khione somewhere nearby, but she couldn't focus on the bond connecting them enough to use it in any way.

The sound of bodies crashing through the woods had her and the Skiftes' heads turning in the same direction, and Marzanna knew it was her friends. She could feel Khione with them, that murky sense of panic reaching weakly for her, as if through a wall.

A moment before they emerged from the trees, the Skifte holding her let her go. Marzanna could only stare as it fell to the ground.

"No, please, don't hurt me!" the Skifte cried as Khione and the others entered the clearing where they had stopped. It looked to them, its eyes, Marzanna's eyes, pleading. "Help me!"

Marzanna turned to her friends. "No, please, that isn't me! I'm me!"

The group looked back and forth between the two of them, their eyes unsure.

Marzanna looked to Khione, begging her Match with her eyes to see her. To know that she was the real Marzanna. To open that door to their bond just enough to feel it.

The Skifte took a step toward them, "You know it's me," the creature said sincerely, its eyes full of fear. If Marzanna wasn't, well, Marzanna, she would almost believe it.

They turned to Jo.

She frowned, looking between them. "I-it's hard to tell. Whatever it's doing, it's messing with the way the real Marzanna's thoughts are broadcasting. I think. . ." she trailed off, her eyes narrowing as they focused on Marzanna.

The group seemed to take Jo's narrowed eyes as suspicion, however, because they let the Skifte take another step closer.

Then, it took another step, and three things happened at once.

Westin's nostrils flared as he got wind of the Skifte's rotting scent and opened his mouth to warn everyone.

Khione put her arm out, blocking Seren from reaching for the Skifte.

"That's not her!" she shouted, a sharp icicle forming in her hand as the creature braced itself to leap at them.

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