The Arrival Reawakened (Children of the Morning Star Book 1) by Kastie Pavlik

Author:Kastie Pavlik [Pavlik, Kastie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kastie Pavlik
Published: 2021-09-28T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten: Winds of Change

I

Paresh awoke with a start. Moonlight threw strange shapes into the room, and shadows crept along the ceiling and walls. She eased her feet from beneath the sheet and approached the window. She slid the glass pane up. A shimmering full moon sat high above a great white veil that hid the Earth below.

Fleeting motion caught her eye: wispy fog swirled in the wake of a man sprinting toward the forest. Recognizing his squared shoulders and black hair, she cried out, but the mist swallowed her voice. She threw on her robe and ran outside.

Thick, humid air clung to her body. She could barely see the tip of her nose and swatting did nothing. Blindly pursuing Eric, she passed what she knew was the rear of the cottage. The dark gray beast of the forest loomed beyond the wall of white.

The damp, claustrophobic haze stubbornly stuck to her until she reached the southern tree line, where it suddenly cleared as though afraid of the touching the darkness lurking beneath the canopy. She should’ve been able to see the trail, but a barrier of brush had cropped up. She didn’t feel the burning sensation creeping up her spine until it clamped down on the base of her neck. It pierced her skin with invisible, fiery talons that forced her to turn and face the man behind her. Crimson fabric draped his form, swirling like droplets of water as though he had materialized from the mist itself.

The shadow of his hood seemed to fall into nothingness. Fear gripped her in a chokehold. She tore free of his mental grasp and vaulted into the gloomy thicket, her legs moving on their own, her breath sticking in her throat, the forest spinning around her. She threw a frantic look over her shoulder. The red ghost was gaining on her as though she wasn’t moving at all. His outstretched fingers were almost on her shoulder.

Dread clenched her stomach at the glowing black stone on his ring finger. She didn’t need to guess what the other hand held—or what would happen if he caught her.

She pushed her legs harder, but the forest was determined to fight her every move. Low hanging branches tore at her robe, clawed her face, yanked her hair. Thorny shrubs, vines, and weeds raked her legs and ankles, ripping jagged seams into her flesh. Blocking as much of the assault as she could with her arms, she soldiered on and managed to increase the gap between them.

Relief trickled over her like ice water when she looked back again and didn’t see him. She slowed to a trot, gasping for air. Had she lost him? Or was he hiding in the shadows?

The forest was unnaturally silent. Goose pimples crept over the skin on her arms. She peered into the unknown darkness ahead and then pressed herself to run harder despite the punishing thicket. Safety was ahead with Eric.

The path opened up to Grandfather Wisdom’s towering form. She leaped over the tree line, eyes desperately swinging across the empty clearing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.