The Pendant by April M. Reign

Author:April M. Reign [Reign, April M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-05-28T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

My human lungs struggled to take in the oxygen needed to continue the journey toward the mountaintop. I grasped at the sharp, jagged rocks of the mountains as my feet blindly searched for footing. My arms and legs burned as I pulled myself from ledge to ledge. I didn’t dare look down, as we were thousands of feet above the bottom.

As the land tapered off into a flat ledge, we used that opportunity to absorb the thin air. Diego, the oldest in the group, had fallen behind while Ori walked beside him. He made sure he could assist when Diego needed to stop to catch his breath. Although the night air was crisp and moist, sweat poured from our faces.

None of us were used to our bodies requiring so much. We needed food and water, but most of all, we needed rest. My legs betrayed me as a tender soreness crept through my taut muscles.

“Spiriduş, we need to rest.” I gazed back at my men, falling further behind.

“No. We must not stop here. You rest, you die.”

“We’ve got to eat something and find some water. My men are fading fast.”

“Water is up ahead about another hour. You’ll have time to rest there, but for now, we should keep moving forward. It is not safe here. It watches us.”

I knew he was right. I had felt something dark and ominous circling our group for the past hour. It watched us. It teased us. It waited for the right moment when it could strike. Our weak human characteristics made us vulnerable. I reached out and put my hand on the small creature’s shoulder. He stopped and with his immense orange bug eyes, he scanned my face.

I glanced toward the ground, listening to my surroundings. “What is that?”

“What is what?”

“That thing out there watching us.”

“Oh that? The vârcolac. They’re waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.” The Spiriduş turned and moved forward, his legs stepping fast to keep ahead of us.

I lunged and stepped in front of him. “Then we must travel in the shadows and get off the face of this mountain. What’s a vârcolac?”

The Spiriduş averted his gaze up at me. “Wolf Demon.” He pushed past me and continued to walk.

“Then it’s decided, we will move into terrain that is safer for our travels.”

“There is no place safe here. The sooner we get past this part of the mountain, the safer you and your friends shall be. If it wants you, it will take you. Keep moving.”

I surveyed my weary group.

“Apollo, we need to stop,” Ori yelled from the back.

I lowered my gaze and saw Diego on the ground, hunched over on his hands and knees. His pant legs were torn, and blood ran from his knees where the rocks had cut into him when he fell. I saw a look of exhaustion and resignation in Diego’s eyes. I’d never seen that in him before. “What happened?”

“He’s tired, man. He hasn’t had to use his body like this for centuries. We can’t go on, Apollo.

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