The Trials of Ascension by Brendan Noble

Author:Brendan Noble [Noble, Brendan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eight-One-Five Publishing
Published: 2021-11-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 33 – Wacław

Oh, how I missed you.

THE WINDS DANCED THROUGH MY OUTSTRETCHED FINGERS, their power swelling in me. Without žityje, though, they were of little use as Ara and I crept through the moonlit woods.

My only weapon for the hunt would be Marzanna’s Thunderstone dagger. Its dark blade hummed in my grasp. As much as I wished I held Kwiecień instead, the dagger always drew me in. It wanted to be used. I didn’t know how I could tell, but combined with my demonic soul’s desire, my heart raced in excitement for the kill.

That frightened me. Though, with the black veins still covering my body, I had little choice anyway. I needed the žityje to live. If it meant eating an animal’s heart, so be it.

“Why is it so dead out here?” Ara asked, crouching with her bow and quiver strapped to her back. In the shadows, her brown hunter’s tunic meshed with the darkness. This was her element, and I could sense her excitement as she looked for tracks.

Ahead, Sosna sniffed around trees and dead undergrowth. After a few minutes, she returned, her head low. “Even Sosna can’t find anything,” Ara muttered.

I sighed, my breaths causing puffs of fog in the cloudy and oddly cold night. My soul-form’s eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, but I could barely see four strides ahead. “Marzanna’s extended winter has probably interrupted the wildlife already. Without Dziewanna and Jaryło, plants aren’t growing, so I doubt the deer and elk have much to eat.”

She rose with a groan. “I don’t know about you, but the forest feels awfully dreary.”

“Everything feels dreary lately.”

“We’ll get Otylia back.” She clenched and unclenched her fists, staring through the trees as Sosna took off. “But first, we’re going to kill a boar.”

Without another word, Ara sprinted after the fox.

“Ara!” I yelled, stumbling after her with my chest throbbing. Even my soul-form felt exhausted, and I fell behind.

“Shush,” she said once I caught up. We crouched next to an oak alongside Sosna, and Ara peeked around it, slowly pulling her bow from her back. “Sosna smelled a boar. Just one of them.”

“A boar? You couldn’t have picked something that’s less willing to fight back?”

“Blame the fox,” she hissed. “It’s all we’ve got, so take it or die in Oblivion. Your choice.”

“All right.” I patted Sosna’s head before sneaking around the tree. The boar was in a patch of moonlight no more than ten strides ahead. Its brown fur was patched with fallen twigs that it tried to shake from its back. As I backhanded the dagger and drew near, it huffed in frustration.

Just a few more steps. My steps were heavy, but they didn’t alert the boar. My yelp did.

The boar spun as I slipped on a muddied log and fell on my face. I scrambled to stand, but it charged and struck me in the gut, sending me to the ground. With my breaths fleeting and pain searing my stomach, I turned as it swung around, sprinting toward me again.

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