Untamed Night: Night Order Dark Fantasy Series Book Two by Rachael Boucker

Author:Rachael Boucker [Boucker, Rachael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eerie River Publishing
Published: 2023-06-07T16:00:00+00:00

21: Lurking Beneath

Moist ground sinks beneath me. Puddles pool at my feet, deepening with every step. My conjured orbs cast shimmering light on the water. Moss glistens in their white glow on the rocks and floats like waving banners beneath the surface. The air is misting, masking everything in a thin veil of haze. I can hear Saben and Patrice squelching behind me.

Couldn’t be happier that Patrice decided to stick around for a while. Think Saben did most of the persuading, that and the fact her dragon needs a nice long sleep after exerting itself yesterday. Apparently, if you sleep for hundreds of years, flying over mountains and trying to burn people alive really takes it out of you. It could stay stone forever for all I care.

I’ve taken the lead. Waking before dawn, we all agreed the water in the swamp was undrinkable and though a touch of night remains, we’re all too thirsty to wait for the sun.

Reeds, the height of Zerra, drag across my waist. My fingers dance through them feeling the smooth surface and the sharpness of their edge. The water sloshes, right up to my knees, and I feel things brush past me—the moss, I presume. Death’s Breath hums, but I don’t sense danger from the water. Chirping insects and croaking frogs lull me into a state of ease. The mist has warm hues, painting everything into a dreamscape, and the water has warmed to the exact temperature I’d draw a bath. It’s up to my middle now, and I feel the urge to lie back and float on the surface.

I look back at Saben, with Zerra on his hip and Patrice by his side. They look just as sleepy as I feel.

My legs grow numb, the pain of the burns ease, and I feel tickling. I submerge one of my two orbs and hoist the remains of my burnt trouser leg to find tiny fish nibbling at the blistered skin. Death’s Breath sends stinging pulses into my back. I’m too relaxed to heed its warning, but pull it out anyway, out of reflux—I mean reflex, habit. Even words seem to lose meaning in this dreamlike state.

Trees grow here. Just one or two at first, but soon we’re wading through a waterlogged copse. I feel like I should drop the axe into the water. I’ve never felt so soothed. A bobbing light dances in front of me, like a pixie, playful and joyful. I smile at it and dance my fingers through the mist, trying to touch it, but find it’s just out of reach. As my grip relaxes on the axe, a new light speeds toward me—a red light on a beak that shrieks. Falcon lands on something behind the pixie light, a tether of some kind, anchored below the water. I strengthen my grip on Death’s Breath before it slips from my hands.

“Get in the trees,” I yell behind me as a creature rises with black eyes and needle-like teeth. It could be a distant cousin of a drowner, but were it demon born, it wouldn’t exist.

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