Okami: A Little Red Riding Hood Retelling by Nicolette Andrews

Author:Nicolette Andrews [Andrews, Nicolette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-02-14T06:00:00+00:00

15

Akane fled. Her heart hammered in her chest. The shouts of the yokai echoed all around her. Their menacing voices rang in her ears. The wolf inside her stirred, woken by her panic and fear.

She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see Shin following after her. But he wasn’t there. The wind whistled through the trees. She kept on running, a few more feet again checking over her shoulder, but once more he wasn’t there. The treetops rustled and the voices of her pursuers grew closer. They’d be upon her any moment, she couldn’t keep wasting time.

He’d given her a chance to escape by sacrificing himself. Tomoe was counting on her, and if she left now she could continue her search. But what happened to Shin? What would Akio do when he had him in his clutches once more? But the look on his face when he told her he couldn’t let Akio have her. It haunted her.

She headed back in the direction she had come. The wolf inside her was pressing against her bindings. She felt the brush of the raw power against her skin. The tingle of gooseflesh. She was standing at the edge of a precipice. If she took hold of that power, they might have a fighting chance. But the odds were just as likely she’d lose all control and hurt another innocent. She’d have to fight without it. She just had to come up with a plan.

The musky scent of monkey yokai wafted toward her. Akane slowed her pace, eyes scanning the forest. Her bow and arrow pointed at the canopy of trees overhead.

Eerie, disembodied laughter filtered down through the treetops.

“What fun is it if you don’t run?” said a monkey yokai from somewhere above her.

Akane backed away, head swiveling back and forth. She couldn’t place where the sounds were coming from.

Branches rustled to her left, and she shot an arrow in that direction. The arrow sailed through the air, landing harmlessly on the ground a few feet away.

The hooting laughter echoed around her.

“You think your arrows will be enough to protect you?” They taunted.

If she unleashed her inner wolf, she could trace their scent and tear them apart with ease. Her wolf stretched and growled within her, eager for the hunt. Instead she turned and ran.

The forest was a twisted labyrinth of branches and undergrowth. It all started to blend together as she ran, just a blur of green. The echoing laughter of the monkey yokai followed her as she fled. One dropped down in her path, and she came to a skidding stop before making a quick turn to run in a different direction. She slipped on decaying plant matter and her quiver slammed into her back. It was slowing her down. She slid it off and dropped it on the ground as she ran through the forest.

Branches tore at her clothes and her hair came loose from the ponytail. With every turn she made, the monkeys were there in front of her. Their jeering yellow teeth smiled and taunted her.

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.