Wysteria by Lillith Abendroth

Author:Lillith Abendroth [Abendroth, Lillith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2020-06-19T16:00:00+00:00

17

Chapter 17

Koda sat bolt upright, a gasp sucking down lungfuls of wonderfully warm oxygen into his chest. Throwing himself onto his hands and knees, he retched. His stomach flip flopped and threatened to spill its contents onto the earth beneath him.

Or lack thereof.

When was the last time he had eaten, drank water or had more than a couple hours of sleep? The thoughts gnawed at the back of his mind. He ignored them, throwing himself forward in an attempt to get his knees beneath him.

“Child, what has he told you?” The soft, calming voice of The Mother ran over his head but he ignored her. He could not give in to the cool, lullaby rhythms of her voice. Now was not the time to relax, the time to sleep. Now was the time to run, as fast as his legs could carry him. When he got to his feet, he blurted a single sentence to her before sprinting into the dark treeline.

“She has her. My mother has her. I have to get to her. Now.”

Behind him, Ayden felt his heart jump. He found himself unable to move, unable to sprint after his distraught friend. A sound like moaning fell from his lips and he shook his head, turning away.

“Its my fault. She knows because of Fae, because I let her go. It’s all my fault.”

The Mother came up to step beside him, a hand placing across his shoulder.

“Only the true of heart will blame themselves, instead of cowering behind the facade of another’s blame. You are a good friend.”

“He’ll never forgive me. He shouldn’t. I don’t deserve it.” Ayden shook his head, exhaling sharply before turning away.

“Forgiveness is earned, fledgling. Not deserved. Time heals all. Go now, your people need you.”

*

Koda sprinted through the woods, his legs carrying him through the trees and up to the gates of the village. He didn’t stop until his shivering fingers wrapped around the icy cold steel bars of the gate. Only then did the realization slam into his brain like an unshakable wave of sickness.

His hand reached out, flipping open the lock and tossing the gate open. The moment the gate swung wide and revealed the village to him, he saw her. His mother stood along the path, a group of worried and angry villagers around her. Her own personal bloodthirsty mob.

“Koda…” a voice sounded to his left and he glanced over. Along the path that would lead to Ichabod’s cabin, he saw a woman standing in the shadows. She stepped forward, into the light of one of the many torches. Koda saw the mass of fire engine curls dancing around a pale, tear stained face. “Koda, I’m so sorry. I tried. We all tried so hard. She took her.”

Koda swallowed, his mouth desert dry and his saliva as thick as ectoplasm in his throat. He nodded just once, but was unable to force himself to speak. The words caught behind a wall in his throat, forced down and into his gullet where they sat, heavy and anxious.

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