Accidentally Married To A Demon - Mila Young Page 0,57

fled the wolves who will have killed me for what I am and we joined other random female settlements to keep me safe. Mama lies to the other women and says I’m only eleven and not at puberty yet so they won’t want to kill me. I’m thin and look young for my age. Up to now, we’ve survived.

“Let’s be swift and silent, Meira. Repeat those words in your mind.”

My stomach hurts so bad. My gaze swings to the windows, at the commotion outside. Someone screams, and I cringe, grasping on to Jaine’s arm. Why isn’t Mama coming to get me? Where’s everyone else?

This is a safe haven. This is our home.

But Mama was wrong. The Shadow Monsters broke in like they always do.

Jaine leans down, gripping my shoulders, and looks me in the eyes. “Repeat the words: swift and silent. Over and over.”

Tears well in my eyes. One year of peace. That is all we’ve been granted, and now the demons are at our doorstep again.

Jaine takes my wrist, and we duck low as we hurry out of my bedroom and down the hall. She quietly opens the small cupboard door in the hallway where we keep brooms and winter boots. It’s where Mama made me practice hiding until I could find it blindfolded. There’s a lock on the inside of the door too.

“Swift and silent, baby girl, okay?” Jaine’s voice is panicked and shaky.

I stumble into the hiding spot and spin to face her. My heart pounds in my ears. “I’m scared.”

An explosive crash comes from somewhere in the background, rattling the whole house. Jaine shuts the door hastily, and darkness swallows me. With shaky fingers, I draw the metal lock into place and back away until my heels hit a bucket. Huddling down in the corner amid threadbare clothing, I hug my knees.

I rock back and forth, trying not to whimper too loudly.

Swift and silent.

We were meant to be safe here. Mama promised me.

A woman screams in the distance, and I shudder.

Thundering growls, smashing glass, and scrambling footfalls hit the floorboards. I inhale my cries and wrap myself around my bent knees.

Shadow Monsters are in the house.

I can’t breathe… They’ll rip me apart.

There’s a scraping sound, like something is being dragged across the floor. Then it falls deadly silent.

All I hear are my breaths, the hammering of my heart.

Shadows pass over the wood slats just outside my door. With it comes a rancid meat smell. My stomach tightens so much, I think I’m going to vomit.

I flinch as another scream pierces the air, and I bite down hard on my bottom lip to stop myself from sobbing.

Someone slams into the wall just outside my hiding place. I shove backward, my spine pressing against the wall. Every inch of me is trembling ferociously, but I don’t speak. Not a sound. Or they’ll hear me.

A slurping sound mangled with screams fills my ears.

I want to yell, to run. My hands plaster to my ears and I tuck my chin into my chest, rocking back and forth.

Swift and silent.

Swift and silent.

Swift and silent.

Swift and silent.

I don’t know how much time passes. Tears drench my cheeks. I can’t stop trembling. I finally push forward and press my ear to the door. Sweat trickles down my back. My legs are cramping from sitting so long in one spot. Mama, where are you?

When I get too anxious to wait anymore, I unlatch the lock. The door creaks as I push it open. My heart stops.

I freeze on the spot.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Sitting here makes me an easy target. Swift and silent. So I force myself to look out.

The walls look like someone splashed red paint across them, but the sickening odor tells me it’s blood.

Jaine lies on her back, her legs and arms twisted and broken. Her stomach lays splayed open. Shattered ribs poke up through the fabric of her pajamas. I’m going to be sick.

Terror bubbles on my throat.

“Don’t be afraid of death,” Mama would say. “Our bodies are just vessels before we ascend to heaven. If you see someone dead, just look away and keep going.”

I whip my gaze away from Jaine and scramble out of the closet.

The silence is suffocating.

Moving fast through the old house barren of furnishings, I find no one around. I rush barefoot from one room to the next. Abandoned. Mama, where are you? Cold sweat sticks the fabric of my pajamas to my skin.

There are other homes in this homestead she may be hiding in, so I creep outside