couldn’t stop. Something propelled me after the beast. My hands shook, adrenaline pumping as I chased blindly, following the scattering of leaves and crackling of branches as the monster dragged the man into the fog.
Then the crashing noises stopped, and I slowed and searched the tall grass. I stumbled over a body. It was Frederick, unconscious, his leg dripping with blood, three long gashes down the side. I leaned down to check his pulse. He was still alive, but he wouldn’t be for long if I didn’t stop the blood flow.
Stupid human.
I spun, clicking the button to release my staff. I held it out and flailed the weapon in the air in front of me, making sure I didn’t take a step away from the injured Frederick. I may not have had all of my senses, but I knew I had surprised the creature in my sudden pursuit.
Loud crashing came from the bush. I screamed and swung my staff as Liam appeared.
“Whoa!” He ducked and was nearly struck in the neck.
“Aura, you can’t run off like that.”
“Shh,” I hushed, and pointed to the tree’s boughs above me.
Liam’s chin rose, and he looked up into the darkness above.
“Where is it?” he whispered.
“Invisible.”
He looked at me in disbelief. I held out my hand for his sword, and he wouldn’t hand it over. I forcibly took it from him and shoved my staff into his chest. He reached for it, and I shook my head. Making a circle in the clearing, I closed my eyes and tuned out the sound of Liam’s breathing . . . the crunch of leaves beneath my feet . . . the soft exhales from Frederick.
Instead, I focused on what I couldn’t hear.
Please, please. I mentally tried to find the creature.
Eat. Kill. Eat.
I could hear it so clearly because it was a monster, a creature with a bloodlust so strong it screamed in my head, but it wasn’t giving me any clues where it was.
“Aura,” Liam warned.
I spun and pointed the sword at him, my arms quivering under the weight of holding the heavy weapon. I glared at him, my mouth pinched together angrily, and he became silent.
I felt a sigh of pain and saw an image of a beautiful woman and a young boy, no more than eight in age. Regret, love, and sorrow washed over me, and I fell to my knees. Tears of empathy filling my eyes, my heart aching.
Releasing a shuddering breath, I stood up, my mind filled with determination. I exhaled slowly. Closed my eyes, like I had done in practice with Lorn. I swung the sword wildly and waited for a response from the beast. A flash of amusement.
In what appeared to be a random sword dance, I worked my way in a circle around and came back toward Liam. I raised the sword up in the air, hovering right over Frederick’s body.
Pale blue flashed in my mind. Worry.
I smiled in triumph and stabbed straight down with all of my might.
“No!” Liam cried out as I stabbed Frederick’s arm.
Fire burned in my own arm, and I cried out.
Frederick’s eyes opened, and he let out an inhuman cry. He knocked the sword from my grasp, and Frederick shifted and transformed before us, his body dematerializing and becoming translucent.
“There!” I pointed at the blood dripping down the creature’s arm. Apparently, its blood wasn’t able to become invisible as the rest of the body did, blurring into the background. The creature tried to run, but Liam intercepted it. He swung his shield and knocked it down as it tried to slither up the tree. He picked up the bloodied sword and finished the creature.
The creature screamed.
I screamed in unison.
Feeling its painful death as my own.
I lay in the grass, my face splattered with blood and my body shaking.
“Aura, are you okay? I forgot what being an empath does to you.” Liam rushed over to me and helped me get to my feet.
“I’m okay.” I shuddered and used the edge of the cloak to wipe the blood from my face.
“What was that?” Liam asked. “I’ve never seen something like that come out of the forests before.”
“It’s an onwae,” I answered. “They’re rare and prefer to stay hidden deep underground, but it was driven here—”
“By the blight,” Liam finished. “But what happened to Frederick?”
“He’s over there.” Wiping my hands off, I pointed to nearby brush.
Liam rushed forward and pulled back the foliage to reveal Frederick’s body. “Hurry, we can still—”
“He’s dead,” I said solemnly.
“How do you know?”
“I-I