Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Lilitha grimaced and reached for her iron collar as it chafed against her neck. The prisoner ahead slid on some loose gravel, yanking against the two prisoners in front and pitching Lilitha into him.

He launched away from her with a shriek. Nobody wanted to touch the witch.

They followed the wide, flat causeway out of town, which led directly from Norfolk toward Mainstry and eventually on to Esteria, the two other great towns in the Northern regions.

Used by merchants, the causeway was well-worn and made for easy walking, as much as it could be while manacled and bound.

Shrubs and stunted trees struggled in the mud on both sides. The mountains lay ahead, and in the distance, a black, drizzling sky reigned for what seemed like an eternity.

In time, the long, broad road forked into a winding trail, and they ascended into the trees. Lilitha’s calves were burning. Her backside was aching, still sore from her father’s beating.

Hunger gnawed at her belly. At somebody’s shout, they stopped and sat on the muddy ground. Lilitha pulled down her hood against the drizzle.

A Champion passed her a half-filled water bladder and she drank.

She handed back the water and turned to scan the rest of the prisoners, squinting as she tried to spot a wisp of golden hair or the flash of familiar blue eyes, but those she saw were strangers.

She accepted a hunk of bread and a handful of nuts, and looked into her lap with a sigh.

Hunkering down alongside the rest of the prisoners, Lilitha curled inside her cloak. The road was hard against her backside and every time the prisoner beside her moved, her collar jerked.

She couldn’t help but listen to the whisperings of the Champions nearby. They were sitting together in a group, their eyes flicking to and from their prisoners.

“So, has anyone actually seen the monsters?”

“Of course not. Anyone who does dies.”

“Then how do you know they exist?”

“Because when we come back with our next lot, there’s nothing left behind. Besides, I heard one.”

“Really? What did it sound like?”

“Like something out of your worst nightmare. A great, growling howl that curdles the blood. I’ll live a happy life if I don’t have to hear it again, that’s for sure.”

“Aren’t you afraid that it might eat us too?”

“Impossible. They only eat the wicked. You have nothing to fear. As for these—”

There was silence as they regarded their prisoners. Lilitha ducked her head. A horse snorted and shook its head.

“What will happen to them, do you think?”

“Death. What else?”

“But what about that one?”

The back of Lilitha’s neck prickled.

“That one? I guess the same, but I can’t know for sure. She’s different.” His voice was low. “Perhaps the Devil will make her his bride.”

“Enough talk! It’s time to get moving,” Mandalay snapped.

The further they wandered into the forest, the more difficult their route became as it wound in and around the trees. The ascent grew steeper.

Lilitha was panting. She could hear the man behind her gasping. The Champions dismounted, leading their horses by the reins.

It was there when something started to change. The forest looked no different, but the hairs on the back of Lilitha’s neck stood on end, and she started to shake.

She wasn’t the only one who felt uneasy. Some of the horses were champing at their bits, their eyes rolling in their heads. The prisoner in front was shaking so hard his chain rattled.

The prisoner behind her was muttering prayers under his breath.

“Hold true, knights,” Mandalay’s voice rang out. “Remember, the evil that resides here only feasts on sinners.”

Lilitha bumped into the man in front when they suddenly stopped.

“Keep going!” Mandalay bellowed.

They jerked ahead again. She could hear shouting from somewhere up in front.

“Oh my God!”

“God have mercy!”

“Help us!”

And then she saw them—skulls. At least a dozen of them. They flanked their route. Just like the one with the beard, they each sat atop a wooden stake, smirking their death smirks.

Lilitha gripped onto herself with a shiver. The nearest one seemed to be looking right at her. They were old, all the flesh picked from their bones.

The prisoners started shouting again. They were screaming. She watched as a prisoner shoved a Champion over. Others were thrashing in their chains.

More tried to run but strangled themselves in their iron collars. The mud churned beneath their boots.

“Clara!” Lilitha shouted but her voice was lost amid the din.

The prisoner ahead suddenly dropped to his knees, dragging Lilitha and the man behind her down along with him.

“Enough!” came Mandalay’s roar. “Or I’ll kill every one of you where you stand.”

A hush fell. The prisoners snuffled and sobbed and hid inside their cloaks. Lurching to her feet, Lilitha wiped at her face and brushed at her mud-streaked hair.

Everyone was quiet and stayed close to each other, keeping to the middle of the path as they slowly passed through the corridor of death.

Lilitha released a breath when she had finally passed the last skull.

It was just before sunset when they stopped for the day. The leaves whispered in the breeze as Lilitha curled herself into her cloak on the hard path.

Her neck ached. Her back ached. Her backside was the worst. She rolled onto her other side without any relief, the chain tugging at her throat.

She was desperate to call out Clara’s name but was too scared to do so.

She closed her eyes, but couldn’t sleep as she thought about the coming day. They were close.

Only a few more hours and they would be left for the monsters or the Devil or the spirits or whatever lay in wait for them.

Apparently, they would be shackled to the ground. To be eaten. To be ripped apart. To be destroyed. Whatever it would be. Biting her lip, Lilitha pushed away her tears.

Through the leaves overhead, lightning flared, and what was once a sprinkle of rain quickly became a patter.

~Shit.~

Shivering, she pulled her hood right over her head. She wavered between wake and sleep for a long time before the darkness finally swallowed her up.

“On your feet. Let’s go,” came a hiss.

Lilitha snapped her eyes open, then rolled onto her back with a moan. Was it morning already? But it was still dark. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the sleep from her eyes. She froze.

Crouched beside her was the last person she wanted to see. She sucked in a breath to scream but Mandalay slapped a big hand over her mouth.

“Shut up,” he hissed. “Or do you want to attract the monsters?”

He released her mouth as Lilitha kept quiet, her eyes darting between the trees. The wind had picked up and leaves were blowing all over the place.

Her hands were frozen. Her nose was like ice. She watched as he pulled out a key from his pocket.

Quickly, he unlocked her collar, opening it with a squeak. A nearby lantern flickered. The moon glowed dully behind a thick layer of clouds. It was no longer raining.

Lilitha resisted the urge to rub her neck. He yanked her to her feet, Lilitha staggering in his arms. Lightning flashed across the sky, making his blue eye blaze fiercely.

There followed a crack of thunder.

He hauled her away from the path. Champions watched silently. Prisoners rolled over in their sleep. The horses whinnied. More lightning struck across the sky.

~Just make it quick,~ she thought. ~Just let me die~. He pulled her into the privacy of the trees. They were still close enough to camp that she could hear the gentle snorts of a sleeping horse.

They stood together, Mandalay gripping her shoulders. It was dark but not dark enough. Sometimes Lilitha hated her perfect vision. Maybe she should shut her eyes.

Maybe she could even try and think of someone else. But who? There was no man she loved—or even liked.

More lightning. Thunder cracked. Eyes glittering, Mandalay yanked off her cloak. He grabbed her tunic and it was then that life flared in Lilitha’s chest.

“Stop.” She swiped his hand away. “Stop!” She swiped at him again. “Stop. Stop. STOP!” Thunder crackled, swallowing up her screaming.

He shoved her to the ground. More lightning split the sky, flashing against his golden hair, against his feral, hungry eye.

He pulled off his cloak and dropped to his knees on top of her, straddling her hips.

“STOP!” she shouted.

~Not again. Not again. Not again.~

More lightning flashed across the sky. Rain was pattering lightly against the earth. For a moment, Lilitha thought she was hearing more thunder.

But then Mandalay turned to look behind him, studying the trees, and she quickly realized it wasn’t thunder at all—it was a growl. Low and vibrating and terrifyingly close.

“Shit!” Mandalay leapt to his feet, ripping out his sword.

With a flash and a crack, the forest dazzled with sharp light. Suddenly, shouts and cries and the screams of terrified horses split the night.

Lilitha blinked rapidly, eyes narrowed against the white dots clouding her vision. Thunder rumbled, then boomed.

Somebody shouted, “The horses!”

And then Mandalay was gone, rushing back through the trees toward camp, leaving Lilitha behind to stare into the trees. The growling was silent. The hair was prickling at the back of her neck.

Her heart wouldn’t slow its galloping. Then her eyes dropped to Mandalay’s cloak and her thoughts shot back to the camp.

~Clara.~

She snatched up Mandalay’s cloak and searched for the key. She found it. The hair was still standing up on her arms as she glanced once more into the trees.

It almost felt like she was being watched. More thunder cracked. More screaming split the night.

She raced back, still clutching Mandalay’s cloak.

Half-blinded by the searing lightning, Lilitha sped back down the path. Blurry figures were scurrying around the camp.

Prisoners were screaming, bouncing and yanking against one another as they struggled with their linking chains.

“Clara!” Lilitha screamed.

Then she heard it, “Lilitha!”

And Clara was there. Right before her eyes, only a smear against the flashing lightning but her golden mane was unmistakable.

With shaking, slippery hands, Lilitha unlocked her collar.

“Run!” Lilitha cried.

She threw the key to the nearest prisoner, seized Clara’s wrist, and they fled. The Champions didn’t seem to care or notice. In the chaos, she couldn’t see Mandalay.

The screaming of the horses was almost as deafening as the thunder.

As they raced away, they pulled and stumbled against each other, slipping over the wet earth, tripping over rocks, twisting their ankles between roots. The trees towered over them.

Soon, the noise of the camp turned distant and all they could hear was the pattering rain, the crunch of their footsteps, and their panting breaths.

As they escaped deeper into the trees, they slowed their pace. The way was thick and dense. Finally, Lilitha had a chance to pull Mandalay’s cloak on.

Gripping tightly onto her friend’s hand, Lilitha guided her along.

“How can you see so well?” Clara asked as she raised her hands against the slapping leaves.

“I don’t know.”

Lilitha couldn’t know how long they journeyed, but by the end, they were both tripping more than walking.

The dull grey of morning was peeking through the leaves by the time Lilitha fell to her knees with a gasp. The world flipped over as she rolled onto her side.

She lay sprawled on the ground, sucking in deep mouthfuls of air as Clara crouched beside her.

“Missed you,” Lilitha murmured.

Her eyes slid shut.