Page 62 of Winter Unleashed
His hands dropped to his sides too, and we took a step back from each other. The moment was over.
“I can smell the insects,” Phil said.
Chapter Sixteen
Philip’s comment was so out of nowhere I wasn’t sure what he meant. “Pixies,” he added when he saw my confusion. “I need to get Stella. Can I leave you?”
“Go to her. I’ll see you out there,” I said, holding up a spray bottle and a water gun full of the vinegar mixture.
Out of curiosity I took a deep inhale to see if I could smell anything strange. Sure enough, there was an unpleasant sweet scent I’d never smelled before. “They smell like rotten fruit,” I mentioned.
“Exactly. Vile creatures,” he muttered as he turned to leave the room.
I followed but descended the stairs and headed out back to face the swarm. A loud buzzing-hum sound hit me the second I opened the back doors. The noise was as loud as a jet engine, and it was growing louder by the second. It took three seconds before I saw it: a black cloud appeared from the trees heading toward me in a blur of speed.
“Fuck, this is gonna suck,” I said as I looked down at my ridiculous weapons.
I really should have saved one of those damn super soaker things for myself, but I’d given all of them to the Academy. All I had was a cheap ass plastic water gun that looked like it came out of a bubble gum machine and a bottle that once held glass cleaner. I set the bottle to stream instead of mist and aimed both ‘weapons’ at the cloud while hoping Astrid knew what the fuck she was talking about.
The second they were close enough I pumped the triggers like crazy. I faltered for a beat when the liquid hit the ones in the front. They screamed. It was unlike anything I’d ever heard. I cringed as I hit more of them, and they let out that awful sound. Astrid had been right though. As soon as the vinegar and salt mixture hit them, they fell to the ground where they sizzled and smoked until they were a tiny pile of goo.
“This is disgusting,” I said while squirting as many as I could until my friends arrived.
I didn’t have time to wonder what was taking them so long because more little fuckers came to replace the ones I’d dropped. The swarm grew bigger instead of smaller. Before I knew it, the cloud of pixies was so big it filled most of the yard. My little weapons wouldn’t hold up against them and were already almost empty.
Even though Astrid had told me it wouldn’t work, I unleashed my power in a sheet of fire. It did nothing. It may as well have been a cool breeze for all it did to the damn things.
“Well fuck… Guys? Hello? Anybody coming to help me?” I yelled as loudly as I could.
No one answered. No one came. Even while I was spraying them, some made it around to my back. The burning from their bites contended with the itching from their dust. It was agony.
I drained the water gun first. The squirt bottle followed not long after. And without either of them, I was fucked. With no other means of fighting the little bastards, I turned and ran toward the house as fast as I could, but even with my power added in, I wasn’t fast enough.
Within seconds they covered me. I’d pick one off and even as I crushed it in my hand another would latch on. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of tiny razor-sharp teeth sunk into my skin. The pain was intense and burned like acid. My screams echoed through the yard but not even Henry came to help me. It didn’t take long for me to stumble forward and crash onto the ground.
My last memory was me tugging the fuck out of my connection to Liam. He was with Astrid or Artemis, but I hoped he could still feel it. And if he could, I hoped he could make it back here in time.
The warm sunand cool air felt soothing against my skin as I lay in the tall grass looking up at the clear blue sky. I wore a sun dress with bright sunflowers covering it. The dress left most of my skin exposed to the beauty of the day. I felt more relaxed than I’d ever felt before. I closed my eyes and let the sounds of nature lull me to sleep.
Something tickled the hand I’d rested on my stomach. The sensation woke me from my dozing. I looked down and smiled at the tiny ladybug as it meandered over the back of my middle finger. When it reached my nail, it took flight. An overwhelming sadness filled me as I watched it fly away. I wanted it to come back. I wanted it to be mine. Forever.
A blue bird landed on my chest. It seemed to smile at me as it hopped around while tweeting its pleasant song. It let me stroke its head as it made a kind of purring sound. But before long it flew away too, making me sad again.
Something moved along my leg. It was cold and smooth like silk. I glanced down and gasped when I saw a long, slender, bright green snake slithering its way up my body. Its black eyes locked on mine. At first, I thought it would bite me but when it got to my belly, it curled itself up and fell asleep. I ran my finger over its head, tracing the coil of its body. It was so soft I couldn’t stop touching it.
After a while it woke up and went on its way to wherever it was snakes went. Again, I felt depressed and lonely. Why wouldn’t any of the creatures stay with me? Why did they keep leaving me alone?
On a sigh, I stood and turned in a circle. I was in the center of a sprawling meadow. There was nothing but tall grass and flowers for miles all around. As beautiful as it was, I knew I couldn’t stay there. I had to move on. I had to find my way home.
My wolf stirred inside me. She was telling me to shift. Figuring she’d have an easier time sniffing out the way home, I slipped the thin straps of the dress off my shoulders and let the delicate fabric slide down my body. As soon as it hit the ground I shifted.
My wolf lowered her snout to the earth below and inhaled. She moved in a circle sniffing the ground until she picked up a scent she was familiar with. She followed the trail, weaving her way through the meadow until she came to a stone cabin.
Smoke flowed from the chimney and the smell of freshly baked apple pie floated out from the open windows. My wolf let out a low growl when she scented venison.
Bark,I told her. She did and a few moments later the door opened.
“Well, who do we have here?” the man asked.