Feral (The Irisbourn Chronicles Book 1) (27 page)

Chapter
Twenty-Nine

I awoke with a start in my own
sleeping bag, my memory of the kelpie slipping away as soon as I opened my
eyes.
 
With every second, it seemed less
like reality and more like a dream.

“Adrian!” I shouted, as I brought
myself to a sitting position.
 
Light
streamed in through the tree branches, casting erratic splotchy patches on the
forest floor.
 
I scanned the camp and
found Adrian with Dylan by the fire pit.
 
Based on the soil and leaves in their clenched fists, I deduced that
they must have been in the process of eliminating any traces of our fire.
 
Arisella sat nearby, gnawing on a Slim
Jim.
 
They were all staring at me,
waiting for me to say something.

“Adrian,” I repeated.
 
“They don’t want to kill you anymore – they
said they’ll help.”

“Who?” Adrian released the soil he
was holding and crouched beside me.

“They said they’ll help,” I said
again.
 
I was desperately grasping at the
memories of my encounter with the kelpie, but they kept slipping through the
cracks in my mind like sand through fingers.

Adrian looked worriedly at Dylan,
who had materialized beside him, and Dylan just shrugged.

“Sometimes she wakes up like this.”

I shot Dylan an offended look.
 
“I’m not delirious.
 
I saw the kelpie last night.
 
They said we could pass and –”

Adrian’s jaw dropped.
 
“You saw the kelpie?!”

“I was sleepwalking – Kaela called
me, like a siren.
 
Which you did not
inform me they could do, by the way.
 
Anyway, they said that we could all cross safely, and that we needed to
return to the river as soon as I woke up.”
 
The words came pouring out of me now in a rapid, uncontrollable stream.

“Sounds like she was just
dreaming,” Arisella snorted before taking another bite of her Slim Jim.

“It wasn’t a dream!” I roared with
slightly too much fervor.
 
“It all
happened.”

Arisella stood up.
 
“And let’s say it wasn’t a dream – that you
went to the kelpie in your sleep, and they told you they would let us all pass
without so much as hurting a single hair on our heads.
 
How do we know this isn’t a trick?”

“They said they owed it to me, to
my people.
 
An Irisbourn perk, maybe?” I
surmised.

Arisella crossed her arms and
looked at her brother.

“I think we should go to the
river,” Adrian concluded.
 
“We don’t have
another way to cross, so we at least need to look into this.”

Arisella gaped at him.

“We’ll be careful,” he assured her.

We packed up our camp quickly and
made sure to remove any traces of our presence before setting off toward the
river.

The closer we got, the more I began
to doubt myself.
 
What if it had actually
been a dream?
 
What if we got there, and
the kelpie thought we were handing over Adrian?
 
Or worse, what if it had been real, and we were walking straight into a
trap?

Nervous sweat trickled down my
temple, and I hurriedly brushed it away.
 
Now was not the time to panic.
 
I
needed to remain calm.

As I neared the river, I noticed
something resting on the smooth surface of it, bobbing up and down with the
current.

“What is that thing?” Dylan
inquired, voicing what all of us were thinking. Dylan squinted at the anomaly
and used his hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

Upon moving closer, I realized that
it was a huge curved leaf, draped in eelgrass and flower buds.
 
I gingerly placed my palm on the side of the
leaf and immediately discovered that despite its waxy surface, it had the
toughness of wood.

“It’s a boat,” I concluded.

Two gangly rods shaped like
oversized twigs sat within the leaf, undoubtedly meant to be used as oars.

So it hadn’t been a dream.

Without waiting for further
instruction, Dylan hopped over the side of the leaf-boat and landed inside with
a hollow thump.

“Dylan!” I barked, taken aback by
the suddenness of his action.
 
“How did
you know that wouldn’t sink?! For Christ’s sake, it’s a leaf! And,” I added in
a whisper, “it could have been a trick!”

“Well put,” Adrian commented.

“I was actually kind of hoping it
would sink,” Arisella frowned.

From inside the boat, Dylan just
smiled stupidly back at us.

“Don’t tell me you all-powerful
Divinbloods
are frightened of a little
leaf?”

“Shut up,” Arisella spat as she
intentionally threw her backpack right on top of Dylan and jumped into the boat
with feline dexterity.
 
Adrian went in
next.
 
I knew I was clumsy, but the
amount of effort Adrian and Dylan spent helping me into the boat was completely
unnecessary.

We all held our breaths as Adrian
sliced the vine that held us to land, sending us drifting down the river.
 
Adrian and Arisella rowed the oars carefully
but quickly, and we crossed the choppy river in tense silence.
  
With every wave that rocked the boat, I was
sure we would all plunge headfirst into the river to be killed or consumed by
the kelpie.
 
But that never happened, and
at last we made it to the other side.
 
When our boat bumped against land, we all collectively exhaled.

We wasted no time exiting the
boat.
 
An overwhelming feeling of relief
filled me when my feet touched land.
 
We
had finally done it – we had crossed the dreaded river.
 
I took a minute to study the new terrain
around me.
 
We had entered a land of
rolling, grassy hills, dotted by a few trees and shrubs – quite different from
the Black Forest.

Adrian was the last to leave the
boat, and as soon as his foot had left it, the water around the boat began to
gurgle.
 
The boat shook, then began to
sink, water spilling over its sides and flooding its inside.
 
I watched it disappear under the water, never
to be seen again.

“So it wasn’t a trap,” Dylan said
in awe.

“Clearly.” Adrian continued to
stare at the spot where the boat had disappeared, before turning to continue
our journey.

We had no time to bask in our
achievement.

I turned back to the river to look
at its waters one last time, and made out a pale face with red hair smiling
diabolically at me beneath the surface.
 
But it vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving me with the
smoke-like memory of its disturbing smile and the words, “That Bloodbourn boy
will be the death of you.”

Chapter
Thirty

After walking for an entire day, we
finally reached a city – or rather, a ghost-city.
 
Its buildings stood in shattered ruins,
debris clogging the empty streets.
 
The
closer we got to the heart of the city, the more monstrous the buildings
became.
 
What started as broken, straw
huts grew into the remains of what could only be described as skyscrapers.
 
At the very center of the city stood the
remains of a razed palace, utterly destroyed beyond recognition, save for a few
marble blocks scattered about the ruin.

Adrian explained that the city had
been known as Vieyrin, that it had been one of the first cities to be destroyed
during the Blood War.
 
The Bloodbourn had
attacked during the night, burning the central palace to the ground with the
Irisbourn family that lived within it.
 
The Bloodbourn continued to raid the city afterwards, often in
destructive drunken stupors, and Vieyrin’s inhabitants quickly perished or
fled.
 
Not a single living soul was left.

By the time we reached Vieyrin, the
long, dark shadows of the buildings were swelling into one another, and we
decided to set up camp on the ground floor of the most stable building we could
find.

We ended up choosing some primitive
form of a clothing factory.
 
Dozens of
abandoned tables were arranged in orderly rows and columns with cloth strewn
about them.
 
Everything was covered in a
thick layer of dust and grime, and wooden cups still sat on several of the
tables, the liquid they once held long evaporated.
 
On one table I even found a plate with
several small bones, as if someone had abandoned his meal in a hurry, with no
time to consume it.

We didn’t dare explore the floors
above us – the building was in very poor condition, and sleeping on the first
floor under a ceiling that threatened to collapse was dangerous enough.

We didn’t make a fire that night
either.
 
Because we were so close to the
Blood Kingdom border, Bloodbourn soldiers still occasionally patrolled the
city.
 
Instead, we feasted on some of my
canned food and what little smoked moonrabbit Arisella had saved.
 
Luckily, earlier in the day we had found a
small stream where we could restock on water, so we had plenty to drink.

We consumed our food in a circle
around a flashlight balanced on its base, which served as a sad sort of
substitute for a fire (Dylan’s idea).
 
I
kept glancing at Adrian anxiously, as I picked at my meal of watery green
beans.
 
We hadn’t gotten a chance to
speak to each other all day, and I wondered if we would ever address what had
happened the previous night.

Beside me, Dylan got to his feet
and, without any explanation, made to exit the building.

“Where do you think you’re going?”
Arisella demanded through a mouthful of meat.

“I have to pee,” Dylan stated
matter-of-factly.
 
“I’d prefer not to do
it here.
 
Although I can, if you’d like.”

Arisella gagged and made a shooing
motion.
 
“Go.”

“Don’t go far,” I called after
him.
 
I frowned at myself.
 
Recently I had been sounding like his
overbearing mother— not the kind of relationship I wanted to have with my best
friend.

When she had finished eating,
Arisella snatched the flashlight and got up to inspect the cloth on the many
tables.
 
Occasionally she would run her
fingers over one piece of fabric, make a small noise in satisfaction, and swipe
it.

“What’s she doing?” I asked Adrian
curiously, as I watched her.

“Finding clothes.
 
Spellbourn used to work in this building,
enchanting Beastbourn fabric so that the clothing would change with them.
 
If I were you, I’d join Aris, before she takes
everything good,” Adrian recommended.

I followed his advice, starting on
the side of the room farthest from Arisella.
 
The fabric was rough against my fingers, but wearable.
 
Knowing how old they must have been, I was
surprised they didn’t fall apart at the slightest touch.

By the time Arisella and I met, I
had claimed two light shirts, a pair of undergarments, and some shorts – a
jackpot, I had thought cheerily, until I saw Arisella’s pile of clothes, which
was over twice the size of mine.

She looked at the clothes in my
arms with a hint of greediness, as if she wanted to have mine as well.
 
Were these clothes really that important to
her?

I stuffed the clothes into the
bottom of my bag, praying that I wouldn’t have to get into a petty argument
over them with Arisella.

“Human’s been gone for a while,”
Arisella noticed.

She was right.
 
For a bathroom break, Dylan had been gone for
an exceedingly long time.

“He may have gotten lost.
 
I’ll look for him,” I volunteered.
 
Arisella tossed me the flashlight, and I
caught it deftly.
 
I took an embarrassing
amount of private pride in the fact that I hadn’t dropped it.

“That may not be the best idea,”
Adrian began.

I narrowed my eyes at him.
 
“I’m not some helpless seventeen-year-old
girl who constantly needs someone hovering around her for protection,” I shot
his words back at him before striding into the darkness.
 
Until then, I hadn’t realized just how
irritated I’d been with him for avoiding me.
 
Based on the surprise on his face, apparently he hadn’t either.

I went straight to the place I felt
a boy would find most appropriate to pee – the street.
 
But Dylan wasn’t there.
 
I continued to search for him up and down the
street, being careful not to catch my foot on a stray piece of rubble.

Just as I was about to turn around
and start searching in the opposite direction, I heard deep, gravelly voices
behind me.
 
I quickly switched off my
flashlight and crouched behind the remains of a wall.
 
Was that Dylan’s voice?
 
I was too far away to tell.

I maneuvered around the rubble,
staying close to the ground, as I crawled toward the source of the sounds.
 
Two big, brawny men with dark hair and black
robes stood in the street.
 
Between them
sat a scrawny boy bent over on his knees, his unruly hair flopping over his
face.

Dylan.

Despite my fear for his safety, I
couldn’t help scowling into the darkness.
 
Of course, he had to go and get himself captured by Bloodbourn
soldiers.
 
Of course.

“Of what birth are you?!” the
larger of the two men shouted at Dylan.

Dylan made a small, mouse-like
noise, and the big man kicked him.
 
It
took everything in me not to jump out and strangle the man.
 
But I couldn’t do that – at least, not
yet.
 
I needed to know what they wanted,
what they were capable of, first.

“He asked you a question!” the
smaller-but-still-huge one stormed.

“Caucasian!” Dylan finally cried
out.

I buried my face in my hands.
 
He was so, so hopeless.

It was the smaller one’s turn to
kick him now.
 
I had to admit that he
kind of deserved that one.

The two men conferred between one
another in confused, impatient whispers before resuming their questioning.

The big one bent over Dylan and
started yelling at the back of his head.
 
“Where does your loyalty lie?!”

“I-I don’t,” Dylan stammered.

“Speak up, fool!” the big one
commanded.
 
“Do you fight for the one
true Blood King, or not?!”

“Fight?” Dylan said
confusedly.
 
“I am neutral… like… like …
Switzerland!”

This time the big one and the small
one kicked Dylan at the same time.
 
I saw
a rivulet of red trickle out of his nose, and I sucked in a deep breath.
 
I couldn’t let this go on too much longer.

“He speaks nonsense,” the big one
decided.
 
“He must be mad.”

“We should end his worthless life
now,” the small one agreed, ignoring Dylan’s heartrending pleas for his life.

I saw a dark thin blade appear in
the large man’s hand, and a wild hiss escaped from the back of my throat.

“What was that?” The large man spun
around, searching for the source of the noise, and I ducked closer to the
ground.

“You’re hearing things.
 
Now hurry, I’d like to get this done.”

The large man took one last glance
in my direction and warily returned to Dylan.

“Weak little creature,” the large
man muttered, as he raised his blade above his head.

I launched myself at his
outstretched arm, just as he was about to bring the knife down on Dylan’s
neck.
 
I wasn’t quite sure when I had
changed, or if I had even done it on purpose, but I knew I was a panther when I
sank my incisors into his forearm, making him release a rather unmanly shriek
in pain.

“By the King!” I heard the smaller
man behind me exclaim.

I released the muscled, bloody arm
from my jaws and growled at Dylan, nudging him hard toward the direction of our
camp with my nose.
 
It took him a few
seconds to understand what I was trying to communicate to him, but eventually
he got it, and limped off in that direction.

He didn’t see the blade that sliced
through my back – in a way, I was glad he didn’t, or he would have never
left.
 
I cried out in pain and turned on
the smaller man.
 
He was still double my
size, and already armed with another blade.
 
I didn’t take my eyes off his weapon, as I lifted myself onto my
haunches and pounced on him.
 
I succeeded
in knocking his knife out of his hand, but as soon as I had, he had already
produced two more, this time in both of his palms.

Imagine
fighting an opponent who never runs out of weapons
, Adrian’s words echoed
in my head.

I placed my paws on his biceps and
dug my claws into his elbows to prevent him from moving his hands.
 
It must have been incredibly painful for him,
but he endured it silently – the only sign of his suffering was the bulging
whiteness of his eyes.
 
I was about to
tear into his neck without a second thought, when I felt a blade sink into my
shoulder.
 
I roared at the sharp, ripping
sensation and released the man below me.

Despite the deep wound in his neck,
the big man had gotten to his feet behind me and was preparing to throw another
knife in my direction.
 
I turned my
attention to him and swept at his legs, but I was too slow, and he moved out of
the way easily.

I managed to avoid the knife he
sent whizzing in my direction, and successfully tackled him.
 
Determined to finish him off, I went straight
for his neck, but he was able to block my strike by holding the dull edge of
his blade against my neck.
 
I furiously
bit the air in front of his face, but his hold on the knife did not waver.
 
For the moment, we were locked in a stalemate
– if he released the blade, I would bite off his face; if I relaxed, he would
stab me in the throat.

I sensed movement behind me, and
with horror realized that I had forgotten the second soldier.
 
I felt another knife penetrate my other
shoulder, courtesy of the forgotten soldier, but somehow maintained my
stalemate with the big soldier underneath me.

I was faced with the sobering
reality of choosing between two ways to die now: be stabbed once in the throat,
or stabbed several times through the back.

I continued to force myself against
the big soldier’s knife, but I could feel him gradually gaining the upper
hand.
 
It was only a matter of time now.

For the first time, I heard the small
soldier break his silence to release a shrill, airy cry, but I couldn’t turn
around to see why.
 
All I knew was that
the blades had stopped sinking into my back, and for that I was grateful.

It was only when I heard the
guttural growling that I knew what was going on.

Arisella appeared in front of me,
her shiny fur colorless in the moonlight.
 
It was almost as if she smiled mercilessly before burying her teeth in
the man’s face beneath me.
 
The pressure
on the knife immediately disappeared, and I looked away from the grisly sight,
only to find Adrian knelt over the smaller soldier, over a dark knife
protruding from the enemy’s heart.

Dylan stood further back,
vociferously cheering Adrian and Arisella on behind some rubble.

“Gods,” Adrian breathed as he took
in the sight of me.

I felt myself shift back into human
form and fall to my knees – I couldn’t hold the change anymore.
 
I had sustained too many injuries.
 
The pain was becoming too much.
 
My entire body was overwhelmed by a single
pulsating sensation of agony.
 
Hell, I
didn’t even care about my lack of clothes anymore.

I faintly remembered screaming when
Adrian pulled the knives from my back.
 
I
hadn’t meant to, but the agony had simply been so much more than I was
expecting.