woman’s faint voice calling,
“Hellooooo, little giiiiirl...”
A
specter . Its voice seemed to have come
from all directions at once. Shuddering, Aurelia seized her swords
and held them out to her sides, swinging them quickly in hopes that
the silver blades would force the spirit to back off. There wasn’t
anything else she could do to fight a spirit. Fear pricked at her,
but she swatted it away. Specters fed on fear, drawing strength
from its energy. She wouldn’t give it that advantage.
“ Helloooooo,” the specter
said again, and this time its tone carried a cruel
laugh.
Aurelia looked around wildly, searching the
dark and hoping she wouldn’t find anything. The more visible a
specter was, the more power it wielded, which meant the weakest
were as transparent as the wind while the most powerful looked
almost solid. As long as this specter wasn’t strong enough to
materialize, she stood a chance of escaping before it hurled her
into a tree, or heaved a boulder at her head, or found some other
way to kill her. Dread clawed at her insides, and she fought to
keep it down.
Then an abrupt,
resounding crack shot through the night, and she sensed something huge coming
at her. Realizing it was a falling tree, she leaped out of the way
just before the trunk crashed into the ground. The snapping of
branches peppered the air like gunfire, and she ducked as one came
barreling toward her.
As she sprang back up, her eyes caught a
horrifying sight: A faintly glowing, translucent woman in a blue
dress that hung in tatters from her skeletal figure, which was
loosely covered in torn, gray skin. Her face was so distorted that
Aurelia wondered how it had ever been human at all. One eye looked
as if someone had grabbed it and its surrounding flesh, yanked it
down next to the nostrils, and then filled the resulting space with
an enormous gray boil. The lips appeared to have crumbled away,
leaving a ragged hole around the eternal grin of a skull’s
teeth.
But she didn’t have time to take in any more
details; she had to strike first, or she might not get another
chance. Whipping one blade before her, she launched herself at the
specter, slashing through its ghostly shape. A piercing wail rang
out as the specter’s form splintered, but Aurelia knew it wouldn’t
take long for the spirit to rematerialize. She raced in the other
direction, leaping over the fallen tree. Though she hated running
away, the specter was something she couldn’t fight. She could spend
the rest of the night swinging her blades and forcing it back, but
it would always return, and all she’d do was wear herself out. If
that happened, she’d be vulnerable, and the specter could throw her
around like a ragdoll until nothing was left of Aurelia but crushed
bones and pulp.
Her best bet was to make it across the
enchanted barrier around the Way Station; the specter wouldn’t be
able to follow. She just had to get there. She had to be close
enough now.
She hoped.
“ Stop, girl!” The
specter’s shrill voice landed in her ears like a double punch,
harsh and startling.
Cold air brushed Aurelia’s left arm. That
was where the specter would materialize next—she knew it at once.
She swiped one blade through the area, where a faint gray glow had
already begun to appear, and the specter let out another
high-pitched wail as it was forced to scatter again.
Aurelia sprinted through the trees, knowing
there was no time to lose. Energy coursed through her as she dodged
an avalanche of falling branches, then slashed her blades through
the specter’s third attempt to materialize. The undead creature
hadn’t caught her yet, but beneath the heat of action, terror sat
embedded in her chest. This spirit was vicious, and Aurelia didn’t
care to find out what would happen if she didn’t make it to
safety.
Her heart seemed ready to explode as she
wove through the quaking trees; she was sure she’d never run so
fast in her entire life. Her lungs burned, and her
“Hellooooo, little giiiiirl...”
A
specter . Its voice seemed to have come
from all directions at once. Shuddering, Aurelia seized her swords
and held them out to her sides, swinging them quickly in hopes that
the silver blades would force the spirit to back off. There wasn’t
anything else she could do to fight a spirit. Fear pricked at her,
but she swatted it away. Specters fed on fear, drawing strength
from its energy. She wouldn’t give it that advantage.
“ Helloooooo,” the specter
said again, and this time its tone carried a cruel
laugh.
Aurelia looked around wildly, searching the
dark and hoping she wouldn’t find anything. The more visible a
specter was, the more power it wielded, which meant the weakest
were as transparent as the wind while the most powerful looked
almost solid. As long as this specter wasn’t strong enough to
materialize, she stood a chance of escaping before it hurled her
into a tree, or heaved a boulder at her head, or found some other
way to kill her. Dread clawed at her insides, and she fought to
keep it down.
Then an abrupt,
resounding crack shot through the night, and she sensed something huge coming
at her. Realizing it was a falling tree, she leaped out of the way
just before the trunk crashed into the ground. The snapping of
branches peppered the air like gunfire, and she ducked as one came
barreling toward her.
As she sprang back up, her eyes caught a
horrifying sight: A faintly glowing, translucent woman in a blue
dress that hung in tatters from her skeletal figure, which was
loosely covered in torn, gray skin. Her face was so distorted that
Aurelia wondered how it had ever been human at all. One eye looked
as if someone had grabbed it and its surrounding flesh, yanked it
down next to the nostrils, and then filled the resulting space with
an enormous gray boil. The lips appeared to have crumbled away,
leaving a ragged hole around the eternal grin of a skull’s
teeth.
But she didn’t have time to take in any more
details; she had to strike first, or she might not get another
chance. Whipping one blade before her, she launched herself at the
specter, slashing through its ghostly shape. A piercing wail rang
out as the specter’s form splintered, but Aurelia knew it wouldn’t
take long for the spirit to rematerialize. She raced in the other
direction, leaping over the fallen tree. Though she hated running
away, the specter was something she couldn’t fight. She could spend
the rest of the night swinging her blades and forcing it back, but
it would always return, and all she’d do was wear herself out. If
that happened, she’d be vulnerable, and the specter could throw her
around like a ragdoll until nothing was left of Aurelia but crushed
bones and pulp.
Her best bet was to make it across the
enchanted barrier around the Way Station; the specter wouldn’t be
able to follow. She just had to get there. She had to be close
enough now.
She hoped.
“ Stop, girl!” The
specter’s shrill voice landed in her ears like a double punch,
harsh and startling.
Cold air brushed Aurelia’s left arm. That
was where the specter would materialize next—she knew it at once.
She swiped one blade through the area, where a faint gray glow had
already begun to appear, and the specter let out another
high-pitched wail as it was forced to scatter again.
Aurelia sprinted through the trees, knowing
there was no time to lose. Energy coursed through her as she dodged
an avalanche of falling branches, then slashed her blades through
the specter’s third attempt to materialize. The undead creature
hadn’t caught her yet, but beneath the heat of action, terror sat
embedded in her chest. This spirit was vicious, and Aurelia didn’t
care to find out what would happen if she didn’t make it to
safety.
Her heart seemed ready to explode as she
wove through the quaking trees; she was sure she’d never run so
fast in her entire life. Her lungs burned, and her
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