Chapter 37 Chapter 37: Decoy
Senna’s
The ferals didn’t rush us. That was the worst part. We paused, expecting them to surge at us. Instead, they spread out in front of us, pacing, watching.
“They’re not in a hurry,” Korrigan said quietly.
“No,” I replied. “They don’t have to be. They’re only here to block us. Just like the wisps and the water beasts. This is all orchestrated. They spectators want us back on the beach.”
Behind us was the beach with the water beasts. In front of us was a line of ferals. We were trapped. We couldn’t go forward.
Thor shifted his stance in front of me. He planted himself between the ferals and me on the ground.
“We’re not staying here,” he said firmly. “We pick a direction and we push through.”
“How?” Isolde snapped. “She can’t even stand. We don’t have enough bows. Korrigan’s wolf is hurt.”
“I can stand,” I said, trying to push myself up again.
The world tilted. My leg buckled before I got halfway. I caught myself on my hands, my breath hitching as red hot pain tore through my side.
Thor’s pressed his hand onto my shoulder, forcing me back down.
“No,” he said firmly. “You’re not going anywhere like this.”
“I don’t have a choice.” We couldn’t stay here. We had to go. We had to find someplace safe. So we could regroup.
“We do,” Korrigan said. “We have one choice.
I looked up at him.
Korrigan’s face was pale under the dirt and blood. His eyes flitted between the ferals and us.
“There’s too many of them,” he explained. “If we all move, they will follow all of us. We’ll be surrounded before we make it ten steps.”
“Then what?” Isolde demanded.
He didn’t answer right away. He didn’t have to. I felt it settle in my gut before he said it.
“If someone can make a run for it, some of them will follow. It will thin them out. We can attack the one here and then go after the other ones,” he said.
“No,” I said immediately. That was way too dangerous. We couldn’t send someone in as bait. It was too risky.
Thor shook his head. “I agree with Senna,” he said. “We’re not doing that.”
“We don’t have any other options,” Korrigan replied. “Someone needs to draw some of the ferals away. It’s the only chance we have.”
“Who?” Isolde asked, her voice tight.
We were all silent for a moment.
“That’s not happening,” Thor said, glaring at Korrigan. “We stay together. We don’t risk anyone’s life. That was the deal.”
“That’s not strategy,” Korrigan said. “This will give us a chance to find a safe place and…”
“I’ll go,” Thistle said. His words cut through everything. We all turned our heads to him.
“No,” I said.
Thistle wiped his face with the back of his sleeve. His hands were shaking, but his voice wasn’t.
“I’m the fastest,” he said. “I’m not injured. I can do it. They’ll follow me.”
“No,” I repeated, louder this time. “Absolutely not.” There was no way in hell I was going to let Thistle lead away a pack of rabid ferals.
Thor stared at him. “Kid…”
“I’m not a kid,” Thistle snapped, although his voice cracked on the last word. “And I’m not useless.”
“No one said you were,” I replied.
“Then let me help.” It hurt my heart to hear that Thistle didn’t think he was helping. But this wasn’t the time for bravado. Both he and Isolde needed to stay close to us. We couldn’t have either of them running out into the forest.
“You are helping,” I said gently. “By staying alive. We need you alive.”
He shook his head. “That’s not enough.” His expression was stubborn now.
“It is to me,” I told him. “Please, Thistle. Think about this. You can’t go. We’ll figure out something else.
Our eyes locked. Then he glanced past me, at the ferals.
“I can do this,” he said quietly.
“Stay,” I said. “You’re not going. That’s final.”
He hesitated. Just for a second. Then he nodded once. I exhaled with relief. Finally, he’d seen reason. We’d have to figure out another way. I flashed Thistle a grateful half-smile.
His face was still firm though. I realized what he was about to do a moment too late.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I have to do this.”
Then he turned and ran.
“Thistle!” Thor shouted, lunging for him. But it was too late. Thistle was already off. The ferals reacted instantly. Their heads snapped towards him. Then they were off too, after him.
Thor grabbed my arm, hauling me up despite my protest, half-lifting, half-dragging me.
“Come on,” he said through gritted teeth. “We’re going after him. Stay with me.”
I tried. I really did. But blackness was creeping in from my peripheral vision. Thistle was running through the trees. He didn’t get far though before they caught up. We heard it, the shift in the chase. It went silent.
Then Thistle’s scream cut through the trees.
“SENNA!” He cried out my name. My name. And that tore something open in my chest, a raw pain that was worse than the wound in my side.
“Verity,” I gasped.
“I’ll try,” she said, her voice weak. Seconds later, it surged out of me in a raw, instinctive flood. We heard the ground explode. We could see it even from where we stood. Roots tore free in a violent eruption, thick and jagged, surging upward faster than anything I’d ever seen before. The roots bristled with thorns.
The ferals screamed. Isolde clamped her hands over her ears.
But Thistle. He was there too.
“Verity, stop,” I said.
“I can’t,” she whispered. “I’ve lost control.”
The roots continued to surge from the ground, killing every feral in their path. My heart hammered in my chest.
“THISTLE!” I hollered. He didn’t answer. “Verity, please,” I begged. “You’re going to kill Thistle. He’s going to get caught in the thorns and…”
But before I could finish my sentence, the blackness crept in. I swooned for a moment. And then everything went dark.