Chapter 81 Another dead end

Chapter 81 Another dead end
~ Tyra ~

“No. I didn’t listen to anything you just said.” I snapped at him, glaring daggers at his calm and composed self. “The only voice I’m listening to right now is the one reminding me that it’s getting late and I need to be home with Claire and Stefan for apple pie. I also need to be at work early tomorrow. What sort of unfortunate—”

I was already getting worked up again, my frustration spilling out faster than I could control it, when the words suddenly got stuck in my throat.

A low growl came from somewhere behind me and I froze.

Every muscle in my body locked in place as my heart suddenly picked up speed.

I looked at Zaran, and the calm expression he had been wearing only moments ago was beginning to crack. His eyes were fixed on something behind me, and there was a seriousness in his face that made the little courage I had left disappear.

“What the hell is that?” I whispered, but the question barely landed before Zaran pulled me into his arms in a flash.

One arm secured me against him while his other hand moved through the air, his lips forming words I couldn't understand as he chanted and made a series of strange movements with his hand.

Something responded to whatever he had done because the terrifying and disgusting beast behind me was suddenly sent flying in another direction.

Before the creature could regain its balance, Kosi transformed into his ghoul form again, and within moments, he had grabbed the beast, lifted it completely off the ground, and thrown it over the cliff.

I stared after it, my eyes blinking rapidly in stunned surprise.

Zaran released me from his grip immediately afterward and turned toward me with a prominent frown on his face.

“This place is crawling with predators. You shouldn’t move around aimlessly or with your guard down. You could walk into a trap or into a den of something you don’t understand.”

I knew there was sense in what he was saying. After all, I had just watched two creatures attack each other right in front of me. However, my brain decided to focus on something else entirely.

His tone. He sounded like he was scolding me.

“Don’t you dare scold me when I’m in this mess because of you.” I glared at him, my frustration returning almost instantly. “I only wanted to help you because I thought you were hurt. If I had known helping a stranger would somehow land me in a strange place filled with monsters, I would have minded my business and kept walking.”

“No scold master,” Kosi chimed in, shaking his head after returning to his human form. “Master no take scolding well.”

“Shut up, Kosi.” Zaran silenced him without even looking in his direction.

I let out a long sigh and dropped to the floor, sitting there as I tried desperately to calm my panicking heart before I completely broke down and started crying.

“I just want to go home,” I finally admitted, my voice much quieter than before.

“If you want any chance of surviving until you get home, then you have to be on high alert always.”

My head snapped up, and I stared at him.

“I have to?”

He didn't hesitate.

“Yes. I understand this is not your fault, and I will do my best to get you back safely. But you have to cooperate with me for that to happen.”

His words should have reassured me, but instead, they reminded me of just how serious my situation was.

“Oh goddess, this is a nightmare.” I finally broke down, unable to hold myself together anymore. A single tear escaped and rolled down my cheek. “I’m going to lose my job for sure. And I don’t even have...” I paused, suddenly remembering something that could possibly help.

I looked at Zaran.

“Do you have a phone? I need to make a call.”

“Phones won’t work here even if I have one. There’s no telephone service in this place, so no calls can go through.”

Another dead end.

"Ah, I'm doomed."

"You are not doomed." His voice took on a frustrated edge, and the patience he had been displaying until that moment seemed to thin slightly. "I already promised to get you to safety. Now you either believe it and work with me, or we can stay here and wail all day and end up spending six days in here because we missed the three day window."

His words hit me harder than I wanted to admit because I knew he was right. No amount of crying or complaining was going to magically open the portal or transport me back home. If anything, wasting the little time we had would only make the situation worse.

I sucked in a breath and pushed myself back to my feet, dusting the dirt from my clothes before bending down to pick up my bag. My hands were still trembling slightly, but I forced myself to steady them.

"Fine. What do I need to do?" I asked, mostly because the thought of spending even more days trapped in this strange place was something I couldn't bring myself to accept.

"That's the spirit." He gave me an approving look before continuing. "When you are faced with a seemingly difficult problem, the best thing to do is not to dwell on the severity of the problem, but work on the solution."

I stared at him for a moment. Was he actually advising me now?

The advice itself wasn't bad. In fact, it was probably exactly what I needed to hear. But somehow, coming from him after I had just been dragged through a portal by a flying creature and nearly dropped onto a bed of sharp rocks, it irritated me even more.

I let out a scoff. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one lost in some unknown place."

"I'm lost as well. I've never been here before, remember?" he responded, glancing down at the large watch strapped around his wrist, the same watch he had checked earlier when he told me about the seventy two hour window.

His eyes remained on it for a few seconds before he looked ahead again.

"Then how do you know so much about this place and the timeline?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

There was something about the way he spoke that made it seem like he knew far more than he was telling me, and I wasn't ready to overlook that.

"I work with portals a lot. It's my line of work," he responded casually, and started walking ahead in a particular direction, apparently expecting me to follow. "We need to find a place to rest for the night. The temperature is dropping fast. Soon it will be freezing."

I hurried after him, although I deliberately maintained some distance between myself and Kosi. I still hadn't gotten used to the fact that the strange boy could turn into that terrifying creature at will, and I wasn't about to walk too close to him until I understood exactly what he was capable of.

For a while, none of us spoke. The unfamiliar surroundings made me uncomfortable, and every strange sound from somewhere among the trees had me instinctively looking around.

Eventually, curiosity won over my fear.

"So what are you? A witch?" I asked, breaking the silence.

I had been trying to figure out his identity from everything I had witnessed.

"Yes."

My eyes widened. I honestly hadn't expected him to answer in the affirmative so easily.

"Wait. You are a witch?" I asked again, just to make sure I hadn't misheard him.

"I just confirmed that less than three seconds ago."

My brows knitted together.

I had heard about witches, but I had genuinely thought he would say he was a spiritual guide or something of that nature. My brain settled for that option despite all the signs because of all the things I'd been thought about witches.

His sarcastic response did nothing to ease the sudden worry that had begun spreading through me.

My steps gradually became slower without me even realizing it.

"Are you going to sacrifice me or something?" I asked cautiously.

He stopped walking, then turned around and stared at me with an expression of pure disbelief and disgust, as if I had just asked him the most ridiculous question he had ever heard.

"Is that the level they've descended to at Blazing Moon? Teaching kids that witches sacrifice people?"

Confusion immediately colored my face, my eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"How did you know I'm from Blazing Moon?"