Branches of Life

Koa was clutching Starling's arms, muscles bulging as he tried pulling her up. His dragon's powerful aura surrounded him as he tapped into its energy. Lights flared around Wyatt's hands as he used his magic. Both on the mud and aiding in Koa's attempts. Harmony had both of her hands pressed into the ground beside Starling, green energy flowing from her hands and sinking into the mud.

It was a tug of war between them and the mud, and unfortunately, one they were losing. They would pull her free a couple of inches, only for it to reclaim those inches and then some.

A light touch at my back had me nearly shrieking until I looked over my shoulder and saw Ander. With a tilt of his head, I moved to the side, enduring the painful strikes from the branches as he pushed past me and then Ari. The smell of his blood filled the air letting us know he was casting.

Ander muttered something to Koa, who then shifted his grip to under Starling's armpits, while Ander took over gripping her forearms. I couldn't make out the faint words Ander spoke, not over Wyatt's chanting, Harmony's colorful curse words, and Koa's frustrated growls. I was pretty sure whatever he was saying was directed at Starling.

I felt completely useless, wishing there was something, anything I could do to help. Even though I knew standing back was the best opinion, they already had enough people surrounding Starling, I'd just end up getting in the way if I tried helping. It didn't mean I had to like it. If I had more room and wasn't standing in mud, I probably would've ended up pacing. As it was, I was practically bouncing around as I anxiously watched their slow progress.

With Ander's help they gained a foot in their tug of war, and this time when the mud pulled her back in, it only gained a couple of inches. This process continued for several minutes, and fatigue started to wear on them.

Mythics didn't have an unlimited source of energy and power. Elementals’ came from the elements around her. Sorcerers’ and sorceresses' came from their own bodies, sometimes they could pull from crystals and potions. Obviously, summoners pulled from their animals, but they had their limits of energy, and once it was tapped you had to wait until it recharged. Another obvious one, but the blood mage's energy came from the blood they used.

Rowan bumped her nose against my leg, opting not to talk. Still watching the tug of war continue, I ran my fingers through her coarse fur. What the hell was in this mud, that it took four Mythics using their powers to pull someone from it?

Finally, they pulled Starling free, the five of them falling into a piled heap. Their breathing was hard and fast, and more than anything I wanted to allow them a moment to rest and catch their breath. But I knew now was not the time for that. Not only did I suspect the mud wouldn't appreciate not getting its victim. There was also our—necessary—use of magic. "We need to leave, now."

After Ari helped pull them to their feet, we took off running, well tried to. The ground still pulled at our feet, but for some reason, we weren't sinking as much as before. I discovered the source of this when I saw glimpses of green earth magic and sparks of energy up ahead.

My chest, sides, and legs were burning by the time the mud disappeared and the grass reappeared. I never thought I'd be so happy to see grass in my entire life. Luck must've finally been on our side, because the trees even widened a few feet, giving us some breathing room. We took this time to catch our breaths and gulp down some water. Only for a minute, we still needed to get the hell out of here.

Mud was caked all over Starling's body, all the way up her chest, and in her hair. She even had splatters of it on her cheeks. The others didn't have it as bad as her, but they were worse off than Ari or me.

Peeking through the tunnel of branches, the sky began shifting from muted gray to pitch black. Way too fast to be natural. It was almost like we jinxed ourselves by taking a breather. I knew that wasn't the case. Our magic use somehow caused this, I just knew it.

Piercing wails, howls, and screeches filled the forest as another full moon shot up high in the sky. Basically, any horrifying sound you'd imagine in a haunted forest filled the quickly chilling air. Somehow the horrifying feeling of being watched intensified. Shudders wracked my body as I spun around looking and listening for the source. Hard to do when the creature's noises had yet to cease. Knowing we were completely fucked, we shoved aside our exhaustion the best we could and sprinted through the tunnel.

Even pulling energy from my wolf, it didn't take long for my breathing to turn harsh, every breath burning my chest. Now I finally understood all of Ander's annoying training exercises. When we got through this, I was going to thank him and never doubt him again when it came to training. Possibly. Okay, probably not.

Deafening screeches came again, but this time way too close for comfort. If this portal wasn't close by, we were fucked. I didn't care where it led us or the possible dangers on the other side. Anywhere was better than here. With all of the creatures that were most likely following our magic trail, we had zero chances of fighting them all off.

In my distracted state, I hadn't noticed the branch swinging at me until it smacked me in the side crackling a couple of ribs. While I was focused on the branch, a root knocked my feet from under me. My shoulder slammed into the ground as I rolled to a stop. Groaning and grunting, I stumbled to my feet, keeping my breaths shallow. Pain ricocheted through my right shoulder and down my arm when I attempted using it.

At the last second, my senses picked up on something hurtling toward me from behind, and I threw myself to the side. An action my ribs and aching shoulder protested. My roll was far from graceful, my now throbbing hip could attest to that. Not even the adrenaline coursing through my body could dull the pain. The sharp ache in my shoulder took most of my attention.

A figure dressed in a black hooded cloak flew toward me, because of course I was being attacked by a fucking wraith when I was trapped, tired, and injured. It was every girl's dream to fight this nightmare of a creature that could steal her soul.

Before I could pull a dagger free or even move, the wraith gripped my neck with its bony fingers. Its touch was so cold, it burned. My wolf spirit backed away and tried hiding when my chest began to burn. Not like it was before. This felt like someone set my whole damn chest on fire and kept adding fuel. Every single thought in my brain froze as the only thing I could think about, was the excruciating pain and agony. Pure darkness was all I could see as I stared into the depths of the hood, where another piercing shriek came from. A painful ripping sensation began in my chest because apparently, setting it on fire wasn't agonizing enough.

At the back of my mind, I could hear the faint words from one of my instructors, telling me not to let a wraith lay its hands on me. It was how they stole your soul. Even though it was harder to steal a Mythic's soul than a human's, it could be done.

Pulling strength from a place I hadn't known existed, I managed to move my legs and weakly kicked at the wraith. When that proved useless, I went for trying to pull a dagger from my leg harness. Which proved harder than I thought, due to my now numb fingers. Through no small amount of pure stubbornness and a strong will to keep my soul, I managed to free a dagger and swipe it at the wraith's chest. A putrid decaying smell filled the air as the wraith shrieked, this time in agony. I lashed out again, and in a move of self-preservation, the wraith pushed me away.

For a few seconds, I was weightless, flying through the air until smacking into the ground and rolling backwards. My vision went blurry when my head slammed into a tree trunk, stopping my momentum. Aches riddled my body as well as the burning and ripping at my chest, which would continue doing so until the wraith was killed.

Through my blurred vision, I was able to make out the wraith flying through the air toward me. Every muscle in my body locked up, anticipating the attack that never came. Before the creature could touch me again, Rowan leaped through the air and tackled it. The wraith screeched louder than before, forcing me to cover my ears. Now not only was my body beat the hell up, but I could now add ringing ears to the mix.

As my vision cleared, I was able to see Rowan swatting at the wraith, ripping through its cloak. It retaliated by swiping a clawed hand at Rowan, and just narrowly missed her. More than anything I wanted to help, possibly throw a dagger even though my good shoulder was hurt, but I didn't have a clean shot on the wraith.

Pushing myself to my feet, I ignored all of the agonizing pain pounding through my body and soul as I nearly fell over. It wasn't graceful or pretty by any means, but I was able to limp forward. Standing next to those damn trees was a recipe for disaster.

Footsteps approached from behind, and without thought, I whirled and stabbed. My wrist was caught by a large hand, preventing me from gutting Koa. The icy horror of almost hurting him had my already numb hand losing its grip on the dagger. I numbly watched as Koa caught the dagger and tucked it back in its sheath on my leg. His fingers gently probed my tender forehead and then my neck, a muscle thrumming in his jaw.

"Can you run?" He asked, voice low and rough.

A small and stubborn part of me wanted to say yes, but then I took too deep of a breath, and a sharp stabbing pain had me hissing. Normally it would've taken maybe an hour to heal, but with all of the other injuries, I was looking at a few hours. At least. Koa's eyes tracked over my body, searching for the source of my pain. Not wanting to talk, I pointed at my ribs.

Even though he was gentle when scooping me up into his arms, I still let out a sharp breath when he touched my shoulder. His already tense body became more rigid, but his grip remained gentle. Despite carrying my weight, he didn't seem to be slowed down by me as he ran.

All at once, the burning, ripping at my chest, and numbness in my hands vanished. My shoulder and ribs protested when I shifted around and tried seeing over his shoulder, resulting in a sharp hissing breath that irritated my ribs further.

"She's fine, you would know if something happened," Koa soothed, his voice carrying traces of heavier breathing. Somehow he knew I was worried about Rowan. I know it was stupid, that she obviously killed the wraith, but I still couldn't rid myself of my fear.

Behind us, I heard the telltale signs of someone following us. My body tensed until I heard Rowan. 'Don't worry, it's just me.' When we were no longer busy running for our lives, or in a dangerous realm, I was going to ask her some questions about our bond. Mainly whether or not she could feel my emotions.

It took longer than I thought it would to catch up with the others. I had seriously fallen behind, literally. This was why I hated being at the back of the group. Looks of relief filled the other's expressions, mixed with worry at seeing me being carried. "We're almost there," Wyatt said, and at first I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary.

Not even a minute later I felt an energy up ahead, different than the dark energy coating the forest. This felt neutral but subtle, similar to the fixed portals in our realm that led from one court to the next.

We took a bend in the tunnel and finally came across the translucent swirling portal. Without stopping, we ran into the portal, getting sucked into the unknown. And hopefully ended up somewhere that sucked less than this damn forest.