Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Shit, shit, shit, this is not the time to stumble, Halyna with Two Left Feet!
I desperately try regaining my balance, but it's too late, and all I can do is fight off the urge to scream as I start to fall.
SHIIIIIIIT!
Pain shoots all the way up to my brain as I fall on my wrist at an awkward angle. I'm pretty sure I've broken it, but sprained joints right now are the least of my worries. I can already hear them closing in on me, and, shit, shit, shit, here they come—-
But nothing happens, and there can only be one reason I'm still alive at this moment.
Please, please, please let him be safe—-
I spin around on my knees, and terror grips my body when I see my beast on its back.
(oh God, no)
My heart nearly stops beating when a growling herd of midnight-black horses attempts to crush my beast into pieces—-
(please God, please keep my parents safe while I try to save him)
I break into a run, and my only thought right now is to get to my god.
I need to get to him, need to help him, and I don't care if I die trying.
I will do anything to save him, and I'm already halfway to Eros when my gaze accidentally collides with one of the horses, and I feel literally sick with fear at the speed in which it launches itself in the air.
Shiiiiiiiit—-
The furiously snarling horse is already directly above me before I can even draw my next breath, and I can almost feel one of Hades' minions drawing close as it waits to collect my soul.
Run, damn you!
Eros' growl blasts in my mind, but all I can do is stare dumbly as he grabs hold of the horse mid-air by one of its hind legs. The next thing I know, my beast is hurtling the creature away like it weighs no heavier than a freaking puppy—-
RUN!
The harshly-voiced order snaps me out of my shock, but just as I scramble back to my feet I take one last look at him, and my heart splinters apart.
It's just been minutes - just minutes since he started fighting, dammit - and yet his snowy white fur is already matted with blood, and I grow cold all over as I realize that the horses we're up against are no ordinary creatures, to be able to make a primordial god bleed.
Go, damn you! I cannot hold them off much longer!
Already my beast has turned its back to me, but with every horse it manages to swipe away with its mighty paws, there are two that would manage to strike back at him, and I nearly lose my mind when one horse gets close enough to bite my beast's chest—-
Eros!
Agony rips through me when the horse manages to tear off an actual chunk of furry flesh, and even when my beast finally manages to throw the creature off, I can see the horse still viciously chomping on the torn piece of flesh like it's the highest grade of steak.
(how can this be happening?)
Animals don't fight like humans do. Fight or flee are their only responses, and there's no such thing as being too proud, too bitter, or too angry to run away, even when they're clearly the weaker species. My beast should've scared these horses off a long, long time ago, so why are they still here?
Why are they literally killing themselves just to chomp bits of flesh off my beast?
Tears sting my eyes, but I angrily wipe them off-—
(think, Halyna, think!)
I look around us wildly, and it's only then that I realize how Eros' mist has been swirling around us all this time like a motion-sensing shield. It's the surest way to keep the horses from hurting my parents and anyone else in the area, but I also know that maintaining this shield must be constantly draining my god of his powers.
He can't keep this up forever. He just can't—-
You need to go, Halyna.
The tautness of Eros' voice in my mind tells me that he's barely hanging on, and my throat tightens up when I notice how the scent of his divine blood has tainted the air. The smell seems to have driven the horses into a ravenous frenzy, and I realize it's only a matter of time before my god wins or loses.
I have a plan, but you must leave now—-
I won't leave you!
My god growls in frustration. I don't have much time left—-
I! Won't! Leave!
Dammit, Halyna! Go! Now!
But it's already too late, and I mentally go 'aah' as we all start flying up in the air, and the nature of his plan becomes evident.
My god has obviously found the portal the horses have jumped out of, and the good news about this?
He has enough powers to reverse its flow, and everything that went out would now be forced to return to wherever they came from.