Gods and Dark Creatures (Book 3)

CH. 12: Dragomira

Tree roots pulled her underground. She did not like the idea of being buried alive at all. However, out of nowhere, they immediately loosened their grip and spat her back to the surface. She gasped. She was shaking. Her heart was frightened. She felt like it was going to jump out of her chest at any moment and run away.

Silence reigned in the forest. The wailing stopped. She saw fallen trees in the distance. They still blazed with a faint flame. They acted as if they were trying to escape. Flakes of ash floated in the air.

She wasn't going to wait for something else from the horrors of the Forest of the Dead to find her. She had to get back on the road. However, her horse ran away and she will have to continue on her own leg now. The thought of returning also crossed her mind, but she quickly pushed it out of her head. She can't go back. Alexei would certainly be happy if she came back, but she has gone too far to give up now. She will continue.

The fire no longer protected her. She didn't want to go near the trees that were still burning. She had no idea which way to go. The sun will not help her there. She simply turned in a certain direction and followed her intuition.

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Several more days passed. It seemed like forever. She had no idea what day it was, or if there was even a day. Years may have passed. Maybe nothing she once knew existed anymore. The forest as if it had put a curse on her. Despair overwhelmed her. She walked and walked and found no end. She was beginning to forget where she came from. She was lost.

However, she suddenly saw a faint light in the distance. A faint, blue flame glowed in the darkness. Some inner voice drew her to that light. She took one uncertain step towards it, two, three. She came within arm's reach. She was staring at the blue light. She was fascinated. She took one more step and the light suddenly disappeared. She looked around confused. And a little further she saw it again. A blue flame that lured her to itself. She stepped to him, and as she approached, it disappeared into the darkness and reappeared somewhere else. And so on and on and on.

During the time spent in the Forest of the Dead, Dragomira had already met many strange beings on whom she kept her sight. Fairies who were similar to Bari from the tree with golden apples. Their skin was like the bark of a tree. Their hair was like the crown of trees. Some resembled blooming meadows. She saw fauns with curved horns, a snake with green branches growing out of its back. She heard strange noises and voices calling her name. However, it was not the forest she had heard about. That is if we leave out the part where the living trees tried to kill her. Either she knew a different meaning of monster than the others, or there simply weren't any.

Out of nowhere, a whole bunch of those blue lights appeared. They stood behind each other in a crowd. As if they would form a path. As if they would try to lead her somewhere.

It was a crazy idea, but she followed them.

Her heart advised her to do so.

Every time she got close to one, it disappeared, but the others remained. She followed them into the mysterious unknown into which they led her.

They brought her to the river. Another light appeared on its other side. The river seemed to be deep. She couldn't see the bottom. And it was too wide to jump to the other bank. She had to get to the other side somehow if she wanted to continue her journey. She must swim, she told herself. The current of the river seemed to be strong. She will have to be careful. And not just the current, but anything that might be lurking in its waters. It had a strange color. It was blood red. It reminded her of her hunger. It has been days, if not weeks, since she drank blood. She felt weak as a human. Hunger was exhausting her. If this is her fastest way to get to someone's warm veins, then she will have to risk it.