Chapter 2 : Tricks

*Fynn*

Well, this was new. I had to hand it to Evangeline, this was an unexpected approach. Where did she find a woman like this? The big, hazel eyes were really something, almost otherworldly. She looked up at me and looked genuinely afraid. An actress then.

I reached down and scooped the woman up. She struggled under my grasp, but she was disappointingly weak. I wrapped my arm around her and tossed her over my shoulder. Her gown was practically see-through now that it was damp with sweat. Even if this woman was a spy as I suspected, it would be irresponsible to leave her out in the woods on her own. There were dangerous people out there.

The woman kicked wildly, beating her small fists against my back.

"Let me go, you stupid hillbilly," she demanded, struggling still.

"It's going to hurt if I drop you," I warned her, hoping to talk a little sense into her.

"I don't care. Put me down. I'll call the cops, I swear," she screeched.

The cops? What the hell did that even mean? If I saw Evangeline soon, I'd let her know that she should make her spies more convincing. This woman just spoke nonsense.

"It's a nice try, but you're not very believable. Maybe you should have done a little more training before coming out here to the middle of nowhere. And you definitely should have done more combat training," I advised, chuckling to myself.

"Help!" the woman screeched, the sound causing a covey of birds to take off into the trees.

I sighed. I really wasn't sure what the end goal here was, but I was going to make sure that this woman couldn't get back to the Water Court and report on whatever information she had collected. I flicked my fingers toward a vine.

An identical one appeared, wrapping around the woman's flailing fists and covering her mouth. That only made her struggle worse. I made a fist, which caused the vines to tighten.

Finally, the struggling ceased, and it got a little easier to carry her. I wondered if she might have sprite or pixie blood, she was so light and small. She didn't seem to have much magic though, so that made it doubtful.

Alastor, my black destrier, stood patiently in a clearing just down the road. I turned my head to whistle to him, but the pert ass of my captive was in the way. I suppressed the urge to run my hand over it, shocked that I would struggle to control myself this way.

I narrowed my eyes, craning my neck around the woman's full ass to whistle to my horse.

It wasn't like me to be distracted by a woman. I'd practically sworn them off recently, but even when I was regularly seeing women for my personal fulfillment, I didn't usually cast a second glance at one. A feeling stirred in my chest that felt remarkably like hatred.

That was probably it. I was tired. I was beyond exhausted by the fighting, the running, the war. This exceptionally beautiful, and exceptionally ill-equipped, woman was an unwelcome distraction. It was a pathetic attempt at whatever Evangeline was plotting. While I dreaded my next encounter with the witch, it would be nice to let her know exactly how low I could see she had sunken, and what a failure her little scheme had been.

Alastor greeted me with a tired huff, taking in the sight of our captive. If the animal could speak, I knew he would be complaining about the added weight, but I felt like he might be pleasantly surprised at how light this load was.

I offered him a reassuring pat, taking the reins and draping them over his thick, silky neck. I put the woman on his back, right behind my worn leather saddle, and watched him bob his great head in response. It was as if he was agreeing that the woman might not be the burden he had suspected.

Placing my foot in the stirrup, I mounted the beast, swinging into the saddle while being careful not to kick the captive.

I flicked my hand, the leaves that had wrapped around her mouth to act as a gag falling free. I nudged Alastor forward, and we continued down the road.

"Where are we going?" the woman demanded. She was so damn rude. And persistent.

"To find a place to camp tonight. I don't want to be too close, or too far, from the road," I explained curtly.

"I'm not camping with you," she snapped.

"Okay, then what's your plan? Where will you be sleeping tonight?" I asked her.

"Well, back at my house, probably," she insisted.

I didn't even bother responding to that. Her house. There wasn't a house in these woods for miles. She'd never make it back to even the closest settlement before the sun went down. A woman like her wouldn't survive a night in these woods alone. There were too many beasts, too many creatures and men who would make any sort of meal out of her.

"As soon as I get my phone back, I'm calling the cops on you," she said in a warning tone, though it was more nonsense. That didn't merit a response either. I didn't know what half of those words meant, and I was sure it was either some code taught to her by Evangeline or it was complete and utter nonsense meant to confuse me.

She slumped against me. Her round breasts pressed against my back and my thoughts tumbled somewhere they shouldn't be. Just like Evangeline to send some sort of succubus. Maybe she really was a succubus. There were demons in these woods, it wouldn't be the most unlikely story.

Her breathing sped up and I could hear her pulse thrum. She was either genuinely scared, or she was about to do something stupid. I braced myself for whatever hare-brained plan the lovely woman might have concocted.

The captive shifted her weight, and I realized exactly what she was about to do. I tipped my head to the side, causing a root to burst up through the road and preventing her from throwing herself off the horse. It was a nice try, but she might as well have just told me what she was going to do from how obvious her movements were.

She squealed in frustration as the root propped her back up, then slithered into the earth like a great snake.

I wondered if she had any other grand plans. I considered that her attempts at freedom were so pitiful that maybe she was aiming to disarm me by pretending to be stupid. I didn't really think that was Evangeline's style, but maybe this woman was new to the Water Court's wicked cause.

Or, maybe, she intended to be caught all along. Maybe she was making these weak attempts at escape so that I thought she wanted to be let go. And then, tonight, she'd attempt to seduce me for information, or to distract me so she could slit my throat, or something like that.

It'd been too long since I was with a woman because the thought was halfway appealing. I mean, I could probably fight her off, and maybe get a little relief from my more carnal needs in the meantime.

My mind wandered. This woman would certainly be the perfect choice for a seductress. Her curves were unmistakable under that pathetic shift dress, and I could practically see through the white fabric. Long brown hair fell in perfect waves past her shoulders and down her back, and her full, pouty lips pushed my thoughts to counting how long since I had been with anyone at all.

Her skin was soft, warm, and inviting. I wanted to sink my teeth into it, to run my fingers across the sensitive skin near her hips and watch her skin twitch and jump at my touch.

There was a crashing sound that didn't seem to be a part of the natural sounds of the woods around us. It wasn't a deer, or a rabbit, or more birds. It was something large. The clumsy pattern of footfalls indicated that it wasn't someone on horseback either, and that piqued my attention.

I listened harder, but the sound had gone silent.

My thoughts drifted back to the captive, wondering at what she could be. She lacked the elongated canine teeth that fae had, and instead of coming to a soft point, her ears were rounded. She couldn't be fae, and she couldn't be a pixie or a sprite. I should have paid more attention in class all those years ago when we were learning about the races of the realm.

There was a distant roar and the crashing sound happened again. It was on the other side of the road now, and I wondered if we were being followed.

That could have been the plan, to distract me long enough to catch up to me, maybe some sort of ambush. This wouldn't be the first time that happened.

Alastor could sense the tension, and maybe he could hear the thing in the woods too. He picked up the pace, plodding along with some sense of urgency. The captive was bobbing along behind me, awkwardly holding her bound hands to the side. Every now and then, her chest brushed my back again, and my thoughts scattered in a hundred different directions.

The crashing sound started to become clearer, and there was a foul stench in the air. I breathed in and out of my mouth, trying not to have to focus on the scent. It was like the distinct smell of rotting flesh, a sort of sickly sweet smell that churned your stomach.

"What's that?" the woman asked, sniffing at the air.

"You don't know?" I retorted, instead of admitting that I was not sure yet.

"Something smells weird," she complained, making a fake gagging sound.

"Yeah, that happens sometimes," I snapped, not in any mood to debate what might be causing our demise.

Alastor's feet started to scramble underneath him, and I realized he was starting to get spooked. That made me more nervous than anything else. The horse broke into a canter, carrying us further down the road. I debated over whether or not to direct us off the road and into the woods, but I could hear the thing coming faster now, and I knew that wouldn't help.

The sound of the creature indicated that it was massive, and as it drew nearer, I started to suspect that I actually did know what it was. Dread curled deep in my gut, preparing to strike at my peace of mind like a venomous snake.

As the creature roared again from behind us, two things were confirmed for me.

There was an unearthly beast nearby. And it was hunting us.