Thwack,woosh,swat.That was the rhythm we walked to.Ukrik's big rod (really need to start phrasing this better so I don't sound like a perv) slapped a low hanging branch out of the way,-thwack-swept lower to part the long grass,-woosh-and I was constantly swatting at some very blood thirsty insects that kept nipping at my exposed skin.I'm beginning to regret ever wishing for the normal and familiar.
Give me Godis any day.
Throughout my scratching and grumbled curses,Ulrik told his tale."Glob knew that his victory would never be permanent unless he put other measures in place.To maintain dominion,he had to venture out of this realm and into yours."
"I don't get it,why couldn't he just work his voodoo magic on his own people?"
He grunted with his next thwack,forcing me to hop over the branch that fell.
Which caused me to bump into his granite back and pretty much break my face."Holy pineapple on a stic
I hate snakes.In my brain they represent the epitome of evil.Satan himself was once a snake.They creep me all the way out,so it's safe to say I did a full on Usain Bolt transformation.At least in my head I did.In reality I'm not exactly athletic since my favorite past time is sitting in bed eating nutella and binge watching netflix.Constantly glancing back at them slithering relentlessly towards me didn't help either but I felt like little mouse prey and these things were enormous, looking like they vacationed in Hell.Ulrik, meanwhile has his staff in the air,swirling it around as if he's mixing lemonade and doing a weird jig."Is this really the time to cut loose?!" I asked incredulously.What on earth is he doing? These things can probably swallow me whole and consider me an appetizer.Ulrik might break a few teeth though so I can picture that before I'm completely digested.Wait,do snakes even have teeth?Ulrik ignores me and conti
Deep breath Judah.You've kicked Keanu's ass a bunch of times.Of course,to be fair,those were mainly pillow fights and paint ball battles but still.I do a mental shrug.Roll my shoulders.I try to crack the bones in my neck too but I think they're too lubricated from the grease of all the fried crap I eat so that's a fail.Back to my internal pep talk.You can do this.You've got this Judah.I've got about ten minutes to repent of my sins is what I've got.My heart accelerates,it's frantic beat echoing in my head and my breathing gets heavy.Ah man,I don't want to die.I can feel myself start to sweat.Wait,nope,aiming for a badass transformation here.If I can become Usain Bolt then Jean Grey shouldn't be too much of a stretch right? I close my eyes and focus on my breathing.I can feel the warmth of the sun on my face,the gentle sway of the flowers brushing against my nightgown.Beneath me the ground trembles and in the distance my ears pick
My dark hair streamed out behind me and my feet threaten to tangle together as I run and examine my luminous limbs at the same time,giggling and sputtering like someone high on marijuana."Ulrik I'm glowing! I feel like a night light or something!"I finally catch up and fall into step beside him.That is,I try to,since one of his strides is about three of mine.I might as well still be running."You humans aren't very smart are you? I'm very aware of that fact,which is why I pointed it out to you," he remarked derisively and shakes his head slowly from side to side.I lift my hands and examine them scant inches from my face.They shimmer gold and I fight the urge to 'ooh and aah' like some brainless kid seeing his first magic trick."No need to be snarky.""You make it terribly easy.""I think you're just mean"At this he snorts.
Ulrik's arm was a band of iron keeping me anchored to his shoulder.I felt like a corpse- hollow and lifeless.I watched the fathomless dark cyclone inhale what was once a picturesque meadow and I felt empty inside.Till all that emptiness was crammed with unadulterated terror when I remembered it was about to inhale me too.Ulrik ignored my tiny,fretful whimpers and ran like his life depended on it.Which it did.He powered on as if the hounds from hell were snapping at his heels.Looked more like the toothless green mouth of hell,but close enough.His feet ate up the distance and I'm sure even Bolt would have a hard time keeping up with him.One second I was imagining being torn limb from limb inside the mouth of death coming for us and the next I was thrown into a steel wall.The back of my head bounced painfully off of it and my back felt like someone had hit me with a baseball bat."What the vagina U
After a minute,my hilarity subsided into chuckles and the occasional snort.I brushed my hands off ,rose and dusted my very bruised rump,then turned and took stock of the new terrain.We seemed to be on a slightly weed choked gravel pathway at the foot of a small hill.A small burgundy hill with green foliage.To my credit I snapped my mouth shut before I started to attract flies.A soft breeze brought with it the smell of the sea and I surmised that the ocean was on the other side.I lifted my face to the sky and was almost disappointed to see mundane blue and white with the blinding golden circle that was the sun. Ulrik was a couple steps ahead of me and I ran my hands over the plants and bushes that were all in various shades of green as I caught up.I couldn't wrap my mind around magenta looking dirt and green flowers."This is so freaky."Ulrik followed the meandering path and ignored me."Where are
"So this is the human who wishes to kick me," Ulrik declared contemptuously beside me.Keanu pulled back,held me by the shoulders and looked into my eyes briefly before turning and meeting Ulrik's challenging appraisal."Who are you?" Keanu demanded,squaring his shoulders and planting his feet.I rolled my eyes.Men.Well males since Ulrik is,well....Ulrik.He puffed up his chest a little,tilted his head arrogantly and flicked his hand downward, summoning his staff that somehow looked decidedly more threatening than it did before."I am Ulrik the Finder,and I will have you know that no one, barring Glob,ruler of Opa has bested me in a fight.You shan't be kicking me,but I will give you a fair chance" he answered.I swear his voice went a couple octaves deeper.Must be all the testosterone he's trying not to choke on.I saw Keanu's hackles raise and I k
The enchanting lights of the crystals blurred together into a muddy brown before my eyes as Ulrik sped through the thickening crimson haze.I desperately wanted to crane my neck and try to figure out what was chasing us but aside from my dangling legs, I was completely immobile. Apparently Keanu's brain hadn't quite arrived at the same conclusion mine had as I could feel the reverberations from his pointless thrashing through Ulrik's bark-like skin."What is wrong with you bro? Put me down! Are you insane? Do I look like a helpless little female?" A quick pause as he reassesses,then "No offence,Jude"I'd shrug if I could."None taken."I'm usually all bark and no bite.Ulrik powers on relentlessly and my hair comes completely undone from the bun I'd fashioned on the hill."Hey! What is WITH you bro? What are you running from? Where are you taking us? Hey!HEY!" His voice is thick with insult and outrag
"Keanu don't be an idiot!" My less than ideal plea fell on deaf (crazy!) ears and he kept walking directly in the path of the hulking eyesore.I desperately wanted to go after him but my feet were frozen in place,such was the overwhelming power of my fear.Something hit me and stuck to the back of my neck and I whirled around, reflexively reaching for the offended spot.My fingers came into contact with something hard yet slightly flexible at the same time that my eyes registered a now earless Nazir Hound that lay a few feet away from me.Oh please God no.My feet started to do a little anxious dance,as they would if I really needed to pee,while I removed the object (be a twig,or a stone,or even a glob of mud, please God) and slowly brought it around to my face.God must have thought it would be funnier for him if he ignored my fervent prayer since the thing dangling from my index finger and thumb was indeed the severed,grey,half rotted ear of the fallen hound.Needles
"Is this a joke to you? Cast the birds away this instant and summon your rodent companion!" Glob was saying, presumably to Keanu,though,who else could he be talking to?Ulrik must have smacked into my head harder than I thought.That cloud looked like a chicken leg.My stomach rumbled and I licked my chapped lips,rested a hand on my middle and rubbed comfortingly."You are thinking about food in a time like this? Look at the mayhem that you have caused!" Ulrik yelled at me,standing in all his arrogant,stick up the but glory,hands fisted at his hips,glowering at me and blocking out the sun.At least he made good shade.I sighed and struggled to my feet,wincing as my body moved painfully.I rolled my shoulders in an attempt to get rid of the kinks,preparing myself for the bloody verbal sparring that was now inevitable."You were going
Like survivors after a natural disaster,we helped eachother up from whatever sprawled position we had found ourselves in after our profoundly satisfying laughing session and made our way after Sir Gorgeous and Mr.Tightwad.The air was crisp,clean and refreshing;the sun a burning ball of light that warmed my skin and glinted off dewed leaves.Vividly colored butterflies and flying insects flitted among blooms and fruit,danced around my head and made me smile.The birds I'd moments ago found so tiresome were now endearing to my ears.Funny how a belly full of food and laughter can change one's perspective.I came out of my contented reverie long enough to notice that we were close to the circle and this was to be our training ground.I tried to crick my neck like they do in the movies and popped something I'm pretty sure was meant to be left alone.Need to stop doing that.Thankfully noone noticed my pitif
She tasted like peaches and she had tiny freckles on her eyelids.That's the first thing my brain registered when it rebooted.That,and her lips were soft and alien, especially since she was trying to slip her tongue into my mouth.I shoved her and she stumbled back,her eyes flying open,her face a mask of shocked confusion."What are you doing?" I demanded,wiping my mouth."Um,I think it was pretty obvious," she responded,watching me warily."Yeah,but why? Why in the name of coke would you think I'd want you to kiss me?"The thumping heart seemed to resonate up through the soles of my feet and expand within my cranium,forcing me to narrow my eyes in concentration.I'd just been kissed by girl.Wasn't as bad as I thought but still."I just...." She approached me and started to reach for my face but I recoiled and backed away.Her hands fell."I just wanted you to be sure you didn't want to try it," she finished with
"Am I the only one who finds that creepy?" Wayne,Keanu,Logan and I were lounging on the porch,watching the night approach. With it came the interminable sound of the beating heart and the fog like red haze.Smelling like jasmine and summer,the air was cool and soft,with pinpricks of stars begining to appear in the eerie twilight sky.Keanu and I shared a cushioned love seat,though we were careful not to touch.I wanted to punch him in the face.Then knock myself out while I was at it.After we rut like rabbits in heat of course.Though I had tried to take out my sexual frustration and confused feelings on dinner,I was still pretty wound up.I shifted my attention to Logan who was in a corner of the porch,trailing her fingers in a flowering plant that brushed the top of the embellished wooden enclosure.Her hair stood out boldly in the fading light and her profile was almost ethereal
"It is as I told you Glob,she is not well in the head," Ulrik said almost gleefully behind me,as if his long argued conspiracy theory was finally being proven to be true. I pictured him pointing to his own head for emphasis and almost turned to see if my imagery was correct.I decided to let that little comment rest for now though, since I had more pressing matters at hand. I had a wolf to subdue. Or a Hispanic looking British dude to contain. Same difference. Sorta. "Be careful," Logan urged and I turned to give her a reassuring smile,wishing my stomach wasn't all tied up in knots,wishing for some Freia to boost my confidence. I've got to find a way to get back to Godis,and with that huge basket Glob brought to the circle. My gluttonous belly did a little happy dance at the idea then growled a threat if I didn't follow throu
I've never been good at uncomfortable silences.Even more so now since it's with Keanu,whom I've never had one of those with.I've never had a steamy make out session with him either so I guess it's apt.Still,I needed to say something to relieve this weird awkward tension or I'd start pulling out my hair.I peeked at him through the curtain of my hair as he drained his side of the sink."Did you notice how everyone was lit like the fourth of July except Wayne when we were out there?"He wiped down the counter before answering and I moved away,careful not to touch him."Yeah.I wonder what his power is....we know what everyone can do except him."I took a bunch of grapes from the refrigerator and started popping them into my mouth in twos."Maybe he really IS like batman.Didn't he mention something about self defense?"I broke off a cluster a
I forgot how to think,how to breathe.I could only drown in the ocean of feelings that bombarded my senses.I was like a long dormant volcano that suddenly, violently errupted and I gloried in it. Belatedly,I recalled my ache to be devoured and Keanu did so wonderfully.I was being feasted upon.Consumed.His mouth was hot,hungry and searing.Teeth scraped across my lips,his tongue invaded my mouth again and again as his lips slanted over mine.I was lost,swept up in the current of raw desire,primal lust and insatiable need.I was dimly aware of the hand that was now fisted in my hair,of a damp,wide palm running eagerly up and down my side.He was rough,fast and ardent.I couldn't get enough and responded in kind.I moaned when his hand cupped my breast and it was immediately swallowed by his mouth.My hands were trapped against his chest and they instinctively curled in his shirt,desperate for a touch of sk
When the world stopped spinning and we could walk without falling flat on our faces again we wound our way back through the knot of fruit trees and the vegetable garden then back in the house.Poor Logan was still nauseous and said she needed to lie down but wouldn't mind some company.Of course she stared right at me when she was saying this and added a very conspicuous lash fluttering but Wayne swooped in to the rescue and said he wouldn't mind staying with her for a while.Scheming Logan is more like it.She pouted in a way that made me wonder if she was really feeling ill or just trying to get me alone in a room.Thank heavens for Wayne.My hero.I'd always been a fan of batman.Glob and Ulrik wandered off,heads together like two guys lost in the throes of bromance.Wouldn't it be something though if holier than thou Ulrik preferred the
We wove through the idyllic garden and my mouth watered at the sight of the heavily laden fruit trees,some of which looked too exotic for me to identify.I had to remind myself that I'd just eaten but promised my belly we'd be back.I heard a snatch of muted conversation between Glob and Logan and dragged Keanu with me as I edged closer so we could eavesdrop."Being in Opa brings forth your abilities,as this is a land of energy and magic,where all your abilities were formed," Glob was saying and Logan pressed a hand to her stomach,as if she were feeling pain,or remembering it."So that's why it was so hard for me to control the lightening and keep it in?" She asked,looking up at him with her curls now brilliantly auburn in the sunlight."Yes and no.Your power and your ability to control it is tied up in your emotions so if you've been trying to suppress anything,if any feeling has been buried in your