Annabel shuddered violently, but she didn't make a sound. Her skin turned bright red, as a thousand tiny bites swelled into fiery blisters. Gary rummaged through a satchel he carried and drew out a small vial. He began smearing the clear liquid over the bites. It wasn't a small job as there were so many. Jubal held the woman’s arms pinned so that she couldn't scratch at the maddening itch spreading like waves across her body.Emma clutched the woman’s hand tightly, murmuring nonsense. Her previous suspicions came roaring back to life. The tiny little midges had gone straight for her friend. She didn’t know why, and it was troubling her. Hadn’t they come for her? She turned aside to thank the old woman who had somehow saved them in a way from the weird insects whose abode were in the rainforest but she was shocked when she didn’t see the woman.She could also see the shock on Gary’s face, although the man refused to comment. What the hell! Emma cussed. She thought she had left all for
Annabel nodded and swallowed the pills, chasing them with water. "Don't trust anyone, Emma. Any one of these people can be our enemy. We must go our own way as soon as possible."Emma bit her lip, refraining from saying anything at all. She needed time to think. She was seventeen years old, to be eighteen by tomorrow, but she had never felt terrified as she was now. First, it was the county where she had found out that paranormals like werewolves and witches were real, and now this. She had no idea what to think again. Even though she thought that Annabel was so delirious to the extent of referring to her as her daughter, she couldn’t help the feeling that there might be a hint of truth in what the latter had said. Her instincts were never wrong. But it scared her the most. Evil in the mountains?? What mountain and what is the evil?She wished she could turn back time. She wouldn’t have offended her father to warrant him throwing her far off to England for her studies. That way, she
Emma shrugged. "That's understandable. Practically everything in the rain forest is out for your blood. I've heard the rumors, of course, and Annabel told me that it wasn't the Incas who destroyed the Cloud People, or the Spanish. The locals and descendents whisper of a great evil who murdered in the night, sucking the life from them and turning families against one another. The Cloud People were fierce in battle and gentle in their home life, but they supposedly succumbed one by one or fled the village to the Incas. When the Incas came to conquer the forest people, apparently most of the warriors were already dead. It's rumored that the Incas living here suffered the same fate as the ones killed by the marauding evil. Their bravest warriors died first.""That's not in the history books," Ben said.Still, she had the feeling he wasn't surprised, that he'd heard that whispered version. There were many more stories, of course, each more frightening than the other. Tales of bloodless vic
“I knew we were definitely entering the world of the rain forest, the lush jungle of mystery that only deepened and became more dangerous with each passing second. The river narrowed, and the air grew still with the dark pungent scents of the deep rain forest. I had recognized the signs. Soon, the river would be impossible to navigate. I had said to my partner then. They would be forced to abandon the boats and tramp through the forest on foot. Unlike many places in the rain forest where it was easy to walk because very little could live on the forest floor without too much light, this area was dense. I'd traveled extensively, but the smells and the stillness of this place was a thing I’d found nowhere else on earth. Unlike any of her previous visits, this time I felt a little claustrophobic.” Annabel was saying, recounting one of her trips to Emma. Been nodded along. He had been there too. The first they had met. He said."Yes, I swear the jungle was alive that day." Ben said, chuckli
“Ben had seemed much more knowledgeable about the rain forest and the tribes occupying it. He'd done extensive research and had come prepared. He spent a lot of time talking to the guides and porters, asking questions and trying to learn from them. The archaeologist and his students were very excited and seemed completely oblivious to the tension running through the camp, although I had noticed they were uneasy at night, sitting close to the fire. They seemed driven, amicable and very focused on their mission. They had seemed young and naive, even the professor, who was in his late fifties.” Annabel continued with the tale which she said had a morale for Emma at the end of it all. Emma felt a little sorry for all three archaeologists, that they were so clueless, that they had fallen under Annabel’s pity radar.She glanced toward Mile. She didn't like the way he whispered and sent surreptitious glances toward Annabel's satchel which she never let go even when she was bitten by the ins
“The words were foreign. Jumbled together, almost like a chant, but definitely words. I had excelled in studying ancient and dead languages as well as modern ones, but I hadn’t even recognized the rhythm of the words” Annabel muttered, letting out a deep breath. It was obvious that she was tired. Emma was too. She couldn’t wait for the plane to come to rest. She needed to see Amelia. She wondered what style of hair her sister would be carrying now. It’s been ages.Ben staggered up to the other side of Annabel's chair, pressing his hands to his ears. "Something's wrong," he hissed. "This is about her. Something evil wanted her dead."Jubal and Gary nodded their agreement. Emma shrugged. Nothing to do about all that. It’s all in the past. Annabel was still alive, and it was all that mattered. “It’s all in the past though.” Annabel said as if reading Emma’s mind. “We must look to the future.” She added, looking out the window.The huge birds which had been following them were nowhere
Melvina tweaked on her seat, excitement not letting her stay at a place.Calm your horses down, Melvina. She heard her mate say to her through their common mindpath. Well, how could she be calm? That was her best friend of so many years standing there, looking all plump and beautiful just like before. It has been seven years for fudge sake, seven years since she had seen the latter. So, how could she stay still and calm now? It was nearly impossible. She actually felt like dragging Sheila away from the people, from this crowd thirsty for information to a super quiet room where they could hug and gist properly like before.If only Tempest and Anthony’s mother were around? It would have been terrific, just like the good old days. She thought, getting sad for a second.She missed her crew. But still, she was happy that at least Sheila was alive."I don’t know where to start, but I think I should take off from the beginning." Sheila began, her eyes scanning the entire room for her cou
Derek shot up from his chair and began to stroll frantically, his heart breaking as he repeated Lucille’s statement in his mind.Emma was a werewolf. How hadn’t he seen that? Why hadn’t she had a scent? He wasn’t the only one with those thoughts though. Almost everyone in the pack had seen Emma, and they didn’t need any other person to tell them that Emma was one of Sheila’s daughters. That one was a spitting image of Sheila. They couldn’t believe either that they had treated the daughter of their best warrior that way.Sheila wasn’t dumb about what was happening. Her ears had flicked up on some of the discussions that were going on between the pack members, especially the pack warriors. Who was Emma? Who was Freya, the vampire? According to them, the duo had red hair, but with different shades of eye color. She felt her head spin but she held it together, not believing that her two daughters had crossed their pack, not only that, had actually stayed here till two days ago, durin