Wonderland Ch13 Teaser

Wonderland Ch 13 teaser


"Wonderland Chapter Thirteen: Deals with Dragons Can Be Deadly"

At first, there was nothing. The warning bells from the wall had long since died down during our march to the north end of camp, and the world had gone unnervingly still. The skies overhead were steel grey, the clouds unmoving and hanging low above our heads. The smell of future snowfall had me internally swearing at my clothing – I wasn’t dressed for a snowstorm and the color of the sky promised just that.

Then, suddenly, the air around me grew oppressively heavy and the hair at the back of my neck prickled.

That’s when they came.

The fog that had wove itself between the trees revealed large dark blotches that grew in number so quickly they blurred together, moving like shadows behind a curtain as they slowly approached. The heavy plodding and crunch of Raspan paws in the snow greeted my ears, followed by the heavy puffs of air being blown from their nostrils, signaling Fuyher’s approaching army. The first line of Raspan’s broke through the fog and stopped just fifty yards away, as silent and still as the men on either side of me.

A chilly breeze blew from the north just then, bringing a soft smattering of ice and the smell of rotting fruit along with it. I was aware in that moment how badly I was sweating, but I didn’t want to draw attention to myself by wiping my palms or face. I glanced out of the corner of my eyes to see that Talon was as blank as stone, looking thoroughly unruffled. Our bond gave me nothing but I wasn’t surprised. These men had grown up in war, had fought battles, and had taken lives. I was just a pretender; one Raspan death hadn’t made me a fighter – I had just been lucky. Hopefully my luck would play out here, or this would all be for nothing.

Suddenly a low, haunting horn blew from deep within the woods, the sound sending goose bumps pebbling across my entire body. Talon tightened up beside me, his entire body as still as stone, but his grey eyes were filled with an emotion that sent fear flickering through me.

Bloodlust, I had seen it before. In the eyes of the Raspan’s, the animalistic hunger and fury had sparked within them as well, bringing forth the monsters they truly were.

The air went silent before the horn blasted again and from behind us the sound of the Lunar howling instantly put me on edge. Fuyher’s army began to pound the snow under their large paws, tossing their heads and smacking their tails on the solid ground. They were intimidating us, hoping we would break rank. In my case, it was kind of working.

My grip tightened on the sword hilt and I withdrew it shakily as the Raspan’s at my side began to hiss and transform, their eyes practically glowing in the monochromatic world around us. Fuyher’s men began to hiss and sway in their places, their muscles rippling beneath their fur, taut with expectation and eagerness. One particularly large Raspan snapped its teeth at nothing, flashing the sharp yellowing rows of shark-like incisors that crowded its foul-smelling mouth.

The horn bellowed again in a rhythm, and this time the Raspan’s filled the air with their high-pitched cries before plunging towards us, unfurling their thick legs as they gained speed and ground. Talon drew up to his massive height and roared before racing off to meet them.

A scream of both panic and rage escaped my throat as I ran with the Elites, easily being bested as they leapt over the snow instead of me who had to plow through it. I was just a few feet from my first Raspan when suddenly I was pulled around by my waist and tossed all the way back to where I had started.

I propped up on my elbows and stared at the lean dark form twenty feet from where I lay, and instantly all thoughts of bloodshed and fighting ceased to exist.

Warm brown eyes locked onto me with an intensity that never failed to take my breath away. His face, tanned from the warmer, sunnier climate was now marred by a crescent shaped scar that marked the skin from left eyebrow to the curve of his chin. His hair was longer than it had last been and was streaked light brown from the sun.

Thatcher’s eyes went above me and he jerked his head slightly. “Take her to the camp. Don’t let her out of your sight.”

His eyes went back to me briefly before he turned back to the onslaught of Raspan’s, his body rippling with the change. Soon he was lost in the mass of bodies, leaving only a trail of dead in his wake.

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