Six by Rachel Robinson Read Free Book Online Page A

out, darkling,” he says as he surveys the downed trees.
    “I will not be caged,” I tell him. I intone the syllables oddly and I know that my eyes are still glowing white. I am more dark than human in this moment. I close my eyes tightly and try to find a way back to myself.
    “I’m glad I didn’t make it in time, though. I needed to see this.” He gestures to the trees, the hut, and then his hand sweeps to me. His steely gaze roves my body one extra time before he settles on my face. “The savages were out and I needed to sleep. Those poor trees were keeping you safe while you slumbered,” Finn says gruffly, turning his face away.
    I realize my boots are back in the hut so I return for them without saying another word. As I lace them back on, I try to think of a human gesture or conversation that will win me back into his good graces. Deciding to tell him a story from the old world, I pull the backpack on and step out of the hut. Assaulted with heated, wet breath, I freeze. It sticks to every inch of my exposed body like a slimy second skin.
    Savage , I think.
    I shriek loudly as terror sets in. Finn is nowhere in sight. Realizing my protector has abandoned me, I scramble for the knife in the side pocket of the backpack. The first reach for the weapon is unsuccessful and my hand comes back empty. The pack is cumbersome and I cannot maneuver well. I take a measured step back and it follows.
    The savage gets so close I can see its misshapen, humanoid body. It reminds me of a naked human with no distinguishing features and sharp claws. Accompanying it is a smell so vile and putrid that it penetrates every available oxygen element. Screaming again is useless because I am afraid to breathe anymore of the smell in. It smells like death . I grab once more for the knife and come away with it tightly in my grasp. I wave it violently, yet purposefully in front of the creature. It rasps something unintelligible as I meet its vacant eyes. My dark magic wells up, threatening to burst out of my body. I push it down for the sake of controlling something…anything in this moment. A magical outburst would only draw more attention—more savages.
    “Come on, savage. You want me, come and get me.” With anger and fear bleating through my body, I stab the savage through the neck. I wince when I hear my blade gush into the slimy beast. The claws come down on my arm, tearing through the shirt, causing thick blood to well. At once, I feel the clarity of pain and remember exactly how Lana does it. My teeth grit as I zone in on the creature’s neck. A fierce cry escapes as I slash it deeply, ferociously, spraying thick blood through the air. The savage collapses to the ground with a loud roaring growl. The nude colored skin hisses as a thick, green steam rises off the corpse and fills the space around me.
    One final step.
    “Stop scaring me.” My voice echoes as I reach down and tear the creature’s head from its neck. Of course it comes away effortlessly as my knife wound is fatally deep. Backing away from the dismembered body, I clutch the wet knife to my chest and try to catch my breath. I fall to the ground, numb, waiting to feel something.
    “You don’t even need me, you were made for this,” Finn says. He approaches slowly from the outskirts of the trees.
    I do not look at him. I concentrate on the two large gouge marks on my forearm from which blood is freely flowing. Finn notices what I am fixated on.
    “Ah, the pain? It helps,” he says, settling next to me on the ground. I feel angry I need pain to keep the dark at bay. Pain is the closest thing to an emotion that I can feel…and control. With a wound as large as this I should not feel emotions for days, but I do.
    “You were not here for me. You are supposed to protect me.” Finn turns his face away seconds after he meets my troubled gaze. He stays silent.
    “It’s hard to protect someone like you.”
    I sigh, weary from trying to understand everything.