“You heard that voice right?”
Cade rolled his eyes at Rowen. “Yes.”
“Of course he heard me.” The voice cooed. “I called him pretty after all.” Laughter echoed out of the cave but there was something off about it. Each chuckle ended with a kind of sharp sound. Cade tired to focus on the way that the voice spoke rather than what it said. Something told him it was important.
“I don’t suppose you boys want to come in? I am awfully lonely.”
“No…we are fine out here.” Rowen backed up a step and stumbled over a rock.
There was that sound again. Like something being dragged over an uneven surface. And the voice, there was something off there too.
Cade leaned forward onto this toes and back again. He was very tempted to run into the dark and see what was there. The curiosity was killing him.
“Don’t be like that.” The voice sounded closer now and the strange quality about it became more distinct. Cade could finally put him finger on what it was. Hissing.
His mind moved at a million miles per hour trying to figure out what beast in the woods could speak like a woman but hiss like a snake. He came up with a few. The only problem was that all his knowledge was on here-say. He didn’t know if any of it was actually true. The thing sounded like it was getting closer and Cade had a feeling they should know what it is before facing it.
“She is hissing.” He forced himself to remain calm and whisper the words to Rowen. At first this was too successful and Rowen didn’t even hear him. he repeated himself.
Rowen moved further away from the cave, scraping his shoes over the earth as he went. “She isn’t hissing. She is talking.”
“But in between the words. Listen.”
“Are you boys talking about me?” The shuffling sound again. Now that Cade could hear the hissing in her voice he felt a chill run over his skin every time she spoke.
Rowen gulped and whimpered.
Cade turned from the cave to see what was wrong with him. Rowen had his eyes shut. Cade didn’t hesitate but closed his too.
Unable to see, he listened for her approach. Her steps were a rhythm of knock, slide, knock, slide. A breeze wafted into his face and carried a smell like old meat and feet into his nose. He gaged.
“Smart and pretty boys.” Cade jumped at how close the voice was now. When he focused he could feel her light breath on his ear.
Neither of the boys spoke. Cade had never been so scared in his life. His knees were shaking and he had his hands so tightly clenched at his knuckles were going numb. He heard Rowen whine occasionally.
“Won’t you look at me pretty boy?” Rough skin came into contact with his face and nails dragged over his cheek. “No one has looked at me in such a long time.”
Her nails pulled on the skin under his eye and the faintest slice of light came in. he was pretty sure she couldn’t open his eye like that, unless she wanted to mutilate him, but he knew that they couldn’t stay like this forever. They needed a plan.
As if reading his mind she stepped in against him and whispered in his ear. “You can’t keep your eyes closed forever.”
“We don’t intend to.” Cade spat out the words before he could over think them. He needed to at least sound like he had a plan in mind.
“No.” Cade couldn’t tell if Rowen was questioning him or backing him up.
“Really?” She ran her hand in under Cade’s shirt and over is chest. He felt like dry heaving the moment he felt the skin.
“We are just waiting on my spirit animal getting here.” Cade swallowed bile. It burned his throat.
“Your spirit animal is coming? Why aren’t they here right now?” She sounded light but Cade could swear he heard a hint of worry in her voice.
“He is saving my sister from the bandits.” Cade wasn’t certain that the men who had attacked them were bandits but he would be willing to bet a large sum that they were.
She hissed and moved away from him. “May he wipe them all out the vermin they are.”
“You seem to hate the bandits more than we do.” Rowen’s voice had a bit of a wobble to it but he was trying.
“They beheaded my sister and stole their eyes.” She was enraged now and Cade shuffled from one foot to the other nervously.
“Stole their eyes?” Cade asked.
“Stupid noble women have been told that the eyes of a gorgon will keep you young looking if you wear them around your neck. Nonsense.”
“Maybe it is insensitive to ask,” Cade said. “but how on earth do they manage to hunt gorgons?”
“That monster who leads them is skilled with a throwing knife. He practices blindfolded in order to throw the knife at the correct height to blind us.” Her voice became forlorn. “Our eyes are our only weapons. Then his men come and cut of four heads.”
Cade thought about it and it was true that a plan like that might actually work. Gorgans cannot even look at each other with turning the other to stone, so they could not live together and prepare for an attack. A skilled enough knife thrower could in theory hit one of them in the eye. Also, if he failed, he would still be able to distract her while one of his men came to her side and cut her head off. He certainly had enough men to encircle her and she cant look at them all at once.
“I assume his men are also blindfolded.” Cade mused out loud.
The gorgon hissed furiously. “That does not matter. You are here now with me.”
Cade felt the air move as she came up beside him. there was a lot more hissing now and she he could picture the snakes on her head thrashing about angrily at the thought of the bandits.
“Wait!” Cade whimpered. “Don’t hurt us.”
She laughed but he went on. It was now or never.
“We will help you get revenge on the bandits.”
She stopped laughing and Rowen started.
“Very funny Cade. You and are cant fight even of we knew where the bandits are.”
Cade cursed Rowen inwardly. “Yes we don’t know where they are but we are looking for them. And Rowen’s spirit animal is a robin. He can fly around a bit and tell us where they are.”
“That’s not safe for Berty!” Rowen was beginning to sound like he was squeaking rather than speaking.
Cade ignored him. the Gorgons snakes had stopped freaking out and she was stood near him but was silent.
“His bird will cover much more ground than you will. Especially since you are limping.” It had taken Cade a while but he was almost sure now that the knock and slide rhythm of her steps meant that one of her legs or feet was injured quite badly. He would have used it as an opportunity to run if he hadn’t been so beaten up himself. He didn’t want to risk falling behind and becoming a sculpture.
“Alright.” She agreed. “I will cover my eyes once we have retrieved my pet.”
“You have a pet? That’s lovely.” Cade started to sweat a bit more.
“Oh yes. I don’t trust you to lead me safely to the bandits without the manticore by my side.”
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