Read creepy hollow 05 - a faerie's revenge for Free Online

scrolls disappear from his hands. “I’m a Seer. Sometimes I just know things.”
     
     
     

CHAPTER
    FIVE

     
    I step tentatively along the edge of the swamp, careful not to slip into the murky water. Insects hover lazily above its still surface, and trees reach over from either side, their drooping limbs tangling with one another. A blueish green haze settles over the scene as daylight disappears bit by bit.
    The assignment details were minimal: a swamp, two tourists, a dangerous dare, and a wolf-like creature that neither of them expects. I have to save them, of course. If the creature disappears, that’s great. If it fights back … well, then I hope to be able to restrain it and bring it back to the Guild.
    Humidity clings to me, sticking my hair to the back of my neck. I reach for my jacket pocket for something to tie my hair up with, before remembering I left the jacket in Olive’s office. After seeing the location of this assignment, I figured I wouldn’t need it. I pull a twig from a nearby branch and transform it into a stretchy band. After a quick glance up and down the swamp to make sure I’m still alone, I scoop my hair up and secure it with the make-shift hair accessory.
    Much better. I crouch down beside a tree and wait, watching the insects, the misty haze, the occasional ripple across the water’s surface. The smell of decaying vegetation fills my nose. How pleasant …
    Above the high-pitched singing of insects, I slowly become aware of voices. I tense, readying myself to reach for a weapon. After another minute or so, they come into view on the other side of the swamp: two women who appear to be in their early twenties. They push noisily through the brush, laughing loudly, completely unaware of the danger that lurks within this swampy jungle.
    “No way,” one says to the other amidst her laughter. “That’s got to be the stupidest legend of all. Where did you hear that one?”
    “That guy at the restaurant last night. He’s a local. He knows these things.”
    “Yeah, he knows how to tell stories while trying to pick up girls.” The two of them lean in to each other as giggles overtake them.
    “Fine,” the second one says after she’s recovered. “I assume you’ll touch the water then, since you aren’t afraid of the big bad Swamp Monster.”
    “Of course I’ll touch the water. I might die of some horrible swampy disease, but it won’t be the Swamp Monster that kills me.”
    I suppress a groan, hoping her words haven’t sealed her fate. She won’t die, she won’t die, she won’t die , I chant to myself as the woman leans down and trails her fingers through the dirty water. I picture my bow and arrow—not focusing too hard on the idea—and raise my hands to the space where I imagine them to be. The weapon appears, fitting perfectly into my grip. Chase was right about that: it takes only a brief thought, an expectation that the weapon is already there, rather than a deep focus.
    Don’t think of him now.
    My weapon is brilliant and sparkling, filling the area with its light. The women won’t be able to see it, though. My weapons and I are both hidden by glamour magic. The wolf creature, however … Well, if he’s anywhere nearby, he won’t miss this brightly lit weapon. Perhaps I should have gone for stealth, rather than revealing myself too soon, but I’m hoping he’ll come for me instead of the humans.
    A shriek pierces the air. I jump to my feet, ready to attack. But I realize a second later that it was only one of the women pretending to push the other into the swamp. The two of them dissolve into giggles once more as I release a sigh of relief. I scan the banks, the trees, the clumps of soggy vegetation growing in the water. Where will he come from? Is he watching already? Is he on my side of the bank?
    I throw a glance over my shoulder as a shiver crawls up my back despite the smothering warmth of the air. Am I being watched? Or is it simply my imagination, like last