Swirling black masses formed around the birds. The trees shook and whipped with fierce winds. The bird’s beady eyes narrowed on them, their yellow, beaked mouths open. More cries screeched through the air.

Alrik pulled Abbigail to the bottom of the slope just as the birds ducked low and flew over them. Adrenaline rushed through his blood making him faster and stronger.

Turning quickly, he snatched Abbigail into his arms and pushed her into the rocks to shield her. Sharp bites pecked at his body. Blood beaded on his neck and back where their bites tore through his clothes and skin. A crack of thunder sounded overhead. A bright bolt of lightning flashed in the forest.

“What’s going on?” Abbigail asked. She sounded scared and unsure but he had no time to explain right now.

“In the cave,” he shouted over the deafening roar. She nodded and then they both ducked down into the cold water and swam under the slope. They reemerged in the hollowed out cave and ducked into the dark cave. He didn’t stop moving until he had her safe behind him at the very end of the tunnel.

“What are those birds? Where did they come from?”

Alrik ignored her. He focused his attention on the sounds coming from above them. The birds shrilled endlessly as thunder boomed again. A loud crack of lightning tore through the sky and then rain rushed down in a fierce torrential downpour. The water seeped through the earth and sprinkled over them.

“Alrik?”

The sounds of the bird’s angry wings flapping and their cries slowly faded as they soared past.

“They’re moving away.” Still, the thunder boomed and roared up above. Trickles of rainwater spilled down the cavern walls in rivulets moving faster. His eyes narrowed on it and then the entrance of the cave. He started for it to investigate when a hand on his arm stopped him.

He turned to her and there she stood, arms wrapped around her naked waist, wet hair plastered to her wet face, and shivering in the cold. She nodded to the clothes in his hand and he jerked his arm out to her. With a bright blush, she took her sodden clothes and started pulling on the wet material. His body warmed at the sight her nakedness. Bare breasts, jiggling as she bent over to pull on her wet pants could be in his hand if only he stuck out his arm. The wet material of her clothes only clung to her body in ways that the haute demons would deem inappropriate and lascivious. Though, he’d have to admit he rather liked the sight on Abbigail.

“Stay here,” he ordered, his voice husky

“What’s going on?”

He ignored the question. He wasn’t convinced yet what had happened. Creeping to the end of the cavern, he watched the ankle-deep water lap at the cave entrance. He stood there with rainwater spilling down over him and watched the water as it grew steadily deeper and deeper around his legs. It reached his knees in a matter of seconds.

“We must get out of here.”

Abbigail ran up to him and gasped at the sight. “What kind storm is this?”

“Not normal.” His mind worked to search for an answer and only one kept coming to mind. “The queen has very strong magic,” he said softly.

“She’s doing this?”

He nodded slowly. “She sent the birds to find us and when they did they called back to her and she let loose a storm.”

Abbigail shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms to warm herself. “Does that mean she’s close?”

“No, it just means she’s looking for me.”

A whip of lightning sounded above striking the ground. The earth shook and rumbled from the attack. The rain came down faster, pelting the ground like wet darts above their heads.

“We must leave this place now.” Alrik grabbed Abbigail’s small hand in his brute, dark one then they dove into the water and swam out of the cove. Water pelted the lake’s surface up above like a rain of bullets. Abbigail tried to swim to the surface but he halted her and pulled her close. She wrapped an arm around his back and looked up at the surface just as wary of the darkness above as he was.

He caught her gaze. Even in the dark water, he saw her brilliant gaze. She looked scared. She was completely dependent on him. She didn’t have the skill yet to bypass his mother’s magic. Nodding towards the surface, she jerked her chin in acknowledgement then they kicked their feet and swam for it. They broke through and sucked in ragged breaths.

Sharp drops of rain pelleted them. The rain fell so hard and fast the forest looked like a murky environment in the distance. Wind whipped at them hard. Alrik acted quickly and jerked Abbigail into his arms, wrapping both of them around her waist as the harsh gales pushed them sharply to the side. His side hit the rocky coast near the cove and he had only a moment to register the pain in his side before they were once against jerked the other way.

The wind whipped them down under the water. It sucked them in like a giant creature’s mouth taking a bite out of them. He kicked them back to the surface and worked his legs hard in the heavy water for what he hoped was the beach’s surface. He couldn’t see a thing, only the dark grey of falling rain. What he thought looked like the green of the forest looked too far away. It should be closer. Had the wind drifted them out to sea?

An even stronger gust swept across them as if trying to tear them apart. Abbigail screamed, the sound barely audible over the roar of the storm, and latched her arms around his neck. His grip on her waist slipped, her arms slipped and with a shout she went flying from his arms.

He swam hard through the water, following the white streak of her shirt. She appeared then disappeared again and again as water sucked her up and down. His arms burned but he dove towards her. Fear caught him. He couldn’t lose her now, not when he’d come so far.

“Abbigail!” he shouted over the storm.

He barely heard his own words over the whooshing windstorm. He heard her shout, the sound so faint in the noise around him. He went with his instincts and swam hard towards where he guessed she’d gone. White flashes struck the sky. Dark clouds thundered up above with menace.

He swam some thirty feet before he felt a lump at his knees. Ducking under the water, he opened his eyes and found her drifting, eyes closed beneath the water. He screamed, swallowing a gulp of water and rushed to the surface to take in a much needed breath of air before diving down to snag her limp body about the waist.

Together, he took them to the surface. His body worked harder than he ever had before by swimming against the violent current of the storm and towards what he hoped was the shore. When the water grew shallower around them, he could have cheered. With a final burst of energy, he sprinted until he finally stood at the shore. He lifted her small body into his arms and raced from the storm, his booted feet slipping in the wet slop.

Still, the rain gushed over them, drowning his vision, and making it hard to see. He found a canopy under some trees and laid her under it. The trees barely managed to keep the vicious rain at bay. He breathed into her mouth again and again.

“Abbigail! Wake up!” He pressed a hand to her chest and felt the subtle rise and fall. She wasn’t dead. Relief swamped him and he sagged over her, burying his face in her sweet-smelling hair.

KEER POW!

Lightning struck too close to be comfortable. The ground shuddered beneath him and heat seared him to the bone. He didn’t hesitate another moment. With gentleness he didn’t know he had, he cradled Abbigail in his arms and ran out of the storm, hoping it wouldn’t follow.

Abbigail pushed herself up with a groan. Her whole body felt stiff as if she’d had a vicious workout. The muscles in her arms, back, and legs throbbed with a fiery burn. It took some effort but she forced herself to stand. Her knees wobbled and she gasped as blood rushed to her feet creating a burning pinprick sensation that poked her from the inside out. Her hand shot out to steady herself but didn’t grasp onto anything. She teetered to the right, and then straightened up by locking her knees to stop from falling.