Everwild (The Healer Series, #1) (16 page)

Willow blew out a breath of air. “So…that
just leaves someone who needs to be the leader. That’s me. I will
be the one to yell, order, and demand anything I want from both of
you, got it? So really, if you get into an argument or a fight, it
will only be because you’re mad at me. Is that clear?” Willow said
putting her hands on her hips.

Chase laughed nearly showing all his teeth.
“Flirty wolf-boy? Sorry, Healer, but you are just too damn cute!
You’re such a small thing to have all that power. Think you can
handle it?”

“There’s more to her than you think,” Declan
said smiling and giving Willow a quick approval with his eyes.
Willow tried not to squirm under his stare, but Declan made her
heart pound in her chest at his assessment. It was something she
realized that no other person has done-make her heart quicken with
just one look. She longed to know what he thought of her and what
this “more to her than you think” comment meant.

“Okay, Wolf-boy,” Willow said, turning to
Chase and trying not to stand staring at Declan all day, which she
easily could, “we’re relying on you now. Lead on, oh fearless
guide.”

“As you wish, you’re Healerness,” Chase bowed
and began walking through the forest in front of her in a much
better mood than before. Declan came up to walk beside her.
Simultaneously, they both spoke up.

“Dec, I’m sorry—”

“Listen, Willow—”

They both stopped and looked at each other
for a moment before smiling. Declan turned serious when he asked,
“Why are you apologizing?”

Willow looked puzzled. “Um…because I yelled
at you.”

Declan sighed heavily and ran a hand through
his hair before speaking. “I’m the one who should be apologizing to
you. I tried stopping you from healing someone in need.” One of
Chase’s ears twitched, like he was listening in on the
conversation, but to Willow, it was like they were the only two in
the forest. “Healing is a part of you Willow, and it was selfish of
me to hold you back. But you gotta understand, when you take off
and run away from me like that, I panic because…well…I don’t know
what I’d do if anything happened to you.”

Declan’s confession stunned her. What was he
saying? Did he care for her in more than a friendship way? Or did
he just feel obligated for her safety? Yeah, that last one was
probably it. He didn’t want to look bad in front of his Order if he
didn’t protect Willow to the best of his ability. It certainly had
nothing to do with wanting, needing, or desiring her. Right?

She didn’t want to let Declan know how much
his words meant to her though. They touched her, affected her in
such a deep way that she was practically desperate for his
approval. Willow had tried her hardest to suppress any feelings she
had towards Declan, making up excuses about why she shouldn’t fall
for him, but no matter how hard she tried not to think about him,
she thought about him even more.

Willow had never seen the tender, caring side
of Declan before. Heck, she didn’t even know he was capable of
being sweet! Then again, she hadn’t spent this long in his
presence, only seeing him when there was a special gathering of the
witches and warlocks, where they would ridicule and fight with each
other. But now, with Declan so close, and getting closer to her, he
literally broke down every single wall she had built up around
him.

She didn’t know what to say, but she didn’t
have to, because just then Chase turned to them and put his hands
on his hips. “Welcome to your four star hotel experience. Tonight,
we will be enjoying the luxuries of this grassy area. Find a soft
spot, lye down, and rest your cares away. We have a continental
breakfast in the morning for your convenience.”

What grassy area? Chase signaled to a small
patch of land with dirt holes, rocks, and
some
grass. Roots
from the twisted trees popped out of the ground and had moss and
lichens covering it. The clouds darkened with the promise of a long
and uncomfortable night. Willow was grateful for the rest, however,
and situated herself against an Everwild tree with smoother looking
bark. Declan sat down almost right next to her, once again making
her heart quicken.

“Now if you lovebirds don’t mind, I’m going
to shift and set up a perimeter,” Chase said.

“How are you going to do that?” Declan asked
annoyed. He really didn’t like Chase for some reason.

“Well, there’s this thing called a nose. Its
part of the body located on the face that can smell…”

“Get to the point, werewolf.”

“The point is, unlike you magic casters, I
can smell nearly a mile away in any direction. Now what would I use
that amazing, awesome, drool-worthy capability for? Oh, I don’t
know, maybe to make sure no freaky creature is lurking near us! So
like I said before, I’m going to shift and sniff.”

Willow giggled. “That kinda rhymed.”

“Told you I would come in handy, Healer,”
Chase winked at Willow. “Just don’t miss me too much, baby. I
shouldn’t be gone long.” Chase started stripping his shorts off and
Willow ducked her head just in time to not see his nakedness. She
heard a tearing noise anyway, and thought he ripped the shorts, but
it was just the sound of him shifting forms. Chase was back into
the mighty black wolf with blue eyes. Willow’s eyes widened when
Chase turned to her and actually winked at her! That was weird! He
bounded off through the forest, and disappeared in the
darkness.

Willow turned to Declan and smirked. “He’s
just as sarcastic as you are, you know.”

“What?” Declan asked shocked, “I’m not
sarcastic. I just say the truth in a different way.”

“Yeah, okay,” Willow rolled her eyes, “I
don’t know whether to laugh at you or pity you.”

“You could just stop talking and we could
make out?” Declan suggested, which shocked her. She turned to gawk
at him. “Or not…” he shrugged. The idea of kissing Declan made
Willow instinctively look down at his lips. They were so smooth and
welcoming, the bottom lip slightly bigger than the top. His lips
were still so plush and full and sudden desire coursed through her
when she finally pried her eyes from his mouth and stared into his
eyes. It stunned her how badly she wanted him to kiss her.

Declan had gone completely rigid as he caught
her staring at his lips. The mood went from light and playful, to
serious and impassioned. He didn’t say anything, but the intensity
of his stare set her nerves on fire. He leaned his head down,
closer to her, but then stopped, waiting for something. His
eyebrows furrowed as he skimmed her face. This was it. He was going
to kiss her! And she was ready for it. She was waiting,
anticipating, longing for the feel of his lips on hers. She was
just starting to close her eyes when he pulled back. Declan cleared
his throat and said in a low voice, “We should probably try to get
some sleep. At least we have the werewolf out looking for dangers
this time. We don’t have to worry about ghouls snatching us
tonight. Um…goodnight Willow.”

Willow was frozen, letting rejection pound
into her like a hammer. “Night,” she said solemnly and turned her
back on him, lying down on her side. Tears blurred her eyes. He
didn’t want her. She knew it all along. He would’ve kissed her if
he wanted her, but instead, he left her feeling empty and alone.
She squeezed her eyes shut as hated tears dripped down her cheeks.
Declan shifted beside her. He was close enough that she could feel
his body heat, yet it did nothing to warm the cold she felt inside.
But he was the one who suggested kissing in the first place! Was he
messing with her? Toying around with her emotions? It certainly
felt like it and her heart nearly burst with sorrow. She was just
like any love struck witch to fall for his charms. How could she be
so stupid? After what seemed like forever, Willow finally dozed off
…

Willow shivered, the feel of spindly foliage
scratching at her legs and arms. She felt dizzy, like she was
rocking back and forth really fast. A great root stuck in her back
AND both legs! She couldn’t sleep like this! She felt heavy and
extremely groggy. Halfheartedly, Willow opened her eyes, and then
snapped awake. Her body jolted and jerked when she realized she was
actually moving! Turning her head to the side, she saw small heads
bobbing up and down. Little arms gripped her legs and body. It was
too dark to see what they were. There were swarms of them! She was
being carried! Someone was taking her away!!!

“HEY! Let me go!!!” She screamed and thrashed
about. Razor sharp claws dug into her skin when she shouted out.
“DECLA-----” was all she could yell when something squeezed her
neck hard and she past out. All she knew was darkness.

Willow heard a deep grumbling sometime later.
It echoed as if she were in a tunnel. She opened her eyes. Not a
tunnel. A cavern. Willow was sitting on peach colored rocks in a
dimly lit cave. She looked up dizzily. Stalactites hung dangerously
low and pointed straight down at her like the tips of sharp knives.
Every few feet, a torch was lit on the cave wall lighting up the
dark. The grumbling noise sounded again, and then lots of
chattering followed it. Willow turned her head to the sound to see
shadowy shapes coming towards her in the flickering light from a
tunnel to the left.

What emerged from the tunnel was a sight that
Willow would never forget. Short, stubby devils with duck shaped
mouths and large slanted yellow eyes walked straight towards her.
They were ugly creatures with square heads and two horns, red
mustaches and eyebrows. They wore ragged clothing. Their tattered
pants were held up by various colored ribbon. They were small, but
there were so many Willow couldn’t count, like a sea of strange
faces staring at her. They chuckled in scratchy voices showing
sharp teeth and thick red tongues. Were they a different breed of
goblin? Willow trembled when she found that her hands had been
bound with rope. She was once again a prisoner. But this time, she
was all alone.

The creatures stared and her, smiling
maliciously. Then, the sea of devils parted and a slightly larger
one emerged. He wore a headdress sprouting bright red feathers. He
carried a long black stick that looked like a wand. On the tip was
a crystal ball.

The leader regarded Willow curiously and then
spoke to his minions in a strange language. He turned to her and
gruffly asked, “Good or bad?”

“Who are you?” Willow demanded.

The leader turned to the others and shrugged.
“Bad?” The minions laughed and agreed. He turned back to Willow.
“Feed bad to dragon. Feed good to dragon. Don’t matter. Dragon is
hungry. You food. Even if bad, that is good!”

“Dragon!???!!” Willow shrieked making the
whole cave reverberate with her high pitched shrill. Suddenly, a
deep grumbling filled the cave from where the devils emerged. Panic
struck her. She was all alone with a bunch of little horned imps,
and they were going to feed her to a dragon? What was with
creatures in the Everwild trying to eat her?

“Help! Help! SOMEBODY HELP ME!” She backed up
into the cave wall as the creatures advanced on her, their ape
shaped arms stretched out with long talons on their fingers. “Get
away from me! Ahhh!!!” Willow screamed when they tripped her and
effortlessly picked her up, carrying her down the tunnel.
Descending deeper and deeper into the cave, the tunnel seemed to be
endless in length. She whipped and flayed around, but she only got
scratched up more from the creatures’ claws.

The tunnel opened up to a large room, bigger
than the cavern she woke up in. Within the room, there was a deep
black pit that was extremely wide, making the path around it
narrow. Suddenly, flames erupted from the pit, lighting up the dark
and heating the cave with scorching temperatures. Willow screamed
as the devils carried her closer and closer to the pit.

“PLEASE! STOP! I’LL DO ANYTHING! PLEASE!”

The leader actually looked sad when he came
up to her and said, “We not make rules. Dragon does. We don’t want
sacrifice Dokkaebi to him no more! We find good. We find bad. Then,
we feed Dragon.”

A great roar bellowed from the pit and masked
Willow’s screams. She watched in terror when a large mouth that was
nearly as wide as the pit protruded from it. The mouth had thick
golden scales. A snake-like tongue slithered from the mouth and
nearly licked the stalactites on the ceiling of the cave. The
Dokkaebi devils shrunk back in fear and trembled looking between
the dragon’s mouth and Willow. The mouth receded back into the deep
pit, waiting patiently for the sacrifice. The dragon knew she was
here; knew it was seconds away from eating. Tears streamed down
Willow’s face.

The Dokkaebi holding Willow slowly advanced
to the dragon’s mouth. Willow tried her hardest to escape, but with
so many hands holding her down it was impossible! The edge of the
pit was near.

She felt them tipping her, ready to throw her
in when suddenly, green lightning burst through the cavern,
striking the stalactites. They trembled for an instant, and then
fell like hail above the pit and all around the cave. They landed
on the Dragon, who roared in pain, but did not show its ugly face.
More and more stalactites fell around them, and several Dokkaebi
dropped to the floor dead. Pure chaos erupted in the cave. Dokkaebi
scattered and retreated to other tunnels screaming in fear.

The Dokkaebi holding Willow would not let her
go and they began whisking her away towards another tunnel. They
almost made it when a huge wolf burst out of the tunnel and howled
with fury. The Dokkaebi screamed and dropped Willow to the ground
running away screaming madly. The wolf bounded after them. She
watched in horror when a stalactite above her cracked and dropped,
plunging straight for her! Willow screamed knowing she had seconds
to move. But it was going to hit her! Willow’s heart burst just as
the stalactite stopped inches from her abdomen, hovering in midair.
She turned her head to the right and there stood Declan with his
right hand stretched out, using his magic to stop the jagged rock.
He made the stalactite fly into the wall away from her making it
shatter and burst into pieces.