Page 55 of Sinful Curses
“Pipper, or Pip, as she prefers to be called, is singing,” Sahira continued. “Fath is closest to me, and Loth is closest to Elsa. Are you actually going to remember their names this time?”
“I’m not making any promises.”
Sahira shook her head, and they stopped speaking again while Pip continued singing. Her voice and the wind howling across the vast land were the only sounds.
Exhaustion crept in as they traversed further across the field, but Orin shoved it aside. It was a good thing he fed off Sahira earlier, or the call of sleep would be a lot worse.
After a while, he looked back to see how far they’d come. The mountains had vanished from view; all that surrounded them was a vast landscape, peppered with mounds waiting to kill them.
Though he had no intention of turning back, he didn’t know if it would take more time to return to the mountains or finish crossing the field. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.
After hours of traveling, his feet ached, and he would gladly kill something if it meant he could sit and rest, but there wasn’t enough room between the geysers for that. They had no choice but to keep going as they dragged themselves forward.
He had no idea how far they’d traveled as they carefully navigated the field, but he was blinking far more often to keep his eyes open. He stopped to rub his eyes and blinked again before squinting at the horizon.
Is it getting lighter over there?
The sky was definitely starting to look grayer at the edge, but it couldn’t be sunrise already, could it?
When his eyes met Sahira’s, he saw the fear in their bloodshot depths and knew he wasn’t imagining it; the sun was starting to rise.Shit!
The others had all stopped walking to gaze at the sky with horror and resignation. He should have seen this coming.
He should have known when this started, they wouldn’t make it across in one night. That they would be stuck out here, with nowhere to sit, but he’d been too determined to make it across to think it all through.
They’d still be here even if he had known because he wouldn’t have turned back. He doubted any of the others would have either.
“Find a place where you can safely stop,” he said.
The brownies looked around before settling onto the ground and drawing their knees to their chests. Unfortunately, the space between the geysers didn’t offer anyone bigger than the rodents anywhere to sit.
As the light spread across the earth, the geysers vanished with a small sucking sound. Standing there, surrounded by flat earth, Orin rattled the stones in his pockets and surveyed the land around them.
He didn’t take them out and toss them across the earth; they wouldn’t get him far enough for it to matter. All he could do was stand there and wait until sunset.
CHAPTERFORTY-EIGHT
Sahira’s headsnapped up when her chin hit her chest. She blinked at the barren earth surrounding them before rubbing her eyes.
Exhaustion was an understatement as her legs ached, her feet throbbed, and her eyes burned like someone had thrown acid in them. She’d give anything to sit down, but that was impossible when she no longer knew where the geysers were.
Besides, when shedidknow where they were, it hadn’t been safe for her to sit, so she could only stand, barely moving in this spot. The most she could do was shift her weight from side to side, but it didn’t give her any relief.
So, Sahira stood in misery, trying not to pass out on her feet. She didn’t dare move too much, not only because she was afraid of getting a stream of fire up her ass but also because if she turned around, with this sea of sameness surrounding her, she’d never know for sure which way she’d faced before.
Granted, the others still faced the same direction, but she was scared they might also move and get turned around. If that happened, they could roam these barren fields until exhaustion caused them to step on a geyser.
As it was, she didn’t know if they were heading out of this field or deeper into it. That dead immortal had come from somewhere, so there had to be a way out, but they might be walking away from it.
Or the immortal could have started from their side, which meant there was nothing out there and they’d wandered out to meet their deaths. Shaking her head, she tried to clear it of the exhaustion clouding it while not giving in to the panic clawing at her insides.
They were going the right way. They had to be.
She rubbed her eyes again before looking at Orin, who remained steadfastly staring ahead, glaring at the horizon like it was the enemy. They would keep going straight, as that’s the way they’d gone the whole time, and to change course could prove disastrous.
For all she knew, they were supposed to go to the left or right, and straight could continue forever into this horrible land. And if they stayed straight, they could turn around and head back.
Returning to the mountains would be admitting defeat, but they’d be alive. It wouldn’t be much of a life, but at least it was one.
