Chapter 44 - The Faceless: Part Two

Each step the creature took, Evanna took a step backwards. Her eyes flickered from its face, the front legs and to the pincers on its tail. Suddenly, the faceless sprinted forward, its size and speed intimidating. The creature swiped its two front legs at her, which she narrowly missed before rolling to the side; the tail then swung down with its pincers while she was still kneeling.

She swiped her swords up, making the tail back away and swing from another direction, but she jumped over it; another narrow miss from the tail then led to her slicing both swords to the right as the tail came towards her.

The faceless screeched as the tail flopped to the ground, detached from the rest of its body. In its rage, it came towards Evanna, stomping its front legs at her, but she ran forwards, went underneath it and jumped, stabbing both swords into the underbelly of the monster. Black blood seeped from the wound while it screeched again; Evanna rolled out of the way as it collapsed to the ground.

She kept her swords ready and crept towards the fallen creature, it suddenly moved, making her jump, but then it collapsed once more. The body deflating as the last air left its now non-existent mouth. With the creature dead, Evanna then looked across at Cilv; she still sat there in the other creature's grasp.

This time, she decided to be tactful and climbed the tree by her side; Evanna jumped across a few branches until she was directly above them. The creature was so absorbed in whatever mind game it was playing with Cilv to notice that its friend was dead, and the princess was roaming free. Evanna slowly stepped closer and could see a light glow between the creature's face and Cilvs and could almost hear a radiating energy pulsating between the pair. It made her shiver.

She grabbed her swords, not wasting any more time and jumped, landing on its head and stabbed both ends into the top of it. It immediately screeched and released Cilv and collapsed on the ground. Evanna looked over at Cilv and saw her vacant stare become full of life once again as a tear fell from her eye. Cilv looked at Evanna, wide-eyed and quickly wiped the tear away irritably.

Cilv jumped to her feet and gave a nod of thanks to the princess. Both of them started to jog briskly, their eyes now glancing in every direction, including above them as they went.

**

Ronan was leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his chest, he could not remember why he was waiting in a forest, but he stood there anyway. He looked up and noticed two women running towards him; as they made it closer, their features faded into view. Evanna and Cilv. His face lit up immediately as he began to walk towards them.

Cilv suddenly darted out of the way, running off before jumping up into a tree and disappearing, while Evanna continued to run towards him. He stopped, his eyebrows furrowing before he grunted as she flung herself into his arms.

"What's wrong?!" His voice was alarmed; he placed his hands over her head and arms, checking for any signs of injury. When he saw none, he looked behind her in the direction she came from.

"Nothing is wrong. I am just pleased to see you, Ro," She purred in response while her hands glided down onto his chest.

Ro?

A look of puzzlement settled on his features while he searched her face.

"Are you okay? You seem.."

"I'm fine, now that I have found you."

He parted his lips to speak, but Evanna put her finger on them, making his eyes widen in shock. She leaned closer to his face, her arms wrapping around his neck and her fingers going through the bottom part of his hair. Her lips were nearly touching his now as she whispered, "I have waited for a moment alone with you to do this."

Her soft lips found his with a gentle peck, her green eyes searching his to continue. Ronan was still confused, but he slowly melted at the feel of her luscious body against his. His mind gave in, and he responded to her touch and leaned down, crashing his lips against hers, hungrily. Evanna pulled on his raven curls, earning a lustrous groan from him.

His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her towards him; she moaned softly in his mouth, her lips parting, letting his tongue dip in and conquer her mouth, their tongues intertwining. Evanna leaned into him, pushing him against the tree, her chest pressing against his.

He pulled his head away, gasping, "Wait, what about Ger?"

He couldn't believe he was bringing him up in the prime moment of heat, but he needed to know where they stood with each other. Evanna looked at him in confusion and then in surprise, "What about him?"

Before he could speak further, her voluptuous lips found his again, and he became lost into a lustrous oblivion.

**

In another part of the forest, Ger released arrow after arrow at the creatures now swarming around them. Their eyes were hungry as they closed in on him. These creatures were dark and slender, almost human-like as they stood on two feet, their arms and hands similar; their muscular chests showed each muscle fibre and what looked to be like veins. But that was where the humanistic features ended; white eyes shone brightly against their black skin, their mouths bared with jagged, black teeth, screeching long and low, while others sent whispers across the forest.

One of the closer creatures to Ger reached forwards, its long, bony fingers swiping slowly towards him. The nails were long enough to cause serious harm. Ger shot it in the head, making it fall to the ground. His forehead had beads of sweat on it, overwhelmed by the situation he was in; there were so many circling him. He knew his arrows were going to run out soon.

His head turned, searching the forest for an escape route he could run to, but there was none. He took a step to the side after another creature swiped for him. He was lucky that these things were relatively slow; however, in taking that step, he bumped into something slimy. Ger yelped in surprise at the creature before him, he reached for another arrow, but the creature grabbed his hand and brought its head closer to him. Baring its teeth as its eyes widened.

Ger couldn't look away from the white pupil-less eyes. His mouth relaxed, falling open as a warm feeling fell over him, like a safety net comforting him. He rested his hand while the creature in front of him moved closer to him, leaving inches between them. 

**

Evanna and Cilv decided to head back the way they came in the hopes of finding the river again. Evanna wanted to seek an escape route along with finding the guys before they made it back to the safer side of the river if they could locate the river.

Cilv kept her eyes up at the trees whilst Evanna scanned ahead for any signs of the men and the river. She came to an abrupt halt as another shiver tingled down her spine; Cilv instantly stopped after hearing Evanna's footsteps silence. She eyed Evanna and knew the look on her face by now; it meant danger was coming. She glanced warily back at their surroundings again; her ears were alert to the smallest sounds in the quiet forest.

Evanna nodded to Cilv and began readying her stance while Cilv bolted to the nearest tree and climbed it. Two creatures sprung down from the trees and raced towards Evanna, their tails swinging wildly behind them as their white masks appeared on their heads, the black eyes forming while their mouths opened, revealing their jagged teeth.

The first was tackled down as Cilv fell from a tree onto its head, her claws ripped savagely into its black eyes while it screeched and floundered wildly. Evanna dashed forwards, meeting the creature but jumped and skidded on her knees, missing its front legs, gliding underneath it, with her swords raised, cutting two fine lines into the underbelly as she went. Once Evanna stepped out from behind its tail, she watched as the contents of its body fell to the ground in a sloppy mess before the rest of the creature followed.

CLAP..

CLAP..

CLAP..

A slow clapping sound echoed from beside her, and she spun on her heel to see another creature walking tentatively towards her, clapping its hands slowly. This creature was not like the others; it was very humanistic, walking on two feet, wearing black breeches and a long black coat, the two top buttons loose. Its face was white, with no ears that she could see, and a wide black smile that seemed permanent along with black eyes that had shining white pupils. It was slender but lean, and as it approached Evanna, she saw that it was not much taller than her.

She raised her bloodied swords, "Stay back."

The creature pulled a look of surprise, raising its hands mockingly in surrender.

"I apologise, milady, I did not mean to frighten you," Its voice chilled her to the bone as the smile on its face broadened.

Evanna narrowed her eyes, it was very much enjoying this. 

"What do you want?" She demanded.

Cilv came into Evanna's view now, scrutinising the creature near them. It was odd seeing such a thing wear normal clothes; Cilv widened her stance slightly, ready for anything to attack. She knew how ambushes worked; this man, well, creature, could be distracting them. She was sure that there were many more creatures around them. A shiver passed through her as she glanced at the cruel smile that seemed to be permanent on its face.

The creature made an extravagant bow, pretending to raise a non-existent hat, "My name is Scarecrow. I only wish to see you, two fair ladies, on your way. This is no place for you to be. There are many creatures sniffing about, looking for something to eat."

"Aren't you one of them?" Cilv enquired, her voice taking on one of suspicion.

"Do I look like one of those filthy things?!" The creature named Scarecrow gestured at itself. Its face became menacing at her insult.

"We will be on our way, Mr Scarecrow. We do not wish to bother you," Evanna spoke politely, wiping her swords on the fallen creature before sheathing them.

Cilv stepped closer to her, her face aghast, "You cannot seriously be falling for this. What are you doing!?" She whisper-shouted at the princess.

"Playing along," Evanna whispered back before placing a gentle smile on her face.

"Nonsense! I shall escort you away from here!" Scarecrow beamed at Evanna's politeness, approaching her again and giving his arm for her to take. 

Cilv's eyes widened, her claws remained extended as she watched Evanna place her hand around his arm.

"Will the way be towards the river, good Sir?" Evanna enquired.

Scarecrow smiled more, "Of course, that is the way out."

They began walking in a direction he led them, past the monsters and where they were initially heading. Cilv stayed behind them, her eyes and ears alert, vigilantly watching their surroundings. She did not know what the princess was up to, but she decided to play along- for now.

"How is it that a gentleman such as yourself is in this dreary forest?" Evanna gushed, her eyes bright as she looked at its soulless eyes.

Scarecrow beamed at the word 'gentleman' and brought his hand out for Evanna to take while she stepped over a fallen tree. Once he climbed over after her, he took her hand in his arm again and continued with their stroll, replying as his gaze shifted, staring blankly into the distance, his smile dropping, "Someone very dear to me used me and left me here once I was of no further use."

"That sounds awful, Mr Scarecrow," Evanna rubbed his lean arm, consoling him. His head snapped to the side, his smile back on his face,

"It is all in the past now, milady."

"Why didn't you just leave this place?" Cilv asked quizzically.

Evanna glared at her interruption but quickly put a smile on her face as she glanced back at the creature. Cilv couldn't understand what was wrong with a simple question. Scarecrow turned his head slowly around, his eyes blazing, making her shrink back slightly.

She wanted to kill him then and there; he was far too creepy to be kept alive. However, the small amount of trust she had in Evanna made her think that she was keeping them both alive. Cilv knew there was something the princess was holding back from them, and it had something to do with this sixth sense she seemed to have. Evanna had been right on too many occasions for it to be by coincidence.

"Hmm, I had other plans that did not require me to leave," Scarecrow answered her question while he looked at his slender fingers.

They continued to walk, and as they approached some trees, a clearing came into view, and behind it was the river; somehow, they were now at the same level as the water. It was also much broader as it ran wildly, crashing against the rocks, causing rapids. Cilvs attention was now on the rushing water before them while her excitement of leaving the forest bubbled inside her.

Those unfocused seconds though, was enough time for a surprise attack from above. Suddenly, a rustling sound caught Cilv's attention to look back up before she was jumped on by two more of those other creatures. While she was dealing with the two monsters and keeping her face as far away as possible from them, Evanna continued to walk with Scarecrow, unaware of what was happening behind her. Her gaze was solely on him as he moved his fingers in front of her.

Almost as if he was using mind control on the princess.