Chapter 33: CH. 33 | Waterfall On The Hill

Theo’s body got dragged along with the collapsing cliff, swept straight through the lotus flower valley.

He felt his chest tighten, struggling to breathe under the weight of the dirt burying him. He clawed his way upward, trying to punch a hole through to let air in.

Theo managed it, but his eyes caught trees whipping past him. The landslide was still happening, and he fought to keep himself from panicking, from getting buried again.

He finally broke free of the dirt and looked ahead. A deep ravine split the two hills right in front of him. Theo had to act fast if he didn’t want to die in the landslide, or worse, plunge straight into that ravine.

His focus locked onto the nearest tree. He drew his sword instantly and drove the blade into the trunk.

It worked! He’d avoided the ravine, holding on for dear life by the grip of his sword. Lucky for him, the landslide hadn’t swept through this stand of trees. Still, Theo knew he couldn’t afford to linger.

He pulled his sword free and hurried toward somewhere safer. The sound of trickling water carried from the edge of the forest, and Theo followed it right away, his throat parched and his mouth full of dirt.

Almost there...

His steps faltered as a sharp piece of wood jabbed into his thigh. He kept pushing forward until the sound of water grew clearer.

Ahead, a waterfall came into view, its crest visible even from a distance. Theo felt a wave of relief wash over him, at least he could rest there for a moment and figure out how to get back.

The waterfall sat right behind a cluster of bushes. Theo pushed through them without a second thought, not caring whether the spot was safe or not, the awful feeling in his mouth and throat left him no patience for caution.

Once through the bushes, Theo threw himself straight into the waterfall’s pool. The cool, refreshing rush of water immediately eased the exhaustion weighing on him.

He rinsed his mouth and spat out all the dirt, and once it was clean, he drank the fresh water to soothe his parched throat.

Theo stood up after soaking for a while, feeling the mist from the waterfall spray gently across his face, calm and peaceful.

"Ahh, that’s refreshing," Theo murmured, "I thought I was going to die in that landslide."

"W-Who are you?!"

His eyes snapped open, and he turned toward the voice. His expression froze in shock, his face draining of color as he realized he wasn’t alone.

A woman sat at the edge of the pool, half submerged, and clearly wearing nothing at all. Her skin was pale and flawless, her long black hair shimmering under the moonlight.

Her eyes went wide, staring at Theo in shock. Her hands instinctively moved to cover the rest of her body.

What caught Theo off guard was the webbed wing structure running along her arms, covered in fine black feathers that stood in stark contrast to her pale, unblemished skin.

Theo immediately turned away, averting his eyes. He closed them tight and started apologizing over and over.

He had no idea who this woman was, what kind of being she might be, or where she’d come from.

But his own carelessness alone was more than enough to leave him in shock.

"I-I’m sorry."

"I got caught in a landslide earlier. Dirt filled up my mouth and throat. So I rushed here to clean myself off!"

"I-I didn’t have any intention at all of peeking at you," Theo said quietly.

He didn’t hear anything from her after that. Theo tried calling out to her again, but there was no response at all.

Theo started to suspect that maybe this woman was... some kind of ghost haunting this forest?

Please let her be a ghost... Please let her be a ghost.

Theo took a breath, then worked up the courage to glance back, only to find the woman gone from the edge of the pool. Theo finally let out a sigh of relief, the naked woman with winged arms had just been a ghost, exactly as he’d suspected.

He started stripping off his clothes and continued soaking that night, washing away the grime the landslide had left caked into every crevice of his body.

Once he’d soaked long enough, he put his clothes back on and climbed out of the waterfall’s pool.

He’d had enough to drink, his mouth and throat finally felt comfortable again, nothing left bothering him.

"All right," Theo said, "Time to find my way back to the village."

He turned and walked away from the waterfall, heading in whatever direction he could remember.

But before he’d gone more than a few steps, he heard the sound of a large number of birds cawing overhead.

That cawing... why are there so many crows here?

The dim lighting made it hard for Theo to make out the crows clearly. Even so, he figured it was probably nothing, harmless enough.

PECK!

"Ouch!"

A crow swooped down low and pecked straight at Theo’s forehead. Startled, he instinctively clutched at the red mark left behind by the peck.

What is wrong with these things?

It wasn’t just one either, a whole flock of crows kept pecking at him one after another until his forehead and other parts of his body were bleeding and aching.

These crows have completely lost their minds!

Theo drew his sword and swung it upward, but that only shifted their attacks toward the lower half of his body.

No! That was a critical area for Theo, not something he could afford to let anyone hurt.

He suddenly remembered the waterfall. The crows might be attacking him now, but they wouldn’t dare come after him if he took shelter there.

The young man sheathed his sword again and bolted back into the waterfall’s pool.

He dove in again, swimming until he reached the space behind the waterfall itself, the safest spot he could think of, since he was certain those crazed crows wouldn’t follow him there.

Theo’s guess turned out right! The attacks stopped completely, though he could still hear their cawing from outside.

"Damn it," Theo groaned, "Are they planning to wait for me all night?"

Without warning, Theo saw a hand reach through the waterfall from outside. The hand grabbed him by the throat, sending Theo into a full blown panic.

He tried to break free from the grip, but the sheer strength overpowering him left Theo completely helpless.

The man pulled Theo out from behind the waterfall and hurled him out of the pool.

His eyes took in the sight, the waterfall’s pool now surrounded by men with the same webbed wing structures as the woman before. They wore all black clothing, their hair uniformly jet black.

Who are they?!

Theo’s body slammed into a tree trunk from the force of the throw. As he tried to push himself back up, several other men grabbed his arms, pinning him down to stop him from running.

"You... so you’re the filthy human who defiled our Princess’s purity?!" the man who’d thrown him shouted.

PUNCH!

Theo winced in pain as the man’s fist slammed into his stomach, leaving him no chance to dodge or brace himself. All he could do was groan in agony, begging for forgiveness over and over.

"I... got lost!"

"I got caught in a landslide earlier."

"I saw the waterfall, so I came to clean myself off," Theo said quietly.

The man reached out and grabbed a fistful of Theo’s hair, yanking his head up until their eyes met, "You think we’re going to believe that?!"

PUNCH!

He landed another blow across Theo’s face, splitting the corner of his lip and bruising his cheekbone, his eyes turning bloodshot.

Theo tried to fight back, but his body had gone weak from everything the landslide had already put him through.

His hair was yanked again, and the man seemed to relish the moment, beating Theo down without mercy. Theo was completely helpless, his body covered in bruises, drained and powerless.

"If... this is my fault..."

"I’m... sorry," Theo said quietly.

"Sorry isn’t enough," the man said, "You have to die, and we’re going to offer your head to Her Highness!"

Theo’s sword was ripped from his hand, and the man pressed the blade against Theo’s throat. He gripped it tightly, his eyes sharp, a menacing grin spreading across his face.

Theo watched it all unfold, his face a wreck. But he was far too weak to fight back against them.

So... am I going to die here, killed by these crow demons?