While everyone's back was facing Amber, she shot more needles into the ground as quickly as possible. The bubble around her stayed intact, but warped whenever it was punctured. Amber was trying to smoothly shoot her needles through the bubble so that it wouldn't pop, but her high level of agitation was making that difficult. These people were mostly morons and she refused to put her life in their hands. Needle after needle she carefully pierced through the bubble, until she was surrounded by another wall of protection. She twisted the needles into the ground, facing up, and only marginally under the surface. No one noticed what she had done. Although she was quite fast, someone would have likely noticed she was shooting out so many needles normally.
"It's so juicy and crunchy. Come...come," said the voice from behind the bushes.
Amber watched as a strange haze settled over the travelers eyes and several more people walked towards the bushes. As one took a step forward, two more behind him took a step forward, and then four more took a step forward. Like gears in a mechanical clock, they moved in perfect step. They walked through the crowd, not bothering to weave, or avoid anyone. They just stepped, knocking people out of the way, with the same unflinching, and steady pace.
"Yesss come," the voice whispered with an excited hiss.
Amber watched as each of those seven people walked forward through the crowd. The one in front, moved towards the bushes without anyone trying to stop him. As soon as he stepped around the bushes and out of sight, there was a loud popping noise; like a water-balloon busting.
Right after he walked through, the two directly behind him also walked around the bushes. Again, there were two more loud popping sounds. A dark pool started to form just below the leaves of those bushes. The pool slowly spread out towards the travelers until it touched the shoes of the one standing closest. He stepped away from the puddle, leaving an imprint on the fallen leaves. In the dim light that filtered in through the trees, the stain on the leaves looked dark maroon; almost black.
Amber frowned while looking at the dark maroon puddle. It looked like the juice of poisonous berries mixed with ink. It smelled like red wine that had been forgotten outside in the hot sun for a day. It smelled rancid, but tangy. It was then that Amber remembered that as much as these people resembled the humans from her previous life, they were not humans. Although that puddle didn't seem like blood, it definitely was.
The man who stepped back leaned down and brushed the tips of his fingers into the puddle. Standing up straight again, he lifted his dirty fingers to his nose, and took a deep sniff. His eyes bulged. Then he leaned over and retched while he desperately rubbed his hand off on the grass.
A man with the same outfit as everyone else, but with a small metal in the shape of an iris, boldly walked forward with a frown on his face. He, too, keeled down beside the other man and looked at the puddle.
Amber looked towards the front of the hunting party, wondering why the Duke hadn't shown up. She saw that the majority of the hunting party had continued to march without stopping and had left this small group of travelers behind. There were no more than thirty who'd paused long enough to get separated from the larger group of one hundred travelers. Although that seemed like a large group of people, it was quite minuscule compared to the size of a normal group sent out by the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager and her close subordinates were definitely trying to keep the real purpose of this particular goal as quiet as possible. Not even the Duke knew all of the hidden objectives behind the Empress Dowager's orders. He only knew how to obey all of her orders without question. Over time he had become an excellent pawn for her to control. She was quite a clever woman to have secured her place of power in a patriarchal society. Long had the emperor been trying to shake her power in Verglas, but she would not be budged. With every feeble attempt the Ice Emperor tried, she made it a point to secure her power more strongly. Until the Ice Emperor felt his every attempt to rule, strangled. Empress Dowager Belladonna was indeed a formidable opponent.
Amber sighed and then glanced down at Alina who had poked her head out from Amber's pocket. The little pixie stared at the growing puddle with just her eyes above the edge of Amber's pocket. Her tiny fists gripped the top of Amber's pocket and slightly shook. The little pixie was not brave enough to leave the feeling of safety within Amber's pocket, but her eyes were glued on the macabre scene.
After just a couple of moments, the last four who had been affected by the strange voice made it to the bushes. Three of them were walking in perfect unison, but the last one was a bit slower. Amber looked at the man who was lagging behind and saw that a young yuki-onna woman had wrapped herself around his legs.
"Stop! Don't go over there, it's dangerous. Let's just get out of here. I never wanted to take this dangerous mission in the first place. Honey, let's just get out of here; alright? Let's forget any of this ever happened. Please?" She said with tears streaming down her face, while looking up at him, and gripping his legs tightly.
He dragged them both towards the bushes without ever looking down at her. She continued to hopelessly beg him while he dragged her body along the unforgiving forest floor. Long thorns scratched and stabbed her, but she would not let go. As they approached the bushes, she quieted into stifled sobs. She had decided that if it was his fate to die here, she would die with him. She looked down with resignation in her eyes, gripping him tightly, and shaking in fear. Still she would not let go of him.
"I love you. I will always love you," she whispered in the wind before kissing the man on his leg and closing her eyelids tightly. His pants soaked with her tears, but still he did not slow his pace for even a moment.
Amber frowned while feeling an uncomfortable pinch in her heart, before rapidly flicking out a green tinted ice needle. The speed and small size of the ice needle prevented it from even causing a ripple in the bubble. Her movements were instinctive and involuntary. The tip of the small needle pierced the muscle next to the man's spine and smoothly entered. All at once he collapsed onto the forest floor, immobile, and dragging down the woman wrapped around his legs. She untangled herself from him. While rapidly breathing, she scrambled up towards his face and checked to make sure he was alright. Although he was no longer moving, he was still alive. His eyes remained glazed over and open, but he was alive.
A small giggle of relieved happiness sprang out from the woman's lips and she quickly ran back to the man's ankles. Leaning down, she tightly grabbed hold of both his ankles and pulled. She struggled backwards with all of her strength, slowly dragging the man's heavier weight away from the bushes.
The woman was so focused on her task that she didn't bother to look up until a strange shadow fell over her. She lifted up her face and her eyes locked onto those of a monster far more horrifying than any in her fear filled dreams. The creature towered over her, leaning on its overly large arms. Its entirely black eyes blinked at her as it tilted its head to the side. Its lips were spread wide, revealing long pointed teeth dripping with dark maroon colored juice. Its green fur was matted and filthy, pressed up close to it in spots and stained with blood. It's tail flicked behind it in agitation, back and forth. Its long front claws repeatedly dug into the dirt, one hand after the other.
It righted its head, while looking down at the woman who was dragging its prey away. It slowly opened its cavernous mouth. Its long pointed teeth separated, revealing a long forked tongue, and then it hissed at her.
She gasped, almost releasing the man, but then tightened her grip on his ankles and clenched her jaw. Eyes locked with the monster, she went back to trying to drag the man away.
The monster hissed at her again, but she stared it down.
It took two confident steps forward, digging its claws deep into the dirt, and leaving holes where the ground once was.
"You would try to take away my prey?" said the monster in a raspy voice.
The woman shook at the sound of the monster's voice, but still remained firm. "He's mine. Y-you can't have him," she said with resolve and yanked on the man's ankles with all her might.
The monster chuckled deep in its throat and reached out a clawed paw towards the immobile man's outstretched arm. The woman flicked out her hand towards the creature. Her palm glowed light blue and then water was pulled from the forest floor. The water dripped upwards, as if gravity no longer existed. The drips collected into one large blob and enveloped the creature's head.
The creature appeared to flail while trying to escape from the water surrounding his head. Seeing the monster struggle, the woman let out a relieved sigh, and renewed her efforts of pulling the man away.
She didn't notice the strange green mist that started to seep out of the creature or that her blob of water was being soaked up by the creature's long green fur.