Bedeviled

Chapter 29

Forcing my eyes open, I peered up at a blanket of tree branches and a clear blue sky. My fingers moved, feeling warm grass around me. Looking around, I found myself in a sunny meadow in the forest. My head was foggy, as if I had woken up in the middle of a heavy sleep.

Struggling to sit myself up due to my arms feeling weak, I looked around and the beauty of where I was. How did I get here? I thought about the last thing I could remember. The freezing storm, hugging into Jager, the flashes of light and the loud thunder.

Something bumped into the back of my head gently and puffed air onto me, "Ahh!" I yelled, jumping around and leaning away from whatever it was.

"Jager," I sighed in relief and stood to brush myself off, "Where are we bud" I said to him as I walked to pet his bony structure. He bend his head down and pulled a large chunk of grass up, gnawing on it aggressively.

I checked my pack and all our supplies, everything was dry now and I wondered how long I was out for. I pulled out my hair brush and ran it through my long, knotted hair before braiding it to keep it out of my face.

If that old man was correct, we must be in purgatory.

After a few trials and errors, I managed to figure out how to jump onto Jager without any help. I had no idea where I was going now and decided to wonder through the forest. It was frightening not having a plan but the calm nature of the forest around us eased my emotions.

We wondered for a few hours before stopping at a stream, I hopped off Jager and allowed him to rest. We found a large dirt road and I decided to stick to it.

A twig snapped to our right and both Jager and I snapped up straight. I pulled him to a halt and peered through the forest where the noise sounded.

Something wizzed past me and clunked into a tree trunk a few feet from me. It was a golden arrow, clearly meant for my head.

In a panic we galloped down the road. I kicked at his sides begging for him to go faster as golden arrows continued to barely miss us. I didn't dare to look back.

I pulled Jager off the road, jumping over a small berm and into the forest. We weaved in and out of trees, changing direction every so often in attempt to get away from the threat. I saw a clearing ahead and raced toward it only to pull Jager to a quick stop after seeing the drop off of a large hill.

"No!" I yelled and turned around to look at what was behind us. Suddenly, a figure jumped out between me and the invisible threat and caught one of the golden arrows out of the air with unimaginable speed. The world went silent for a few moments.

The man stood with his back to me, watching whatever I couldn't see leave the scene. He had shoulder length wavy blonde hair, a ragged, brightly colored, patterned robe that was tied around his waist, and a large stick holding a sack hanging over his shoulder.

He turned to me, "That was pure luck," he said as he held up the arrow, don't ask me to do that again. He was young, maybe 17.

"What was that?" I exclaimed loudly.

"Oh, don't mind him. He likes to jump to conclusions" He smirked, waved his hand, and said this like it was a joke.

I shook my head at his comment, "Where am I, I need to get back to hell." I said urgently.

"Hell? Good luck with that" He said, giving me a side eye before skipping away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" I yelled at him and followed with Jager.

"The world may never know" He said from behind me after vanishing from right before my eyes. I swung my body around to look at him, holding onto the saddle for support.