Aria's Point of View
The massive boar burst through the trees before Luna could answer my question.
And I mean massive. This thing was the size of a car, with tusks as long as my arms and eyes that glowed red like hot coals. Foam dripped from its mouth, and when it saw us, it let out a squeal that made my ears ring.
"MOVE!" Luna shoved me so hard I went flying.
I hit the ground just as the boar charged past, its hooves thundering like a stampede. It missed me by inches. I could smell it—rot and mud and something worse, something that made my stomach turn.
"What is that thing?" I screamed, scrambling to my feet.
"Shadow boar!" Luna circled around it, her teeth bared. "They're territorial and really, really angry!"
"Why is everything in the Shadowlands angry?"
"Would you be happy if you lived here?"
The boar turned around, pawing the ground. Its breath came out in huge puffs of black smoke. Then it lowered its head and charged again—straight at me.
My legs felt frozen. My brain screamed at me to run, but my body wouldn't listen. All I could see were those tusks getting closer and closer and—
Luna slammed into the boar's side. It wasn't enough to knock it over, but it made the creature stumble, changing its direction. The boar skidded past me, so close that one of its tusks caught my jacket and tore a huge hole in it.
"Aria! Wake up!" Luna yelled. "I need you focused!"
That snapped me out of it. Luna was right. Freezing up would get us both killed.
"What do I do?" I shouted.
"Climb! Now!"
I looked around wildly. The trees here were huge, with thick branches that hung low. I ran to the nearest one and jumped, catching a branch with both hands. My arms screamed in protest as I hauled myself up, my feet scrambling against the bark.
Below me, Luna was dancing around the boar, snapping at its legs, keeping it distracted. But the boar was fast—faster than something that big should be. One of its tusks caught Luna's back leg, and she yelped in pain.
"Luna!" My heart felt like it stopped.
"I'm fine!" But she was limping now, favoring her other legs. "Just climb higher!"
I pulled myself up to the next branch, then the next. My hands were getting scraped raw, but I didn't care. I had to get high enough. High enough to—
To what? What was I supposed to do from up here?
The boar had given up on Luna and was staring up at me now. Its red eyes locked onto mine, and I swear it looked like it was smiling. Then it backed up, lowered its head, and charged straight at the tree.
"Oh no—"
WHAM!
The whole tree shook like an earthquake. I wrapped my arms around the branch, holding on for dear life. The boar backed up and rammed the tree again. And again.
"The tree's not going to hold!" I yelled.
"I know!" Luna was circling below, trying to draw the boar's attention, but it ignored her. It wanted me.
Another ram. I heard wood cracking.
Think, Aria, think! What would Eli do?
Eli. My brave, smart, way-too-confident brother who always knew what to do in emergencies. He'd probably do something crazy and dangerous and completely ridiculous.
So that's exactly what I did.
"Luna!" I shouted. "When I say now, be ready to catch me!"
"Catch you? What are you—Aria, don't you dare!"
Too late. I was already moving.
The boar backed up for another charge. This time, as it ran toward the tree, I let go of the branch.
For one horrible second, I was falling through the air with nothing to grab onto. The ground rushed up at me. The boar's tusks gleamed below.
Then I landed—right on the boar's back.
The creature squealed in surprise and fury. It bucked and twisted, trying to throw me off. I grabbed onto its coarse fur with both hands, my legs squeezing its sides like I was riding the world's worst, angriest horse.
"Are you insane?" Luna yelled, but I could hear something else in her voice. Was she... impressed?
"Probably!" I shouted back.
The boar was going crazy now, spinning in circles, slamming itself against trees trying to scrape me off. My grip was slipping. My arms felt like jelly.
"Luna! I can't hold on much longer!"
"The tree to your right! Jump when I say!"
The boar spun again, and I saw it—a tree with a low, thick branch perfect for grabbing. But I'd have to time it exactly right.
"Wait for it..." Luna's voice was calm now, focused. "Wait... NOW!"
I let go and launched myself sideways. My hands caught the branch, and I swung my legs up just as the boar's tusks whistled through the empty air where I'd been.
I pulled myself up, gasping for breath. Below, Luna was already moving, herding the confused boar away from the tree. She led it in circles, farther and farther, until finally it gave up and crashed back into the forest, squealing angrily.
Silence.
I stayed on the branch, shaking so hard my teeth chattered. My hands were bleeding. My jacket was ruined. And I was pretty sure I'd aged about ten years in the last five minutes.
Luna shifted back to human form and climbed up next to me. She was bleeding too, from where the tusk had caught her leg.
"That," she said, "was the stupidest thing I've ever seen anyone do."
"Did it work?"
"Yeah."
"Then it wasn't stupid."
Luna stared at me for a second. Then she started laughing. Not a small laugh—a huge, gasping, can't-breathe kind of laugh. And even though my hands hurt and I was terrified and we were still stuck in the most dangerous part of the Shadowlands, I started laughing too.
We sat there in the tree, two complete messes, laughing like idiots.
"You know," Luna said when she finally caught her breath, "you might actually survive this."
"Might?"
"I said might."
I grinned. But then Luna's smile faded. She was looking past me, her eyes going wide.
"Aria," she whispered. "Don't move."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"There's something behind you. Something much worse than a boar."
Slowly, carefully, I turned my head.
Sitting on the branch above us was a figure. A man made entirely of shadows, with eyes like burning stars. He was watching us with a smile that made my blood turn to ice.
"Hello, Luna," the shadow man said in that same voice from before. "You've been very hard to find."
Luna's hand found mine and squeezed tight.
"Aria," she breathed. "When I tell you to jump, you jump. No questions."
"But—"
"Promise me!"
The shadow man's smile grew wider. "Oh, please don't leave on my account. We have so much to catch up on." His burning eyes shifted to me. "And your little friend here has something that belongs to me."
My hand. He was staring at the silver mark on my hand.
"Run," Luna whispered.
Then everything exploded into chaos.