Monsters: The Folklore Trilogy Book 3

In Which I Try To Help But Honestly Don't Do Much (Part 1)

Amarie's eyes widened. Then her head dropped and she cursed.

Deynan raised his eyebrows. "Wow, Amarie cursed? I'm impressed."

"That's not our priority right now, Deynan," Sophie whispered.

"Why not? It's a big de—"

"How did you defeat me last time?" Amarie blurted. She looked around wildly. "How!?"

"Ravi beat you in a battle of wits," I said quietly, trying to calm her down. "He showed you he was smarter and you freaked and passed out."

"Okay, so this next one, you have to convince me you're better," she said firmly.

"Which one is it?" Ravi asked.

Amarie turned to look at the rapidly approaching black mass. It moved differently than the last one, less solid, almost like a cloud of sentient black smoke. It curled and wove its way through the sky, delicate yet ominous in the way only smoke can be.

"Wraith," Amarie whispered. She hugged herself tightly, her fingernails digging into her arms.

"Uh, what's a wraith?" Deynan asked slowly.

Amarie squeezed her eyes shut. "Wraith, spirit, banshee, ghost, whatever you want to call it. A non-physical form with supernatural abilities."

"Oh," Sophie whispered.

"Which insecurity is this?" I asked quickly.

Amarie opened her eyes and shrugged slightly. "I-I'm not entirely sure." She bit her lip. "Grace? Talent? It's hard to put a name to it."

My stomach tightened. The more information we had, the easier it would be. Still, we had to work with what we had received.

"Alright, so we'll figure it out," I said, clapping my hands together. I smiled, masking my uncertainty. I turned to Amarie. "You ready?"

She shook her head slowly. "But I don't think I'll ever be."

I nodded. "That's fair. Okay. You got this. We believe in you."

She nodded distractedly, though I doubted she believed me.

And then the Whisperer was upon us.

The boat fell silent. Amarie clenched her fists and closed her eyes.

There were a few moments of silence.

"No," Amarie muttered. "That's not true."

I shared a concerned glance with Ravi. It was only the beginning and she already didn't have much conviction in her voice.

She began trembling slightly. On instinct, I reached out a hand and touched her shoulder, for comfort if nothing else.

"—look like a scrawny drunk chicken."

I gasped and jerked my hand away. "I heard it," I whispered.

"What do you mean?" Isaac asked, concerned.

I looked at my hand in wonder. "When I touched her, I heard the Whisperer. It called her a scrawny chicken or something."

"Oh my goodness," Sophie whispered, her eyes widening.

"Gah!" Amarie shouted suddenly, pressing her hands to her ears fruitlessly. I grabbed her arm again. Maybe if I could hear what she was hearing, I could help her.

"You're so pathetic and small, gangly and clumsy. You're the laughingstock of everyone you meet. Awkward, unconfident, and a bumbling fool. No wonder you were a slave for so many years."

The voice reminded me of burning coals, sharp, raspy, and hot, crackling like the wood in a fire.

"Stop," she whispered.

"You can't do anything right. Everyone knows it. It's surprising you even have the nerve to speak, when you know you'll mess everything up."

"That's...not true," Amarie mumbled, but I could feel her shoulders droop beneath my hand. The words were getting to her.

"Amarie, don't listen to it," I said. "It's feeding off your fear." But my heart was beating faster.

"You're a sorry excuse for a human being. Weak and foolish. You can never earn anyone's respect as long as you live. You're a hopeless case."

The words began to vibrate through my body, thrumming and sizzling through my veins. It felt like all the energy in my body was being stripped away from me on an electric current.

"You're a mistake."

"I know," she whispered.

"No!" I shouted urgently.

"You're awkward and pitiful."

"I know."

"Amarie, that's not—"

"You're worthless."

Suddenly, a burning sensation prickled over my skin, growing hotter and sharper with every second. My head spun, my stomach grew queasy. My entire body spasmed, and then suddenly I could no longer sense my limbs, as if they were simply appendages strapped onto my torso. My heartbeat sped up, the air inside my lungs expanding until it felt like I was about to burst.

And then Amarie dissolved beneath my fingers.

~~~~

Sorry, short chapter, but part 2 is coming soon, I promise. So you guys get three Sierra chapters in a row! (They were originally suppose to be one, but I got carried away with Sierra and Isaac's conversation.)

Anyway, apparently you guys are officially the Mythical Beans now. XD oh man, I love you guys.

If you want part 2 to come sooner, go spam bellabehrend and tell her to start reading Monsters. ;) Oh, how I love attacking my friends behind their backs online.

(This is a running joke, I promise I'm a good person.)

Much love!
Margot