Monsters: The Folklore Trilogy Book 3

How to Have Worth

Reminder: they're on land, and Sierra has just spotted a Whisperer.

~~~

My heart, which had already been slightly panicking because of the tension among the group, went into overdrive. No. This couldn't be happening. Not now.

This Whisperer was the most easily recognizable. It appeared as a seething mass of flesh, scaly and slick on the outside, rippling with power and swollen muscle. It was disturbing and unnatural, horrifying like the raw, pulsing heart of an animal. The obsidian scales flashed in the daylight, simultaneously the shiniest and darkest being for miles.

I looked down and realized that my hands were shaking. I tried to focus on the words of those around me.

"Amarie, it's going to be okay," Sierra was saying. "Deep breaths. What can you tell us about this one?"

A hand touched my back and I flinched before realizing it was Isaac.

I took a deep breath like Sierra suggested, although it came out shaky. "I'm not sure what to name it, but it tells me how unimportant I am. That I could disappear and no one would notice. I am useless." I swallowed painfully, trying to keep my voice level. I knew Sierra wanted to know to try and help, but saying my insecurities aloud was difficult and more painful than she seemed to think. When I said them, they seemed sillier and more real at the same time.

"That's ridiculous," Audrey protested.

I cringed and shrunk backwards. "I know. Sorry."

"Don't apologize for something someone else did to you," Sierra said firmly.

"Amarie, is there a way to defeat the Whisperer before it turns you?" Ravi asked.

I hesitated, glancing back at the demon. "I don't know."

Of course you don't know. If you knew anything, you'd be useful.

"Maybe we could drive it off?" Sophie suggested weakly.

Deynan scoffed. "Yeah, because that works out great all the time."

"Calm down," Isaac warned.

Isaac the peaceful. Isaac the wise. He is the rock of support for the team. Stability.

"I threw a knife at a Tormentor once," Audrey commented. "It didn't do much."

Audrey the fierce. Audrey the bold. She is the warrior, the fire and flame. Passion.

It was then that I realized the voice in my head wasn't my own. I glanced at the Whisperer, my legs trembling.

"Why hasn't it attacked yet?" Ravi asked, a calculating look in his eye.

Ravi the clever. Ravi the sharp. The strategist, the scholar. Intellect.

"Maybe it's too scared to attack?" Deynan offered half heartedly.

Deynan the reckless. Deynan the loud. The jester, the jovial, the brother. Levity.

My throat was dry and my heart sinking fast. I wanted to tell them, but I couldn't speak.

"Amarie," Sophie said quietly, "are you okay?"

Slowly, I shook my head.

Sophie the innocent. Sophie the kind. The quiet beauty, the elegant sweetness. Grace.

"Amarie?" Sierra said, concern laced in her voice. "What's wrong?"

I couldn't look her in the eye.