Hidden in the Heartwood {sapphic paranormal}

CHAPTER TWELVE

12. || meet me in the woods.

A warm hand grasped for Finley's arm, tearing her from the black binding sap that oozed from the pine's trunk. Its boughs weeped in recoil, folding in on itself and the distance grew between them as River pulled her away from its roots and back to their path.

"River, I–I think I'm still buzzed or high or..." Finley sunk her fingertips into the soft suede of River's jacket to steady herself. "The trees look like they're moving, like they're walking with us. Or against us? And that pine..."

She turned to glance behind, but the tree had passed them by like the others.

"Now Boots, first of all, trees don't walk." River's soft laugh warmed her ear as they leaned closer. "They lumber."

Giving them a nudge, Finley clenched her teeth, caught somewhere in between a smile and a glare as she dropped their arms. Sap still remained on her palm, clinging only to her skin. She rubbed her thumb against her fingers to examine it closer.

"Second..." River took her hands in theirs again, pulling her attention from the sticky black stain. "That's why I said to stay close. See?" As they both stood there still as stone, there was no mistaking it, the trees continued to move around them. The bare gray trunks of the sugar maples and black cherries slipped past in no hurry, carried by some kind of subterranean current. Looking down at Finley, River must have read her bewildered mind. "I stopped questioning these woods long ago. All's I know is if we take this path, we get there twice as fast."

Keeping still, Finley could feel the rumble of earth beneath her borrowed boots, pulling them deeper into the forest like a terrestrial tide. "So it's like an autowalk," she wondered aloud.

"What's that?"

"Those moving walkways in big airports." But River just shrugged. "You've never flown before?"

"If I was meant to fly, then wings I'da been given." River let go of her hands and nodded towards a clearing up ahead where a bold crick cut along the edge of the forest. "You been some places though?"

"Oh yeah, all over." Walking at River's side, she focused on the stream to keep from addling herself all up again. "Every continent actually, except Oceania and Antarctica."

"Shit, you gotta be the most travelingest girl I ever met."

"My..." And there was that taste again. Curds of hot vomit filled her throat, but she pushed it all down and found a new word for what had become her new normal. "My ex was a hunter." And ex didn't barely begin to describe the Demon, but until she was sure she could trust River with her whole truth, it'd be wise to split the two for now. "We went on a lot of trips together."

"Ex, huh?" River didn't so much as side glance her, but she could feel curiosity radiating from them. "You ever hunt together?"

Just as its prey.

Phantom pains slithered up her leg as she slugged through decayed leaves and pine needles, trying not to fall behind again, but the little white worms were hungry and she could feel their teeth gnawing at her inside and out.

Shaking the thought from her mind, she pressed on. "I uh, tried once. It didn't end well."

"Huntin's tough, 'least it should be. Choosin' to take a life is no small thing." River stopped so she could catch up. "But if it's an equipment issue, I can help—"

"I can shoot just fine," Finley assured them. "But I only pull the trigger if I have to."

"Good to know." River's grin creased their eyes and its familiarity dug far deeper than just yesterday. "Your grandpappy taught ya well, I'm sure. He's one of the good ones. One of few."