You Shouldn't Talk To Strangers... ;-)

Hey Everyone!! 😊

Today seemed like a good time to share a slightly spooky snippet and get your Halloween weekend off to a good start. Enjoy! 😉

Excerpt from Taken by the Huntsman:
It seemed like an unlikely place for a portal to Cassie, but she reminded herself that she didn’t think the Fae could lie, and Ithel had specifically said it was there. Besides, what did she know about portals? Maybe they always hung out inside old wells. She pulled herself up into the crack and had to squeeze to get through.

As she fell against the opposite wall, she heard a grinding behind her and turned to see the opening in the rock now sealed shut. A cold feeling passed through her gut as she ran her hand over the now smooth wall. Why would Ithel want to trick her into entering a well?

Smacking her hand against the wall, she called out. But there was no answer. She heard a trickling sound and looked around for its source. It wasn't long before water pooled around her feet.

Why would he want to trap her in a well, and then fill it with water from the bottom? It wouldn’t kill her; she’d just float to the top and then climb out. She could see that the top was open because there was light from it. If he dumped the water down on top of her from above, she might drown before she could float above the source, but not if it came from underneath.

Unless he meant to only fill the well partially and hope she would eventually tire and drown? But if that were the case, she thought the walls were close enough together that she could wedge her back against one side, and her feet against the other, and climb to the top. It would be difficult, and it would take some time, but she thought she could do it. So what could his motive be? And what about Fae not being able to lie? Was she somehow mistaken about that?

As the water rose to her ankles, Cassie called out again. It was getting too dark for her to see, and worry was starting to nibble at the edges of her mind. She wasn’t sure exactly why Ithel had trapped her in the well, but it was starting to look as if he had left her there. The more she thought about it, the more she realized he had never promised to send her home alive, or to open the portal as soon as she was close enough. All he had said was that he would open it when she was close enough, and that he would take her to it.

It was quite possible the portal was in the well, but that he wouldn’t open it until she had drowned. Maybe she wasn’t wrong about Fae not being able to lie, and maybe she was. But, either way, it seemed as if Ithel intended to kill her in this well. She still wasn’t certain why he didn’t think she’d be able to get out. But she was beginning to worry that he might be right, and something would prevent her from climbing out of the top.

With that in mind, she began feeling around the walls to see if she could find a way out. To her disappointment, the walls were smooth. The water continued to rise and was soon to her thighs. The water was cold and, in spite of how hot she had been in the forest, it chilled her. She tried to keep moving to keep from feeling the cold so acutely and continued to look for a way out.

No matter how loud, her calls for help went unanswered. And her search for an escape seemed to be futile. As time passed, the fear that there was no way out, and that her decision to trust the Elf might truly be the end of her, grew...

...Cassie continued to call out and move as much as she could, even though her feet had long since left the ground, and she was left floating in the darkness. The water was extremely cold and her teeth chattered. She had no idea how long she had been in the well, but it felt like an eternity. The top of the well was still out of sight. But she wasn’t sure if that was because it was too far above her, or because it had grown too dark for her to see it.

She kicked her legs and tried to rise above the water, while reaching her arms up as high as she could. All she felt above her was air, until finally, her fingers struck something hard. She kicked again and managed to grab onto what felt like a metal grate. Her heart sank as she explored the grate with her hands and it became obvious it covered the opening of the well.

Now she knew what Ithel’s plan had been. Once the water rose high enough, she would be trapped beneath the grate and would drown. The realization sent a surge of adrenaline through her that warmed her and gave her energy. She redoubled her cries for help and tried to find a weakness in the grate she could exploit.

It soon became clear that the grate was securely attached to the top of the well and would not be dislodged by any means she had at her disposal. It wasn’t long before she no longer had to stretch to reach the grate, and she began to panic. She screamed for help, but all she heard was her own voice echoed back to her by the forest.

In her despair, Cassie succumbed to the frigid temperature of the water. She felt sleepy and lethargic. Her arms and legs were heavy and difficult to move, and she found her face was sinking under the water more often. She no longer felt cold, and it seemed an awful lot of effort to continue to tread water and call for help. All of a sudden, a bright light appeared above her, and she felt another small thrill of terror. Cassie had heard of people seeing a bright light as they died, and she didn’t want to die. But, somehow, it was hard to find the strength to fight anymore.

Want to find out what happens to Cassie? Grab your copy at the link below! Happy reading and Happy Halloween!! 😊

Taken by the Huntsman