A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

lost, are you?” I poked him in the back, but he didn’t reply. I
could only hope his lack of reassurance originated from deep concentration
rather than from an inability to dispel my fears.
    The air grew colder with every wearying
pace I made. Dallas marched in silence, but I didn’t fail to notice the
hesitation in his steps every now and then. The trail wound upward, climbing
into complete darkness. The stars in the sky looked like pale, gleaming dots
too far away to cast any light through the thick canopy above our head.
Although the ground was frozen and bare of twigs, I stumbled more than once.
    By the time Dallas stopped to consult his
compass yet again, my thighs ached and I felt blisters forming on my feet. I
could hear my own panting and decided it was time to join the gym. Plopping
down on the chilly ground, I remembered I wore my favorite jeans and jumped up.
“So, how’s that compass thing working for you? How long until we get there?” I
asked.
    “What are you, five? It’s not far from
here.” Dallas resumed his walk. I took a deep breath and followed.
    There was something in the air. I could
feel an eerie vibe as though the air trembled. Twigs snapped, a soft humming
carried over from the trees. I stopped dead in my tracks whispering, “Dallas?
Do you hear that?”
    My brother threw an irritated glance over
his shoulder. “What now? No break.”
    A soft whistle echoed in the distance. “I
think someone’s following us.” I peered behind me, noticing a blue streak of
light flashing through the black night.
    “You’ve always been paranoid.” He quickened
his pace.
    I scanned the forest behind us, but nothing
moved. Apart from the usual rustling of leaves, everything seemed deserted.
Maybe I was just tired and sick from constantly tripping over my own feet. My
overactive mind had to be playing tricks on me. After all, we hadn’t passed any
car on our way here, so no one could’ve followed us.
    We trudged forward until we reached a
clearing. The moon peered from behind dark clouds that looked like a huge,
gaping mouth mocking me.
    “It’s got to be somewhere here,” Dallas
said.
    I rolled my eyes. “Are you sure? We’ve only
been marching for a few hours. I don’t need to be home before morning.”
    “Stop acting like a baby, Amber.” He tossed
the backpack on the ground. “You wait here. I’ve got to take a leak.”
    I shook my head, trying to keep a straight
face. “Nope. You said no breaks.”
    “But nature’s calling. I’m taking the
flashlight.”
    “No way.” I shook my head and snatched the
flashlight out of his hand. “Just make sure no one’s biting anything off. Not
sure we’d find it in the dark.”
    He smirked and slapped the back of my head
like he used to do when we were children. Shining the flashlight on him, I
watched him disappear into the thicket. I sat down on the damp ground, the wet
grass soaking my jeans instantly. It had cost me a fortune. I considered
getting up again, then thought, Screw it .
We had plenty of stain remover stacked up in the utility closet to clean a
whole shop. Besides, my feet were killing me. I peered into the darkness around
me, counting the seconds.
    On the horizon to my right, a blue light flashed
between the trees again. What the heck? A shudder ran through me. There had to
be a logical explanation. Maybe it was swamp gas, but that wouldn’t make sense.
We were in the woods, in the middle of nowhere. No swamps as far as I could
see.
    I sat up and called out, “Hey, are you finished?
Hurry up.” When my brother didn’t answer, I jumped to my feet and walked in the
direction in which he disappeared a few minutes ago. “Dallas? It’s getting
really freaky out here. I just saw this weird light flash. Someone might be
following us.”
    Holding my breath, I strained to hear any
approaching footsteps. There were none. The blue light flashed again in the
distance. “Dallas?” My voice cut through the silence of the night, almost as
loud as my pounding heart. “Come on. This isn’t funny. If you’re playing a
prank on me I swear I’m going to kill you.”
    Crap! Where was he? What took him so long? My
heart hammered like a drum. Rubbing my clammy hands on my jeans, I peered
around me, unsure what to do. Should I start searching, or just wait? Leaning
against the thick trunk of a tree I waited a few more minutes, calling my
brother’s name. I received no answer. My mind started to race, eager to come up
with possible