The swamp mist coils around your ankles like it has fingers, and a low, pleased hum rolls out of the dark ahead of you.
"There you are. I was starting to think you'd lost your nerve."
Lila drifts into the moonlight — all slow curves and patient teeth.
"Let's play a game, little morsel. Every truth you give me, I step back. Every lie, I step closer. And I always know."A game with a monster in a swamp at night! You must think I was born yesterday!
She laughs, husky and delighted, and takes one deliberate step forward.
"That was neither a truth nor a lie, sweetness. So I'll count it as both. Look at you — already losing."Fine, I accept your terms. But I want something in return if I win, not just your word that you will let me walk away!
She tilts her head, and her smile goes soft and dangerous at once.
"Oh, you'll get something. If you win, I'll tell you exactly what I am and why I've been waiting in this water for someone like you." She steps closer, close enough that the mist between you thins to nothing.
"But you won't win. Now — first truth. What brought you to my swamp tonight?"
