Page 27 of Whispers of Ruin
She was starting to tip backward, starting to freefall into nothing, when her flailing hand caught a dangling tree root while something snagged her ankle and jerked down. Kaylia gasped as the unexpected added weight caused her to slip a few inches on the root before she caught herself.
Her pack lurched on her back, adding more of a drag to her as something sharp bit into her flesh, digging deep. Warm blood trickled down her leg.
She looked down to see one of the serpent creatures holding onto her leg. The man’s eyes were cruel as his fingers dug deeper.
She was his lifeline, but he still enjoyed torturing her as a grim smile creased his mouth. When she was separated from Brokk, the shadows must have fallen away, and now she was exposed to these things.
Kaylia tried kicking the snake man in the face to get rid of him, but the movement only caused her to slip again. The root abraded her palms and tore away her skin before she succeeded in bringing herself to a stop again.
Jerked to a halt, her shoulder screamed in protest as the creature’s weight dragged on her. It felt like she’d fallen far too far, but when she looked above her, she saw she’d only slipped a little over a foot. She wassoclose, yet it seemed like miles away.
She didn’t dare look down again as she ignored the pain emanating through her body while resting her forehead against the root. Air surrounded her, and she could feel the looming abyss below as it beckoned to her with its infinite possibilities of death.
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
Rattledfrom the earth by another round of thunder, dirt and rocks bounced off the side of the wall and tumbled around her. Some of them hit her face as small pieces of debris stuck to her eyelashes.
With a groan, she gathered her strength and pulled herself up the root a little. If she could shrug out of her pack, she would, but she didn’t dare let go of the root to adjust enough to wiggle it free.
The monster pulled at her but didn’t jerk down again or dig his claws in deeper. He may enjoy tormenting others, but she was his way out of here.
Her arms screamed in protest; she had to take some of the pressure off them, but it was difficult when she had an easily three-hundred-pound asshole attached like a leech to her leg. Wiggling a little, she tried to get her free foot to lodge onto the wall in hopes of bracing herself a little better.
She got it braced against the wall when rocks gave way, and her foot slipped free again. Something cracked in her shoulder.
Inhaling deeply, she tried to breathe through the pain assaulting her. When she felt ready, she tried to get her foot against the wall again, but the strain on her arms was too much, and she fell a few inches again.
“Stupid bitch,” the man hissed beneath her.
If Kaylia could use her hands, she would have blasted him in the face with a wall of air or beaten the fucker to death.Hewas the whole reason she couldn’t pull herself free from here.
“You’re the one relying on a stupid bitch to save you, you lazy piece of shit,” she snarled.
When his claws dug a little deeper into her calf, she kicked at him again and managed to catch him in the cheek. He growled but was at least smart enough to refrain from jerking at her again.
Resting her forehead against the cool dirt, Kaylia took a deep breath as the power of the earth seeped into her skin. She inhaled the damp aroma of the soil, relishing its scent as it helped to revitalize her and ease some of the pressure from her hands and shoulders.
“What are you doing?” the man demanded.
Kaylia didn’t bother to reply as she absorbed the life teeming against her forehead. It was all so precious and vital, and while she should be trying to drag her ass out of this, she requiredthis flow of life to help rejuvenate her.
She was about to start pulling herself free again when a hand clamped around her wrist. When small tingles erupted across her skin and her breath sucked in, she knew instantly that Brokk held her.
Lifting her head, she couldn’t help but smile as she drank him in. He must have released the shadows from himself, and he was the most welcome sight she’d ever seen.
A jagged cut marred his cheek, and blood seeped from it. Something had happened above as more dirt and blood than before covered him. His red eyes burned a fiery shade as they met hers.
Kaylia suppressed a shudder at those eyes. She’d stopped loathing vampires as much as she once did, but the rage emanating from him made her skin ripple.
Whatever happened up there hadpissed him off.
A muscle twitched in his cheek as determination etched his features and he pulled her toward the ledge. Dragging her a little upward, Brokk leaned back as he braced his knees further apart and grasped her arm in both of his hands.
He groaned as he hauled her and the shit-for-brains asshole clinging to her toward the edge of the abyss. Kaylia released the tree root to grip his forearm.
His muscles bulged so much that she couldn’t get her hand all the way around as she dug her fingers into his skin. She hoped she wasn’t hurting him, but he showed no signs of it as the corded muscles in his neck stood starkly out and red crept across his face.
As he worked to pull her free, he edged further away from the pit until he pulled her halfway out. Kaylia fell on her belly as she breathed in the dirt and blood coating the ground. The coppery tang of blood mingled with an ozone aroma so thick it choked the air.
