Page 28 of Whispers of Ruin
In the hole, the screams of the dying faded away. She didn’t know if that was because the blood rushing through her ears had drowned them out, if they’d died, or if they were too far away to hear them anymore.
A fresh round of thunder didn’t splinter the earth apart again, but it rattled the ground beneath her and shook the trees until one of them toppled with a crashing bang. Brokk released her with one hand, turned away, and grabbed something she couldn’t see.
He thrust a vine into her hand. “Hold this.”
Her bloodied and battered fingers encased the vine as he pulled his sword free and ran past her. A few seconds later, the awful grip on her leg shredded deeper into her flesh, and she bit back a scream as the snake’s talons raked her.
Then, when she was sure he’d tear half her leg off, the lumbering idiot relinquished his hold. Kaylia smiled as she imagined him plummeting into the dark before splintering to pieces on some jagged rock.
Now who’s the stupid bitch.
Spitting dirt and blood from her mouth, Kaylia clawed her way forward until her feet were out of the hole too. Before she could push herself up, a strong hand encircled her upper arm and lifted her.
Brokk wrapped his arm around her waist and ran as fast as he could with her away from the pit. She did her best not to limp or slow him, but her leg hindered her movements as she ran with him.
Despite the jagged cracks in the earth and the fire coming from their right, more of those snakelike things closed in on them as they sought to get to the immortals behind the wall of fire.
“Are we cloaked in shadows again?” she panted as Brokk weaved them expertly in and out of the trees.
“Yes.”
They were moving past the immortals behind the fire and deeper into the trees when shadows slithered forth, and more serpent things emerged from the jungle directly in front of them.
CHAPTERTHIRTY
Brokk pulledKaylia back against him as more came at them. If they kept going away from the fire and deeper into the jungle, there would be no light for him to keep them cloaked in shadows.
It was as black as the crows who often hung around outside his window in the Gloaming in search of a treat, a pet, and a message to send. Those crows were almost as much a part of the dark fae as the shadows, or at least they were to him.
The shadows didn’t move or twist through the darkness, but those serpents did. And there were far too many for him and Kaylia to slip by undetected.
The creatures choked the trees, spilled across the earth, and slithered through the lightning bolts hammering the land around them. Nothing deterred them.
This wasn’t a normal storm raging around them, but he had no idea what was causing it and no time to figure it out. He and Kaylia couldn’t flee through the trees without encountering some of those things, and once they clashed with one, cloaked in shadows or not, the others would know they were there.
He debated opening a portal, but the serpents would be on them before they could slip through, and once it opened, the beasts would know they were there. As much as he didn’t like it, there was only one option… retreat.
Pulling her back, he led her toward the fire and the shadows dancing across the ground. He had no idea what type of immortals stood behind the flames, but so far, they were holding their own against these reptiles.
While he didn’t know if the other immortals could also become the enemy, heknewthe snake things were.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
He hoped that adage held true because they were his only hope of getting out of this… or at least the flames surrounding them were.
Unlike Lexi, he and Kaylia couldn’t withstand fire, but a witch and dark fae had some control over the elements. He didn’t think that was the same for the immortals behind the wall of flames; otherwise, they would’ve weaponized the fire further against these creatures.
He and Kaylia could destroy the snakes and have those other immortals turn on them, but Brokk was willing to take that chance.
Pulling Kaylia further back, he held her against his side and bent to whisper in her ear. “Together, we can use the fire against these things. We can’t go further into the jungle. There aren’t enough shadows there. And we can’t open a portal before they’re on top of us.”
Kaylia’s chin jutted out, and she nodded briskly. Brokk would much prefer to be inside the wall of fire while they did this, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
The heat of the inferno caused his clothes to cleave to him as sweat slid down his back and beaded across his forehead as they crept closer. He used the back of his arm to wipe away the water dripping into his eyes and lowered his pack.
He couldn’t have the extra weight on his back, and it was one more thing for the flames to possibly catch on. If they did, he’d burn with the pack, and his supplies weren’t worth that.
Kaylia set her pack beside his and leaned toward him. Her earthy aroma filled his nostrils as the loose strands of her hair tickled his cheek. She also smelled of sweat and fire, but somehow, she made the combination enticing.
