Page 85 of Whispers of Ruin
If she hadn’t met Fabian first, she could have fallen head over heels for Brokk.
What she wouldn’t give to kiss him, probably one last time, but she wouldn’t hurt him to fulfill her selfish needs. Instead, she remained still while inwardly weeping for everything they might have had if life were different.
Her fingers tightened on his when through the dense foliage a towering, silver pyramid came into view. It loomed over them, but still wasn’t tall enough to pierce through the numerous trees surrounding it.
Tucked into the shade beneath the trees, it was hidden from view from any dragons that might come searching for them.
The few beams of sun that glinted off the silver structure cast reflections.
Kaylia recoiled when one hit her in the eye, blinding her before she could lower her gaze. She squinted her eyes closed before blinking until she could see again.
When her vision finally cleared, they were almost to the shadowy doorway on the side of the structure. Her heart sank as she realized that once they entered the pyramid, there might not be an escape for them.
She squeezed Brokk’s hand as she fought to suppress the waves of panic crashing over her. Taking deep breaths, she did her best to calm her crushing anxiety as she resisted beating and kicking the net.
The only thing she’d succeed in doing was hurting her and Brokk, but every part of her screamed against remaining still and not doing anything to help free them. She didn’t know what she could do, though.
Her magic didn’t work inside this net, and neither did Brokk’s abilities. Touching the thing had rendered her nearly useless; she didn’t know how to combat that.
So, while it went against everything she was, she remained motionless while these hateful monsters carried them toward certain doom.
Before they were taken inside the pyramid, she tipped her head back and spotted the single eye at the top of the structure. Like the ophidians surrounding them, the eye’s iris was yellow, and the pupil was elliptical in shape.
The eye gazed over the land before blinking and shifting down to them. Kaylia’s gaze clashed with that awful eye before darkness enveloped them, and they entered the pyramid.
The creatures slithered downward as they traveled deeper into the pyramid and further below the ground. As they moved lower, the stone walls of the pyramid gave way to compressed dirt and rocks along the twisting passageway.
About every fifty feet, lanterns hung from the walls, and small fires danced behind the glass. Their dim glow was the only illumination in the increasingly cool tunnels.
While in the jungle, heat and humidity were a constant companion. Down here, goose bumps covered her skin as the damp air chilled the sweat still on her from the jungle. She resisted rubbing her arms to get some warmth into them.
Her mind raced as she tried to formulate a plan to get away. The fact they were so deep into the pyramid didn’t bode well for them, but they could find a way out; she was certain of it.
When they came to a stop, there was a chance they could break free of the nets. They would then have a chance of escaping through a portal or fighting their way free.
The creatures hadn’t stripped them of their weapons; there’d been no reason to when they were all held immobile by the vicious webbing surrounding them. That had been a mistake on the ophidians’ part, and she’d make them regret it.
Finally, after what seemed like hours and hundreds of feet of earth, they stopped. From up ahead, scuffling and shuffling sounds pierced the shadows; soft clinks and then the resounding crash of metal slamming against metal followed them.
Kaylia’s heart thundered as the noises from ahead continued, and after each clanging bang, they inched their way forward. A lump clogged her throat while she waited to see what fate awaited them.
Are they slaughtering them? Throwing them into dungeons? What is going on up there?
The questions screamed through her mind as nausea coiled in her stomach. She wouldn’t throw up all over Brokk, but it took everything she had not to vomit as saliva filled her mouth.
She glanced at the thick walls as she tried to formulate some plan, but her only hope was the ophidians would make some mistake and they could flee this place. No one would hear them scream down here. No one would find them this far beneath the earth. They did something, or they died.
CHAPTERSEVENTY-NINE
Closing her eyes,she resisted giving in to her terror. It wouldn’t do her any good to break down now.
The line inched forward until they were at the front. Soon, Kaylia would have the answers to all her questions as the ophidians carried them from the tunnel into a long, thin room with more lanterns hanging on the wall.
Kaylia gulped when she spotted the cages lining the wall ten feet away. Some were already full and closed, but others had their doors open in anticipation of new occupants.
Brokk’s breath hissed in when the ophidians plopped the net outside two empty cells. Kaylia gasped and shuddered as the silver metal folded over her, seeming to slice through her body, though it didn’t leave a mark.
She tried to cringe away from it, but there was no evading it now that the ophidians had closed the net over her. Growling, Brokk held her closer as he tried to shelter her from the links pressing against her flesh, but it was impossible.
