Page 211 of Of Nine So Bold

One of them pointed. When he spoke his voice held a strange hissing-clicking quality, like it wasn’t justhisvoice but something else speaking as well. “There she is.” He grinned. “Get her.”

I ran for my life.

54

OZIAS

Tumbling like a rolling rock in an avalanche, I crashed out of the gateway and onto rock that didn’t soften itself to cushion my fall.

Andfuck, that hurt.

Seething against the sharp pain, I struggled upright. Nothing felt broken, but I’d probably have some colorful bruises soon.

Assuming I survived this.

Shoving the rest of the way to my feet, I scanned the shadows quickly. I was in a tunnel, the ceiling low like it’d been crafted by humans who didn’t come close to my height. There seemed to be a torch burning beyond the next turn because I could smell its smoke. The thin traces of its light stopped the darkness from being absolute.

But the stench of rot surrounded me, sickening to my senses, and cold dampness clung to the air. In the wall, the stones were worn down, their mortar chipped and crumbling. Dark fungus crawled like black vines from their gaps all across their sides, clawing toward the surface. The tangled corruption was unlike anything I’d seen in the earth before, but it wasn’t what gave me pause.

My mate was not here. Her presence was utterly gone, and sheer panic gripped the beast within me to realize we could not feel any trace of?—

In a rush, my awareness of her returned, as if she’d suddenly flared to life like a candle in a darkened room.

But she was above me, not down here. Her fear and pain radiated through our connection, spiking higher for a moment before fading into a persistent sort of horror.

Shuddering with rage, I scanned both directions of the tunnel, my senses racing to determine the fastest way to her side. Where the others were, I didn’t know, but every one of them would agree saving her was the first order of any business.

The sound of growling came beyond the turn to my left.

Monsters were here.

My lips peeled back from my teeth. Very well.

The shift tore through me as I took off, moving fast. My bones realigned. My joints jerked into new configurations. In only a few strides, it was no longer a man racing down the tunnel, but another monster.

And not a moment too soon.

A wolf charged around the turn, fangs bared. It was larger than an ordinary one of its species. Nearly the size of Ruhl, wherever the hell that shadow creature was. But the glowing red light burning in its eyes told the truth of what was truly inside the beast.

That didn’t make it any harder to kill.

Twisting fast, I evaded its teeth and slashed with my claws. A yelp of pain was followed a thudding crash as the wolf collided with the tunnel wall.

I spun. The wolf was on the ground, its side torn open. Its chest rose and fell in short, sharp breaths. It was already dead, its mind and body just hadn’t caught up to that fact yet.

But something else had.

A curl of smoke wafted up from the wolf’s back. Contorting in the air like snake that could fly, the Voidborn surged forward, racing for my chest.

Grabbing my ax, I swung the blade around, but the confines were too tight, the damned human tunnel too small. My ore-lined blade couldn’t move fast enough.

The Voidborn slammed into me.

And began screaming.

Stunned, I retreated, blinking fast as the strange sensation of glistening light faded from the corners of my eyes. My body felt encased in cold stone, radiant like quartz in the sunlight, but even as I registered that, the feeling already began to melt away. Where I’d been standing, the creature hung in the air, thrashing and writhing as if it was being tortured. The sound of its scream was like metal grating over stone, high-pitched and piercing my ears.

But even that faded, almost as if it was being dragged away into the distance to be swallowed in silence.

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