Page 88 of Mostly Shattered

The ground trembles once more, this time with greater intensity. A loud, ominous crack reverberates from deep within the subway tunnel. It’s the sound of stone being torn apart by an invisible force.

My body tenses, my heart rate spiking as I steal aglance at Costin and Anthony. They are frozen in place, their attention sharpened by the unexpected disturbance. Anthony acts like he’s about to jump down into the tunnel to check it out. Costin places an arm in front of him to stop him. The vampire holds tense, as if he’s waiting for something.

An oppressive heat replaces the cool breeze.

“Do you feel that?” I ask almost needlessly, my voice barely a whisper.

The tremors intensify before either of them can respond. The ground bucks under our feet, throwing me off balance. I stumble forward, almost tumbling face-first onto the tracks below. Costin is instantly under me, catching me against his chest. Anthony jumps down to join us. We stand between the tracks, staring into the darkness as the sounds get louder.

I crouch, touching the vibrating concrete. It’s slick with condensation and pulses with a slow, terrible rhythm—like a heartbeat that is far too large to belong to anything remotely human.

I feel a sense of urgency as I utter, “I think we need to get to the amulet.”

I make a conscious effort to move deliberately, not wanting to attract the attention of anything lurking in the darkness. The pulsing of the heartbeat grows stronger, reverberating up my legs with an increasingly intense rhythm.”

“Yeah, we should—” Anthony starts to agree.

Crack!

A fissure violently rips open the ground before us, the deafening sound echoing through the air like the thunderous blast from a cannon. I spin around, my heart racing, as another powerful tremor shakes the ground behind us, causing the tunnel walls to tremble. The lights on the platform flicker and fade. Dust and tiles fall from the ceiling, swirling in the thin remaining beams of light.

A rush of heat, intense and suffocating, seeps up from the cracks in the earth. The air thickens with the scent of sulfur and smoke, causing a sharp sting in my lungs with every breath.

Costin’s eyes lock onto mine, and there’s an edge of something I haven’t seen in him before. Fear.

“What the hell is happening?” Anthony shouts.

“Run,” the vampire commands.

“I thought the trials were over.” I barely croak the words out. The heat is making it hard to draw breath.

“Run now.” Costin’s voice barely pierces through the deafening cracks.

Costin grabs my arm and pulls me behind him.

As we sprint forward, a new crevice fragments the ground a couple of feet ahead of us, causing the platform to split open. It’s even wider than the last. Intense heat radiates from within, so scorching hot I feel it singing the edges of my clothes. I reel back,my chest tightening, my feet immobilized with fright.

A low, guttural rumble emanates from deep within the earth. The rumbling grows steadily louder, and the vibrations stronger.

It’s like the ground beneath us is alive, awakening from a slumber that has lasted eons. I glance toward the entrance of the labyrinth, but there’s nothing there. No sign of what’s causing this, no visible threat. But I know. I feel it in my bones, in the marrow of my very being. Something ancient is coming.

Draakmar.

The name flickers in my mind, unbidden, ancient and powerful. The name of something born long before time itself. And now it’s awake.

“Draakmar is awake,” I tell them, jumping over a smaller crack to the other side.

“Take her and go,” Anthony yells.

Costin tries to grab me, but I shake him off.

“We’re not leaving him,” I tell Costin before turning to my brother. “Anthony, I’m not leaving you!”

“Get her out of here,” Anthony insists.

“It’s too dangerous to transport—” Costin tries to answer as a chunk of concrete crashes down from the ceiling, barely missing him.

“Costin!” My voice is thin, strangled.

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