Page 31 of Wilds of Wonder
They heeded my warnings, clambering up the trellis. I was now behind both of them, attempting to climb with one hand and maintain that thick wall of ice that hung over our heads with the other. I would find the bone collector yet. If I survived this entire mess.
The thunderous sound grew to a crescendo, crashing, crunching, chaos, all raining down over us. My magic faltered, and that thread inside of me threatened to snap under the pressure of the avalanchehitting the ice. Leoni clambered onto a little crevice in the mountain below the ledge, then pulled Driscoll up behind her.
I was falling behind.
Crack.
I slowly arched my neck as a long fissure split the ice in half under the unrelenting snow. The thread of magic inside me snapped. Ice exploded into a million pieces, raining on top of me, cutting at my face, battering my body. The rush of snow drowned out Driscoll’s and Leoni’s shouts, and I flattened my body to the mountain as the avalanche fell straight toward me. Something snaked around me, pushing me into the mountainside, fastening me to it. But it didn’t matter.
The snow was too heavy, too smothering, too much. It filled my nose, my mouth. I tried to inhale and sucked in more of the wet, slushy substance. It clogged my airways. My lungs contracted, squeezing, burning, screaming for air. My entire body felt weighed down, smothered. I saw nothing but white, which soon turned to black as darkness washed over my vision.
The last thing I thought before falling into unconsciousness was that if the bone collector and I had been playing a game, I’d finally been the one to lose.
Chapter Seventeen
EMORY
“Is she dead?” a voice asked.
My heavy eyes blinked open to see Driscoll’s and Leoni’s frowning faces staring down at me.
“If I am dead, then this is definitely the Underearth,” I said, slowly sitting up and taking in our surroundings.
Driscoll wrinkled his nose. “Well, now I’m starting to regret saving your life.”
My entire body felt like it had been hit by a, well, by an avalanche. A fire crackled in front of me, and I realized we were sitting on the ledge where Maverick had taunted us just hours ago, the sky now pitch black, covered with plump gray clouds. The ledge led into a narrow passageway, two tall cliffs rising on either side. On the other side of the passageway, a thick fog hung in the air, leading deeper into the Glacier Mountains.
Driscoll and Leoni both sat as close to the fire as possible, holding out their hands, fingers tinged by blue. Their boots and thick wool socks lay out,drying.
“What happened?” I asked, taking my own soaked boots off, then peeling away my socks and massaging my feet.
Driscoll threw a log onto the fire. “Leoni and I used our combined magic to hold you against the mountain while that avalanche passed through. When it finally ended we were afraid you were dead. We pulled you up on the ledge and made you as comfortable as we could while I created wood and kindling and Leoni made the fire.”
Leoni handed me a waterskin. “Drink,” she commanded.
“Looks like your theory was right,” Driscoll said. “Maverick Von Lucas. Hot professor. Bone collector.”
“Gone,” I said glumly, staring at the popping embers. “Now we have no way of finding him. He knows we’re after him so he’ll be more careful about covering his tracks. Not to mention, that avalanche set us back quite a bit.”
“You can’t give up!” Leoni rubbed her hands together. “He has that bolt, and who knows what he’s planning on using it for. Come on, you’re the white rabbit. You’re not just some housewife with a little side hobby. You’ve built an entire reputation around this passion of yours.”
I met her hard gaze. I could see why Princess Poppy had named her captain of the guard. She had a commanding air about her, a way of rallying the troops, so to speak. But this particular trooper didn’t feel like being rallied. All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. Then consume large amounts of wine. And cry some more.
Leoni glared at Driscoll, who straightened and cleared his throat.
“Yeah.” He punched his arm through the air. “You’re not going to let some man get the better of you, are you? Did you hear the way he taunted you? He didn’t even think you knew what the Battle of Sofor was. So condescending.” He raised a finger. “Still very hot, though.”
“If you don’t get laid soon, I’m going to lose it,” Leoni said. “I cannot hear about another hot man. I really can’t.”
Driscoll frowned. “Why? Hot men are so fun to talk about.”
“You don’t just talk about them.” Leoni threw up her arms. “You obsess. Conversations with you are sixty percent gossip, thirty percent hot men, and maybe ten percent other things?”
“And?” He twirled his hand. “I’m still not seeing a problem.”
I mulled over his words, barely hearing their conversation. “You’re right,” I said slowly.
“You think he’s hot too?” Driscoll perked up.
