Page 99 of Ares' Shield
“Beth,” Raven calls down from the top.
“It hurts,” I pant.
“Thank the gods you’re alive.” Raven’s shoulders slump in relief.
“I don’t know if I would go that far. I can’t move. I think I broke my spine.” I try to shift but searing pain stops me, and I scream.
Jayden peeks over the edge. “Adrian, you need to go down there and heal her.”
“We still have a big nasty to deal with, Jayden,” Raven says and knocks him out of the way just as darkness washes over me.
What the hell? What happened?
“Jayden? Raven?” I yell.
My fingers twitch as I attempt to move them, but nothing else works. I can’t even reach for the shadow charm on my necklace. What the fuck am I going to do?
Where are the others? Are they okay? Did Talos just cover the crack with a damn boulder? How am I going to get out of this?
“Raven,” I yell. “Jayden.”
There’s still no answer. Where are they?
“Beth?” Adrian’s voice startles me, but I still can’t move.
“How did you get down here?” I ask.
“Jayden’s shadows wrapped around me and dumped me down here. That is a weird feeling.” Adrian steps in front of me so I can see him in the dim light.
“You get used to it.” I breathe out a laugh and flinch against the pain the motion causes.
Adrian holds his hand over my chest and the green glow casts him in eerie shadows. His eyes close in concentration as healing magic pulses within me. I scream as something in my back pops and bones fuse back together.
“Sorry,” Adrian whispers as he continues to pour healing magic into my body.
“This fucking sucks,” I say through gritted teeth.
I grind my teeth against the agony of the healing as my muscles and bones fuse back together. The green light in Adrian’s palm goes out and he sits back on his heels, breathing heavily.
“That hasn’t gotten easier,” Adrian croaks.
I sit up and stretch my back. It twinges a bit but it’s nowhere near the excruciating pain from before.
“Now, how the fuck do we get out of here?” I stand and dust myself off.
“I have no idea. When he dropped that boulder on the crack, Jayden lost his shit and started hacking at it with his flaming sword.” Adrian shakes his head and stands.
I reach for my necklace and the shadow charm there. Could I have some of the control with shadows that Jayden does? They do anything I ask once I call on them.
“I’m going to try something. It’s gonna feel weird,” I say as I rub at the charm.
Shadows swirl along my arms and pulse wildly. I grip Adrian’s arm.
“Get us out of here, please,” I tell the shadows.
They writhe along my arms but don’t move us out of the hole.
I share a glance with Adrian. “Maybe you weren’t specific enough?”
