Page 51 of Kingdom of Chaos
The monster rears back, its jaw splitting wide as fire flickers in the depths of its throat.
Fluffy is about to roast him alive.
“No!” I scream, and bolt from the circle of light.
My heart pounds like a war drum as I race toward him, fear clawing up my throat. Talon turns to the beast and throws out a hand. A faint spark of magic ignites at his fingertips, but it fizzles, weak and unfocused. He tries again, but maybe because he’s injured and exhausted, he isn’t strong enough to stop the monster closing in.
He’s going to die. And I’m going to have to watch.
But then the shadows come.
A wave of darkness rolls out from every direction, sweeping across the swamp like a living tide. In an instant, they swallow the beast. Tendrils of inky black wrap around its limbs, its face, its twitching nose. Within seconds, the monstrous bunny is blanketed in swirling shadows and mist, vanishing beneath the onslaught.
With the beast momentarily contained, Talon spins toward us.
“Run!” I scream.
He doesn’t need to be told twice.
He sprints the last few yards and grabs me, hauling us both into the glowing circle with the others. I stumble in after him, breath ragged, heart still lodged in my throat.
But I can’t stop staring.
Outside the protective light, the rabbit-monster thrashes and roars, its fury muted beneath the shroud of darkness. The shadows twist and pulse, holding it back.
“Now!” Talon yells.
Titus, or maybe one of the others, must activate the gate, because in the next heartbeat the world erupts in blinding light.
It’s so bright I squeeze my eyes shut, but the brilliance cuts straight through my eyelids, stabbing into my skull like hot needles. I drop to my knees and slap my hands over my face. It’s like the light is burrowing into my brain, expanding, until it feels like my head might shatter.
Is this supposed to happen? Or has something gone horribly wrong?
Just as panic claws its way up my throat, arms wrap around me. I’m pulled against a cool, solid chest, and I know without looking it’s Talon.
“Just hang on!” he shouts, pressing my face into his shirt, shielding me from the worst of it.
The wind hits next, rising in a howling vortex. It tears at my clothes and yanks my hair in all directions. The roar drowns out everything until all I can feel are Talon’s arms, his heartbeat hammering against my cheek.
And then . . . everything goes still and there’s nothing more.
Fifteen
A sharp prodjabs me in the ribs and I jolt awake to find myself sprawled across an unconscious Talon. To my left, Titus and Ensley lie in a crumpled heap, both still out cold. A groan rises from my right, and I glance over to see Imogen beginning to stir.
I roll off of Talon and gasp when I see a guy and a purple-haired girl standing over us. The girl is holding a stick that I think she just used to nudge me awake.
“I’m telling you, they came through the gate,” the purple-haired girl says.
“There’s no way,” the guy next to her replies, eyeing us suspiciously. He’s tall and broad, built like Becks. He has shaggy brown hair and caramel-colored skin.
I’m wary of the pair, but I need to know if it worked. I need to know if we made it to the human world.
“Where are we?” I rasp, my voice rough and scratchy, more croak than words.
I sense Talon shifting next to me, but I don’t take my gaze off the pair.
“Where do you think you are?” the brown-haired guy asks, his eyes narrowing.
