Page 51 of The Delver
As though in response to her thought, the clicks descended into a deep, rumbling growl.
Shoving Callie aside, Urkot surged forward. She caught herself against the cold stone wall, but her trembling legs gave out, dropping her hard onto her knees. She barely felt the jolt. Fire blazed in her lungs as she finally sucked in a gasping breath.
Just outside the alcove, snarls and growls filled the tunnel, joined by the noises of an unseen struggle—the dullthwacksof blows landing, the scraping of limbs scrabbling over the cave floor, the clacking and gnashing of fangs and teeth.
And even looking right toward those sounds with rounded eyes, Callie couldn’t see a damn thing. She couldn’t tell what Urkot was fighting, couldn’t tell if he was okay, if he needed help.
Someone please wake me from this nightmare.
But this was no nightmare. It was very, very real. And Callie couldn’t cower here in the dark while Urkot battled for survival. She wouldn’t.
Crawling, she blindly and frantically felt around the floor of the alcove. Her bag had to be somewhere close.
Something thudded down behind her. Callie started, jumping against the wall. The monster snarled, and then that unseen creature was dragged back, raking the floor.
With her racing heart lodged in her throat, she quickened her search. Her fingers bumped and brushed over loose stones before finally finding the cured yatin hide bag.
Grabbing hold of the bag, she hauled it toward herself, rising on her knees as she fumbled to open it. In this darkness, her hands felt clumsier than ever. Had she really tied this thing so tight?
There was a squelching sound, accompanied by an agonized growl. She couldn’t tell if it had come from Urkot or the monster.
Oh God, Urkot. Please be okay.
Liquid splattered on the floor somewhere behind her.
Deep inside, she was icy cold, trapped in terror’s unrelenting grasp. But scorching heat thrummed just beneath the surface of her skin. The stark contrast made her feel like she was about to explode.
Hold it together, Callie. Hold it?—
The knot finally came undone.
“Yes!” She tore open the bag and plunged her hand inside.
Her heart stuttered when another sound, a pained grunt, rose from the fray. That one had undoubtedly been Urkot. Even if she had no idea what to do, she had to dosomething.
Callie’s hand found the collapsed solar lantern in her bag. She snatched it out and snapped the lantern open, twisting toward those violent, frightening sounds.
She turned the lantern on.
Callie slitted her eyes against the intense light, which seemed brighter than a thousand suns after so long in total darkness. The creature shrieked and thrashed wildly, drawing a growl from Urkot.
“Oh fuck,” Callie breathed as her eyes adjusted to the light.
Mere feet away, Urkot was grappling with the monster—a pale vrix of similar height to him but slighter of build. There was blood, a lot of blood, but between their struggles and the deep, restless shadows created by the lantern, it was impossible to tell who the blood belonged to.
The monster’s eyes were shut tight.
She knew only one thing—every second she delayed was another during which Urkot could get hurt.
Gritting her teeth, Callie dropped the lantern, grabbed a football-sized rock from the floor, and shoved herself to her feet.
The pale vrix’s mandibles wildly lashed out at Urkot, the pincers at their ends snapping only inches from his face and neck. The two were a tangle of limbs and claws.
Clutching the rock between both hands, Callie charged into the chaos before reason could convince her of how bad an idea it was. She hefted her crude weapon high overhead and swung it down with all her might onto one of the pale vrix’s hind leg joints.
She felt a crunch, subtle but unmistakable, as the impact jolted up her arms, knocking the rock from her grasp. The vrix’s leg buckled.
Snarling in rage and pain, the pale vrix spun and launched itself at her.
