Page 2 of A Game of Queens
“Let me remind you of what’s at stake.”
My heart pounded, my eyes flying open. That didn’t sound good. At all.
The green glow around him expanded, spilling up and down the cave walls. I blinked. The ceiling was definitely closer, barely above his head now. The rock looked strange. Smooth and wet, glistening in the green light.
The ceiling… moved. Up and down, reminding me of deep, steady breathing.
He set a glowing ball beside my head and then walked away, his footsteps echoing down the tunnel. “Remember how a pearl is made, and what happens to the single grit of sand.”
I bit my lip, refusing to call after him and beg him to stay. Or better yet, to take me with him. I didn’t want to stay here, alone and forgotten in the darkness. With walls that moved and breathed.
The ceiling dropped closer to my face so suddenly that I flinched.
I screamed in agony. Flesh tore along my back. I could feel the hot spill of blood from the wound. Instinctively, I tried to lift my arm. My leg. I had to get away.
Pain. Tearing. Flesh.
Sobbing, I tried to stay still.
I wasn’tchainedhere in the cave.
I was somehow attached. Stuck. In whatever held me captive.
I stared up at the ceiling only a foot above my face. Green light spilled over the surface, illuminating a beautiful pattern in the rock. I could make out individual pebbles, some darker, all tinted green, though that could be the glowing ball he’d left behind.
Panting, I tried to calm myself. Something wasn’t right. The markings weren’t pebbles. They were too uniform in shape. Some were larger than others, but they were all the same diamond.
The walls moved again. Closing in. Coiling on me. I could feel the rasp against my shins and my knees. My hair tugged tighter.
Coils.
Panic made me scream again, overwhelming my pride. “Please! Come back! I’ll do anything!”
I couldn’t lie still. Even though my skin tore and the scent of my blood was thick in the air. That was bad. I knew it was bad.
“Help me,” I sobbed. “Someone. Anyone.”
The ceiling moved closer, scales clearly illuminated.
A snake. A gigantic snake. I couldn’t even see the beginning or end of its coils. But now that I was aware of it, I could feel it beneath me. All around me.
Devouring me.
The green light blinked out, leaving me in darkness once more.
My mind trembled, flitting frantically from thought to thought. Flee. Tear the snake apart. He said I had the power. But how? And what would happen if this monstrous snake came after me? It was so large that I had no idea where its head was. If I escaped the coils, it’d just swing around and swallow me down in a single gulp.
The female voice I’d dreamed before whispered in my head.Call them. Your Blood wait in the darkness.
The coils tightened. Touching my stomach. Engulfing more of my body. If it covered my face completely… I’d lose it. My mind already felt fragile, stretched to the point of despair. Everybody had their breaking point.
Evidently, I’d reached mine.
I didn’t know what else could be here in the darkness with me and a giant snake. Whether they could help me escape it or not. But I had to try.
I concentrated on my breathing. In. Out. I had to center and calm myself. I could feel the darkness all around me, even beyond the coils slowly tightening around me. Endless darkness. Outside of time. Lost to everyone I had once loved.
But something was here. She’d told me so. Though maybe that had been a hazy pain dream too.
