Page 80 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood
Slate cracked under my weight, and sand slid beneath it. My claws scraped for purchase as I dug in and climbed. I skirteda line of wet clay, ears twitching toward the trickling sounds of water.
“Ryker! Stay with me.” Ember’s voice was higher on the mountain, coming from the same direction as the water.
The red eyes in the fog turned in my direction. They blinked out, and the fog rolled toward me. Its slow, relentless pace quickened with each moment.
I tugged at the pack link.Ember, I’m almost there.The link was barely warm, as it had been ever since I got here, but then Ember’s voice cut over me, slicing into my very soul.
“Be careful, I’m trying to pull him somewhere to shield him from the fog.”
I forced myself to go faster as panic clawed at my throat and mind, threatening to undo me. I wasn’t sure how we were going to hide from the fog, but I couldn’t leave them out here to die.
Yet, I still couldn’t catch their scent, and her voice wasn’t getting closer.
The slope steepened, and I jumped from one jutting rock to the next. A stone gave out from under me. With a yelp, I slipped and dug in my claws to grip the edge of the newly formed crater.
I dangled, trying to find the energy to lift myself up. Even though I’d shifted, my wolf and I hadn’t eaten any protein in what felt like weeks.
A sob echoed around me.
I had to get myself out of this mess and help them.
I scrabbled my paws farther up on the stone, despite my screaming muscles, and managed to drag myself to safety.
The fog hissed behind me, moving faster than I’d expected. My paws slipped again on a slick patch of shale, and I barely avoided tumbling back down the slope. I righted myself more easily this time and linked,Are you two hidden yet? There’s something in the fog, and it’s getting close. Get higher, and I’ll find you.”
Ember’s voice echoed again, weaker this time. “Briar, please…don’t let me downagain.”
I froze, and reality smacked me in the snout.
Ember wouldneversay that. I tugged once more at the pack link, realizing that nothing about it had changed at all.
The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. This was a trick, and now I was far away from the circle, if it was even still there.
Bastards!
I pivoted on the next ledge and started down the slope, moving fast along the rock face.
The fog surged toward me, rolling thicker and faster. It had grown so much that it now surrounded the entire base of this side of the mountain and was oozing upward on the rock face.
Turning hard on a bank of gravel, I kicked up a dust cloud behind me as I darted across a ridge.
The circle was hundreds of feet away. The fog lay between it and me, moving steadily closer. At least four sets of red eyes opened and shut.
A chill ran down my spine. Was this a single creature, or multiple?
I leaped again, determined to get higher than the fog. The well at the peak looked to be the highest point.
The sand under me slipped, sucking at my paws. I turned too fast and slid, skidding across the uneven terrain. My side hit stone, and I scrambled back up, breath wheezing. My legs stung and ached, but I kept moving.
If I couldn’t get back to the circle, I would either have to run and evade the fog, or I would have to get to the other side and finish the trial. Many-Greats had said to stay inside the circle until the end, and by that point, the rescue should be underway. Perhaps sooner.
Another scream tore through the air. “Briar, help me! Please! We’re going to die.” More voices rose up, screaming and howling. Voices of my family and packmates.
My blood chilled and my stomach twisted. I chanted internally,That isn’t Ember! That isn’t your pack. The voices aren’t real!
However, if I did want to see Ember again, I had to survive and get the hell out of here.
A whistle, like something flying through the air, barreled toward me. I ducked, huddling against the ground, as something long, thin, and dark landed in front of me and clanged against a chunk of granite.
