Page 83 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood
My hackles rose, and I growled again. My teeth ached to sink into their flesh and snap their bones. Ripping out their throats was too good for creatures like this.
Snarling, I lunged to the base of the pillar and dug, trying to position myself so that Arrow Assassin couldn’t get a shot at me. If I could get the bridge pillar to drop, Sword Assassin might fall to his death, and then I could focus on Arrow.
Chunks of dirt and clay fell into the chasm as the monster surged forward and slid down into the darkness. The pillar jolted down and shifted. Sword Assassin’s eyes widened, and he swung his arms to keep his balance.
The ground began to shake.
My breath caught. Could this be another earthquake?
Stones ground and rattled, and a horrible tearing sound vibrated through the chamber. Silt sifted between the pillars and the ledge, and a crack formed in the large platform on the other side of the chasm.
A few of the pillars rocked and wobbled. Then one collapsed and crashed forward, cracking on the dark stone and then rolling into the abyss.
Sword Assassin's pillar shifted further, and he screamed and pressed his body flat to the stone.
A loud, pained shriek above me, and more rocks rolled down the edge. I glanced in Arrow Assassin’s direction just as stones slid from above and covered him.
Thank Fate. Maybe she didn’t completely hate me after all.
The ground calmed, and I went back to my end of the pillar. Sword Assassin had managed to stay on.
I growled, daring him to continue across, and then dug once more.
He spat over the side. “Stop digging!”
Yeah, that only made me dig faster.
Beyond the rock ridge, the terrified cries of the foal bounced off the stone walls.
Sharp pain sliced across my right shoulder. I howled and jerked back from the pillar.
A green-coated blade stuck out of the rubble. My stomach twisted as more hot blood leaked down my shoulder blended into the blood on my foreleg.
I had to move fast, or I might bleed out.
Sword Assassin snarled, holding his sword on one hand while his other fumbled down the front of his tailored jacket.
My heart galloped. I was running out of time.
I jammed my forelegs against the pillar’s end and shoved hard, causing it to crack and groan against the stone.
The stone shifted, and Sword Assassin let out a scream and flailed.
“Noln!” He slammed his hand down in time to keep from losing the sword, but his ice-blue eyes were wild with terror and his breathing ragged.
I snarled, letting drool drip from my teeth, and snapped my jaws. The monster had slid up against the base of the pillar on his side, but now it just oozed down into the chasm.
I glanced over my shoulder, then leaped back into digging at the base of the pillar. One of these assholes had to go, and now, before they could team up on me again.
Sword Assassin bared his teeth at me and inched forward, trying to finish crossing.
I was running out of time. I dug more frantically, dirt and rock hitting my eyes. Still, I pushed through, and finally the pillar groaned and sank lower.
The assassin flung his sword, and it struck the rock beside me with a clank, then spun off into the chasm. It disappeared from sight, and adrenaline fueled me even more.
The pillar trembled and shook as he struggled to crawl across.
I shoved the end of the pillar with both forepaws. He was almost an arm’s length from me.
