Page 89 of Bound By Earth (The Nature Hunters Academy 1)

Tara watched as they continued to battle, their swords flashing. It was clear after only a few seconds who was the better fighter. Tucker was beginning to slow. Beads of sweat were falling from his forehead. He growled and grunted with every lunge, but he never came close to putting a scratch on the woman. Zuri, however, barely moved. With each of Tucker’s sword thrusts, she merely shifted and he whiffed, or she effortlessly blocked his blade with herown.

“Tell me this,” Zuri said without taking her eyes off Tucker. “When you’re with Elias, does itfeellike he’s evil? Do you feel unsafe with him? Does your gut tell you to run away fromhim?”

Her gut definitely told her to runfromhim but not for the reasons Zuri was suggesting. She’d never felt that Elias was a danger to her. Was he dangerous? Absolutely. To her heart, to her fragile emotions, and to her soul. One hundred percent. But not to her safety. She never got the evil vibe fromElias.

“I’m going to take your silence as ‘no’ to each of those questions.” Zuri nonchalantly jumped back from a jab Tucker aimed at herstomach.

Tara worried she was about to see Tucker disemboweled or beheaded, judging on the well-aimed swipe of Zuri’s sword, narrowly missing Tucker’sneck.

“Tara, Seth and Hayden are elemental magic wielders like me,” said Tucker. “They will get you to safety. They will come looking for us anysecond.”

His words must have ticked Zuri off. Suddenly, the woman’s speed increased. Her sword whipped through the air so fast Tara didn’t know how Tucker could possibly dodge it. And apparently he couldn’t. A second later, he staggered back, his hand wrapped around his shoulder and blood seeping out through his fingers. The sword fell to the ground. Zuri held up a hand, and the ground beneath Tara’s feet rumbled. Tucker fell to his knees. Tara’s mouth fell open as she saw the earth itself rise up and take the form of a human hand attached to a rock-like arm that came from beneath the surface of the ground. The hand grabbed Tucker and clamped down on hisankle.

“Let me go, you bitch!” He struggled, but his foot remained rooted inplace.

Before Tara’s mouth could even drop open, the woman was standing next to her. The sword was re-sheathed, slung across Zuri’s back. Eyes wide, Tara pointed to Tucker and began to say something, but her voice was nowhere to be found. A second later, the woman grabbed her and flung Tara over her shoulder.Um, hello? She just picked me up like I weighed nothing. Tara tried to make sense of what was happening, but she couldn’t shake the image of a giant hand coming out of the ground and grabbing her prom date. Vaguely, Tara noticed cars and street signs speeding past her. Then she saw trees and bushes. The woman was running so fast.How can she be running so fast?Another thought quickly followed.Should I be trying to get free?Tara began to thrash and pound the woman on her back. If she felt it, Zuri gave no indication. She merely kept running at an inhuman pace. Tara looked at the ground zooming mere feet below her. She thought about how it might hurt someone to fall and strike the pavement. But Tara knew it wouldn’t hurt her. She redoubled her efforts toescape.

“Stop,” said Zuri withoutslowing.

“Let me go.” Taragrowled.

“If I drop you, it willhurt.”

“No it won’t,” said Tara. “You cannot hurt me. No onecan.”

Then Tara screamed. The sensation she felt on the back of her leg was so foreign to her she couldn’t help but scream. She hadn’t felt anything like it in fiveyears.

“You pinched me,” she yelled atZuri.

“That’s right, little-miss-invincible. Your days of being Iron Woman are over. Don’t make me do itagain.”

“But … but …how?”

“No time for explanations now. Just quit trying to escape, or I really will have to hurt you. And I don’t want to do that because I kind of likeyou.”

Tara’s heart raced. She’d spent so long being unable to feel pain, she’d become accustomed to it. She realized now how she had taken her gift for granted. It was almost as if she’d lost a part of herself, and Tara was surprised when a tear actually escaped an eye and rolled down her cheek. She couldn’t try to escape now if she wantedto.

When they began to slow, Tara lifted her head and tried to figure out where they were, but all she could see was dense forest. When Zuri finally stopped, the woman didn’t put her down like Tara had expected. Instead, she continued to hold Tara over her shoulder as she began to chant a long string of words Tara didn’tunderstand.

“Can you please put me down? All the blood is rushing to my head, and it’s making me dizzy,” Tara finallysaid.

Zuri ignored her and continued her chanting. Then she took several steps forward, and warmth enveloped Tara’s body. The forest around her shifted, and when Tara strained her neck to look up, she was staring at a shimmering rectangular space, as if a doorway filled with water had appeared in the forest. She turned her head to look to her right and then looked straight again. The forest around them was not the same forest on the other side of that shimmering doorway in front of her. She whispered under her breath, “Portal. It’s aportal.”

“You’re not in Kansas anymore,” Zuri said and then took off runningagain.

Chapter 21

As Zuri ran, Tara closed her eyes and tried to wrap her head around everything Tucker had said.Had he been telling the truth?She couldn’t reconcile his words with Elias’s actions. The only thing she felt with Elias was safe andwanted.

Tara did believe one thing, though. It was obvious Tucker and Zuri were able to use magic. She had no doubt Elias had the same ability.So, why had he kept it a secret? Probably because he knew I’d freak out if I saw it. That doesn’t make him aliar.

Tara didn’t know how long her captor—if that’s what this woman really was—carried her, but it seemed like forever. Tara wondered why the woman hadn’t collapsed many miles ago. What she was doing was impossible. Then, Tara noticed something. She wasn’t being jostled. They were moving along at breakneck speed, but Tara’s body wasn’t being bounced around. How could that be? Tara opened her eyes and looked at the ground, only a couple feet from her head. At first, it appeared the ground was moving quickly beneath them, which Tara knew must be from the speed of Zuri’s gait. But then Tara realized the ground actuallywasmoving. “What the…” Tara said as her eyes widened. She looked around Zuri’s legs and got a couple of glimpses. The ground itself was propelling the woman forward. And when Tara lifted her head to see the ground behind them, it looked completely untouched. There weren’t even footprints in thedirt.

Finally, Zuri slowed down—or the ground did—and came to a complete stop. Tara couldn’t be sure. Zuri leaned forward, placed Tara on her feet, and then held her steady. Tara tried to get her bearings after having been upside down for so long. Her head hurt from all the blood rushing out ofit.

“You okay?” Zuriasked.

Tara nodded and took a step back, out of the woman’s grasp. She didn’t waver on her feet, and she felt more grounded by the second. No punintended.

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