Page 63 of Wind and Water
A growl sounds from the bushes. Two wolves as big as cattle and sick with dark magic stalk toward her. Their teeth bared, they focus on Wren and no other.
The crows separated her, and now the wolves are pushing her back farther.
It’s a trap. “Wren, run!”
Wide-eyed, she keeps swinging her sword and looking for an escape route. Between the crows and the wolves, there’s no place for her to go.
Unable to get past the crows, I double my efforts, pushing magic into my arms and sword to move faster and cut more accurately.
A wolf howls, and the second follows.
Wren calls the wind, but the wolves only lower their massive bodies to the ground, and the wind passes over them, blowing their ratty fur.
Magic, dark and nauseating, fills the air and pulses against my flesh. The hair on the back of my neck stands up in warning.
I search for the source.
The remaining crows caw and rise into the sky.
Wren is twenty yards from the rest of us. This trap was perfectly laid. They’ve moved her away. I run toward her.
One wolf faces me and growls. It’s bared teeth drip with saliva, brown from rot. Its hair is matted and dirty, and though twice the size of a normal wolf, its ribs strain against thin skin.
The prickling of dark magic strengthens.
A portal opens in the ground beneath Wren, her eyes go wide, and she looks at me before falling away. Her scream echoes through my mind.
“No!” I use elf speed to reach the edge of the portal without the wolves tracking me. “Get Birdie to Tús Nua,” I scream, then dive into the closing portal. The wolf’s claws catch my calf, but it’s too late. I follow the song of Wren’s soul and fall through darkness that rips at my flesh, and it feels as if my bones are coming apart.
This portal holds no light. There are no worlds flashing past or stars shooting by. There is nothing but pain and emptiness in this downward spiral.
Chapter Fifteen
Wren
This pain is like when I came through to Domhan, only worse. If a person could remember their birth, I wonder if this is what it would feel like. It’s as if I’m being torn apart and remade, over and over again. My screams don’t reach my ears, and only the rawness of my throat tells me I’m still making sounds.
A faint red glow in the distance grows larger. I hit something with my shoulder and my back. Pain shoots through me as my descent slows. Over and over, my body beats against walls I cannot see.
I crash into something slimy and mushy. Pushing to my hands and knees, I draw in a breath, trying to fill my aching lungs. Sulfur burns my eyes and nose.
A sickeningly sweet male voice that sounds far away and muddled as if it’s underwater reaches me as my sword is taken from where it landed beside me. “You’ll get used to it. Just breathe, human.”
Something splashes down hard against me, pushing me back into the muck. Arms wrap around me, lifting me to standing. Myvision is blurry, and my lungs feel as if they’re on fire. The arms hold me against a hard surface.
“Ciaran, you treacherous pig.” Liam’s voice is comforting to hear, even though it sounds muddled and unclear.
Something sharp pinches my throat.
“The useless second son. I should have known you would create havoc when my plan was so perfect,” presumably someone named Ciaran, says. “Throw your weapons over there or I’ll cut her from chin to eye and see how her magic works from the inside out.”
Liam’s arms tighten, and his voice is low in my ears. “Slow your breathing. The air is nauseating but not deadly.” He wipes the muck from my face. The clank of metal to my right is likely his sword and dagger hitting the floor. “Is there water in this hole?” Liam is louder, his voice harsh, and he didn’t ask the question I expected him to.
A long huff that reminds me of a spoiled woman comes from Ciaran. “Bring her here. I will have water brought. I had no idea this human would be so weak. The other was much hardier.”
Liam lifts me.
I try to ask about the other human, but while my brain screams the question, only garbled noises form in my mouth. A fear that whatever happened in that portal has damaged me permanently shoots through me. I stiffen, clutching at Liam.
