Page 11 of Lost and Stolen Gods
She whimpered but nodded.
We waited, holding our collective breath.
Thud, thud, thud.
The ruby-eyed man appeared at the bottom of the steps.
We attacked.
Chapter 5
NOTE TO SELF: DO NOT BACKCHAT THE NATIVES
We rushed at Rathor in unison.
A crackling sound assaulted my ears, and an icy band of pain shot up my arm, morphing into a fist that slammed into my chest. I flew back and hit the ground on my ass.
Dharma, Remi, and Priti were in similar positions, looking as stunned as I felt.
Rathor studied us from the bottom of the stairs, his red eyes catching the lamplight so that they glinted like gems. “We’re almost at shore,” he said impassive and unaffected by our attempted attack. “It’s a great view. Be a shame to miss it.” He clomped back up the steps, leaving us to figure out what the fuck had just happened.
I pulled myself up off the ground. “Tell me I didn’t just imagine that.”
“You didn’t,” Dharma said. “I think he’s done something to stop us hurting him.”
Remi rubbed the small of her back. “Well, whatever he’s done, it works.”
“Look!” Priti held up her wrist where a slender copper band was pressed to her skin. It gleamed once before vanishing.
I glanced down at my wrist in time to see a similar band sink into my skin. “Well, that explains it.” Herbs and amulets and magical bands. Was this my new reality now?
“Attack is off the table then.” Dharma exhaled through her nose. “But I’m still getting answers.”
“Me too.” This Rathor guy had to know about the shadow monster. My gut told me the two were somehow connected.
Dharma led the way up the wooden steps, where the air smelled of salt and brine. Bright light stung my eyes as she pushed open the cabin door to the deck and slipped through.
I followed her onto wooden planks awash in colors from the tunnel of rainbows we were hurtling through.
“What the…” Remi turned on the spot, staring at the miasma of colors around us. “Where in the world are we?”
“Nowhere in any world,” Rathor said from his position mid deck, his back to us. “This is the ether. But we won’t be in it for much longer.”
Beyond the prow, the end of the rainbow tunnelopened onto a bruised purple sky that bled to gold in the distance, where it sat above a strip of gray land.
The ship shuddered.
“Brace for exit!” Rathor cried out. “Feet flat on the deck and lock in.” He planted his feet shoulder-width apart and slightly bent his knees. “Do it!” he ordered us.
I fell into the stance demonstrated a moment before the ship shot forward. My body jerked, but the deck seemed to grip my boots, holding me in place even as my arms windmilled.
Someone squealed, and the next moment we were out of the rainbow and sailing through the sky.
“Hold!” Rathor bellowed.
Hold what?
My stomach shot up into my chest as we dropped. A loud crack filled the air, and water splashed across the deck, drops spattering my skin like icy pellets.
