Page 11 of Surviving Hallow Hill
He doesn’t make it two feet in front of me.
Claws dig into my shoulders and yank me up. Next thing I know, I’m rising... rising... rising. The ground drops away below me, and my feet are dangling, helpless. Higher and higher the vulture takes me, soaring through the sky.
Wind slaps at my face from this altitude, causing a rush of tears to slide down my cheeks. I struggle for breath, my hand tightening around the hilt of my sword. Instinct tells me to twist and slice through this hybrid fucker’s metal claws, but the minute I do, I’ll fall to my death.
Emmera!I hear Rue’s shriek of worry in my mind. It’s crazy that through all of this, I smirk at the sound of my name in his voice.
The creature carrying me lets out a shrill shriek that drowns out my musings. Fuck. I need to get out of this.
And there’s only one fucking way.
I look down. Even from here, I can make out the speck that is Charizard, his wings spanning, preparing for flight.
“You better fucking catch me!” I scream.
And I twist in the vulture’s grip, gritting my teeth as the pain radiates through my body, but I’ve been through worse. My arm muscles scream at me as I slice the blade of Damios through the joints where metal meets flesh.
Claws slip from my body, wings rip back, and screeches ring loudly in my ears. My sword slashes out again, this time slicing through the vulture’s chest cavity. Just like that, the banshees stop screaming, and I can no longer sense my Lady’s presence.
Death has come.
And then I’m falling from the sky.
My stomach clenches from the rapid rush of falling.
EMMERA!
I don’t know who screams my name. It’s drowned out by the whistling rush of wind. I hold my breath, my heart pounds...
I collide against a body of solid flesh. Strong arms wrap around me, and my eyes fly open to stare into Dom’s stern expression.
My forehead presses against his chest. “Thank fuck.”
I don’t want him to know how scared I was, but fuck, that was insane.
I’minsane.
Our slow descent back to the earth gives my heart time to calm its rapid beating. Once my feet touch the ground, Sia is pulling me into his arms, fingers digging into the roots of my hair to the point where pain and pleasure mesh. Then his lips are on mine. Fierce, unyielding, his tongue dives past the seams of my lips to tangle against my own.
“Don’t ever fucking do that aga—”
“I hate to interrupt your fucking lovefest, but there’s still more of those things,” Dom interjects with annoyance. “We can’t fight them all off. We need to move.Now.”
“Later,” I promise Sia. Our fingers thread together, and we’re running. Weapons and magic, screams and claws all slash out against the creatures that want us dead. We dodge our way around them, running as fast as our exhausted limbs can carry us.
Some of the animals veer away and head towards a different direction, until eventually they stop chasing us altogether.
Still, we don’t stop. It’s too dangerous to do that here. To stop means certain death, and no one has to say those words for us to know it’s true.
Chère...Rue’s voice whispers through my mind.
“A little... busy at the... moment...” I pant out loud.
I feel you close. Don’t. They’ll kill you.
My feet trip up the hill we’re forcing ourselves over. With a grunt, I find purchase with my boots, digging my heels into the slippery slope, and climb, pumping one leg after the other.
When we make it to the top, my heart slams into my chest, harder and harder. My instincts scream at me to run to him, to Styx.
He’s here. A wolf with a crimson collar around his neck that tells us exactly what team he’s a part of. My enemy in these deadly games, and yet my heart elates with happiness as I take him in. Unharmed. Safe.
And this insane instinct inside of me urges me to run to him and protect.
His body shifts to the side, and big dark eyes meet mine. Our souls seem to fizzle, an invisible bond that unites us.
He whines and starts forward.
But before he can reach me, the banshees close in on him.
And they scream.
