Page 49 of Tattered Huntress
‘I don’t know.’ He licked his lips. ‘And I don’t think I want to.’
It was then that the ground shook again. This time it wasn’t because of any nearby shapeshifters – and it was considerably more violent. The vibrations sent me sprawling backwards and knocked the torch out of my hand.
The tremors continued to grow in intensity. I swore. Hester and Otis, who’d only narrowly avoided being squashed by my fall, appeared in front of my face. Even Hester looked scared. Her mouth moved as she said something, but because of the rumbling I couldn’t hear her.
I sprang to my feet. Boonder was already stretching his hand towards me to help. I half-turned to grab the torch before making a run for it, but as soon as my fingers grazed the cool aluminium the ground beneath my feet opened up.
I felt my body drop and my stomach rise into my mouth. Shit. My hands automatically reached out, desperate to cling onto something so I didn’t fall into the newly formed chasm beneath me.
‘Daisy!’ Boonder yelled, barely audible above the noise that was enveloping us. He leapt forward and grabbed one of my hands while my feet dangled into dark space and kicked uselessly in the air.
Otis was shrieking while Hester zipped frantically from side to side. ‘Pull yourself up! Pull yourself up, Daisy!’ she screeched in my ear.
I clenched my jaw. I couldn’t pull myself up; there was nothing to pull against, and the cave around us was continuing to judder and shake. Every muscle in Boonder’s face and armswas straining with the effort of holding on to me. Our palms were sweaty and, although he tugged and yanked and did everything he could to haul me upwards, gravity was working against us. Sooner or later he would have to let go. I was going to fall – and I was probably going to die.
‘Air magic,’ Boonder gasped. ‘You have to use air magic to propel yourself upwards.’
As I looked into his tense face and his fearful eyes, a strange sensation of absolute calm replaced my own terror. Yes, I could use air magic; I could twist the molecules beneath me to push myself upwards and clamber onto solid ground – but I didn’t know what effect that magic would have. I didn’t know what was underneath me, and I couldn’t predict what that burst of power would do in this confined space. I wasn’t the only person inside this cave. Messing with the atmosphere could alter far more than my own fate and I wouldn’t be responsible for anybody else getting hurt.
‘This isn’t your fault,’ I whispered. His hold on my hands began to slip. ‘Don’t blame yourself.’ I looked at Hester and Otis. ‘Don’t come after me. Stay with Boonder. You’ll be safe with him.’
‘Absolutely not!’ Otis protested. ‘You can still?—’
I didn’t hear the end of his sentence because it was lost in a rush of air. Boonder could no longer hold me and I dropped into the depths below to be swallowed up by the darkness of the cave.
Sayonara,sweeties, I thought as everything went dark. It’s been fun.
I couldn’t see a thing– it was pitch black. Was this what death felt like?
I inhaled, making my body twitch, and jolting pain ripped through me. Fuck. So this wasn’t death; I was still alive but it felt like I’d broken every bone in my body.
I must have blacked out or hit my head because the last thing I remembered was Otis, Hester and Boonder staring down at me in horror as I fell. Was I lying at the bottom of a thousand-metre drop unable to move? Would I die here in the darkness, all alone?
I exhaled a long breath and this time the pain was worse. Bloody hell, that hurt.Everythinghurt.
I wiggled my big toes. Okay, they still worked. So did my other toes. I tested my fingers and they all moved. My tongue darted out to wet my lips and, as slowly and carefully as possible, I turned my head first to the right and then to the left. It was still on my shoulders. That had to be a bonus, right? I wasn’t completely paralysed.
I pulled up one knee and the pain was enough to make me moan aloud. The sound echoed around the darkness. I gritted my teeth and did the same with my other knee. Ouch. Ouch. Fuckingouch. But I could move my legs and I might be able to stand on them.
I tested my arms, swinging them up in turn. Then, still flat on my back, I patted myself down and searched for injuries. My body was tender and my fingertips came away wet when I touched my face and the bare skin on my arms, but I didn’t appear to be gushing blood from any wounds. I had cuts, scratches and a whole lot of bruises but I was in better condition than I had any right to expect.
On a count of three. I would move into a sitting position on a count of three. I swallowed hard and held my breath.One. Two.I paused.Two and a half. Two and three-quarters. Goddamnit. Three.
I sat up. Huh. That hadn’t been so bad. I frowned then Iclimbed to my feet, my breath catching as agony flashed through me. The worst of the pain was fleeting, though, and in a few seconds it dissipated into little more than a bone-deep ache. How was that possible?
I tilted my head upwards. Maybe I’d not fallen that far but I couldn’t see a glimmer of light above me. I couldn’t see anything at all.
‘Hello?’ My voice was thin and thready, so pathetic that it annoyed me. I tried again, injecting more power and effort. ‘Hello? Boonder? Otis? Hester? Are you up there?’
Nothing.
I waved my arms in front of me and took a tentative step forward, wincing as another brief rush of pain assailed me. Then I took another step and another. I stopped and waved my arms around again. There was nothing in front of me except darkness.
The air was still, but it was breathable. Dare I risk a tiny burst of fire magic to get a look at my surroundings? It probably couldn’t do much harm. I toed at the ground, double checking for obstacles or anything that might preclude the use of a flame. This appeared to be a reasonably large space. There was enough air to breathe, at least for now. I could?—
I froze as I heard something, then tilted my head and listened hard. Was that … breathing? My stomach dropped. Oh God.
I didn’t waste any more time; if I wasn’t alone down here, I damned well wanted to know what was with me. I concentrated hard and sparked a small flame though it wasn’t strong enough to illuminate more than a metre or so in front of me.
