Page 107 of The Silent Mountain
Fortunately, Elio reacts quickly and shoots forward. The squeaking around us gets louder again, coupled with scratching and gnawing that make my stomach churn. Both Elio and I rush towards the natural ladder out of rocks that will lead us up and to the exit of this Goddess-forsaken, cursed place.
Elio reaches it first, at the same time as some of the rats. I grab my ax tightly, swinging it in their direction.
“Alana!” Elio yells.
“Just keep climbing!” I yell, swinging my ax around to hit as many rats as possible. “Just go!”
Elio follows my command, starting to climb upwards. When I attempt to reach for the rocks that form the first step of the ladder, a couple of these cursed, crazy animals jump my arm, biting down on it. A surging pain goes through me while I try to shake the rats off and wielding my axe in the other direction. I could have shifted by now, but in this case, I am much more agile in my human form. In Ros’s wolf form, the rats would have too much leverage to climb onto her and hurt her.
“Alana,” Elio blurts out.
“You need to-“
“No, I can’t do that,” he exclaims, sounding so desperate that it makes my heart clench. “I can’t do that. I am a dragon prince. I am a dragon prince. I am a dragon prince.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“Try to press yourself against the wall,” he exclaims. “I will burn these fuckers!”
“Have you done that before? Breathed fire in a specific direction?”
“No, but… but… we don’t have time. I can do it, I can do it.”
I look at him. “You can do it,” I say, trying to sound steady and firm to give him the reassurance and confidence he needs, instead of being panicked and terrified. I’d rather get burned by Elio than eaten alive by these fucking rats anyway. In a split second, Elio has shifted into his dragon form, using his wings to get some distance from the ground before opening his mouth.
I press myself against the wall to protect myself from the fire that will soon fill the room. Before long, I can feel the heat of the fire around me, and the nauseous smell of burning flesh. I peer around, noticing how Elio has successfully burnt most of the attacking rats, and the remainder are so scared that they disappear into the darkness of the small corridors that lead them away.
Elio shifts back. “Are you hurt? Burnt?”
“Ros has prevented me from feeling the heat too much,” I say. “Just some of my hair is a bit singed.”
I feel a surge of exhaustion coming over me and sink down to the ground.
“Are you alright?” Elio repeats. “Alana?”
“I don’t know, I am just… so tired,” I brush over my head, feeling how warm my skin is.Ros, what’s going on?
Alana,she mutters. Just that.Alana…
I seek her presence out in my mind, noticing how she has curled up on the ground. When she looks at me, my heart stops beating. She has foam around her snout, and her eyes have lost their amber color, instead, there are strings of black going through them.
No, no, no, this can’t be happening!
I sit up abruptly, pushing the sleeve of my left arm upwards. There is nothing, just some scratches that have started to heal. I let my gaze move downwards to my hand. Fuck, no! There are several bite wounds from the freaky rats, and the wounds are clearly infected. I can see how my flesh is turning black, my veins getting darker.
It’s like with Barbara shortly before she died!
“Elio!” I blurt out, showing him my hand. “The dark spell!”
thirty-four
Drastic Decisions
*ALANA*
Eliohasrippedapart of the sleeve off and presses it against my wound. “It’s spreading so fast,” he blurts out. “Why, why? You took the potion!”
“Because we are at the core of our enemy,” I mutter tiredly. “At the root of the spell. That’s why it’s spreading so fast. I doubt there is a potion that can prevent it.”
