Page 126 of Silver Claws, Crimson Tears
The harpies’ eyes lock with mine. They seem intelligent, not mindless killers but soldiers following orders. One hisses something. It’s guttural but it sounds like words. What?! Harpies talk? They pick up speed. I twist violently, managing to free one arm. I slam my elbow into the nearest harpy’s throat, earning a strangled screech but not freedom.
Above us, a silver shadow blots out the sun again. Zephyros sweeping back, his roar shaking the very ground. The harpies screech in panic, but their grip never falters.
But behind him I spot something else: Vaylen on Fragor, his face a mask of determination. He leaps from his dragon in a perfect Vortex Drop, his wind gathering beneath him to cushion his landing. The moment his feet touch the ground, he’s sprinting toward me with fluid power.
“Vaylen!” I scream, renewing my struggle.
He growls as he forms a Wind Spear in his hand, the air condensing into a deadly, shimmering weapon. Hope surges through me. He’s going to kill these bitches and?—
The harpies abruptly veer, rounding the massive boulder. My stomach lurches as they suddenly release me. Instead offreedom, I’m falling, tumbling through darkness into a hole in the ground.
“No!” I scream, flailing for something to grab. My fingers scrape stone, nails ripping from their beds.
I plummet deeper, unable to form wind fast enough to catch myself. Terror claws up my throat as I remember the splitting mountain, the darkness. Above, the circle of light shrinks as the Screechclaws push the massive boulder and cover the hole.
“Vaylen!” I reach upward, my fingers grasping at nothing but shadow.
The boulder slides into place with a thunderous boom, extinguishing all light. Complete darkness envelops me as I continue falling. My back slams against something hard—stone—and pain explodes through my body.
“No, no, no,” I whimper, my voice breaking. “Not again. Please, not again.”
The dark presses against me like a physical weight. I can’t see. My own panicked breathing fills my ears.
I roll onto my stomach, biting back a cry as my ribs smart. Every movement sends fresh waves of pain through my battered body, but I force myself to rise onto hands and knees.
“Okay, Rhea,” I whisper, voice trembling. “You’re not dead. That’s a good start.”
Pitch black presses against my eyes. The air hangs damp and musty around me, carrying the scent of wet earth and something else… something putrid. I extend one hand, fingers trembling as they search for purchase. My knuckles brush against cold stone. I inch forward, feeling my way across uneven ground.
—Zephyros?I call through our bond, desperation clawing at my throat.—Can you hear me?
—I am here. I sensed your fall.Zephyros’s voice brushes mymind, fierce but also soothing.I will tear this earth apart stone by stone if I have to. There is no way I am losing you again.
Relief floods through me, chasing back the darkness for a heartbeat.
—I’m good right now,I say, drawing calm from him. We both know he can’t dig indiscriminately without risking the collapse of tons of rocks right over my head.
A soft clicking sound breaks the silence. I freeze, a knot forming in my throat. The sound comes again. It’s deliberate and rhythmic. Click-click. Pause. Click-click.
“Hello?” My voice cracks. “Is someone there?”
The clicking stops. Complete silence follows, raking its frigid fingers up my spine same as the clicking. Then… a rustle of movement. Something scraping against stone. Not the heavy tread of a human, but the light, deliberate movement of something else. Something that doesn’t want to be heard.
Fear floods my veins. I hold my breath, straining to pinpoint the source.
Click-click. Closer now. Behind me.
I spin around, summoning wind to my fingertips, managing to form a Wind Dagger, but blind to using it effectively.
“Stay back,” I warn, trying to sound brave despite the tremor in my limbs. “I’ll fucking end you if you come any closer.”
The clicking becomes a wet, guttural hiss.
Oh, fuck! That’s a Screechclaw. In the darkness. With me.
42
Zephyros
