Page 145 of Liar Witch
“What the fuck?” he curses, and I silently echo the sentiment as we release one another and start running once more.
Only for the shaking to happen again.
“Earthquake?” I guess, holding on to the wall as an even more violent quake shakes the dust loose from the ceiling, showering us in dirt.
“Nowof all times?” he growls. “Move. We’ll be buried alive at this rate.”
I want to argue on principle, but another even stronger quake silences me. Instinct makes my legs work, and I stumble my way forward as fast as I can. When we reach a dead end, I want to curse Val.
“Grandiloquent,” he rasps, out of breath.
The stone disappears, giving way just as a huge rock comes loose behind us, narrowly missing me.
We step out into utter chaos. The passageway has come out on one of the rooftops at the edge of the docks, giving us a spectacular view of the destruction going on below.
Buildings have been shattered. Crushed under falling rocks and the coils of not one, but two, leviathans.
I don’t know how it’s even possible, but Nos’s beast form is even larger than Cas’s. His scales are paler, and his eyes are pure white as he thrashes in the cavern. His head knocks against the ceiling, sending boulders the size of horses raining down on to the boats and buildings below.
Cas’s beast lunges for him, teeth bared in challenge.
They’re... fighting?
People are screaming. Captains are scrambling to get their ships out of harm’s way. Fires have sprung up, and the smoke makes it difficult to see and harder to breathe.
“Fuck.”
Val’s staring, just as open-mouthed as me.
The leviathans are attacking each other without a care for the people fleeing the destruction below. Their bodies are just as devastating out of water as they are beneath it. Their coils raze homes with every twist they make.
“We have to calm them down,” I say, taking an automatic step toward them.
Val’s hand on my arm stops me. “No, we have to get to the ship and get out of here before they bring the roof down on our heads.” He pulls me in the direction of the water, only to draw up short. “Where’s my ship?”
His jaw is slack, eyes wide and searching in horror for the familiar dark silhouette of theDeadwood.
“I can’t hear Opal,” I whisper, searching for her with my mind, trying to force down the rising sense of panic. “She was with the…”
“Where is myship?” Val’s roar is deafening. His body lights up with inky purple circles as he starts towards the leviathans duelling it out in the middle of the cove.
Now it’s my turn to hold him back just as another, even larger, chunk of the ceiling falls away, letting moonlight into the cavern.
“Rysen, Kier, and Klaus must have gotten theDeadwoodto safety when this kicked off.” I try to keep my voice level, focusing on the sixth sense that tells me my two bonded mates and familiar are still alive. “You’d have felt it if the ship was destroyed, right? Now, you were right the first time. We have to get out of here. What’s the quickest way?”
He’s not here. Valorean has checked out, staring at the spot where he left his beloved ship with anguish bleeding out of every pore.
“Val! Forget about your fucking boat for one second and help me!”
He blinks. “It’s aship.”
My sigh of relief is drowned out by the sound of screams as Cas’s tail whips out and strikes the cove wall, sending several more chunks of rock and earth catapulting down onto the pirates below.
“Quickest way out of here.”
His eyes refocus on my hand, still on his arm. His hand removes my white-knuckled grip and takes my hand. “This way. But you’re not going to like it.”
A boulder crashes into the roof next to us. Noster’s beast roars in anger or pain—I can’t be sure.
