Page 35 of Ransomed to the World
Not wanting to chance she’d injure herself more by trying to dodge out of the way, Annora ghosted. Solid stone passed clear through her, and artic cold pierced her torso where the rock passed, then shattered against the rock behind her with a bang.
Flora blinked and shook her head, as if struggling to gain her bearings…until her eyes locked once more on Annora, and she roared, “Kill them both.”
When the trolls surged forward, Annora’s restraint snapped. The afterworld rose around them…and so did the dead.
Bones rattled as they began to take shape and pull themselves upright. Mason ignored everything going on around them, focusing on keeping the trolls off her. But the odds were not in their favor. If she didn’t act fast, they’d be overwhelmed.
Flora stumbled away from the skeletons as they shuffled toward her. Some wore tattered clothing that hung off their bones. A few still had flesh clinging to them. With each step, the shreds of flesh would quiver and shake, while tiny drops of putrid decay would plop to the ground with a splat. Bugs crawled in and out of the flesh, like demented little operators, guiding the skeletons forward. Spiders began to drop from the ceiling onto Flora, their bites swelling like large welts that wept a yellow, sickly pus.
When one of the creatures reached for her, Flora panicked and batted it away. The bones collapsed to the ground with a clatter, then quivered as they slowly reassembled and the creature began to rise again. Flora backed away, her boots crunching the horde of waiting beetles. They swarmed over her, crawling up her body, nipping and biting in a frenzy.
Annora was distracted when three trolls piled on top of Mason, nearly taking him down. Though he might be slightly smaller than the other trolls, he fought with a ferocity that none of the others possessed. A quick jab up with his elbow shattered one’s nose, a fast kick to one’s knee bent it backwards. He reached forward, grabbed the man by the neck, and yanked his head down, then brought up his knee at the same time, hitting the troll so hard that his feet left the ground.
But Mason didn’t get time to catch his breath before the other five surrounded them.
Then she didn’t have time to see anything more as he disappeared in the melee. She wanted to go to him, but she knew the only way to stop this was to stop Flora.
Time was running out.
She had only a minute or two left to get the stone if she wanted to claim Mason.
Flora spun, drawing her attention. The troll slapped at herself with one hand, her other arm dangling uselessly at her side, practically vomiting curses that all but scorched the air. That’s when she spotted Annora standing still in the middle of the cave.
With a snarl of rage, she charged. Instead of retreating, Annora placed one foot back and braced herself, tightening her grip on her blade. At the last second, Annora spun on her heel and slashed with the sword.
The tug on the metal let her know that she hit flesh.
She whirled and saw Flora stagger.
“Annora,” Mason grunted, then dropped to his knees as the rest of the trolls began to work together to take him down. His face was a mask of concentration and pain, his eyes locking onto hers. “Hurry.”
Annora dodged around the skeletons, pulling her arm back to take her head when Flora turned.
She was nearly split open from stem to stern, blood bubbling up from between her fingers as she struggled to keep her guts from spilling to the floor using her one functional arm. She seemed confused by the blood.
Annora edged forward, then rocked to a stop when she saw the shadows behind Flora begin to stretch across the walls. Two figures took shape, gliding forward, and Annora nearly stumbled over her feet as she took a hasty step back, the tip of her sword drooping.
Reapers.
They were hidden under their cowls. Excitement surged through her at the thought of being able to speak with her long-lost uncle again and ask him some questions about her stepmother.
Then his warning to be wary of other reapers hit her. Heart pounding frantically against her ribs, she lifted the tip of her sword back up. The coin dangling at the end of her necklace burned a bitter cold, searing into her flesh in warning.
One of the reapers glanced at her and gave a brief nod of recognition, and she nearly recoiled.
That so can’t be good.
The reapers reached forward, but instead of lunging for her, they grabbed Flora’s arms. The troll struggled and cursed wildly as they dragged her into the shadows…until the darkness swallowed them whole.
Silence rang in the cave for a second, and Annora quickly cut her connection to the afterworld, watching the fading shadows carefully to make sure nothing else crossed over. The bugs skittered into the shadows before the portal closed, as if they got a taste of the darkness and wanted more.
Particles licked at her skin, and she gritted her teeth as her bones ground together before they finally snapped back into place. The ragged edges of her flesh stretched painfully as they knitted back together, and she pulled away from the seductive allure before she was fully healed. There were too many wounds to repair without dropping her into unconsciousness.
The last thing she wanted to risk was having the reapers return when she wasn’t able to fight back. The minor cuts and bruises remained, allowing her to breathe without wheezing. Usually the afterworld left her invigorated, but a bone-deep ache remained, leaving her whole body feeling sore.
The rest of the cavern returned to normal, bones clattering as the skeletons collapsed. It was the absolute silence left behind that raised the hairs on the back of her neck, and Annora whirled, bringing up her sword, terrified of what she would find.
Chapter Ten
