Page 31 of Ransomed to the World
He retreated, but not for long. He picked up a boulder that was twice her size and flung it at the tiny opening where she stood, and managed to chisel away at least a foot of the rock as it crumbled under the impact.
Shards of stone peppered her, snapping her out of her shocked paralysis, and she hurried down the passageway, cursing when the path became narrower, the rocks scraping her with every step.
Just when she feared that she’d have to turn back, she was able to squeeze through a tiny opening and found herself on a new trail. She glanced both ways, and nearly sighed in relief when tiny particles wisped past her face to the right.
She took a single step forward when the sounds of Mason’s hammering disappeared.
Shit.
He must have finally noticed she was gone.
Conscious of the clock ticking away, she picked up her pace. The tunnels twisted and turned on themselves. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear the tunnels were moving, changing, and it wasn’t long before she was hopelessly lost.
And the stone remained frustratingly out of sight.
Almost like someone was moving it whenever she got too close.
Son of a bitch!
Annora turned the corner and ran smack into something so hard that she rebounded and landed on her ass. She didn’t have to look up to know it was Mason.
Crap on a stick!
She scarcely had time to roll out of the way when his foot stomped down where she was only a millisecond ago. The ground below her quivered under the impact. She barely managed to scramble to her feet before he was on her.
His fist caught her shoulder, sending her flying across the small cavern. She would’ve gone farther, but thankfully, the rock wall stopped her fall. She could do nothing but brace for impact. Ribs cracked as she hit, her breath exploding out of her.
Refusing to give into the pain, she pulled herself to her feet, rejecting the impulse to draw her sword. She was tempted to use her abilities, jump the distance between her and the opal, but her promise to Edgar rang in her head.
His very real fear made her hesitate.
So when Mason came at her again, she ghosted him.
Instead of pancaking her, he ended up charging right through her.
And she remembered why she hated passing through living objects. She staggered as she took form again, her bones taking a while to feel solid once more. The temperature in the room dropped drastically, as if she’d pulled the air from the afterworld back with her.
Humans didn’t affect her the same way. Something about supernaturals made her body react clumsily, like their magic interfered with her abilities. Impressions bombarded her. Fear, rage, pain, denial, but it was enough, and she clung to the tiny sliver of hope with all her might.
“Mason?” Annora whirled to face him.
He took a threatening step toward her, then faltered, his face twisting into a grimace of pain. Tiny sparks of lavender shimmered in his eyes as awareness returned. “You…must…run.”
She stepped toward him, wanting to touch him, needing to make sure he was okay, then made herself stop. Even as she watched, the lavender began to fade. Not wanting to hurt him, she did as he instructed and ran.
She had to get the heart stone.
Her body immediately protested the movement. While some of her bones had mended together with her short visit to the afterworld, his blow had done a lot of damage. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to worry about it.
The seconds were ticking down.
She needed that stone to save him before she could worry about herself.
She rushed toward the opening and smack into the strands of a huge spider web. As she struggled to untangle herself, she tripped over something, nearly sending herself sprawling. She sputtered and plucked the tacky web off her face, then glanced down and saw what she tripped over—a bone nearly the length of her entire leg.
A line of black beetles erupted from the ground, climbing over each other, as if the vibrations from her fall had summoned them. They scurried along the ground so fast she had to stop herself from recoiling and drawing their attention. The critters were massive, easily twice the size of a fifty cent piece. Their claws clicked and snapped at the air as they hunted for their prey, winding over and under the bones.
And heading directly toward her.
