“What was that?” I gasped as I pressed myback and palms flat against the wall behind me. I ignored thestones digging painfully into my flesh. My chest heaved with everyone of my breaths as my heart beat wildly in my chest. The groundsurged again before settling back into place.
“I don’t know,” Hawk muttered from besideme.
Glancing at him, I noticed he was paler thanhe had been up until now, but he took a step away from the wall andcrept toward the edge of the roadway. “Hawk!” I hissed when hestopped at the edge and leaned over the pit with no railing and nobottom. “It might have been an earthquake,” he said.
“Probably not the best idea to stand soclose to the edge then,” I replied.
He didn’t pay me any attention as he staredinto the bottomless pit. “There’s light down there.”
“What?”
I peeled myself off the wall and took acautious step forward. Whether it had been an earthquake or not, Ididn’t like the idea of the earth moving beneath my feet one littlebit. I was terrified it was going to happen again, but this time itwould fling us both over the edge. Despite common sense, I wasstill drawn irresistibly forward by my curiosity and the perplexedlook on Hawk’s face.
Reaching the edge of the road, I leanedforward to peer into the abyss below. What had only been darknessbefore now had a growing wave of light emanating from it. Knowing Ishould move away from the edge, I still found myself gawking at theillumination spreading over the walls and rising steadily towardus.
“What is that?” Hawk muttered.
“I have no idea, but I don’t think it’sanything good.”
Glancing behind me, my stomach dropped whenI spotted the lanavours rounding the corner and coming toward us.“We have to go!”
I grabbed Hawk’s wrist, drawing him awayfrom the edge as one of the lanavours bore down on us. At the sametime, the world exploded in a wash of light from beneath us. Theground lurched out from beneath my feet again, and I was thrownbackward.
***
Kobal
“Get back!” I shouted when light shot uptoward us.
Turning, I spread my arms wide to protect asmany as I could when the glow increased. I felt no heat against myback, but the world around me was brighter than I’d ever seen it inhere. The humans ducked and covered their heads. Dropping the girl,Shax threw himself over Erin, using his body to shield her whileVargas draped himself over a couple of others.
Air rushed up around me, tearing at myruined clothes and beating against my skin as it battered my body.Screams rang in my ears; it took me a minute to realize theyweren’t coming from the humans but from the radiance illuminatingthe jagged walls around us. Turning my head, I watched as, withinthe light, winged creatures rushed past me, heading toward thegateway. The flapping wings blew my hair back as they propelled thecreatures toward the surface.
Most of the faces going past us wereweathered and wrinkled. Their heads were tilted back to look at theworld above, but one lowered her head to glare at me while anotherreleased a shriek, folded her wings against her side, and dove atme. The air around her tapered body whistled as she came at me likea missile.
I spun around, braced my legs apart, andheld my hands up in preparation for the attack. At the last second,I took a step to the side and drove my fist into the back of herskull. She shrieked again when her body smacked into the pathwaywith enough force to crack the rock beneath her. Humans scrambledto get out of the way of her bouncing body before she crashed intothe wall.
Bale leapt forward and drove her foot intothe woman’s side. Her body rose three feet off the ground fromBale’s kick before thumping down again. She remained lying prone onthe rock. Corson’s talons extended as he walked over and slicedthrough the woman’s neck with one fatal blow. Her head rolled untilit stopped a few feet away from Bale.
My shoulders heaved and my teeth scrapedtogether as I spun to watch more of the creatures flying towardfreedom.
***
River
Wincing, I rested a hand on my bruised ribsas I pushed myself into a seated position against the wall. Withinthe flow of light, a rush of winged old women flew by me. Theirscreams filled my ears as their wings flapped.
The lanavours, also thrown back by theexplosion that had rocked Hell, were regaining their feet. Thatstrange chatter sounded approvingly from them as they watched thewomen soaring higher into the air. Rolling to the side, I pushedmyself up and stumbled toward where Hawk lay, unmoving against thewall.
I fell at his side and gently pulled on hisarm to roll him over. Blood trickled from a gash on his forehead,and a bruise marred his right cheek, but his chest rose and fellsteadily. Gripping his wrist, I felt the beat of his pulse beneathmy fingers.
“Hawk.” A couple of the lanavours turned tolook at us when I spoke. Rising to my feet, I grabbed his otherwrist and began to drag him backward. I ignored the wrenching pullon my arms as I dug my heels in and moved further away from thelanavours with him. “Hawk, get up. We have to go.”
He groaned and cracked one eye to look atme. “What happened?”
“I think another one of the seals gave way,”I muttered and pulled on his arm again, dragging him closer to mewhen a lanavour moved toward us. “We have to go,now. Thelanavours are coming again.”
He pulled his wrist away from me and shovedhimself over. His head hung down as he knelt on his hands andknees. Resting my fingers on the wall beside me, I drew on the flowof life within this place as I warily watched the lanavours. Theflap of wings drew my attention to the flying women as one of themhovered at the edge of the roadway, inspecting me.
