Page 62 of Secrets of Ruin

It was at the bottom for you, Brokk thought but kept that to himself.

The man couldn’t have known the trap was there, nor could Cole if it was in the wall. His brother looked at the ground while the rest searched above them.

Brokk squeezed Kaylia’s arm. She kissed his cheek before releasing him.

Brokk bit back a groan as he pushed his aching and battered body up. His vision swam again, and he locked his knees to keep from going down while he waited for it to clear.

When he was sure he wouldn’t collapse or pass out, he crushed Kaylia against him. Together, they walked out of the pyramid and into the humid air of the jungle.

Brokk closed his eyes as he inhaled the aroma of flowers, foliage, and the fresh air that didn’t possess the stench of the ophidians. He wanted to ask Lexi to command the dragons to burn this entire Valley down, but he couldn’t.

Most of the creatures who lived here were terrible, flesh-eating things, but it was still their realm, and they had a right to reside there. The ophidians had forfeited that right.

He’d like to see this whole place on fire, but they were the intruders here. They’d chosen to come to this lethal realm and couldn’t punish the creatures here for their decisions.

“Destroy the pyramid,” Cole said to the giant.

The woman smiled before lifting her fist and hammering it onto the top of the pyramid. The top half of the stone structure collapsed; she used her feet to stomp out what remained of its walls.

Brokk smiled, and Kaylia grinned while the giant reduced the pyramid to rubble. When the giant finished, she stepped back and wiped away the debris clinging to her hands.

Dust rained over them, but Brokk didn’t mind. He enjoyed bathing in the ruins of his enemies.

Soon, he would drench himself in their blood.

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

Moving such a vast army through the jungle was slow going as they sought to avoid the monsters residing here and the numerous traps the ophidians left in their wake. They lost a couple dozen soldiers to two of those traps.

It was impossible to locate them all, but they were trying, as the ophidians didn’t often use the same trap twice. Some emerged from the ground while others plummeted from the trees, and some exploded from inside the trees.

The lycans, in their wolf forms, prowled the jungle as they tried to sense those traps before more of them perished. The sun crept higher into the sky, and hope drew them onward as the shadows beckoned Cole to follow them through the thick vegetation.

Those dark figures ruthlessly pursued the enemy, and no one evaded the shadows. They would find the ones they sought.

Kaylia and the other witches didn’t cast another protective barrier over the army. There were far too many to keep sheltered and more obstacles for a barrier to do them any good. Besides, it would only hinder them if the witches rendered their powers almost useless before encountering the ophidians.

It was almost noon, the sun was high in the sky, and the jungle crowded them in the familiar way she’d come to loathe. The energy this place emitted strengthened her, but it still reminded her of a tomb.

She’d come far too close to Doomed Valley becoming her burial place to be comfortable with its claustrophobic feel now. She, or some of those she loved, could still be as good as dead and didn’t know it yet.

The possibility caused her to gulp as she tugged at the collar of her green tunic. She tried not to let that foreboding possibility become a malignant thought; it would only hinder what they had to do here.

Besides, there was nothing she could do to stop the guillotine possibly hanging over their heads. Death would unfold here. It was a guarantee.

* * *

One of the dragons dropped from the sky and, with a rush of wings, turned sideways to cut through the trees above. Brokk tilted his head back to watch as its wings sliced off leaves and branches from the trees before disappearing.

In front of him, Cole transformed into a man again and rose to his full height. They all watched as the dragon unleashed a blast of fire. From up ahead, something screamed.

“What was that?” Varo asked.

“In this hellhole, it could be anything,” Brokk replied.

“Do you think it’s the ophidians?” Maverick inquired.

“It could be,” Ryker answered, “but it could also be one of any number of things looking to eat us.”