Page 120 of Wraithwound

Her tears were absorbed by the ground beneath as if this miserable realm delighted in her despair. But then a glimmer of something white caught her eye. At first, she thought she’d imagined it, and then she wondered if perhaps it’d been some sort of glare from the tears distorting her vision. But it was neither of those things. She picked up a small, circular object. Wiping her tears on the back of her hand, she brought it up for closer inspection.

A button?

Lena nearly ripped the vest off her body as she fumbled to get it off. Reaching for her blouse, she pulled the fabric out to examine the buttons there.

One, two, three, four…

Four buttons.

Not five.

FOUR.

And there, where she’d sliced through the fabric with her nails, there was a button missing.

Lena looked over the edge again. Really looked this time, and there below, she saw a ledge. Leaning further out, she realized the ledge led into a cave. Joy and terror warred within her as she considered how she was going to get down there. Lena scanned the area once more, eyes landing on the creeping vine growing out of several cracks in the stone, but it didn’t seem hearty enough to hold her weight. There was also the other matter of what she would do once she got inside the cave. She wasn’t sure what she would find or what condition Cross would be in. But her gut told her she couldn’t wait.

Shaking her head in disbelief about what she intended to do, Lena pulled the vine over the edge of the cliff and jumped.

Chapter

Sixty-Six

She’d been right. The vine was not strong enough to hold her weight, but it had slowed her fall, only breaking when she was a few inches above the ledge. Lena couldn’t help but thank the EverGods for that. Peering into the cave, Lena noted how her skin began to prickle. The sensation was borderline painful, but she didn’t stop to consider why her skin had failed to prickle before now despite the dangers they’d faced.

EverGods, she really hadn’t thought this through at all.

The darkness inside the cave was almost impenetrable. Her eyes strained to make out the features of the interior, but after a moment her vision adjusted. She had never been more grateful for the changes her body had endured until now. Her heart rate kicked up, and she struggled to control her breathing as a wall of stale air stinking of rot and decay slammed into her.

Lena pulled out the dagger strapped to her thigh, uncertain of how she would wield it, but certain that she would try. She stifled a cry of surprise when her hand slid into something sticky and wet. She swallowed the gag that threatened to give away her position and wiped her hand off. Taking careful steps, she had to pause every so often to let her vision adjust further. A scraping noise past the upcoming bend in the tunnel made her blood run cold. Lena froze, ears straining to determine what the source of the sound might be.

Hands trembling, she summoned the courage to peer around the corner and was utterly horrified at what she saw. A large creature with a flattened, oval-shaped body divided into what Lena considered a head and an abdomen, loomed over Cross. It had six legs, three on each side and pincers as thick as her arms. At the end of its abdomen was a needle-like stinger.

Cross lay beneath the creature, his face partially obscured by one of its legs. Lena almost wept in relief at the sight of his chest rising and falling, but then a picture of Henry’s prone body, bloody and broken flashed before her, and she had to brace herself on the wall to keep from collapsing. Lena took a deep breath and reminded herself Cross wasn’t Henry.

When her legs felt steady beneath her, she took a step into the chamber, hoping to get a better look at Cross, but the creature whirled, clicking its pincers in her direction. Lena froze, certain the sound of her heart pounding in her chest would give her away, but the creature stopped short of her. Instead, it began swaying rhythmically a few feet away. After a moment that seemed to span an eternity, it turned away. When it did, she caught a glimpse of Cross’s face. He was pale, so pale his skin was a sickly grey. And his cheeks were hollow, a sheen of sweat visible on his forehead.

Just then Cross stirred, mumbling something that made her heart stop.

Chapter

Sixty-Seven

“Alina,” Cross groaned, her name a whisper on his lips.

She froze in her tracks, staring at the warrior as he lay prone on the ground and wondered if she’d imagined it. Lena never shared her full name with anyone; it was as much a matter of safety as it was a way to keep others at arm’s length. At the sound of her name, she had to fight every instinct in her body demanding she run to him. But then, in response, the creature whirled, aligning its stinger with his stomach, and pierced it straight through the armor. Lena nearly vomited at the sight.

Cross stopped moving.

Panic surged through her as she considered her options. The clicking of the creature’s legs on stone as it spun around to face Cross made her skin crawl. Lena had been considering how she might use her dagger to get it away from him when a rock skittered across the ground. The creature whirled around once more chasing the stone and began swaying near where it’d landed. She understood then. Vibration. It was attracted to noise, which meant Lena would have to disguise each step she took towards Cross. But what of the creature itself?

She considered throwing a rock towards the entrance of the cave, but the bend in the tunnel would prohibit her from throwing it far enough. As she looked around, she spotted the gauntlet on his wrist. It would be a gamble. She wasn’t sure how many, if any, potions were inside, but she didn’t have any other options, and Cross couldn’t wait.

Lena bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it, timing her step to coincide with the impact. Just as she’d suspected, the creature chased after it. Good.

Again. Again. Again. Until she was standing close enough to get a look at Cross’s gauntlet. Two vials. One white, one black. White for light, black for attack. One last rock helped her secure the vials, although by this point, the creature was in a frenzy, crawling and spinning around the cave as it hissed. It was now or never, she only hoped she could make it count.

Lena tried not to think of Cross’s warning when she’d asked him what might happen if the potions were combined. As quietly as she could, Lena uncorked both potions. Positioning them in one hand, she hurled the glass bottles at the creature and ducked.