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The beast occupies a corner. Whatever lies beyond the bend is a mystery. My heart hammers, each beat pleading for the creature not to turn—and for another not to linger just out of sight.
We’ve just turned the bend when the feline sniffs the air, inhaling with the force of a vacuum. Its whiskers twitch. The great golden head turns in our direction, its gaping maw sporting teeth long and pointed as daggers.
“Shit,” I say.
Lysandir grabs my wrist and jerks me into a run. I stumble after, fast as I can go with his vice-like grip tugging me along. The way ahead is a honeycomb of rocky divots and caves. A sound like nails on a chalkboard sets my teeth on edge and scrapes against my mind as I sprint with all I have.
Several openings loom ahead.
“Which—” I say.
“No time.” Lysandir jerks me to him and dives for an opening on the ground.
The impact knocks the breath from my lungs. Something sharp scrapes against my leg.
Darkness swallows us.
Putrid air swarms my senses and has me coughing into the dusty space. Lysandir groans as he gets to his knees in the little cave. It’s so tight we can barely kneel.
I clamp my hands over my ears as the monster roars into the opening and swipes its claws along the stone. It dominates the exit, blocking the way out. Behind us—
Only stone. Shoot, shoot!
My heart skips a beat. “Galen!”
Chapter 21
Galenisn’tinherewith us. My skin goes clammy. Tears prick the corner of my eyes.
“Galen!” My shrill scream is met by another growl from the monster.
I grab Lysandir’s shoulders, all but shaking him. “What happened to him?”
He takes my face in his hands, far more gently than me. “I don’t know, but we have to get out of here.”
I suck in one breath after another, but it does nothing to calm me.
If is Galen hurt because of me, or worse…
“Back up. It’s going to get hot.” Lysandir shuffles toward the entrance. His words have barely registered before a bright glow fills our little cavern. Flames leap from his hands. The monster bellows and bounds away from the entrance.
Lysandir reaches back for me. Tendrils of flame vanish from his upturned palm. I take it, bracing for heat, but his hand is only pleasantly warm.
We skirt out the entrance, sticking to the wall. Another blast of fire from Lysandir has the monster backing up. Its long, rat-like tail swishes rocks across the ground at its back. The roar of the crowd is deafening as they cheer overhead, but I can barely hear them over the thump of my pulse.
“Up,” Lysandir says. “Quick.”
He has me in the air before I can get my bearings. I scramble onto the ledge, pulling up with all my strength as he gives me a shove from below. No sooner do I have a solid grasp on a rock than he lets me go, and I nearly fall backward. I yelp, straining onto the ledge as heat rushes below me. Another bellow from the beast follows. I twist around on the ledge as the monster shifts onto his hind legs. It’s backside wiggles.
“It’s going to jump!” I call.
A solid gust of wind crashes into its side, sending it skittering across the rocky ground.
I gasp, catching sight of a figure on some rocks to the left. My heart leaps. “Galen!”
Blood trickles down his face, but he’s alive and on his feet.
“Find a way through,” he calls before sending another blast at the creature, drawing its attention.
