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His eyes widen as if he’s shocked that I’d speak to him that way, shocked I’d be angry at the idea of being possessed. Whatever humans he’s inhabited before probably thought it was an honor or some bullshit.
I don’t. My fingers curl into a fist, and the temptation to punch him rides me hard. Normally, I wouldn’t resist, but right now? He’s basically just told me that somehow I’m the fucking source of those ice knives, and if I lash out at him and accidentally hurt Chase, I’ll have defeated the whole fucking purpose of this rescue mission.
Silence slices through the space, sharp and potent as I glance back up at the monster again. The sandworm no longer has a single inch of fleshy pink skin. A thin crust of ice seems to be forming on him, making him glisten in the tiny shaft of morning light coming in through the barred window in this underground space.
He’s the second monster that has succumbed to ice since I entered this damn building. The first time, I thought a jewel dropped from my pouch and activated. This time, I know that’s not even a possibility, though I desperately wish it were. Air saws raggedly in and out of my chest as I stare up at this glittering beast that I somehow managed to glaciate.
“What the fuck is happening? I…I…I…” I can’t bring myself to finish the thought that’s now festering inside my brain, and I stare back down at my palms.
“You help her.” A soft mutter comes from Chase’s lips, and I glance up to see the wily look in his eyes gone, replaced by human confusion.
“What happened?” Chase’s tone changes completely.
How I can tell after just two words, I’m not sure, but I can. There’s a gruffness and confusion to it that wasn’t there before. His green eyes soften in concern, an emotion I’m pretty sure the Empty Man has never felt before a day in his existence.
My eyes have surely doubled in size as I stare down at my dirty fingertips as if they’re going to sprout spikes.
“I...I have a bag of jewels that takes out monsters,” I say softly, though I’ve already ruled the bag out.
There’s something else going on here.
Something very different.
Something I’m very sure I’m not going to like.
Something I don’t have time to think about.
The universe decides to deprive me of the possibility of a mental breakdown when the walls around us groan, and above us, a metal support beam bends inward. The sandworm must have damaged it.
Fuck.
The building’s about to go down.
Shit.
I run toward the door, but the sandworm’s mass is blocking it. Only a sliver of space as big as my head is clear at the top of thedoorjamb. I shove at the flabby beast, but its icy skin doesn’t bend or flex or roll underneath my hands, which just slide along the frozen surface. I can’t get the heavy bastard to move a single inch.
Did I escape one terrible death just to exchange it for another?
I want a fucking refund.
The metal I beam in the roof groans again and sinks a little farther toward our heads. I hear a grumbling crack and see a barrage of cement flecks flying from the ceiling along with a puff of dust.
We’re about to be buried alive in the rubble.
I turn a panicked look toward Chase, only to find he’s moved and is beside me. He’s hunched and breathing heavily, a hand cradling his ribs as if he’s in pain. But his eyes are sharp and scan the room as he too looks for a way out.
He finds one.
“We have to go down.” His tone is steady as he stares at the hole the sandworm chewed through the earth and the cement floor.
Along the beast’s ribbed back, there’s just enough space for us to try to slither down into its hole, a two-foot gap that would make anyone with the tiniest bit of claustrophobia tense up.
My throat tightens—not because I’m afraid of going underground, but the concept of being trapped without a light so far beneath the earth with absolutely zero idea when the tunnel will emerge back up on the surface terrifies me.
What if this tooth has larvae down there waiting to be fed?
But a crashing, crushing noise descends over us, smashes into my ears, shaking my eardrums painfully, and Chase shoves me at the hole.
