The sound of legs scrabbling over stone behind him marked the spiritstriders’ entry into the cavern. Their voices rose in a frenzy; they were a pack of predators certain that they had cornered their prey.
Clenching his jaw, Urkot threw himself forward.
CHAPTER 27
As Urkot reached the incline,Callie made a grave mistake. She looked backward.
Her heart lodged in her throat, and her fingers dug into the hide of Urkot’s abdomen.
Not a single ray of sunshine from above reached this far down, but the diffused light was enough to allow her to see the spiritstriders clearly. She counted six pale monsters rushing down the short drop and gliding over the debris, which had given Urkot so much trouble, like phantoms unimpeded by the corporeal world.
And they were gaining. Fast.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
She faced forward, uncertain of whether she’d thought those words or muttered them under her breath.
Muscles straining, Urkot raced up the slope, leaning forward and using his hands to climb as the path grew steeper.
Behind them, the spiritstriders had finally ceased their terrifying clicking. But it was no comfort to Callie.
Her heart raced, her breath was ragged, her left calf throbbed with a deep ache, and her stomach flipped and churned. Even holding so tightly to Urkot, she was trembling.
Adrenaline was likely the only thing keeping agony at bay, the only thing keeping her conscious and functioning. Well, that and sheer terror, but the two were closely related.
Callie looked up. They were so close to the freedom they’d sought, so close to escape. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel, couldn’t be…
And if it was, it could go fuck itself. She and Urkot would make their own damn fate.
Stone scraped beneath Urkot’s claws and legs as he scrambled higher, half crawling. The opening was getting closer.
Suddenly, he pitched forward, coming down hard on his arms with a grunt and jolting Callie. She gasped, finding herself practically lying on his back, her pack heavy on her shoulders.
Something had snagged him.
She looked back again.
A spiritstrider held one of Urkot’s hind legs, its claws buried in his hide. The pale vrix opened its mouth, spread its pincers wide, and snarled, its beady black eyes looking directly at Callie.
Oh, God.
The spiritstrider’s companions raced up just behind it, clacking their pincers and growling like ravenous beasts.
Dragging himself onward, Urkot shook and kicked his leg. He dragged the spiritstrider along with him despite its struggles. But Urkot’s pace had definitely slowed.
Rocks tumbled down the slope, their clatter echoing through the cavern.
Another spiritstrider vaulted over the first, launching itself at Callie. She cried out and ducked her face against Urkot’s back. A heavy weight came down on her bag and yanked back on it. Her shoulders strained as she clutched Urkot’s middle, battling that frighteningly powerful pull.
She had to get the bag off. Had to, or she’d be ripped right off her mate to become the spiritstriders’ next meal.
Urkot snarled and bucked his hindquarters, but he could not dislodge the unwanted passengers. Callie felt the pull on her bag strengthening. She squeezed her legs around Urkot’s waist, gritting her teeth against the fresh, hot wave of agony in her calf. Her grip would not last long.
“My bag, Urkot!”
His lower arm clamped down on her legs, his big hand closing on her left ankle. “Have you,nyleea.”
That grip was crushing, painful, unbreakable, and she trusted it—trusted him—more than anything else in all the universe.
