He repeated, “Eye-level. I’ll duck.”
She huffed in response, no doubt hating how much trust she had to place in him for this to work.
Carefully, Dominic stepped deeper into the cave, leaving Adara behind him. It took everything in him not to turn around, to run back to her and make sure she was safe. The air chilled around him, making the hair on his arms stand up. Before the Whisperer could sneak up on him again, he whirled on the presence to his left, dagger slashing out wildly. The familiar resistance of his blade cutting through flesh and sinew had pride surging through him. The thing shrieked, its high-pitched scream resounding through the cavern. Though Dominic wanted nothing more than to cover his ears to block that horrid sound of its pain, he didn’t stop there. It was too dark to see what he was doing, but he felt the knife cut through flesh. Warm liquid sprayed on his hand, and he knew he’d given the Whisperer a deep, possibly fatal wound. It screamed again, sounding like a dozen children being tormented. The noise made Dominic shudder.
Then the sound halted, and the air stilled. It wasn’t dead, not yet. His dagger hadn’t struck a vital organ—if the thing even had organs. It would have taken longer for the Whisperer to bleedout. It must have run off, buying them some time to gather their composure.
“Light it up, love,” Dominic said loudly enough for Adara to hear, wherever she was in this enormous cave. Her only response was a wave of fire, blindingly bright against the darkness. Dominic ducked, covering his eyes as the flames soared overhead, striking the wall. Then it was gone. The sconces ignited, bringing the entire cavern to life.
When he removed his hands from his shielded eyes and rose to full height, his heart skipped a beat at the sight of the spindly creature. A shout rang from his lips.
“On your left!” he warned, a desperate cry as the Whisperer charged at Adara.
The ancient being was much more terrifying in the light, and suddenly, Dominic wished they’d stayed in the dark. Its leathery gray skin that clung tightly to its skeletal body was a blur as it lunged for Adara, but she’d heard his warning in time. Turning to defend herself, her sword arced overhead, coming down in one clean swipe. Its dagger-like talons didn’t even get the chance to claw her before she sliced clean through its withered arm. Black blood sprayed from the wound.
The Whisperer screeched as its severed limb clattered to the ground, landing atop a pile of bones. Rotten flesh still clung to some of them. The smell of carrion was more potent than before. The stone walls and floor were stained dark crimson—dried blood from the fools who’d sought the Whisperer. Dominic silently swore that his and Adara’s bones would not be added to the carnage.
The Whisperer swiped at Adara again with a claw-tipped hand. She must have sensed its movement because she grabbed its spindly arm, spun so her back was to its chest, and elbowed it hard in its pointed nose. The bone crunched beneath her blow, and before the blood even began flowing from its broken nose,Adara yanked its arm over her shoulder, using it as leverage to toss its body over her. The Whisperer slammed into the pile of flesh and bones with a grunt. She kept hold of its arm, twisting it until it snapped.
Dominic let out a breath, impressed with how she just disarmed an ancient creature with such ease . . . blindfolded.
It shrieked again. Then its bones snapped back into place and its arm regrew. Dominic swore.
“What?” Adara asked.
There had been no information in any of the books he’d read about its healing capabilities. “It can regenerate,” he informed her.
It scrambled toward Adara on its hands and knees. Grabbing her ankle, it jerked her feet out from under her. She let out a yelp as she fell. Dominic lunged forward with the intent to catch her—
Her head hit the ground with a thud.
She groaned, lifting a hand to the back of her head, but didn’t get up.
Dominic grabbed the Whisperer by its ankle, dragging it away from Adara as it clawed at her. The high-pitched noise from its talons scraping against stone had him wincing. Its bones, old and brittle beneath his grasp, were easy to break as he snapped its ankle, still dragging it across the blood-caked floor.
It hissed, finally turning its attention to him. Dominic made sure to avoid its eyes. Instead, his gaze landed on the Whisperer’s sharp, jagged teeth, stained with dried blood, bared at him in a warning.
Look at me,it whispered, mouth not even moving.
He felt its breath in his head, like it was speaking within his brain. Its claws scraped at his mind, trying to dig their way deeper inside.
A monster will understand a monster,the voice hissed.
Dominic winced as the claws raked harder. It felt like his mind was about to be torn apart from the inside.
Let me have a peek.
Stinging pain shot through his head so harsh that he let go of the Whisperer’s leg in one hand, dropped his knife in the other, and staggered back in agony with his palms pressed to his temples.
“Are you all right?” Adara’s voice cut through the Whisperer’s like a tether of light cast into the shadows of his mind.
He gripped it tightly, and it drew him back to her. Risking a glance in her direction, he saw her tentatively push herself to her feet, head swiveling side to side as if searching for him, forgetting she was blindfolded. Her lips parted to speak, but she quickly closed them. He guessed she had almost said his name to get his attention.
He opened his mouth to answer, but only a pained groan escaped as the Whisperer grasped for his mind again. The pressure was so immense that he felt like his brain would implode. Stumbling back, Dominic slammed into the wall, the icy stone seeping into his skin. The wounds on his abdomen screamed at the impact.
Adara lifted her hand to the cloth covering her eyes, fingers grasping at the knot at the back of her head.
“Don’t!” Dominic yelled, voice strained as the Whisperer continued probing his mind.
