Graysen
Darkness streamed by in a haze of black.
Mela and I hurtled through the tunnel, the rocky floor jittering beneath our feet. Brittle bones cracked underfoot, shards skittering into the gloom.
A horrifying noise filled the passageway, drowning everything out. A thunderous, gravelly noise—an earthquake rumbling through a vast mountain range.
“Faster, Mela. Faster!” I bellowed to my friend running ahead.
Mela was flagging. It felt like we’d been running forever. I inched forward, about to scoop her up over my shoulder and streak faster through the rabbit warren of tunnels. As if Mela sensed what I was about to do, pride had her barking at me in between puffing gasps. “Don’t you dare! I swear to Brangwene, Gray…I’ll never speak to you again…if you carry me out of here!”
“Then move faster. It’s coming for us!” I roared. Glistening rock trembled all around us as something utterly terrifying chased us down.
Mela and I hadn’t been following the old tracks for long before a creature that should never have been disturbed…was. And not by us.
The Uzrek had set it upon us.
A gigantic beast that chewed through rock like soft butter now hunted us through the uncharted catacombs. All we could do was run and keep running, hoping to lose the beast or find a place wide enough to fight it.
Ahead of me, Mela’s flashlight wove erratically through the darkness, but I could see further with my night vision. We were fast approaching a fork in the tunnel. Left or right?
“Left,”said the Uzrek, speaking into my mind with its hollow, ancient voice.“Turn onto the left fork.”
“Go left, Mela!” I shouted as we reached the fork.
She veered sideways, and I followed right behind.
Both of us charged down the passageway. As for why the Uzrek was helping usnow, I had no fucking idea. It very well might lead us purposely to a dead end.
“Such little faith,”murmured the Uzrek, amusement dancing in his tone.
The godsdamned monster could read my thoughts as easily as leafing through my memories.“You can’t blame me,”I mentally snapped back.“You’re the one who disturbed the serpent and sent it after us.”
A rough chuckle.“Perhaps, spinner of deceit, the beast’s hunt serves a purpose.”
My stomach plummeted when I realized we were running down a long, straight tunnel. It seemed endless, a single length of passageway with no way out, andif…
If we were running toward a dead end, we were fucked.
A gigantic quake rocked the tunnel.
The stone floor undulated and tossed us about.
Mela pitched sideways, about to slam into the pitted wall. I lunged and caught her arm before she hit.
“Holy shit,” she gasped. Both of us wobbled, teetering this way and that. A horrifying grinding noise had our gazes whipping upward. The craggy ceiling convulsed overhead, threatening to cave in. Twisting around, I almost regretted looking back the moment my gaze landed on where we’d come.
The tunnel’s end wall exploded like a quarry blast.
An ear-shattering detonation BOOMED.
Fat chunks of rock scattered outward.
And a cloud of dust billowed through the narrow space, the filthy plume engulfing us completely.
We threw up our arms as a shield, spinning away. Grime clogged my airway, and I hacked for breath, wheezing as the dust faded. I half-turned to look over my shoulder.
Terror lodged itself in my throat, barbed and vicious.
