A Stone Eater erupted into the tunnel.
The great serpent slithered toward us fast.
Its razoring approach stabbed at my eardrums. Stone scraping stone. Rock cracking rock. The ground bucked beneath me. I flung my arms wide, fighting to stay upright.
“Move, Mela, move!” I roared, shoving at her.
The stone eater’s scales flared outward, resembling the edge of a saw, and segments of its skin rotated like metal teeth to bore through rock. It filled the entire width of the tunnel, its basalt-gray hide pitted and ancient as the earth itself. Enormous slanted eyes fixed on us, a forked tongue flicking out.
Mela took off, and I was right behind her.
We tore down the never-ending tunnel, the ground trembling under the beast’s harrowing approach.
Faster, faster,faster.
But the stone eater was swifter.
Fine stone and dust coated my armor, clinging to my sweaty face, gritting my teeth. “It’s gaining on us!” I was one heartbeat away from snatching up Mela and throwing her over my shoulder when the Uzrek roared,“Kill it!”
“Kill it?!”I replied, aghast.
“Yes. Now. In this tunnel!”he urged.
“How the hells am I supposed to kill it?!” This time I hadn’t replied mentally, I’d unintentionally spoken out loud.
“You’re right. We do!” Mela shouted back. “We need a cavern. Somewhere we can fight it!”
The tunnels were too narrow to use our swords. My fingertips itched to snatch up a cursed grenade, but we couldn’t use explosives. Anything incendiary would tip off Yezekael we were down here hunting it and possibly cave the whole tunnel in.
There…there…
Fucking finally…
Ahead of us was a crossing of tunnels.
“There’s a junction dead ahead, about 70 yards,” I yelled to Mela.
“Which way?”I asked the Uzrek as I raced through the gloom.
A second later Mela tossed over her shoulder, “We use it!”
“What?!”
“We split up and take either side of the junction!” She reached behind her neck to grip the hilt of her adamere sword. The dark blade whistled through the air as she drew the weapon, and a violent crack of sparks showered as the honed edge struck the tunnel’s ceiling. I threw up an arm, ducking my head as I ran through stinging heat scattering wide. “How’s that wyrmblade of yours?!”
A slender flame of hope warmed my blood when I understood her plan.“Okay, okay…”
Shit, yes, that could work.
On we ran, desperate to reach the crossing of tunnels.
The ferocious buzzing noise of shredding stone grew louder.
The beast’s hot, reeking breath washed out in a cloud of noxious fumes and shoved a burning path down my throat.
A massive quake erupted.
And the din of splitting rock cleaved the filthy air apart.
