Good enough.
Using both hands, she closed her eyes and shoved fistfuls of dirt into Dana’s face, grinding it brutally in. Dana let go as she reared back with a shriek and tried to knock Cass’s hands away. Cass bucked hard, throwing Dana off of her. Sucking air into her aching lungs, she rolled to her hands and knees then her pushed herself to her feet. Unsteady, coughing, she started toward Dana, who was standing, wiping at her face. Cass made it a couple of steps before the ground rolled again, and a panicked shout turned her attention behind her.
A slab of broken concrete hurtled in her direction. Instinctively, Cass dropped flat, arms over her head, as she waited for it to hit. There was a rush of air then a sickening thud.
She lowered her arms and turned to see where it had gone. Her stomach pitched. The concrete lay in pieces around the still, bloodied form of Dana. There was no time to process what had happened because the floor continued to roll, cracks spreading and widening, turning the once flat cement floor into a shifting pit of unnatural quicksand.
“Cassandra!”
She heard her name and saw her mother still bound to the damn chair and surrounded by broken concrete and boiling earth. “Mom!”
“Help!”
Cass scrambled up and ran toward her. The ground kept shifting, the noise ominous, and portions rose up like cement waves, so she had to dodge and weave. She could see Grayson fighting with the earth mage, magic heavy in the air, but had no way to help him. She jumped a widening gap where cement sank into the dirt and disappeared. She reached her mom, who lay on her side, still strapped to the chair. Around them, the ground kept crumbling, forming a pit. Cass started in on the rope at Rhea’s ankles, but when the strands remained suspiciously solid instead of fraying, she realized they had been reinforced with magic. Her heart pounded, and panic clawed at her. She studied the way the wooden legs were screwed into the chair’s base and knew the only way to get her mom free was to destroy it.
“The chair, Mom!”
Her mother’s dirt-streaked, bruised face turned to her. “What?”
“The chair,” Cass repeated, standing up and searching for something she could use to help. “I have to break the chair.” She found a fist-sized chunk of concrete and grabbed it.
Comprehension replaced Rhea’s dazed expression, and she stopped moving. “Okay, okay. Do it.”
With the pit closing in, Cass pounded at the chair. The wood cracked and split and finally gave way. She and her mom got Rhea’s hands free. They were working on her legs when an unearthly howl screamed through the room. A whirlwind of dirt erupted into violent life, picking up debris and adding it to the rock, dirt, and choking dust. The nightmarish twister tore through the open space, creeping closer and closer to Cass and her mom as the walls of the house shuddered and groaned.
Cass tried to ignore the twister and the pit as she lifted her concrete and, with a hoarse yell, slammed it down on the chair. With a crack, the last piece gave way. She was helping her mom claw free of broken wood and rope when something sharp sliced across her shoulders. With a pained hiss she looked up and realized they were out of time. The leading edge of the twister filled with lethal debris swirled through the air, and the pit around them had widened, eating the floor and trapping them in the path of the screaming dirt storm. Cass dove for her mom and curled awkwardly around her. She closed her eyes as the edge of the whirlwind hit, and her back and arms lit up with stinging bites. Behind her closed lids, an amber light danced while the storm intensified, filling the air with angry shrieks, turning those bites into gnawing agony. Unable to do anything else, Cass buried her face in her mom’s hair and prayed.
Someone must have been listening, because after a few terrifying moments, the storm shut off as if a switch had been thrown. Her death grip on her mom loosened, and she lifted her head to see Grayson sink a vicious kick into the earth mage’s gut. She barely registered her mom pulling away.
Then Rhea’s face filled her vision. “Cassandra, get up!”
Snapped out of her strange daze, Cass shoved herself to her feet and then helped Rhea up. Her mom leaned heavily into her as they stared at the widening pit. The ring of violently churning earth was about three feet wide and growing.
“Can you jump that?” Cass asked her mother.
“Yes.”
“Then go!”
Her mom took a stumbling jump, and Cass held her breath until Rhea landed on her hands and knees on the other side. Then it was Cass’s turn. She pushed off, cleared the ring, and felt the jarring impact as her feet hit the uneven ground on the other side. She’d barely caught her balance when the air shifted and another dirt storm burst into life. Cass grabbed for her mom, found her hand, and pulled her in until she could wrap an arm around Rhea’s waist. They stumbled forward as the symphony of creaks and groans intensified, and Cass wondered if they were about to be buried in this damn house from hell.
With eyes narrowed against the whirling dust and grit, she could barely see. Her foot hit something heavy, sending it skittering across the floor. The storm paused, and she caught a glimpse of Grayson’s gun and, just beyond it, the hall that led to the front door. Without letting go of her mom, she grabbed the gun and turned to search for Grayson.
She found him just as he took a nasty hit that had him reeling back and tripping over the Slider’s body. Off-balance, Grayson fell back. His head hit the ground with a thud. With an enraged roar, the earth mage raised the two-by-four over his head, his intent clear.
Cass didn’t think, just reacted. She brought the gun up, aimed at the earth mage, and pulled the trigger in a quick one-two shot. For a breathless moment, she thought she’d missed. The earth mage stumbled back, dropping the two-by-four, a hand raised his shoulder. He turned, his face a mask of fury, and took a step toward her. A burst of dark amber wrapped around his legs. There was a sickening crunch followed by the earth mage’s agonized howl, and he dropped like a tree.
Grayson pushed himself to his feet. “Cass, you good?”
“I think so.” She lowered the gun, the muscles in her arms quivering. “You?”
“I’m good.” He looked at her mom. “Rhea?”
“I’m breathing,” the older woman said as she leaned against Cass.
The ground rolled under their feet. Grayson spun to the earth mage, and the amber bindings flared. Another crunch sounded, followed by a thin scream. “Keep it up, and I won’t stop at your legs, asshole.”
“Fuck you.” What was supposed to be a curse emerged as a whimper.
