Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 540(@250wpm)___ 450(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 540(@250wpm)___ 450(@300wpm)
We have neither such advantage. And the ratlings just keep coming and coming.
“Keep going,” Shikra calls out, bashing another ratling to the side. Another latches on to his leg. “We’re making headway down the tunnel!”
“Not enough,” Stork calls back, stabbing at one ratling that breaks past the others. He and Jay are still behind me, but they’re faltering. Stork is older, and Jay doesn’t have the stamina that a Taurian does.
Five hells, even Taurians aren’t enough to clear this tunnel. Buzzard had surged into battle with enthusiasm the moment we saw the first ratlings, but he’s gone quiet except for his heavy, labored breathing. Shikra has been using his shield to bash away the worst of them, and I’m grabbing ratlings and breaking necks, bashing heads against walls, and causing whatever damage I can. My goal is to prevent any ratlings from getting past me, but it’s an impossible task. Jay and Stork pick up the slack, but we’re all exhausted, and it feels as if the ratlings have been coming at us for hours with no sign of stopping. There’s sweat in my eyes—or it might be blood—and I’m covered all over in bites and scratches, but I keep going.
Because there’s no alternative. If we stop, even for a moment, we’ll get overwhelmed.
“Forward,” Buzzard manages to choke out, slinging another ratling off his arm as it bites at him. “Keep. Pushing. Forward.”
“Watch yourself,” I warn as three more ratlings get past him. Shikra grabs one, and I snag the other two off the floor. They squirm frantically in my grip, and I bash their heads together. Both go slack, and I toss them aside. “Too many are getting through.”
Buzzard doesn’t answer. He staggers, and then a moment later, he goes down. Immediately, more ratlings swarm him.
I bellow in outrage, hot fear racing through my veins. Surging forward, I drag Jay and Stork behind me as I move to Buzzard’s side. Shikra sidesteps, but he’s got so many ratlings on him that he can’t assist. I pull Buzzard back to his feet, flinging the child-sized ratlings away, only for new ones to scramble forward. We need a miracle from the gods at this point. We need—
A loud banging echoes in the tunnel. The ratlings scatter, red eyes shining as they retreat.
“What the muck was that?” Buzzard manages, leaning heavily on me. There isn’t a handspan of skin where he hasn’t been gouged or bitten, and he’s covered in blood. More worrisome are the wheezing breaths he takes. Ratlings are no longer than my forearm, and they can’t overtake a Taurian, but they’re vicious and use their claws and sharp teeth and can wear even the strongest bull down until he collapses. Buzzard is at that point, and there’s no safe spot for him to rest.
Before I can answer, the heavy clanging sound fills the tunnel again. And again. The ratlings shriek their terror and retreat, surging backward like a tide.
“Whatever it is, we need it to continue,” I say grimly. “Is there another team down here somewhere?”
“Doubtful,” says Stork, his face covered in sweat, his longer gray hair plastered to his skull as he wipes his knives clean of blood.
The clanging, echoing sound repeats, and it seems like it’s coming from the floor. As the ratlings scurry back, I take another step forward, letting Buzzard lean on me. It sounds right below our feet—
Not a handspan in front of my hooves, a pickaxe breaks through the stone floor.
“We’re through!” calls a man on the other side. “Thank the gods!”
A rescue!
“We’re coming over to you,” I bellow. Moving toward the hole, I see it’s not nearly big enough for a rescue. That can be quickly changed. I stomp on it with my hoof, and the rock crumbles a bit more, the hole opening wider. Below, I can see several human men in enforcer uniforms and holding pickaxes, their feet surrounded by broken rocks.
Shikra sees what I’m doing and moves to my side to assist. With the help of the pickaxes and our heavy hooves, the hole grows big enough for the humans to slip through. They untie from our lead, and Stork is the first one to go through, followed quickly by Jay. The hole needs to be widened a bit more before Buzzard’s heavy, limp form can be lowered through, and then it’s just me and Shikra on this side, while the ratlings watch from the nearby shadows, their eyes red and gleaming with anticipation.
“Hurry,” Shikra says. “You go first and I’ll follow through.”
Normally I’d protest, but I’ve got Gwenna waiting for me above, and I want to get back to her more than anything. I leap in, just as the ratlings jump on Shikra once more. He fights them off, stumbling toward the hole, and then jumps through, carrying three ratlings with him.