Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
He glanced at the darkness at the other end of the bridge. She had come this way. Just her and the dog. Without weapons, without food or water. How did she manage it?
“We found something,” Samantha said at his side.
He almost fell off the damn bridge. There were twenty yards between him and the side passage she came from, and he neither heard her nor saw her approach.
The phantom ranger tilted her head to look at his face. “Are you alright?”
“Yes.” Make some damn noise next time. “What did you find?”
“A doohicky. Leo wants you to see it.”
Elias followed her through the tunnels to a narrow side passage. A strange disk hung in the center of it. A dial of some sort made of concentric circles carved from bone or ivory with circles gouged in the rims. Leo stood next to it, pondering the dial.
Elias stopped next to him. “What is this?”
“It’s a forcefield,” Samantha told him.
Leo raised his hand. A thin tendril of lightning snaked from his fingertips and licked the space around the dial. A wall of light flashed, sealing off the tunnel, and vanished.
“Carver touched it,” Leo said. “It zapped him. Stopped his heart.”
“Is he okay?” Elias asked.
“He’s fine,” Leo said. “Jackson was right there, so he brought him back. Carver said it was the worst pain he ever felt. I tried overloading it, but it eats energy like it’s nothing.”
There were only two reasons to have a forcefield block the tunnel: to keep something from getting out or to keep them from getting in.
Elias pulled his sword off his back. Leo and Samantha backed away.
He concentrated on the blade. A pale red glow slicked the adamant sword, and vanished, sucked into it. The weapon turned translucent. A familiar feedback hummed against his hand, as if he was holding onto the rail of a rope bridge while people marched across it and the impact of their footsteps reverberated into his fingers.
Elias swung. The massive blade sliced through the barrier. The two halves of the dial clattered onto the rock, split in half.
Elias walked into the passageway. It opened into a roughly rectangular cavern about twenty-five yards long and roughly half as wide. Veins of jubar stone crisscrossed the ceiling and the walls, illuminating the rocky walls and floor. At the far wall, a creature sprawled on the ground. It raised its head, and he realized he was looking at a smaller version of the dead cat they found in the anchor chamber.
The feline beast stared at him with big green eyes. It was sturdy, with a broad squarish frame that reminded him of a jaguar or maybe a lynx, except it was the size of a cow. Dense fur sheathed it, rippling with black and red.
The two of them looked at each other from across the chamber.
The imbued energy in his sword would dissipate soon. If he was going to strike, now would be the time.
The cat made a noise. It sounded almost plaintive. It didn’t move.
“It’s tame,” Samantha said by his left ear.
Damn it. “Samantha, stop sneaking up on me.”
“The cat is tame.”
“What makes you say that?” Leo came up on his right.
“It has a collar.”
He saw it now, a metal collar wrapping around the cat’s neck. Something hung from it, some kind of metal device. Someone had locked this creature in the chamber. He didn’t see any food or water. It was probably thirsty and starving.
Elias sheathed his sword, pulled a canteen off his belt, opened it, and let a little water run out.
The cat rose jerkily, stumbled, and sat, holding its front paw off the ground. A deep cut split the flesh. Something with a very sharp blade had nearly sliced through the limb.
“Awww, it’s hurt,” Samantha said. “It’s very weak, Elias, and very, very thirsty. It’s been locked here for a while.”
The cat whined softly. It wanted water. Elias could practically feel the desperation rolling from it.
“A tiger’s paw swipe is estimated to generate over ten thousand pounds of force,” Leo said.
“So?” Samantha asked.
“This thing is three times larger. It’s dangerous.”
“One of us is a phantom ranger with a feral discernment skill that lets her evaluate breach monsters, and the other one is you. Elias, that cat is at the end of its rope.”
Elias crossed the cavern. Both Samantha and Leo followed, keeping a bit of distance. The ranger’s tactical crossbow was in her hands and Leo’s eyes had gone white.
The cat watched them come, its big green eyes sad.
Elias pulled off his helmet, poured the water into it, and offered it to the cat. The big beast crouched and lapped the water out of the helmet with a wide pink tongue. Its fangs were the size of Elias’ fingers.
“What a nice kitty,” Samantha said.
“This is a terrible idea,” Leo said.
“We should get Jackson to heal it,” Samantha said.