Aladdin Relighted (The Aladdin Trilogy Book 1) by J.R. Rain & Piers Anthony

Author:J.R. Rain & Piers Anthony [Rain, J.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-03-02T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

The cave turned into another tunnel, and at the far end of the tunnel we could see bright light. Glorious bright light.

We picked up our pace, wary for any other subterranean creatures, but, alas, the ogre was the last of them.

Shortly, the tunnel opened onto a sheer cliff. I pulled up short, gasping, and reaching back to stop Jewel from bumping into me, although, normally, such contact wouldn’t have been a bad thing. In this case, it could have been fatal.

“What is it?” she asked, and stepped cautiously next to me.

We both stood at the tunnel’s end, looking down into a misty void. What lay below was most certainly death, or something close to it. What lay before us was only hinted at: the broken remnants of a destroyed bridge. Unfortunately, between us and the end of the broken bridge was about fifty feet of nothing.

No, not quite nothing. Something screeched from below. I looked down, and up from the mist rose a spectacular winged creature, rising so quickly that I would have had my head bitten off by its long, scissor-like beak if not for Jewel yanking me back into the tunnel. The beast rushed past the cave opening in a blur of red and gold feathers, its bony beak snapping. Wind thundered over us, created by the creature’s powerful downdraft. If there was anything positive about facing a massive and horrific winged creature, it was that it was too massive for the cave itself. Instead, we caught glimpses of it circling outside, emerging in and out of view, and in and out of the swirling mist.

“By Alla, someone doesn’t want us to leave,” I said.

“Which is why Zeyn never expected us to take this route. And if we were foolish enough to do so, he would assume we could never survive.”

Seeing what lay before us, I was beginning to see the folly in this plan. Still, we were too far now to go back.

“What do you suggest?” I asked.

“Perhaps the winged creature has a hook in its beak, as well.”

I looked sideways at Jewel and saw the small smirk on her face. I reached out and took her by the waist and pulled her toward me. She went willingly. “You pick a fine time to jest.”

“And you pick a fine time to hold me close,” she countered, and she lay a long-fingered hand over my forearm. Her touch was blessedly warm and comforting.

We looked at each other for a long moment. Perhaps if we were in our mortal realm, we would have felt the pressure to find and save her son in time, but here, in Djinnland, we were out of time, so to speak.

And as her hand slid up my forearm, I was struck with an idea.

“We are still in Djinnland!” I said. Indeed, I could sense my heightened form weighing down on my knees and lower back.

She nodded. “No one ever said King Aladdin was a fool.”

“No, I mean, yes, but if we are Djinnland we can still diffuse.

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