Echoes of the Darsfiëre: The Stormfall Cycle Book Two by Marius H. Visser

Author:Marius H. Visser [Visser, Marius H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Drake Press
Published: 2024-03-28T00:00:00+00:00

21. A PAST UNSHARED

‘Danu is playing a dangerous game,’ Vernak mumbled, turning right and jogging with his slow gait, following the garden path. ‘It is forbidden to have these creatures roam freely in Tenthis.’

‘We should get off the path. They will hear us coming with this blasted gravel,’ replied Jorin, running just behind the god, hand clasped firmly in Tunisia’s.

‘We must not stray from the paths.’ As he spoke, a railing came into view, and he gripped it to turn left, the crackling and tearing of ground sounding as loose rocks and dirt crumbled away from the side of the floating garden, dropping through the mists to the lake far below. ‘We might plunge to our deaths if we are not vigilant.

‘There,’ said Vernak, pointing ahead of them. ‘The third span. This one is steep, so hang on to the sides.’

Dark figures hunted them, never straying far, their fast-moving ethereal forms whisking the surrounding mists in swirls, creating vortexes and eddies as a fleeting reminder of their existence. An eerie grating noise sounded on Jorin’s right, a flash of darkness moving through the blue mists. It’s so fast.

‘Watch out!’ Tunisia yelled, pushing Jorin down from behind, a scythe-like blade swooshing over his head moments before the creature crashed into him, hard, bony fingers digging into his side, nails tearing through clothes and skin.

He hit the ground, air exploding from his mouth, ribs aching, sword flying from his hands to skid over the grass, away from his reach. A foul odour blasted from the creature’s torn maw, covering Jorin’s face in a layer of slimy mucus that itched and burned his skin. Rotten teeth snapped at him while he pushed it away with his arm, keeping it at bay for a time while he squirmed back, kicking and punching for all he was worth.

Screams surrounded him, but he was unsure if they were his own or someone else’s. Filthy fingers gripped his throat and started squeezing the life from him, his eyes feeling like they were bulging from his head, ready to pop at any moment. Gurgles of pleas escaped his mouth, begging the creature to stop, but it only smiled wider, its one dead eye not turning with the other as it searched Jorin’s face, a sense of pleasure sounding from it.

Strange noises that could have been a language flowed from its lipless mouth, teeth snapping and clicking away. While it berated Jorin in its foul tongue, he searched its body with his hand, palm gliding down the slimy breasts and ribcage, feeling a broken rib protruding from the creature’s torso, the ends gnarled like something had been chewing on it. Jorin reached for it and hooked two fingers around the end. He started pulling with everything he had, bending the rib further and further, tearing it through its flesh until it snapped in his hand. The creature screamed in pain, and Jorin was all too happy that it could sense pain at all. He had begun worrying that it was not capable of feeling – or dying.

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