Ella and the Elementals by Andrew S. French

Author:Andrew S. French
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Neonoir Books

12 THE PRIORY

Vanishing from one place and then reappearing in another was a strange sensation. Ella’s guts churned like jelly in a microwave and something dry gripped the back of her throat. There were bright lights everywhere, but she stared through the illumination and gazed at her hands. The stink of gasoline made her nose wince.

I’m not shaking.

She didn’t have time to appreciate what that meant before a horn screamed in her ears. Ella peered through the light as the ten-tonne truck hurtled towards her. She stood in the middle of a motorway as death raced forward. Ella clutched at her chest and gasped for breath.

The sickness overcame her once more as she disappeared again. It was dark when she landed, her feet sloshing through swamp water and mud. She breathed slowly, her hands touching leaves and branches either side of her. An aroma of Palma violets lingered in the air as oppressive heat settled over Ella’s body. Pinpricks of light blinked in the gloom.

She took two seconds to realise the lights were eyes staring at her: inhuman eyes.

‘Ella, are you there?’

Billy’s voice cut through the murk. She felt better for hearing him.

‘I can’t see you, Billy.’

The animal eyes were like a cluster of stars in the night sky. And some of them were getting closer to her.

‘Where are we?’ His fear was clear to her.

‘I don’t know, but we’re not alone.’

Anger gripped her heart, irritation at her stupidity for trusting the witch. Billy was silent as low rumbling growls accompanied those animal eyes. Insects fluttered around her face and she tried to swat them away. Her legs inched backwards through the mud. The heat was unbearable, sweeping down on her like a blanket created from the sun.

‘I can see you, Ella. I’m on your left.’

Moonlight burst through the trees, and she followed his voice to the side. He sat in a tree like Tarzan and she grinned at the sight. She’d be safe up there if she could climb quickly enough.

Before she could do anything, something pounced on her. She fell backwards, pinned to the ground by something little and hairy. Ella’s reflexes kicked in, her hand reaching up and grabbing fur and flesh between her fingers. Whatever the animal was, it was small and she threw it off her.

Some of its companions crept towards her as an aroma of wet fuzz and fiery breath washed over Ella’s face. She wanted to gag as the pinpricks of light grew into balls of fire and jumped at her.

Billy yelled as Ella vanished again.

Water was gushing down her throat when she reappeared. Seawater flowed into her nose, her ears, and stopped her from screaming. Gravity pulled at her legs as she sank further beneath the waves. Something large and scaly brushed past her as Ella struggled against the damp weight forcing her further and further underwater. She tried to breathe, arms grappling at the liquid engulfing her. Her lungs filled as her mind drifted. She descended into the abyss as everything went dark and the cold cut through her skin and into her bones.

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