Fortune's Favorite (Soulbound Journeys Book 2) by C. L. Schneider

Author:C. L. Schneider [Schneider, C. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ian Troy

After hours of labor in the humid jungle, my body wasn’t thrilled with the sprint. Though my aching muscles bothered me less than how much I was missing, speeding by the ancient structures. Not that I had a choice. The place was vast. I’d already lost sight of the villagers, as we all rushed deeper into the maze of fallen structures. Like Leda wanted.

I ignored the ominous thought and took a sharp right turn, following a flash of color that might have been Meri’s headscarf. It disappeared into one of the many tunnels. The shaft was dark, peppered with tiny points of light from holes in the roadway above. I ducked in the entrance. The passage was long, littered with weeds and debris. When I emerged, I noticed a change, like the tunnel was meant to separate contrasting neighborhoods.

The buildings on this side were larger and statelier, constructed in angular shapes with heavy, smooth-edged stones, jutting balconies and wide steps leading up to vaulted entryways. Many were without all four walls. I glanced inside one as I jogged by, finding chipped spiral patterns on the floor and remnants of tiered seating,

A commotion filtered through the streets, a crashing or clattering sound.

Someone screamed. Meri.

I traded my short sword for the obsidian blade and raced ahead.

The source of the crash was easily identified: a tall building with half a roof and large holes in two walls. Time had compromised the roof. An invasive yellow ivy had grown to cover its rough edges. The walls, however, had been recently penetrated with great force. Dust from the intrusion still lingered in the air.

It was quiet. Bright sun shone through the busted roof. The weeds surrounding the building were topped with purple flowers, painting a nice, serene picture—if not for the sharp odor of blood wafting out from inside.

I stepped through the closest hole with a grimace, eyeing the thick puddle of remains on the floor. There was splatter, but the pile of clumped tissue and bits of organs, pieces of cloth and bloody strands of hair, was relatively neat. A viscous fluid dripped off the single boot sitting upright in the carnage. Its size confirmed my suspicions. “Meri. Goddammit.”

Her sword lay nearby, snapped in half.

“That’s…not possible.”

It would have taken tremendous pressure to break a blade strengthened by magic. Yet, I had a more pressing concern. There was no sign of her body and not enough insides on the floor to fill one. Whatever killed Meri was large, strong enough to punch through stone, and brutal. Hungry. And we were five juicy meals walking all over its territory.

I checked outside around the holes. The grass was flattened in both areas, but only one was dotted with beads of red. Meri must have gotten in a strike before it killed her. I tracked the droplets of blood, losing and finding the trail a few times, before exiting one of the tunnels and skidding to a halt. Shock stole my breath at the sight in the street ahead.

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