Oath of Honor by Radclyffe

Author:Radclyffe [Radclyffe]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: ! Yes
ISBN: 9781602826717
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2012-07-17T05:00:00+00:00

chapter eighteen

The world spun crazily upside down. The light flickered rapidly

and finally blinked out and all that was left was cold. Only

pain and blood-stopping cold. Unseen hands dragged Wes deeper

beneath the icy mantle, into a blackness that extinguished the last

glimmer of illumination. Instinctively, she held her breath, struggling

to orient herself in the surreal landscape of shock and panic. Her left

arm wouldn’t obey her. She kicked and flailed but her water-filled boots

and sodden jeans weighed her down. Up and down held no meaning—

she revolved in a world without substance. Her animal brain fled from

the freezing darkness, away from the primeval terror engulfing her.

Primitive reflexes kicked in, and she fought to return to the last place

she’d felt light and heat. The surface.

She struggled upward, her chest burning, the pain so huge she

hungered to suck in air to soothe the flames. She clamped her teeth

shut, finally recognizing the water that entombed her, water that would

provide no air, only sudden and swift death. With only her right arm

and her clumsy legs to power her, she flailed and kicked and writhed

her way toward the shimmer of light penetrating the gloom. Despair

squeezed her throat closed.

She wasn’t going to make it. Too far, too cold, too much pain.

Blood thundered in her ears, her heart crashed wildly against the

crushing pressure in her chest. Another second and instinct would

overrule reason. She had to breathe. Breathe and end the torture.

Fury washed through her. She would not surrender. Her mind

hazed, confusion dulled her senses. The cold bored deep inside her and

bloomed into heat, suffusing her with blissful warmth. Another few

• 145 •

RADCLY fFE

seconds and the fear began to abate. She stopped thrashing. The vise

around her chest tightened, and her battle slowed. Her arms and legs

were so heavy. The sea—warmer now—enclosed her, streaming past

her face like gentle fingers caressing her, welcoming her. She was so

close to falling asleep, the cold forgotten.

A frigid blast of air hit her in the face and someone yelled into her

ear, “Breathe, damn it. Breathe!”

Wes jerked and sucked in a lungful of air. She coughed and life

returned to her arms and legs. Pins and needles shot into her fingers and

toes. A knife blade of slicing pain pierced her chest. The cold returned

with a vengeance. Enemies grasped at her, threatening to pull her back

into the dark. She thrashed.

“Wes, it’s Evyn! Don’t fight me.”

The darkness disappeared, gray sky flashed overhead. An arm

gripped her chest—Evyn. Evyn was towing her. Evyn was not the

enemy. Wes tried to kick her legs, but she couldn’t move.

“Almost there,” Evyn panted, her breath sounding harsh and

labored. “Wes, keep breathing.”

Wes sucked in another breath, coughed again. Her throat burned.

“Evyn, what—”

“It’s okay, we’re almost to the boat.” Evyn’s voice was strained,

tremulous.

The water was so cold. The shore was a distant blur. A whirlpool

pulled at her legs. Riptide. Evyn’s grip on her slipped, and Evyn

cursed.

“You’ve got to hold on to me,” Evyn shouted. “The current is

against us.”

“Don’t let me pull you down.” Wes tried to force her lethargic

limbs to move. “I can swim.”

“Shut up, Wes,” Evyn grunted. “I’m not letting you go.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.