Kings and Bones: A Northgall Novella by Juliette Cross

Author:Juliette Cross [Cross, Juliette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

MURGHA

I froze, more from the deadly tone of his voice than his command. He removed another stone, more gray light spilling through the crevice above into the pit where I'd fallen. That’s when I saw what I was sitting upon.

Scattered and broken, some still with flesh clinging to them, I had fallen into a den of bones. A predator’s den. They weren’t the remnants of deer or boar or other large prey. They were the skulls, legs, arms, and wings of dead fae. One of the skulls, completely white with two giant spiraling horns, was that of a beast fae. The jaw was open in a soundless scream.

But not even that was what had my heart pumping hard with fear. There was something foul filling this space, a dark essence that awakened my magick with a burning sensation blazing through my veins. It hurt. I whimpered.

“I can’t breathe,” I whispered to myself, my chest rising and falling so quickly I began to feel dizzy.

“I’m coming!” Vallon shouted from overhead, removing another stone from the opening.

Then a low, sinister rumble filled the cavern. In the deep shadows, four eyes glowed silver in the dark.

“Murgha, listen to me.” Vallon’s voice was deep and urgent. “Do not move. It will not be able to see you if you don’t move. He can smell you, but my shield will confuse his senses.”

I didn’t ask what he meant. In the next second, I was encased in a gray shroud, magick covering me like a blanket. Instinctively, I knew that it was Vallon’s magick. He’d swathed me in shadow, so the bones around me became a smudged blur. And though I could barely see those four eyes growing closer, it was the feel of this beast that had me trembling with terror.

The clamor of stones being shifted and Vallon’s labored breathing above felt distant as I homed in on the creature crawling closer to me. When it slithered near the light, to keep from making a sound, I bit on my bottom lip so hard I tasted blood.

It slid across the cavern floor and over piles of bones with a giant serpentine body, its horned head nearly scraping the top of the cavern. But it wasn’t a serpent entirely. It had eight muscular legs that ended in long black claws as long as my arm. The creature’s forked tongue lanced the air and then it hissed, revealing rows and rows of long, sharp fangs.

Vallon was right. His shadow magick had kept me completely camouflaged. Barely even breathing, I remained perfectly still as it slithered over a mound of bones, sending several skulls rolling to the side.

My heart pounded so hard I thought it would leap from my chest as it came even closer, bringing with it a wave of evil so potent I sucked in a breath. This creature wasn’t simply a predator. It was filled with something malevolent and wicked.

It moved farther into the light, heading toward me slowly, it’s black, forked tongue licking the air.

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