The Sickle's Edge (1) by Toby Bennett & Benjamin Knox

Author:Toby Bennett & Benjamin Knox [Bennett, Toby & Knox, Benjamin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-01-08T22:00:00+00:00

8

FORGOTTEN HALLS

Preeva jerked awake in the dark. There was an instant of panic, in which she wondered if she had opened her eyes at all, and then the memories of the past desperate hours crept back. However long they had slept, it had been long enough for her shift to mostly dry. It was tempting to let herself sink back into semi-consciousness, but she was acutely aware that time was precious. They were deep in the old complex now; they had lost the option to turn back.

Preeva already felt the first tinges of thirst, and hunger would not be far behind. They had all pushed their bodies hard, but if they gave into the temptation to rest now, they might not have the strength to keep going when it counted.

The water was salt, and if there was anything to eat in it, Preeva didn’t fancy going looking for it in the dark.

The only thing for it was to press on.

“Wyatt.”

He groaned next to her.

“Wyatt, wake up. We need light.”

Wyatt shifted, and light blossomed in the cave. It seemed brighter again, but almost any light was too much for her straining eyes. Even the blackest prairie nights had not been as Stygian as the cave about them. Preeva looked over to her brother. No doubt Temm would say they wouldn’t be in the situation they were in without Wyatt, but considering what it would be like to be trapped down in the caverns with no light made her ridiculously grateful the young mage was with them, despite everything.

“Temm.” Her brother looked thin and pale in the mage light; even in sleep, his features were troubled and drawn. She didn’t want to wake him, but they were all going to have to do things they didn’t want before they got out of this place.

We are going to get out!

She clung to the thought as a drowning sailor might a spar. She glanced up but the tumbled stone was just out of reach of the witch-light. She glanced back in time to catch Wyatt studying her. It didn’t make any sense, but she was suddenly aware of being partially dressed, in a way she hadn’t been when she was cold and simply grateful not to have drowned.

She crossed over to the pillar and tugged her dress over her head. The garment hadn’t had the benefit of shared body heat and was still damper than she would have liked, but she tolerated the cold, itchy fabric to foster the illusion of normality.

Wyatt was still sitting there staring, which caused her a twinge of irritation. It was easy to forget that for all his remarkable abilities, the mage could sometimes seem lost as a newborn calf.

“Wyatt, get up and get dressed.” Her words were a little harsher than she would have liked.

“Sorry.” Wyatt got up and put on his damp tunic.

“Time to rise and shine, is it?” Temm gave Wyatt a meaningful look. “For some of us anyway.” Temm sprang to his feet, still nimble despite the cold, and hauled on his own top.

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.