Why would someone trap them here? And if this was related to the Harbinger, what could it want with ghosts? And Shadow People? The plot was thickening, but the problem was I had no idea what the damn story was.
Another flash of light streaked the sky, illuminating the windows for a second. Anyone else would’ve probably been able to see whether anything was in those windows, but they were blurs to me. Thunder immediately followed, and then a big, fat drop of rain smacked my nose. That was the only warning before the sky ripped open and rain poured from above.
Soaked to the bone within seconds, I sighed heavily. The rain was kind of warm, so at least there was that.
I was debating the merits of crawling under one of the vans when I felt cool, icy fingers slip over the back of my neck. I cranked my head around, expecting to see either someone with freezing hands and absolutely no concept of social propriety, a ghost or an abominable snowman.
No one was behind me. I struggled to see through the veil of rain, scanning the lawn. It was impossible for someone to have touched me and disappeared that quickly. The cold feeling was still there, settling between my shoulders, forming a pressure. It was that same brutally cold sensation I’d felt that night we found the zombies.
I turned and walked back to the steps. Instead of climbing them, I jumped and landed in the thick grass. The cold feeling was still there, and the sensation of being watched intensified.
Someone was out here.
I knew it in my bones and my blood. My grace sparked deep within me as I took a step forward. There. By one of the trees.
Out of the rain and the darkness, a thicker shape peeled away from the base of the tree. Was it a person? A ghost? A Shadow Person? I couldn’t tell. Not with the distance and the rain.
Squinting, I could see it about four feet from the tree. I walked forward, and then instinct took over. My pace picked up until I was jogging and then running as I reached for one of my daggers, just in case—
The soft, mushy ground sank under my feet, and for a heart-stopping second, I froze. So stupid, so incredibly stupid, because that was a second too long. The ground gave way under me, sucking me down before I had a chance to scream.
Clumps of dirt and grass fell with me as I plummeted into nothing. Panic rose, but I squelched it as I folded my arms and tucked my legs, bracing myself as best as I—
—slammed into the hard ground, air punching out of my lungs as a flare of pain shot across my pelvis and down my left leg. My head cracked off something, and starbursts blinded me as another spike of pain erupted along the back of my skull and then shot down my spine. The sudden impact stunned me into immobility. I lay there on my side, legs still tucked as I breathed through my clenched jaw, eyes squeezed shut.
Holy crap.
I had to have fallen ten feet or more. The distance explained the deep, steady throb in my leg and my head. That kind of fall would’ve done serious damage to a human. Unclenching my mouth, I took a deep breath and about choked on the overwhelming scent of rich, wet soil. The icy pressure was still between my shoulders, and whatever I’d fallen into was unbelievably chilly, at least twenty or so degrees cooler.
Opening my eyes, I saw...nothing. Nothing but complete, utter darkness.
A seed of panic took root as I jerked upright and scurried backward until I rammed into something hard and solid. Nausea swept through me as a streak of pain lanced my temples.
Okay. Maybe I did some damage to myself.
“Shit,” I moaned, lifting a hand to my temple, realizing I was against a wall. I twisted at the waist, wincing as I reached out, placing my hand against the damp, slimy surface. A stone wall—a moldy, slimy stone wall.
What the Hell had I fallen into?
I strained to see anything, but there was only inky darkness. Was the place devoid of all light? Or was it my eyes? Had they taken this moment to give out on me? The seedling of panic unfurled. No. No. That was not how RP worked, and my skull was thick enough to protect all the important brain cells and nerves responsible for vision. I knew that, so I just needed to calm my heart...and my breathing, because hyperventilating wasn’t doing me any good. I needed to look for a way out—my phone. I could use the light from my phone to see, and Zayne must have felt my panic. For once, I was grateful for the bond I could feel in my chest. He would look for me.
Hopefully not on a nearby street.
I began to reach for my phone while praying that it hadn’t been damaged in the fall, because that would suck. I needed light. I needed to be able to see—
A soft thump echoed not far from me. I stilled, trying not to breathe too heavily or too deeply as I stared into nothing. What was that—
Another barely audible sound caught my attention. A softer thud and then one more, a sound that reminded me of...
Realization kicked in, and my stomach dropped as my grace burned in my core.
I wasn’t alone.
29
The sound of footfalls ceased as I held myself completely still. I knew beyond a doubt that there was someone with me.
What that someone was, I had no idea.
Because it wasn’t Zayne, and no human could’ve made that jump as quietly or safely, but I also didn’t sense a demon. Could it be another Warden? If that was the case, why not say something?
I scanned the darkness, hearing only the steady splatter of rain and the rumble of thunder. There was no other noise, not even the sound of breathing, but I could feel it. Every sense I had was hyperaware of the presence.
I needed to see.
Chills swept down my arms as I slowly, carefully reached for my back pocket. My fingers slipped over my phone. Heart pounding like the rain, I held my breath as I pulled it out. If the phone still worked, the moment I hit the button, it would light up, alerting whatever was down here with me. It was the risk I had to take.
In the darkness, I found the button on my phone. The small flare of light as my home screen came into focus brought relief and worry, along with a burst of pain in my eyes at the sudden brightness. There was no movement as I dragged my thumb along the bottom of the screen. Sparing a brief glance at my phone, I squinted until the little flashlight icon came into focus. I hit the button and exhaled roughly.
Intense white light streamed from the phone. I followed the funnel of light to...another glistening wall that was about five feet from me. Something was carved into the stone. I couldn’t make out what it was, but I realized I was in a tunnel.
I shifted the phone toward my left as I reached for a dagger with my other hand. My fingers curled around the handle as I followed the light, seeing grayish-green stone, clumps of grass and dirt—
Weight came down on my arm, so fast that I lost my grip on my phone and shrieked. It fell to the floor and before I could even feel embarrassed over the tiny scream, the tunnel was once more thrown into complete darkness.
Instinct roared to the surface as my grace clamored inside me. I pitched forward, unsheathing the dagger and swinging out, slicing at nothing but air. I pulled back, panting as I pressed against the wall. I tensed, bracing myself for a blow I couldn’t see to deflect. I thrust the dagger out again as I went for my other blade, hitting nothing.
“Where are you?” I shouted. “Where in the Hell are you?”
Silence greeted me.
Panic spread, invading my consciousness like a noxious poison as I tried to remember my blindfolded training with Zayne. Wait for the change in the air—the temperature, the shift that would occur around me. There’d be a warning that something was close. My gaze darted wildly side to side. Everything around me was cold and the air was too thick, too stagnant. I felt nothing but the sweat dotting my clammy skin. A distant part of my brain knew that I was caving in to hysteria, but I couldn’t rein in the panic. The complete and utter void of light struck a terrifying chord in me, tearing open a Pandora’s box of fear and helplessness. I jabbed the dagger out, causing nothing but a whisper of air.
A soft clucking, a tsk tsk sound, replied, crawling over my skin.
Every part of my being focused on the direction of the disapproving noise. It had come from...directly in front of me. From my angle on the floor, I was at an extreme disadvantage. I pushed myself to my feet, putting weight on my left leg—
My right ankle was snagged by someone and jerked out and up. I went down hard on my back, the impact punching the air out of my lungs. I kicked out with my other leg, but the tight grip pulled, dragged me farther into the tunnel, away from the sound of the rain.
I sat up, swinging both daggers. The hold on my ankle was released suddenly, and a very male, very low chuckle echoed around me. My body sprang into action. I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the dull burst of pain. Panting, I gripped the daggers—
A cool, damp touch pressed against my face, the contact a solid slide down my cheek. Flesh. The touch was one of flesh. Gasping, I swung out as I brought my right knee up, kicking. The grunt told me my foot had connected with whoever was down here. I started forward, following the sound, when something hard and sharp—an elbow—caught me under the chin, knocking my head back. Pain threw me off balance. A hand caught my wrist, twisting sharply. My fingers opened on reflex and the dagger fell even as I swung the other dagger around. The same happened. Another hand caught my other wrist. That dagger fell and clanged on the stone floor.
Rearing back, I moved to use the hold against the attacker. Weight slammed into me before I could get my legs up. The weight was a body—a hard, incredibly cold chest and torso—pressing me into the wall. The full-bodied contact was a shock to the system. I tried to push off, but the weight kept me in place as the hands at my wrists drew my arms up, pinning them above my head.
Terror exploded in my stomach as my arms were stretched, causing my back to bow. Blood in my veins turned to slush as icy breath moved against my cheek, followed by the feel of drier, softer lips.
My struggles stilled. A thousand different horrific scenes rapidly played, each one more disturbing than the last, being forced into a helpless position where I couldn’t fight back, couldn’t do anything to stop whatever might be coming—
No.
I wasn’t helpless. I wasn’t captured. I wasn’t without a weapon—a weapon I should’ve used by now. A weapon that I’d been repeatedly trained to use as the last resort. Clarity struck me with the force of a bullet to the brain.