Page 71 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
Ellery
I reached for my bow, only to discover it had broken in half. I must have fallen on it, or something had broken it before we were trapped here.
Eyeing the tree roots again, I released the broken remnants of my weapon on the ground and pulled my quiver free. It wouldn’t do any good without my bow, but a single arrow remained.
I removed the arrow and tossed my quiver onto the bow. It was useless to me now, and I couldn’t have anything the roots could grasp on my back.
When I finished, I bent to examine my throbbing legs. I felt the torn edges of my pants and the tattered flesh beneath.
When I pulled my hand away, lightning illuminated the blood coating my fingertips. The ominous sight of that shimmering red liquid sliding down my fingers caused me to gulp.
And with the eerie feeling more of my blood would spill soon, my memories of the black dogs and trees returned. Along with them came the crushing sense of certain death that encompassed me as the trees dragged us beneath the earth.
“The trees brought us here,” I whispered.
Mouse nodded enthusiastically.
I lowered my hand to look at him. “Are you okay?”
He nodded again.
“How long have we been here?”
Mouse shrugged.
“I’m going to get us out of here.”
Lifting my hand, I weaved it to create a portal, but nothing happened. I tried again, and still nothing stirred.
I didn’t know if my blood loss and the blow to my head had weakened me too much to open one, or if something down here was preventing me from doing so. These trees weren’t normal, so who knew what else they could do.
Lowering my hand, I buried my disappointment. We were trapped here.
I surveyed the passage ahead before turning to peer behind us. From both directions, I felt a small air current.
I didn’t know if that meant there was a way out or if the air was coming through the tree roots, as I felt a little flowing through the ceiling. Looking one way to another, I debated which way to go; I didn’t know if one way led out while the other led to certain death or if, no matter what, we were doomed to die.
The trees remained still, but maybe they were waiting for us to grow weaker before coming after us again. I didn’t know why they’d bother when they could have eaten us already, but it wasn’t like I could ask them.
Or maybe I could; perhaps they would talk to me. They came to life, so maybe they could speak too.
“Are you going to eat us?” I asked.
Nothing stirred in the tunnel. I didn’t know if that was because they didn’t understand me or they were playing with us.
For all I knew, they hadn’t eaten us yet because they were waiting for hunger and dehydration to debilitate us until we couldn’t move anymore. And once we slumped to the ground, they would absorb our bodies and use our remains to nourish themselves.
I shuddered at the possibility while pulling more energy from the earth. If they tried to attack again, I’d fight them off, but if they waited for time to run its course, there was nothing I could do to stop them.
All I had was my lightning and dagger; they would get us through.
“Which way do you want to go?” I asked Mouse.
He looked up and down the tunnel before pointing straight ahead.
“That’s the way then,” I said.
Before we started into the unknown, I set my remaining arrow on the ground and pointed it in the direction we were going. When the trees dragged us below, Farley remained behind and would go for help.
If Ryker was at the encampment, he would come, but we couldn’t stay here to wait for him. I’d much prefer to be free of this place before Ryker placed himself in a position to be trapped here with us.
I quelled my unease over the possibility as I stared at the arrow. I didn’t want Ryker here, but if we didn’t get out before he arrived, he had to know which way we’d gone.
Trying to hide my unease, I smiled at Mouse as my lightning rose up my arms to my elbows. Its glow created a circle that illuminated the tunnel about twenty feet in all directions.
Mouse and I walked further down the tunnel and deeper beneath the earth.