"Run!" said""
Over the sound of breaking branches and guttural growls resonating across the deep woodland, Luca's yell hardly registered. Twice of telling was not necessary. Pushing onward, I avoided low-hanging branches and the sharp roots that might have tripped me at every step. My legs burned.
Under me, the snarls became louder. Close hunters from the competing pack shook the earth with their heavy footsteps as they drew closer.
This way! Kael's voice cried out from ahead, his form almost discernible in the night. The necklace around my neck pulsed weakly, its brightness throwing a small light amid the choking darkness.
"Aria, let me go! "Luca's palm slid over mine, his presence steadying as he dropped into step with me.
I am not bidding you farewell. I snapped, even though my lungs protested.
You won't have to, he snarled. "Just keep running."
As we came to a ravine, the trees thinned and its precipitous plunge vanished into the darkness beneath. Kael skidded to stop, his golden eyes looking over the brink.
His tone dark, he said, "We're cornered."
Luca said, coming forward: "No, we're not." His eyes covered the space, his mind obviously running over our choices. "Down the side there is a road. While steep, it will slow them down.
And should we stumble as well? With a beating heart, I asked.
"We won't," Luca responded with great conviction.
The hunters exploded from the woods, their brilliant eyes fixed on us before I could object.
"Go! Luca shushed me towards the road and started to bark.
The fall proved to be perilous. It was difficult to see more than a few steps ahead as loose boulders collapsed beneath our feet and shadows grew in proximity.
Luca cautioned, his fingers clutching my arm as I staggered.
My chest heaving, I said, "I'm trying."
Kael was already ahead of us, his motions exact and quick even in peril. Hurried back, he said, his voice tight. They are arriving.
Above us a growl accompanied the sound of claws rubbing across stone. I looked up to see one of the hunters closing in with teeth exposed as it sprang down the trail.
"Aria, duck!" said Shoving me to the side just as the wolf rushed, Luca yelled.
Luca and the hunter were thrown falling down the hill, their snarls mixing into the anarchy.
Lucas! I yelled and started to get to my feet.
"I'm fine," he said back, although with strained voice. The hunter's corpse lay unmoving a few feet away, but Luca was already lifting himself straight, blood splashing his shirt.
Kael remarked, his golden eyes narrowing, "We have time for nothing like this." "Mobility! "The "
I paused, divided as I followed Kael and helped Luca. But Luca's exact instruction got me out of my doubt.
"Aria, leave! "He snarled.
Reluctantly, I turned and continued down the road as my heart hammered with every stride.
The valley spread out from the ravine, its bottom covered in heavy mist. The necklace around my neck blazed, its light slicing into the cloud to expose a cluster of old ruins half-buried in the ground.
"This location is what? My voice shook as I asked.
Kael moved forward, his eyes sweeping across the wreckage. "A secure refuge." At least it used to be.
"Let's hope it still is," Luca said, hobbling to meet us.
Growing fainter as the force of the ruins appeared to drive them back, the hunters' cries resonated far away.
"For now, it is," Kael answered, his voice serious. But we won't have too much time.
The mark on my wrist burned softly as we investigated the remains, and the brightness of the pendant warmed. Symbols carved onto the stone walls appeared to react to the light; their forms changed and pulsed with an energy I could not articulate.
"What is occurring? "My voice just above a whisper, I asked.
Kelt wrinkled, his golden eyes narrowing. "The ruins alive." Their response to you is here.
To me, then?""
And the link, Luca said, staring right back at me. "whatever is here is related to the Moon Goddess—and to us."
As we descended farther into the ruins, the air got colder and the stifling quiet broken only by our footfall. Before us was a big room with ceiling engraved with delicate stars that gleamed dimly in the gloom.
An altar in the middle of the room had run- engraved surface that appeared to pulse in sync with the light of the pendant.
Kael replied, his voice full of wonder, "This is it."
What then? Stepping nearer the altar, I requested.
"The source of the power inherent in the ruins," he remarked. And maybe the secret to surviving what is ahead.
The instant I set foot on the altar, I felt an explosion of vitality and the surroundings changed. I stood in a huge, empty area with mud and stone thick in the air.
Before me emerged a man covered in darkness but exuding a known presence.
Aria," the guy continued, his voice kind yet firm. "You have travelled far; however, the darkness are just deepening. You have to learn to look through the gloom if you are to lead.
"How? "My voice shook as I asked.
Trust your connection, the man said. And have confidence in yourself.
My hand still resting on the altar, the image vanished and I returned to the room. Luca and Kael studied me closely, their looks a combination of enquiry and worry.
"What occurred? "Luca asked, moving forward.
I... My voice quivering, I continued, "I saw someone." "They said the shadows are becoming darker. That we have to believe in the link.
Luca nodded with a gloomy look. "then we would better start getting ready."
The pendant flashed with light once again as we were getting ready to leave the ruins, and a gentle rumbling sounded over the room.
What then? Kael murmured, his golden eyes flickering across the darkness.
The earth shook under us, and from the darkness a deep growl sounded. The hunters hadn't given up; they had discovered a path in.
Luca emerged in front of me with burning grey eyes. "This isn't finished."
"No," I murmured, fiercely clutching the pendant. "It's merely beginning."