The Rift War (The Liftsal Guardians Book 4) Page 28

  ‘You think he was helping them?’ Sloane asked, her blood turning cold at the thought.

  ‘It may not have been willingly,’ Kai added, his voice far gentler than Lorian’s. ‘Perhaps if Ash was made to touch the Brakys’ fragment of the stone, it would have come to life, just like one of our pieces did when you touched it. That may have enabled the creatures to use it, to some extent.’

  Sloane frowned as she considered the possibility. Was Ash keeping more secrets from them or had the Brakys found another way to use their fragment of the stone? She wished that her brother were with them now so she could ask him directly. She didn’t like the thought of him keeping more secrets. They had put a lot of faith in the information he had provided, and it scared her to think that he could still be in league with the Captain.

  ‘The rifts were broken though,’ she eventually said, looking at both Kai and Lorian. ‘Surely if Ash had activated the stone they would have been complete?’

  ‘Not necessarily,’ Kai responded. ‘Rifts are formed of pure energy. If there wasn’t enough energy in the stone already, it could not be harnessed to create a complete rift. The Brakys also only have a fraction of the stone. It is possible that their fragment could not contain enough energy to create a rift.’

  ‘And what about the balance between two worlds that Joran spoke of?’ she asked. ‘Why didn’t those mini-rifts change this world when they were created?’

  They fell quiet for several minutes until Lorian finally broke the silence. ‘Could you see anything through the rifts?’ he asked.

  Sloane shook her head. ‘They were so cracked and incomplete that I couldn’t see through them. It was like they were made entirely from the glowing orbs that form the outer rings of complete rifts.’

  Lorian stared at her, his eyes somewhat dazed as he considered her response. ‘Perhaps that is the answer then,’ he said. ‘They were not large enough or complete enough to generate a change in this world.’

  Sloane nodded and let out a breath as she glanced down at the stone that was glowing against her chest. The thought of trying to transfer the energy from the rift and creating another in its place made her nervous. She felt somewhat relieved that it was no longer their objective.

  They were drawing closer to the looming mountain when she noticed one of Rhyn’s warriors streaking across the plain towards them. Even at a distance, Sloane’s sight was sharp enough that she could see it was the scout they had met earlier in the ravine. She branched off from the rest of the group and followed Rhyn as he began to walk towards the scout, not wanting to miss what was said.

  ‘The lair is completely abandoned,’ the warrior said as he reached Rhyn. ‘There’s not a single Braky left behind.’

  Rhyn’s lips were pulled thin as he listened. ‘Did you check the whole lair?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes,’ the scout responded. ‘They’re gone.’

  Rhyn nodded at the scout before turning his gaze on the mountain that lay ahead. His eyes seemed to search out every dark nook and cranny of the rocky face. There was no sign of movement though, and Sloane couldn’t see a single indication that the creatures were anywhere nearby.

  ‘I almost wish my Braky scar still flared with pain whenever they were near,’ Sloane said to Rhyn. ‘I feel like it would be really useful to know how close we were to them.’

  Rhyn glanced at her with a look of disapproval in his eyes. ‘We’re going to find them, Sloane,’ he replied. ‘And I would never wish you to experience any pain. Especially not so we could find the creatures.’

  She fell silent as the two of them started to return to the small group who were still pressing on towards the mountain. She didn’t share Rhyn’s confidence, and she really wished she could have some of it right now. He may not want her to experience any pain, but Sloane was beginning to long for it.

  The searing agony she used to endure whenever the Brakys were close by had been horrible, but at the moment they could only guess how far behind the Brakys they were. A part of Sloane worried that her inability to sense the creatures would leave them vulnerable.

  She pushed down a shudder and tried to take no notice of the unease that rippled through her stomach at the thought. But there was no ignoring the apprehension she felt within. The monsters were already on their way to Aeris to destroy everyone who stood against them in the human camp. They were running out of time, and there was a chance that they weren’t going to reach the Brakys before the battle started—that they would be too late.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Evening was approaching by the time the rift finally came into view in the distance. They had been following the plateau around the base of the mountain for hours, and it was a relief to finally see their target up ahead.

  It was difficult to make out the rift clearly when it was so far away, and there was little chance Sloane would have been able to spot it at all if she hadn’t drunk the Liftsal. The sparkling lights that surrounded the rift only emitted the smallest flicker that was barely visible even to her eyes.

  The rift was covered in shadows cast from the tall peak that reared up behind it, and the snowy ground that surrounded it was rough and uneven. It was so close to the base of the mountain that the flat plateau the group had been trekking across all afternoon had turned into a gradual slope, and they had to navigate around large boulders that were sticking out of the snow.

  Sloane’s stomach dipped uncomfortably as she looked across the distance that separated her from the rift. They had made good time that day, but there was no sign of the Brakys. She felt certain the creatures had already made their way through to Aeris and were well and truly gone.

  ‘They’re already in the World of the Woods,’ she said softly to Rhyn. The two of them stood out in front of the rest of the group, and she could tell Rhyn was drawing the same conclusion she was.

  ‘How far ahead of us do you think they are?’ Jack asked, coming up on Rhyn’s other side.

  ‘A couple of hours at most,’ Rhyn replied. ‘With such large numbers, they can’t be moving too quickly. We’ll just have to follow them and hope we reach the battle in time to make a difference.’

  Rhyn started setting a faster pace now that the rift was in sight. If there hadn’t been others holding him back, Sloane felt like he might have broken into a run. She could see how desperate he was to stop the Brakys in every powerful stride he took through the snow. He was worried they wouldn’t be able to help his people in the battle against the creatures, and Sloane didn’t blame him for feeling that way. She too was terrified they would arrive at the human camp, only to find it overrun by the Brakys.

  Sloane couldn’t fight an uneasy chill that ran down her spine as she walked. The only sounds that could be heard were the constant trudging footsteps of the group following behind them. The wind had died down, and yet the world almost felt colder.

  Her gaze kept drifting to the mountain that loomed over them. She felt like eyes were watching them, but she couldn’t see any sign of life no matter how hard she looked.

  ‘Don’t you think it’s strange how uneven the ground is?’ Jack murmured. It was almost as if he felt too anxious to speak using his normal tone of voice.

  Sloane followed his gaze down to the snow they’d been walking on. He was right. The snow was patchy and rutted despite the heavy flurries that had fallen the previous night. Sloane would have expected to see evidence of the Brakys’ footprints, or fresh untouched snow covering the ground. Instead, the snow almost looked churned, as though it had been tossed around and had fallen back down in messy clumps.

  Sloane continued to study the ground around her. The agitated snow spread almost all the way to the rift. When she looked behind her, Sloane could see the rough surface continued past where she was standing and reached beyond the rest of the group who were trailing a little further behind.

  Something didn’t feel right. Sloane whipped back around to ask Rhyn what he thought, but her eyes caught sight of something on the ground up ahead, an
d she stopped breathing. Her hands darted out, and she grabbed hold of both Rhyn and Jack, yanking them to a stop.

  She didn’t say a word, but Rhyn must have seen the fear in her eyes because he raised a hand, silently calling the rest of the group to a halt.

  ‘What is it?’ he asked.

  Sloane dropped her grasp on his arm and slowly pointed to a spot in the snow up ahead of them. Rhyn turned to see what she was gesturing at and the three of them took silent steps towards it, while the rest of the group stayed behind. From a distance, Sloane could vaguely see something dark protruding from the ground. She wasn’t sure what it was, but the sight caused her stomach to clench uneasily.

  It wasn’t until they were practically standing over the object that she let out a breath of relief. It was just a dark rock jutting out from the snow. She slowly shook her head.

  ‘Sorry,’ she muttered, shrugging her shoulders. ‘I thought I saw…’ her voice trailed off as she shook her head again. ‘Never mind.’

  She turned and went to signal the others to start following them once more, but the snow beneath her feet began to shift as she moved. She pitched forwards, unable to keep her balance, but then she jerked to a stop as something grabbed hold of her ankle.

  She let out a yelp as sharp claws cut into her skin through her pants. Looking down, she could see that the dark, skeletal arm of a Braky had surfaced from the snow beneath her. It grasped her ankle tightly as its other arm burst through the icy ground next to her, and the creature started to push its black body up from under the snow.

  Two blood red eyes looked up at her, but Sloane didn’t hesitate as she pulled a dagger from the sheath strapped to her thigh and slammed the blade down into the arm the Braky had stretched out towards her ankle. The beast released her when the knife sunk into its skin, and it started to howl, its high-pitched wail echoing in a painful moan across the plateau. Sloane was freed, and as she stumbled away, Rhyn grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.

  Her heart was racing as Rhyn moved past her. He pulled his sword from its scabbard and sliced it down into the creature with one swift movement. The Braky’s shriek was silenced, and an eerie quiet replaced the howl. Sloane’s body only grew tenser though, as she turned around in a circle, finally seeing the churned ground for what it was—a trap. The Brakys were hiding under their feet, and given the amount of disturbed snow that surrounded them, their small group was dramatically outnumbered. The snow started stirring around her and soft rumbling and scraping noise reached Sloane’s ears.

  ‘RETREAT!’ Rhyn called, his voice bellowing loudly through the air.

  The rest of the group didn’t pause to consider his cry, and everyone turned, racing back the way they had come. As Rhyn’s voice echoed across the plain, the ground started shaking move violently, and Brakys’ claws began erupting from the snow beneath them as the creatures scraped their way back to the surface one by one.

  The air began to fill with the monsters’ deep rasping breaths and their keening wails as they howled in a vicious symphony. Sloane drew her sword as Jack pulled out his gun. She didn’t start to retreat with the rest of the group though. Instead, her eyes were locked onto the rift that stood a hundred metres away.

  She could see countless Brakys erupting from the ground between the rift and herself. It was terrifying to watch, but her mind was focused on only one thing: if the Brakys were in Ellysia, then she could still try to close the rift and stop them from getting to Aeris. But if she was going to reach the rift, she needed to act quickly. Without a word to Jack or Rhyn, Sloane took off towards the shimmering opening that led to Aeris.

  ‘Sloane!’ Rhyn yelled at her.

  She could hear the mixture of shock and terror in his voice, but she didn’t pause as she continued onwards. There must have been hundreds of the creatures pulling themselves from the ground, but she didn’t hesitate as she surged towards the rift. Several of them reached for her as she ran, but she was too fast and jumped over their outstretched claws before they could grab onto her.

  Most of the monsters were still partially buried, but she could see that some up ahead of her were now free of their icy hiding place. More and more emerged, blocking her view of the rift in the distance. There was only one way she was going to reach it—she was going to have to fight.

  A hand grasped her wrist, and she was pulled backwards. Sloane could feel a warm sensation flow through her, and she didn’t need to turn to know that it was Rhyn who had just grabbed her.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he shouted.

  ‘Let go of me! We need to close the rift,’ she replied, spinning towards him as she tried to loosen his grip on her wrist.

  ‘There’s no way you’ll make it in time,’ he growled. ‘We need to get to safety.’

  Mere seconds had passed since Rhyn had stopped her, but already Sloane could see that he was right. The Brakys were rapidly appearing in huge numbers and were already starting to close in on the two of them.

  ‘Quickly, follow me,’ Rhyn ordered, dropping her hand. He took off towards a boulder in the distance that Jack had already clambered on top of. There weren’t many Brakys between them and the large rock, but she knew if she delayed for more than a few seconds then her path to safety would be blocked.

  Sloane glanced over her shoulder. The rift had disappeared from view entirely behind the thick hoard of Brakys. Rhyn was right; she’d be killed if she attempted to get past them alone.

  Without another moment of hesitation, she took off after Rhyn towards Jack and the rock he was perched on. Rhyn quickly reached it, leaping through the air and landing on top of it with ease. Sloane was a little further behind him though, and the way to the boulder was no longer clear. Brakys lunged at her as she ran, but her movements were just as quick as theirs, and she dodged past them as they scratched and swiped their claws at her. Sloane couldn’t pause to fight them off because others would soon emerge and overwhelm her. She couldn’t slow down, or she would be cut off before she reached the boulder.

  She was almost to the rock when a Braky ploughed into her side, hurling her to the ground. She could hear the creature’s rasping breath in her ear, and she could feel its claws scratching against her skin as it fell on top of her. The Braky’s deep grunts we abruptly silenced when Sloane heard the distinctive crack of a gunshot. The creature fell limp on top of her, but she was stronger than she had ever been before and she quickly shoved it off and rolled to her feet in one fluid movement.

  Jack stood on top of the boulder with his gun pointed in her direction, and she took off towards him once more. He started firing his weapon down on any of the Brakys that stepped in her way, and she leapt over them as they fell dead at her feet. With the way now clear, Sloane was able to run at top speed, and when she neared the boulder, she launched herself into the air, landing on the high rock in a crouch.

  ‘You all right?’ Jack asked, glancing down at her.

  ‘Yeah,’ she replied, pulling herself upright. ‘Thanks for the backup.’

  ‘No problem,’ he replied, nodding his head at the gun he still gripped in both hands. ‘These new bullets really get the job done.’

  As she stood tall, Sloane scanned the scene that surrounded her. The rest of the group had retreated back the way they had come until they were clear of the Brakys that were still bursting from the snow. They too had scrambled on top of one of the huge boulders that were dotted all over the plain, and Sloane’s heart lurched when she caught sight of Rowe readying her bow as the creatures slowly began to converge on them.

  Rowe and the others were well clear of the Brakys’ trap, and most of the monsters seemed to be close to Sloane’s vantage point. She didn’t know how long that would last, but she couldn’t keep watching the rest of their group to check that her sisters, Lorian and Kai were okay. Not when Rhyn, Jack and her had their own Brakys to deal with.

  Thanks to Sloane’s decision to make a break for the rift, the three of them were in the heart of the Braky hoard, and their b
oulder was surrounded by the creatures. Hundreds of the monsters had now freed themselves from the snow, and they slowly seemed to be realising exactly where Rhyn, Sloane and Jack were standing, stranded in the middle of their trap.

  ‘Well, it was nice knowing you guys,’ Jack said, the fear in his eyes palpable as he stared at the creatures that closed in around them. ‘I’m glad that avalanche we caused at their lair could give them some inspiration. There’s a kind of poetry to it, don’t you think?’

  Even when things looked doomed, Jack couldn’t seem to stop himself from rambling, but Sloane felt surprisingly calm as she assessed the situation. She looked at Rhyn, and he was similarly composed as he looked out at the mass of creatures that stalked towards them.

  When the Brakys had their sights firmly set on their prey, their howls became frenzied and their mouths frothed as they started racing towards the boulder. The dull clap of Jack’s gun sounded again and again. But he couldn’t stop more than one of the creatures at a time, and he only had so many bullets. Before long they were going to have to fight.

  Rhyn lifted his fingers to his mouth and let out a high-pitched whistle, the sound piercing the air loudly. Sloane glanced in the direction of the rest of the group, to see if they had reacted to the noise. But it didn’t appear as though it was them he was signalling.

  She could see the Unfaih warriors who had accompanied them had formed a ring around the other boulder, while Lorian, Kai, Esther and Rowe stood atop the rock armed and ready to fight. Rowe was already firing arrows into the pack of Brakys that approached but, like Jack with his gun, she couldn’t stop them all.

  ‘Backs to each other,’ Rhyn ordered Jack and Sloane. She pulled her attention from Rowe and the others and did as she was told. She turned so that one shoulder was touching Rhyn while the other brushed against Jack. ‘If the three of us want to get through this we’re each going to have to defend one side of the boulder,’ Rhyn shouted.