Chapter Twenty-Five
TALIK
A small bubble of anticipation and adrenaline surfaced, and for a moment, Talik forgot about the pain steamrolling through him. He pulled the pin of the grenade, keeping one as backup, as Khalida withdrew her sword, black blood dripping onto the ground.
Black blood spurted everywhere as the creature seemed suspended in midair for a second before it launched itself at them.
Talik moved, using the aid of gravity to haul it to the ground as hard as he could.
He grabbed its mouth, pulling its jaw apart, and shoved the grenade as far down its throat as he could reach.
Instantly, it clawed at its face, tearing at its own flesh to get the foreign objects out.
From his right, another creature, more humanoid, rushed to its aid. Their screeches filled the air.
“Move!”
Light and metal exploded everywhere as Khalida tackled him to the ground, dragging him behind a half-broken lid lying on its side; the world around them violently vibrated. An almighty crack echoed loudly.
“Fuck.” He pulled Khalida closer, shielding her from the flying debris.
She shook, but not with fear. He could sense the adrenaline running through her.
He took a breath, and through the sweat and grime, he could smell the scent that was uniquely hers—peonies tinged with amber.
That didn’t stop him from holding tight, or his awareness that she wasn’t fighting him. For once.
Dirt and rock continued to fall in the aftermath. Smashing into the ground with a roar that would have made a thunder god proud. After a few minutes, he looked up. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust.
“I can’t sense them,” Khalida said as she wiped her face, leaving streaks of dirt across her cheeks and forehead. “Can you?”
He blinked. Despite his throbbing shoulder, he was not quite wanting to release her yet. “No.”
The grenade had done the job, but perhaps a little too well.
The blast had caused far more collateral than he had expected, but then he hadn’t factored in the structural integrity of the catacombs or, in this case, the lack of integrity.
On one end, rocks and debris had blocked the exit.
He turned to look at the other side. The white glare was barely discernible through broken-up sarcophagi, but somehow the flashlight was still attached to the straps of his backpack.
“The ceiling has also caved in.” Khalida pointed to the now sloping ceiling. “We are going to need to find another way out.”
Excruciating pain hit him in the center of his chest, as if something was squeezing his heart. He involuntarily let Khalida go, missing her warmth instantly.
He bit back a groan as everything started to spin, turning faster and faster as he tried to catch his breath. Moisture trickled down his back. “Back...”
Khalida pulled at him, her hands moving all over him, checking for wounds. Her fingers were far too warm against his skin.
“Shit,” said Khalida. “You have been stabbed.”
There was something sharp penetrating the flesh on his right shoulder near his scapula. He wanted to remove whatever it was, but he was losing energy and consciousness fast. It was all starting to be too much effort. “I’m fine. Just get it out.”
“Don’t lie to me.” She pushed him forward, giving herself better access to his back.
Something sliced through his shirt, the sound louder than he was expecting.
Gently, she moved his hair out of the way.
The subtle caress was a beacon to his foggy mind.
“This is going to hurt. On three, I will remove the blade.”
Talik braced himself. “One.”
Khalida didn’t wait. She withdrew the blade from his shoulder, the metal sliding against flesh and bone.
Talik closed his eyes, wincing as the nerve endings in his back came alive again.
“You said three,” he gritted out as wave after wave of intense agony flooded his body.
Everything was on fire. It originated from his back, but it was quickly spreading through the rest of his body at whirlwind speed. “I am not fine.”
Khalida held up a pretty bejeweled dagger about four inches long. A dagger that had one point belonged to an immortal. The blade was perfectly intact, except for the small tip that had broken off.
It shouldn’t have done that much damage, except the fire running through his body told him it was coated in coral snake venom.
Talik clenched his teeth. They did not have time for this shit.
Liquid trickled down his back. He assumed it was a mixture of blood and sweat.
A subtle ringing sound surrounded him. It took him a second to realize it was his ears and not something Khalida could hear.
“The wound is already stitching itself together.” Khalida winced.
The closest thing he would get to concern from her. It also meant that the venom was stuck in his body.
“Can you move?” Khalida asked as she looked around at the disaster zone surrounding them. “We need to get help to treat the venom.”
“I can move.” All he had to do was muster the energy to stand and to put one foot in front of the other.
And ignore the way every one of his nerves felt like they had been set on fire.
They may have stopped the creatures, but they didn’t know if any more would be sent after them.
And he much preferred being slow-moving prey than the sitting duck he would be if he stayed still.
Khalida nodded. He could see her mind working out the calculations for how long it would be before he became incapacitated.
He swallowed, his tongue slightly thicker than normal.
Going into shock would not help the matter.
Neither would relying on hope and some form of divine intervention. It had never worked before.
“Good. You weigh too much to carry out of here.”
He laughed. The movement hurt his chest and every cell in his body.
He looked around. They were going to need to find an exit.
Fast. The longer they remained stationary, the more likely they would get attacked again.
And he would not be the reason Khalida died.
“I have no desire to be dragged out of here.”
“I’m glad we both agree.”
The world around him started to spin, faster and faster, until he couldn’t tell what was up or down.
“Talik.” Khalida grabbed him, lowering him to the ground onto his back. She leaned over him, her breath warm as she placed a hand on his pulse, and her eyes widened.
He arched his back—there wasn’t a part of him that didn’t feel like it was burning from the inside.
His body was struggling to heal from the onslaught.
With the tip of the blade still embedded in him, it was a vicious cycle as his body spread the venom through him.
And, not for the first time, he wished he were human.
Somehow, humans were not as affected by the venom as Atlanteans, a cruel twist of fate or karma.
“Kiki, I may have been a bit optimistic about moving.”
He lay on the floor, trying to force the coolness through his clothes.
It hurt to think. This would not kill him if he was lucky.
Fuck. It was taking all his energy not to scream.
He tried to move, gather enough strength to push himself off the ground, but his entire body shuddered in protest. Letting Khalida venture off alone without backup was not an option. There could be an ambush.
She pushed him down. Concern flashed across her features as her eyes darkened.
Talik blinked. The hallucinations must have started.
Khalida looked like she was worried about him, even looked like she was about to shed a tear.
She forced him to turn over, careful to maneuver him without touching his wound, before she pulled up his shirt, exposing his back.
The cool air was instantly calming, but it didn’t last long.
Khalida hissed.
It must have been worse than either of them thought.
“I think I should let you know that I may have lost your knife.”
Her voice was growing fainter by the second. “You die. I die.”
He forced himself to turn over and lay on his back once more. The move made him wheeze, taking far more energy than it should have. The cool surface of the floor was a slight respite from the burning sensation.
Maybe if he closed his eyes, the pain would go away. Dark spots appeared behind his eyelids as the ringing grew exponentially louder and more annoying. “Wouldn’t want to inconvenience you and your future plans.”