The Tear Beneath
Ares
Whatever is making the water react has us both on edge, and I think I made a bloody mistake asking her to stay close.
I should tell her to back off, because having her this near is messing with my concentration.
But considering there is still some ugly motherfucker in these tunnels with a high chance of it jumping us, I’m not about to change my mind just because I can smell her through the pungent sewer rot.
The tunnel narrows the further we go, forcing us into a single-file line, and every few steps her shoulder brushes mine or her hand grazes the back of my jacket when the ground dips suddenly beneath our boots.
She mutters under her breath once when her boot slips, and I turn slightly without thinking, my arm moving back to steady her before she can actually fall.
“I’m fine,” she murmurs, steadying herself.
“Didn’t ask,” I reply arrogantly, although my hand lingers a second too long at her waist.
Her eyes flick to mine, and for a moment I just hold her gaze. Despite the tension in her jaw, her eyes are sharp and focused. We both don’t know what we might face; that’s the issue. There are some monsters out there that are pretty undefeatable.
There’s also something in the water… I’m sure of it; it’s stinging at the scrape on my leg. It was barely a hair’s breadth earlier; the fact that it’s taking this long to disappear entirely means something.
But the deeper we get through the water, the more it’s beginning to burn. I clench my jaw as the pain begins to spread up my shin and to my knee, making my wolf snarl in my head.
“You lied,” she says quietly.
I glance back at her. “About what?”
“Your leg.”
“Not now, Arden,” I growl as I keep walking.
“It hasn’t healed entirely, has it?” she asks icily.
“Congratulations, Sherlock,” I reply sarcastically.
“You are an alpha favoured by Poseidon, Ares. A scrape should not still be hurting you.”
I don’t answer because she’s right, and I’m not in the mood to give her that satisfaction when the water is pulling us deeper into a place that feels like it was built to swallow up whoever enters it.
Up ahead, the tunnel curves to the left, the water hitting the stone wall violently, but that’s not what’s caught my attention.
We continue cautiously, taking a few more steps as we approach the bend when I suddenly stop, and Charlotte bumps into me. I ignore her mutter, my eyes fixed on the crack in the veil, peeking out from behind a collapsed pile of stones, but the glowing crack is unmistakable.
I step closer, my eyes narrowing. It’s not the biggest I’ve seen, but it’s far from the smallest. Nothing larger than a human could fit through, but that’s dangerous enough.
Charlotte steps beside me, tablet lowering slowly in her hand. “So that’s it.”
It’s not a question, so I don’t bother responding.
“Send our location to Leo; from here it’s on him to get it sorted,” I say. She nods as she marks something down on her tablet.
“I’ll mark the location just in case, and then I’ll send our location to Leo,” she replies.
I nod as I observe her; she didn’t argue this time about who’s in charge.
“Thanks,” I say. She looks up, and I narrow my eyes; she’s smart enough not to say anything right now.
She tilts her head as she steps back. “Do you feel that?” she murmurs.
“Feel what?” I ask.
“Ill?” she says quietly.
I pause, the pain from my leg rising through me, but aside from that I feel fine, maybe a little off… I frown.
“Kinda, I guess,” I say. She looks at me with that look that means she’s very unimpressed by my answer.
“It feels worse the closer to it we are; maybe whatever’s on the other side is bleeding into the water.” Her gaze then dips to my leg. “That’s probably why it’s taking so long to heal.”
“Brilliant.”
She looks like she wants to argue, but decides against it. She reaches for her Schattensicht to send out the signal to Leo. A strong ripple rushes through the water, and we both turn to the crack, seeing something dark spilling out of it.
I step in front of her without thinking, and she huffs in irritation. “Don’t try to protect me,” she says icily.
“Too late,” I murmur, my eyes fixed on the crack.
Charlotte makes an irritated sound. “This is supposed to be a partnership,” she remarks. I can feel the subtle aura of her power as she keeps it at the ready.
“Yeah, and right now your partner is being considerate as fuck and protecting you.”
Before she can throw a snarky answer back at me, I point to the walls. “Look, those scratches are pretty deep…” I murmur, inching closer to the pulsing crack.
“And there’s blood; it doesn’t look that old…” she adds. I scan the walls; it’s as if something or someone was desperately trying to stop itself from being dragged into it.
Most likely the victims that those things have been taking.
Suddenly, I sense the shift in the air and step back just as something dark begins spreading from the crack in the veil, rushing through the water towards us, tendrils spreading as if trying to grab us.
One strand of darkness darts towards Charlotte’s leg.
I grab her by the waist and pull her close, blasting it back with a wall of water.
She hits my chest, one of her hands flying to my arm, her heart racing.
For a split second, all that matters is the feel of her against me, the way her body stills beneath my hold, the sudden hitch in her breathing that she can’t hide even when she tilts her chin and gives me a glare sharp enough to cut stone.
“I was handling it; stop hauling me around like I’m a doll!” she snaps, her aura rippling through the water as I see her create something like a barrier over it, keeping the black tendrils at bay.
“You ain’t no doll, Princess, you’re fucking annoying; dolls don’t have mouths on them,” I growl, watching the dark tendrils retreat.
“I do not have time for this. I’m sending the signal so we can get out of here,” she says as she fiddles with her Schattensicht.
Only then do I realise my hand is still on her waist; my fingers tighten involuntarily, making her still, her eyes locking with mine.
I can hear her heart racing, then her gaze dips to my mouth for one tiny, dangerous second before looking back into my eyes.
Fuck.
This is not the time.
As if in agreement with me, the tear pulses and then the water beneath our feet is covered entirely in black.
Her power erupts, and it breaks through and begins wrapping around us.
I let go of her and raise my hand. We were warned to keep the use of power to a minimum until necessary, and right now we have no other fucking choice, even if it will only draw more crap through that tunnel.
My wolf rises within me, and the snarl that leaves my throat is not entirely human.
Before the monster can reach me, I slam my power forward.
Water erupts between us, crashing into its chest with enough force to hurl it backwards.
It smashes into the wall, claws scraping the stone, but instead of falling, it twists, screeching, and starts hammering at the tunnel around it as if it’s looking for another way through.
Or a way out.
“Na,” I mutter, lifting my hand again. “You don’t get to run now.”
I flick my wrist, and the water rises in a brutal spiral, gathering speed until it becomes a cyclone in the narrow tunnel.
It roars towards the monster, tearing loose dirt, broken stone and poisoned water into its current, and when it hits its target, the creature screams, digging its claws into the wall as the force drags it back towards the tear it came from.
But it never makes it; my cyclone tears through him with no mercy.
“Ares!” Charlotte’s hand closes around my sleeve.
“Is the signal sent out?” I ask, feeling the weak tug at my energy.
“Yes,” she replies.
“Good, then they know the location. We get the fuck out of here. Now.”
I’ve barely taken a step when I hear a snarl far louder than the previous one, and then something way too ginormous comes through the crack.
“This is where you get to run like Cinderella, Princess,” I growl as I raise a barrier of water to stop the giant motherfucker with one hand, and with the other, I split the water beneath us and create a path for her.
“I am not leaving you!” she says, spinning around.
“Fucking hell, woman!” I growl as the large monster bangs against my barrier, making the entire tunnel shake. “Arden! Go!”
“No,” she says, and she turns and channels her power into mine. I feel the calm strength and that control of hers seep into mine.
But it’s too late; I hear the distant rumble before rocks and dirt begin tumbling down from all directions.
Turning, I grab her and drag her down the tunnel, only for it to collapse ahead. I stop in my tracks as we back up again. I turn back to the beast that is still trying to get through, only disturbing the already collapsing tunnels.
I look up just as I see the tunnel roof give way, raining down on us. Charlotte targets a few of the larger boulders, making them explode before they can land.
I grit my teeth, blasting some others away, but it’s fucking futile. It’s too much. I throw up a barrier above us as stone and rubble hammer down against it.
“You cannot hold that forever,” she whispers. “You’re using poisoned water, Ares; it’s weakening you.”
“Really?” I growl as I strain to hold up my barrier. “I had no fucking idea.”
“I can’t even use mine properly.” Her admission makes me still for a second, because we’ve been walking through it for ages.
I grit my teeth as I feel our powers collide sharply, and then it shifts, and her power wraps around mine.
She’s giving me her strength, just as I had shared mine with her back at the Blood Moon Pack during the last battle…
I suddenly remember Mom and squash the thought – not now.
Then the ground gives, and we’re falling. I barely manage to shield her, wrapping my arms around her as we hit the floor on impact, just as the first heavy piece slams into my shoulder.
Pain explodes across my back, but I hold her tighter.
Another huge boulder slams into my back, but I keep my arms locked, my body covering hers, my power screaming through my skull. We remain there in that position until everything stops moving. Only then does she look up at me, her hand still fisting my shirt. Her eyes locked on mine.
I rest my forearm on the ground above her head, protecting her from anything that gets past my barrier.
The rumbling around us subsides, but I can’t move; my head is spinning, my power feels like it’s sinking through my hands, and Charlotte is looking up at me as if she can see every thought I am trying not to have.
The rubble shifts above us, and I brace harder, my arm beside her head trembling once before I force it steady.
“You protected me…” she murmurs, more to herself than me, and I hate the way she says it, like it means something more than basic fucking survival.
“As the one in charge, that’s my duty,” I say despite the weight of rock on my back.
“You’re not in charge,” she whispers, releasing my shirt and locking her arm around my neck instead, and I feel her power – weak but there – and then the weight is being lifted off my back, and I realise she’s lifting away the rocks, each one making the ground shake as it falls to the ground.
Her eyes sharpen. “Can you move?” she asks quietly. When I don’t answer, she speaks again. “Ares?”
“I’m fine,” I mutter, trying to push past whatever was crushing my legs. One glance around shows we are surrounded by rocks. There’s no water, just a steady drip from somewhere above.
The tunnel has sealed around us, and with a sinking stomach, I realise we are trapped.
Fuck.
But right now I can’t let that cloud my mind.
I focus on Charlotte instead; she’s still beneath me, removing the rocks that are piled high above my barrier.
My wolf is at the forefront of my mind, protective of the she-wolf beneath me.
I let out a growl as I keep my barrier holding the weight of the rocks.
“Almost there,” she murmurs, her power glowing faintly as she removes more of the large boulders that are crushing me. Then she falters and coughs. I freeze when the coppery smell of blood reaches my nose, and I look down sharply to see blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
“Charlotte?” I ask, my eyes sharpening as her eyelids flutter weakly. “Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Liar.
“Stay with me, Princess,” I mutter, gritting my teeth as I force my barrier to push off the rest of the rocks with one large snarl that rings through the air. “Fuck!” I hiss in pain.
“Ares?” she asks, her voice weaker now, but still determined.
Her eyes hold mine for a fleeting moment, soft grey rimmed with long lashes, and despite everything – despite the cave-in and the poisoned water and the darkness pressing around us – her arms remain locked around me, like she has no intention of letting go.
I try to move, but there are still rocks trapping my fucking legs.
“I’ll get us outta here. Just hold on, stay with me,” I say.
“I’m here,” she whispers.