Gateways 07_ What Lay Beyond - Diane Carey [93]
A feather-light hand on his arm, Shelby whispered, “Mac… are you okay?”
He looked at her and, for just a moment, there was infinite pain in his eyes, and then just like that it was gone, masked. “I’m fine,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”
They moved quickly across the plains, no words exchanged between them. Calhoun led the way, scanning the ground, looking for signs of where they’d been, tracking, using his expertise, missing nothing. “This way,” he said firmly. “I’m reasonably certain that if we follow this path, tracking these clods of dirt, and the chipped-away bits of…”
“Or we could just head for the gateway,” she said, her eyes wide, clearly unable to believe her luck as she pointed ahead of them. And there, sure enough, was a glowing in the air. It was a distance away, but it was unmistakable: the gateway. Suddenly the ground below them began to rumble, and for a moment they both thought that the gateway was about to explode. But then they realized what it was: an army in pursuit. They looked behind themselves to see a horde of angry warriors coming after them, shouting Calhoun’s name, shouting fury that he was expressing such disdain for their paradise that he was actually daring to try and leave it.
And the gateway… the gateway was fading. Whether they’d come through an hour or an age ago, it was impossible to tell, but whatever it was, it was running out. The gateway was about to cycle shut, and they’d be trapped in Kaz’hera forever.
“Run!” shouted Calhoun, and they tried, but within moments they were overrun, and even though they fought back, they were cut to pieces, and the ground ran red with their blood.
Suddenly the ground below them began to rumble, and for a moment they both thought that the gateway was about to explode. But then they realized what it was: an army in pursuit. They looked behind themselves to see a horde of angry warriors coming after them, shouting Calhoun’s name, shouting fury that he was expressing such disdain for their paradise that he was actually daring to try and leave it.
And the gateway… the gateway was fading. Whether they’d come through an hour or an age ago, it was impossible to tell, but whatever it was, it was running out. The gateway was about to cycle shut, and they’d be trapped in Kaz’hera forever.
“Run!” shouted Calhoun, and they tried, but within moments they were overrun, and Calhoun tried to fight a delaying action while Shelby ran, but they were cut to pieces, and the ground ran red with their blood.
Suddenly the ground below them began to rumble, and for a moment they both thought that the gateway was about to explode. But then they realized what it was: an army in pursuit. They looked behind themselves to see a horde of angry warriors coming after them, shouting Calhoun’s name, shouting fury that he was expressing such disdain for their paradise that he was actually daring to try and leave it.
And the gateway… the gateway was fading. Whether they’d come through an hour or an age ago, it was impossible to tell, but whatever it was, it was running out. The gateway was about to cycle shut, and they’d be trapped in Kaz’hera forever.
“Run!” shouted Calhoun, and they tried, but within moments they were overrun, and although Calhoun marveled at Shelby’s display of sword prowess, they were cut to pieces, and the ground ran red with their blood.
Suddenly the ground below them began to rumble, and for a moment they both thought that the gateway was about to explode. But then they realized what it was: an army in pursuit. They looked behind themselves to see a horde of angry warriors coming after them, shouting Calhoun’s name, shouting fury that he was expressing such disdain for their paradise that he was actually daring to try and leave it.
And the gateway… the gateway was fading. Whether they’d come through an hour or an age ago, it was impossible to tell, but whatever it was, it was running out. The gateway was about to cycle shut, and