Chapter 14 · No Road Back

The chains came at them like striking snakes.

Cole threw himself sideways, dragging Ivy with him. Her shoulder slammed into his ribs. The chains hissed past his ear close enough he felt the air split.

"Move," he gasped, already pulling her toward the door.

But Ivy's legs weren't working right. She stumbled, and he had to catch her weight. The death-prints she'd seen still glowed faintly on the stone floor, a trail of smoking footsteps that led straight to the seal's black center.

He didn't look at them. Couldn't.

Another chain whipped down. Cole yanked Ivy left and the iron smashed into the ground where they'd been standing, hard enough to crack the stone. Dust exploded up. He tasted grit and old blood.

"Taker," he shouted. "Get out of the way."

The Taker was still standing in the doorway, outlined against the dim glow of whatever moonlight made it through the canopy outside. It didn't move.

"I said move."

He shoved Ivy forward, half-carrying her now. Her boots scraped the floor. She was breathing too fast, shallow and ragged like she couldn't get enough air.

The chains kept coming.