Fulcrum of Light (Catalyst Book 2) C.J. Aaron (unputdownable books .TXT) 📖

about twenty meters below the top of the ridge. The pair had filled their water skins and stomachs as they replenished their supplies of the gritty tasting carrots at the last copse of gnarled trees shortly before settling here. They made their watchful descent to settle for an early night’s rest.

Ryl trailed Andr’s lead, carefully plotting his way down the moderate slope of the ridge. Without warning, his vision blurred and his head spun. He lost his balance with a gasp as he toppled forward. His enhanced agility failed him, and he slammed into the loose rock of the hill sliding into the back of the mercenary in front of him. Luckily, Andr braced his legs against a solid boulder, arresting Ryl’s uncontrolled tumble down the hill.

Ryl’s forearms and chest had taken the bulk of the impact from the fall. Andr helped prop him back into a sitting position, worriedly looking him over for injury.

“Are you ok?” he asked, his voice laden with concern.

Ryl squeezed his eyes closed waiting for the spinning to stop before attempting to answer.

“I think so,” Ryl responded hesitantly. “I don’t know what happened. One moment I was walking, the next, the dizziness took me from my feet. I don’t know if this is just fatigue, or if we have a bigger problem at hand.”

“Let’s get you back to the cave,” Andr said reassuringly. “Some extra rest tonight will hopefully do you wonders.”

Ryl nodded in agreement, yet in his heart he feared the worst. He could feel the subtle differences inside him. The blood in his veins felt sluggish, yet agitated, as if it fought to crawl throughout his body. As if it fought for every inch of progress. There was a war waging in his blood.

The sickness was beginning.

They made it back to their meager shelter without further incident. Ryl plopped himself down leaning against the back wall, laying his pack down next to him to serve as a pillow. He collapsed onto it with an uncharacteristic lack of coordination. Andr watched him with worried eyes.

Before tonight they'd remained vigilant in their watch schedule. The boredom from eventless shift after shift—night after night spent staring into the motionless darkness—was exhausting. The sound of their tired breathing provided the only soundtrack to their monotonous vigil. To this point, the fatigue had been held at bay by memories of the scream that had pierced the night. Images of the bloodbath they stumbled upon the following morning still haunted his mind.

He knew that Andr had been stretching the length of his own shifts allowing Ryl the additional rest. He’d sought to do the same, as he knew the mercenary needed the rest too, yet Andr had always woken, as if on cue, every time. Ryl watched the guard settle into his position by the door before closing his eyes.

Ryl hadn’t realized he’d fallen asleep, waking with a start. His eyes were hesitant to adjust to the darkness inside the cave. He could make out the form of Andr silhouetted against the charcoal backdrop of the moonlit sky, head turning ever so slightly surveying the quiet night. He slammed his eyes shut again clenching his jaw together as another wave of dizziness rushed over him. His inadvertent groan drew the attention of the ever observant Andr.

“Ryl, are you alright?” Andr whispered.

“Aye, I’ll be fine,” he responded, not entirely convinced at the truthfulness of his statement.

Andr gave him a half-hearted smile, turning his head back to its original scan of the exterior. Ryl eased his body up to a seated position, leaning back against the cold hard stone of the cave’s wall. As quickly as it had come, the dizziness passed, leaving a mild sense of nausea in its wake.

Ryl’s eyes went wide as he examined the interior of the cave they’d chosen for shelter. Where there was nothing but solid rock earlier the walls and ceiling now appeared to be dripping like wax heated by a flame. He watched as the surface oozed down in sheets, small clumps falling noiselessly to the floor. Stalactites of liquid rock stretched to their limits before separating, splattering on the ground below. He shook his head, closing and rubbing his eyes.

He cautiously opened them again, afraid of what he might see. The rock before him was solid once more, though Andr had turned again at his unintended gasp. Ryl gave him a slight wave in response, placating his worrying companion. He blinked again and again yet the scene that met his eyes remained the same.

So focused was his attention on the apparent hallucination Ryl was unaware that he inadvertently scanned the area with his mindsight. He would have overlooked the blackened shape that appeared altogether had it not made a rapid sudden movement.

Ryl focused with intent, searching for the sign that now moved from right to left, skirting the edge of his phrenic mindsight. The mild nausea was forgotten as he felt his stomach drop.

A second black shape moved to meet the first.

Chapter 8

Stumbling across the small cave, Ryl reached the entrance in a flash, skidding to a stop at Andr’s side. He glared out into the darkness, eyes darting across the landscape before him. He closed his eyes, focusing his mindsight, locating the two shapes immediately. He opened them again and refocused his visual search on a small outcropping of rocks well off the face of the ridge they’d sought shelter in. His heart was convinced, yet his head needed visual confirmation of what he feared.

“What is it?” Andr whispered, caught off guard by Ryl’s sudden approach and erratic behavior.

“See that pile of rocks?” Ryl stammered out in a distressed whisper, pointing toward the outcropping he’d seen the shadows slip behind. “There’s something out there.”

“Ryl, what are you talking about?” Andr retorted.

“Just look,” Ryl hissed, interrupting the mercenary mid-sentence.

Andr’s eyes rested on Ryl for a moment before turning his focus to the outcropping where Ryl had directed them. Ryl switched between looking with his eyes, and