Groaning, I rolled to my side. I was in a large, dark cavern. Small patches
of bioluminescent moss cast a dim light, enough that my shadow magic let
me see clearly in the dark.
Clutching my aching arm, I got to my feet and looked up. Far above, the
hole I had fallen from was closing as roots filled the tunnel and knit together.
Panic fluttered in my chest, and I quickly searched the chamber for
hidden exits but found none.
I was trapped.
At the far end of the cavern, another cluster of roots on the ceiling began
to move. They slowly descended from the ceiling with Kahanov in their
grasp.
He raised his hands, and three giant balls of light formed in the air,
illuminating the dank interior cavern. “Ah, Savannah. Alone once again. This
time, there’s nowhere to run.”
“Let me go, Kahanov, or I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Kahanov? Dear, no. You all keep calling me that, but Ulan hasn’t been
here for a long, long time. His body has been very useful, though.”
I backed away and extended my claws. “What the fuck are you talking
about, and why are you after me, you asshole?”
He summoned the knife as the roots set him down, and menace and foul
magic vibrated the air. “Your family killed my wolf, and so I’m going to take
yours in return. I’ll be whole again, and then I’ll bring your family and the
Order and the pack to their knees. They’ll beg the dark god for his mercy, but
the only mercy we will offer is death.”
The dark god? An image of the black wolf in the sky outside of my aunt
and uncle’s house filled my mind. But before I could process it, he lunged.
I spun away from the blade and suddenly extinguished the magic lights
high overhead with my shadow magic.
Kahanov lurched forward, blinded for just a second.
I summoned the blade and struck.