Page 8 - UnderEarth

was impossible – she knew the worth of the Drowned One boy. She had trusted him once and betrayal had been her reward.
It was in that moment that disaster struck. Storm’s head flooded with memories of her dead mother – images and thoughts she had tried to bury with Dain. She struggled to focus. She searched for Air-music, but all she could hear was a white buzz of loathing. Storm looked into the eyes of the boy who had caused her mother’s death and knew she was about to die.
Nim’s cry had warned them. He looked horrified, orange freckles stark in a sweaty face. Twenty-four arrows were notched, aimed, loosed. The shafts rose into the air as one, like a flock of startled birds. Storm thought of her mother. She would see Dain soon.
Not if your body is lost, fool! shouted her mind-voice.
The fear of final separation broke the spell. Storm dived into the sea a gasping mini-breath before the first arrows thudded into the wood of the rowing boat, turning it into a floating porcupine.
A finger of pain scratched her shoulder, the salt- burn of seawater on raw flesh. She was shot! Terror dissolved the feelings of unreality. Storm flailed at the water, fighting it, her ears full of the enemy’s shouts.
Sea-splashed eyes glimpsed bows drawn taut, arrows
Uncorrected Sample
Not for Redistribution • Copyright © Protected 7