Read Online Fallen Angel of Mine by John Corwin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John Corwin
Ads: Link
time. As we took the
chain bolted to the bottom of the cavern, something black flashed
past in my peripheral vision. A quick glance revealed nothing but a
dark expanse of water just outside the range of my blue-tinged
night vision. Elyssa and Kassallandra had pulled ahead of me by a
few feet during my look around so I hurried to catch up.
Something I couldn't quite make out
hovered in the murk a few feet from the chain. I stopped and peered
closer but the darkness hid its identity. It was probably a fish, I
figured. Of course, I had flashbacks to every scary movie I'd seen
with giant man-eating fish in them. I renewed my effort to catch up
with the girls again as fear colder than the water around me twined
around my bowels. A glint of yellow in my night vision drew my
attention yet again to the side. Despite my unease, I pushed off
the chain and swam a few feet forward. A black shape rotated slowly
in the water, strands of something cloudy trailing from it. I
pressed forward another foot and bit back a sudden gasp that
would've sucked water into my lungs. I knew what the black shape
was.
The head of a hellhound.
Chapter 7
I jetted for the chain, legs kicking
furiously to get away from the gruesome sight and to warn the
others that something was down here with us. The chain shuddered
and jerked. I flew down the length of it, desperate to catch sight
of the women again.
I spotted them near the bottom,
surrounded by three giant-looking fish. I realized with relief that
the fish were, in fact, the hellhounds, or maybe they were hellfish
now even though their front halves definitely appeared canine,
paws, muzzle and all.
Kassallandra reached the tunnel at the
base of the chain and gripped the largest of the hellhounds, the
one she'd called Malkesh. He jetted into the tunnel, pulling his
mistress along for the ride. Elyssa looked back up the chain at me,
her eyes glowing like violet fire in the darkness.
Something brushed my leg. Something
infinitely colder than the water around me. I bottled up the shout
threatening to burst from my lungs. At this point, I felt a slight
burn in my chest as my body devoured the oxygen thanks, in no small
part, to the terror hammering in my chest.
Elyssa's eyes widened. She jabbed her
finger over and over at something to my right. I looked that way in
time to see a black blob twisting and churning straight at me. One
of the hellhounds, its flipper-like appendage leaving a trail of
fine bubbles in the water, opened its jaws wide and bit the thing.
The oily-looking glob vanished into the hound's maw. I stopped
staring and frantically pulled myself hand-over-hand down the
chain.
A gurgling yelp sounded behind me. I
turned to see the black substance oozing from the hellhound's nose,
mouth, and eyes, popping the orbs from the sockets to dangle
gruesomely by slender threads of nerves. The hound's body twisted
and turned, front paws churning at the water until, with a loud
crunch, it seemed to twist itself in half, tearing flesh and
leaving a bloody cloud in the water. A tentacle of the black cloud
speared toward me, coiling around my leg and drawing tight like a
noose.
It was all I could do not to scream as
the intense cold of its grip bit into my leg. Elyssa was swimming
for me but another hellhound pinned her between its forelegs. The
creature jerked at my foot again until I thought it might entirely
wrench off the appendage. The chain shuddered with each pull. The
lower mooring bolt snapped loose from the bedrock and suddenly I
was flying backward away from Elyssa and into the dark as my hands
glided down the slippery length of the metal chain.
I tightened my grip. The chain snapped
taut for a brief instant before breaking free of the other bolt
back at the air pocket. My heart pounded mercilessly against my
ribs and the ache in my lungs turned into an intense burn as terror
depleted my remaining oxygen supply. I had nothing to grab hold of
as the flowing black thing
chain bolted to the bottom of the cavern, something black flashed
past in my peripheral vision. A quick glance revealed nothing but a
dark expanse of water just outside the range of my blue-tinged
night vision. Elyssa and Kassallandra had pulled ahead of me by a
few feet during my look around so I hurried to catch up.
Something I couldn't quite make out
hovered in the murk a few feet from the chain. I stopped and peered
closer but the darkness hid its identity. It was probably a fish, I
figured. Of course, I had flashbacks to every scary movie I'd seen
with giant man-eating fish in them. I renewed my effort to catch up
with the girls again as fear colder than the water around me twined
around my bowels. A glint of yellow in my night vision drew my
attention yet again to the side. Despite my unease, I pushed off
the chain and swam a few feet forward. A black shape rotated slowly
in the water, strands of something cloudy trailing from it. I
pressed forward another foot and bit back a sudden gasp that
would've sucked water into my lungs. I knew what the black shape
was.
The head of a hellhound.
Chapter 7
I jetted for the chain, legs kicking
furiously to get away from the gruesome sight and to warn the
others that something was down here with us. The chain shuddered
and jerked. I flew down the length of it, desperate to catch sight
of the women again.
I spotted them near the bottom,
surrounded by three giant-looking fish. I realized with relief that
the fish were, in fact, the hellhounds, or maybe they were hellfish
now even though their front halves definitely appeared canine,
paws, muzzle and all.
Kassallandra reached the tunnel at the
base of the chain and gripped the largest of the hellhounds, the
one she'd called Malkesh. He jetted into the tunnel, pulling his
mistress along for the ride. Elyssa looked back up the chain at me,
her eyes glowing like violet fire in the darkness.
Something brushed my leg. Something
infinitely colder than the water around me. I bottled up the shout
threatening to burst from my lungs. At this point, I felt a slight
burn in my chest as my body devoured the oxygen thanks, in no small
part, to the terror hammering in my chest.
Elyssa's eyes widened. She jabbed her
finger over and over at something to my right. I looked that way in
time to see a black blob twisting and churning straight at me. One
of the hellhounds, its flipper-like appendage leaving a trail of
fine bubbles in the water, opened its jaws wide and bit the thing.
The oily-looking glob vanished into the hound's maw. I stopped
staring and frantically pulled myself hand-over-hand down the
chain.
A gurgling yelp sounded behind me. I
turned to see the black substance oozing from the hellhound's nose,
mouth, and eyes, popping the orbs from the sockets to dangle
gruesomely by slender threads of nerves. The hound's body twisted
and turned, front paws churning at the water until, with a loud
crunch, it seemed to twist itself in half, tearing flesh and
leaving a bloody cloud in the water. A tentacle of the black cloud
speared toward me, coiling around my leg and drawing tight like a
noose.
It was all I could do not to scream as
the intense cold of its grip bit into my leg. Elyssa was swimming
for me but another hellhound pinned her between its forelegs. The
creature jerked at my foot again until I thought it might entirely
wrench off the appendage. The chain shuddered with each pull. The
lower mooring bolt snapped loose from the bedrock and suddenly I
was flying backward away from Elyssa and into the dark as my hands
glided down the slippery length of the metal chain.
I tightened my grip. The chain snapped
taut for a brief instant before breaking free of the other bolt
back at the air pocket. My heart pounded mercilessly against my
ribs and the ache in my lungs turned into an intense burn as terror
depleted my remaining oxygen supply. I had nothing to grab hold of
as the flowing black thing
Similar Books
