Read Online Judgment Day (Templar Chronicles Book 5) by Joseph Nassise - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Joseph Nassise
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upward in creeping strands against its trunk. As his gaze followed them, he was shocked to discover his wife pinned against the trunk and held captive high above the ground, her hands and feet secured to the tree with twisting strands of those same cruel thorns.
Cade gasped in surprised horror and, despite the distance between them, Gabrielle opened her eyes at the sound.
She recognized him immediately. ”Help me, Cade,” she said and he heard her as clearly as if she was standing next to him, speaking into his ear. Without thought, without hesitation, he charged across the clearing toward her, determined to find a way to get her down.
The first twenty yards passed without incident.
But as he neared the center of the clearing, his foot caught on something – a rock? a root thrust upward through the soil? – and he stumbled, staggering forward several feet before losing his balance entirely and falling to his knees.
Feeling like an idiot, he tried to get up, only to discover that he could not. His foot was stuck fast, apparently by whatever he’d stumbled over.
“Hurry, Cade,” Gabrielle called.
“I’m coming,” he said, a little impatiently, as he kicked his leg to free it while glancing back to see what he’d caught himself on.
His thrashing parted the fog a moment, allowing him to see.
At first he thought he thought he’d gotten his foot tangled up in a mass of roots, but then they moved and he realized what he’d taken for roots were actually long, narrow fingers that had burst from the soil and wrapped themselves around his ankle. Even as he looked on he could feel them squeezing tighter…
Heart racing, Cade tried to raise his other leg to kick himself loose, only to discover that it, too, had been snared. The fingers were squeezing so tightly that they had sunk into his flesh and he could feel blood running down his leg as they fought for more purchase.
“Let go!” Cade shouted in frustration, kicking his legs to no avail. He tried clawing his way forward, digging his fingers into the earth and pulling with all the might of his upper body and still getting nowhere.
That’s when the ground beneath him started to give way and the hands began to drag him under.
Cade fought like a cornered rat, throwing himself about and scrambling to hold on to whatever was within reach in an effort to tear himself away from the hands holding him, but nothing helped.
Slowly but surely his legs were dragged beneath the surface, until he was buried from the waist down. His legs were going numb from the tightness of the grip on his calves, but he refused to give up.
Gabrielle was screaming his name at this point and yet he didn’t dare take the chance of looking in her direction for fear the distraction would cause him to lose even more ground.
He slipped deeper, nearly up to his armpits, and he could feel dozens more hands grasping at his torso and upper thighs, nails digging into his flesh as they pulled him deeper.
He was still flailing in vain when the hands dragged him under…
Cade lurched awake, the dream receding into the depths of his consciousness like a snake slipping into the night’s shadows.
For a moment he didn’t know where he was or why he was there. Then he realized that he’d been dreaming and the memories of what had really happened came rushing back; images flashing on the Imax screen of his mind with all the grace of an avalanche as he relived seeing his former allies gunning down the woman he loved in an effort to kill the creature that held her captive. He’d lost control at that point, charging forward like some kind of crazed lunatic and attacked anyone he could get his hands on until someone had clubbed him unconscious from behind.
Now, with his eyes open, he found himself in the back of one of the Order’s transport vans as it headed heaven knew where. Twin benches lined either side of the cargo area and he was secured to one of them with handcuffs and belly chains. A glance
Cade gasped in surprised horror and, despite the distance between them, Gabrielle opened her eyes at the sound.
She recognized him immediately. ”Help me, Cade,” she said and he heard her as clearly as if she was standing next to him, speaking into his ear. Without thought, without hesitation, he charged across the clearing toward her, determined to find a way to get her down.
The first twenty yards passed without incident.
But as he neared the center of the clearing, his foot caught on something – a rock? a root thrust upward through the soil? – and he stumbled, staggering forward several feet before losing his balance entirely and falling to his knees.
Feeling like an idiot, he tried to get up, only to discover that he could not. His foot was stuck fast, apparently by whatever he’d stumbled over.
“Hurry, Cade,” Gabrielle called.
“I’m coming,” he said, a little impatiently, as he kicked his leg to free it while glancing back to see what he’d caught himself on.
His thrashing parted the fog a moment, allowing him to see.
At first he thought he thought he’d gotten his foot tangled up in a mass of roots, but then they moved and he realized what he’d taken for roots were actually long, narrow fingers that had burst from the soil and wrapped themselves around his ankle. Even as he looked on he could feel them squeezing tighter…
Heart racing, Cade tried to raise his other leg to kick himself loose, only to discover that it, too, had been snared. The fingers were squeezing so tightly that they had sunk into his flesh and he could feel blood running down his leg as they fought for more purchase.
“Let go!” Cade shouted in frustration, kicking his legs to no avail. He tried clawing his way forward, digging his fingers into the earth and pulling with all the might of his upper body and still getting nowhere.
That’s when the ground beneath him started to give way and the hands began to drag him under.
Cade fought like a cornered rat, throwing himself about and scrambling to hold on to whatever was within reach in an effort to tear himself away from the hands holding him, but nothing helped.
Slowly but surely his legs were dragged beneath the surface, until he was buried from the waist down. His legs were going numb from the tightness of the grip on his calves, but he refused to give up.
Gabrielle was screaming his name at this point and yet he didn’t dare take the chance of looking in her direction for fear the distraction would cause him to lose even more ground.
He slipped deeper, nearly up to his armpits, and he could feel dozens more hands grasping at his torso and upper thighs, nails digging into his flesh as they pulled him deeper.
He was still flailing in vain when the hands dragged him under…
Cade lurched awake, the dream receding into the depths of his consciousness like a snake slipping into the night’s shadows.
For a moment he didn’t know where he was or why he was there. Then he realized that he’d been dreaming and the memories of what had really happened came rushing back; images flashing on the Imax screen of his mind with all the grace of an avalanche as he relived seeing his former allies gunning down the woman he loved in an effort to kill the creature that held her captive. He’d lost control at that point, charging forward like some kind of crazed lunatic and attacked anyone he could get his hands on until someone had clubbed him unconscious from behind.
Now, with his eyes open, he found himself in the back of one of the Order’s transport vans as it headed heaven knew where. Twin benches lined either side of the cargo area and he was secured to one of them with handcuffs and belly chains. A glance
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