Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
We all stand frozen in horror.
“Just keep still.” Vitai comes up behind her and focuses his gaze on the floor of the bridge from over her head. “I’m not going to let you fall.”
The board beneath her feet stops creaking and looks more solid.
I charge forward on autopilot, but someone grabs me by the back of my shirt. Karl.
“The bridge is unstable,” he says in a strained voice, yanking me to the middle of the platform.
I haven’t tested my power enough yet to know if I can fix a board with my mind. I’ve just learned how to open walls and part water. Before I can put my new skills to the test, Vitai cups Eucabeth’s hips and steers her forward carefully.
One of the boards on which Vitai steps gives way. It falls for three, four seconds. A crunch follows as the wood breaks into pieces on the rocks.
“Vitai,” Eucabeth cries out.
“Don’t worry.” His voice is soothing. “You’re fine.”
Two more steps, and they’re on the platform.
Just as I’m about to let out a relieved sigh, the ropes make a funny noise. They groan with strain, stretching… stretching. The bridge starts to sway in the breeze that picks up.
A chorus of gasps rises from the platform.
A sharp snap sounds. The bridge tips sharply to the right. A few boards fall to the bottom.
More screams pierce the air. The women cling to the ropes, their faces pulled into masks of horror. We’re trapped on the platform.
The platform jolts.
“The ropes.” Sandy’s face is as white as chalk. “They’re fraying.”
Instinctively, I focus my mind on them as Maeva starts crying.
Shivering from head to toe, Alexa says, “We’re going to die.”
“We’re not,” Vitai says with a tight jaw.
The ropes knit together again, and the remaining boards grow in size, covering some of the gaps.
It’s Vitai’s doing, not mine. I clearly need more practice.
Either way, now that they’re wider, the boards look thinner and flimsier, and I don’t know if they’ll hold under our weight.
Desperate, I scan the horizon, but the mist obscures the sky.
Betty, I need you, girl.
I close my eyes and tap into that dark world of stars. It’s quicker this time, the map already there. An istiodactylus is the closest. The other dinosaurs are still skittish after the rockslides and haven’t returned from their hideouts yet. The istiodactylus is profiting from the bigger carnivores’ absence, fishing in the lake.
I bring him around.
A moment later, he appears through the mist. He thrusts his long, orange-tipped, yellow beak forward as he dives down. With an impressive span of at least fifteen feet, his wings quickly eat up the distance.
The women duck and yell, making the platform sway.
“He won’t hurt you,” I say, doing my best to keep everyone calm. “Trust me.”
Betty follows short on the istiodactylus’s tail, her majestic body gliding through the air as she aims straight for the platform.
God, I love you, girl.
The istiodactylus follows my mental command and positions himself under the bridge while Betty hovers next to it. She flaps her large wings to stay in place, nearly knocking a few of us off our feet.
“Down, girl!” I point below the bridge. “You can do it.”
Immediately obeying the command, she descends and lines up in front of the istiodactylus, whom I decide to call Ducky. Together, they’re long enough to cover the length of the bridge and provide support for our weight in case the boards don’t hold.
Vitai nods at me, clearly understanding my intention. “Let’s go.”
“No,” Maeva squeals, her expression terrified as she looks down. “We’ll fall!”
“We won’t.” I take her hand. “Vitai stabilized the bridge, and the dinosaurs will carry our weight. Just follow my lead.”
“Don’t you mean dragons?” Vitai asks.
Now’s not the time to explain.
Eucabeth retreats to the center of the platform. “No.” She trembles. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.” Vitai’s tone is both stern and encouraging. “I’ll carry you.”
I go first, pulling Maeva behind me. Sandy is next. Irina, Karl, and Alexa follow. Vitai is last, carrying Eucabeth in his arms.
The large wings of the pterosaurs stir up a breeze. I’m walking as if on eggshells. The boards tip left and right like seesaws on the uneven expanse of Ducky’s back, but he manages to keep more or less motionless in the air.
A few of the thin boards crack. Some break when I step on them, and I’m not the heaviest of people. I glance past Ducky at the abyss below, my stomach climbing into my throat as I slowly cross the bridge.
By the time I reach Betty, my palms are clammy, and a trickle of sweat runs down my back. The people behind me cry out every time another board splits in two beneath their feet, but we’re making progress.
I can feel Ducky’s stress. Staying in place puts enormous strain on him. Reaching out to him with my mind, I calm and encourage him with a mental pep talk.