Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
I freeze, afraid to move any farther. The ice groans beneath my weight, as if it will crack completely at any given moment and swallow me whole. I don’t know if this is real or if it’s in my mind, but what I do know is that I cannot let the ice break before reaching the end of this tunnel.
I hear the chains rattle again and lift my head. I spot a figure in the distance, bathed in blue light, slumped over and unmoving. It’s a person. It’s…
“Caz!” I yell. Forget the ice. I need to get to him. I run toward the tunnel end and the ice crackles louder. It splits apart as I run faster, chasing me as I hurry toward the light. I breathe raggedly, arms pumping, before finally diving forward and grunting as I hit frozen land.
When I look back, the ice completely splits apart behind me. A dark tidal wave rises, swallowing the broken ice and dragging it into the darkness, and I can’t help feeling a chill whisper down my spine knowing I could be under that water right now.
I press up on my hands, surveilling my surroundings. The chill in the air clings to my skin, sinking deep into my lungs and bones. Tufts of breath surround me as I observe the hills and mountains of snow and ice ahead. The sky is a cloudless, murky blue, the horizon tinged a vicious red. Caz’s body was here…but now he’s gone. Where did he go?
“You can’t find me!” A shrill voice fills the air. To my left, a boy with floppy, dark hair runs past, glowing in iridescent blue light. It takes me a while to realize he may not be real. More of a vision or figment of my imagination. He glows with sparkling blue dust radiating off him and can’t be any older than five.
The boy hides behind a shimmering tree, giggling, and I step closer, confusion taking hold of me.
“Oh no!” a woman’s voice squeals. “Where could he be? Where has my Caspian gone?”
The boy giggles again, crouching behind the tree as a woman appears, looking all around, pretending not to see him. I remain still as the woman turns in my direction, looking right through me.
“Is he here?” She trots away, popping her head around a wheelbarrow, and the boy’s laughter swirls in the air.
“Oh, wait—I think I hear something! Would that be my raven-haired boy?” The woman tiptoes over, finding him behind the thick tree. She grabs him, tickling his ribs and nuzzling her nose into the crook of his little neck. He laughs hysterically, throwing his arms around her.
“You found me!” he sings.
“My sweet boy,” she coos. “I’ll always find you.”
They disappear, fading into blue specks, as if they were never there. The wind blows, whistling past my ears, and I wrap my arms around myself to fight a shiver. Ahead is a trail of more glittering light leading to a place unknown. The sound of rattling chains grows louder, and if I’m not mistaken, the light is leading to that very noise.
A spark appears in my peripheral as I start the trek, then the sound of a horse galloping, its hooves pounding into the land. A loud woosh strikes the air and I gasp, stopping dead in my tracks as an illuminated horse with a bearded man atop it rushes right past me, barely missing my nose.
“Get back here, you worthless piece of shit!” the bearded man roars. He’s a burly man with angry, coal-like eyes. He has a sword in hand, raised in the air as he chases a teenage boy who throws up his middle finger before jumping a fence.
The horse rides off in the distance, disappearing into the mounds of ice and snow. The rattling becomes louder. I move faster. My feet are practically numb as I climb a hill. Just as I reach the top, I see the person I’ve been looking for.
“Caz!” I cry.
He’s slumped over in a chair, head down, body pale. Frost clings to his dark hair and feathery eyelashes, and if I’m not mistaken, he’s not breathing.
With shuddered breaths, I run toward him, my feet feeling like slabs of ice now, but before I can touch him, a dark figure rises from the ground, talons out and sharp teeth bared. The crescent eyes bore into mine, flaming red and devilish.
“Welcome to the prison of Caspian Harlow’s mind,” Mournwrath croaks.
“Let him go, Decius. Now.”
Mournwrath floats higher, smirking. “It’s not your turn yet. I’m surprised to find you here so soon, Willow.”
I look around him to see Caz again. The chair he’s in has now been suspended in the air, his body wrapped in icy black chains. Black veins crawl along his body, snaking up to his temple. My eyes follow the black veins down the length of his body all the way to the ground, and it’s a trail that leads to Mournwrath’s cloak.