I swung my free arm around me, trying to find the rope. It was still tied about my waist with the lead trailing behind me, but that lead was taut. I tugged, but it didn’t loosen. A rock must have fallen on it. More stones pelted down all around me, some glancing off me, some thudding hard. One struck my head with enough force to terrify me. If I were knocked unconscious down here...
Panic welled in my heart, and I yanked with frenzied movements. My lungs had been denied air for too long, and they burned to suck in a breath.
Stop, I shouted inside my head. Calm. Be calm. I could always cut the rope if I had to. Yes, that realization helped. Cutting myself free might land me in a worse predicament, but I had the option if I needed it. First, one more try—a rational try—at freeing myself. I found the ground with my feet again and traced my way down the rope to the rock that held it. I would have groaned if I hadn’t been desperate to save air. It was a boulder, not a rock, and my rope was squarely under it.
I pulled the sword around to cut the rope. There was no other option.
Even from an awkward angle, the blade sliced through the rope as if it were soft-serve ice cream. As soon as I was free, I pushed off the bottom, heading straight for the surface. If I hadn’t had the sword out ahead of me, I would have given myself a second head injury. The alcove had filled with water.
A new wave of panic swept over me. I’d lose control of my instincts any moment and my lungs would force a gasp, a gasp that would give me nothing except water. I paddled toward the pull of the current—in the darkness, it was the only thing telling me in which direction the larger chamber lay. I forced myself to keep a hand on the wall instead of simply stroking like mad. If I were swept into the current, I’d never touch air again.
A hint of light burned somewhere. I swam around piles of boulders that hadn’t been there before, always angling toward that light. I was in the main chamber now, the water dragging at me. Holding the sword limited the effectiveness of my strokes, but I kicked for all I was worth. My fingers broke the surface. I hauled myself up and gasped before my head was fully free. I sucked in water and sputtered, nearly choking. I clunked my forehead on a rock in my effort to push myself farther out, to get clearer air. There were only a few inches between the surface and the ceiling.#p#分页标题#e#
“Delia!” came two cries. With my ears filled with water, they sounded muffled, but I’d never heard such beautiful noises regardless.
Using the rough ceiling to grab onto, I kicked hard and made progress against the current. I nearly crashed into that stalactite again. Later I’d be thankful it had been out there guiding me, but now it was one more obstacle. At least I had air—I inhaled in great gasps between my strokes.
“There she is,” Simon shouted.
“Over here, Del,” Temi called. “This way. You’ve got this.”
I would have laughed if I hadn’t been so busy kicking for my life. She sounded like a teammate cheering me on at a race. Some race.
“You’re almost there,” Temi promised.
“Here,” Simon shouted, “grab my hand.”
My eyes were half blinded by their flashlights and the water streaming down my face, but I spotted Simon’s hand and reached for it, eager to be pulled free and escape the flooded chamber. I wanted so much to see the sun again.
Our fingers brushed. I made another snatch for him and our hands clasped.
Then something clamped onto my leg.
Nine by Night: A Multi-Author Urban Fantasy Bundle of Kickass Heroines, Adventure, Magic
CHAPTER 28
When claws bit through my soggy jeans and into my calf, I screeched like a dying hog. I hung onto Simon’s hand and foisted the sword at Temi.
“Stab it,” I sputtered. “Get it off.”
The tunnel had filled almost as quickly as the chamber, and only their heads and shoulders were above the water. But Temi managed to clasp the sword. I grabbed the ceiling with my other hand and kicked with my free leg. I connected with something, but it didn’t let go. I couldn’t see anything—the creature was submerged—but it was impossible to miss those claws. My kicks only made them sink deeper. Pain blasted from my leg to my brain as I twisted and writhed, struggling to shake the paw free. Simon was trying to pull me away at the same time as the monster tried to pull me deeper.
“I don’t have the sword any more, you stupid— Gah!” I kicked harder and was surprised when my blow worked—the grip released, and I had my leg back.
I stroked away so quickly I almost mowed over Simon. I grabbed him and tried to push him ahead of me, up the tunnel away from that creature.