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Helene!
Dorian jumped to his feet in alarm when
he thought of the girl still trapped somewhere below his feet in the
forgotten ruins under Aldwyns.
Without thinking he began running. He
sprinted out onto the rope bridge, ignoring the yawning ravine beneath
his feet.
He'd been asleep so long his homing spell
had dissipated completely.
The bridge swayed and buckled under his
racing momentum.
Ahead of him, through the sheets of
falling snow, he saw the broken boulders marking the end of the bridge.
Beyond that, across the distance, he saw the lights of the academy.
Just before the boulders he saw a cluster
of glowing, gleaming yellow eyes and stopped running.
It's not fair, he thought with sudden,
savage anger. Oh, it's not fair.
He stopped, feeling the bridge sway under
his feet.
Dire wolves, every bit as wicked and big
as they had been that morning, stepped forward from beneath the shadow
of the boulders.
He moaned deep down in his throat and
stepped backward.
The wolves snarled, revealing dripping
fangs under furrowed muzzles. They stood big as ponies as they crowded
the end of the bridge, bumping massive shoulders. The sound of their
growling was fearsome.
Dorian spun, took a step, and stopped in
his tracks.
Behind him hung the twisting, amorphous
shape of the wailing ghost from the maze. Long, snakelike tendrils of
ghostly hair writhed in the wind and the mouth distorted itself
horribly, yawning wide before releasing a piercing shriek that echoed
out and slammed into the young wizard with tangible force, knocking him
backward.
"It's too late, child," the ghost cooed,
voice horrible. "I tried to buy you time but you squandered it! Now I'm
too hungry. The mistress drives me!"
The banshee opened her mouth wide and
Dorian knew the shriek that would shatter his soul was coming.
He spun and saw the dire wolves blocking
his path.
There was only one way to go.
Not thinking, he leaped over the side of
the bridge.
He fell away into the darkness.
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