We continued in silence searching for any sign of the lights, but they
were gone, and everything looked the same.
Panic began to fester inside me, and my skin chilled. As if sensing
something, Jaxson paused mid-step. He cocked his head to the right, scanning
the trees, and then he whispered, “Run.”
It took a second to register, but when he pushed me forward, I sprinted
into the trees. Thunderous movement crashed behind me, and I stole a glance
back, dread coiling in my stomach. Jaxson stood immobile, crouched with his
claws out, ready. I spun behind a tree and peered around the side of the
twisted trunk.
What was he doing? Why hadn’t he come with me?
Suddenly, a giant thing launched out of the trees and soared through the
air toward Jaxson. Its skin kept shifting colors, and its two hooked talons
glinted in the light that permeated from the leaves overhead.
Jaxson shot forward and ducked beneath the monster’s talons. In a flash,
he’d grabbed the creature’s arm and twisted. There was a snap, and then
Jaxson hurled the monster backward.
The beast landed nimbly and paused. As if sensing my presence, it bent
its reptilian head and looked right at me. It tilted its neck back and barked like
a goddamned velociraptor. Seconds later, a similar bark echoed through the
jungle, followed by another.
“Run, Savannah!” Jaxson roared as he leapt out of the monster’s striking
distance. “Get the damn stone. I’ll find you!”
With my gaze locked on the monster, I took a step backward and spun.
But my foot caught on a root, and I tripped, landing hard on my palms.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
With my pulse pounding in my temples, I scrambled to my feet and
sprinted away from Jaxson and that thing. More barking cut through the
jungle, and the sound of something large moving through the trees toward me
made my blood curdle. Was this a trap to lure us to our deaths?