Those Who Fear the Darkness (BloodRunes: Book 2) Read Online Free

along and a cow will
start yelling at us to get away?” she asked skeptically.
    He laughed. “That kind of thing is definitely
few and far between, especially since as I told you the barrier
magic disrupted a lot of the greater talent’s powers so they moved
off and either brought their spelled creatures with them or left
them behind to let the magic wear off. It’s more that here we are
simply more aware that it is possible that some of the spells
remain in full force so if we do happen to run into something out
of the ordinary, we can chalk it up to remnants of past
powers.”
    “I see.” She glanced over at him and he gave
her a quick smile. Her heart skipped a beat as the memory of their
kiss floated to the top of her consciousness, unbidden. She had
attempted to put it out of her mind since with all the excitement,
Gryffon had never mentioned the episode and had made no advance
towards her since. Sometimes she wondered if she had imagined it.
But there were definitely reasons that it had been forgotten;
Gryffon’s pain for instance. Layna was getting more and more
worried about the cause of it, and was afraid that his pride was
making him hide how serious it actually was. And there’s always
my own distractions.
    Soon she was forced to pay more attention to
her footing than her thoughts as the descent became rather
treacherous, and they dismounted to make their slow way
downwards.
    Eventually they made it safely to the bottom
and Layna breathed a sigh of relief, that is, until she caught
sight of the river which was now the next obstacle in their
path.
    She had never before been afraid of water,
and in fact had been quite a little swimmer as a child. But now as
she looked out over the vast expanse of its murky depths, fear
enveloped her. She tried not to let her trepidation show as the
three of them trekked towards the river, but her irrational terror
would not loosen its icy grip.
    They paused on the edge and dismounted, and
Charles and Gryffon started tightening saddlebags and removing
excess clothing so that they would not be bogged down in the swim
across.
    Charles jutted out his chin at her in a quick
motion. “Feelin’ shy there? We could always turn ‘round for
ya.”
    It took Layna a moment to realize that
Charles had mistaken her hesitation for simple modesty and she
shook her head, raising slightly shaking hands to start undoing
laces. She stripped down to her undergarments with them and Gryffon
showed her how to create a spell for keeping the bags dry as they
crossed. Weaving the spell momentarily took her mind off of the
inevitable, but not for long enough.
    All too soon, the two men were wading into
the water, leading their mounts by the reins. Even Fly, who had had
the scary experience with her seemed to have forgotten the perils
of water and was following the other horses in, dragging Layna
unhappily behind him.
    Her left foot slipped into the cool water
with a small splash. Mud oozed around her bare toes. Her right foot
followed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Nothing to
it. Just like crossing the stream, no big deal . Her legs
felt heavy and they jerked underneath her as she forced one and
then the other into motion. Left, right, left, come on
right . Charles and Gryffon were already well ahead of her.
    The water was above her knees now, and
gaining on her waist - fast. Her breath caught in her throat as she
took a step and faltered, slipping on a slimy rock. Her breathing
became shallow as the river embraced her whole body and she was
finally forced to kick off from the bottom and start to swim.
    The shore looked miles away.
    The more she swam the farther it got.
    Stroke.
    Kick.
    Stroke.
    She gulped in a mouthful as a wave lapped at
her face, and her lungs filled with water.
    She panicked. She flailed about wildly,
splashing and coughing.
    “You’re fine,” Gryffon’s voice cut through
her fear, and her mad thrashing slowed. She felt his hand take
hers, and guide her through