AIR Series Book 11 Preview: Between the Worlds

AIR Series Book 11 Chapter 1

An early sneak peek of Chapter 1 in AIR Series Book 11

Chapter 1

Between worlds.

"Don't let go of my hand," Vincent demanded as he grabbed mine. "And don't stop for anything."

The dark atmosphere felt ominous. Vincent kept a death grip on me and dragged me, despite my stumbles in the loose dirt.

A creeping dread filled my heart, chilling it.

Our world had been filled with bright sunlight, but when we moved between the worlds we dropped into a murky hole. Searching up, I found no sign of a sky, much less a sun that might light the desolation around us.

A heavy gloom hung over everything, but features around me began to come into focus as I started to keep pace. When Vincent raced around a tree, I was able to get a closer look. My first thought was the trees were bare, but I realized that impression had been incorrect.

The tree was more like an over-sized stick with spiky bulges on the trunk. It towered up with no branches, but at the top it tilted and curled in on itself.

Vincent tugged my arm in response to me slowing down. "That one can't reach us," Vincent breathed heavily, but kept his voice a soft whisper. "It'll try, but that's good for us. Nothing else around here will attempt to attack until it's had its go."

Can't reach us?

"Is that--" I had no idea what to ask, which brought me up short. Is the tree alive? Is it a plant? How can a tree attack?

With Vincent's encouragement I increased my speed once again. My heart started to beat faster and the smell became more prevalent. It was as though rotted meat had been left lying around.

Maybe it had been--the haunting shroud of haze could be hiding anything.

"It looks like we're in one of the Bane forests. Don't believe anything you see or hear. This is a hellish area and not a great one to jump into, especially with someone who shouldn't be here in the first place."

What he said came out as an accusation, which was an unexpected blow to my feelings, even through the building terror. There was nothing I could say, though, he was right. If I knew even the smallest thing about the place, I'd be on better footing.

"Watch your step up here," Vincent said.

The warning was nice to have, but the terrain was littered with stones, and I stumbled anyway.

Vincent stopped and helped me keep on my feet. "Don't fall down and stay as quiet as you can."

He noticed my gun holstered and took the weapon without a word. An unaccustomed feel of vulnerability eked in, which wasn't great in an environment I expected to erupt with hostility.

"Don't touch anything or talk to anyone but me," Vincent said. "When we do talk it needs to be quiet, fast, and infrequent."

"Is there something I should be doing?" I asked.

Vincent's gaze never landed on me--instead he unceasingly scanned our surroundings. "Anything and everything I tell you, at the moment I tell you to do it."

In our world, if he'd have said that I would have told him off. In this world, I felt both in the way and unwanted.

"Tell me what to expect," I said. "I at least need an idea of what I should be looking out for."

Vincent hesitated. "We're looking for a trail or path. Let me know if you see one." Vincent raised his knife and slammed it down hard next to me. The remains of an oddly shaped lump of brown had tendrils which were now curling in much like a spiders legs do when killed. "And until we find that trail, we can't stop moving." Vincent grabbed my hand and once again we moved swiftly.