The Deadly Curse

9.2 | Mysterious Punishments

As soon as I was situated, he fired the gun. It gave a deafening whomp. The grapple at the end of a braided cable soared through the air. It connected with a tree in the distance, and Jack flipped a switch on the grip. And then we were yanked forward.

Screaming, I wrapped my legs about Jack and held on for dear life. He ran for a bit, before he leaped in the air. We went up—up—up, forward—forward—forward.

I encouraged my eyes to stay open, despite the fierce desire to close them. But I regretted not giving into their demands when, at the apex of our descent, the rope released from the gun's barrel.

We were free-falling.

"Jack!" I shrieked. "What the hell are you doing?"

He merely laughed. With practiced ease that had me panicking, he cocked the gun and pulled the trigger. It shot out another grappling rope. Once latched onto a nearby tree, he tugged on the gun, slingshoting us forward. When we reached the zenith again, the rope released—free-falling once more. He aimed at another tree, and soon, we were ziplining through the forest.

His glee and confidence became contagious. Before long, and now reassured by his abilities, I was laughing with him, excited for the next swing.

We rounded trees, launched through the branches, and even broke through the canopy a couple times.

When the forest came to an end, we looped the final tree until we landed on the ground, running from the momentum. I collapsed onto the ground, still laughing, overcome with adrenaline.

Jack's eyes glittered. His fangs gleamed. He bounced on the balls of his feet, shaking out his arms and hollering. I knew he lived for adrenaline dumps, but it was clear he sought ways to make them happen.

Calm now, I patted dirt and grass off my jeans and smiled at the entrance to the Western Wind Cities. To my delight, I could read the signs. While they hosted many other languages, I understood Eternity's characters. This sign welcomed us to . . . Yantra City.

Like the last time, creatures scurried everywhere. Voices shouted and bargained. They bought and traded goods. I sucked in a lungful of the sawdust that clung to the air. Sprites manned the stalls and flew above the bustling crowds.

I chewed the inside of my cheek. Last time, I'd stumbled upon Nissa, who guided me to the dizayen nests. But I was alone now, forced to shoulder through the throngs, unsure where to go.

"Um," I said, stalling Jack's advance into the metropolis.

"What?"

"I have no idea where I'm going. We might end up lost."

He snorted. "And we can't have a repeat, right? C'mon." He latched onto my wrist and tugged me into the moving masses.

My eyes remained peeled. If I could make out a sign and read it fast enough, I could take us in the right direction. But the flurry around us made it difficult to concentrate.

After what felt like an hour of squeezing through hulking creatures and sidestepping the small ones underfoot, Jack made an abrupt left. He yanked me from the flow of traffic and kept me from falling.

We paused long enough that I could make out the sign: "dizayen rides" with an arrow pointing up. Excitement flared my chest, and now I was the one pulling Jack up the stairs.

Halfway there, a flash of green caught my eye. But it was gone from view before I could confirm if it was Nissa or not. Prepared to dismiss it as probably just a falling leaf, something appeared mere inches from my face. I yelped and jumped back, forcing Jack to keep me steady.