Read Discovery at Nerwolix for Free Online Page B

head,
including Able’s flighty departure. Is he alright? What’s
happening? Someone calls my name—I think it’s Reid—and it draws me
back to the present. But as I try to get up, I find my legs are
bound, pinned together at my ankles. Shit. And I’m moving. I’m
being dragged by my feet.
    I need my Traxpire. Reaching out, my hands
skim the snow around me, frantically searching. But it’s gone. It
must’ve landed away from me. Heart racing, I lift my head to find a
Dofinike moving in a swift jog, crunching through the snow and
tugging on the piece of rope wrapped around my ankles.
    This is not good.
    “ Reid! ” I scream, flipping over,
clawing at the ground. I squirm back and forth, making it harder to
pull me while digging my elbows into the snow. “ REID!
SAMPSON! ”
    “ FALLON! ” I hear in the distance, but
it’s too far away to get to me anytime soon.
    Shit .
    What do I do? I don’t have my Traxpire and
this Vermix is racing. Where is he taking me? I reach my hands out,
trying to find anything but there’s nothing to grab. It’s just snow
everywhere. White, freezing snow. Time is running out. The Dofinike
has taken off in a run and if he gets to where he’s going, I might
not be able to escape. I might be trapped. I need to get out of
this now.
    But how?
    I kick my legs, continuously rolling back
and forth, doing everything I can to make it harder to pull me. I’m
not sure how far I’ve been dragged when he finally spins with a
snarl, his yellow eyes glaring at me through lethal slits. With a
hard tug he pulls me closer, lifting his talons to strike. But
before he can, something knocks into him—another Dofinike.
    The two tumble through the snow, wrestling
through the wet white as I scoot back, giving myself distance.
Pulling furiously at the rope, I try yanking it free, but it won’t
budge. My heart is racing, my fingers shaking as the two Dofinikes
tear into each other less than a meter away. I don’t have time to
figure out who it is—Sampson, Clarence or one of the others. All I
can focus on is the rope melded to my ankles, impossible to remove.
Desperate to free the restraint, a crunch, crunch forces me to look
up.
    I’m not sure who I’m expecting, but it’s not
who I see.
    Nearly eye to eye, Pobo stands less than a
foot away, a small blade in his blue fingers. My heart stops as he
takes a small step closer.
    “Pobo, please…”
    But he moves for my ankles. Sliding the
blade between the ropes, he rips it free. I stare at him for a
second until he steps back and shifts between both sets of legs.
“Pweboles follow orders. Always have.”
    “Thank you,” I peel the material from my
ankles and scurry to my feet. With Pobo by my side, I take in the
chaotic scene.
    Dark movements dot the white landscape,
individual duels sprinkled throughout. How many Vermix are here? A
few lay scattered in a herd of Pweboles, screaming as they’re
stabbed over and over by the furry blue creatures. Gulping, I
quickly scan, searching for any of the Rogues. But they’re gone;
probably being dragged off somewhere. Something black in the snow
catches my eye. Racing forward, I find a discarded Traxpire.
    Pobo is at my side as I swipe it up.
    “Pweboles follow orders. Always have.”
    Someone yells to the far right—it sounds
like Jace. “Come on, Pobo.” I take off as he springs to a run on
all four legs. Racing over a hill, I find a team of three Vermix
each dragging a Rogue by his bound ankles. They’re heading away
from me, hauling the boys into the white distance, far from the
other duels. Rushing forward, I grip my Traxpire as I call down to
the Pwebole running alongside, “Kill those three Dofinikes.”
    I slow to a stop as Pobo keeps going,
crossing the distance between us. Bringing the Traxpire up, I aim
for the one on the far left. Centering on his back, I pull the
trigger two times, turn to the middle one and do the same. The
first two fall, and just as I’m aiming for the third one,