Beneath the Dust (Force of Nature #4) - Amber Lynn Natusch Page 0,3

much to that vile place, and wondered if going after Liam was worth it.

Or if we were making a terrible mistake.

The alley was dark and narrow and seemed to taper as we walked along. Around the bend, I could hear a struggle. Knox and Merc took off in a flash, and the rest of us followed suit, racing toward God only knew what. The war among the breeds was still raging; the likelihood of walking into a battle seemed high.

When silhouettes finally came into view, I stopped dead in my tracks. Beings like nothing I’d ever seen before—bulky, shapeless, earthy-looking monsters—had four females in their awkward, wet grasps. The captives’ bodies were being absorbed into the creatures that held them like they were sinking into quicksand. I knew I’d never forget the look of terror on their faces as they disappeared.

Knox and Merc were already attacking the monstrous things when we arrived, but every blow they landed seemed to slip right through the creatures with a sucking sound, leaving little to no damage in their wake. The beings continued to swallow the girls whole, their screams dying off as their mouths disappeared behind the dirt and clay. Kat, Foust, Brunton, Jase, and Dean joined in, trying to pull the females free to no avail.

Time was running out.

“Release the girls!” I shouted at the grotesque creatures. They paused and looked at me, their flat, unanimated faces giving nothing away. Then they continued on their mission.

I sent the wind after them, hoping to pull the girls from their soon-to-be earthen deathbeds, but it did nothing more than encircle the creatures in a funnel of debris that did little to hinder them. I sent fire next, but it was dangerous with the victims inside and still slightly exposed. Water would have drowned the girls, whose mouths gasped for breath as the clay sucked them in deeper.

As my frustration grew, I reached out with my power, trying to connect with the matter the attackers were constructed from, and found only the slightest connection. They were not born of this land, or the fey queen’s, either. That left only one other option.

The fey king had sent new minions.

With little control over them, I instead reached out toward the magicals they had swallowed up and pulled them toward me. They were witches, and their power spoke to mine—the warlock DNA in my veins. I watched as hands re-emerged, clawing for anything they could grasp; anything that could help free them from their fate.

Knox was soon at my side, helping fuel my pull on the witches, while the others fought the earthen enemies and extracted the girls. Once they were free, I again focused my energy on their attackers.

“Get out of my realm,” I seethed. Wind gusted down the alley, blasting against the fey king’s nightmares. This time, they staggered backward toward the portal, featureless faces staring at me in warning. The fey king wasn’t done in NYC. Not yet.

One by one, they disappeared through the portal, and the alley went still. The witches’ cries were all that could be heard.

“What in the actual fuck was that?” Kat asked, wiping red clay from her face with her shirt.

Knox and Merc shared an uneasy look. “Golems,” they said in unison.

“Golems?” I asked.

They nodded.

“They’re inanimate creatures made of earth and controlled by magic,” Knox said. “I haven’t seen one in a very long time.”

I turned to Foust and Brunton and found their faces paler than before, their eyes wider. The witches they held in their arms clutched them like lifelines. I walked over to the one in Foust’s arms and laid my hand on her.

“What happened?” I asked, my voice soft and gentle.

She turned her clay-covered face to me, the reddish shade contrasting the deep umber of her skin but mimicking the warmth in her wide caramel-colored eyes.

“We were attacked…I don’t know why. They just came out of nowhere and started dragging us toward the wall.” She pointed to where the golems had disappeared through the portal. I tried to hide my disappointment. Her story didn’t give us much to work with.

“The coven queen must be informed,” Merc said, taking out his phone. “I will be right back.” He walked away from the group.

“Thank you,” the girl said to me. “I owe you a life debt.”

“We all do,” the one next to her said. She pushed her soiled blonde hair out of her face and squared her shoulders. “So many have gone missing already—I guess we know what happened