The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,77

the rains and seemed to be held together by only the complex root system of the plants which clung to the side of the ridge with a tenacity she'd come to expect from everything living up here.

Cutting him loose was the only way.

She set the blade against the roots binding his paw and sawed through them, cutting quickly, surprised when the fox didn't sink its sharp little teeth into the hand closest to it.

Almost there. Just a few more slices.

There.

Eva let out a relieved sigh. The strange beast was free.

A howl ripped through the air seconds later. It sounded like a harsh wind rushing over the mountains, picking up speed and fury as it continued.

Eva pushed herself up onto all fours, her braid swinging forward as she looked around her.

The creature bounded up onto her shoulder, its little paws clinging to her clothes as it talked excitedly to itself with high-pitched squeaks. The two tails thrashed as it yipped.

"Is that howling for me or you?" she asked it, finding her feet and brushing the dirt from her hands.

There was an emphatic yip as the ground under Eva began to shift and undulate.

She swayed, trying to keep her balance before staggering forward several feet. Still the ground moved, rising as Eva started to run.

Something was happening. The land raged as the sound of rock grinding against rock reached her.

She staggered onto ground that remained blessedly still. She glanced back, her eyes widening at the sight to greet her. The part of the ridge where she'd taken her rest was no more. A gaping wound of dirt lay before her as a tall being rose from the exposed ground, roots and grass tearing as rocks and dirt cascaded off its body.

Eva's gaze rose, up and up, to the stone giant with a blanket of green on its head. Its mouth opened on a loud moan.

She took a step back, unable to reconcile what her eyes assured her was true. Part of the ridge she'd spent the morning traversing was actually the creature's body. He rose from his bed, pulling free of the roots.

The small fox creature pulled on her hair, yipping a warning as its tails lashed.

Eva decided he had the right idea seconds before the stone giant turned blind, white eyes at her. Red sap, which looked disturbingly like blood, spilled down from the cut roots.

The thunderous crash of stone colliding with rock came from his open mouth. A howl of anger.

She took that as her cue to run, racing away as his fist lifted and then thudded into the ground where she’d been standing.

"You're already more trouble than you're worth," she shouted at the two-tailed beast clinging to her.

He yipped a response as Eva pushed herself harder.

Around her more stone giants woke to their companion’s cry. Eva dodged and weaved as the ground beneath her exploded and beings heaved themselves from the earth's embrace. She barely dodged a grayish hand when another giant pushed its way free.

She tripped and fell to her knees as the ground ahead buckled. Another giant sat up in front of her, blocking her way. Its strange white eyes stared right through Eva, its expression locked in silent suffering. She scrambled sideways and pushed herself to her feet again, then raced forward only to find the ridgeline crumpling beneath her feet.

Eva screamed, falling over the edge. The fox leapt off her shoulder and was gone. She hit the ground and rolled, unable to stop her descent, tumbling head over heels. Pain sprouted along her arm, her hip sending up a flare seconds later.

The bottom was blessedly free of rocks when she rolled to a stop.

The fox bounded to her side, yipping before nudging her cheek as if to say this was no time for a nap. He looked over his shoulder and yelped before racing away.

Eva glanced at what had sent him fleeing; the stone giants towered over the ridgeline, their blind eyes seemingly locked on her.

"Gods above and below. There was no mention of these creatures in any story I was told," Eva snarled, finding her feet.

She sprinted after the fox. She'd just had to rescue the creature, didn't she? Hadn't she learned by now nothing good ever came from tangling with mythologicals? But no, she had to interfere.

Look where that got her.

She cursed her short legs, wishing they were longer. Pain split her side as her breath sawed in and out.

A boulder the size of her torso crashed down feet from her, spraying dirt