In the Shadow of the Goddess (Book 1 of The Fallen Gods Trilogy)

CHAPTER TWO

Into the silence Jill fell. Her body spun and tumbled as she spiraled downward. She squeezed her eyes shut but that didn't stop the fall. If anything, she fell faster. Temperature fluctuated wildly. Beneath closed lids, she sensed alternating patterns of intense light and absolute darkness. Experimenting, she opened her eyes. Saw nothing. Screamed, but found she had no voice. And on she fell, down, deeper, headlong...

How long did a second last? When would she land in the soft dirt and find her jeans dirty and torn? When could she open her eyes to find Ross standing over her, wearing a severe frown and looking at his watch?

Apparently never.

Oh God, I'm going to be sick! Only gritting her teeth kept her from retching. Grit and swallow. Then the dizziness became too much and her vision narrowed to a tiny pinprick of light. She nearly fainted. But something new passed over her and through her, burning all the way with a fire that hurt too much for her to scream.

And then, she came to a jarring stop, landing hard on hands and knees.

With a groan, she collapsed. Her head threatened to explode. The taste of swallowed vomit filled in her mouth. Something cold, smooth, and hard lay under her cheek. That landing hurt. Dirt was not supposed to be that solid.

Opening her eyes to slits, Jill saw polished black marble gleaming back at her, casting her reflection as well as any mirror.

She froze. Black marble surrounded her. Her stomach dropped to her knees and a sick sense of fear laced with a horrible deja vu hit her.

What just happened to me?

Abruptly she was yanked to her feet with appalling strength and speed. Ross? An arm came from behind, tightening around her waist. A knife flashed at her throat. Then she heard the voice and its deadly, rational calm chilled her.

"Tell me who you are and who sent you or I will gut you."

Shock paralyzed her. Looking ahead into the opposite wall, she could see their reflection in the black marble. Her attacker...A man...

"I..." Her voice failed her.

"Answer me!"

"No one! No one sent me! I swear it! My name is Jillian Logan."

A long silence, then with that same rational calm, "Wouldn't be the first creature of the Maze to lie, though certainly the first with this shape." But he spoke the words to himself, not her.

"I...I was running, and...A woman...She threw a ball of...light at me. I think I fell down a...a hole or something. Now I'm here. I don't know what happened. Please, just let me go." She took a shuddering breath, her voice breaking on every word. "Please."

The knife lowered slowly, but the grip around her waist didn't relax. "Now I'm definitely insane. I should have gutted you first, but gods' know I've always been hard pressed to kill a woman, even when she appears out of nowhere."

He let her go then, shoving carelessly. Jill staggered headlong into the far wall, catching herself before her cheek smashed against the marble. Turning, she saw him sheath the long knife in his boot.

Finally, she could see him clearly and she gasped. He was utterly savage—a wild man with matted blond hair straggling halfway down his back and a tangled beard covering most of his face. Lean rather than thin, he towered over her. His clothes—which might have been blue, black, or green at some point—hung in such useless shreds he may as well have been naked. Personal hygiene was nonexistent—his teeth looked rotten, his skin was covered in dirt and filth, and she caught whiffs of an awful, reeking body odor that completely took her breath away. Jill cringed and waited for the inevitable worst.