chapter nine
Dark Storm
Lightning forked through the chasm then, jagged bolts illuminating the bridge in a flash and revealing the treacherous expanse stretching out before him in stark relief. Regardless, he still could not see the other end. Drake stumbled forward, propelled by the primal urge to escape.
The bridge groaned. A whisper coiled through the darkness, not a voice but a presence, a shadow that did not move yet pressed against his thoughts like a hand curling around his ribs.
“Drake,” it murmured, “you are the best. Who can stand against Drake? Who can stand against Drake the Great?”
He had not expected to hear this from whatever it was. He found the voice and the things it said complimentary yet uncomfortable.
“More talented than Eldred, father of Drake. More important
