Sapphire Falls (The Lost Realm #2)

1. Prologue

Prologue

Morgan

T he cave floor was cold and damp, but that was the least of Morgan’s problems as she lay covered in dirt and crusted blood on the hard rock surface. She needed to think beyond the throbbing injuries to her head and the bruising across her body, yet trying to think led to even more pain. Water splattered down on her shoulders from the low ceiling of the cave. As she tried to push past the pulsing ache in her head, she began to notice that this wasn’t a cave at all. There were rusted old pipes in the corner of the small shaft. The tunneling cuts through the earth weren’t naturally formed either. Morgan realized that she must be in an abandoned mine shaft.

The monster that brought her to this place had stepped outside just moments ago, and he would probably be back any minute now. For the last day, he’d hardly left her for more than a minute or two.

Morgan could only describe the creature that snatched her from the top of Quartz Mountain as a monster. The massive bear had grasped her head between his jaws as a ringing sound and blinding light filled Morgan’s senses. After that, the pain of being dragged down the mountain in the maw of a bear’s mouth had been too much for Morgan and she’d passed out.

She had no sense of how much time had passed when she woke up in the cave. The bear was over her body, sniffing at her clothes, and she knew that she wouldn’t survive the attack. She’d been reassured to know that at least Avery wasn’t being attacked any longer. Avery would get help and be back with her parents, comforting them after losing Morgan.

The bear’s hot breath had been on her neck as she prayed that this would be over quickly and she wouldn’t have to suffer much longer. Suddenly, the creature had lifted a massive paw and stroked Morgan’s cheek with surprising humanity.

Then, it had stepped back from her and transformed into an enormous man. Morgan had thought she was hallucinating, but the hallucination didn’t end. How could he be both a man and a bear? Her skin grew cold and clammy as she stared at the creature. There were so many things that weren't right about him. He was unnaturally beautiful, like he had been carved from stone, and his clothing was tattered. But it was his ears that made Morgan doubt her sanity. They were tipped to points.

As Morgan thought back to that first time the monster had transformed in front of her, she knew she needed to do everything she could to get away and find help. She’d noticed from the small cave entrance that the sun had set twice, and the creature that held her captive was becoming increasingly volatile.

Morgan’s body was growing weaker, a feverish chill creeping across her skin. If she didn’t escape from this creature, she would be dead from infection in a few days. This was it. The moment she had to make a decision before he returned.

She picked up a rusted iron pipe from the side of the tunnel. It was stuck in decades of mud and grime, and Morgan had to pry it out of the ground before she got a good grasp on it.

Silently, Morgan moved to the entrance of the tunnel. He was out there, growling and shouting in his strange language. He’d done that multiple times a day, and Morgan was beginning to suspect that beyond being an abducting monster, he was also losing his sanity in the tunnel with her. Something about her was making him angrier with each time he came near her.

Yet, he hadn’t killed her. He’d been so close on more than one occasion over the last day. But, always seemed to stop himself and mutter something under his breath before he moved away from her, disgust glinting in his eyes.

Morgan held her breath as she heard his footsteps approaching. For being such a huge creature, his footsteps were nearly silent. It was as if he’d been trained to stalk through the forest silently. Or maybe that was part of his animalistic side coming through?

Now he was close enough for Morgan to hear him breathing, a steady beat that had her clenching her jaw. She tightened her grip on the pipe. This was her only chance at escape. If she didn’t attack her abductor, she’d never get out alive. As he stepped into the tunnel, Morgan lifted the iron pipe sideways and swung it with all her might at the creature’s abdomen. She wished she could have bashed him in the head with the pipe, but he was far too tall for that.

His breath escaped him with a wheeze as he bent his body forward, clutching his stomach. He hadn't seen her attack coming. That was the only way he wasn’t ripping her to shreds. The monster gasped, trying to regain his breath.

Extending her arms over her head, she brought the pipe down with all her strength on the top of the monster’s head. The bashing sound of metal on bone made Morgan flinch as she watched the creature drop to the ground. She didn’t scream or shout out her fury at her abductor as she crushed his skull. She didn’t even cry or curse. No, she put all her remaining energy into killing the creature that had left her hurt and alone. Lifting the pipe over her head again, she brought it down on her collapsed kidnapper. Again and again, she struck the creature as the tunnel filled with the iron-tinged scent of blood and gore. In the low light of the tunnel, Morgan could make out the black, frothing blood that seethed out of the monster.

This was her chance to escape. To get help and try to forget about what had happened to her after she and Avery climbed Quartz Mountain. As she ran for the tunnel entrance, she took one last look at the still form of the monster that had hurt her so much. Was this even real? She could see his corpse before her eyes, but at this point, she was beginning to think this was all a messed up hallucination.

The burst of adrenaline Morgan experienced as she raced through the woods in the setting sun wouldn’t last for long, not in her weakened state. She didn’t have any gear and wasn’t sure how far away she was from the trail. If she didn’t get help quickly, she would likely die of exposure.

Just as she expected, Morgan began losing her energy quickly. She couldn’t be more than a quarter of a mile from the tunnel when she stopped running and leaned against a large pine tree.

It could have been only minutes, or maybe it was hours that she sat there against the tree, fever distorting her ability to think straight. Then she heard something.

It was distant, but unmistakable. People were shouting as they walked through the dense underbrush of the forest.

The air was still, so different from the windy morning that blew a warm breeze past Morgan and Avery as they had summited Quartz Mountain. Morgan listened closely, thinking she must be hallucinating again.

She heard the sound again. Closer now, and clearer through the trees.

“Avery! Morgan!” the call rang out. Again, she heard it.

Morgan rose up on shaking legs and let out a frail shout for help. Over and over, she shouted for help as the rescuers called her name.

Finally, two men made it to her. She saw the horror on their faces as they looked at Morgan’s broken body.

One offered her a drink of water and said, “We’re with Search and Rescue. We’re here to get you home.”

Morgan wanted to cry, but no tears flowed down her dirt and blood splattered cheeks. “Is Avery safe? Where is she?” Morgan asked.

The man’s answer made Morgan’s stomach flip. “We haven’t found her yet. We need your help to get her home. Where was the last place you saw her?”