Free Fallen Angel of Mine by John Corwin Page A

hub. Perhaps I could
use one and close the silver circle around it like Shelton had
taught me. Somehow, make it take me where I wanted to
go.
    A tiny whimpering sound echoed from the
tunnel mouth. I turned to see my little stalker had found me. It
staggered along on its ghastly legs, the yellowish light around it
shimmering with darkness. I could probably lure it to the back of
the room and circle around it. Maybe make it back to the water, but
then what? If it was the same black ooze that had brought me here,
I wouldn't get far before it caught me and dragged me back. I
didn't have a clue where the tunnel to the river was, having lost
all sense of bearing during my capture.
    The arches were my only chance. I
mentally flipped a coin and chose the undamaged arch farthest from
the tunnel and the little horror chasing me. During my mad dash to
the back of the room, I spotted a map of the world centered above a
raised platform and set inside the granite wall. I looked behind
me. The toddler from hell remained well behind, its tiny legs not
meant for fast travel. The map might be important. It might tell me
where to go. I detoured between the arches and raced to what looked
like the front of the huge space.
    When I reached the map, it turned out
to be much larger up close, bordering on ten feet tall and twice as
wide. Tiny silver stars dotted the surface. The outlines I would
usually associate with the borders of countries bore no
similarities to the ones I knew. In fact, the landmasses looked
different, though they were close enough in shape to be
familiar.
    Symbols, resembling something like an
ancient alphabet, lined the wall to the left of the map. I
recognized some of them. I'd seen them in one of Shelton's
spells—one he'd written in Cyrinthian. If Nightliss spoke the
language, did that mean her people built this place? A gurgling
wail echoed from nearby. My butt cheeks clenched. I had no time to
waste before nightmare baby, slow as he was, caught up with
me.
    I touched the first symbol. A gentle
chime sounded, echoing off the hard walls. Keeping my finger on the
cool metal, I looked around the room and saw a broken arch
highlighted by a glowing circle of white light from the surface of
the silver band set into the floor around it. When I removed my
finger, the light stayed on while the stars on the map pulsed
white.
    I touched a star in North America. Two
chimes sounded and the other stars on the map winked out, leaving
only the symbol to the left side of the map and the star on the map
glowing.
    I touched the still-lit symbol. A
klaxon trumpeted, causing me to flinch, and the star and symbol
winked off. I ran my finger down the odd symbols, touching each one
to activate the light around their assigned arch, hoping to find
the symbol that highlighted an unbroken structure. The map was
positioned perfectly in the room so I could see each arch light up.
But some symbols didn't activate the light over any arches, and the
ones that did revealed only broken ones.
    I glanced around the room and saw the
glistening shape of the cherub wobbling its way through the long
rows of arches. I still had a minute or two before it reached
me.
    At the bottom of the rows of Cyrinthian
symbols, I noticed a larger icon like a solid circle with two lines
angling from the top in a 'V' shape. I was pretty sure I knew which
arch it went to. I touched it.
    Instead of a gentle chime, a deep
klaxon note bellowed across the room and the white arch glowed.
White and black energy streaked through the air in all directions,
mesmerizing me for a brief moment before another cherubic wail
slapped me in the face. I glanced at the map. None of the stars
were lit. The devil only knew where that arch led.
    Something scraped against the floor
behind me.
    I spun and yelped in alarm as the
cherub lunged for me. I jerked back, barely avoiding its grasp, but
a knobby finger trailed down my bare leg, setting every cell on
fire with intense cold. Nausea twisted my