Neverwylde (The Rim of the World Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the group of eye worms turned to descend on him.
                “Fuck this shit!” Cooter yelled and began spraying the nest, swinging his pulse rifle from side to side. Eye worms exploded like balls of black and blue goo. Within seconds, he’d cleared a path.
                “Run for it!”
                Fullgrath dashed inside first, firing his pistol at the stragglers emerging from the cracks between the rocks in the floor. Kelen snatched her little tube weapon from her pocket and held it out in front of her in case one of those things tried to jump her.
                They reached the platform and Fullgrath motioned to Jules.
                “You go first! Coot and I will try to hold them off!”
                Jules obeyed without question and disappeared. Mellori jumped up next, followed by Dox and Tojun. When the Seneecian blinked out of sight, Kyber gave her a shove toward the platform.
                “Go.” His voice was flat and authoritative, leaving no room for argument.
                She turned to tell him he’d better be right behind her, when someone yelled. A hoard of eye worms were starting to pour into the narrow room. Hundreds of them. So many, the floor appeared to be one massive body of undulating creatures.
                She felt herself being lifted and literally thrown upon the transferring rock. She landed hard on her knees, sending pain lancing through her legs. Kelen barely had time to catch her breath when the light shifted around her, going from golden to white. Hands grabbed her arms to drag her off the platform. She stumbled but managed to stay on her feet as she turned to wait for Kyber to appear.
                Sandow came next. Massapa followed him. When Kleesod appeared, her heart began to sink.
                No. No, no. Please, no!
                Fullgrath blinked into sight and it was clear the fight had become critical. He was bloody and covered in worm goo. Jumping off the rock, he turned and waited with the rest of them.
                Cooter arrived. The man was on his knees, batting at two eye worms that had attached themselves to his back and buttocks. Mellori and Tojun dragged the man from the platform and jerked the worms from their hold. As Mellori smashed one with a rock, the Seneecian crushed the other beneath his foot.
                Kelen’s eyes remained glued to the rock. “Come on, Kyber! Where are you? What are you waiting for?”
                “He’s not there,” Fullgrath muttered.
                She whirled on him. “What are you talking about? You didn’t just leave him there alone and unarmed, did you? Did you? ”
                The big ex-weapons master cast a glance at Cooter. “We were outnumbered. More of them starting coming in, so Kyber…”
                A coldness gripped her heart, squeezing it so hard she couldn’t breathe. She could feel the blood draining from her face as her imagination tried to envision the man she loved being overwhelmed with the voracious little monsters.
                “So Kyber what ?” Jules hotly demanded.
                “He ran off,” Cooter told them. “He drew them away so we could make it back here safely.”
                Kelen reacted before she had the chance to think. Snatching Fullgrath’s pistol, she leaped back onto the rock. The last thing she saw before the world went white were her crew members scrambling to reach her, their hands mere centimeters from touching her before disappearing.
                Nearly a dozen creatures surrounded the platform, but oddly none of them tried to climb on top of it. Kelen fired, using the same sweeping motion as Cooter had to clear a pathway out of the room. Exploding eye worms sounded like popcorn popping. The things made no other sound that she could