'...Did that man just use a pet rabbit as his excuse to run away?'
For a solid five seconds, neither Maggie nor I moved. The absurdity of it was almost impressive.
Then the ground shook again and the moment shattered.
This tremor was different from the ones before. The previous shaking had been deep and rhythmic, like something massive breathing beneath the earth and tearing away from it. But this was violent. The kind of shaking that told you something structural had given way.
Stones broke loose from the canyon walls above, plummeting past us and crashing into the ground with dull, heavy thuds. Cracks split across the floor of the pit, zigzagging outward from where the gate guardian's corpse lay.
'Right. Killed the guardian. Gate's collapsing. We need to leave.'
That thought should have come sooner. In my defense, I had been busy getting my ribs rearranged.
"Maggie, we need to go. Now."
