A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 6752

Gwendolyn gently patted her back. Her voice was warm but firm. "You're safe now. We'll take you home."

Master Veridian smacked his lips and whispered to Jared, "Mr. Chance, this girl is unbelievably lucky to still be alive. The owners of these bones weren't so fortunate."

Jared nodded without taking his eyes off the churning gray fog around them. "She was lucky, but that also means the thing isn't nearby right now. We need to leave before it comes back."

He pulled Iris upright, but her weak legs almost buckled beneath her.

Gwendolyn shielded the young woman behind her, holding one wrist with one hand while keeping her ice power gathered at the fingertips of the other.

"Stay close to me."

Jared took the lead, the Dragonslayer Sword already halfway out of its sheath. Its violet light was a dim lamp in the gray fog. "Don't look back, and don't stop. If you hear anything, ignore it."

The four hurried back the way they had come. They had not gone far when Jared stopped short.

A sound came through the fog. It was not the whimper from before, but a heavier, more rhythmic tread.

The footsteps were dull and slow. They drew closer as though some ponderous object were dragging itself across the ground.

"We're about to have company..."

Jared's voice dropped to a murmur.

Gwendolyn pulled Iris closer. The ice-blue chill in her palm had already condensed into a thin blade of ice.

Master Veridian also shed his usual careless air. Green light danced over his palm, and every muscle in his body drew taut.

The fog churned. Several vague outlines slowly emerged from its gray depths.

A hand appeared first. Gray-white and withered like a long-weathered branch, it had slender fingers tipped with blade-sharp nails.

Then came an arm, a shoulder, and finally a complete body. The thing was shaped like a person, but it was certainly no living person.

Countless broken bones had been fitted together to form its body. Dark violet sinew bound its joints, and a knot of dark violet fire pulsed inside its rib cage like a grotesque spark of life.

It was not alone.

A second, a third, a fourth... More and more bone puppets marched out of the gray fog.

Dark violet light burned in their empty sockets. Their gray-white claws opened slightly, and an aura of decay and violence rolled off them.

They advanced with slow, uniform steps. The same dark violet flame throbbed deep inside every rib cage, as though a single power controlled them all.

"Shit..."

Master Veridian's voice came out strained. "Are those things made from the bones back there?"

Jared's gaze locked on the dark violet flames in their chests, and he instantly understood the circular holes in the skeletons.

The thing had killed everyone who entered the fissure and consumed their souls. Then it had assembled the leftover bones into these puppets to guard this space.

"Run!" Jared barked. Grabbing Iris by the wrist, he turned and sprinted in the opposite direction.

Gwendolyn and Master Veridian followed close behind, and all four fled wildly through the gray fog.

The footsteps behind them accelerated, changing from a slow, scattered tread into a dense barrage. The bone puppets moved far faster than their bulky frames suggested.

Boom!

The first bone puppet caught up with Master Veridian at the rear and raked a gray-white claw toward the center of his back.

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