Monster Hunter Conquest Collection #1 Read Online Free Page B

straining for sounds in the darkness, and
her emerald eyes hurting from squinting so much. The lantern was less
helpful than she imagined, and she felt a twinge of sourness at the
vendor who tried to up-sell her on a brighter one.
    The
grip on her sword hilt was beginning to hurt her tendons, but the
rising nerves of crawling through such a strange place, wet with
echoes, was getting to her. Each time she thought she saw anything
move, or heard a noise, it made her tense so hard she wondered if her
jaw might crack.
    'How
long have I been down here?' The blonde tilted her head, releasing
her weapon just long enough to rub at the sore muscle of her arm
holding the lantern. She was strong, but even so, her shoulder was
beginning to cramp. It occurred to her that perhaps she should have
left markers, or drawn a map even as she went. Swallowing, she buried
her anxiety under a burst of blind anger, her steps coming faster.
    If
her plan had been to find something in the shadows by sheer
bullheadedness alone, she was in luck.
    One
flat boot stepped into the loop of rope, and in a second she found
herself viewing the world from upside down.
    Her
scream of surprise bounced around the chamber, lingering after she
herself had finally closed her mouth. The clang of her lantern
smashing, and the light fading away in a burst of orange, was far
more terrifying than the knowledge she had fallen into a trap.
    Siena
gasped, trying to calm herself as she swayed, the blackness covering
the world and making her even more disoriented. Palms slick with
sweat reached up, trying to find the rope around her ankle. It was
difficult, for she kept spinning with each twist or motion she made,
and soon she simply hugged herself and inhaled deeply. 'Calm,' she
thought fiercely, 'just relax. Think, think and you can get out of
this. It's just a rope trap, nothing to fear.'
    The
true danger made itself known moments later.
    The
voice was soft, a hiss so sweet and so cruel, mere inches from her
ear. It tickled, and she knew what she felt were whiskers as her
brain tried to rapid fire the information over her shock.
    “ What
have we caught in our trap, I wonder?”
    The
rats had found her.
    On
reaction, she swiped out with one fist, trying to catch the creature
where she thought its head must be. The dark, however, was the home
of the giant rats. With keen hearing, fine noses and the ability to
see when there was no light, the advantage would have been theirs'
even if the girl wasn't dangling in a trap.
    “ Get
away from me!” She cried, fumbling for her sword hilt, trying
to disengage it from her awkward position. Yanking it free, she swung
in wide, which hit nothing and only sent her whipping in a circle.
The ride was not fun, and when she finally began to slow, she feared
she might vomit.
    “ Easy
easy,” a different voice chortled, which made her turn her head
in an attempt to follow it. Her palms were sweating, the blade
difficult to wield effectively while inverted. None the less, she
wasn't about to give up so quickly.
    Her
long golden hair had come loose in her panic, dangling free in the
air. It was an easy target, and the sudden sharp yank of it by
unfamiliar hands made her yelp. It was enough of a distraction that
she couldn't prepare for another set of fingers, prying her sword
away in one quick wrench of her wrists.
    The
double attack made her flinch, and she tried to pull her arms free,
as well as her blonde strands, but these beasts had her pinned. With
no leverage from dangling in space, and what seemed to be at least
two of them holding her at once, she was at a loss.
    “ Let
go of me, you filthy monsters!” She spat, wincing at the cruel
way the digits coiled in her tresses.
    “ Ah,”
the first speaker laughed, “so rude, little human. You can't
even see us, yet you call us filthy?”
    “ Indeed,
Skarlo,” the second tone skitted, like pebbles skipping on
cement. “She must be able to smell you.”
    Siena
sensed a brief scuffle, and