Bound [II]

At first she didn't feel the arm that encircled her chest. The burning was too painful for her to notice anything. It jerked her upright, and Chang Chang felt herself smashed against a hard wall. The wall moved, drawing her to the surface. Whenever Chang Chang thought she would slip, the arm would pull her back from the abyss.

She broke the surface gasping, choking foul water when she tried to suck in air. Her muscles were on fire. But she was alive.

Ju Feng was treading water directly behind her, holding her afloat with his right arm. The wall she'd been crushed against was his chest. The light spell on her arm still functioned. She could see the wraith making mad, swooping circles all around Ju Feng's raft.

"What did you do to it?" he demanded. "Its senses are blinded."

"I'm not sure." Chang Chang coughed and spat water. "We have to get away from here."