Page 49 of Faerie Hunted

Only now, nothing but the smallest scrap of a spark erupted from my fingertips. Not nearly enough to burn my way out of this chokehold.

Not enough juice left inside of me to call up my power. Okay, so?—

I grunted as pain lanced through me and dirt and mud splattered from where I dug furrows in the ground.

My mind scrambled as my body slowed with the lack of oxygen. Panic made it hard to think and I dug my claws down as deep as they would go, puncturing the shifter.

He growled but the sound changed into a pained whine and he loosened his grip. Just a little. Enough for me to twist and jerk away from him.

The second warrior lumbered closer.

My body hurt, every inch of me contracting at the same time until I wanted to curl into a tight ball.

I heard myself breathing, saw the rest of the world through the stars dancing in front of my vision as I drew wave after wave of rage-scented air into my lungs.

The second warrior grabbed me by one of my ears and yanked. He pummeled me with his paws, with his legs, nothing but a mass of muscle forcing me into a defensive position.

I had no time to brace for the attack before he kicked at my knee and I howled in agony.

My tendons throbbed.

I ducked to the side and narrowly avoided the next swing of his claws. The other warrior regained his wits and the two of them stopped to stare down at me. Finally the first one scraped his claws across my ear before releasing me.

I tried to get up, drawing on the last of my reserves, but dropped back down to the ground. Someone had set me on fire. They’d doused me with acid and left me to die but the pressure inside of me refused to ease. Even the pain from the cuts and bruises and slices over my skin were nothing compared to the chorus of agony inside. And with no magic to help me, sending the rest of my power out against them wasn’t happening.

I was finished.

Noren…

My head spun in dizzy circles and my eyes squeezed shut on their own. Without having to look, I felt the others loom over me. Staring, deciding what to do to continue this torturous fight.

Through overheated nostrils, I sensed the other shifters as they came into the clearing. Three more werewolves joined the first two and muddied the air with their scents.

I gagged, the magic keeping me in this physical form fading second by second. I lost energy the way some people lost blood, and by the time the clearing filled with bodies, I passed out.

14

I’d gotten used to being unconscious.

It felt like a natural state at this point, much more natural than being awake. Even the slow lift back to reality wasn’t nearly as bad as it was the first few times I’d passed out.

This time, I woke up with the hum of moving wheels beneath me and the chill of leather against my cheek.

Both arms and my legs were bound with rope that did little for my magic but certainly cut off circulation. I twitched my fingers to get the blood pumping, and feeling returned with the violent prick of a thousand pins and needles.

I kicked out with my feet, the darkness impenetrable and only a glimmer of sickly sunlight cutting through the horizon enough for me to make out the back of a truck. The entire back of the vehicle appeared to be boxed off from the rest. The windows looked thicker than regular glass and turned the watery light of dawn to shades of blue. Early daylight.

Noren lay with his front and back legs lashed together and his jaws restrained by a horrifying looking iron muzzle.

I didn’t see Onyx anywhere.

Relief flooded me with such force that black dots danced across my eyes. He must have gotten away. At least one of us managed to evade the shifters.

Had we been driving all night? My head gave a single, thumping pound before the ache set in and I worked my jaw, trying to relieve the pressure.

Noren whimpered pitifully and I turned to reach for him with my fingertips. “It’s gonna be okay, boy.”

My mouth tasted like someone ground sand against my gums and I grimaced, running my tongue over my teeth and swallowing. My throat had gone dry. Noren seemed especially anxious and the feeling didn’t abate even when my hand made contact with his fur.

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