Page 5 of Hell Bound

“Go, Deasley. We’re out of time.”

Deasley gave a sharp nod and stepped through. I could see the four of them walking away on the other side, their images wavy through the rippling portal.

Perhaps it was because of the distortion caused by the portal entrance that my brain was telling me I’d just watched them shift from men to beasts before bounding away from the entrance.

But the muffled sounds that floated back were definitely paws, not footsteps.

I’m in a coma. This is all a dream. I was injured when Eric was attacked, and now I’m in the hospital. That makes the most sense, right?

I couldn’t grasp the situation through the surging fear and dread that threatened to make me spill the contents of my stomach.

If I crossed that threshold, it would mean my death. That truth was abundantly clear to me on a gut level.

From what I could make out through the hazy gateway, it looked like it led to a forest, but it was far from the welcoming kind of place where fawns and baby bunnies frolicked.

The trees were enormous, and if my eyes could be trusted, black. Completely, from roots to the tips of the leaves, utterly black.

I flailed harder.

“No! I’m not… going… with you!” My wasted effort was tiring me out even more than usual, but I couldn’t stop.

If I was going through, I was going through fighting like hell.

“I wish that were true, my Queen, but we don’t have a choice.” He tugged hard on my arm and I stumbled into his body. Both arms wrapped around me like a vise before I could regain my balance, cutting off any slim chance of escape.

My head spun as he marched forward, lifting me off my feet so I had no option to drag my feet along the concrete.

“Don’t do this! Please, just let me go!” Absolute terror drowned out the anger in my words, and I could feel my eyes water. Helpless, I turned and met his gaze as he stared down at me, still moving inexorably forward. “Please?”

It was a whisper, but he flinched as though I’d shouted at him. Something in his eyes shifted, and for a moment, I thought he might actually release his hold.

My heart spread its wings to soar, but those wings were clipped when his gaze turned hard again.

“I tried, Lily. I’m so fucking sorry I failed you.” Each word was laden with pain, but I had no chance to wonder why before an electric buzz jolted through my body.

We’d crossed the portal.

Energy flooded my body, setting every single nerve ending on fire. My head lolled back and landed on the commander’s shoulder, and his grip around me tightened further.

My vision wavered as slight pain transformed into unbearable agony.

And then there was darkness.

I was no longer in that stygian forest, nor did I wake up in my bed at home, coming to from a dream that had felt all too real.

I was nowhere.

Attempts to move were fruitless because I had no form.

It was like I’d been unmade the second I crossed that threshold into this godforsaken place, everything that had made me Liliana Martinez stripped away.

Is this death? Was I going to spend my afterlife in this abyss? Did that mean that the commander had come to reap my soul?

Questions floated through my consciousness, but there were no answers in this void.

I marveled at the fact that I wasn’t filled with sadness or regret. But in truth, I wasn’t leaving much behind.

A job I couldn’t stand, an apartment that looked like a soulless model home, and no close family to speak of.

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