Page 4 of Tethered to the World
Annora knew he spoke the truth, but everything inside her protested the idea of bringing back a killer. If he was crazy before, he was going to be exponentially worse when he came back. Since she’d used most of his life force to save Rufus, he might heal over time, but he would never be the same.
To fix him she would have to go back to the afterworld, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to return. Something was waiting for her in the darkness, and one of these days it was going to find her.
But when she glanced at the other wolves, she saw Rufus was correct…if she did nothing, they would make it their life’s mission to hunt her down and make her pay.
She didn’t need more people after her.
She already had too many.
“Very well.” Before she could second-guess her decision, Annora allowed herself to fall into the darkness gathering in her chest. She lifted her hand, watching it as she slowly dissolved into nothing but smoke. The world around her went dark, the air thicker, and she turned to see the rest of the wolves had retreated, leaving her alone with the would-be murderer.
“You! What did you do to me?” The big man lunged for her, and she whirled out of existence in a cloud of smoke, only to reappear behind him.
The man howled with denial, his chest heaving, his head dropped low.
“Who sent you to kill Rufus?”
The man spun and advanced, completely pissed, but grateful to see her. When she backed up, he froze, then he swallowed hard. “Our alpha ordered a hit on him.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I only do what I’m told.” He held out his arms beseechingly, panic darkening his face. “I don’t want to die in this hellish place.”
Annora didn’t have the heart to tell him everyone dies here eventually.
Sighing in resignation, she turned and knelt next to his still body, conscious of the man hovering behind her, careful to maintain his distance so he wouldn’t scare her off. She placed her hand against the body stretched out along the floor, barely feeling the slow, steady thump of his heartbeat against her palm.
She called to the darkness and watched his form slowly scatter into a stream of smoke. It snaked toward her until it completely filled the body, and she carefully wrapped what remained of the dull golden sparks around his heart. With each strand he became whole again, becoming stronger.
When she lifted her hand and moved to stand, something darted out of the darkness. Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard, she couldn’t catch her breath—
—then she relaxed when she saw the small ferret. “Dammit, Edgar, you scared the crap out of me.”
She quickly snatched him up and clutched the critter to her chest, glancing around cautiously for a few seconds, expecting a monster to jump out at her at any moment. Not wanting to push her luck, she let go of the darkness and watched it scatter.
The light in the room nearly blinded her as she returned to the human world, and she shaded her eyes with her hand, ridiculously relieved to be back.
She was afraid one of these times she would end up trapped there permanently.
“Why isn’t he waking?” One of the wolves growled, his body hunched over as if his wolf was seconds away from bursting out of his skin.
The ferret clambered up her arm and perched himself on her shoulder, chittering angrily at the wolves like he would fight them for her honor. Annora sighed, then walked over to the prone body. The other guys scattered, taking care not to remain within touching distance, and she wanted to laugh at seeing grown men afraid of little-bitty her.
She glanced down at the still body, noting his haggard appearance, like he’d aged ten years in the span of a few minutes. His body had shed twenty pounds, looking almost frail as he lay unconscious. Without an ounce of remorse, she drew back her boot, and slammed it into his ribs. Instead of waking up like she expected, his wolf tore free of his form, his flesh and clothes ripping away from his body. Bones cracked and lengthened, fur spread rapidly across the body. In seconds, a giant wolf was before her.
“Don’t move.” Rufus edged in front of her, angling himself between her and the wolf.
The big beast wobbled precariously, growling and grumbling as he staggered. When he swung his big head toward her, she expected him to lunge.
Instead a trail of pee collected on the floor. The beast turned tail and darted toward the door, his claws scrambling for purchase. It didn’t take more than a second for the other wolves to follow, leaving her alone in an awkward silence with Rufus.
She smiled brightly, her face tight as she turned to face him, mentally measuring the distance to the exit, wondering if she had time to pack her bag. Even if he somehow didn’t want to keep her prisoner, people would be coming for her once the news got out about what happened. “I suppose you have questions?”
Chapter Two
Annora braced herself to run.
As if sensing her unease, Rufus held up his hands and took a step back. “Thank you for saving my life.”
