Page 32 of Shackled to the World
He sounded almost afraid to mention their connection, as if she would try to cut him out, but reminding her at the same time that he mattered, that he was one of her men—in case she forgot. Feeling more and more horrible for making him doubt himself and his place, she nodded to him. “We’re family.”
He didn’t move as he stared at her, his eyes flaring with hope. “Family.”
He tucked a stray strand of hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear. “In the true spirit of practice, you should avoid the afterworld as much as possible. Only use it in case of emergencies.”
Annora couldn’t help but wonder what part of avoiding the afterworld was practice and what part of it was actually his fear of the banished lands he’d been trapped in for so many years.
He was elegant in no way a human could duplicate, with a self-awareness she envied. Though his skin was smooth and pale, there was a sharpness to his eyes and face that hinted at the hardships he’d suffered, and a stubborn look to his strong jaw that, heaven help her, she was coming to admire.
Despite her resolve to keep her distance, she was failing.
And she was beginning not to care.
When he cocked his head at her, she brushed off her distractions and began moving again.
Focusing on the ties binding her and the men together, she sensed Mason was the closest, waiting just a few yards ahead of them. As she neared his location, she pressed her hand to the walls, trying to find an entryway.
And found nothing.
Dammit.
She was so close she could almost taste victory.
Left with no choice, she stepped back and followed the passageway. She only went a few feet before halting, scowling when she discovered it led them farther away from Mason. She growled in frustration, then raised her brow at Edgar. “Ready to make this interesting?”
His answering smile was devilish. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Annora retraced her steps, then placed her hand on the wall separating her from Mason. She collected the darkness inside her, watching it curl around her fingers. The more she used, the more her senses expanded and seeped into the human world.
The wall was just normal wood, drywall and studs a few inches thick. “Follow me.”
Then she allowed the particles to burst outward in a swirling mass, her form dissolving into mist, and she slipped clean through the wall. She took form on the other side, only to see Edgar appear next to her as if he stepped out of thin air.
She scowled, wanting to call foul that he’d used the afterworld when he banned her from it. He smirked, as if waiting for her challenge, and she pursed her lips, refusing to give him the satisfaction. He pointed to his eye, then tipped his head to indicate the three guys in the room guarding the door. Mason was leaning against the wall, reading on his phone. As if he sensed her, he lifted his head, surprise widening his eyes when he saw her.
He glanced at the door, then back to her, before grinning.
The guards were so focused on the doorway, they never once looked behind them.
Edgar gave her the option of taking out the guards or going for Mason. While removing the threat was optimal, the alarms had yet to be sounded. The better plan would be to sneak in and out and rescue as many of the guys as possible before they were discovered.
She reached Mason first. She touched his arm, allowing the darkness of the afterworld to wrap around them. To her surprise, she was able to take Mason with her as she stepped through the wall. It wasn’t that he dissolved, but more like he could follow in the disturbance of her wake.
They were spit out on the other side, dumping them into another room.
Only it wasn’t empty.
Four wolves were playing cards, clearly bored. At their entrance, they froze, staring at them in complete shock. Mason was the first to react, taking advantage of their inaction by charging them. Though the man was massive, he moved like a wild animal on the hunt…all lethal and deadly grace. Annora was a step behind him, not nearly as fast as the troll, the trip through the wall disorienting her slightly and leaving her off-balance.
She hid behind Mason’s bulk, sliding out from behind him at the last possible minute, diving low to take the nearest wolf out at the knees. Without a hint of hesitation or remorse, she brought up her elbow and rammed it right into his nose.
The kid kept his cool, not reaching for his nose as she expected, but going for his gun while she was distracted. As he took aim, she grabbed the barrel and yanked it aside just as the ping of the paintball launching breezed by her ear. She took control of the gun, ramming it backwards, smacking him between the eyes and knocking him out cold.
As she hauled herself off the prone body, she saw Edgar was no less deadly, his movements sure and practiced as he popped in and out of existence, avoiding the punches directed at him, dodging the paintballs that went off with a muted potch of compressed air.
It didn’t take more than a minute to incapacitate the four wolves. Her men moved as a team that had worked together for years. After the raid, they checked each other for injuries. She and Edgar were clean, but Mason had a bright pink splash on his outer thigh.
Though she didn’t like that he’d beentheoreticallyinjured, the shot was in a non-life-threatening area at least. He was used to taking abuse, and she had to trust that he knew what he was doing.
