Page 61 of Shackled to the World
She had no choice.
While Camden was a trained warrior, he couldn’t win against someone he couldn’t see.
She glanced at the guys, then allowed the darkness around her and Sadie to swallow them whole.
Camden shouted in denial, while Edgar lunged toward them.
She dragged Sadie into the afterworld, releasing the girl when she whirled and swung her blade. Annora allowed the darkness to take her form, leaving her a ghost. The blade sliced harmlessly through her, the metal tugging at her chest, trying to drag her back, but she gritted her teeth and resisted.
Only when the blade passed through her did Sadie stop moving and glance around them.
There wasn’t really a transition period. One second they were in the human realm, then next the world around them had gone dark with decay. The pathway was crumbling cement. The trees were just giant skeletons poised to snatch up the unwary. She’d swear that she could see emaciated corpses tangled in the tall branches. Tiny specks floated in the air on a current that tugged at her clothes, asking her to come out and play.
Sadie stumbled away, bringing up her sword, staring at the world around them with fear and awe. “What did you do?”
Black fog whirled next to them as Edgar took shape out of the darkness. He arrived whole, like stepping through a doorway. He glanced at her with a scowl, his fathomless blue eyes whirling with the afterworld. “Get to Camden and go home.”
Annora bit her lip, every part of her objecting at leaving him alone with Sadie, alone in the afterworld that held him prisoner for so many years. “No.”
“Alcott, what the fuck is going on here?” Sadie stormed toward him.
Annora ghosted through the darkness and appeared next to Edgar, grabbed another of her blades, and stood between them.
Sadie halted, bringing up her weapon, glancing between the two of them, her eyes narrowing. “Alcott?”
Annora snorted, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “What the hell do you think is happening? We’re in the banished lands where you left Edgar to rot all those years ago.”
“Impossible.” Sadie blanched, her sword wavering and she shook her head. “No one escapes the banished lands once they claim you.”
But she glanced around them nervously, as if expecting the boogeyman to appear at any second. She tried to jump, use her powers to escape, only to reappear a second later like she’d smacked into a brick wall. She staggered for balance, her eyes widening in terror. “You stupid girl. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? We’re trapped.”
Annora released a sigh and lowered her weapons. “No, only you are trapped. Now you can’t hurt anyone else.”
Edgar rested his hand on her shoulder, then gave a squeeze. “Annora.”
It wasn’t a reprimand.
He was leaving it up to her to decide what to do with Sadie.
She glanced at him over her shoulder with a frown. “She really was your friend?”
Edgar ran a hand over his hair and gave a shrug, suddenly looking tired. “At one time.”
Sadie flinched, defeat bowing her shoulders for a second before she straightened and lifted her chin. “I’m trying to save your life, you stupid ass. Don’t you see that she’s dangerous? She—”
“She rescued me from the banished land,” Edgar snapped, a fierce scowl crossing his face. “She’s my mate.”
Sadie gave a bitter laugh. “She put some sort of spell on you. Called you forth and bound you to her. She—”
“Dammit, Sadie.” Edgar marched forward and yanked the sword out her hand. “She’s Daxion’s daughter. I didn’t bring you here. She did.”
Sadie’s skin took on a green tint, and she staggered back as if struck, glancing back and forth between them. “Impossible. He would never break the laws. He—”
“Annora.” Edgar turned away from his former friend, walking toward Annora, his concerned gaze coming to rest on the wound at her hip. “How badly are you hurt?”
Annora touched her wound, her fingers coming away with blood, but the pain barely registered. “Minor.”
“You need to heal.” Edgar studied the injury, ignoring the way Sadie watched them with narrowed eyes.
