Page 70 of Shackled to the World
Prem leaped out of the bag, and charged toward her, dodging her uncle as he tried to stomp on the little critter. She could finally breathe after the ferret scampered out of range. “I’m going to roast that filthy animal alive and make you watch.”
Menace gave his eyes an unholy gleam.
He would do it, too.
She wouldn’t put it past her uncle to eat Prem in front of her either.
The wolves didn’t react to the ferret, just watched him scurry past. Though she wanted to scoop him up and keep him safe, she needed her arms free to fight. As if understanding, Prem zoomed up a tree and stood on the branch above her head like her very own guardian angel, chittering and waving his little paws like mad…almost as if he was telling them to fuck off.
Annora couldn’t stifle the smile that broke across her face.
But when she turned toward her uncle, the humor vanished when she saw him grinning. “I’ve missed you. The past few days almost felt like old times. Too bad your little kitsune didn’t hold up as well as you under the beatings. Disappointing, really. I was just getting started with him.” He shook his head, his grin turning menacing. “It’s a pity you couldn’t have joined us to see how quickly I was able to break him.”
Everything inside her went icy with rage. Darkness swarmed her until she nearly choked on it. The forest around them thickened with shadows, blocking out the evening sun, cocooning them in their own world. The darkness slowly stretched toward her, slithering through the trees, seeking prey. The wolves shifted restlessly as they watched the change, the temperature around them dropping twenty degrees in seconds. A few looked nervous, some impervious, while one or two retreated a few paces.
She grunted when her flesh wounds knitted together much too fast, the pain like she’d swallowed fire, until even the tips of her hair ached. She swallowed the agony and locked her knees, refusing to show weakness in front of them.
Kevin edged slightly away from the others, angling himself closer to her. His presence reminded her why they were there…to rescue Logan.
She sent a mental demand to Edgar, telling him not to come, then allowed the darkness to cut them off from the outside world completely, before Edgar had a chance to protest.
She couldn’t release her wrath, not yet, not until her uncle gave the signal to release Logan.
Annora swallowed down the rage that wanted to rampage and destroy, feeling it burn through her like acid. Little bits of black smog seeped out of her, weaving between her fingers like a pet eager to be let loose to hunt.
Dark particles kicked up around her feet, like she’d stepped into a pile of black flour. It gusted up in the air, tugging at her clothes, until it was a struggle to hold her form.
Her uncle was oblivious, running his hand over the cover of the grimoire like it was made of pure gold, his eyes gleaming with greed. Feeling his polluted touch like it was running down her spine, it was as all she could do not to go over there and rip it away from him, feeling his.
“If all you wanted was the book, why did you even bother with me?” She would much rather have been abandoned in a ditch somewhere than grow up under his poisonous ministrations.
He glared at her, pure, venomous hatred simmering under the surface. “The grimoire was supposed to be mine. I was born with the ambitions in the family. Unfortunately, my sister got all the magical talent. She squandered her abilities, creating stupid trinkets and charms when she could’ve been moving up through the ranks in the coven.
“She could’ve run the damned thing, but the stupid bitch spread her legs for your father and got pregnant.” A sneer twisted his face. “A one-night stand ruined her life. She left the coven as soon as she learned about you, threw it all away for you, you little brat.”
He began pacing, his gestures ragged and jerky. “When she disappeared, the coven threw me out.” He stopped abruptly and gave her a nasty smile. “Imagine my surprise when I got a call from her a decade later asking for my help. The cancer had ravaged her body, sucking away nearly all her magic. If she’d been in her right mind, she would’ve seen through my ruse, but she was so desperate to keep you safe, she gave me custody.”
His nasty laugh sent goosebumps racing over her skin, and Annora struggled not to run from his caustic rant, knowing she wasn’t going to like what he said next.
“But she was taking too fucking long to die. Two weeks after I arrived, I waited for you to go to school and smothered her in bed.” His face darkened as he glared at her, spittle flying as he spoke. “Only to have the damned grimoire vanish.”
Vague memories rose in her mind of him ripping apart their meager apartment, destroying everything in his path. Annora shivered, her body becoming heavy as she remembered coming home from school…and the beating that greeted her.
“It took me close to a week to realize you had the damned thing the whole time. At the first spill of your blood, the coloring book you carried around changed.” He clutched the book tighter to his chest. “Your blood was the key.”
“But then like an idiot, you lost it again, didn’t you?” Annora strode closer to him, only to have the wolves stiffen and growl.
Rage darkened his face. “How was I to know it would vanish?! I ripped out three pages, and the fucking thing disappeared like a wounded animal. All I had left were three spells and a useless brat.”
Hatred oozed from his glare, and she shivered from memories of his fists and her childhood conviction that it was all her fault rose like a ghost out of its crypt. The beating was incidental, a way to work off his fury, blow after blow pulverized her small bones, splattering blood with every hit.
It was the first time she died and came back.
“Imagine my surprise when I discovered you can heal, that you’re special, but you fought me every step of the way, like your bitch of a mother. It was only when Erickson showed an interest in you that I realized just how special and started selling your…services.” He gave a delighted laugh. “You were a fucking gold mine…when you cooperated.”
His brown eyes sparkled with glee as he smiled. “With the book, I can take what I want. You’ll finally learn your place and do what I say. And I’ll finally have the power I deserve—all I need is your blood.”
The wolves inched closer, practically salivating with a predatory urge to rip her apart.
