Page 74 of Shackled to the World
When she lowered her arms, the light was gone, taking any hint of the other realm with it, as if it banished the magic used to merge the two worlds.
She blinked at the change, swaying as she struggled to stay upright, blood loss making her dizzy. Though her wounds had sealed shut, they hadn’t healed completely. Inviting the shadows into the human world created more like a dead zone, sucking the energy out of her instead of invigorating her the way they did when she opened a doorway to the afterworld.
She noticed the chain dangling from her fist, and slowly uncurled her fingers to see a gold coin shimmering in the night air. She carefully lifted it over her head, then groaned when her body protested such a simple move.
Like a craving, she wanted to slip into the afterworld and heal, but she was afraid of what she would find.
More specters?
Did they inhabit the afterworld?
Why show themselves now?
Did that mean her camouflage was well and truly gone?
She couldn’t access the afterworld and take the risk that she’d end up trapped or worse, hunted by her father.
A branch snapped behind her, and Annora whirled, bracing herself for an attack.
Only to have Kevin walk out of the woods, his face grim. He glanced around them, but everything appeared normal, the unnatural silence loud in her ears.
“They never had any intention of releasing you or the book.” He hurried toward her side, more of a limping gait than a walk, scanning her for injuries and frowning. “You look like hell.”
She snorted, then waved a hand to indicate his nearly-destroyed body. Without his healing abilities, she wasn’t sure how he was still standing. “You’re one to talk.”
He grimaced, then triumphantly held up his hand, revealing a small stone the size of a quarter resting in the center of his palm. “I have the spell to get us back to the base…only I’m not sure taking you back in your current state would be wise. You would be more of a distraction than a help.”
“I could say the same about you.” Annora narrowed her eyes at Kevin, feeling defensive. “I’m going, with or without you. If we go together at least we can keep an eye on each other.”
The guys needed her. She refused to let them fight without her, and her determination to not be left behind hardened into resolve.
One way or another, she would find her way back to her men.
The darkness inside her was almost depleted, whisking up weakly at her probe. It licked at her wounds, healing her slowly, just enough to stop the internal bleeding, but not enough to knit her fractured bones.
Kevin huffed under his breath, knowing that he was getting played. Neither of them was willing to stay behind, not when the only people who mattered to them were in danger. “Deal—but promise you’ll find me a nice burial site when your guys learn that I allowed you to go into battle injured and kill me for it.”
“I would, but they’ll no doubt bury me next to you after they wring my neck.” Annora grinned at him, bouncing on her feet, ignoring the way her body protested. “Let’s do this. All of this will have been for nothing if something happens to them.”
Kevin nodded, then held the stone aloft. “You better not get yourself killed.”
He twisted his wrist, dropping the stone to the ground. He crushed his boot against it, the fragile material shattering under his heel. Glass cracked, blasting out a weird green powder in a two-foot circle, surrounding them like it had been held under pressure. The smell of black licorice filled her senses as the green substance soaked into the earth. The ground beneath them turned spongy, and the world dropped away as they were sucked down into what felt like a whirlpool of molasses.
Chapter Ninteen
Logan woke to complete darkness, struggling for air, groggy and disoriented. The last thing he remembered was eating some gruel that was more water than food. It tasted like ass.
Son of a bitch!
They put something in his food.
He should’ve been suspicious, since they only tossed him scraps when they felt like it, but his beast had been so starved, the food was down his throat before he even thought about it.
He tried to twist, only to discover his arms and legs were hog-tied.
His breathing turned ragged at the thought of being trapped, gasping like the air was getting thin.
It didn’t matter that he knew it was all in his head, that there was plenty of oxygen, he just couldn’t seem to suck in any of it.
