Page 64 of Ransomed to the World
Annora stepped into the human realm and brought the blade up to her lips. “Protect him.”
Then she drew back her arm and threw the blade as hard as she could. As the weapon spun through the air, dark particles drifted off it, keeping it afloat, giving it speed. Just as the woman began to lower her arm and stab Xander, the knife landed with a meaty thump and sank deep into her shoulder.
The woman tipped back her head, releasing a squawk of pain loud enough that Annora’s ears rang in protest. The hillside stilled, and everyone swiveled slowly in her direction. The woman Annora stabbed rose gracefully to her feet, gripped the pommel of the knife, and yanked it out, dropping it to the ground.
Inky smoke curled up from the wound, the skin around the injury turning gray. Tiny black veins began to fork under her skin, creeping up her arm and across her shoulder. A snarl curled the woman’s lips, her features sharp as they locked on Annora. “You should have minded your own business, little girl. Now you must die.”
When one of the guys took a step toward her, Xander leapt to his feet. “Annora! Run!”
But instead of obeying his own order, he launched himself forward, soaring through the air, the sounds of rustling wings filling the silence, and he tackled three of the guys to the ground.
She tore her attention away from the fight to discover the woman she stabbed had closed half the distance between them. She was older than Annora expected, but there was a fierce beauty to her sharp cheekbones and dark eyes.
With every step, the blackness spread across the woman’s shoulder like greasy oil. The woman gritted her teeth against the pain, the dark veins spreading faster and faster.
Annora allowed the afterworld to spill into the human world. Darkness crept across the landscape, blotting out the stars and swallowing the moon. Instead of pitch black, a blue glow illuminated the hillside, revealing tiny particles floating in the air.
The city blazed in the distance, aging centuries in a few minutes. The water beyond was still as glass, a glimmer of light shimmering across the surface like a beacon—the phantom realm.
It called out to her, a tugging sensation, like a missing piece of herself.
The ground around her became lush and overgrown, the vegetation like prehistoric times. An ominous feeling flavored the moist air.
Xander took advantage of the distraction, knocking one of the men out cold.
Only to be tackled in turn by the two remaining guards.
He moved like the wind, leaping and spinning in acrobatic moves that defied gravity. He was vicious and ruthless, making every blow count. While Annora already knew he was deadly, there was a beauty to the powerful way he manipulated his body, a grace that made it hard to look away.
It was then Annora saw the bitch was still heading toward her, and their eyes locked.
Pure evil glared back at her.
Darkness cloaked the woman. It seeped from her as if she could no longer contain the malevolence. Her eyes turned murky, black tears streaking down her face and leaking from her nose and mouth. Color leached out of her hair, starting from the roots, moving to the tips, bleaching the strands white.
Fury twisted the woman’s face, transforming her features into a menacing scowl as she relentlessly dragged herself forward, the injury only slowing her down a little, and Annora realized the bitch actually planned to kill her.
Then the woman stumbled, her breathing now ragged, which seemed to piss her off even more. She lifted up her head, her eyes narrowing in hatred.
“A phantom,” she spat in disgust. “Kill her!”
The order rang out into the night.
She must have realized that it was the only way to stop the infection.
“No!” Xander renewed his efforts, trading brutal blows, trying to work his way toward her.
Annora didn’t back away, struggling to keep the underworld from killing them all. “Kill me and you’ll die along with me.”
The woman cocked her head like a curious bird, a nasty sneer twisting her face. “And my men will kill your precious Xander.”
Not if Annora could take them all down at once.
But doing so would mean unleashing her hold over the darkness, ceding all control.
Her conscious twinged at the thought of taking more lives, but she ruthlessly crushed it.
Then she glanced at Xander—it was no contest.
