Page 89 of Cast in Shadow

I was so focused on getting away that I didn’t even notice the mental pummeling had let up. At least, not until it started up again with a vengeance.

“Fuck!” I stumbled to a stop, pressing my palms to my temples in a feeble attempt to blunt the assault.

A quiet escape was clearly out of the question. That thing would just keep hammering at me until I was curled up on the ground in the fetal position trying to keep it out. Whichreduced my options to hiding and hoping it didn’t find me or fighting a monster when I could barely walk.

Since I’d been trying to find a place where I could slip into the shadows and go unnoticed with precisely zero success, that left door number two.

Every breath I drew was laced with razor wire. Every step I took sent a wallop of ache ricocheting through my bones. And every attempt I made to conjure any of my magic as I ran fizzled.

But maybe I still had enough left in me for one more fight.

That was what I told myself as I scanned my surroundings for anything I could use as a weapon. What I settled on was a stick. Well, it was more like a tree limb, and heavier than it looked, but it still didn’t do much to boost my confidence.

Then I hobbled to the nearest giant tree and hid behind it. The bark was rough against my jacket. It was probably crawling with insects too, but I buried that thought and turned my attention to catching my breath.

I breathed in and out, as slow and steady as I could. With each exhale, some of the fog cleared, and more of the world came into focus. A dull, orange mist moved lazily along the ground, swirling here and there as a breeze cut through it.

For all the darkness in this world, it was unusually warm. Not fires of hell hot, thankfully, but warm enough that at least I didn’t have to worry about freezing to death.

As I waited, I tried to find anything that looked familiar. After more than a century, or however long had passed on this side, it was a long shot. But hey, what did I have to lose?

The mental clobbering picked up again, and I winced. It was like the thing was getting stronger.

Or I was getting weaker.

Nope. I refused to let self-defeating thoughts like that take up space in my brain. I was a hell of a lot stronger than the firsttime I’d landed in this place, and I’d taken some brutal beatings back then. So many that I’d lost count of how many times I’d healed myself while shaking with fear and fatigue, curled up in the smallest dark hole I could find.

I’d survived then. I could do it again.

Right?

Beneath the gentle sough of the breeze moving through the trees, I heard the beast stalking me. Awareness prickled my skin. I searched inside myself, gathering as many glitching threads of magic as I could.

It prowled closer.

I opened my mouth half an inch and breathed as silently as I could manage with the way my heart was racing.

Closer still.

Tightening my white-knuckled grip on the branch, I braced for what was coming. And yet, when something crunched to my left, it was close enough to have me biting back a yelp.

I swung with everything I had. The limb collided with the demon’s face, catching him squarely across the jaw, but instead of a bellow of pain, I was met with a startled snarl.

Shit.

His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. His red eyes narrowed.

Everything in me screamed for me to run, but that wasn’t an option. So, I gathered whatever sparks of magic I could conjure and swung again.

I was fast, but he was faster. And fucking huge. Even on all fours, he was still taller than me at the shoulder. He caught the limb and ripped it from my grip, wrenching me sideways as he did. Pain ricocheted across my ribs and down my leg, and I stumbled, going down hard.

He tossed the branch aside like it was nothing and glared down at me. Fear flooded my system as I scrambled backwardon my hands and heels, but I only made it a few feet before he reached out one powerful arm, caught me by the leg, and yanked me toward him.

“Get off!” I tried to hit and kick and twist my way out of his grip.

My whole body howled in protest. My magic flickered and sputtered beneath my skin. But it was no use. It was like fighting a brick wall with a feather.

And when an enormous hand came down on my chest, pinning me to the red dirt, I forgot how to breathe. For one fleeting moment, I thought of Emerson and the way he’d pressed me against my Jeep days earlier, but the image dissolved in a haze of fresh pain as big black claws dug into my skin.

No matter how I moved or how hard I fought, I couldn’t break his crushing hold. Couldn’t budge his suffocating weight.

The demon lowered his face until it was barely an inch from mine. His breath scorched my clammy skin. Those glowing crimson eyes bore into me. With a low growl that set every one of my nerve endings on fire, the pounding against my mental barriers started again. And this time, running wasn’t an option.

Think you've seen the worst of it with that cliffhanger? Oh, babes… you're not ready for the ruin ahead.