Page 28 of Inked in Emeralds (Inkbound #3)

The place was still under construction, wooden scaffolding everywhere, and sections blocked by flimsy fences—but it was like nothing I’d ever seen.

Sturdy iron beams stretched high, floors and walls made of smooth stone.

Sunlight filtered in from a small opening in the ceiling—some kind of chimney, perhaps?

I was so busy staring at the walls and ceiling that I hardly noticed the sound as the door slammed shut behind us.

“Stop.”

The crowd halted. A single, robed figure appeared above, stepping onto a raised metal platform from a hidden door. “Welcome,” a feminine voice rang out, sending a chill down my spine.

Just one word, and yet…

“Something’s wrong,” I hissed. That voice—regal yet distorted somehow. Every muscle in my body screamed for me to run.

A second, larger figure emerged beside her as a yellowish mist began seeping upward from the floor.

Emerson?

But not quite. Was that—I leaned in, squinting—fur on him?

A scream erupted from the first row, snapping my head back.

“Move!” I shouted, charging toward the entrance.

My brothers leapt into action instantly, but a wicked cackle erupted behind us.

“No use running now, my pretties. I’ve already got you.”

Searing pain shot up my legs, but I ignored it, leaping over a man crouched on the floor, screaming.

What the fuck was happening?

“Up!” Paddy shouted. “We have to go up!”

I scanned the massive space in front of me and nodded. He was right. That chimney—there was still a way out. I spun toward him, blinking tears away, holding back a scream of horror at what I saw.

Tufts of fur sprouted from his cheeks, his ears growing longer and more pointed. Jacob, Scotty, and Andrew looked the same. The yellow mist was changing them…

I snapped my mouth shut and plugged my nose as Scotty lunged forward, gripping my arm with inhuman strength. “GO!”

He yanked me upward, setting me atop Jacob’s shoulders, easy as if I was a doll.

The witch cackled again, and lightning crackled in our direction. Scotty leapt forward, roaring with pain as the bolt caught him in the arm.

“Fucking go!”

Paddy hunched over, furred muscles rippling grotesquely, tearing his shirt as he heaved Jacob onto his own shoulders, raising us both higher into the air.

I reached up desperately, my heart pounding as a breeze brushed my fingertips. The chimney…it was so close! I lunged, barely gripping its edge before another bolt of lightning streaked past, striking Paddy directly in the chest.

Tears blurred my vision as he howled, but didn’t falter. Every fiber of my body screamed as I hoisted myself out, scraping my palms raw as I dragged myself onto the gravelly rooftop.

I sucked a breath into my burning lungs and then held it again before turning back and reaching down into the chimney hole.

“Come on!” I waved frantically. “Grab my fucking hand!”

But Paddy slumped backward, groaning as Jacob fell on top of him. Growing furrier by the second, Scotty let out a roar and grabbed Andrew by the scruff of his neck, hurling him upward in a last, desperate attempt to get our youngest brother’s hand to reach mine.

I leaned in as far as I could, gripping the tin of the chimney so tight, it warped beneath my fingers. Time seemed to slow as Andrew sailed toward me, his furry face filled with terror as he reached out.

“Stop them! Obey your master!”

My fingertips brushed Andrew’s and my shoulder screamed as I wrenched it out of the socket and managed to grab his hand.

“Don’t let go!” I sobbed, bracing my knees against the chimney and throwing my weight backward. Agony made my vision go black, but I kept pulling. I managed to get his arm all the way out of the hole before I lost leverage and slammed back into the chimney again with a gasp.

It was only then that I realized he was pulling back. “Don’t panic! Let me pull?—”

The snarling, wild-eyed face that I saw as I peered down into the hole was no longer my brother. His face had changed into one of a feral beast. He tried in vain to unfurl what looked to be some sort of feathered, bony wings in the narrow space even as he snapped at me with razor sharp teeth.

And still I held on. A second hand swung up to join his first and he yanked with all his might, as desperate to kill me as I was to save him.

“Please, Andrew. You know it’s me. Come on, we can-” I broke off as I met his gaze one last time. This wasn’t my brother anymore. Andrew was gone. They were all…gone.

I snagged the dagger from the sheath at my belt and yanked it free. With tears streaming down my face, I plunged it into the hand of my baby brother. He let out an unholy screech and then released me, tumbling into the darkness.

Then, I ran.

But no matter how far or how fast, the anguished screams behind me never left my ears.

It wasn’t until I found myself half a mile away, lying on the ground, sobbing that I realized; My brothers knew we couldn’t all make it out.

In our darkest hour, without hesitation or discussion, they’d all chosen the same thing; To save me first.

By the time I crawled my way into bed that night in our silent little hut, I was blessedly numb. The only feeling left inside of me was hate.

The Wicked Witch of the West had taken my brothers and turned them into monsters. And now, I had to face a lifetime without them. But I knew one thing for sure;

Theirs’ wouldn’t be the only blood staining my hands…