Page 138 of Wraithwound

Dangling before him, Lena extended her claws and drove her hand toward his chest. Toward the beating heart there. But her hand went straight through him, grasping nothing but air. Malnik disappeared, dropping Lena in the snow.

“The wraith then,” he said, his voice coming from somewhere behind her as he answered his own question. “I have foreseen this, Lena. You do not survive it.”

Lena managed to get to her feet, ignoring the new awkwardness in her body and the additional chamber that had yawned open in her mind.

This time, the command sounded from her left.

“You may eat,” Malnik said.

The resounding roars and snarls sent terror flooding into her veins and rage through Runa. The creatures leapt toward the women who now shielded Riley.

“Get to Draven, now!” Runa pushed some of her power to Lena, giving it over freely.

Lena summoned the energy, gathering it not just around her hand, but around her body as Runa had intended. It erupted from her, the familiar black cloud bursting forth on a reflex she hadn’t known she had. The creatures that had been closest to her friends were blasted into the forest while others were merely driven back. At least it gave the women some time to run or hide. Lena panted with the effort, feeling a drain on her lifeforce, or was it Runa’s?

She whirled, searching for Kol. Had he been blasted away with the other creatures, or worse, into another portal? She scanned the area, hoping to catch a glimpse of him when Malnik appeared before her, arm pulled back, ready to strike.

But then, she was tackled to the ground, sharp nails digging into her face. Kol appeared behind Taya, but his movements were jerky, stiff. Lena tried to push her off, but Taya dug her thumb into Lena’s cheek and three fingers above her brow.

“See!” Taya commanded, a wild look on her face.

And the world melted away.

Lena was in someone else’s body. She looked down to see young, uncalloused hands and a lean body in a nightdress. Lena was standing in a darkened hallway in a familiar cottage.

“Tell me about it, sola,” Eduard said, his voice soft.

“He— I don’t know, it’s impossible,” Ada said.

“What did you see?” Eduard said gently.

“He can project himself. Or will? His body appears. It’s there, somehow, but it’s an illusion. His actual essence is stored elsewhere. But how is that possible?” Ada asked incredulously. “He draws from the strength of others, uses them. Ruins them.”

After a beat of silence, she heard soft sobs and gentle hushing before she was ripped away and found herself back in the snow.

Lena blinked at the scene before her; she wanted to go back to the cottage, to ask them who they were talking about, but she never got the chance. Kol pulled Taya off her, and began dragging her back toward Riley, crimson staining the snow where the spy sat, when a rage-filled screech filled the air. Lena’s head snapped up just in time to see a small animal diving at him from above. Teeth exposed and trailing shadow, Wyn dove from the sky.

The roar of flames coming to life from somewhere nearby sparked hope inside her, and she turned to see a flaming green sword appear from between the trees, just as a fresh wave of monsters crept in from the forest. Lena was about to lunge for Kol when a hand fisted itself in her hair and dragged her backwards. She grabbed wildly for it, hoping her nails would slash through flesh, but it was only empty air.

Malnik had somehow developed the ability to project his body, and use force, while remaining impervious to attacks. Lena had never been more grateful for the coarse, wiry hair on the left side of her head, because the pain from his grasp rode a numbed edge.

“Lena!” Cross roared from somewhere nearby, and she blinked in surprise.

Hadn’t Malnik silenced him? She struggled to turn her head, all the while trying to dig her claws into the frozen earth, but she found no purchase.

He was dragging her toward the Revan Temple.

“You are going to retrieve that bottle for me, or I will turn everyone who has ever had the misfortune of gazing upon your face into one of those beasts. After that, I will set them loose on every single man, woman, and child in every village, city, and stronghold until they all resemble the funeral field in Virdeen,” he snarled.

“You?” Lena asked, her heart breaking all over again for those whose lives had ended in that field.

“I told you; you all have roles to play. I ensured you’d end up here, monitored your movements to ensure you would. To ensure he would. Have you asked him about Cederic?” he said, malice clear in his voice as he dragged her past the soulbound. “Ah. I see Taryk has arrived.”

The air disappeared in her lungs as understanding settled within her, and she turned just enough to catch a glimpse of Cross’s face. He’d gone completely still as he seemed to process what Malnik had said.

Lena tried to reach for him as Malnik dragged her past, but he yanked her out of his reach.

Beyond them, Taryk took on Kol, his blazing green sword arcing through the air as he deflected the monster’s claws. Taya fought too, slicing through the beasts that tried to get past her like wind made flesh. Wyn aided Taya, ripping through muscle and sinew with claws and teeth.