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He hissed and inhaled sharply but didn’t pull away.
Kira’s breaths fell in short, painful spurts as her chest tightened. For several moments there was only the air escaping her lungs and the crazy beating of her heart. There were the small, curling hairs along his forearm and the shifting, corded muscles beneath.
There was his heat. His smell. His intensity.
Her eyes moved upward. She saw the thin sheen of sweat that coated his skin. The pulse that beat just as fast and hard as her own.
When their eyes connected once more, she was shocked at the look on his face. It was something dark and disturbing.
Suddenly he didn’t look anything like the man of moments before. He looked inhuman.
He snarled and bared his teeth.
She wretched her hand away and stepped back.
“Smart girl.” He said savagely. “You say you’re not afraid?” He gestured toward the smoke creatures that were almost upon them. “They’re nothing like what I am.”
His skin shifted, shadows flickering across his face as his eyes blazed at her. “What are you?” Kira whispered.
The man she’d called savior for the last fifteen years rolled his shoulders and spoke coldly. “I’ll be your worst nightmare if you don’t listen to me and get the hell out of here.”
Fire and sulfur filled her nostrils and the rumbling that erupted from his chest was menacing. He sounded like an animal.
Kira blinked and a chill rolled over her at the smile that sat upon his face as he gazed at the smoke creatures. He looked like he wanted to rip them apart . . . with his bare hands.
The screeching had ramped up considerably and the noise was near deafening. How the people in the market didn’t hear was a bloody miracle, and yet no one else had come to her rescue.
“Run the other way and don’t stop until you have to.”
“But,” Kira glanced backward. “But there’s nothing there. The alley ends.”
He swore under his breath. Or at least Kira assumed it was some sort of curse word—it sure as hell wasn’t any language she’d ever heard before.
“You need to trust me and go. A door will open. It always does in a place like this.”
One of the smoke creatures broke formation and rushed toward them.
“Now!” He shouted, pushing her behind him as he lunged forward, an eerie howl echoing into the night as he did so. “I will find you.”
“But why are you here?” None of this made sense. “Where is here?”
“Lady, we don’t have time for twenty questions.”
Kira hesitated, suddenly not sure about anything anymore.
“If you don’t get your ass out of here I’ll kill you myself.”
Something in his tone scared her far more than the smoke creatures. She whirled around and took off, running as fast as she could until she reached the end of the alley. Boxes were stacked to the left of her, and on the right . . . she looked closer . . . was the wall moving?
The brick liquefied and warped, moaning in protest as an opening appeared, and from behind it, the soft glow of light peaked through.
Follow the light.
What was this place? She must be dreaming. There could be no other explanation.
Another screech ripped through the night, but this time it was followed by a roar that sent shivers racing across her flesh. It was ugly and full-bodied—filled with a darkness she was familiar with.
Dream or no dream, it was enough to get her butt moving. She plunged into the unknown and didn’t look back.
