Emory was cast in complete darkness.
Slowing her pace to a light jog, shivers ran up her arms, blood and sweat coating her exposed skin. There were no evident pathways, as Emory surged over the mossy ground, dodging roots sticking out and different brambles pulling and ripping at her clothes. Her breath came in misty puffs, as she headed deeper into the woods. The wildness of the forest pulled at something deep in her gut—she had never seen any place that wasn’t touched by humans.
Shaking her head, Emory slowed to a walk, pushing down the panic as she mused aloud, “They gave me drugs and must be on something themselves—obviously I’m not on another world.”
Dread continued to pull at her gut, Emory freezing as a branch snapped behind her. Ice shot through her veins as she turned slowly, yellow eyes glowing behind her. The first thing she saw was the rotting flesh as the serpentine creature stepped toward her. Bald, saggy skin covered the monster, its long snout and twitching ears revealing sharp canines. Snapping its teeth, its gaze flashed. It was bigger than a car, and Emory backed away slowly, not breathing. Behind it, two more yellow eyes appeared, the growls filling the forest unlike anything Emory had ever heard before.
A branch caught her foot, and she fell, falling onto her back. The creature sprung toward her, its companions following. Screaming, Emory flinched back, covering her eyes but not before a flash of silver cut through the air—the curved knife slamming into the creature’s belly, black blood spattering.
The purpled haired woman ran into the clearing, completely ignoring Emory as she ripped her knife from the flesh of the monster, her left hand cutting up as she wielded a long sword, slamming it into the creature’s neck. It howled as it fell, head rolling, decapitated from its body. The woman fought with a ferocity that Emory had only seen in movies as she flung herself into the thick of the battle, the two other monsters throwing themselves at her.
The ground shuddered, and Emory scrambled, shock numbing her body. She expected to see another demon about to kill her.
Instead, a monstrous wolf entered the clearing, golden eyes roaming over her body, before it propelled, jumping over Emory and joining the throng of the fight. She couldn’t move. Emory watched the wolf take down one monster within seconds. Shaking uncontrollably, Emory gasped. She turned, sprinting away from the fight, snapping back into reality.
Crying, she had never tried to run so fast, sweat coating every inch of body, branches cutting her cheeks, but she didn’t falter. Her life depended on it.
Impossibly, the purple hair woman appeared in front of her, sheathing her sword. “Going somewhere, Princess?”
“Get away from me!” Emory screamed, backing away.
“Oh, I don’t think so. This can go two ways. The easy way or the hard way. It’s your choice.”
Behind Emory, more twigs snapped, and the golden furred wolf came up behind her. Nausea rolled through her body as Emory shook her head. “This is impossible.” Her words went unheard as she watched the wolf shift to human form, revealing it to be her other captor, the man from her nightmares.
“Emory, you need to come with us. You’re lucky Nyx saw you on her watch. The dabarnes are only a taste of what roams these woods.”
The man had gentle eyes and short cropped golden hair. He wore a black collared jacket, pants and leather boots, reminding her of medieval fashion. Fear shot through her, and Emory tried to run, the woman sighing behind her.
“I guess it’s going to be the hard way then, Princess.”
Emory barely had time to register the pommel of the knife flying toward her temple, before it cracked into her skull, the copper taste of blood filling her mouth. Darkness overtook her.
***
Emory woke up with a raging headache, to find herself back in the same room she had escaped. Blinking slowly, she tasted stale blood in her mouth, and she gingerly felt her temple, the split skin swollen to her touch. Voices filled the room as she looked to her left, where a man with blond hair was leaning forward in an intense conversation with a freckled man with scorching red hair.
Memphis scrambled up, alarmed and surprised. “Emory, you’re awake.” He breathed her name, as if she might disappear.
Sitting up slowly, she grimaced when pain shot through her body.
Memphis searched her. “You’re in pain.”
“Obviously, I was knocked out by one of your cronies against my will,” Emory gruffly said.
“You’re lucky to be alive, Em. I’m not—we are not—your enemy. Please try and understand that beyond these walls, you will die if you try to escape again,” Memphis stated.
“So what? I’m your prisoner? I would rather die,” Emory declared.
Shaking his head, Memphis looked to the red-haired man standing awkwardly in the corner. Fear flickered in his face, as his body slowly started to look very much like the wall behind him.
“Alby, leave,” Memphis commanded.
The man’s resemblance flickered back to his own, and he left the room.
Confused, hungry, and hurt, she had little patience left. She needed more answers. Now.
Taking her into full view, Memphis sat down in front of her, exhaling hard.
Seizing her opportunity, Emory lunged across at him.
He moved with inhuman speed, catching her wrists before Emory could do any more damage. Standing face-to-face, her chest heaved, and his ice blue eyes cut into hers.
“Emory, I’m not asking you to trust me, but just give me the chance to explain. It will be a lot easier if, for the moment, you don’t attack me.”
Shoving out of his grasp, Emory tried not to throw up. She couldn’t physically beat Memphis, for the time being, it would seem she was their prisoner. Rubbing her wrists, her palms tingled, and her head pounded more, a strange undercurrent of energy churning through her body. Blinking, she paced, trying to make sense of the monsters she had
