Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Instinct tells me to scramble back against the wall, to put as much distance between me and the monster growling into being a few feet away, but Siobhan is still standing there, her heart in her eyes. Nox wiggles out of my grasp and hauls themself to their feet. “Siobhan, what—”
She begins to change. It’s nothing like what’s happening to her sister. Siobhan bends in half, shifting to paws instead of hands and feet. Her skin shimmers and then it’s silvery white fur, her dark eyes changing to a deep crimson. Her howl joins her sister’s, louder and louder. A call to action. A warning.
An invisible band wraps around my waist and hauls me back to the wall. Nox hits the wall a few seconds behind me, quickly followed by the others in our party. Bowen stumbles to his knees in front of us, his hands up as if physically holding something back. I can’t see what’s going on. I need to see, to reach Siobhan. “Stop! We need—”
It’s too late.
The first warning is mist coursing from the ceiling, so thick that it quickly obscures the dome. It doesn’t stop there, giving the illusion of the walls of the room fading into nonexistence, taking the bookshelves and other obscure magical items with them. I tentatively reach out to where there should be wall but find only icy emptiness. “Fuck.” I jerk my hand away and shake the feeling back into my fingers.
A tall figure steps out of the mist, dressed in a layered robe of varying greens. They look mostly humanoid, though their features are a little too sharp, the bones protruding too overtly, and horns are curving back from their curly brown hair. Their eyes are perfectly black and set too wide on their face, too large.
They stretch out a clawed hand, so similar to Siobhan’s and Morrigan’s partially shifted forms. “You’ve summoned me, little sister. Ask your boon.”
Siobhan woofs softly.
They tilt their head to the side, the movement too abrupt and uncanny. “How far our progeny have fallen, to not be able to speak in this form.” They casually wave a clawed hand and Siobhan falls to the ground, her soft sound turning pained and agonizing.
I try to stand, but my body is locked in place. I don’t think it’s Bowen’s magic that’s responsible. It’s this creature’s.
Siobhan rises slowly. Her toothy mouth opens and a garbled voice emerges. “Purge the rot from Threshold. Eliminate those who use your name and pervert your true purpose, but leave those who have been forced into a life they never would have chosen for themselves.”
The creature smiles, and I truly wish they hadn’t. They have too many teeth, and they’re shaped entirely wrong for a humanoid mouth. “Do you think I have the power to know mortal souls?”
“Are you not Cŵn Annwn?”
Their smile widens, seeming in danger of splitting their face in half. “I am the leader of the Wild Hunt, little sister. I am more than Cŵn Annwn. Much more.” They straighten. “It has been a long time since my Hunt has ridden in Threshold. Very well. I’ll grant your boon.”
My breath leaves in a rush. It’s happening. We did it. The Wild Hunt will ride and…
“Come along, little sister. It’s time to join your people.”
No.
Their gaze goes over Siobhan’s head to where Morrigan cowers against where the wall used to be. “And you. Come as well. You’ll do well with a few centuries of proper training.” They turn away.
“Wait!”
“Stop!”
Nox and I shout over each other, but it’s too late. The creature walks into the mist, Siobhan and Morrigan trotting on either side of them. She never even looks back. She’s just…gone.
“What the fuck?” Evelyn whispers. “That wasn’t the Welsh god of their Otherworld. I’d stake my life on it.”
“Arawn only leads the Wild Hunt in some myths,” Lizzie says absently. She crouches next to Maeve and takes the selkie’s chin in her hand. “Don’t you ever try some shit like that again, do you hear me? You could have died.”
“I didn’t.” Maeve seems untouched by the vampire’s anger. She covers Lizzie’s hand with hers. “I’m okay. We’re all okay.”
“Not all of us,” I say dully. Outside, howls have started, so many that they weave in and out, creating a haunting melody that makes my skin crawl. Then the hoofbeats come. An army’s worth. Laughter and calls in a language I don’t understand and yet it’s familiar in a way I can’t put into words.
The Wild Hunt rides.
And it took Siobhan with it.
Chapter 34
Nox
I have encountered—and fought—monsters beyond knowing. There is no terror like wading into a pack of feral mermaids or knowing a water horse is on your trail. This is worse. I’ve never felt so small in my life, never felt so much like prey. There’s nothing I want more than to press Bastian into a small space and hide with him until this is over.