“Breathe, Anora,” Ethan says softly, somehow picking up on my sheer terror. My body threatens to collapse in shock, both from physical pain and heartache. “Breathe,” he says again, deep voice rattling through me. He gently pulls the hair tie from my ponytail, helping me relax as he runs his fingers through my hair. “What just happened?”
I lift my head to look him in the eyes. “I don’t know, really, but suddenly I felt all this fear and panic. It took over.” I close my eyes and take another deep breath, pushing the fear away as I exhale. I feel almost like myself again.
“What exactly did you feel?”
“Hopelessness. I knew I was going to die, and there was nothing I could do to change that.” I close my eyes and get a flash of being dragged through the cold forest. “I think whatever happened…it happened down there. I can feel myself dying.”
“Do you think it’s the blonde ghost?” Ethan asks after a beat.
“Yes.” That’s another thing that’s hard to explain. I just know. “I kept hearing the name Ryan in the back of my mind.”
Ethan raises his eyebrows and sighs. He cups his hand around my face and tilts my chin up to him. “Well, I think we—”
Before he can finish his thoughts, something jumps down from a tree, soaring through the air and landing on Ethan’s back. Clawed hands grasp his shoulders and yank him away from me. Ethan’s hands slip off my face as he’s shoved to the ground.
Horrified, I watch with wide eyes as my heart pounds in my throat. A cloaked figure turns its back to me, moving in on Ethan. In one graceful movement, Ethan kicks out, hitting the creature’s legs and knocking it to the ground.
In an instant, Ethan gets to his feet and pulls out his gun. With no hesitation, he pulls the trigger, sending a bullet right into the things head.
But it doesn’t die.
“Well that’s just fucking great,” he huffs and kicks the thing in the stomach. He brings his foot up, ready to smash it down on the thing’s head, when his face goes tight with shock.
“Anora!” he shouts, but it’s too late. Something grabs a handful of my hair and jerks me back. My feet catch on themselves, and I trip. As I fall, I see the face of our attackers.
The bird-demons. Sunken-in eyes, leathery skin, and a nose shaped like a long, sharp beak.
My breath leaves me, and time slows down. The forlorn feelings come back, and I feel like I’m going to die again. Everything is hopeless; there’s no reason to even try. The sooner death comes, the sooner the suffering ends.
Fuck!
Those feelings aren’t mine. I’m not dying, not here, and not now. Gritting my teeth, I push the emotions aside. I’m going to fight, and I’m not going to let these freaky motherfuckers get the best of me.
Another memory flashes before my eyes, and my body crashes hard against the dry earth.
“Ignis,” I say, smiling as a small pile of kindling goes up in flames. I’m inside Aunt Estelle’s house, and Harrison is on the couch behind me.
“No fair,” he grumps. “Why can’t I do magic too?”
“Life isn’t fair, my sweet child,” Aunt Estelle tells him, and then looks back at me. “Do it again, Anora. This time, don’t hold back.”
I suck in air, eyes flying open. Ignis. The word echoes in the back of my head. Like the memory, something else flashes through me, and without thinking, my fingers wrap around the hilt of the dagger, which is hanging from my hip.
Something flashes through me, and before I hit the ground, the dagger is in my hand. I roll back, scrambling to my feet. Brandishing the dagger in front of me, I hurry closer to Ethan, who turns, keeping his back to mine.
Another bird-demon closes in on Ethan and me, circling us. Ethan reaches behind him, his fingers gracing my wrist. The gun is useless on these things, and we’re surrounded.
The flash of energy turns into a jolt, and I throw my left hand out, feeling heat radiating from my fingers. The closest bird-demon rushes toward us, and flames erupt around my hand. I don’t have time to think. I just react, throwing my hand out and sending the flames from my fingers to the bird-demon’s chest. It stumbles back, madly patting at its chest to put the fire out.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins, pushing my fear to the side. These motherfuckers are going down. Setting my face, I raise the dagger and stare down the other two demons. They hiss and lurk closer, talons out, waiting to make a move. Ethan strikes first, punching one of them so hard it stumbles back a few steps.
The other rushes me. I hold out the dagger but falter. I close my eyes in fear, and my wrist weakens. It comes at me with inhuman speed, knocking me onto the ground so hard that I can’t breathe. The dagger falls from my grasp.