41. Katrin

Chapter 41

Katrin

I awoke in a bed with no recollection of how I'd gotten there. My stomach roiled, and I groaned, draping an arm across my face. I opened and closed my mouth, trying to rid it of the taste of stale paper. My head pounded, but the throbbing in my ankle had receded. Slowly, the events of the day before returned to me.

I remembered Evander leaving, drinking with Sam, the words we'd shared. I felt better staying here knowing he harbored no ill will toward me.

Weak sunlight filtered in through the single window, and I wondered if it was later that day or if I'd slept through the night. I rolled over and blinked to clear my vision. Beside me, the bed was empty. Not surprising even if Evander had returned, but it didn't answer the question of if he had. Pushing myself into a sitting position, I rubbed the remaining sleep from my eyes. Blinking them again, I tried to look around and froze.

"Evander!" I cried.

There was commotion in the next room then a wild frenzy of beads exploding as Evander ran in, closely followed by Sam.

Sam gasped, but Evander's solemn face told me everything I needed to know.

"I can't see out of my left eye." The mark had been spreading. Over the last several weeks, it had overtaken more of my face. I never dreamed this would be the result.

Evander rushed to my side. My body tipped as he sat on the edge of the bed, taking my face in his hands.

"You can't see anything out of it?"

I closed my good eye and shook my head, Evander's hands sliding to my shoulders. "It's just black." When I opened again, his face blurred through my tears. I tipped my head down as they fell, leaving tiny dots across the blanket.

With sure fingers, Evander tilted my chin up, dragging his knuckles over my tear-stained cheeks. I willed my gaze up to his and inhaled sharply at the strength radiating from his eyes. There was no condemnation in the grim set of his features, only concern and an edge of what I dared to call protectiveness.

Sam approached with the same casual air he always projected. "You look half demon now, Kitty Kat."

Catching Evander's hands in mine, I searched his face as though I would find Death's plan written upon it. "Is that what he's doing?" I asked, voice so high it squeaked. "Is he turning me into one of them?"

Evander's mouth formed a hard line. "There's no way of knowing what his plan is or what is within his power to do. We can only keep searching for a solution and hope that our luck does not run out."

"Is this the luck you are referring to?" I gestured to my mark.

"I'm referring to the luck that brought you to perhaps the one reaper who has as much to gain from opposing Death as you do. I'm referring to the fact that up until now, you've managed to evade Death, a feat very few people have ever done."

Sam nodded, and I bit my cheeks to keep from making a face.

Evander's thumb absently stroked the back of my hand. "There are fresh clothes and food for you when you're ready."

At the mention of food my nausea returned. I pushed the blankets away, seized by a desperate urge to visit the outhouse. The reapers wisely moved out of my way as I half ran, half hobbled into the main room. I made it out the front door before the afternoon's festivities caught up to me.

Kneeling at the bank of the swamp, I heaved into the dark waters until there was nothing more. With a final spit, I sat back on the mossy ground, wiping my sleeve roughly across my face.

"How charming," hissed a voice from behind me.

I screamed, every nerve screaming at me to run.

Evander burst through the door before the echo of the sound fully faded, Sam on his heels. I rolled to face whatever demon had spoken and froze, mouth agape as I took in the creature before me.

"Ani." Sam's usually jovial voice was laced with confusion. "I don't recall ever seeing you in my neck of the woods."

The Ani in question may have stood on two legs like a person, but that was where the similarities ended. Standing a full head and shoulders over Evander, the demon towered over me where I remained on the ground. Black skin gleamed over a lean but muscular form with matching claws that looked like they could rip me open with a moment's notice. To top it all, a face that was more canine than human. Not quite the dogs that Death's Fangs were, but something clearly other .

"It has been an age since I've deigned to stoop so low." She—and it was female upon closer inspection—spoke with a mouth unaccustomed to speaking our language, her enunciation clumsy and full of teeth.

"And to what do we owe the pleasure now?" Sam asked. A black cane appeared in his hand, seemingly from nowhere. He twirled it absently as he took a casual step forward, placing himself in the center of the triangle created by Evander, myself, and the newcomer.

It was an effort to keep her within the sightline of my good eye. I scrambled to my feet, still dwarfed by her sheer size. Her focus found me over Sam's head, and she bared her teeth. Even between the two reapers, I was prey before a predator.

"There's a lot of talk around The Between. Rumors claim a reaper brought over a human, but this—" Those inhuman eyes saw everything. "This is really something, Evander."

Evander stood taller as the shadows gathered around us. "Can we assume you are here to validate those rumors?"

"His Highness is curious," she hedged.

"Is that how he knows about her? Who started these rumors?"

"It is said the whispers began in his court." Ani inspected her claws, a picture of lethal calm. "I wouldn't be surprised if he sent the words on the wind himself just to stir things up. It seems you have managed to slip through his fingers thus far."

The sharpness in her tone was the only warning before she lunged.

Sam met her blow head on, raising his cane in time to deflect the worst of it. Evander yanked me behind him, reaching into a nearby shadow and removing his scythe. The wicked edge gleamed as it sliced through the air, forcing Ani to jump back. The reprieve was short lived as she sprang between them. I watched in horror as she effortlessly exchanged blows with both men, somehow avoiding the whistling steel and quick jabs.

I was suddenly very aware that I was a human among demons. The three beings formed a maelstrom of claws and onyx. Evander was a sight to see, when I could see him. With only one eye, I struggled to track him amongst his shadows. One moment he was there, the next he was swallowed by darkness, reappearing steps away in a blink.

In the chaos, I'd somehow ended up on the wrong side of the fight, unable to cross the melee to sneak back inside. Two of the shadows broke off from the group to stand sentry beside me. I welcomed Inky's and Storm's cool embrace as they ushered me back from the fray. Together, we inched away, the three demons too engrossed in their battle to notice.

I stumbled over the unfamiliar terrain, unwilling to turn my back on the terrifying creature in our midst. My next step reached the space where the ground should have been and kept going. Water soaked my skirts as I tripped into ankle-deep water. Though the splash barely sounded over the ruckus of the three demons, Ani halted mid-strike, canine ears swiveling to locate the source of the noise.

I froze, holding my breath against the scream that wanted to crawl up my throat.

Evander and Sam swung at once, a powerful strike that Ani parried effortlessly. With a swift kick, Ani sent Sam sprawling. Evander stepped into his shadows, disappearing once again.

Thinking she was distracted, I hoisted myself out of the putrid water. Ani's head whipped toward me, but Inky and Storm formed a wall of darkness before me.

Somehow, I could still make out her form through the gloom, though it seemed I was fully hidden from her view.

Evander reappeared behind Ani, scythe held high. She turned, exposing her back to him as though he were no real threat.

In a gesture more canine than human, she sniffed the air. Her head snapped in my direction, gaze narrowed on the space I occupied, still camouflaged by my shadows. I tensed as her eyes slid over me, unseeing, and yet, I had the distinct impression of being found.

Evander's scythe arced down, but she was already moving.

Toward me.

I spared no thought for her superior strength or longer limbs. I ran.

Inky and Storm kept pace with me, covering my retreat as best they could in spite of the noise I was making. I ran until Ani's panting breaths sounded from far too near. Two sets of footsteps joined with mine, and I wondered if Evander was keeping pace with her, or if she sprinted on all fours like a hound.

The air shifted, and I veered sideways, narrowly escaping a swipe of her deadly claws. Black surged around me, and for a moment, I was weightless. Heartbeats later, the darkness broke. My feet stuttered as I found myself in a different area of the swamp.

A howl of frustration went up from somewhere nearby, too close for comfort. I ran away from the sound, vaulting over mossy rocks and fallen trees. The sounds of pursuit followed me as I splashed into another shallow pool. I risked a glance behind me and bit back a sob at the fearsome image of the demon crashing through the brush.

I knew the moment she saw me, knee-deep in the acrid water. She stalked toward me with a smile that looked all wrong on her canine face. That smile transformed into a snarl as Inky and Storm picked me up again.

This time, I started running the moment I touched back down. I had to trust that my protectors would not face me toward danger.

Ani bellowed her fury, and farther off, I heard Evander calling for me.

I didn't dare giveaway my location in case Ani hadn't yet picked up on my scent.

A wall of shadows erupted in front of me, but I didn't slow. I knew those shadows.

The path cleared, and I flung myself into Evander's waiting arms. One hand cupped the back of my head as I panted into his chest.

"Kat, I want you to run." His voice was a rumble against my skin.

I shook my head, unable to form words. I'd been running, didn't he know? My leg throbbed at the mere thought of going any farther.

"Do you remember what I told you about the Corridor?"

I nodded.

"Ani is night-bound as we are. My shadows can take you to the Corridor, then I want you to run until you're back in the world of the living."

I jerked back. "You want me to leave?"

"Just for today." Evander brought his hands to either side of my face, eyes beseeching. "After nightfall, I will come for you. I'll find you."

"But—"

Ani howled again, the sound nearly upon us.

Everything I was about to say was pushed aside by Evander's lips on mine. The kiss left me breathless. A quick, passionate caress that left every inch of me burning.

I grasped for words, but before I could find them, darkness engulfed me.