Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
“Kendal is meeting me here. He dropped the supplies off on the other side of the circle. That way, it goes much faster. We’re not so young anymore.” Odessa laughed as if she had made a fine joke.
In the distance, a wolf let out a howl. Listening to the mournful notes, alarm spread. Those were the warnings for the pack. The alpha considered her part of the pack, and that particular warning was for her. Something was moving toward the cabin. It had flashed past the pack as they hunted deer to keep them alive.
Vasilisa dared to look out the window toward the forest. “Odessa, don’t wait for Kendal, you have to leave now,” she ordered, pouring a compulsion into her voice.
“Yes, yes, I have to go now, Vasi. See you tomorrow. Be safe.”
“Be safe,” Vasilisa whispered back.
She watched as the older woman left the porch and began to make her way toward the forest where the shortcut to the inn was. As she made it to the first trees, a man emerged, and she stopped to chat with him. Relief made Vasilisa sag against the wood seat built into the window as she watched Kendal embrace his wife.
She was about to turn away when Kendal abruptly took hold of Odessa’s hair and yanked her head back to put a knife to her throat. Vasilisa’s heart clenched painfully in her chest as Kendal dragged Odessa back toward the cabin, leaving two long grooves in the snow where Odessa tried to dig her heels in to stop him. By the time they reached the cabin, there was blood trickling down Odessa’s throat from the sharp blade Kendal held against it.
Vasilisa took a deep breath and stepped back from the window. Once again, she went to the small cot where Afanasiv’s physical body lay totally vulnerable. She ran her palm over his chest, over his heart, and back up to his strong jaw.
“This is going to be rough, lifemate. I need to feel you just for a moment before I make this decision.” She already knew there was no decision to make. She just had to find the necessary courage to do the right thing. Odessa was a lifelong friend. One she treasured.
She ignored the pounding on the door. No matter how much Kendal hammered on the door or windows, the safeguards would hold, and he couldn’t get in. With one hand on Afanasiv’s chest, she turned inward to see more fully where her lifemate journeyed in the underworld.
Afanasiv’s spirit was moving along a dark corridor lit by purple sconces. The strange lighting cast ominous shadows along the floor and along the walls. If she looked at the shadows, men and women appeared to be consumed in fiery flames or reaching out of the flames, imploring anyone who could see them for help.
Vasilisa could sense Afanasiv’s reluctance to take her with him down into the lower parts of the underworld. They had a brief discussion over it, but she held fast, believing she should stay with him, even that small part of her. The further he descended into that horrible place, the thicker those scars on his soul seemed to be, and the more they surfaced, threatening to take him over. She wasn’t going to allow that to happen.
For a brief moment, she felt very alone and overwhelmed. She had to figure out a way to save Odessa, as well as her lifemate, her brothers and their women. Kendal used his fist to hammer on the door, the sound loud, almost booming in the quiet of the night. Sparks flew out from under his skin as he landed each massive fist, so he spewed curses as he hit the door. The sparks floated up into the air, currents taking them aloft until they began to dance in the sky just over Kendal’s head.
He gave up on knocking and went to the largest window, the one facing the forest. With one powerful blow, he attempted to smash through the glass. Sparks of all colors raced skyward as tiny blue flames engulfed his fist. He howled and pulled his injured hand back to him.
“Open up, Vasilisa, or I’ll slit Odessa’s throat.”
He growled more than he spoke, but she understood everything he said quite clearly. How could she not? Taking a deep breath, she sent another small sliver of her spirit outside. She utilized the sparks of color above Kendal’s head to assess the situation. This was definitely not Kendal from the inn. That made her feel a lot better. Lilith hadn’t corrupted the innkeeper and turned him into one of her puppets. This was a demon masquerading as Kendal. It was no wonder he was treating Odessa with so little care.
Could she lure the demon back to the porch, get Odessa into the cabin and shut him out? The risk was too much to take. Her brain discarded the idea. Kendal dragged Odessa away from the window once more toward the porch. She watched as Odessa struggled, twisting this way and that, her feet dragging in the snow as Kendal forced her to cooperate with him.