The markings swirled all over his hands, up his neck, around his whole body. It was the face of Death itself.
Ice blue eyes narrowed at me. Tilting his head, he whispered to himself.
“Fascinating.” That horrifying face drew closer to mine. My cry muffled through the dirty hand on my mouth. “Is this the little troublemaker we’ve been looking for?”
The man restraining me huffed in disbelief, breath hot and putrid against the shell of my ear.
“You can’t be fucking serious. Ahuman child?”He grunted, then sniffed me.“She smells like honeysuckle and chocolate, for Hell’s sake! No way she’s one of us.”
The boogieman gave a malicious smile.
“Nohumanevades my shadows,” he whispered, more to himself, low enough for only my ears.
His cold finger trailed down the side of my face. A strange emotion flashed behind those haunting eyes before he frowned. “There’s no greater pain than to have what you want most ripped away.” The words were feather soft, their tips dipped in venom. “It’s for the best . . .”His eyes dropped low, mourning.
Then, darkness struck.
A black entity snapped out from the Boogieman, slicing across my neck like a razor. Warmth pooled down. A deep pain caused my body to tremble.
Everything grew eerily quiet.
What just?—?
I was released from the other man’s hold and fell to my knees with a thud, grabbing my neck, desperately trying to keep my body in one piece. To withhold my blood—my spirit from spilling out.
Not like this. I don’t want to die.
The other man roared. “He wanted heralive!”
That cold, menacing face stabbed me in place like a needle through a bug. Piercing my soul.
“Like you said, she’s not one of us,” he growled, eyes landing like a loaded threat to the other man.
The boogieman and his companion walked away, not bothering to stay and watch the mangled life they destroyed fade away.
“Everything will be all right . . .” a whisper tickled my mind. Mine? Or just another echo from the cemetery?
A numbing cold seeped into my skin, the wet ground dampening my clothes. Dirt. It smelled like fresh dirt. The kind I’d scent whenever they dug a new grave to lay the recently deceased to rest.
I couldn’t move. Only my thumb briefly twitched, one smooth stroke slid along the cool gemstone ring.
Within seconds, I was gurgling my last breaths.
Dying . . .
10
CARWYNN
People who’ve had near-deathexperiences often talk about seeing a bright light, or an illuminated tunnel once they’ve passed over. It must have been true. Because I saw it too.
An immense light flashed with the radiance of a thousand suns, turning the dark forest into daylight. Within the beams, I saw them. Enormous white wings, stretching outward.
An angel come to collect me.
“Fuck!”the angel swore. “Help her!” he commanded, voice laced with sheer terror.
Wait—were angels allowed to curse like that? I thought they were supposed to be . . .
