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Finally stable on my feet again, I refused to be stopped. One foot in front of the other, I trudged on, and not five minutes later, it felt like I was walking through an invisible curtain of ice water.

Gasping, I stumbled forward a step, and instinctively reached for the hidden, fiercely guarded structures of my True Nature. I wanted to Shift. Damn! I wanted to Shift so very badly. I wanted to feel the reassuring weight of my wings, and yes, my horn, too, but I forced the urge down.

With my Magical senses on high alert, I just couldn’t break through the thickening fog to be sure I was alone. And although it only took a second or two for me to Shift, I didn’t trust that someone– or something– wasn’t out there just waiting for an opportunity to strike. Stopping, I rubbed my arms and looked back over my shoulder.

Every last breath rushed from my lungs. I stood there like a department store mannequin with my mouth open, and my eyes were about to pop out of my head.

The desert behind me hadn't vanished. Nope. It had completely transformed. Glowing, translucent geometric patterns pulsed in the air, locking together like a massive, inescapable cage. Wards. Mammoth, heavy-duty Magical barriers.

And fuck it all, I was on the wrong side of them.

Finally able to breathe again, I huffed out a long, exasperated breath, and slowly turned back toward the light I’d been chasing. The haze cleared entirely, revealing a landscape that made my stomach drop.

It was the exact scene from my canvas!

Cracked earth, jagged, ominous architecture, and a massive, terrifying Containment Sphere floating in the distance. But it wasn't the buildings that made my blood run cold. It was the things crawling inside the huge, Enchanted bubble thing.

Hunched, distorted silhouettes slinked through the shadows. I caught the glint of razor-sharp claws, the glow of malicious crimson eyes, and heard low, guttural clicks that sounded like a mix between a human sob and a starving predator. Ghouls. Demons. Things straight out of the deepest pits of Hell.

Staring at the nightmare realm for three seconds, I had seen more than enough. "Okay. Not a chance in He… well, Hell," I said aloud. “What about you, Neysa? You think we should play with the beasties, or head on out?”

“What the hell are you waitin’ for,” the Alicorn Princess with whom I shared my soul snapped. “Get us out of here right this minute.”

“Your wish is definitely my command,” I replied. Then quickly added, “Just don’t get used to it.”

“As if.”

Spinning on my heel, I marched straight back toward the glowing boundary line. Another look over my shoulder to be sure I hadn’t completely lost my mind, and I took the last, wide stride to step back through the wards.

BAM! CRACKLE!

An invisible, concussive force slammed into my chest. It felt like I’d been hit with a cattle prod. Sparks exploded in every direction, and I flew backward… Without my wings, dammit!

My very plump booty hit the grey dirt so hard that I bounced. My tailbone made a horrible crack. Tremors shook every vertebra of my spine.

I once again had the air knocked out of my lungs, and dammit all, my ears were ringing like the Bells of St. Mary’s.

"What the hell?!" I hissed, the very second I could get a breath. Then pushing up to a sitting position, I dusted off my black jeans.

Getting to my feet as fast as I could, I threw caution, and every ounce of good sense I ever had to the wind and rushed the barrier like I was playing football with the MacAllen Dragons.

Hands outstretched. Screaming like a Banshee, I gave it everything I had, and I actually ran. Squeezing my eyes shut about three steps before the barrier, I wasn’t even close to prepared for what happened next.

For a split-second, my palms touched nothing but empty air. Then I made contact. Thank the Great Goddess I was about halfway prepared, because the Wards flared bright purple, became as solid as concrete, and bounced me off like the Kool-Aid man trying to break into Fort Knox.

But this time, I did not hit the ground. Nope, not even a little. I am pleased to say that I only stumbled. It wasn’t pretty. It damned sure wasn’t graceful, but my ass didn’t hit the dirt, so I was thanking my lucky stars…

For exactly one second.

Then panic, cold and sharp, set in like a boulder on my shoulders. Closing my eyes, I reached deep inside myself to tap into Neysa’s raw Alicorn Magic.

“Come on,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “Hey Neysa, think you can give me a hand?”

“What the hell do you think I’m doin’ in here? Playing Tiddly Winks?”

“Well, nothing is happening! It feels…”

“Smothering. Claustrophobic.”