Broken Bonds by Keri Arthur

Chapter Three

The thick smell of smoke and burnt material woke me. For several seconds, I did nothing more than dazedly wonder where the hell I was and why there was moisture on my face.

Then recognition hit.

It was blood.

Myblood.

Consciousness abruptly sharpened, and I became aware of the roaring of an engine and the heavy groaning of metal. The blood on my face was running up my cheek, which suggested I was hanging upside down—a fact supported by the seat belt digging fiercely into my shoulder as it held my full weight.

I carefully ran my fingers across my face, finding a cut on my chin and a deeper one near my temple. There was plenty of glass tangled up in my hair too, which meant at least one of the windows must have shattered.

A brief sense of déjà vu hit. This wasn’t the first time I’d been upside down in a goddamn truck, but at least that time, I’d known exactly who’d attacked me.

And why.

I swiped at the blood dribbling up my face, then carefully reached past the deflated airbag and switched off the engine. The vehicle continued to groan and, though I couldn’t smell petrol or see flames, the urge to get the hell out of the cabin hit.

I pressed a hand against the roof, my feet against the upside-down floor, then carefully undid the seat belt and dropped somewhat inelegantly down. The front of the SUV shifted, then the whole vehicle began to slide. I screamed and gripped the handbrake above me in an effort not to add my weight to the vehicle’s momentum. The headlights briefly illuminated each of the saplings and shrubs we crashed through before pinpointing the thick trunk of a tree. We were heading straight for it …

I braced as best I could and shut my eyes at the last moment, just in case the windscreen shattered and sent glass flying into my face and eyes. We hit the tree hard enough to rattle my teeth and, for one heart-stopping moment, the SUV slid sideways, as if to continue its downward journey. My pulse rate didn’t decrease any when the momentum eventually stopped. Though my situation was damn precarious, for too many minutes I simply couldn’t move, fearing that even the slightest twitch would send the vehicle skidding on.

When that didn’t immediately happen, I sucked in a very shaky breath and looked around. There was only one headlight working now, and it highlighted the steep, rock-strewn slope beyond the tree. Thunder rumbled ominously overhead and, a few seconds later, the rain hit, drumming on the undercarriage so loudly it was deafening.

It was the very last thing I needed. This area had already suffered one major mudslide. Another wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility.

I did not want to be in the SUV if that happened.

Slowly, carefully, I inched toward the driver door and tried to open it. It refused to budge, and after a moment, I saw why. There was a rock resting hard up against it. I swore again and turned around, but the shift of weight sent the SUV into another slide. When it stopped this time, there was nothing visible in the beam of the remaining headlight except airy darkness.

I gulped and tried not to wonder just how far the drop might be. If I didn’t get out of this vehicle, I’d be finding out the hard way.

The passenger door wouldn’t open either, though there didn’t seem to be anything blocking it. But the window had shattered, and though there were sharp shards of glass still clinging to the rubber, it wouldn’t take much to clear it.

I reached across to the backpack—which had fallen from the passenger seat and was now lying hard up against the still-intact front windshield—and drew out my knife. Thankfully, I didn’t react to the silver in the blade, maybe that was because the hilt was offering my skin protection. Or maybe it was simply a matter of silver needing to be in my flesh rather than merely touching it. I wasn’t a werewolf, after all, so what applied to them wouldn’t necessarily apply to me.

I knocked out the remaining glass with the blade, then tossed it out the window. After shoving the backpack after it, I lay on my stomach and cautiously followed.

I was halfway out when, with a deep, metallic groan, the SUV slipped again.

Taking me with it.

I yelped and desperately searched for something, anything, to grab. One hand caught a thick root of some kind and I held on tight. Breath hissed from my lips as the lower half of my body was brutally ripped free from the vehicle.

But I was out. Free. Maybe not safe, but at least safer.

The resulting surge of relief was so fierce that my body shook and tears flowed. I angrily swatted them away, then twisted around. The SUV was nowhere to be seen. It had obviously plunged over the drop only meters away from where I lay and disappeared into the darkness.

I rested my forehead against the waterlogged ground and gulped in air, trying not to think about how close I’d come to serious injury or even death.

That, I thought sourly, was the last time I tempted fate in any damn way.

I pushed onto my haunches and looked around. From my current position, I couldn’t see the road, though it wouldn’t be hard to find—all I had to do was follow the trail of destruction the SUV had left in its wake.

I drew in another shaky breath and reached for my phone. It wasn’t in my pocket. I swore and—somewhat frantically—looked around. It was nowhere to be seen. The damn thing must have fallen out of my pocket sometime during the rollover.

Which meant I’d have to contact Belle and ruin her evening if I wanted to get out of here …

“Hello!” a youngish-sounding voice said from somewhere above. “Anyone down there?”

My head snapped up even as my heart leapt. “Yes!”

“I saw the taillights as I was walking past and wasn’t sure. Are you injured? Do you need help?”

“My SUV rolled, but I’m okay. Could you contact Aiden O’Connor for me, please?”

“Sure thing. You want me to call a tow truck as well?”

“There’s little point—the SUV went over the drop.”

“You all the way down there? Fuck, you’re lucky to be alive.”

“Tell me about it.”

“You’d better stay put. Once I call the ranger, I’ll contact my pack and get them to bring down some climbing gear. We’ll likely need it to get you out. Sit tight.”

“I will.” I paused. “You got a name?”

“Ryan Marin. You?”

“Lizzie Grace.”

“The witch who runs the amazing cake place in Castle Rock?”

It was interesting he mentioned that rather than my relationship with Aiden, but maybe he simply cared more about cakes than relationships. He sounded more like a teenager than an adult. “The same.”

“Then I’m glad I happened by. We definitely can’t afford to lose your cake-making skills.”

I laughed. “You won’t.”

“Good. Hang five. I won’t be long.”

Silence fell, and the darkness closed in. The rain continued to pound down, dripping from the canopy above and running in little rivers past my thighs. I might be wearing a coat, but it wasn’t covering my legs, and my jeans were utterly soaked.

But at least the rain was all I had to worry about right now. The energy that had sent the SUV off the road had disappeared, and I had no sense that anything or anyone else was near—not even the wild magic. Which was rather odd, given how close I was to Katie’s wellspring.

Obviously, something else had her attention.

Was that something her pack? Her family?

Aiden?

I shoved the thought away and told myself to stop worrying over every little thing beyond my control. But it was a hard thing to achieve when I’d spent half my life doing just that.

I looked around again, this time for my backpack, and spotted it a few meters further up the slope. I crawled toward it, alternating between digging my fingers into the soft soil and gripping onto the sharp but crushed needlewood branches to keep balance. The effort left me shaking. There was no way known I was going to get up the rest of this hill without help.

I found my knife not too far away from my pack, and once it was safely tucked inside to ensure there was no chance of it harming my werewolf rescuers, I sat back and waited.

Getting wetter, colder, and more miserable by the minute.

Eventually, the musky scent of wolf touched the cold air. I wiped the rain from my face and looked up. Though I couldn’t see anything, I knew there were three of them up there.

“You still okay?” Ryan asked.

“I am.”

“I’ve got my dad and brother here. They’re going to rappel down and rescue you. Won’t be long.”

“Awesome. Thank you.”

A few minutes later, two men appeared out of the rainy gloom. They were both wearing full wet weather gear and were coming down the slope at a speed that would have alarmed the hell out of me.

The bigger of the two jumped to the right when he neared my position and then stopped. Teeth flashed in his brown, handsome face. “You got yourself into a bit of a pickle, didn’t you?”

“I did. Sorry to drag you both out on a night like this.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had to rescue someone from a rollover,” the second—and younger of the two—said. “I dare say it won’t be the last. The road is utter shit in this sort of weather.”

It hadn’t been the weather or the road that had caused the rollover, but I didn’t bother telling them that.

“You’re the local rescue unit?”

The older man nodded. “The name’s George, and this is my eldest, Harry. Ryan—my youngest—will be working the pulley to help you up.”

I took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Good, because I’m not sure I’d keep my footing too well on this damn ground.”

“Even we werewolves struggle in shit weather like this. You able to walk?”

I nodded. “The airbags and the seat belt did their jobs, thank God.”

“And the blood I can smell?”

“Small cuts on my face from the broken side window.”

He grunted and pulled a second harness over his head. “You able to slip this on?”

I handed him my backpack and did so. He checked all the clips were properly secured, then snapped on a rope. I instantly felt a hundred percent better, even though I had a long climb still ahead of me.

“Right,” he said evenly. “Ready to go up?”

When I nodded, his smile flashed. “Good. Ryan, we’re all set down here.”

The rope instantly tightened, and I slowly began the ascent up the steep hillside. The two men kept close, catching my arms to steady me when my feet slipped.

It took ages to reach the top. A tall, lanky figure came into view, and his wide smile briefly lit the gloom. But he continued to work the pulley system until I was back on solid ground.

I undid the harness with shaking fingers and handed it to him. The sheer and utter sense of relief had tears stinging my eyes and my legs threatening to collapse.

I sucked in another of those breaths that really didn’t do a whole lot and then said, “I’m not sure I can thank you all enough, but you can expect free cake and coffee whenever you’re in my neck of the woods.”

Ryan grinned. “You can keep the coffee, but cake never goes astray.”

“And he can eat mountains of the stuff,” Harry said with a laugh. “You may end up regretting that offer.”

“I’d have regretted going over the edge of the cliff more.”

“That is a certainty,” George said. “We called an ambulance, but they won’t be able to traverse this road. We’ll be meeting them at the turnoff instead. Are your legs stable enough now to walk to the truck?”

I smiled. “No, but I’ll nevertheless make it over there. The sooner I’m out of here, the better.”

“A sentiment I totally agree with,” Harry said.

Once I was safely tucked into the back of their four-wheel drive, they retrieved all the climbing gear and then jumped into the truck and headed down the road. There were several sections that had been partially washed out or were covered by the rubble of a landslip. If it hadn’t been for that rush of energy I’d felt just before the SUV tumbled, I might have been tempted to believe it was an accident.

But it wasn’t, and I needed to find out why.

Of course, it was possible that the thing that’d drained the man in the caravan simply wanted me out of the way, but that then begged the question … how had it even known about me?

Had it spotted me in the forest behind the van and investigated who I was? Or did the wild magic have something to do with it? Given dark entities could sense its presence, maybe it could feel me through it.

Katie might know, but to ask, I needed to get hold of her.

Which reminded me … “Ryan, did you manage to get hold of the ranger?”

He twisted around to look at me. “Yes. He said he’d be waiting at the top of the road with the ambulance.”

The goddamn tears threatened again. I blinked and told myself to get a grip. I was not going to fall apart the minute I saw the man. The relationship might or might not be teetering on the edge, but I had more pride than that.

I hoped.

We continued on, our pace by necessity slow, but eventually the ambulance’s red and blue lights washed across the darkness ahead. And parked to one side of it was Aiden’s truck.

All I wanted to do was jump out and run into his arms.

The four-wheel drive stopped, and I climbed somewhat stiffly out. A frisson of heat and awareness rolled over my skin, and I turned to see Aiden striding toward me. Like most werewolves, he was tall and rangy, but his shoulders were lovely and wide, his arms lean but muscular, and his sharp features very easy on the eye.

His expression held little in the way of emotion, but his aura practically crackled with it. Fear, relief, guilt, concern, and deep, deep worry … the latter not aimed at me.

I frowned, knowing then something bad must have happened, but before I could say anything, he wrapped me in a hug that was fierce and warm and oh-so wonderful.

“What the fuck have you been doing to yourself?” His voice was gruff with emotion. Love, an inner voice whispered, but that was something I didn’t dare hope for. It was a path that could only lead to tears. “You look and feel utterly drained.”

“It’s been a busy few nights.”

“You should have rung me—”

“I rang Jaz. She was the ranger on call, not you.”

“Yes, but—” He stopped, took a deep breath, then kissed the top of my head and pulled back. “Thanks for saving my girl, Harry. Appreciate it.”

“No problems, Aiden.” Harry handed Aiden my pack, then looked at me, his amber eyes bright with amusement. “Perhaps next time you should think twice about driving on shitty roads in shittier weather.”

I laughed. “Oh, you can be sure of that.”

“Good.” With a nod at the two of us, he jumped back into his truck and headed off down the road.

Aiden took my arm and guided me over to the ambulance. “I’ll meet you at the hospital. We can talk there.”

There was a note in his voice that sharpened the inner worry. “Is everything alright?”

“That is the question on everyone’s lips right now.” He ran a hand through his wet hair, his blue eyes bright with worry. “Dillon was badly injured during the moon run.”

Dillon was his youngest brother, and only fourteen, if I remembered correctly.

I gripped his arm, and his muscles briefly tensed—a reflexive action that suggested he didn’t want to be comforted right now. “What happened?”

“Tree fell on him. His legs were …” He took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Well, mangled is the only word that is in any way appropriate.”

My breath caught. “But he’s a werewolf—”

“Yes, but to heal, a werewolf has to shift shape, and Dillon is comatose.”

“Isn’t the change normally automatic in this sort of situation?”

“There is nothing normal about this situation.” It was sharply said, but he immediately grimaced and placed his hand over mine, squeezing lightly. “Sorry. It’s been a long day. I should have called but—”

“Your mother wouldn’t have appreciated my presence at such a moment, Aiden.”

One of the paramedics cleared his throat. “Um, hate to interrupt, but we need to get you out of this rain and down to the hospital.”

“Go,” Aiden immediately said. “I’ll see you down there.”

I hesitated, then nodded and accepted the paramedic’s help. The ambulance door was slammed shut and, once they’d done a preliminary check, I was strapped in and driven away.

When we arrived at the hospital twenty minutes later, I was shoved into a gown and whisked through various scans and tests. Thankfully, they all came back clear; there was no sign of internal injuries, and neither of the cuts on my face was deep enough to require stitches. The doctors were more surprised than me, I think, at the lack of injuries given the severity of the rollover. They tried insisting I remain overnight for observation on the off chance the seat belt had caused internal injuries they’d missed, but I was having none of that. After a good deal of arguing and a promise to return if I developed any sort of abdominal pain, they grudgingly released me.

I reluctantly pulled on my wet jeans, then dragged on my sodden shoes, collected my pack, and headed out.

Aiden was waiting in the seating area just outside the main emergency department entry, but rose when he saw me. His eyes—a deep blue rather than the usual amber of a werewolf—were haunted.

“Dillon’s condition has taken a turn for the worse.” He scraped a hand through his wet hair. “I’ll have to stay, just in case.”

“I’m so sorry, Aiden.” I gripped his arm, but once again muscles tensed under my touch. “You may need your truck, so I’ll grab a cab—”

I stopped abruptly, my gaze caught by the flicker of a moonbeam.

Only it wasn’t. It was a glowing, silvery thread of wild magic.

Katie was here.

You can save him, she said. You are, in fact, his only hope.

Not to put any pressure on me or anything, I muttered mentally. And in case you missed it, I’m not a healer. Neither is the wild magic.

He doesn’t need a healer. He just needs to shift shape. His body will do the rest.

And how am I supposed to force him to shift?

You’ll need to use your precognition and psychometry skills in much the same way as you use them to read the memories of the newly dead.

That particular skill was one I used only in extreme circumstances, as it was a rabbit hole a psychic could easily get lost in. While most thought the brain died the minute the heart stopped, there was in fact up to a six-minute window of survival, after which memory deterioration began if the heart wasn’t restarted. But deep diving into a living mind that was dying presented a whole raft of new dangers I really didn’t want to think about.

I can’t see how that will help. I can read memories, but I can’t alter them or his mind.

No, but Belle can with my guidance. We need to hurry, though. I can hear death’s footsteps, and she draws far too close.

“Lizzie?” Aiden said softly. “What are you seeing?”

“Katie. She wants me and Belle to help her save Dillon.”

“What?” The word exploded from him, filled with a deep mix of disbelief and hope. “Does she seriously believe that’s possible?”

“Yes, but neither she nor I can give you a hundred-percent guarantee.”

I raised my hand, and the glowing thread curled around my wrist, as fragile as a moonbeam, but pulsing with power. Ancient power. This thread had come from the old wellspring rather than Katie’s, which suggested her influence over both was increasing. I couldn’t help but wonder where it would all end—for her, and for me. Because within that power was an acknowledgment of kinship with me, and it was stronger now than it had ever been.

“If that’s the case, we need to get to intensive care, and fast.” Aiden twined his fingers through mine and quickly tugged me forward.

My bruised and aching muscles protested the sudden movement, but I ignored them as we ran through a myriad of corridors that all looked the same. How exactly is this supposed to work, Katie?

You, Belle, and I will have to become one.

Meaning you’ll be acting through us? Because that’s dangerous.

For all three of us.

How could it be dangerous for you when you’re a soul locked in the wild magic?

What is locked can be unlocked if I step beyond the limits of strength.

What was dangerous for her would undoubtedly be doubly so for me. Is that why you were absent for so long after our confrontation with your mother at Aiden’s party?

Yes. It drained me to the point where I was little more than a shade.

A statement that held a warning for me, and one that confirmed fears that overusing the wild magic could literally result in me fading away.

But we have no choice. It is the only way to save Dillon’s life. She paused. It might also have the side benefit of proving your worth to my mother.

I snorted in silent disbelief. You really believe that?

Well, no, but stranger things have happened.

I think that is one step too far, even for a reservation that specializes in strange.

Her laughter bubbled through me, though it held a sharp edge. Indeed. We are near the ICU. You should contact Belle, so there is no further delay once we are in his room.

I reluctantly reached out, and immediately hit a mental wall so damn strong it would have kept even the strongest telepath out. But she was my familiar, and that was a connection no distance, no barrier, and very few spells could break.

It took a few seconds, but I did get through.

What’s happened?she immediately said.

All sorts of shit that I can tell you about tomorrow. Right now, I need you to get comfortable and form a full connection with me. Aiden’s brother is in hospital, on the cusp of dying, and the only way we can save his life is by you, me, and Katie forming a three-way connection and diving into his brain to force a shape shift.

Well, fuck.

Yeah.

Let me get comfortable and warn Monty.

Sorry to spoil your evening.

You haven’t.

The deep undertone of satisfaction running through that statement very much suggested they’d enjoyed themselves more than once this evening.

Indeed, she said. It’s actually excellent timing on your part. We were just taking a refuel break.

A secure-looking door loomed ahead of us. Aiden punched through it and immediately set off a series of alarms. Nurses came running from everywhere, but Aiden held up a warning hand. “Liz can save my brother. Get in my way at your own peril.”

One brawny nurse stopped in front of us and crossed her arms, practically daring Aiden to run her over. “She isn’t getting near intensive care until she’s fully masked, gloved, and gowned. And I will take you down, Ranger, if you take one step further.”

Aiden made a low sound deep in his throat, but nevertheless stopped. “Fine. But hurry.”

The nurse nodded and motioned us to follow her. In almost no time at all, we were both kitted up and ready to go. Aiden grabbed my hand again, his fingers so warm against mine despite the gloves. I appreciated that warmth. Appreciated the strength of his grip.

I was going to need every little bit I could scavenge.

The ICU door slid open. A sharp array of different sounds hit, the noise so loud it was briefly overwhelming. Monitors and machines surrounded every patient, and some had so many tubes in their bodies it was hard to see the person. At least five patients were intubated; Aiden’s brother was one of them.

His bed lay at the far end of the room; Karleen and Joseph—Aiden’s parents—stood on one side of the bed and a nurse on the other. The nurse’s expression was remote and businesslike, but worry and concern ran all through her aura. As Katie had said, things were going downhill fast.

Karleen abruptly stiffened. Before Aiden could say anything, she spun around and bared her teeth. If she’d been in wolf form, I suspected she might have launched herself at me.

“What,” she said, her voice quivering with rage, “is she doing here?”

“She came here to help Dillon—”

“And what the fuck can she”—Karleen pointed a stiffened finger at me, her sapphire eyes glowing with a ferocity that was almost manic—“do that a multitude of specialist doctors cannot?”

“Maybe nothing,” I cut in, voice calm despite the inner rage—rage that was more Katie’s than mine. “But your daughter believes it’s possible, and I’m not going to gainsay her.”

“Aside from the fact she’s dead, Kate is no more a healer than you.” Her gaze snapped to the woman standing on the other side of the bed. “Nurse, call security and get her the fuck out of here.”

“Do not obey that order,” Joseph said. He was an older, gray-haired version of Aiden and, at least at a surface level, taking my intrusion a whole lot more calmly than his wife. “What is all this about Katie being able to help?”

“There is no time to explain, Father,” Aiden said. “Please, trust Liz. Or at least trust the fact that I wouldn’t do anything to endanger Dillon’s life, and let us get this done.”

The older man hesitated and then nodded. Karleen made another low sound, but Joseph gently touched her arm. Her gaze snapped to his, but after a moment, she said, “Fine. Let it be done. But do not think this will in any way change anything.”

My smile was thin and humorless. “Oh, I’m more than aware of that. Your loss, not mine.”

Her gaze narrowed, but she didn’t say anything. I followed Aiden around to the nurse’s side of the bed. The wash of Karleen’s fury was sharp enough to burn my skin, but I had no choice except to ignore it. Anything else would have the bitch launching at me.

Dillon’s face was drawn and pale, his aura awash with agony despite the drugs they were pumping into him. It also pulsed, and that meant the damage to his body was so bad his soul was in the process of giving up the fight. If we didn’t force his shift, he would die.

He had minutes left, if that.

Do whatever it is you do to slip into the dead’s mind, came Katie’s urgent response.

I moved around to the head of the bed, stepped carefully past several monitors, and then pressed my fingers to Dillon’s temples.

My gaze rose to Aiden’s. “What we’re about to attempt is a mix of mind-reading the dead, and Belle, Katie, and I merging. You’ve seen how both affect me.”

He nodded. “I’ll catch you.”

“And take me home.”

He hesitated, and that hurt. But then, what did I expect? I was his live-in lover rather than family, and he would always put them first.

Always.

Concentrate, Katie admonished softly. The clock ticks. Connect with Belle.

I immediately reached out for her. Okay, Belle, let’s do this.

The connection instantly deepened between us. This was far more than just a sharing of thoughts and energies. It was all encompassing—a merging of metaphysical beings. There was no me here in this connection, and no her. There was simply us, even if her spirit remained anchored to her body via a tenuous ethereal thread—to do otherwise would mean her death. A heartbeat later, the moonlit thread around my wrist began to burn, and two became three.

Enter his mind as you would the dead, the portion of us that was Katie said.

We closed our eyes, took a deep breath, and reached for my psychometry abilities.

His agony hit us, a wave so fierce it tore a gasp from our lips and sent our heart into overdrive. We gulped and pressed our fingers tighter against his skull, using it as an anchor to hold against the force of his emotions. Tears slid down our cheeks but there was nothing we could do about that.

He was already dying.

We had to hurry.

We pushed past the barrier of his unconscious agony and entered his mind. It was chaos itself. His thoughts were everywhere, scattered by the broken agony of his body.

Deeper, came Katie’s comment. We must go deeper.

We sucked in a breath and pushed harder. The deeper we went, the more chaotic it became. He might be dying, but there was some fragment of his unconscious mind, some part of his soul, that wanted to fight, wanted to live.

Thatwas what we had to find.

The blood now pounded so loudly through our body, it erased all other sounds. Pain bloomed—not Dillon’s, but ours. In our head, in our body. It was a warning that this link drained us way too fast.

Belle, there, Katie said. See it?

“It” was a faint pulse of light that appeared in the chaotic darkness of Dillon’s mind.

What I see, came Belle’s response, is that we’ll have to step fully into his mind—join him, as we are joined, however briefly—to force his change. That could kill us all.

Because by going that deep, we could lock ourselves into his spiral of death.

Yes, but I will not see my brother die without doing all that I can to save him. Would you not do the same for each other?

We said nothing. There was nothing we could say against a truth like that.

Reach for his spirit, Belle, Katie said. Connect. I will take it from there.

She reached out, telepathically encompassing that bright pulse, drawing it into us, fusing it to our body, our thoughts and our minds, and three became four.

And, oh God, the memories … they were hammer blows that hit multiple times, their force so hard our whole body shook. The tree, the crush of its weight, the mind-numbing agony that forced the shutdown of instinct that was now threatening his very life …

Energy swept through us, energy that spoke of both the earth and the wolf. Not Dillon this time, but Katie. It flooded into that bright pulse, giving it strength even as it took the reins of control and forced the change.

It was a moment unlike anything we’d ever experienced. Energy swept through us, energy that came from within, a force that stung even as it concealed. Limbs and bones and muscles twisted and altered as they reformed and reshaped. Our skin twitched and crawled as hair retreated and fur sprouted. It hurt and yet it didn’t.

We became wolf, and the scents and the smells and the noise overwhelmed us, and we didn’t want this, didn’t want the pain … Again, the electric force that was Katie took charge, reversing the change, once again claiming Dillon’s human form. Awareness stirred, despite the drugs, but it hurt, everything hurt. Our heart, our mind, our body …

Belle, came Katie’s distant cry, pull us out. Now!

Somehow we did. Somehow, we ripped our hands from the side of Dillon’s temples, and four dissolved, leaving one.

That one collapsed.