Page 12 of Luna & Andres

"Surrender, or she dies," she hissed.

The woman tightened her hold to show her deadly seriousness. I gasped as her arms pressed mine into my rib cage. My bones groaned under the pressure. I leaned my head back and cried out in agony as I felt my insides crushed by her strength.

A shadow flew from the cloud around the damaged car and straight at us. An outstretched claw grabbed the upper front of the woman's face and tore her from me. I dropped to the ground. My shaken, pained body went into shock. The noises of the world around me were muffled. My vision was clouded. I managed to roll onto my side and watch the red-coated werewolf toss the woman through the lilac bush.

The creature stepped back and turned its attention to me. Those brilliant white eyes captured mine as it stepped forward. Its arms stretched towards me.

A roar came from behind me. Red flew over me. His claws were outstretched. He aimed for the neck. The other creature leaned forward and grabbed the middle of his arms. He swung Red over his head and into Matilda's fence. The rotten boards collapsed under the impact and fell down upon Red. Only his feet stuck out. He didn't stir.

The creature returned its attention to me. Those long white claws reached out for me. I tried to call for help, but my voice choked. My frantic mind had mercy on me and I fainted.

CHAPTER 6

I dreamed. Cold shadows surrounded me. The dark walls of an alley rose up on either side of me. I took a step forward. My foot splashed in a puddle. I looked down, and my eyes widened. The puddle was blood-red, and the water was as thick as blood. I cried out and stumbled backwards. My back hit a hard surface, but it wasn't the rough texture of brick. The firmness was soft, and the edges of a coat flapped around me.

I stumbled forward and spun around. A large shadow stood over me. White eyes glowed in the dark and looked down at me with a feral interest. Their long lips curled back in a crooked grin that revealed long, sharp teeth.

I stopped my retreat and glared at the creature. My voice echoed in the darkness. "What are you?"

It spoke in a deep, husky voice. "Do you truly want to know?"

I straightened. My voice rang loud and clear. "Yes."

The creature stretched out its clawed hand to me. "Then come. See what dwells in the dark shadows of the world."

My eyes flickered between the hand and its face. I took a step forward and stretched out my arm. My fingers brushed against the claws.

"Ouch!" I drew back my hand. A prick of blood slid down my finger.

The creature stepped back. The shadows slowly swallowed its form. Its final words echoed off the walls.

"It has begun."

My eyes shot open. I sat up and stared into the darkness ahead of me. A few loose tears slid down my cheeks. I reached up and brushed them away.

"Good. You're awake."

I started and whipped my head to my right. The world before me was much changed from what I last remembered. Gone was the rough neighborhood, and in its place was the filthy river. I sat atop an old, worn mattress. A dingy blanket separated me from the rusted springs that poked through the cloth cover. The mattress sat in a giant, dry culvert. Long ago water would have ran through the culvert and into the river, but the world had changed. The river's edge lapped against the ground some twenty yards from the mouth of the pipe. A road lay above me. The sound of a car passing overhead reached my ears.

A drop of two feet led from the mouth of the culvert to the trash-filled, weed-choked ground. Ten feet from the mouth was a round ring of rocks and thick metal. Mortale sat on a barrel beside a small fire that burned in the ring. He smiled at me.

"I thought you'd sleep until morning," he commented.

I looked out across the barren landscape that stretched to the river. "Where are we?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think we're in the northern part of the city."

The northern part of the city. That was a world away from where I last remembered, and what I last remembered was-

My eyes widened. I patted the holster at my back. Empty.

"Are you looking for this?" My eyes fell on Mortale as he pulled my gun from a pocket of his overcoat. The gun lay flat-side in his palm, and he held it out to me. "I thought you might want it, so I kept it."

I glared at him. "So you could mock me with it?"

He blinked at me. "Mock you with it? Why would I do that?"

My eyes flickered between his wide, emerald eyes and the weapon. "Then why?"

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