Page 213 of A Soul to Guide

Something shattered beneath his weight, and everything turned upside down as he collapsed to one side. The fading light was too bright, the room completely made of glass on one side.

He clutched at his throat.I can’t breathe.He clawed at his chest.The air, it’s too thin.

He took in quick breaths to combat it. Adjusting to it would take time, but it still felt like needles in his lungs in the meantime.

Almost keeling over as he stood in the rubble of the desk he’d crushed, his head darted one way and then the other.

On the opposing side of the glass windows, books upon books were neatly put away on a ceiling-tall shelf. There were at least two dozen random skulls – most of those consisting of Demons and fanged creatures – in crystal domes on benches up against the glass walls.

Where am I?Nothing was familiar.

He hadn’t expected to have his head removed, but he also rarely came backnotin the place he’d remembered being last.

What happened?he thought around choking breaths, stumbling to the side so he could rest his hand against a wooden bookshelf slat. It broke under his strength.

Something was wrong. Something was missing.Raewyn.He stabbed between his horns, trying to grasp something heknewwasn’t there.

I didn’t take her soul!A distressed roar bellowed from him as he shot for what looked like an exit.Fuck. I need to find her.

He didn’t care where he was. He didn’t care what world he was running into, not when his thoughts were of his little fairy, his piece of light.

Stumbling, he broke through the door with his shoulder when he found it was locked.

Wood splintered before shattering, and a woman screamed as he burst into a hallway filled with people. He skidded to a halt. Gasps rang from all around as one man on his left grabbed a woman’s shoulders to drag her back, since she was the closest. On his right, a man roared out with fear as he fell to his arse.

Through his hazy vision, unable to cope with the light, the lack of air, theheataround him, he noticed two distinct features: dark skin and white hair.

Elves?If they were Elves, then he’d been taken to her realm.

Had they picked up his skull to examine it like the others he’d seen in the room he was just in? Thankfully, they hadn’t destroyed it in the process, or perhaps they just hadn’t had time to yet.

He took a step one way, wanting to get past them.Where is Raewyn? Is she here?If she asked them to bring him here, why wasn’t she nearby? Why hadn’t she waited for him to come back to life?

The moment he stepped towards people, the stench of fear pierced the air like a spear, and Merikh rent out a choke. He backed up when his orbs flashed a deeper crimson and turned the other way to get away from it.

A deeper fear stench struck him, and he covered his snout with a whine. Even though he was oxygen starved, he cut off his breathing.

No. Shit, don’t.White flashed in his sight.I can’t let hunger take control. I’ll fucking kill everyone.

More people were collecting in the hallway on both sides, foolishly coming to see what the commotion was. They thickened the air to the point he couldtastetheir fear. It’d never been this overwhelmingly tangible before, and his mouth began to drip with drool.

He probably looked like an uncontrollable beast, darting one way and then the other, his claws, fangs, and skull frightening to most. It didn’t help that his quills were fully raised in aggression, making him appear like a frightening, spiked animal.

At this rate, his consciousness would fade.

He needed to take a breath, but the next one would clutch at him.

Out. I need out!

He couldn’t move through the people, not if he didn’t want to murder someone by accident with his quills. The hallway was tall, but it wasn’t wide enough to fit his massive body with them in the way.

There was no gap. No way out.

Glass situated between pieces of white branches caught his attention. There.

With a snarl, he bashed his shoulder against it. It didn’t break, and the lack of oxygen constricted his lungs. He bashed it again, but it still didn’t shatter.

Shit, shit, shit!He needed something hard. He placed his hands on either side of it and used all his strength to bash his bony forehead against it. It cracked, and he did it again.

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