Oh, I'm much more than that, I'm afraid. I'm what the reapers are—a being of energy rather than just flesh and blood. Remember mentioning that my control was greater than most on this realm? Well, that's because this place is far more mine than it will ever be yours.
If he'd had a face, I think his eyes would have been wide and staring. I stepped closer to him and stopped.
This is for Dorothy, I said. As well as Vonda and Dani Belmore, and all the other countless women you've killed over your many years of hunting.
He snarled and spat at me. I sidestepped, and the globule landed near Amaya's point, hissing like acid.
Do your worst, he snapped. I will be reborn, and I will remember. Fear for the future, huntress, because I will be back.
I snorted. I may fear for my future, Taylor, but it won't be because of anything you might or might not do—because you won't be doing anything. We're in the umbra, remember. Death here is final.
He screamed then. Screamed long and loud and fearfully.
I raised Amaya and killed him.
Chapter 15
I rose through the levels of consciousness slowly, gradually becoming aware of the sounds and scents that surrounded me.
They were not pleasant scents. Not to the sensitive nose of a wolf, anyway. Antiseptic mingled with the smells of the dying and the diseased, creating a veil of misery and pain that permeated not only the air but the very foundations of the building. The minute I became aware of them, they became a weight that pressed down on my chest and made it difficult to breathe.
I was in a goddamn hospital. God, I had to get out of here, had to move—
A hand caught mine. Warm, familiar, feminine hands. Ilianna, not Azriel.
"It's okay," she said softly. "You're okay, Risa."
"No, I'm not." My voice cracked, and my throat felt raw. I opened my eyes. Ilianna smiled, but there was little disguising the worry in her expression. Not out of the woods yet, obviously. "I'm in a goddamn hospital, so how the hell can I be okay?"