Page 46 of The Immortal’s Mark

The eerie strangers draw closer, moving in a V-formation, cutting through the dark. The lone figure at the front lifts a hand, palm facing out.

Run!

I turn on my heel and race away.

Black surrounds me. Up. Down. Left. Right. There’s nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. But I don’t stop moving.

My arms pump at my side. The satin robe I wear rides up my thighs. I don’t slow to push it down. The air thickens. It’s hard to breathe.

Curiosity betrays me, and I glance over my shoulder.

A shocked cry escapes my lips.

The cloaked strangers… they’re feet away from me.

But they aren’t chasing me. They’re standing still.

Watching.

Waiting.

“No!”

I won’t be taken again.

I whip my head around and continue to run. My legs work overtime. My lungs burn from exertion. But when I risk another glance, I confirm the cloaked figures are right there.

This isn’t possible…

And yet…

I stumble to a stop and whirl around to face them.

“Who are you?” I scream, terror erasing any chance I have at being composed.

Movement ripples through the thick air.

The front figure raises their hand again.

Wake up, Darcie!

Bright light flickers in the palm, stabbing my sensitive eyes.

I wince and throw an arm over my face, a pointless shield.

The white orb eats the distance between us in a blink, hitting me square in the chest.

12

DARCIE

A soothing voice threads through the dark, tugging at the frayed edge of my scattered mind.

It sings a song I don’t know. The syllables are unfamiliar, vowels stretched and lilting like a lullaby.

I strain toward the calming sound, but the lyrics skitter away like fish under a disturbed surface.

Frustration bubbles up, and I cling harder to the rousing noise. It grows, note by note, until the distant melody lifts me, pulling me up from the darkness like a hand from above.