Bound (The Divine, Book Four) by M.R. Forbes Read Free Book Online Page A

felt a wave of hot breath wash over the back of my neck.  
    "You'll do," the voice said from behind me. A clawed hand grabbed my left wrist from behind.
    I took a deep breath and shook my head. "I recommend you let me go, dog. I'm hungry, and not in the mood to deal with a mongrel like you."
    Another huff of fetid air, followed by a soft growl. "Not scared of me, eh? Come on then sweetheart. Give it your best shot."
    The machismo was familiar. Another changeling? Or the real thing? There was an easy way to find out. I stepped backward, stomping the heavy riding boot down on the were's foot and being rewarded with the crunch of bone. He started to howl, but I used his grip on my wrist as leverage to turn myself around and slam him in the head with my elbow. The blow made him let go, and knocked him backwards. He fell to all fours and looked up at me, his damage already healing.
    "Not bad," he said. "You'll be a fun one."
    He didn't back down, so I was going to assume he was the real thing. Even so, he was being incredibly brazen. I reached into the pocket of the jeans, finding the black stone and taking it out. It grew warm in my hand, and when I thought about the spatha, it materialized in place. The were was on his way, claws aiming to take me apart, leaving me almost no time to react. I ducked and twisted, using the weapon to smack his hands away. He crashed into the counter and over, sending the cashier running.  
    I had the blade ready by the time he came again, and he lost his left hand on the way by. He shrieked in pain, and watched it begin to steam.
    "What the hell?" he asked. "You aren't a seraph. That isn't a seraph's sword." His eyes were wide. He knew what would happen. It was inevitable.
    "It's better than that," I replied. "Well, worse for you. Better for me." I walked up to him and kicked him in the head. He tumbled over, howled one last time, and turned to dust. I was right, he had been the real thing.
    I turned back to the counter, rendered into nothing but splinters after the were had gone through it. The employees had fled, so I returned the sword to wherever, and then grabbed a few burgers and some fries from the rack. I had my eye on the door when I remembered I would need some hydration, so I took a cup and filled it with soda. I walked out without looking back, giving a small wave to the other diner when I passed him. He was crouched under the table, a puddle of urine pooling around his leg.
    "You're safe now," I said.  
    I was going to get a good night's sleep.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Landon

    We were in a jungle. At least, I think it was a jungle. Dense vegetation surrounded us, thick canopies of trees hid us from the sunlight, and it was raining. Even if it wasn't a jungle, it sure felt like one.
    "Do you think we lost him?" Charis asked.  
    We were sitting together behind the massive trunk of some tree or other, trying to catch our breath. We had managed to slip the wolves he had sent after us when we had fallen into a river and let it wash us downstream. I could still hear them howling in the night. I could hear him whistling.
    "For a minute, maybe," I said. "But this is all part of the game. He's been toying with us for how long now?" I had lost track of how many times we had died. It had to be in the hundreds. At first, I had thought I would remember each one, but now I only remembered the pain, and the fear.
    "I don't know. I've lost track." She sighed. "I don't want him to catch us again."
    It didn't matter. We both knew he would. Maybe that was the point of this. Keep chasing us, keep catching us, keep killing us until we were nothing but broken souls. He wasn't just out for revenge, he wanted to destroy us - in heart, soul, body, and spirit.
    "What do you remember?" I asked. We had done this every time, recapping what we could capture from our previous go-rounds in the Box. The memories had been coming faster for a while, but just when I thought we had them, they would ricochet away like a rubber