Лори Девоти - Unbound

“And it was weird, too. I couldn’t do anything but lay there. It was like I just didn’t care. I could see what was going on around me, but…Anyway, the bartender twisted those plastic straps on my wrists, Miss Hightops dragged me through that doorway, and bam, here I am in weirdo world.

“I’ve tried to watch for Linda, but I haven’t seen her.” She exhaled, her shoulders slumping.

“Kelly,” Kara tried again. “I think I know—” Power pulsed through the tube, vibrating through Kara’s body and robbing her of her breath. “What was that?” she panted, pressing her hand to her chest.

Kelly cast her a sidelong look. “Weirdo world, remember?”

The next second the lights shut off, leaving them in complete darkness. Kara slid her hand toward her sister.

“Just watch,” Kelly whispered. “They do it every night, or at least I think it’s night. I’ve kind of lost track of time.”

A strange hissing started, then light returned except from behind them instead of overhead. Kara twisted her body, looking over her shoulder.

The smoky wall had turned clear. Lining the tube behind them was snake-man after snake-man, their eyes glowing yellow and pointed out toward the sea.

“What are they doing?” Kara asked, her voice low and shaking.

Kelly’s hand clasped hers, warm and reassuring. “I’m not sure, but I think they’re worshipping.”

“Worshipping what?” Kara asked, heart thumping loudly in her chest.

“That.” Kelly squeezed her hand. “Look at the water.”

Kara turned. Pressed against the side of their capsule was a gigantic wall of green scales.

“What is it?” Kara’s voice quavered.

“I’m not sure, but I think it might be their mother or something,” Kelly replied, her voice low.

“It’s alive?” Kara’s eyes rounded, her hand closing more tightly around Kelly’s.

“Oh, yeah. You can see it move. I even saw its head one night.”

As Kara watched, the green wall moved up and down, swaying slightly against the water.

“So, it’s a snake?” she murmured.

“Granddaddy of them all.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, the sound of the snake-men’s hissing almost hypnotizing.

“You know,” Kelly murmured, her thigh pressed against Kara’s. “I didn’t used to think I was afraid of anything.”

Kara twined her arm through her sisters. “That’s funny. I used to think I was afraid of everything.

Risk rolled to his feet and turned back toward the battle.

Another howl, then the garm stood in wolf form. Black with a sprinkling of gray around his face, he shook, his hair fluffing out to make him appear even larger. The males on top of him scattered. Feet splayed, lips pulled back in a snarl, the garm swung his head from side to side in a clear warning to any challengers.

Risk had to move fast, before the other hounds changed and an all out forandre war began.

“Garm,” he bellowed mentally. One major benefit all forandres in their nonhuman form shared was the ability to speak telepathically. This privacy was essential to Risk’s plan.

The garm ignored him, his blue eyes scanning the room for the next attacker.

With a growl, Risk pulled back on his haunches and leaped, landing four feet from the snarling garm.

The garm turned sideways, his tail stiff and the hair on his neck raised.

“Garm,” Risk repeated.

“Call them off, hound,” the garm said in Risk’s head. “Nothing gets past here without my permission.”

“Grant it.” Risk moved with the garm’s movement, the two of them traveling in a slow circle.

The garm barked out a laugh. “You think I’ll let you through now?” He motioned with his head toward Lusse, who still stood hands outstretched, power pouring from her. “She’s an idiot. She’ll never break through.”

“Maybe, but she’s an idiot with power. If you don’t play her right, she’ll make Niflheim look like a spring romp through the woods.”

The garm scoffed again.

“And isn’t she worthy of the toll?” Risk asked.

The garm shook his head. “She isn’t under control, that’s a requirement.”

“Yours or Jormun’s?”

The garm growled.

“If Jormun wants witches, he’ll want Lusse. She’s drained more witches in her immortal life than wolves have fleas.”

“Ha,” the garm replied. “Is that how you grovel?”

Risk snarled. “I don’t…” He let the words fade off. He was in the garm’s territory. Circumstances in which a forandre could never submit. But one of them had to.

“Attack him,” Lusse screamed.

The witch was getting tired. Risk could smell her frustration. The other males who had been standing back waiting for Risk to make a move stirred.

“Hold,” he yelled at them. Then for Lusse’s benefit, he lunged toward the garm, snapping at his neck.

The garm danced backward, his wolf eyes narrowing. “I can’t beat you with your witch and your pack here, but I can shut down the portal. I can move it. You’ll never find your twin witch — the one you sniff after.”

“You’re right. I want to save her. Let me through with Lusse, and I’ll grovel. I’ll turn my head and let you rip out my throat — just let me save Kara and her sister first.”

The garm paused, his tail dropping an inch. “For witches? Stubborn witches who ignored all warnings? Who are too distracting for their own good? I didn’t want to send them to Jormun, you know. I tried warning both of them away — but they were stubborn.” The last came out as a growl.

“Let us through,” Risk urged again.

The garm glanced around, his tail lowering more with his indecision. “It’s too late. If others hear the witch…” he shifted his gaze to Lusse “…challenged me and got through, I’ll have a parade tromping through here, thinking they can best me, too.”

“No one will know,” Risk pledged. “Why should they? I brought my toll.”

The garm hesitated, the hard edge in his eyes softening. Then Lusse screamed out again, “Kill him.”

The garm’s gaze narrowed.

“Sigurd. If Risk won’t kill him — you do it, and you will be alpha,” she bit out, her arms shaking, sweat trickling down the side of her face.

Sigurd roared. The air rippled with new energy as the hound changed.

Risk moved so his back was to the bar, the garm on his left and Sigurd, shifting quickly, on his right.

“Scared, alpha?” Sigurd asked, his toes flexing as he settled into his canine form.

“Back down, Sigurd,” Risk growled.

Sigurd lunged forward, his teeth brushing Risk’s fur.

“This is the pack you command?” the garm asked with a snarl of disdain.

Risk stared at the other two forandre, both willing to rip out his throat to get what they wanted.

What they wanted, Risk repeated to himself.

“Sigurd.” Risk swung his body, blocking Sigurd from lunging again. “You want to be alpha? Fine. I submit.”

Sigurd lowered his head, a hank of hair falling into his eyes. “Submit? You’d never submit. I saw you in the pit, when Lusse declared you alpha.”

“That was before,” Risk replied.

“Before?” Sigurd shifted backward, his eyes moving from Risk to the garm.

“Before I had something to lose,” Risk said.

Sigurd paused. “The witch?” he asked.

“Yes.” And Venge, but Risk didn’t want to reveal their connection yet.

“What’s the price?”

Risk opened his mind so both the garm and Sigurd could hear his reply. “The garm will let Lusse and I pass, but in exchange, you have to guarantee no word of what happened here escapes the bar.”

Sigurd glanced around. “The hounds aren’t a problem, but what about the others? The patrons who ran out of here?”