Page 11 of Wolf of Ashes
CHAPTERTWO
Ashiver of anticipation passes through me, overshadowed only by my hunger and thirst.
Unwilling to admit any weakness in front of the keeper, I say nothing about the gnawing ache in my stomach and instead prepare to ask him how the fuck we’ll get out of this endlessly dark place.
The keeper surprises me when he taps his chest, his gaze becomes distant, and he says, “You’re hungry, but there’s no food or sustenance here. Neither can I conjure any. We need to leave this realm as fast as we can.”
He sweeps his arm around me and hustles me to the right. “This way. Quickly.”
I’m not sorry if he’s taking me somewhere to get food, but the level of tension in his body indicates his sudden urgency isn’t because of my empty stomach. “Why the hurry?”
“Now that I’ve shrugged off my cloak, this realm will become a vacuum, clinging to whatever dark magic it can. We don’t want to become trapped here.”
The panthers stay close to my heels, their black bodies blending into our surroundings so completely that it’s only when they glance up at me with their silver eyes that I can place them in the dark.
“What will happen to the dark magic that’s left untethered from creatures who die?” I ask, feeling a twinge of responsibility that doesn’t sit well with my dark nature.
“That’s no longer my problem,” he replies.
My guilt only increases.Fuck and damn.“But—”
The keeper stops me, his arm remaining around my waist, his gaze devouring my face as he turns me toward him. “The balance between light and dark will reset itself. Such is nature. It is a problem that the creatures of the light will face.Wedo not have to concern ourselves with it.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Are you saying that the balance may tip and reset in favor of darkness?”
His eyes brighten. “I’m counting on it.”
He gives me a wolfish grin, revealing momentarily sharp teeth that quickly transform back into their more human-looking shape. That is, the shape of humans I’ve seen in faded illustrations in dusty books.
He ushers me through the dark, moving confidently as he follows a path that’s certainly not clear to me.
As far as I can discern, the only change in our surroundings is the temperature. The farther we venture away from the place where I first fell into this ‘realm’—as he called it—the colder the air around us becomes.
Unbearably cold. Even for me.
It’s as if our surroundings are pushing back against us.
My footfalls begin to slow and so do the keeper’s.
The impact of the frosty air on the panthers is visible. Their outlines become clear as ice forms on their pelts, and shivers ripple across their backs.
I wrap my arms around myself, my teeth beginning to chatter. “Maybe we sh-sh-should have b-b-brought your c-c-cloak with us.”
“Are you cold?”
I glance at the keeper, only to find that, in the seconds between me looking at him before and now, he’s somehow acquired a puffy-looking jacket, long pants that appear to be made from a thick material, and calf-high boots with fur turned over at the top.
I catch the fading electricity around his fingers, which would indicate he conjured the clothing for himself.
He gives me a grin, as if he’s very pleased with himself.
“What the f-f-fuck?” I practically spit at him, but I’m sure my saliva is freezing on my tongue. “S-S-So you can’t make f-food, but you c-can make clothes? Will you m-make clothes for m-m-me?”
“Of course.” His hands are now covered in mittens, but energy crackles around them once again. “All you have to do is ask.”
I snark at him. “Oh, is that all?”
He takes a longer look at me, his forehead slightly pinched as if he’s perturbed. His gaze has the effect of making me a little more pleasantly warm when it follows the flow of my black hair, lingering on the blonde tips before passing down my curves to my toes.
