Shackled to the World: A Phantom Touched Novel

by Brutger, Stacey

  Annora swallowed hard, not sure she wanted to know the answer, not if it meant she had to send him away to protect him. But she couldn’t bury her head in the sand. She would not be responsible for destroying what he held most dear. “And when we touched?”

  Even before he spoke, she saw the hesitation in his eyes and knew the truth.

  Her touch would consume him.

  When he went to reach for her, she flinched, quickly ducking behind Mason. “Don’t! I won’t be responsible for hurting you. I won’t—I can’t—”

  Her breathing went ragged.

  She stumbled away, unable to find enough oxygen to fill her lungs.

  “You misunderstand.” Edgar didn’t flinch or retreat from knowing she could literally destroy him with a touch. “Merging is giving and taking. There has to be a balance. With practice, we would be able to control the push and pull and use it.”

  But she was already shaking her head.

  “It’s about trust,” he continued, his eyes sparkling with pure happiness. “I know you would never harm me—your magic doesn’t see me as a threat. Plus, I know it’s not possible for me to harm you. Even if I took all the power you have to offer, it would only weaken you at the very worst. The only threat to me is too much power burning me out.”

  He grinned, like it was miraculous news, but none of it eased the tightness in her chest at the thought of giving him up.

  Because that’s what would happen.

  She had to send him away. She couldn’t live with herself if she ever harmed him, even unintentionally.

  The eagerness on Edgar’s face faded when she remained mute.

  Xander grabbed her arm and twisted her around to face him. He lifted up his scarred hands, staring down at them. “I’ve killed people with my bare hands, torn them apart without an ounce of remorse, and I will do it again.”

  He dropped his hands and glanced at her. “Are you afraid of me now?”

  She blinked up at him, confused at the abrupt change in conversation. “No, of course not. You would never harm me.”

  She knew it down in her bones. He would rather kill himself than harm a hair on her head.

  It was the same for all of the guys.

  “Then you have a choice. Edgar has spent most of your life trying to keep you safe. You must trust him on some level. If all you have to do is practice in order to keep him in your life, don’t you think he deserves that chance?”

  Damn them for being so reasonable.

  She rolled her eyes, wishing it was so easy. If she fucked up…if anything went wrong…she glanced at Edgar out of the corner of her eyes and felt her resolve softening. He had risked everything for her, saved her repeatedly. If the phantoms were really coming, they were going to be coming for the both of them.

  He risked everything to escape them once.

  He deserved more than her tossing him away to face his fate alone.

  Why the fuck were people so damned difficult?

  Living on her own was so much easier.

  And so much lonelier.

  She pulled away from the guys to glare at Edgar. “You’ll tell me if anything is wrong? No matter what? You’ll warn me before I hurt you?” She narrowed her eyes at him when he nodded after each question. “You have to promise you won’t allow me to harm you.”

  His eyes darkened, the fathomless blue seeming to almost churn. He covered his heart, then bowed at the waist. “You have my word. Upon my honor, I will keep you safe.”

  It sounded like a vow, and she pursed her lips at the phrasing, feeling like she was missing something important.

  But the guys seemed satisfied and continued the conversation, Camden getting straight to business. “Can she jump safely now?”

  Edgar studied her for a heartbeat longer, then turned toward the guys. “The jump fatigues her, since she is passing over the afterworld without refreshing her well of power, but otherwise leaves her unharmed. The effect she’s feeling is what most phantoms feel when they ghost. It’s like a muscle. The more she practices, the better and stronger she will become.”

  Annora pressed her nails into the pads of her fingers, the sharp, quick jab of pain helping her focus as she processed the information.

  She was so distracted, in fact, that she didn’t realize the guys had stopped talking until Edgar came to stand next to her. “We’re going to practice jumping with a passenger. Since I’m the least likely to get lost and could possibly find my own way back or hold off from being killed until you find me, I’m your first volunteer.”

  She blanched at the blunt way he phrased the way things could go horribly wrong, but she also appreciated his honesty. He held out his hand to her without hesitation, completely trusting, while he waited for her decision. Knowing that she needed to master this skill, she blew out a breath and squared her shoulders.

  Without pausing, she gathered the particles that seemed so much a part of her, doubled the amount from last time, and cast the cloudy mixture in front of her. She wasn’t sure what others saw, but the dark particles paused midair, a cosmic doorway opening up in front of her, the tiny specks sparkling like stars in the inky blackness.

  Concentrating on a location just a few feet away, she reached out, grabbed Edgar’s hand, and pulled him through the barrier. She met a slight resistance as the particles clung to her like dust. Pulling Edgar after her took more effort, like she physically had to haul his body though a tub of syrup.

  Time stretched and pulled, twisting and bending around her. It was harder to find her footing, and harder to leave, when it felt like traveling through wet cement. When the darkness finally released her, she was thrown into the human world, smacking against the ground hard, landing on her hands and knees and dragging Edgar down with her.

  He didn’t seem to be in much better shape, struggling to keep himself from face-planting on the prickly lawn. Familiar arms curled around her waist from behind, hauling her to her feet. Her legs were too unsteady to stand on their own, so she leaned against Mason, not the least bit surprised that he reached her first. The warmth from his massive body made her shiver, and she realized the passageway felt like a freaking walk-through freezer set on freeze-your-nuts-off.

  Only when she was sure she could stand on her own without falling over did she stumble back over toward Edgar, glad to see that he’d pushed himself up and was now sitting on his ass. He still looked ready to keel over, but he was upright instead of passed out.

  “What the hell happened?” She staggered to a stop in front of him, setting her feet wider to keep from collapsing next to him. “Why did it feel like it was fighting me?”

  Laughter burst out of him, and she narrowed her eyes when it felt like he was laughing at her. If she thought she could kick him without falling over, she would’ve tried. Instead she settled for crossing her arms and glaring. “Explain.”

  Edgar leaned back until he was sprawled on the ground, shaking his head at her as if completely baffled. “I don’t think you understand how much of a struggle it is for a normal phantom to even ghost. Most can’t access the afterworld the way you do, much less take to it like a fish to water. Most phantoms are drained after visiting your afterworld once, much like you’re feeling now. It’s unnatural for them.”

  He grimaced up at her, his humor vanishing. “No one can jump like you, especially not the way you just did. It should be impossible.” He very slowly pushed himself to his feet like an old man trying to rise, as if his muscles refused to cooperate. “You have an affinity for the afterworld like I’ve never encountered in the past. My fear is that your father will no longer try to kill you, but instead do everything in his power to crush your spirit and mold you into is very own flunky to do his bidding. His ruthlessness is much like your uncle’s, but with one exception...”

  The worry on his face made panic tighten her insides until they felt liquid.

  “…where your uncle failed, he will succeed.”

  Annora lifted her chin, refusing to be cowed. “
I won’t allow that to happen.”

  Pity darkened his eyes, the afterworld eating away all color and light. “You already gave him the key to owning your soul. All he has to do is kill your mates or threaten them, and you will be his willing servant.”

  Annora shook her head, denying the truth of his words, but Edgar followed her relentlessly, and grabbed her arms so she couldn’t leave. “I know of only one person who might be strong enough to save your mates.”

  Everything inside her calmed, relief making her insides wobble. “Tell me.”

  “You—you just have to want it bad enough.”

  Chapter Nine

  All Annora could do was open and close her mouth as Edgar strode away, completely at a loss how to respond. The guys were silent, watching her with concern.

  But she hoped Edgar was right.

  No one was more motivated to save the guys than her. If there was a way, she would find it.

  She turned toward the guys and saw the same conviction on their faces.

  Without hesitation, they believed she was strong enough to stand up to her father.

  Swallowing hard, she focused on Xander. “If I’m going to have any hope of winning, you need to train me harder. You can’t go easy on me—you can’t let me lose.”

  Xander gave her a speculative look, then nodded. “Be prepared to move in thirty minutes.”

  Without another word, he turned and walked away.

  The witches must have heard they were planning to move. They were on their feet, their phones out as they left. Annora doubted they had any intention of letting her out of their sight for one second, so they were calling in reinforcements. Even as the last one stepped off the porch, the fire in the pit stuttered, then died down to ash.

  It took an effort on her part to shrug off knowing that her time was no longer her own.

  She wasn’t used to the attention and hated it. She didn’t know how celebrities stood it, much less those who sought it out. She shivered at having all those eyes following her every move.

  It gave her the heebie-jeebies.

  It didn’t take long for the guys to meet her at the front of the house, silently taking formation around her and escorting her to the arena. Edgar joined the others, falling in like he’d been a part of the group his entire life.

  She easily spotted several groups of witches doing a piss-poor job of pretending they weren’t watching her, but to her surprise, there were also a number of shifters who, while they watched her, seemed to be watching the witches with even more interest.

  It was almost like they were protecting her from the witches. Then she realized they were the other teams who patrolled the campus. Either her guys called in reinforcements or Greenwood did.

  She relaxed slightly at knowing someone out there would have the guys’ backs if anything went wrong.

  Not surprisingly, no matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t spot the phantom girl, Sadie.

  Annora wasn’t sure if that worried her more or not.

  When they reached the arena, instead of going topside, they went down through a series of passageways.

  Three levels down, the entire floor was pitch black. One lone, naked bulb illuminated the tiny locker room. Xander and Edgar stayed near her, while the others disappeared off into the darkness. With her advanced hearing, she could tell they didn’t go far, but she couldn’t see anyone in the shadows, her eyes slow to adjust to the dimness.

  “This is the training pit.” Xander turned toward her, slipping a vest over his head, systematically dressing in the full training gear that waited for them in lockers. The rest of the guys followed suit, their movements practiced.

  They did this often.

  “Yeah, I can tell where you got the name.” She smirked at him, shoving her hair back into a messy ponytail, then accepted the vest Mason slipped over her head. It was thin and versatile, allowing her arms and torso easy movement. “Very original.”

  But accurate. Even with her extra abilities, she couldn’t see more than a few feet in any direction. It was almost like walking into a sensory deprivation chamber.

  He cracked a small smile at her snark, but it wasn’t enough to throw him off his speech. “There are no lights down at this level. You’ll find more than thirty rooms of various shapes and sizes. Some of them are empty of furniture and others are packed full. We use this place to practice before we breach unknown locations. Witches come down here often, so the place is fully warded.”

  Thank the gods!

  It meant she was free to use her full powers.

  Without them, she was very much aware they wouldn’t stand a chance.

  Xander turned and walked away, then picked up a dark, lethal-looking paintball gun hanging by pegs on the wall. “Here’s the scenario: your men are imprisoned down here. You must rescue them and escape. You’ll have to work and move as a team if you want to survive. More than four hits and you’re dead.”

  Without saying anything else, he turned on his heel and strode away, the rest of the guys disappearing in the darkness.

  She sputtered for a few seconds, then grinned. She turned toward Edgar, feeling hopeful about their chances of getting Logan back. “I guess we’re the rescue team. Ready?”

  Edgar lifted an imperious brow at her, a small smirk playing on his lips. “How about we show them what it’ll be like to go up against phantoms?”

  Annora nodded, enjoying the idea that they would be training the guys just as much as they were being trained. The team took the impending attack from the phantoms in stride, not even fazed at the idea of fighting an opponent they couldn’t see or track, and she was pretty sure they were underestimating their enemy.

  They’d gone only a few feet when they came upon three different paths. Edgar let her take the lead, and she allowed instinct to guide her to the right—only to find a second divide in another twenty feet. She took three more paths, passing no doorways, when another split opened up in front of them. She halted, hands on her hips and cursed. “It’s a fucking maze.”

  They’d been underground no more than ten minutes and she was already hopelessly lost, her senses unbalanced by the lack of sounds and sight.

  “I could always tell when you were in the abandoned world. It was like the air warmed in welcome. I could follow that connection like a tug right here.” He tapped his chest, his expression intense as he gazed down at her. “You can do the same with your men, even if we’re in the earthly realm.”

  He sounded almost afraid to mention their connection, as if she would try to cut him out, but reminding her at the same time that he mattered, that he was one of her men—in case she forgot. Feeling more and more horrible for making him doubt himself and his place, she nodded to him. “We’re family.”

  He didn’t move as he stared at her, his eyes flaring with hope. “Family.”

  He tucked a stray strand of hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear. “In the true spirit of practice, you should avoid the afterworld as much as possible. Only use it in case of emergencies.”

  Annora couldn’t help but wonder what part of avoiding the afterworld was practice and what part of it was actually his fear of the banished lands he’d been trapped in for so many years.

  He was elegant in no way a human could duplicate, with a self-awareness she envied. Though his skin was smooth and pale, there was a sharpness to his eyes and face that hinted at the hardships he’d suffered, and a stubborn look to his strong jaw that, heaven help her, she was coming to admire.

  Despite her resolve to keep her distance, she was failing.

  And she was beginning not to care.

  When he cocked his head at her, she brushed off her distractions and began moving again.

  Focusing on the ties binding her and the men together, she sensed Mason was the closest, waiting just a few yards ahead of them. As she neared his location, she pressed her hand to the walls, trying to find an entryway.

  And found nothing.

  Dammit.r />
  She was so close she could almost taste victory.

  Left with no choice, she stepped back and followed the passageway. She only went a few feet before halting, scowling when she discovered it led them farther away from Mason. She growled in frustration, then raised her brow at Edgar. “Ready to make this interesting?”

  His answering smile was devilish. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Annora retraced her steps, then placed her hand on the wall separating her from Mason. She collected the darkness inside her, watching it curl around her fingers. The more she used, the more her senses expanded and seeped into the human world.

  The wall was just normal wood, drywall and studs a few inches thick. “Follow me.”

  Then she allowed the particles to burst outward in a swirling mass, her form dissolving into mist, and she slipped clean through the wall. She took form on the other side, only to see Edgar appear next to her as if he stepped out of thin air.

  She scowled, wanting to call foul that he’d used the afterworld when he banned her from it. He smirked, as if waiting for her challenge, and she pursed her lips, refusing to give him the satisfaction. He pointed to his eye, then tipped his head to indicate the three guys in the room guarding the door. Mason was leaning against the wall, reading on his phone. As if he sensed her, he lifted his head, surprise widening his eyes when he saw her.

  He glanced at the door, then back to her, before grinning.

  The guards were so focused on the doorway, they never once looked behind them.

  Edgar gave her the option of taking out the guards or going for Mason. While removing the threat was optimal, the alarms had yet to be sounded. The better plan would be to sneak in and out and rescue as many of the guys as possible before they were discovered.

  She reached Mason first. She touched his arm, allowing the darkness of the afterworld to wrap around them. To her surprise, she was able to take Mason with her as she stepped through the wall. It wasn’t that he dissolved, but more like he could follow in the disturbance of her wake.