Read Online A Cursed Embrace (WG 2) by Cecy Robson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Cecy Robson
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breathed. Just us.
The world of the living vanished in one gradual space of time. “Do you feel that?” I whispered to Aric.
Aric nodded. “Yeah. Stay close to me.”
Funny. That was usually my line to my sisters when evil was afoot.
The path curved to follow along the Truckee River. The melting snow from the mountains had caused the river to rise to the edge. Chunks of ice slid over the roaring rapids. I shuddered, dreading an accidental soak. Swimming remained a skill I’d never mastered. And by the looks of the raging stream, it wasn’t an optimal place to learn. Note to self. Avoid having some scary evil thing take you for a dip.
The firs along the river dwindled. Benches fashioned from tree trunks rested between the more open spots. A beautiful place to enjoy, I supposed, minus the intensifying creepiness digging a hole into my chest.
The growing heaviness forced Gemini to escort Taran next to me so he and Aric could flank our sides. But then something stirred in the wind, like the heavy sweep of an invisible sail. Pained howls blasted my ears, and the gallop of massive paws shook the ground beneath our feet, sending pebbles to roll like marbles along the trail. Taran instinctively reached for me. The wolves didn’t possess her ingrained response. Then again, they never had my unique ability to rely on. I grasped their wrists and shifted the four of us far beneath the ground. My rare gift broke down our bodies into tiny molecules, minute enough to pass across the packed earth. We surfaced in the thickness of the woods just as a herd of black bears raced past us along the path.
We probably could have sprinted out of the way, but I would have risked contacting one of the bears. Animals and my “weirdness” didn’t play nice. With my protective shields down, I’d fall to the ground in a massive seizure and emerge as Celia the Bear. Considering that I’d have no way to change back to Celia the sort-of-human or Celia the formidable tigress, shifting us from harm seemed like the ideal way to go.
Aric’s and Gemini’s mouths parted as they examined their forms. I’d never shifted them before and they seemed surprised all their important parts remained intact. “Sorry. I didn’t have time to warn you.” My face heated, but my unease kept me from experiencing the full range of my humiliation.
“It’s all right,” Aric said. We stepped back onto the path cautiously, unsure what lay ahead. Aric didn’t finish watching the bears disappear around the bend. Instead his preternatural side searched where I searched, in the direction they’d run from. “Gem,” he said, his voice bordering close to a growl.
Gemini slipped his sweater over his head, revealing the muscular T-build common of all wolves. Taran’s jaw fell open and I think she might have drooled. “Will you hold this?” he asked.
She nodded. This time it was her turn to fall speechless. Gemini cracked his neck from side to side. A large black wolf punched his head through Gemini’s back, sniffing the air. Like solidifying ink, he slid his powerful form onto the hard soil and sped off in a blur of black. The human half of Gemini that remained blinked his dark eyes. “Come. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
Gemini’s ability to split into two remained, hands down, the coolest supernatural feat I’d ever seen. Taran squeaked when he whisked her into his arms and raced after Aric and me.
My tigress made us fast, faster than wolves. Common sense, and the realization that “danger lurked, Will Robinson,” kept me from bolting ahead. Aric still felt I moved too quick despite being a breath behind me. “Don’t get ahead of me, Celia.”
“I found it,” Gemini’s low voice said behind us. “This way.”
The path veered in two separate directions. One led deeper into the woods. Gemini kept us on the one paralleling the river.
The sour stench of death stung my nose just as Gemini’s other half appeared before us, baring his
The world of the living vanished in one gradual space of time. “Do you feel that?” I whispered to Aric.
Aric nodded. “Yeah. Stay close to me.”
Funny. That was usually my line to my sisters when evil was afoot.
The path curved to follow along the Truckee River. The melting snow from the mountains had caused the river to rise to the edge. Chunks of ice slid over the roaring rapids. I shuddered, dreading an accidental soak. Swimming remained a skill I’d never mastered. And by the looks of the raging stream, it wasn’t an optimal place to learn. Note to self. Avoid having some scary evil thing take you for a dip.
The firs along the river dwindled. Benches fashioned from tree trunks rested between the more open spots. A beautiful place to enjoy, I supposed, minus the intensifying creepiness digging a hole into my chest.
The growing heaviness forced Gemini to escort Taran next to me so he and Aric could flank our sides. But then something stirred in the wind, like the heavy sweep of an invisible sail. Pained howls blasted my ears, and the gallop of massive paws shook the ground beneath our feet, sending pebbles to roll like marbles along the trail. Taran instinctively reached for me. The wolves didn’t possess her ingrained response. Then again, they never had my unique ability to rely on. I grasped their wrists and shifted the four of us far beneath the ground. My rare gift broke down our bodies into tiny molecules, minute enough to pass across the packed earth. We surfaced in the thickness of the woods just as a herd of black bears raced past us along the path.
We probably could have sprinted out of the way, but I would have risked contacting one of the bears. Animals and my “weirdness” didn’t play nice. With my protective shields down, I’d fall to the ground in a massive seizure and emerge as Celia the Bear. Considering that I’d have no way to change back to Celia the sort-of-human or Celia the formidable tigress, shifting us from harm seemed like the ideal way to go.
Aric’s and Gemini’s mouths parted as they examined their forms. I’d never shifted them before and they seemed surprised all their important parts remained intact. “Sorry. I didn’t have time to warn you.” My face heated, but my unease kept me from experiencing the full range of my humiliation.
“It’s all right,” Aric said. We stepped back onto the path cautiously, unsure what lay ahead. Aric didn’t finish watching the bears disappear around the bend. Instead his preternatural side searched where I searched, in the direction they’d run from. “Gem,” he said, his voice bordering close to a growl.
Gemini slipped his sweater over his head, revealing the muscular T-build common of all wolves. Taran’s jaw fell open and I think she might have drooled. “Will you hold this?” he asked.
She nodded. This time it was her turn to fall speechless. Gemini cracked his neck from side to side. A large black wolf punched his head through Gemini’s back, sniffing the air. Like solidifying ink, he slid his powerful form onto the hard soil and sped off in a blur of black. The human half of Gemini that remained blinked his dark eyes. “Come. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
Gemini’s ability to split into two remained, hands down, the coolest supernatural feat I’d ever seen. Taran squeaked when he whisked her into his arms and raced after Aric and me.
My tigress made us fast, faster than wolves. Common sense, and the realization that “danger lurked, Will Robinson,” kept me from bolting ahead. Aric still felt I moved too quick despite being a breath behind me. “Don’t get ahead of me, Celia.”
“I found it,” Gemini’s low voice said behind us. “This way.”
The path veered in two separate directions. One led deeper into the woods. Gemini kept us on the one paralleling the river.
The sour stench of death stung my nose just as Gemini’s other half appeared before us, baring his
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