The Cut

By Rebecca Ethington

The world has changed.
Mere miles away from the sanctuary of Blood Rose, Travis and Alexis have been cornered, their bike in shards, their guns on empty.
Alexis, herself, is trapped in a strange underworld that glimmers with the truth of what the Ulama have done to the world, and what Abran truly is.

The only hope they have is to fight, and they are not alone.

For Bridget has found a secret, the one person that could change the entire game.

If only they can escape the underground torture chamber that Abran has locked them in.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rebecca Ethington
• Release date: Mar 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463524107

Rebecca Ethington

Rebecca Ethington is an internationally bestselling author with almost 700,000 books sold. Her breakout debut, The Imdalind Series, has been featured on bestseller lists since its debut in 2012, reaching thousands of adoring fans worldwide and cited as “Interesting and Intense” by USA Today’s Happily Ever After Blog. From writing horror to romance and creating every sort of magical creature in be-tween, Rebecca’s imagination weaves vibrant worlds that transport readers into the pages of her books. Her writing has been described as fresh, original, and groundbreaking, with stories that bend genres and create fantastical worlds. Born and raised under the lights of a stage, Rebecca has written stories by the ghost light, told them in whispers in dark corridors, and never stopped creating within the pages of a notebook.

Book preview

Through Glass

Through Glass

The Cut

Rebecca Ethington

Market Street Books

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

August 1st 2021

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

August 3rd 2021

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Through Glass Will Continue….

Currently Available From Rebecca Ethington

About the Author

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Rebecca Ethington

Text Copyright ©2017 by Rebecca Ethington

The Though Glass Series, characters, names, and related indicia are trademarks and © of Rebecca Ethington.

The Through Glass Series Publishing rights © Rebecca Ethington

All Rights Reserved.

No Part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For Information regarding permission, write to:

Rebecca Ethington – permissions@ Rebecca Ethington.com

Published by Market Street Books

Copyediting by C&D Editing

Production Management by Market Street Books

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This Edition, March 2018

Created with Vellum Created with Vellum

To Those Who Fight

Even When They Think They Have Nothing Left

1

S he has Ascended, Abran roared as I spun toward where he stood in the middle of the street, surrounded by the twisted shadows of the monsters he had created.

Heart thundering, I stared at him where I was trapped, in the world underneath the darkness where everything glimmered. Here, he was shrouded in a surreal beauty. Everything about him looked the same, but more chiseled, with sharper lines. The high-def version of him was meant to draw me in, I was sure, but all I felt was the anger and fear that was pushing me forward, to attack him.

Kill her! he roared, his voice catching in static like a broken car stereo as it tore through the dark world and into the glowing underbelly. Kill her before she completes it!

I jerked in confusion at his phrasing, stepping back in shock as the blood-soaked creatures that the Tar were here, stepped forward. Their empty eyes stared at me as they cried in blood, the red rivers forever staining their bone-white faces and twisting the scream that was frozen there.

I didn’t know what he was talking about, what ascending was, or what this world that we both were able to access was. I had been here for the first time, in the garage, just hours before, but he had made it clear he could see it too.

None of that mattered, however, because if I didn’t act, if I didn’t fight, both I and my brother wouldn’t see even so much as a shimmer of Blood Rose.

As if on cue an odd warbling noise came from the stained-glass smudges beside me. The distorted image of Travis reached forward, his hand gripping my forearm as he attempted to give me what I was sure was instructions. Anything that would be of help was lost in the dark world he was in, however, leaving each of us to fight alone.

Me in this world, and him in the other.

I wasn’t even sure he knew I couldn’t hear him. Knew that I was somewhere else.

Glowering at Abran, I stepped away from Travis, ready to attack this villain, to face him.

Instead, the Spaniard ran.

Abran! I yelled after him, but the exclamation was only answered by a haughty laugh and a single glance back.

True leaders don’t kill their enemies. They make others do it for them. The dapper man was gone before I could respond, leaving me standing in the middle of the crumbling freeway, facing his monsters as they began to charge.

Three of Abran’s monsters rushed us, the one Abran had labeled Bridget taking the initial fighting stance.

Kill it! I commanded Travis as I rushed the two that were right behind it, still frantically scanning for some kind of weapon.

Travis did not hear my order, he just stood, staring at the monster that he had been told was Bridget as it prepared to end him. He was more willing to join her than to fight her.

Accept the thing wasn’t her.

It wasn’t his wife.

No, I gasped as I moved, shifting my weight and intercepting the creature with a heave and a scream.

My shoulder jammed into the monster's chest, pressing against it with my full weight. The force of the impact sent it back, it’s arm falling toward its new target: me. It only narrowing missed, the sharp chill of its talon skimming against the heavy leather of my jacket, catching on the already frayed seams and splitting it.

The loud rip of the torn leather split through me, my volatile anger slamming into my chest and shaking me into a rage. Skin prickling with the heat of the emotion, the brilliant light of the underworld sparked and splintered as if it was reacting to my anger, sending little pops of color into the air in time with my heartbeat.

Without catching my breath, I slammed into the thing again, this time sending it to the ground with a scream of its own. Bright red blood sprayed over me with the call, the river of red pouring from its mouth in earnest.

Travis’s mumbled yell came again, but I didn’t even turn, I only launched myself onto the monster, hands wrapping around the albino neck of the thing and shaking, slamming its head into the glittering asphalt of the road.

Putting all my strength into my hands, I slammed it into the road once more, this time its call was silenced from the impact. I would have rejoiced in its supposed death, but I wasn’t foolish enough to jump to conclusions.

Its body was still too rigid; its eyes still wide as it’s horrified face stared at something behind me.

I saw the reflection in the void of its eyes a moment before the long golden talon would have slammed into my back.

Sending out my own shriek of fear, I rolled off the monster below me, flipping over the thing just as the long gold talon of the twisted Tar behind me missed its mark and instead sunk itself into the ivory chest of the other.

Blood sprayed over me with the impalement, droplets of hot, wet fluid covered my hands and face as I crouched above the head of the beast to grip the skeletal framework of its wings. I fully intended to jerk myself to my feet and run, but the warmth of the blood froze me in place, my heart thundering as I clutched the bone.

Clinging to the familiarity of it.

Smiling, I tightened my grip on the bone and leaned back, slamming my back into the asphalt as I dragged the wing with me. The tiny rocks of the road pulled against my leather jacket as I repositioned myself above the thing. Planting my feet against the shoulders of the monster, I kicked, hands still wrapped around the ridge of its bone wing as I pulled it toward me.

Kicking the monster away, pulling the bone away from it.

A dying cry issued from the creature below me, whether from my kick or from the talon still impeded in its chest I wasn’t sure.

Long talon still stuck in its companion's chest, the Tar that had meant to end me looked up, it’s dead eyes locked with mine as it leaned toward me. The blood that poured from its mouth dripped over my hands, splattering up my arms in a pattern of crimson lace.

My heart thundered in fear, lungs forgetting to draw breath as I stared into the nothing of its eyes and dared it to strike. Dared it to end me.

But it didn’t.

It couldn’t move any further with its talon still locked in the chest of the creature between us.

Swallowing, I took a shaky breath and adjusted my grip, something that proved quite difficult with the wet blood that was now covering my hands.

Refusing to look away from the creature, I kicked again, harder this time, pulling and kicking as I began to wrench it away. My own scream ripped through clenched teeth as I kicked again, still focused on the wide black eyes of the Tar as it began to pull its claws out of the chest of its companion. The sound of grinding bone scraped above the violent wails of the war around us. The sound a reminder that it wasn’t just me in this fight.

That it wasn’t just me and this monster.

That is was Travis and all of the others.

Stomach tight with agonizing fear as the sound of my heart beat loud in my ears, I kicked again, this time, however, a sharp crack broke above the screams, snapping in my ears just as the Ulama yanked its claw free, its dead eyes narrowing at me.

Feet slamming against bone and flesh, the thing lifted its taloned hand into the wavering glow of the bright blue sky, a smile dripping from the corner of its blood filled scream.

The sound of my heart beat was the only sound in the world, the tempo drowning as I kicked again, another crack of bone hitting my ears just as the claw began to drop.

The bass drum of my heart sped up as I fought the need to cower and run and instead kicked one last time, snapping the bone free and raising it above me like a shield.

The creatures talon stopped inches from my face, the wide white bone held between us, my hands holding it steady as the beast put all its weight against the attack.

Muscles rippling in pain, I held the bone there, the deadly talon so close to my face that I could smell the blood of the Tar it had just slaughtered as it slid down the smooth golden surface and dripped onto my nose.

It ran down my skin as it shivered down my spine.

I blinked once, breath held in my chest, before looking to the blood-drenched eyes of the thing, it’s glare snarling red before I reacted.

With a heave and a grunt, I pressed the bone away from me, legs jerking against the creature's chest and sending it stumbling back.

Its call of shock mixed with the scream of all the others and I scrambled to my feet, holding what I hoped would be a suitable weapon before me. Instead of the replacement for my rail that I had hoped it would be, however, it was nothing more than a crooked branch of bone.

It was only slightly longer than my arm, twisted into forks of shattered ends that dripped with the bright red blood that filled it.

Scarlet globs fell to the ground, splattering against my legs as it ricocheted off the asphalt. I couldn’t rethink my choice of a weapon, however, the Ulama was already rushing me, its haunting face stretching from one scream to another as its woeful call rent the air.

I swung the bone like a bat as the creature reached me, drops of blood spraying over the albino monsters, peppering them in scarlet and sending sparks of glittering color through the high definition world.

My attacker fell back at the impact, head twisting around in a force that I hoped would disable him. But it was only one in a sea of dozens, and the blood and screams had pulled their focus right back to me. All the others looked up at the scarlet rain, gaping faces twisting nefariously as they circled me.

Click.

Click.

Their talons hit as one against the asphalt road, the sound sending a ripple of color through the air. Glittering waves of gold and silver shimmered in rhythm to their steps, the same pull I had felt so many times before dragging into me. Pulling me towards them.

Pulling me to join them.

The ethereal world sparkled more with each step, the invisible sun catching on the dust motes and turning everything into glitter. The beauty enveloped me for the briefest moment before another click beat against my skull, tugging at the pain I had left in the dark world and pulling me back into the dark.

Back into the world of cold air, and black winged creatures.

My ears buzzed as I fought against the way my mind was pulling from the black to the glittering underworld. Even with the pain that the dark brought, I clung to it; desperate to stay here. To stay with Travis, to stay in reality. I could hear him yelling at me, the sounds drifted from words to hums as I faded back and forth.

I didn’t know what the glittering world meant for me, I didn’t know what it was doing to me.

But it was a losing battle. With all the pain the darkness brought I couldn’t fight the monsters here. So, I let myself fade back into the vibrant colors of the other side. The pain that drenched me in the dark world vanished as it did, leaving the smears of colors that was my brother to fight the creatures on his own.

Click.

Click.

Smiling at the color, and the strength that tensed through my muscles, I faced the creatures, their talons lifted high, ready to end my life. Gritting my teeth, I landed on my feet with one jump, the shard of bone still clutched in my hand.

Blood seeped from the long crack in its side, dripping in an ominous metronome that counted down to the fight.

I hit one creature than another, my fear and anger expelling in a yell as I scattered the remaining tar away from me.

But they weren’t scattering, they were enclosing.

I hit the last one before it moved to the others, each one facing me, so still that for a moment they looked like twisted statues, a macabre museum in the middle of nowhere.

Standing in a wide circle around me their mouths opened