Free Snakeroot by Andrea Cremer

improvising, discovering how things worked through trial and error. But from the moment he appeared in front of Logan, Ren’s mind had cleared and he could see himself and his place in the world in a way that felt as if someone had taken a blindfold from his eyes.
    Ren had thought he was a ghost, but now he knew he was a spirit. He’d thought himself aimless. Instead he discovered he was a messenger.
    And with each question that Logan asked, and that Ren didn’t expect to be able to answer, the knowledge had simply appeared. It was as though Logan’s summoning of Ren created a conduit to the great unknown, filling in many of the blanks about Ren’s state of being and the invisible world of which he was a new resident. The downside was that Ren was beholden to Logan to ask the questions. When Ren tried to delve into the mysteries that conversing with Logan revealed, he ran into a wall, unable to get any further than where previous dialogue had taken them.
    As much as he hated the idea of being dependent on Logan Bane for anything, a part of Ren wanted to hang around Logan some more just so he could learn about the rules of his current existence.
    That was, until he’d heard her cries as clearly as if she’d been standing beside him.
    Adne. Something was terribly wrong and Adne was in danger.
    Ren was back on the grounds of Rowan Estate before he even thought to worry that Logan might now have him on some kind of mystical leash that would render him unable to move through the world as he’d become accustomed. The thought that his comings and goings probably had some kind of catch flashed through Ren’s mind, but was driven away by the scent of blood and smoke.
    Adne’s blood.
    Ren lifted his muzzle and howled his rage at the night sky. In the distance the pack echoed his call. Their voices so familiar to Ren, he never could have failed to recognize the sound.
    Coincidence. It had to be. They hadn’t been able to hear him before. Why would that have changed?
    The other wolves continued to sing a battle song to Ren as he dashed across the snowy ground. At first Ren didn’t see Adne, only a huddled shape on the ground over which a tall shadow loomed. As Ren drew closer, the shadow became defined and Ren saw that it was a man. A man he knew.
    Startled, Ren skidded to a halt, but he didn’t stop snarling.
    Bosque Mar turned. “Good evening, Renier.”
    Ren wanted to lunge at the Harbinger and close his jaws around the Nether lord’s neck, but he couldn’t seem to move.
    “Don’t tax yourself, young wolf,” Bosque said. “You are here because I willed it to be so, and you cannot destroy that which created you.”
    Bosque’s words only confused Ren, but he stopped growling and shifted forms.
    “What are you doing to my sister?”
    “Just talking.” Bosque glanced at Adne. She lay prone in the snow. And while Ren could still smell her blood and singed flesh, she didn’t appear to be harmed in any way.
    Despite her lack of visible injuries, Ren said, “Talking doesn’t usually involve bleeding.”
    “You speak of things you can’t begin to understand,” Bosque told Ren. “I don’t wish to hurt Ariadne. Quite the opposite.”
    “Leave her alone.” Ren didn’t care what Bosque had to say about his intentions or Ren’s inability to attack him. He took a menacing step toward the Harbinger.
    Bosque laughed quietly. “Your loyalty to her is remarkable, considering how very recently you learned that you share blood. As to your . . . request, you presume to know what’s best for your sister. You don’t.”
    “And you think you know anything about her?” Ren asked.
    “I know more than you ever could,” Bosque replied. “I’ve walked between worlds for eons. You’ve only just begun. Make yourself useful. Show loyalty to me as you do to your sister and I will teach you great things.”
    He stepped away from Adne and gestured for Ren to approach her. “My business here is finished. I’ll leave you