Free Autumn's War (The Spirit Shifters Book 4) by Marissa Farrar Page B

much it had hurt.
    So where had he been for me to miss him?
    “I couldn’t be dead,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “I would never leave you, Autumn. You know I would never leave you.”
    But he had, hadn’t he? He’d left her for another woman, Shian? No, that was wrong. She was confused, so confused, all of her thoughts in a muddle. It was as if someone dangled the truth just beyond reach, and though she kept grappling for it, she couldn’t quite grasp it.
    A noise came from outside her bedroom door, distracting her from her confusing thoughts about Blake.
    “Mia?” she called out, sitting up slightly in bed.
    Blake put a hand on her arm. “Leave it. It’s nothing.” She glanced down at where his hand lay across her skin. He didn’t feel as hot as normal, his palm cold and clammy.
    The noise came again, making her jerk her head toward the door.
    Something about it didn’t sound right, a weird scuffling across the floor, followed by a crack, which sounded like a tree branch snapping. A low moan filtered through the closed door.
    Autumn sat up straight, clutching the bedcovers to her chest, her eyes wide.
    “Mia?” she called again, this time louder. She nudged Blake in the shoulder. “Come on. We need to see what’s going on out there. Mia might be in trouble.”
    But Blake’s face was solemn, and he shook his head. “No, we don’t need to see it, Autumn. Please, just stay here with me.”
    She wanted to. So badly. But more sounds came from outside, and though her heart pounded and her breath grew shallow, she knew she needed to open the door.
    Why won’t Blake help me?
    He’d never been a coward before … Her mind blurred. Before, what?
    Autumn pushed the rest of the bedcovers off her body. Leaving Blake sitting up in bed, she swung her legs and stood, wearing just her panties and a cami. She wanted to cover herself up more, but couldn’t see any of her clothes. Cautiously, she moved on her tiptoes, creeping toward the door.
    The sounds came again, a wet ripping noise, like someone tearing a piece of raw steak in half. A gentle whimper followed.
    Oh God, what’s happening out there?
    She reached out, her fingertips touching the door handle. Taking a deep breath, she slowly edged open the door.
    She clutched her hand to her mouth. “Oh God,” she cried, and staggered back.
    Mia lay in the entrance to the hallway, but she was only partially Mia. Her face appeared swollen and distorted, but that wasn’t the worst of it. Her back was morphed into a giant gray hump, spindly hairs sticking out from the thickened exoskeleton. Multi-jointed legs jutted from the bulbous body, more of the hairs poking from the limbs. Mia’s face was at an angle, so she looked at Autumn from upside down.
    She’s done it, Autumn realized. She’d found someone who would change her because Autumn had refused. Whoever it had been hadn’t done the process correctly, and this is what she’d become.
    “Oh God, Mia. What have you done?”
    Mia opened her mouth to speak, but she started to gag. She retched, her mouth stretching open. Hundreds of tiny spiders pushed from between her lips and flooded out over her face and across the floor. Autumn screamed, reaching to slam the bedroom door shut in the face of this monstrosity. She staggered backward until she backed into the bed.
    “Blake, oh God, Blake. What can we do? How can we help her?”
    She turned to him, just as the baby spiders began to appear from beneath the bottom of the door. But his skin was white, his dark eyes covered in a milky sheen. He opened his mouth and she saw his tongue was black and rotting.
    “I don’t know, Autumn. I’m dead, remember?”
     
     
    SHE BOLTED UPRIGHT, a scream issuing from between her lips.
    A hand touched hers and she looked down to find Mia crouched beside her. But her dream stayed with her and she yanked away again, barely repressing another scream. Sweat coated her skin in a sheen, her heart beating hard in her chest.