In the Australian basement, Anita struggled against the silver ropes. Every time she tried to summon Nova, the heat of the Outback and the silver in the ropes seemed to conspire to keep her weak.
As the sedative finally ebbed away, the first thing Anita noticed wasn't the silence—it was the heat.
It wasn't the damp, cool humidity of the Dark Shadow Pack. This was a dry, baking heat that felt like a physical weight on her skin. She forced her eyes open and looked up at the small, barred window near the ceiling. Instead of the familiar grey mist of the mountains, she saw a sky of such piercing, relentless blue it made her eyes ache.
The air was filled with a strange, rhythmic buzzing of insects she didn't recognize, and the dust that coated the floor was a distinct, oxidized red.
"He wasn't lying," she whispered, her voice cracking.
