As soon as I passed through the Shadow Way, I dropped Domination again and collapsed onto the stone floor. I kicked the door closed behind me, but that was all that I had strength to do. I panted hard, my body practically dripping with sweat, but already I was starting to calm down, because now that I was in the Shadow Way, I couldn’t hear the Ranch guards anymore. I also didn’t think that the dog—the creature which the guards called ‘the Hound’—would be coming after me, either, because getting two fireballs tossed in your face was rather distracting. For now, at least, that meant I was safe.
I may have been safe, but I was definitely not sound. I rolled over onto my back and groaned, because my arm was still bleeding. I clutched the knife wound, which felt deep, but not irreparable. It w
