I only had once chance to be able to escape the Ghost Realm. I had to hope that getting my own, personalized staff would amplify my magic enough to break my way through. If it didn't . . . No. I wasn't going to accept that. A stupid magical wall was not going to stop me.

   There was a sour taste in my mouth at the thought of being stuck here. I wasn't going to accept that. I had stuff to do. Setting my jaw, I picked a direction -- what I hoped was south -- and started walked. I muttered and shook out my shoes as I stepped onto a dry spot, annoyed. Now my feet were going to get all wrinkly and itchy. Ugh.

   After a few minutes, I heard another twig snap. I halted directly in place, my nerves getting wired. The bugs around me were almost screaming, they were so loud. I looked over my shoulder, wary. Wouldn't the bugs be quiet if there was a predator? Or was I just being stupid.

   I faced forward again and lifted my foot to take a step. There was a splash behind me and I instinctively tried to form a shield, but nothing happened. Something hit my shoulders and I launched onto my front, straight into the mud. Claws stabbed into my shoulder blades and I hissed a breath. Hot breath tousled my hair and I froze, heart racing.

   Pain stabbed down my back. The staff had been knocked from my grip and sat in the mud nearby. Annoyed, I moved my hand to my back and drew the whittling knife. With an extremely painful jerk, I stabbed the blade over my shoulder. There was a sickening crunch. The beast snarled and jerked off of my back. I kicked the at its snout and shoved myself forward, grabbing the staff, and whipped around.

   It was a wolf. Charcoal grey in color and covered in scars. Wild eyes bore into me as the wolf flattened his ears, the knife buried in his leg. With the staff back in hand, I was hardly worried. I raised an eyebrow. "I need that knife back. Ya mind?"

   The wolf growled. It was probably a wolf shifter. I'd only seen brief summaries of each magick species. There were shifters, people who could change into a specific animal. They were brights, and technically the good guys. I somehow doubted this specific wolf was.

   "Fine." My fingers tightened on the staff and I put a foot back, conjuring my magic. It took me a moment to realize that nothing happened. Confused, I looked down at my hand. There was not a speck of crimson nor a spark of gold. I focused for the barrier and tried to tap into it, but nothing came.

   The realization crashed into me. The barrier. I drew magic from the barrier. And right now, in the Ghost Realm, I was on the opposite side of it. There was a thick-ass wall between me and my source of power.

   So, basically, I was pretty much powerless while in here.

   The blood must have drained from my face because the wolf chuffed. With what could only be a smug expression, he bit into the handle of the knife and jerked it out of his leg. He tossed it at my feet as if to say you're gonna need this. 

   My throat was dry. I looked at the staff in my hand, the knife on the ground, and the wolf preparing to kill me. I slowly picked up the knife. The wolf cocked its head and tail stilled. I recognized the motion. With a yelp, I swung the staff like a baseball bat and cracked him across the snout. He yelped. I turned and bolted. 

   What am I supposed to do?! I cleared a puddle and stumbled, hearing the wolf give chase. I couldn't outrun it, I couldn't hide--

   My eyes landed on a tall tree. I desperately launched myself up and caught my arms around the lowest-hanging branch. The wind was knocked from my lungs. Something caught my foot and I felt teeth sink into the top of it. A painful cry left my lips and I growled out, "Leave my damn shoe out of this! That thing is special to me!"

   The wolf snarled and jerked as hard as he could. My leg felt like it was being torn out of its socket and it was a miracle I was still clinging on. I kicked out with my foot and slammed my free heel into his eye. With a snort, he released my foot to jerk his head back and paw at his eye. I hauled myself up the tree branch before he recovered.

   My chest heaved with pants as my back and foot throbbed angrily. The wolf growled and circled the tree as I pulled myself onto a higher branch. Fed up with this crap, I dug into my bag and threw the first thing my hand grabbed. The wolf snapped the dried banana out of the air before he saw what it was. I glared as it gagged and retched. With a shake of the head, it staggered away and spat to try and get the fruit out of its stomach.

   I groaned. "Serves you right, asshole."

   My back stung as I leaned against the trunk of the old tree. Sweat glistened off of my forehead. I moistened my lips and felt my heart beat against my chest. With every beat, I felt the vibrations through every inch of my skin and my head, back, and foot throbbed. My hands shook.

   I'd been incredibly lucky that the wolf decided to toy with me instead of killing me right away. I looked down at my shoe. There were punctures through the tongue, but the wolf hadn't managed to bite through the bottom. Blood was seeping into my sock, from the holes in the top of my foot.

   I dug out the first aid kid and peeled off the sock. After smearing some antibacterial into it and wrapping up the wound, I put my shoe back on. Walking was going to hurt like a bitch, but I was lucky that I'd gotten away as intact as I did. I didn't have time to let it heal, either. 

   My back ached harshly. Walking with a backpack was going to be hell. I hadn't been here for an hour and I had already found out I was trapped, powerless, and already bleeding from several places. 

   I groaned and leaned my head against the tree, face turned upwards. The grey eyes of a hawk looked down at me. It stared blankly, as if wondering why the hell I hadn't just flown away from the predator. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't have to rub it in."