Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
The forest around me shakes with her laughter.
“You can run, Cian.” The hag’s voice seems to echo through the trees. “But you can’t hide.”
She’s wrong. Up ahead I can hear the river rushing past the very place I need to be. I can hide. The trees themselves will aid me. But I have to get deep enough into the forest.
I feel something shoot past me. An arrow lodges in a tree not five feet in front of me and I stop, turning and lifting a hand to bring up another wall of green between me and the hag.
It won’t hold her forever.
Eventually she’ll get close enough, and if she hits me with one of those arrows, she’ll get what she wants. She thought all of Beck’s powers would go to the one who cast the spell. She hasn’t counted on our unique nature. When my brother’s magic needed a place to go, it found a home in me. But if she gets me, too…
My brain feels like it’s going to explode. I wasn’t built to handle both our magics. Every instinct in my body tells me to hide and sleep. I need to find safety and lie down so my body can rest. It’s the only way we will survive.
I struggle because my brain is processing so much magic it’s difficult to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. I take a deep breath and push on. Liadan won’t stop to give me a break. She’ll follow until she catches me.
The rain falls in sheets now, and I realize I’m the one doing it. Beck’s magic truly is mine to call upon. I will the storm to become a hurricane. That will slow the hag down. My shoulder aches from Beck’s weight, but I run through the gale untouched as the world whips around us.
When I see the small hunting cabin through the trees I slow the winds down. Beck’s right. It is perfect, but it won’t be if it’s destroyed by a storm. I make it into the small structure and gently lay my brother on the dirt floor. My hands shake as I do what I need to do.
Within seconds, the cabin is engulfed in green. Inside, the cabin goes pitch black as the world recedes under a wall of vines and thorns. It’s thick, and the trees themselves have orders to protect this place.
I can hear the storm rattling the world outside. I fall to my knees and am grateful for the darkness. There’s nothing but darkness now, and it will stay that way unless someone can find a way to bring Meg back to us.
As the hopelessness of the situation hits me, I lie down beside my brother. My body knows what to do. Beck has gone into a fugue state. He won’t wake unless our bridge returns. Only Meg can save us. Only Meg can give Beck back his strength and me back my mind.
“Come to us,” I pray as sleep overtakes me.
Outside the small cabin, the storm roars on.
Chapter Forty-Three
Meg
I take aim and slowly squeeze the trigger. I watch as the bullet tears through the target. Even at a distance, I know it’s a solid hit. I bought the Ruger .357 after trying out every handgun they let me rent at the range. Well, Dante bought the .357 with his credit card. I don’t actually have much money of my own. I help him around the store. I’ve been doing his nightly books for the last three weeks, but I don’t let him pay me much. I won’t be here long enough to do the paperwork, so everything he pays me is under the table.
I check my watch. It’s almost time to meet him. He’s picking me up to look at another spot that might be the doorway.
It’s been the longest three weeks of my life. The computer found an astonishing number of potential sites, and each one has been a bust. It’s frustrating, but I have no other choice. I can’t give up.
Dante is a godsend. He quickly figured out how to use the computer from the Vampire plane to our best advantage. He learned through trial and error that the computer has settings to detect everything from atmospheric content to the pH of the soil. Dante hypothesizes that the door to the Faery plane can potentially be found by taking careful readings and comparing it to the rest of the area. Dante’s been busy taking measurements and putting them into his program. So far, we’ve had no luck.
“Hey, Meg.” A familiar voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
I carefully put the weapon away as I greet him. “I thought I was meeting you outside.”
He shrugs and offers to carry my case. “It’s no big deal. I wanted to get a chance to run by this one address I found. I think we have a shot there.”