CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Calista
“Let me out!” I pounded and slapped the stones where Astaroth walked through.
How did he get out without portaling? Can he manipulate the stones, too? Astaroth once said the magic manifests your truest desires. I desired to get the hell out of this room and far away from him. I focused on the wall and imagined the open archway and balcony. The bricks blocking it were only an illusion, one he built, and because that’s what I saw in front of me, it’s what I believed as reality.
“They aren’t real.” I laughed, then quickly sobered. “The wall isn’t real.”
Shoulders back and chest out, I walked to the wall with confidence, knowing I’d walk through it and out onto the balcony like he did.
And I smashed into it.
“Damn it, Astaroth.” My words were nasally from gripping my aching nose.
I slid down the wall and landed on my butt. The only comfort I’d find was hugging my knees to my chest. I wouldn’t get it anywhere else. Astaroth’s face stared at me from the photos littering the floor. They didn’t make it far when I kicked them with the toe of my shoe. More than anything, I wanted to see Kaiden and Gina.
I leaned my head back against the wall and wondered what they were doing. Were they at my place or one of theirs? Were they searching for a way to find me or boxing up all my shit since I couldn’t pay my rent? Tears pricked my eyes when I thought about our final moments together—running my fingers through Kaiden’s hair and the look in his eyes when I told him I loved him. I missed him so much that I swear I could hear his voice echo in my mind.
“I’m coming, sis. Please don’t give up.”
A sob rattled deep in my chest as I imagined him scruffy and sleep-deprived, pouring over any information he could find to make a rescue plan. It renewed my hope and saddened me at the same time.
“Kaiden,” I whimpered. “I miss you so much, turd.”
His quiet, muffled voice came again.“Great, I’m hearing shit.”
Kaiden’s voice pushed my tears over the edge. I scrubbed at my sore cheeks and shouted into the air, “It’s not enough I miss them, you have to torture me with his voice, too?”
The stone pulsed.
“Oh, shut up,” I growled.
“Sis?”
His muddled voice grew stronger. I swear it was like he was in the next room. Maybe I wasn’t hallucinating. “Kaiden?”
“I’m here!”His voice bounced off the stone walls.
I pushed up the wall and tiptoed to the center of the room. What if this was another one of Astaroth’s tricks?
“Did I lose you? No, no, no, no, no.”Kaiden’s frantic chant made it hard to pinpoint where he was. “Calista!”
His scream came through crystal clear. My head whipped to the left, expecting to see him running through the room to grab me up and whisk me home, but he wasn’t there.
“Kaiden, where are you?”
“I’m right here. Where are you?”
Confused, I looked up and even spun around. “I’m in the middle of the room. Can you see me?”
“No.” His frustrated voice drew me toward my open closet. Smoky waves rippled across the standing mirror nestled inside, much like when Astaroth talked to me through my bathroom mirror.
I watched the shadows move within the frame before edging closer. “Kaiden?”
He turned and took on a more human shape. “I can hear you!”
“Look in the mirror!”
