Since the monkey suit didn’t come equipped with a compass or map, I spin around, pick a random direction, and make my way into the mist. With any luck, I’ll find a familiar landmark or—better yet—run into Stevie soon. I have no idea how long we’ll have in this realm—whether something back home will yank us out of the dream before we’ve even tracked down the sword—but it can’t be long. I can feel the clock ticking down already; my skin itches as though I’m being watched, tracked by some nameless shadow waiting to pounce.
And home? What awaits us there?
I shudder to recall the scene we left behind—to think of my sister. Of some horrible monster possessing her and forcing her to do its bidding.
Ten years without a word exchanged, pretending I was better off without her. Now she’s finally back in my life, and I’mthisclose to losing her for good.
And it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t pushed her away again, maybe she wouldn’t have gotten involved with Janelle. Whether it was her choice or just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, it doesn’t matter. I could’ve prevented this.
Emotion wells inside me. Why are we both so damn stubborn? Why couldn’t I have picked up the phone or sent an email just once in the past decade?
I think about what Stevie said to me the day we found the stone cathedral, how my Tower energy is so much more than just chaos and destruction.
It’s about clarity—those shocking moments of insight that make you question everything you’ve ever held true. It’s about knocking down all the old shit so we can heal and rebuild…
I wanted so badly to believe her that day. To believe her even now. But how can I? When Casey unexpectedly came back into my life, I didn’t try to heal and rebuild. Didn’t even give things a chance. I fucked it up all over again, locking her out of my life. Refusing to budge even the slightest bit.
And look where she ended up.
My sister could die tonight, and I can’t even remember the last thing I said to her.
Only that it was probably something shitty.
Emotion surges inside. Picking up on my distress, the spires around me begin to vibrate. Tiny stones skitter down the sides, pinging off my head and shoulders like hail—a warning of what’s to come if I don’t pull it together right now.
I take a deep breath, bury it all deep inside. I can’t risk losing it out here—I could set off a chain reaction that destabilizes the entire realm.
Swallowing down the bitter tang of regret, I march onward, putting all of my faith in Cass, Ani, and the others to figure things out back home.
And in Baz, Stevie, and me to figure it out here.
It’s five minutes, maybe ten before the ground starts rumbling again, but this time, it’s not my doing. Barely perceptible at first, the vibration picks up quickly, rattling up through my bones and making my teeth chatter. Overhead, larger stones and loose rock tumble from the looming spires.
And then, in an instant, the world is tilting sideways.
An earthquake. In the dream realm.
The sound is indescribable, a deafening roar like nothing I’ve ever heard before.
The researcher in me is practically hard over it, my fingers itching to pull out a field notebook and a camera.
But the scientific method won’t save my skull from getting crushed by a rock.
Calling on my air magick, I temporarily clear the mist around me, desperate to locate a safe place to ride out the quake. But nowhere is safe here—the whole area is an obstacle course of towering rocks and rutted earth, just like it is back home.
A boulder the size of a suitcase smashes down in front of me, barely missing my feet.
Any closer and I would’ve been a human pancake.
With no choice but to run, I release my spell and bolt into the mist, hoping that a moving target has a better chance at dodging the worst of the falling debris. I’m so focused on keeping my head covered that I almost don’t notice the earth splitting open before me, cracked down the middle like an over-baked loaf of bread. The force of it knocks me backward on my ass.
And then, as quickly as it arose, the rumbling stops.
An eerie, absolute silence engulfs me, and from the three-foot-wide rift in front of me, a shiny mass of blackness oozes upward, seeping across the earth.
Oil?
I scramble to my feet and take a careful step toward the edge of the rift, unable to avoid the black ooze.
