"Me?" Carlo’s face fell. "I'm barrassment? Is that bad?"
“Stop him!” Dominic bellowed to Benedict. Benedict glanced at Ottavio.
“Hurry the fuck up,” he snapped. “I can’t hold the portal open much longer.”
“Holy hell,” Zoey said in astonishment. Benedict was working with Ottavio and Luigi. He wasn’t trying to close the portal – he was using his magic to keep it open. He’d been tearing open portals and letting ghouls out. Distracting the authorities while the two packs duked it out, and while Ottavio and Luigi maneuvered behind the scenes.
Ottavio started moving with Giuliana, forcing her towards the portal. "Why were you following me?" Zoe asked, to stall him.
"Because you are a troublemaker who asks questions."
"You," Arturo said furiously. “You were the one who drove the businesses out of town, who sabotaged the garbage pickup. You told Jordan to stop the garbage trucks, and then killed him so he couldn’t snitch on you. You were trying to turn me against Dominic, and weaken the pack.”
“Only so I could build it back up again," Ottavio yelled, his face reddening. “Me and Luigi, we’re going to unite the packs. Anyone who doesn’t like it will die. Just like this spoiled little bitch.”
And he hurled Giuliana through the portal, into the chaos realm.
Without a word, Arturo dove in after her.
“I can get them! I can get them!” Zoey screamed at Dominic. “My map magic will bring us back! Stay out, Dominic!” And before he could stop her, she’d darted through.
But Dominic, that fool, ran in after her.
Bizarre sensations blasted Zoey, overwhelming her. The ground rippled under her feet. Her head pounded, and she choked on a wave of nausea and terror. If Benedict stopped focusing his magic, the portal would seal itself off. And that’s what he would do, of course; they’d be trapped here forever, and Ottavio could go spin his own story about what had happened, and take over the pack. The portal wouldn’t close instantly, but without Benedict holding it open, they probably only had minutes.
Everything was wavy and fractured and constantly changing. She fell to her knees, disoriented, and started crawling towards where she thought Giuliana was, but her map magic was confused. It wanted her to splinter into a thousand directions.
What was she crawling on? The ground felt harsh and spiky and ugly and angry. The air here hated her. This place was wrong, or she was wrong, she needed to get out, get out, get out…
She desperately tried to focus. She pictured Giuliana, but the picture stayed still in her mind. She couldn’t sense which way to go. That had never, ever happened to her before. She was completely lost.
She couldn’t see. There were no colors or shapes any more, everything was blurring. She heard distorted howling sounds, and she thought it was Dominic yelling her name, but she was no longer sure of anything.
She had led the man she loved to her death. She had failed everyone. Her heart sped up, slowed down, fell out of her body, jumped and danced…she was losing her mind. They would all die here.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Come on!” That sounded like Carlo’s voice. Sort of like Carlo, but clear and intelligent, all the dullness gone. It couldn’t be that, it must be a trick of the chaos realm. “I’ve got you! Zoey, come on! This way!”
The air was too thick to breathe. Zoey couldn’t move her limbs. It felt as if someone was pulling Zoey through mud, through quicksand, through…through the portal.
She and Dominic went flying through the air and landed with heavy thuds on the dirt, gasping for breath. A minute later, Arturo and Giuliana came flying out, sprawling. Dominic reached out and grabbed Zoey’s trembling arm, and pulled her to him.
“Oh, my God. What was that?” she moaned, half-dazed.
“You’re alive. You’re alive,” Dominic chanted, pressing his face into her hair.
The air smelled like blood. Carlo was saying something. Carlo was standing over her.
A small explosion shook the ground, and she looked up, and the portal was gone. Benedict lay on the ground, his throat torn open. Primo was sprawled on the grass next to him, his neck hanging at a strange angle, and Ottavio was on his knees, whimpering and clutching a broken arm.
“I said, are you all right?” Carlo said again.
“All right?” Zoey blinked up at him. “I…I can breathe. I can see again.” She felt her face, her legs. “I’m here. All of me is here. Whoa. That was absolutely horrible, let’s never do that again.” She struggled to stand up. Dominic climbed to his feet, and they stood there, leaning on each other and shaking.
“Carlo?” Arturo stood up, looking dazed. “Carlo! You’re healed. My God, you’re back.”
Carlo nodded slowly. “When I jumped through the portal after you, everything was perfectly clear. You were all crawling around yelling, in this strange blank land where everything had no color. It was like the chaos was scrambling your brains, and fixing mine.”
