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“Hear what?” I listened but couldn’t catch anything different from the energy I’d already been feeling. But Chase looked like he’d seen a ghost. He wavered, his eyes taking on a glassy look, then began to bolt toward the portal.
“She’s calling my name . . .”
I jumped to grab his arm, but he shook me off, like he might shake off a leaf. I knew damned well that Chase didn’t have the strength to do that.
I whirled to Smoky. “Catch him—don’t let him get through that portal!”
Both Smoky and Shade rushed past me, but Smoky suddenly stopped, bouncing back as if he’d hit an invisible barrier. Shade was struggling, his steps sluggish and forced.
“I can’t move.” Smoky’s hair lashed out at whatever the force field was, sparks flying every time the whips hit the invisible barrier.
“I can barely slog through it,” Shade said, his voice strained.
“Fuck! Come on!” I motioned to Delilah. We began to run. It felt like I was running through mud, but at least I could move. So could she.
Trillian was on our heels, and he passed us by, faster than we were. “Elder Fae energy—pure, crystal Elder Fae energy,” he shouted over his shoulder.
And then, the siren song enveloped me, a beckoning dance that promised to last forever if I’d just embrace the energy. I gasped, reeling from the desire to shed caution to the wind. The wave of passion rolled over me like the scent of peaches, ripe on the vine. Beside me, Delilah let out a choking sound and dropped in her tracks, grasping at her throat.
Chase was almost to the portal. I paused, torn between going after the detective and helping my sister. But Trillian was within arm shot of Chase, and Delilah was struggling for breath.
Making my decision, I grabbed her wrists and began to drag her away from the mist that now encompassed us like a sparkling fog. The siren song still lodged in my head, I did my best to block it out as I pulled her to safety. Shade loped in our direction, while Smoky was still trying to break through the barrier.
Delilah sat up, wheezing. “I couldn’t breathe—it felt like I was breathing water. Chase—what’s happening to Chase?”
Turning, I saw that Trillian was struggling to control the detective, but Chase broke away, pushing him back. With a wild, panicked look, the detective plunged into the portal, screaming. The gateway exploded with a brilliant light, and then—in the snow-filled night—it vanished, taking him with it.
Chapter 3
“Chase! Chase!” Delilah scrambled to her feet, still breathing heavily.
I let go of her, seeing that she was all right, and ran over to Trillian’s side. He was staring at the last sparkles of the portal as they faded slowly. Magic still reverberated through the air, but the pull—the siren song—was gone.
And so was Chase.
“Chase! Chase! Where the hell are you? Chase?” I called for him, not really expecting an answer. Finally, I turned back to stare bleakly at where the portal had been. “What happened?”
“I had hold of him, but something from the other side was stronger—while we didn’t see any hands, I guarantee you, there was something holding on to him. We played tug-of-war, but then he slipped out of my grasp. He didn’t run through that portal on his own—he was yanked in. He might have been drawn to it, but he didn’t go willingly.”
Chase’s scream echoed in my ears. “Great Mother, what took him?”
Trillian shook his head. “I don’t know. But whatever it was, it was big and mean and felt old as the world itself.” He gave me a long look. “I tried to hold him, Camille. I tried.” A broken look crossed his face. Trillian held no real love for Chase, but he would never have willingly let go.
“I know.” I pressed my hand to his cheek and kissed him softly. “We have to find out what this thing is . . . was. And why it opened up here.”
Delilah stared at the sparkles as they scattered, dissipating. Tears streamed down her face. “Oh, Chase . . . is he . . . do you think he’s dead?”
I swallowed the rising bitterness that rolled in my stomach. “I don’t know. We can only pray he’s okay.”
Smoky and Shade stared somberly at the spot.
Smoky let out a soft growl. “What next? How do we even hope to find him?”
I bit my lip. “Delilah’s right. We bring in Aeval. Ask her to suss out the energy. She’s our only hope. I’m to pledge to her Court in less than a week. And remember: She owes me a favor for breaking her free from the crystal in the cave. I’ll call in my marker, ask her to help us with this.”
“That’s a big marker to give up.” Smoky slid his arm around my shoulders. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
“We can’t just let Chase get swallowed up by . . . whatever that is. Was. Yeah, I think we have to get the Triple Threat involved.”
