Page 55 of Fang Fiction

She turned to Joni, her face streaked with black stains from her previously perfect cat eye.

“Am I ever going to see him again?” Octavia’s face crumpled. “I don’t want to spend eternity alone.”

“Hey, no, that’s not going to happen.” Joni threw her arms around Octavia. Octavia was tense at first, but then let it go, crying softly into Joni’s shoulder.

“I finally wear a nice dress, and you get mascara all over it,” Joni teased.

“It’s not that nice a dress.” Octavia sniffled, and Joni laughed.

“This is good news, okay?” Joni comforted Octavia, rubbing gentle circles on her back. “I low-key thought we were just gonna wander around Manhattan forever and never see a portal, but we saw one! We must be doing something right.”

“But it’s so random,” Octavia fretted. “We lucked into it this time, but if the portal showed up once in Central Park, then here—how are we supposed to know where to find it? And what does it matter if we can’t get through it even when we do?”

“What if it’s not random?” Joni sat up straight, something clicking in her mind. “What’s here on the Isle?”

“What do you mean?” Octavia sat up too, wiping her eyes.

“Like how Bethesda Fountain matched up with the angel statue in that graveyard,” Joni explained. “What matches up with where we are now?”

Octavia thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “The moonflower meadow! It’s one of my favorite places on the Isle.”

“Is it possible Callum is there right now?” Joni asked. “Or at least, that he was a few minutes ago when the portal opened?”

“He definitely could be.” Octavia nodded, getting excited.

“But that wasn’t enough to open the portal long enough for either of you to cross through,” Joni spoke slowly, thinking it over. “Which means we have two questions to answer.”

“How to keep the portal open longer, obviously,” Octavia agreed.

“And once we have that part, we’ll need to figure out—”

“How do we get Callum and me in the same place at the same time?”

Chapter 13

BREAKING: Fire in Prague nightclub kills dozens

posted by the Associated Press eleven years ago

PRAGUE (AP)—Fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday morning at one of Prague’s most popular nightclubs, trapping dozens inside. A spokesman for the city’s fire department said the total death count is not yet known, and rescue efforts remain ongoing. In a peculiar detail, many of those who escaped the club appeared to have severe puncture wounds in their wrists and necks; at least eight such persons required hospitalization. In a press conference, officers from Prague’s Regional Police Directorate did not comment on whether these injuries were connected with the fire, nor on any possibility of arson. There was some speculation that a rabid animal had somehow gotten loose inside the club and that the fire began during the ensuing panic. However, no officials have yet confirmed this theory. This report will be updated as more details become public.

Callum wasn’t sure how long he was in the darkness.

He could smell smoke, hear screams—the music was still pounding, people hearing the yells too late to run, get out, save themselves. There was nothing Callum could do. None of this was supposed to happen.

Callum, what’s wrong? Where’s Konstantin?

The look on Octavia’s face when Callum told her their sire was dead. He couldn’t bring himself to confess that it was all his fault.

Callum? Callum?

That wasn’t Octavia—it was Tess. Were they still in the meadow? She was leaning over him, the neckline of her shirt dipping low. Yes, he thought, be close to me. He ran his hand over her thigh, feeling how soft she was, how strong. The moonflowers glowed so brightly they burst into flames—god, it was so warm, and Tess was dripping with sweat, peeling off her shirt so he could finally see her luscious body. Her hair was soaking wet, and she flipped it forward, dragging it over his chest, the water scalding and sizzling as it burned his skin. The pain was so pleasurable, so addictive, he wanted to flip her on her back and move against her, to feel her slick body pressed to his—

“Callum!”

Someone slapped him—hard—and his eyes fluttered open.

“There,” Nantale clipped, looking stern but also a little worried. “Took you long enough.”