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But I'm already gone.
I stand inside the throne room, near the doorway, though the stone chair has been replaced by the machine and its rock housing. The pressure eased the second I materialized inside this room. And I know what I must do. I walk halfway across the room, but pause when I hear odd noises in the corridor.
Even before I glance back, I know what I will see.
A small army of Echo creatures files into the room, taking up positions around the perimeter, avoiding the dais and the machine.
I face the mechanism.
The creatures begin to grunt in unison, as if they're acting out a ritual.
All the hairs at my nape and on my arms shiver and stiffen as awareness teases my senses.Oh, no, no, no.I spin around.
Sarah rushes up to me and pounds her fists on my chest. "I can teleport too, you moron. How dare you kiss me and then run away to get yourself killed or melded with a machine or who knows what."
Her eyes shimmer with gathering tears.
Why the fuck did she follow me? Why couldn't she do what I said this one time? I can feel wards lowering over the castle and the entire summit of the mountain. Magics even stronger than the ones that empowered the creatures to break the wards of the stronghold have encased us.
"Dammit, Sarah," I snarl. "You weren't supposed to be here."
"I can't let you do this. There must be another way."
The machine emits a low, growling sound that seems part mechanical and part magics. We both turn toward the dais. The spokes of the Vitruvian Man wheel begin to glow, and the deep,unearthly sound emanating from it grows louder and louder until it finally stops with a thump. The metal clamps that are clearly meant to hold a human body in position pop open.
A soft hum resonates through the room and faintly vibrates into my feet. The call of the machine tugs at me so strongly that I'm breathing hard from the effort of trying to stave it off.
"No, Gabriel, please."
Tears trickle down Sarah's cheeks. I brush them away with my thumbs and cup her face in my hands. "This is how it has to be. I'm sorry."
Chapter Twenty
Sarah
I've become frozen in place as I watch Gabriel stride up the steps onto the dais and approach the machine. The hum that fills the room throbs once, and the clamps begin to glow faintly. The creatures keep chanting, though I don't think they're speaking words. Or at least, not words in English. Is that Latin? I don't know, and I don't care. Gabriel is about to surrender himself to a machine created by a lunatic.
"No, stop!" I scream, as I fly up the steps to seize his arm. "This isn't right. Please, trust me, don't do this."
"I have no choice. Maybe if I do this, you won't be trapped in the Echo anymore. Maybe I can send you home."
"Maybe? That's your great plan?"
"Don't make this any harder than it already is."
Tears dribble down my cheeks. I don't want to cry. I need to be strong, but I can't control my emotions. The thought of losing Gabriel makes me hurt in ways I've never experienced before. Is this grief? I have no idea. If it is, I'd rather die than live without him, with nothing but the grief to remind me of him.
He turns around, facing away from the machine, and takes a step backward, now inches away from the thing that wants to absorb him or whatever the hell it intends to do to him.
I rush toward him.
A wall of magics blocks my way. I careen off it, falling down the steps and rolling across the floor.
The creatures begin to grunt in unison.
I peel my aching body off the floor, rising to all fours, and glance back at the dais.
Gabriel stands there motionless, expressionless, like he's been drugged. But it's not any kind of drug affecting him. It's the fucking machine.
