Shivering in the dark, she thought of what she knew of the Unknown. None of it was comforting. No one knew for sure exactly what lived in the region, but she’d already seen enough. It was exactly why the chasm was created. To trap the evil and let it fight and feast on its own kind. In theory it sounded rational; seeing it with her own eyes made her sick.
The heat of fear raced through her body. She was trapped with all manner of evil.
And no one knew she was here.
Remembering the stretch of empty air over the deep rip in the earth, tears spiked her lashes. She didn’t bother wiping them away. A wave of defeat washed over her. Lying down, she drew her knees to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut. She was good and stuck. No one could help her now, even if they realized where she had gone.
Because no one, absolutely no one, left the Unknown alive.
Whispers of Fear
“What is he?” Wyatt whispers to Leo while I sit across from Bodog at the kitchen table, sketching a picture sure to make the little guy squirm.
“I’m not sure,” Leo says. “Some sort of cross between a goblin and a gnome maybe?”
“He’s the perfect case against genetic engineering.”
Done, I toss the pencil on the kitchen table and flip the paper to face Bodog. He takes one look at my drawings and cries out, throwing his hands up as if to ward off the creatures. Yep, he knows more than what he’s saying. I thrust it closer to him and demand, “What are they?”
“Terrible,” his suddenly small voice says.
“Tell me something I don’t know. Why’d they come here?”
“I know naught.”
“This one wanted me. Only me. But this one wanted only Kera. Why?”
“I know naught.”
“Not good enough, Bodog.” I lean closer. “I need to know why it wanted Kera.”
“Reasons for enchanting are for the enchanter to know.”
“Someone enchanted that thing? Whatever happened to making pumpkins into coaches and mice into horses?” Wyatt asks in disbelief. “This has all the makings of a twisted Cinderella story.”
“Who?” I demand, ignoring Wyatt.
“I know naught.”
With each question, Bodog slips in his chair until he’s a puddle of brown- and green-colored rags.
My hand slaps the table. “You have to know something. Where would it take her? Think!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a movement. Leo leans forward, his broad shoulders breaking into my line of vision.
“Don’t interfere,” I snap. He has no right. He returned after everything went quiet—after Kera was taken and the area lay in ruins.
I shouldn’t blame him. Leo has no powers, no defense against the creatures that inhabit Teag. But his abandonment still stings and brings out one clear fact. Nothing has really changed. No one has my back.
Not put off, Leo moves closer. “You’re scaring him.”
His deep voice, usually calming, has no effect on me. “Good! I’m freakin’ pissed, and I need him to tell me something I can use.”
“Remember who and what he is.”
“Okay,” sarcasm drips from my tongue as I lean back in my chair, “what is he?” My gut clenches when I watch the odd little man nudging the image of the beast I’d drawn off the table. “I’ll tell you. He’s a guy who showed up uninvited and probably let that thing into our world.”
“Untrue.” Bodog straightens in his chair.
“How’d it get in, then?”
“The wall weakens.”
“Are you telling me the wall, the whole thing, is breaking apart now?”
Grandma, who’d been quietly staring out the window waiting for Grandpa to return, whirls around in time to see Bodog nod. “Good God.”
Leo lets loose a muffled curse. His fingers grip the back of my chair, and he turns to glance out the window. “Anything can be out there. Like the pux.”
“What are pux?” Wyatt asks.
“Spiteful little flying devils. They outfitted me like a ganja-smoking Rastafarian and nearly enslaved me in their world.”
I pop out of my chair; my heart is pounding, telling me to do something, except I have no idea what. “Lani caused the breach, but they were small areas.”
Bodog slips the corner of his shirt collar into his mouth and nervously chews. “The pux made their sacrifice. The powers that kept it strong have gone.”
I don’t like the sound of that. Especially since I’m the brand-new owner of some pretty intense powers that aren’t my own. It would be just my luck if Navar had been the one keeping the barrier strong. I spin around and head for the back door. “This is stupid. I shouldn’t be here. Kera’s in trouble. I’ve got to go.”
“Yes, yes, yes. Find Kera.” Bodog hops out of his chair and scurries next to me, his expression hopeful.
Grandma grabs my arm. Her eyes cloud with sudden panic. “And exactly how are you going to do that?”
Bodog grabs my other arm, his determination equaling Grandma’s fear. “I will help.”
Her fingers dig in, and she throws Bodog a hard glare. “Help him get killed is more like it. You’ve already admitted you don’t know anything. Now let go or I’ll…I’ll throw you in a tub full of soap. God knows you need a good dip and scrub.”
The back door opens, and everyone turns to see Grandpa and Reggie enter the kitchen. They’re loaded down with some impressive weapons. Grandma lets go of my arm and rushes to Grandpa, while Leo and Wyatt take the bulk of the guns and stack them on the counter.
Bodog pulls me down to his level. The hunching coward is gone, and the Bodog I know he can be stares back at me, strong and insistent. “Her usefulness is in bringing you back. To hurt you. You must go now or she dies.”
“You’re talking about vengeance? Was that in your vision?” Who in Teag hates me so much that they’re willing to hurt Kera in order to cause me pain? “Do you know who’s doing this? Tell me.”
“No time.” He moves closer and drops his head. “If you wait, all is lost.”
I don’t need any more encouragement. “Let’s go.”
When I straighten, Grandpa is standing between me and the door.
“We’ve been through this before, Dylan,” he says, though there’s no heart behind his words. He’s saying what Grandma wants to hear.
Bodog tugs on my arm. “Come. Come.”
I take a step forward, encompassing them all with one look. “What’s there to know? Kera’s in trouble. She’s in Teag, and I’m going to find her.”
The whole room explodes with everyone talking at once. They crowd around me, cutting off my path to the door.
“Why you?” Grandma asks.
“Good. Let him go,” Reggie yells.
“I get it, dude,” Leo says, “but are you sure?”
Grandpa cups my shoulder. “Leaving half-cocked isn’t wise. Let’s plan this out. Get a clear picture of what’s going on.”
“Exactly,” Wyatt says, agreeing with Grandpa.