Starfire (Grim Gate 2)

“Anora,” Ethan says calmly. “You can fight this. Look at me. You’re hurt and you’re losing a lot of blood. You need to come inside so I can take care of you.”

“Okay,” I say, feeling the emptiness take over. Ethan’s arm goes around me, and Hunter nudges me with his cold, wet nose. But again, I feel nothing.

Rene throws open the back door and I watch her and Nik rush out of the house. The sight of them does nothing to me.

“Oh goodness,” Nik exclaims. “You’re bleeding.”

“Xozon clawed her,” Ethan says. Just like he clawed Claire—to death. The thought jars me just enough to look at my arm. When I do, I see it’s not bleeding. And I know for certain this isn’t real.

I stop walking and close my eyes. “This isn’t real.”

“Anora, it is real.” Ethan pulls me forward.

“No, it’s not.” I open my eyes and jerk away from Ethan, not trusting him to actually be him. I blink again and he flickers before he. I was right. This isn’t real. And I need to kill the impostors. Hunter growls, putting himself in between me and my friends. Even he know this isn’t real. I hold up my hand, gathering heat to make a fireball.

“Anora?” Rene backs away, fear on her face. Hunter growls again and I realize he’s not defending me, he’s defending them.

“Something is wrong,” Ethan rushes out and moves in front of me. He takes lowers my right hand. “Anora, can you hear me.”

My eyes fix on his face, but I don’t really see him. Everything is fuzzy, and I begin to feel weak. Sitting seems like a good idea. The cold grass on my skin startles me just a bit. My brain jumps out of the funk it was in just long enough for abhorrence to flicker across my face.

Ethan drops to his knees and puts his hand on mine. “Anora, listen to me, you’re hurt.”

The brief moment of clarity is gone, and I push Ethan away. “None of this is real. You’re not real.” I look around. “None of you are real.”

“She needs medical attention,” Rene whispers to Nik.

“No, I don’t.” I move away from Ethan and pull my dagger out of its sheath. “You’re not taking me anywhere. Because you’re not real. Just go away!” I close my eyes, willing this to end. Just go away. Go away. Please! Go away! When I open my eyes, I’m alone in the yard. I let out a breath of relief and put the dagger back in its sheath. But then I take a step and bump into someone.

“Anora,” Ethan says slowly and he’s suddenly in front of me again. “I am real. You are real. And you really do need medical attention.”

“No!” I yell and reach for my dagger.

“Anora, stop!” Ethan yells back. “Listen to me! This is real!”

“No, it’s not!” I cover my ears. “Go away!” Ethan steps closer. “Leave me alone!” He reaches out for me, and I duck away, pulling out the dagger and thrashing it in front of me. Someone moves behind me. I spin around and thrust out my hand, sending a wave of energy at Rene. She flies back against the porch railing, shrieking in pain before collapsing to the ground.

“Anora!” Ethan wraps his arms around me in a bear hug.

“Get off!” I scram and kick him in the shin. Ignoring the pain, he holds me closer and somehow gets the dagger out of my hands. No! I don’t want to die. I need to keep fighting.

Kill them. Kill them before they kill you.

Hunter barks, trying to get my attention. He knows what I’m thinking, knows what I’m doing. But Xozon has poisoned him too. He doesn’t want me to kill these impostors.

“I have to,” I say through gritted teeth. Remembering the self-defense moves Ethan taught me, I let my legs go slack and suddenly drop to the ground. Not expecting it, Ethan loses his hold on me and I hit the ground, gravel biting into my knees. I should have felt pain, but it never registers. Without wasting another minute, I take off, running toward the back of the property.

No, I can’t run. They’ll follow. I veer to the side, dashing behind the barn. I need to be ready. I grab Mystery’s lead rope that’s hanging on the fence and lean against the barn wall, chest rapidly rising and falling. Telekinesis doesn’t come naturally for me, but desperate time call for desperate measures.

“Anora,” Ethan yells and holds up his hands when he sees me to show me he’s not armed. “This isn’t you. Xozon got inside your head. You can fight this.”

“Stop talking,” I sneer and thrust my hand out, telekinetically bringing Ethan to the ground. Pinning him down with magic, I tie his hands behind his back. “You’re not real. You’re just a hallucination and you’re going to kill me if I don’t kill you.” I tighten the rope and stand back, needing to get the others.