Shrugging unapologetically, I rush toward the fight. More have joined, which surprises and frustrates me. I’ve never been a big fan of being severely outnumbered. Gage is slashing through the multitudes, but now I know he’s holding back. Or I think he is.

His orbs are a lighter red and streaked with blue, nothing like that powerful ball of red he held to crack the shield. I could feel the energy radiating off of it, and it almost felt as though it was stealing my breath while it crashed effortlessly through a shield that shouldn’t have been able to be broken.

Flipping through the air, I scissor one of the night stalker’s head with my legs, feeling the crunch as I take him down. One advantage to being a gatekeeper is our unnatural strength. Something I wish I’d had as a child.

But more and more are falling in, and Gage is still fucking holding back. Thad can only handle so many at one time, and there’s only one option for us to get out alive.

Summoning the energy up from my core, my body starts to vibrate, rattling the ground beneath me as I prepare to do something I swore I never would.

My hands tingle, my fingers burn, and my heart pounds uncontrollably as the power courses through my veins. The weight of the planes crush down on me, causing my ears to ring as the first trickle of blood falls from my nose. And I prepare to unleash a power that will paint me a target.

***

GAGE

They keep breaking under me, and I keep fighting, looking over at Thad on occasion to make sure the tough bastard is still breathing. The night stalkers keep trying their damnedest to get their hands on me, but unless they’re hella old and powerful, they can’t subdue me with their touch.

We’re gravely outnumbered, but we’re just killing time until Kimber, Dice, and Karma have time to get away. Surely by now they’re safe.

Thad roars, his tiger eyes wide in his face as he leaps through the air toward me. I turn just in time to feel my heart plummet to my feet. Kimber’s body is radiating a gold sheen, the ground is vibrating beneath her, and just when I start to yell at her to stop, the air starts swirling in front of her, an opening forming and growing wider and wider with each breath.

Yelps and cries ring out, and Thad leaps in front of me, holding me in place as Kimber stupidly opens a motherfucking gate. The suction is so strong that I feel it pulling my body, but Thad’s strength against the gate proves to be useful.

I watch in fascinated horror as the wind stirs violently swirling the numerous bodies through the air like they’re weightless. Their screams turn to distant echoes when the gate sucks them in, and they curse and gasp as they continue to be banished from the breathing plane.

But they’ll be back, and now Kimber has been exposed.

Why the hell did she do this?

Thad shifts back to his human form, standing naked in the middle of this forest, and he looks over at me shaking his head while keeping a hand on my shoulder, preventing me from being sucked in as well.

The sky rumbles with thunder as the powers of the world collide, and as soon as the last body is tossed into the opening, it seals shut. The wind dies down, and Kimber staggers, her body going limp seconds before she drops to the ground.

I dive toward her, sliding on my knees while grabbing her cheeks in my hands. She gives me a weak smile before her eyes roll back in her head.

“What the fuck?!”

“We need to get her out of here. She just opened a gate in the middle of the woods. You need a lot of air, a lot of space, and a lot of time to safely open a gate. She flung it open quickly with no space, little air, and then turned on the suction. It’s amazing she’s still breathing, considering how young she is.”

“But she’ll be okay?” I ask while lifting her up, cradling her to my body as I stand.

Her blonde hair falls over her face, and she groans in her unconscious state. She looks so fragile right now.

“If we get her back and let her rest, she should be fine. It either kills you or it doesn’t. It didn’t kill her.”

That’s very little comfort.

Thad shifts, turning into a hawk, and he screeches into the night before flying away. I kiss Kimber’s forehead before vaporizing, holding her to me as we split the planes like shadows searching for passage. It’s dangerous to keep her in this state for long, so I rematerialize the second we reach the cars.

As her body reforms, she takes a deep breath, but her eyes remain closed. I put her in the front seat, buckle her in, and then I squeal out in the next second. My house is the safest place, so I hope Dice took Karma there.

I still don’t understand why Kimber did that shit. We were so close to getting out of there and abandoning those stupid sons of bitches in the woods. I had already risked too much by blowing that shield off.

I’ve never done that—risked exposure. Ever. But Kimber… Damn her. I couldn’t risk them taking her back into one of those prisons.

I weave in and out of lanes, dodging and passing cars all the way home, lightly grazing Kimber’s hand every time she makes a sound. As soon as I reach my house, I vaporize her and me into the home.

Dice is handing Karma an ice pack when I materialize in my living room, and Karma’s crestfallen expression shows even with her eyes lowered.

Tags: C.M. Owens The Deadly Beauties Live On Paranormal
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