Page 49 of Entering a New World

Gray nodded. “It feels a bit like an electric fence… there’s this energy in the air. I’m almost afraid I’ll get zapped if I touch it. At the same time, I want to.”

Snorting, I extended my hand and touched the barrier.

Holy shit.

There really was a zap. Electricity raced up my arm, washing through my body as my hand slid through what basically seemed to be a curtain made out of energy. Taking a step forward, I felt the energy just like a curtain, wandering over my body until I’d passed the barrier and stood on the other side, right outside our territory.

This was crazy.

So fucking crazy.

Stepping back, I felt the same thing, walking through a curtain of pure energy.

“Did you get zapped?” Gray asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest, face twisted up in concern. “It looked like you got zapped?”

“The energy is off the charts,” I said, staring at the spot where the barrier was. “Try it.”

Gray did, decidedly marching forward straight out of our territory before turning around and marching back in. He shrugged nonchalantly, but I knew him better than that. I noticed the way his eyebrows twitched as if he wanted to raise them, but suppressed the movement. He wasn’t as unconcerned about this as he wanted me to believe.

“Gray,” I said, giving him a stern look, “I’m your second. More importantly, I’m your best friend. Your brother in spirit.”

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, finally letting his concern shine through. “You’re right. I can feel what you mean.”

“And you’re worried,” I prompted. “Even though you said it’s nothing to worry about because the witches might be lying.”

“I… might have asked around after you told me about the barrier,” he admitted, averting his eyes for a moment. Then he looked back at me with new resolve. “You were right; as far as we know, barriers cannot randomly recharge themselves. I’ve talked to Redwood and Blue River, and they’ve never heard of something like this happening.”

“But it is happening here.”

He nodded again. “It definitely is and I have no idea why.”

“Neither do I,” I said. “But… it doesn’t feel like it’s a bad thing. It feels like the barrier is healing.”

“Yeah, and I love that it feels like that. But if we don’t know what’s happening, we can’t trust it.”

He was right. We needed to get to the bottom of this—and I would. As soon as I was done meeting up with Levi

Chapter 14

Levi

I had my stuff back.

My wallet, my phone, my laptop, my backpack.

If I wanted to, I could go online right now and tell the world what Alistair had done to me. I could snap pictures of the gorgeous scenery, could catch up with people, and put the minds of all my followers at ease.

The thing was, I didn’t really want to.

My backpack felt heavy on my shoulders, the weight dragging me down as if it was filled with rocks, not with a couple of electronic devices and a hoodie.

What would happen if I went online now?

“Are you okay?”

My head snapped up to find Nix standing right in front of me, arms crossed in front of his chest. He was wearing the same black clothes he’d worn the last time I’d met him in Herb’s café, and he still had no damn coat on, even though it was way too cold to be out and about just in a worn hoodie and torn jeans.

“Maybe?” I said, though it sounded an awful lot like a question. “Remember last time, when I said my life was pretty up in the air?”

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