Page 18 of Forgotten Monsters
I spin around and realize she’s right. “The one good thing so far.”
The white veil hisses at our backs. Beams of sunrise reflect off the hollows’ wispy tails, but they don’t venture out of the building.
Allie grips my arm and observes me from all angles. “One of them touched you.”
I pat down my chest and sides, checking for bite marks—or a sign of infection. “I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? I saw a shape on your forehead.” She tucks my curls behind my ears, eyes glued to the space above my brows.
“Is it still there? What did it look like?”
“A…star, I think. It’s gone now.” She presses her lips together. “The horn. Did it give you some type of power against hollows?”
What a nice thought, but I shake my head. “Not that I’m aware of.”
If it did, I’m not inclined to test that theory until I’mabsolutelysure of the outcome.
She stares down the magic wall with both hands on her hips. “Listen. The force field must not run very far up. I could probably fly beyond it. It’s super strong, so someone must be tending to it on the other side. I’ll have them build a door for you.”
Unless it’s Oz, or Darkwood, or whatever Fae soldiers came through here…“We don’t have many other options.”
“I’ll be quick. If I’m not back in fifteen minutes to let you know what’s up, or if the hollows stick their nasty snouts out of the building, run back to Barron and wait on the boat for me to return. It’ll be less creepy than here.”
I nod. “Alright.”
We find a clear space along the force field, away from the unending forest and the dining hall. The flat landscape offers a wide view of our surroundings, and it’s close to the path leading back to the beach. I’m confident I could outrun the hollows if needed. They’re scary as hell, but slow.
Allie’s lips quirk. “Don’t be all Jules and go risking your life for nothing. I’m on it, okay?”
“Okay.” I sit on a nearby rock to wait.
She blasts off into a vertical flight. I follow her shrinking silhouette until she dips over the edge of the force field.
Seagulls flap their wings above my head, and their high-pitched quacks irk my nerves. Icy shivers rock my spine as I check on the hollows again, but the white fog no longer hangs in the air, as though the creatures have gone back to sleep.
I rub my forehead, trying to recall if one of them really touched me. An itch above my hip tickles, and I raise the hem of my shirt to scrape the skin. I do recall a sharp pinch in my side as I ran, around the same time as the piece of glass dug inside my leg, but it could have been a muscle cramp. Only…a star is too precise to be a figment of Allie’s imagination. Did Beth’sgiftsinclude a special ability to repel these monsters? Or was the apparition on my forehead merely a warning that a hollow was about to claim my soul?
Just as I’m about to relax, the arrhythmic current of magic drums a staccato in my veins, and I jolt to my feet.
A few paces to my right, a vertical tear stretches to life with dazzling blue hues, different enough not to look like another Underworld portal, but similar enough to steal my breath. Is the whole realm now torn at the seams? How can that be?
Two Fae slip out of the fresh portal. Black and silver uniforms are visible under their yellow-tinted armor, and my stomach almost leaps out of my throat. Their gaze latches on to me, and to be frank, I’m thrilled to see them.
“Is that a Faerie portal?” I ask.
The men stiffen and raise their swords. While their garbs are identical, one of them appears to be decades younger than his partner.
“Your presence here is forbidden. By the powers of the Seelie King, I’m placing—” The rehearsed speech dies on the young soldier’s lips, and he elbows his colleague’s side. “By Queen Mab, she’s exactly like the last one. What do we do?”
“What can we do? We take her to the King,” the older one replies.
“He’ll be in a mood…”
Apparently, I breached a Fae war zone or something. They dash closer in unison, their lethal weapons directed at me.
With a mild infernal burst, I flatten the young one to the ground. “This is a misunderstanding. Please let me explain.”
I pirouette away from the more experienced soldier and build a tiny infernal orb in my palm to disarm him. I don’t want to kill them since they’re working for Cole’s father, but I need them to drop their swords to the ground and put their listening ears on.
