Page 83 of Dance of the Phoenix
And yet he was killed right before my eyes.
And unfortunately, the disasters only kept coming from there.
A scream cut through the air. It was bloodcurdling and full of agony, as if the woman who screamed was dying.
I whipped my head in the direction of the scream, seeing Aileen Henderson in the gallery, standing, seeming as if she was being killed over and over again.
Instincts took hold of me just then, and I burst into the arena, running at full speed toward Aileen. A bad, ominous feeling filled my stomach, as if my senses caught on to something my mind didn’t, and I knew better than to think twice.
But before I could reach the gallery, Atalon was there, taking hold of Aileen so fast, no one could stop him. I saw some of Ragnor’s vampires trying to move into action, but Atalon was unnaturally faster, holding Aileen—who’d stopped screaming and now lay in his arms, too still for my liking—and running toward the exit.
Changing direction, I ran after him, wishing I could be faster, but I was no vampire, and certainly not a vampire Lord.
I chased after Atalon as he exited the arena through the dark corridors, but I lost sight of him soon enough. Still, I didn’t relent, the foreboding feeling propelling me forward, telling me that if I didn’t get Aileen away from him, the thing I’d been trying to prevent would come to pass.
But even after I ran out of the arena, Atalon was nowhere to be found, Aileen gone with him too.
“Fuck!” I snarled as I ran through the streets of Houston, trying to look for any trace of Atalon, but to no avail.
It was all in vain.
So at some point I stopped, fighting to catch my breath, dread cascading through my body.
I had to do something, but what could I do? My own powers were still depleted after I’d overexerted myself. I was in danger too.
And yet, if I didn’t find Aileen, if what my instincts were telling me was true, then soon, none of it would matter.
Because the world as I knew it would be over.
Chapter 45
Eliza
Four months ago
I was completely stuck.
In the depths of Oregon’s Washington County, I was faced with a dilemma. The cleft to my right seemed to lead up an uncommonly traversed mount, while to my right, there was an entrance to what seemed like a long-abandoned mine.
One of two would lead me to my destination; that much I knew. But the other might leave me lost between realms for who knew how long.
This was the problem with portals. Finding them was tricky enough as it was, but knowing to which dimension they would lead was almost impossible.
Oregon was one of the few places on Earth filled with an abundance of portals leading to many different realms. Normally, encountering two portals in the same place was a rarity, but in recent years, in such places as Oregon, it was starting to become the norm.
Which made my job a lot harder.
With a grimace, I covered my good right eye with my hand and took the patch off my left. Bracing myself, I put two fingers over the eyelids and forced my eye open.
Pain ricocheted through every cell of my body. Biting my lip hard enough to taste blood, I heaved my breaths through the nose and attempted to focus on the blurry vision before me. It was black and white, like an old film, with only two spots of color—orange where the cleft was and blue over the abandoned mine.
Before the pain could become unbearable, I let go, and my eyes closed shut. Slowly, the pain subsided, leaving the left side of my face feeling numb.
Letting out a sigh and wiping my forehead with the sleeve of my jacket, I fixed the patch over my left eye and poured some water from my canteen over my hand, placing it on my bleeding lip.
Usually, I wouldn’t use my left eye if I could help it. The pain was one thing, but the following aftereffects were just not worth it. If I used it for too long, the entire left side of my body would become temporarily paralyzed for different amounts of time. That’s why I relied on my other power more. But when faced with two routes, one of which could risk my life, I had no choice.
Putting the canteen back in my pouch, I headed to the abandoned mine, knowing for sure now that this was the right direction.
