Page 73 of The Devil Went Down to Laughlin
She reached out, and her fingers touched an invisible barrier. Of course — August had guided her in creating it, but because it had come from her, she should be able to remove it just as easily as she’d brought it into being.
When she focused on doing so, however, nothing seemed to happen. The barrier continued to shimmer around her, even as she did her best to imagine it crumbling away to nothing.
Maybe this was one time when she needed some help from a friend.
Caleb….
His head went up at once, so she knew he’d heard her.
And then there was the welcome sound of his voice in her mind.
Delia! Are you all right?
Hanging in there, she thought back at him, and he grinned, that flash of white teeth she knew she’d never get tired of.
Ready to get down?
Yes, she replied. But I think we need to do this together. We need to think of the barrier dissolving and floating away into nothing. Can you do that?
Absolutely.
He moved closer and placed his hands against the barrier, and Delia did the same. She couldn’t feel his fingertips, but somehow she sensed the way the shimmering veil seemed to shudder, as though something had struck it.
Good.
I think it’s working, she told him. Keep going.
Another shudder, stronger this time. A flash at the corner of her vision told her Ty and August were still going at it, and she prayed they’d stay occupied until she was well out of this containment field or whatever you wanted to call the invisible wall that surrounded her.
And then the barrier shivered away into nothing, falling apart into shiny specks like a handful of glitter thrown on the wind.
Caleb’s fingers closed on hers, strong, reassuring.
Real.
“Thank God,” she said, and knew the words had come out almost as a sob. “How did you know where to find me?”
“A bunch of supernatural detective work,” Caleb replied. He continued to hold onto her hands, almost as if he feared she would disappear again if he let go.
Somehow, she didn’t mind too much. However, she also knew she couldn’t allow herself to get distracted. “We have to work fast,” she said. “I think the portal is already starting to open.”
At once, his brows drew together. “Where?” he demanded, looking around as if he expected to see a gateway opening on the other side of the earth-walled room where they stood.
“It hasn’t touched this plane yet,” she replied. “But it will soon if we don’t stop it.” She paused there, trying to think of the best way to describe what she was feeling. “It’s like a wound in the fabric between worlds, and it’s getting bigger. August is using the river’s energy to tear it open, but if we — ”
A roar of fury from across the room cut her off. August had broken free from Ty’s hold and was advancing on them, his human façade finally cracking. Otherworldly fire blazed in his blood-hued eyes, and the air around him seemed to shimmer, almost as if he gave off as much heat as a furnace.
“You will not interfere!” August snarled, raising his hands. Dark energy crackled between his fingers and blazed here and there pure red, like magma breaking through a volcanic crust. “The gateway had already begun to open, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it!”
Caleb stepped in front of Delia, as though he intended to use himself as a shield, but she moved to stand beside him instead. “We’ll do this together,” she said, her voice firm.
At least, she hoped it sounded firm. Inside, she was shaking like the proverbial leaf, although she couldn’t say for sure whether that was because she was scared shitless or because her body was merely reacting to being released from the binding spell.
The demon’s power bore down on them, inexorable as an approaching tsunami, but Delia reacted instinctively, raising a shield not so very different from the one that had held her suspended in the air only a few minutes earlier. This time, though, she knew she was firmly in control, with the last dregs of August’s dark magic ebbing away, and dark fire bounced off the invisible barrier. She had no clear idea how she’d done it, but desperate instinct had somehow shaped her chaotic new abilities into something useful.
“Nice work,” Caleb commented, still wearing that same fierce grin. “But we have to focus on that portal.”
Delia closed her eyes, reaching out with her newfound abilities beyond the earthen chamber. There — she could feel it now, a ragged tear in reality itself, growing wider with each passing second. Through it, she sensed something vast and hungry pressing against the boundary, eager to break through.
