Page 68 of Expose Me

With one last reproachful look over his shoulder, he sprinted towards the portal.

I jogged after him at a much slower pace so I could keep an eye on the whole scene. As I went, I started summoning zaps. There was a stupid amount in the area; it was like picking overripe fruit off a tree—they were practically falling into my hands. I discarded them as I went, leaving them out of reach of anyone who could use them.

About fifty feet from the portal, the Vuulectians realized what was happening, and all hell broke loose. There was no shouting or pointing. They did all their communication telepathically, and they snapped their heads towards Zey and dropped what they were doing.

Suddenly there were dozens of faceless figures rushing at the man I loved.

Fuck. Ilovedhim.

I broke into a run, throwing zaps as I went. I’d gotten used to them enough to be able to hit my target nine times out of ten. Vuulectians dropped one after another all around Zey, and I’d gotten at least ten of them before they figured out Zey was shielded.

Any zaps or punches thrown at him bounced right off, but he still couldn’t rush through a crowd of bodies trying to stop him.

The portal guards finally realized what was happening and started shouting. It didn’t take them nearly as long to spot me.

I shifted my focus to them. Zey had the advantage of the shield, and I’d thinned the herd, so he was able to take the half a dozen or so Vuulectians between him and the portal. He was gaining ground as he fought.

Summoning my trusty blade, I threw it at the nearest guard. It was so familiar, this weapon, like an extension of my body. It hit its mark, embedding itself in the guard’s shoulder.

A gun appeared in my grip next, and I opened fire, adding the obnoxiously loud sound of a firing gun to the already chaotic noise all around. I aimed to incapacitate—I didn’t actually want to kill anyone. These guys were just doing their job.

Pain exploded in my ribs, and I yelled reflexively. Firing off one more shot, I glanced down to find one of those zaps in my side. The low electric current was making it feel like the pain in my ribs was being delivered to every one of my nerve endings.

“Motherfucker,” I grunted as I gripped the handle and yanked it out. I looked up just in time to see a portal guard rushing towards me on my other side. I threw the zap, and it got him in the shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. The same pained expression I’d been wearing moments ago crossed his face.

As he dropped to his knees, I caught sight of the street behind him. There were Vuulectians running towards the portal. Towards Zey. The others must’ve called for help, and every damn one in the area was probably on their way here.

Eyes wide, I ran. I ducked under the arm of a tall portal guard and kicked him in the knee. The pain in my side was horrible, but I gritted my teeth and kept going.

I saw the exact moment that the shielding spell wore off. We really had run out of time now. If we didn’t get those Onuei through the portalimmediately, it was all over.

There were only two Vuulectians left standing, but one of them landed a punch, finally, right to Zey’s jaw. It took both of them by surprise, and he stumbled back. The other one pulled a zap and stabbed him in the back.

Zey yelled out in pain, and I could’ve sworn I felt it reverberate in my own wound.

They descended on him, searching him for the Onuei. They’d only managed to pry the necklace from his grip when I reached them.

I yanked the zap out of Zey’s back and jammed it into the one who’d stabbed him, right where a face should’ve been.

Zey and I swung for the last Vuulectian standing at the same time. The force of our combined punches to its gut sent it falling onto its ass, and I snatched the necklace from it just in time.

With an almost painful grip on my wrist, Zey pulled me down as something flew over my head. I didn’t even know which direction it had come from.

Injured, tired, and with certain death barreling towards us from every direction, we scrambled to our feet.

I knew, realistically, that all those Vuulectians would follow us through the portal, and it would all be over anyway. But I was determined to cross through that magical barrier. If it was going to end, I was at least glad we’d be doing it together.

Clutching each other, we stumbled the final few steps and jumped sideways into a world I’d never even known existed until Zey appeared in my life.

Chapter21

We landed in a puddle. At the impact, the wound in my side felt like it was being torn in two, and I cried out.

Zey was up first, probably already healed from all the water around us and the humidity in the air. He picked me up roughly and pulled me away from the portal—away from the chaos.

The puddle we’d landed in wasn’t so much a puddle as just a layer of water that stretched out in all directions. There were natural undulations in the landscape, places that were higher than others and looked dry, as well as all kinds of odd-looking plants. Everything other than the dry hills was covered in an inch of water.

In the far distance, I glimpsed something that may have been a city or a settlement—a grouping of building-like shapes. But it was hard to really focus on anything with all that was happening around us.

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