Chapter 38

Thirty-Eight

I drop the dagger and scramble to my feet, spinning toward Talon and freezing when I find him standing just outside the open door of the cage, staring back at me with the keys I tossed still in his hand.

"Freckles?" He tries to take a step, but staggers.

I jolt forward, reaching him just as his knees give out. Helping him to the ground, I prop him up against the cage's bars.

No no no. This can't be happening.

But then I can feel it happening. Shadow Striker's magic starts to pull from Talon and transfer to me. I can even see silver and gold tendrils weaving through the air between us, and I can't deny what's happening. The dagger is bonding with me and killing Talon.

"Talon, no. I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I don't know what to do."

Lifting a hand, he places two fingers over my mouth, stopping my rambling. "Get Shadow Striker. Take it to my uncle and tell him what happened. He'll bring you to my family. They'll know what to do."

I look over to where I dropped the dagger and my breath catches. An expanding ball of light and energy hangs in the air above Shadow Striker. Kerrim has forgotten about Talon and me completely, his gaze stuck on the growing brightness that I can only assume is the portal to the human world.

"Don't let him go through," Talon says, and I can tell that every word costs him. "Get the dagger and run."

My mind can't wrap around the thought of just abandoning Talon, so I hesitate. I'm about to spring into action when there's a boom overhead and the ground beneath us shakes. It happens again, and I jerk my gaze up as dirt and debris rain down upon us.

Kerrim takes a step back from the portal that's now almost large enough for a creature to fit through, and looks up at the sky. I do the same, but I can't make out anything past the shadowed dome encasing the ruins.

There's another boom as it seems like the shadows above are dissipating. I can see stars through the barrier. One last boom, the shadows overhead shatter, and a scaled and winged beast breaks through.

Becks.

From his position in the sky, it only takes Becks a moment to locate us. He dives, splaying his wings to slow his fall before he drops into the space, stirring up a cyclone of dirt.

I've only seen Becks in his dragon form a handful of times, but each one of them I've been in awe of his size and strength, as well as beauty. In dragon form, Becks is roughly twelve feet high, and his wingspan is double that. His scales are iridescent teal; he has two black horns that curve back from the sides of his head, and spikes that run down his spine and tail. His talons are easily eight inches long and lethally sharp.

For the first time since Talon and I fell through the floor, I start to feel hopeful.

Slapping his tail against the ground, Becks swings his body toward me. He starts to take a step forward, but behind him I notice Kerrim snatch Shadow Striker from the ground and start toward the portal.

"Becks, don't let him get through the portal," I yell, jumping to my feet.

Becks has no idea what's happened here tonight. Kerrim would never have broadcasted all of this, but even so he doesn't hesitate, spinning toward the game master and shooting a stream of fire directly in his path.

Kerrim hits the ground, avoiding the deadly flames, but pops up quickly. At first I think he's going to shift and fly through the portal, but then I realize that he'd have to drop the dagger to do so. Magical objects won't transform with a shift.

Becks rounds on Kerrim, swiping at him with his claws until he backs away from the portal. Kerrim tries to fight back, even going as far as to try to strike at Becks with the dagger, but he's no match for the powerful dragon shifter with almost impenetrable scales. Even so, Kerrim's attempts are enough to keep Becks busy, if not enough to actually get the upper hand.

Talon coughs at my feet. When I look down, his breathing is ragged, and his face is pallid underneath his usual tan skin. Even as I stand above him, I can feel the magic from the dagger draining him and filling me.

He's dying. I know he is. And it's all my doing.

I fall to my knees next to him, confident that Becks can hold off Kerrim on his own.

"I'm so sorry." A tear falls from my eye and trickles down my cheek, falling on his chest.

He lifts a hand and wipes away the track of wetness it left behind. "Get me through the portal," he says, his voice weak and soft.

"The portal?"

"I need to be separated from the dagger so I can heal. Get me through that portal and let it close behind me."

"Talon, if I do that you'll be trapped in a different realm."

"If you don't, I'll be dead in minutes."

Swallowing the knot in my throat, I nod. I don't let myself think about what I'm doing as I slip my arm around him and help him to his feet. The first few steps are wobbly, but then we get the hang of it. Somewhere behind us, Kerrim hurls insults at Becks as we shuffle toward the glowing circle that's now at least ten or eleven feet wide, if not more. When we near the portal, the world beyond becomes visible through a translucent shimmering veil.

At first glance it doesn't look any different than ours. On the other side of the portal is a grassy field ringed by trees in the distance. I'm not an expert, but it looks like regular maples and oaks. The night sky overhead is dotted with stars, just like our world. There's nothing particularly frightening or alien about it, but I'm still scared to cross through until Talon tenses up next to me. When I look over, it's obvious he's in pain. He's biting his lower lip to keep from shouting out, but his muscles shake. The thin silver and gold strands connecting us pulsate, brightening with each beat, sucking away more of Talon's energy, his life, every moment that passes.

I'll only be gone for a minute. Once I go through, I'll come right back , I tell myself as I gather my courage.

I take another step forward and something detonates, hitting Talon and me from the side and throwing us through the air and into a wall of rock. For the second time this evening, I hit my head, and then crumple to the ground. Talon groans next to me and I force my eyes open. My vision is hazy, and when it clears I spot Becks and Kerrim battling each other in the middle of the cave.

It's clear Becks is struggling, but my foggy brain can't make sense of it at first. Becks is one of the most powerful shifters alive, yet he's getting pushed back by Kerrim's attacks. But then I notice the objects in Kerrim's hands. In one fist he grips Shadow Striker, and in the other he holds another enhancer, identical to the one still lying useless in the cage Talon was trapped in. As a hawk shifter, he has an affinity for wind, and he keeps sending massive gusts of air at Becks, which keeps him at bay.

I realize too late what Kerrim is doing. I try to pop to my feet, but the world goes sideways, and I put a hand on the wall to steady myself. Closing my eyes, I swallow down a wave of nausea, but I force them open again in time to watch my worst nightmare.

With a yell of fury, Kerrim sends a wind power blast at Becks' chest. He tries to block it with one of his wings, but the force of the hit sends him sailing backward right into and through the portal.

"No!" I scream, and Kerrim's head whips in my direction.

He's standing right in front of the portal, dagger in hand. There's nothing to stop him from walking right through to the human world.

"It didn't have to be this way," he says. He then takes two steps and disappears into the glowing ring that I just watched him push Becks through. The moment he passes through with Shadow Striker, the portal starts to shrink.

I take off, my steps unsteady. I can see Becks in the rapidly shrinking portal. He's shifted back into his non-dragon form and his back is to me. I scream his name and I hobble forward.

Becks' head swings in my direction, his gaze filled with confusion.

The portal is hardly big enough for a creature, no more than a three-foot ring. I'm too far away and I'm not moving fast enough. I won't get there in time.

"Get out of there before the portal closes," I yell, and he turns toward me and starts running.

I almost cry in relief. He's going to make it , I tell myself, but when he's just feet from the portal Kerrim appears behind him almost as if out of thin air. He raises Shadow Striker over his head preparing to strike.

"Behind you!" I scream in warning, but it's too late.

I stumble forward as the portal contracts to the size of a basketball, watching in horror as the blade punches through Becks' chest. His eyes widen in shock, and the last thing I see before the light ring collapses is him mouthing my name as a trickle of blood leaks from the corner of his mouth.

I fall to my knees in the exact spot that the portal opened, digging my nails into the dirt beneath me, my mind and body numbed from shock.

No. No no no . That did not just happen. Becks did not just get stabbed. He's not trapped in another world.

No, it didn't happen. Becks is safe. Becks is okay. Becks is here.

I repeat the lies over and over in my head as if that will make it true.

A hand lands on my shoulder and I jolt, scrambling back, but when I look up Talon's standing above me, pity and regret in his gaze. He still looks weak, but some of his coloring has returned, and he was able to get over here without my assistance. There also aren't any more silver or gold threads connecting the two of us.

That's when it really sinks in. Kerrim took Shadow Striker to the human world, exactly what we were trying to prevent him from doing, but it separated Talon from the blade, saving his life.

"Freckles, I'm so sorry," he says, sounding almost like he understands what I've just lost.

"We have to go after him."

Talon shakes his head, but I won't accept that Becks is lost forever.

I get to my feet, and when I wobble Talon steadies me. I pull out of his grasp, his touch reminding me of how I betrayed Becks, about how even thinking I had chosen Talon over him he found a way to reach me, and now he was in another world and might never know the truth.

I was never with Talon. I've always loved Becks.

"You said there were gateways. Gateways that had been sealed. We'll open one and go after him."

"Freckles—"

"Don't call me that," I snap, and Talon flinches.

"I never meant for this to happen."

I hold up my hand, stopping his apologies. I can't hear them right now. "After everything, after the lies you told and the ways you deceived me time and time again over the last several weeks, you owe me."

Talon looks at me like he wants to pull me into his arms, but he wisely keeps them at his side. "Frec—Locklyn, even if we could get to the human world, we wouldn't even know where to start looking for him. That world is as big as ours. He could be anywhere."

"That's not true," I say, my mind snagging on something I saw through the portal. A sign in the distance. A map with the name of the location written above it. "I saw a sign through the portal. I know exactly where to look," I say, my confidence growing.

I can fix this. We can go to the human world, find Becks, and bring him home.

If he's still alive , my mind whispers, and a sharp pain pierces my chest as if I were the one stabbed.

I take a shaky breath and push doubt aside. Becks is strong. He's alive. I won't believe otherwise.

"Where?" Talon asks with a frown.

I look him straight in the eye, remembering the words from the sign exactly how they were written, in big, bold, white block letters on a green background.

"Central Park."