28 | ...AND ONE MORE THING

Zoe and I are up and sprinting for the manor as soon as the sound reaches us - only something’s wrong. I can’t help but feel like we’re running towards a black hole rather than a physical home. The high-pitched whine has grown exponentially - not only to my ears - but in my head. The closer we get, the more the sound begins to feel like it’s trying to find something in me. Like something’s physically opened up my skull and is rummaging inside for information. Something burning and freezing and *ripping*-

I collapse a foot from the edge of the lake, clutching at my head as the pain intensifies and begins to pulse through my body. Zoe freeze a few feet away, and drops to her knees, doubling over until her forehead’s pressing into the grass. My vision blurs.

Black dots dancing across what I can see as I try to fight through the pain and haze- The edges of what I see warp in a dizzying array of exploding colors and sharpening and blurring lines. Nausea twists my stomach into intense knots and I feel like my organs are trying to both tie themselves inside me and explode out of me. And all the while, the feeling of my mind and thoughts being invaded continues. Until it suddenly stops.

I’m left gasping and sobbing as my mind and body go blissfully silent. I’m laying on the grass, curled into a tight ball beside the lake, a shadow blocking out the sun from above me. And then I’m staring into dazzling silvery-grey eyes.

“Red,” Blue calls my name softly, his hand moving in the corner of my field of vision, a look of absolute worry written across his face. “Hey,” His relief floods over my mind like the waves against a sandy beach, soaking me in a soothing balm of peace. He closes his eyes for a second, sensing I’m okay, before they snap back open and he looks up to glare at the house. I watch as his jaw clenches and unclenches, his eyes flashing an with darkness and light. I get the impression he’s five seconds from running into the manor and killing someone.

“Don’t,” I croak, reaching up to catch his hand. My throat’s aching and sore - giving me the distinct impression I was screaming not too long ago. Blue’s attention is quickly drawn back to me, conflicting anger and worry flickering in his eyes as he searches mine.

“It’s happening, isn’t it?” Blue grits out, his voice is soft but there’s an edge to it.

“What gave it away?” I ask dryly and his lips twitch in the faintest hint of a smile before his expression darkens as he reached out and touches just beneath my nose. His fingers come away dipped in bright red. I blink in surprise and touch where he did. I use the back of my hand to wipe away the blood before sitting up complete and looking over at Zoe. The vampire’s slowly getting to her feet, faint streaks of blood visible under her nose and out her ears. She looks over to us and gives Blue a grateful nod. “You’re doing this?”

“Well I wasn’t about to let your head explode.” Blue grumbles at me. “It’s just a little suppression, but I can’t keep it up definitely. The house is out of my reach right now.” He nods to the manor a good twenty-something yards away. The windows on the upper floor are shuddering, the soft squeak of hinges the only thing I can actually hear right now. No high-pitched whine.

“What’s happening? Why did it feel like she was in my head?” I ask Blue as we both stand. Blue keeps one arm out behind me, braced as if he half-expects me to topple over.

“Someone’s…looking for something.” Blue struggles to communicate the action to me, but it’s a series of jumbled thoughts in his head that makes me understand. They’re searching our minds for information - fueled by emotion and an unimaginable power - but with none of the finesse that comes with practice. It’s like Eyre split open our skulls and was digging through them with a pair of chopsticks - only our memories and thoughts are like soup.

“We need to get in there.” I tell Blue, pulling him with me towards the house. He grabs my wrist, clearly hesitating to go any closer. “We need to stop her.” I remind him, knowing deep inside that this is the event Nikki had warned me about. I’m not sure how wide-spread Eyre’s power is, but if it reaches the more populated portion of Port Greene, there’s no way humans could mentally withstand it.

“Fine, but stay close - the radius around me’s going to shrink the closer we get.” He grits out, reaching his other arm out for Zoe to get closer. The three of us jog the rest of the way to the front door, this time I don’t stop to ring the doorbell. The feel of Blue’s energy is shrinking - like he said - but it’s more like compressing. I’m so utterly calm that I can feel just how unnatural it is, settling deep in my skin and humming in my bones.

The second the physical barrier of the door’s out of the way, Eyre’s power hits us full-blast. My head snaps back like I was just slammed by a moving wall, but Blue’s literally got my back. His strong arm is wrapped around my waist, a look of concentration narrowing his eyes, but I can still see the shimmering silver glow burning between his lashes. We move through a long entryway and come upon a spiral staircase that curls up the wall.

I move to the opening at the end of the room - unsure where Eyre is and wanting to clear the level before going deeper into the manor - but Blue stops me. He makes a gesture with his chin towards the stairs, the faint outline of veins now popping to the surface of his forehead. I don’t bother asking how or why he wants us to go that way. His abilities as a Sensor undoubtably go beyond what I understand and trust he knows where we need to go.

Climbing the stairs in the same line we walked in as is a bit easier than I thought, but Blue keeps grinding his teeth with each hurried step. I can see the strain on his face and feel the beginnings of what promises to be a debilitating migraine pulsing on his half of the bond. We reach the landing after what feels like an hour, but I know has only been seconds. The second floor has three doors, all of which are open, but the one in the center looks as if it’s been blasted off the hinges. Splinters of the door hang off the frame, leaving a crater in the center large enough to fit a person.

Each step now is a fight. Waves of Eyre’s power wash over me with each foot we clear, the physical probing of it trying to get back into my head making me cringe into Blue’s side. But we keep moving. The three of us manage to make it to the door with the hole and carefully duck through the opening.

And then we’re standing in a room with three Elementals.

Mrs. Cai and Clay are on the ground, kneeling in front of Eyre, clutching their heads with identical, pained expressions. Only…the teen I’d seen only a couple of days earlier looks different. Her eyes are black, open wide and glaring daggers at the two adults before her. Inky-black webbing out under the skin around her eyes in sharp, jagged lines. Her shoulder-length, black hair has spread out around her head - as if the girls’ gone and gripped a live wire. The strands of hair fan out and move, twitching every couple of seconds, as though they’re being tousled by a non-existent breeze.

My whole body tenses at the sight, every cell in my body screaming at me to run. But it’s too late - she sees us.