I look straight to Joss, whose tired face pales. Angels and demons. Is Seth planting doubts again? Or is this true?
"So, anyway," Seth pauses. "Do you mind listening to my story? No? Good." He lowers his voice. "Now, I’m the important one, and that’s not just my ego, by the way. Everything around you is a part of me. This world—me. The human fleas crawling on it fucking irritate me. Literally, like an annoying itch. I need them gone."
"Humans have been here years, why come back now?" I ask.
"Oh, this isn’t my first time. I created and opened some portals from my other worlds to here a while ago. I thought I’d watch what happened before everybody died." He chuckles. "You know the portals? There’s six of them right, pony boys? Well, the stupid other god got in my way and closed them. Or tried to."
Joss breathing picks up. "What other god?"
Seth throws his hands up in mock despair. "God. The one who thought he could march in here and take over." He points upwards. "You do know about him, surely?"
Ewan shares Joss’s shocked look. "Bullshit."
"Fine. Believe what you want. The reason I’ve been away so long? I had some other business to attend to—you know how it is when people just won’t leave your things alone—so now I’m back to fix the mess here."
"He’s insane," mutters Ewan. "Don’t listen to him."
"And here you are!" He waves his arms as if welcoming us to a party. "The lovely Horsemen and their mysterious Truth. Now she was my curveball. I came back expecting to flick you four off the planet and be done, maybe take down an angel or two, if any still exist. Anyway, with her around—impossible. God knows I tried too." He chuckles. "God knows? See what I did there?"
"Well, give up and piss off, then!" snaps Ewan. "See this world as the one that got away."
Seth barks a laugh that echoes around the clearing. "Truth is just a roadblock, I’ll end her somehow." Ewan tenses. "Now, here’s where we have something in common: we both need to know who Vee is and how to use her. I saw the book the Collector has—thanks for taking me to meet him, by the way. Nice guy. This book was presumably created for you all to find. It’s definitely connected to me because someone wrote my runes inside, but fuck knows what the rest of it says."
"You’re not getting your hands on that book," I say.
He ignores me. "There’s something to translate the text. Hidden. Probably some stupid attempt to stop me." He rolls his eyes. "Everything has to be so damn hard. I’m sure that in the book there’s the answer to the question we both need to know: what is Truth?"
"She’s here to fucking kill you," Ewan calls up to him.
"I need to know if that’s true or not. Bring me the book."
"No." My reply is as loud as his laughter before.
"Wrong answer! Try again!" he calls. "Or else things will get really fucking unpleasant, for you and the fleas you protect."
"This conversation is over." Joss turns his back on Seth, then adds in a low voice. "Get away from him."
"Don’t fucking walk away from me!" he snarls. "Ewan made that mistake once!"
A low whining noise emanates from behind me, and I snap my head around. A sound like a cacophony of voices comes from the portal, increasing in volume, and my desire to attack Seth suddenly switches to panic.
"What did you do?" asks Joss sharply, looking at the portal.
"This little meet-up is also a test run. I need to see what happens when Vee is close to a portal." He flicks his fingers at where shapes morph in and out of view behind the shimmering colours. "What do you think, Truth? Can you close portals?"
A crackling sound joins the whining, the volume drowning out Ewan's reply to Joss. I focus on watching the portal, a tension flickering down my spine and shooting strength into my limbs, and the familiar tingle caused by magic begins.
"What's behind this one?" I ask Joss.
"We don't know. Nobody ever bothered tampering with this portal, since this is closest to where we're based."
"I don't know, either," pipes up Seth. "Hopefully something interesting."
A black fault line appears down the centre, like an animal's pupil, running from top to bottom and widening. Ewan and Joss move to stand in front of me, and I shove them to one side. We form a line, all transfixed.
"Can you see anything? What is it?" calls Seth. "A dragon? I hope it's a dragon!"
A force rushes through the portal, blurring the surroundings for a moment, and knocks back the guys, but I remain standing, arms outstretched, ready to protect myself and deal with whatever this is.
"Maybe ten dragons!" enthuses Seth.
"I seriously want to rip that guy's fucking head off," Ewan mutters. "What do we do?"
We don't move, and my heart kicks into overdrive as a hulking figure on begins to form from behind the spiralling colours. The figure doesn't move for a few seconds, and then a dog appears and springs from the glimmering space.
Not a dog. This is three times the size of the Rottweiler my old neighbour owns, and three times the bulk.
The dog lands on all fours, then looks around with shining orange eyes. The glow surrounding the dog makes him morph in colour between black and red, and it's impossible to see whether the creature has any hair. It's definitely possible to see the unnatural size of its teeth and claws though, especially as the animal rushes Joss with a snarl.
Joss sidesteps in shock, and the dog crashes to the ground. Regaining his footing, the dog turns his head towards Ewan and slobber flies from its mouth, and as it does, hits Ewan on the hand.
"Shit!" Ewan yelps and wipes away the drool. He stares down at the livid red mark left in a pattern to match where the saliva hit him. "Don't let the bloody thing touch you."
"Uh, yeah, I was planning on avoiding that." Joss calls and backs up. "I left my knife too, because Xander didn’t want us all carrying them."
Seth makes a loud tutting sound. "Bloody Xander. Always causes you problems, huh? Vee, can you bring War next time? I'm sure he'd love to see me as much as I want to see him."
Next time?
I wipe a hand down my face and turn back to the portal, focusing my attention away from the dog. The guys will keep the creature off me, I'm sure. We all know one thing: I need to figure out what to do with this portal.
"How do I close it?" I call to the guys.
"No fucking clue. Is anything else coming through?" asks Joss.
"Dragon?" asks Seth and claps his hands together.
"Shut up about fucking dragons!" shouts Ewan as he weaves backwards away from the dog's attacks.
I snap back to studying the portal, pleading with the fate that brought me here to give me the power to solve this. I picture a pack of giant dogs with glowing eyes and poisonous saliva pouring through and charging into the forest—and the world.
Or worse.
That can't happen. I step forward and touch the edge of the glimmering frame, tentative at first. As I do, I see the crowding figures held back by the shimmering barrier. Now I'm closer, I can also see a dark background, mingled with orange, but no buildings visible.
And judging by what just burst through, I don't want to see anything else. My panic joins determination that if there's anything within me that can stop whatever Seth has started, it will.
Snarling and thudding sounds from a fight continue behind me, with Joss and Ewan shouting instructions at each other. Seth remains quiet. I zone away from my surroundings, the way I did the other night standing in the snow, and concentrate on the energy emitting from the portal. My hand glows as I watch, but nothing happens to the portal.
A limb breaks through, blackened, hand held into a claw sweeping from side to side, and panic jerks every muscle inside me. I want this closed. This has to closed. The sound of a dozen dogs growling echoes behind.
Shit.
I move my hands onto the portal, pulling at the energy as if I'm drawing together a rip in fabric. The hand grasping at me slides backwards as the hole begins to disappear and the forest c
an be seen behind again. I grip on with every ounce of energy—supernatural and physical—praying I can hold this closed long enough.
"Help me!" I call out. "I don't know how you can, but please!" My body trembles as the built-up strength pours through me, dark spots dancing in front of my eyes as the portal grows smaller beneath my hands.
The last thing I hear before I pass out is a snarl followed by a yell and then Joss's voice at my side.
EWAN
The fucking abomination lands on my chest and I throw it from me. Well, I expected it to be stronger than that. It lands with a howl and whimpers, then remains still. Ignoring Seth's running commentary of our battle, as if we're taking part in some kind of fucking football game, I pull myself upright.
Focusing on the dog, I stride over, but am arrested by Vee's cry for help. I turn in time to see Vee thrown backwards from the portal, landing heavily on the ground several feet away. Joss rushes over to her, and all thought of harming the dog leaves as I see her prone body.
"Fuck!" I join Joss and stare down at her pale face, hair tangled in the dirt.
"Aw man!" calls Seth. "That wasn't much fun. Now the dog’s hurt too! Is Vee okay?"
I turn on my heel and stomp over so I'm beneath where Seth looks down, blinded by fury. I don't give a shit if he hits me again; he might hurt me but I'm ninety percent confident he won't kill me.
Ninety percent.
"You say you're going to end me? I'm going to fucking end you!" I shout.
"Ooh, you're sounding a bit War-like there, Pestilence." Seth laughs. "Be serious."
"What the fuck is all this about? If you opened a portal, why bring us here to try and stop it?"
"For shits and giggles." He points behind me. "Vee managed to close it though. Don’t stress so much! She’s fine. Look."
Vee staggers to her feet and pushes hair from her face. The space containing the portal has changed, and only the small blue sparks remain, fizzing on the hard earth.
A figure blurs as the dog charges in my direction. I sidestep, not ready for its attack, but the creature screeches to a halt by the patch on the floor. He sniffs around at the ground and whimpers as the blue energy hits his nose. The blue disappears and the dog begins to dig furiously, a hole a metre across appearing in seconds.
"Kill it!" I hiss at Joss.
The dog stops abruptly, as if hearing my words, and launches itself towards the edge of the clearing, figure blurring into the trees before any of us can move.
"Oopsies. He got away." Seth laughs. "I hope he doesn't hurt anybody."
I ignore him. "Are you okay, Vee?"
She nods and stares down at the hole.
"Do you think this is because you’re in the world?" Joss asks. "You were pulled to and closed the portal Seth tried to open. Maybe you do that every time one is threatened."
"I doubt it, or we'd be running in circles forever. I open, she closes, I open, she closes, yada yada," calls Seth.
A thought strikes me. "You're scared of her, aren't you? Look at you, hiding in a fucking tree."
He sneers. "I'm not going to stand in front of an opening portal!"
"Well, you failed. She closed it," snaps Joss.
"This time." He sighs. "Well, now that’s over, here’s the deal. I have someone looking for something to translate the book too. Syv won’t be an issue if she gets in the way because she has less power than you. Bring me the book, Syv stays safe, and the portals stay closed. For now."
"I'm going to end you." The darkness in Vee's voice shocks me as I stare around at her.
"Of course you will," he says in a patronising tone. "But we don’t know how you can do that. Or if you can."
"We will," I shout.
"Such confidence! I love that!" he calls back. "Would you do whatever it takes, Vee?"
"Yes."
Seth pauses and leans forward. "Even die?"
The forest floor retreats to an eerie silence and I hear my heart hammer in my ears after the fight—and his words. Seth smirks down, leaving his dramatic pause and unanswerable question as the dark void I saw once appears around him and swallows his figure.
Joss rubs his temples as we stand, the three of us dishevelled and in shock. I reach out to Vee, who stares at the ground, face hard, and she allows me to fold her in my arms. Joss approaches too and we stand and hold her, sharing the same thought.
Vee. Die?
Is Seth causing chaos with his words, as he did with breaching the portal’s defences, or does he know something we don't?
5
JOSS
Man, today is a headfuck.
Literally, because teleporting into the centre of a popular tourist spot made my brain feel as if it's been slammed back and forth against my skull.
So a brisk walk in the November cold, freezing my ears and balls off isn't helpful. We set off towards the National Park's visitor centre, fortunate we were dressed for cold weather and a quick getaway thanks to our rudely-cut-short meeting with Ripley and co.
I've barely had time to think about this since, the last hour felt like a lifetime, a world away from unnatural alliances. Seth’s words about angels and demons ring in my ears, and however hard I try to tell myself he spun us a story, the broken memories inside my head tell me otherwise.
Now, more than ever, I believe I’ve come from Hell. But where is that? One of the other portals?
We don’t mention Seth. His change in personality shouldn’t have been a shock, but his inane and childish behaviour was.
"What do you think happened to the dog?" asks Vee.
I shake myself out of my thoughts. Vee links her arms through both of ours, side by side; I expected her to be damaged or exhausted after she closed the portal, but Vee's her bright self. Her new self. Yes, she's the same Vee, but I sense a difference in her, a new heat from her skin and a power within stronger than before. What did Logan mean about her being pure magic? That's nonsensical. She's a living, breathing girl. I couldn't be in love with someone who had no heart.
My physical need for Vee has multiplied to an uncomfortable, obsessive level. Her touch has always sparked desire that shot through my veins and enthralled me, and now that beauty and desirability drives me to distraction when all I’m doing is breathing the same air. Is this the same for the others? Xander went straight to her last night, and Ewan kept her close too.
I don't doubt whatever power she now contains engulfs us all.
If Vee drops one hint that she wants me, I'm there and not holding back. This worries me, because all along I've fought and controlled the lust in an attempt to stay loving and attentive. The deeper, primal Joss wants her hard and fast, under my control for once.
I swallow and look upwards, focusing on the sky and not images of me smacking Vee's bare ass.
Fuck, Joss.
"Do you think we should? I'm not sure if things would get out of control. Someone might get hurt." Vee nudges me in the side. Shit. Is she a mind reader now too?
"What?" I ask hastily.
"The dog," says Ewan gruffly. "Vee wonders if we should catch it."
"That isn't a bloody dog!" I half-laugh. "Ten quid says that's a new brand of demon we've not met before."
Vee bites her lip. "I worry about what it might do to people. It's our fault the dog is here."
I snort. "Um. Seth's fault."
"Have you seen my hand?" Ewan stretches out his arm and a red welt covers the back. "If that's from the demon's saliva, imagine what his teeth and claws could do."
Vee takes his hand and looks down at it. "Ewan, you didn't say he hurt you!"
"It doesn't hurt." He pulls his fingers away and Vee grabs them again.
With a small smile, she lowers her mouth to the sore and places her lips on it while Ewan looks on in consternation.
I laugh. "You know Vee can always kiss things better."
Ewan looks at his hand as she lets go, and the frown deepens. He swipes a finger across his skin. "Literally."
"What?"
His hand is no longer red. Wow. I know we heal quickly, but not from a kiss or touch. Vee chews on her bottom lip. "I wanted to check it wasn't a coincidence?"
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Last night, I touched Ewan's bruises and they disappeared. Now this injury has too." Her eyes glint as she looks up at us. "Do you think this means I might be able to go further?"
"And resurrect?" I ask.
She nods vigorously and hugs us, one and then the other. "Yes. This must mean I have a healing power—maybe I can develop this to more?"
As we wrap our arms around her, I exchange a hopeful look with Ewan. No more death? No more visions... I blink them away as they encroach, the way they do almost hourly.
But we can’t be confident her powers would stretch that far.
My thoughts turn to our brief communication with a confused Xander and Heath. "What did Xander say in his text?" I ask Ewan.
"They’re driving back from Scotland now, but that’s hours. He’s trying to contact Syv to see if she’s in the area. I know she’s scouring the bigger museums currently. She might be in London."
"So a couple of hours away if she is and wants to help?" asks Vee.
After Seth’s words about her, I’m worried about Syv and bloody hope Xander can find her.
"Did you tell Xander what happened?" asks Vee.
"No. Not much. Just that we saw Seth and what happened with the portal." Ewan avoids my eyes. Not the story of God and angels.
"Probably a good idea to wait until he and Heath are back and we’re all home." Vee digs her hands in her pockets. "We can wait at the visitors centre and decide what to do."
The number of people milling around increases the closer we get to the Park's centre at the edge of the forest. Cars fill the car park, some with bike racks where suitably dressed people in helmets are pulling the bikes down to the ground, and a teacher counts a busload of kids climbing from inside. The cold pinches my cheeks, and I'm eager to get inside the building and wait for Syv.
My phone sounds and I look down at the message. "It's Syv. She wants us to meet her at a track a mile away. She’ll be an hour."
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