“No—that’s just some freaky crap that only you and Ethan can do. Besides, I didn’t pull Jeremy in, he pulled me in.” Kiera gazed into Jeremy’s eyes, smiling.
I turned away. It wasn’t anything against them, or the feelings they had for each other. I thought it was wonderful Jeremy had finally found someone. Really, it was. But seeing them look at each other like that, feeling their swirl of emotions in the air, was too much for me to handle right now.
I missed Ethan. I missed the way he looked at me, the way he touched me, his smile, his laugh, his lips, and everything else about him. And watching Jeremy and Kiera in the kitchen made me feel worse.
My vision blurred, the knot tightened in my stomach, and my breath came in short, shallow gasps. I gripped the counter and lowered my head to steady myself as the room started to spin.
“Allie,” Kiera asked from behind me. “Are you okay?”
I shook my head as a pair of hands landed on my shoulder.
“Jeremy, help me get her to the sofa. I think she’s going down!”
Pictures of Ethan flashed in and out of my head, each one more vivid than the other. Each one capturing the fear, the hurt, and the torment of being pulled away from me. My legs felt like gelatin; they couldn’t support my weight anymore. My body slipped away from the counter, but before I could hit the floor, two pairs of hands caught me.
Jeremy scooped me up and carried me to the sofa.
A few seconds later, Kiera placed a cool washcloth to my forehead. “How do you feel?” she asked, wiping the cloth over my head, slightly dampening my hair as Jeremy stood behind her watching me, his eyes wide with fright.
“I think I’m okay,” I answered, sounding low and hoarse, but I was relieved that the room had stopped spinning.
“What happened?” Jeremy’s voice cracked as he peered down at me.
“I don’t know. The room started spinning and I kept seeing pictures of Ethan inside my head.”
Kiera smiled as she handed the washcloth off to Jeremy. “I think he was trying to reach you. You know, send you a telepathic message from the other side. No wonder the others are scared of you. You two have a bond that exceeds everything they can do; a power they didn’t even know existed. I wonder…” She hesitated. Her eyes and her thoughts drifted somewhere far, far away.
“Wonder what?” Jeremy pressed, snapping her back to reality.
“I wonder just how strong they would be if Allie knew how to manage her powers and they were together.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” he said. “And that’s to get them back together. You said it yourself, she should be powerful enough to pop open the portal, except,”—his smile faded—“I have no idea what may be waiting for her on the other side. I don’t want to put her in a position where she may end up getting hurt.”
“Please,” Kiera said, “she’s already hurt, Jeremy. I don’t think there is anything that can cause her any more pain than what she’s already in.”
“You know, guys, I am still here,” I reminded them as I sat up and placed my feet on the floor. “And this is my decision to make, my life we’re discussing here. If I have to risk it to make my way to Ethan…then that’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
“Fine,” Jeremy sighed. “But here’s the deal. Once that doorway’s open, Kiera and I follow you in.”
“No way, Jeremy.” My eyes widened at the thought of him going up against something like them. He wouldn’t have a chance. “You’re not going anywhere. I’ve seen what they can do, and I am in no way putting you in the middle of it. You’re powerless against them.”
“I’m not going to try to fight them, Allie. I’m going to be more of a distraction so you and Kiera can get in, grab Ethan, and get out.” He tried his best to reason with me, but I wasn’t having it.
“No. Absolutely not,” I argued. “You’re going to stay right here where it’s safe. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”
“Like I could live with myself if you fail to come back?” He raised his voice.
“He does have a point,” Kiera jumped in. “Besides, he’ll be safe as long as he sticks close to us.”
My jaw tightened. I didn’t want Jeremy to do this, didn’t want him there if I was able to get in. It was too dangerous. How could I explain to him that this wasn’t a video game? Mortals don’t have multiple lives. Only one. And these people, these immortals, may be peaceful, but how far would they go if someone threatened their civilization, threatened to disrupt their way of life? Could they possibly be lethal? Even more, would I be able to protect Jeremy if something went very wrong?
“Come on, Allie,” Kiera broke into my thoughts. “We’ll discuss it over lunch.”
“I’m not really hungry,” I told her, scrunching up my face at the thought of eating anything. The emptiness made me nauseous, which was why I’d grabbed a soda.
“Oh, you’re eating something.” She raised her voice. “Not only will it help ground your energy, but what do you think Ethan would say if he found out you weren’t taking care of yourself in his absence?”
“Whatever.” I got up off the sofa. “So what are we cooking?”
“We aren’t cooking anything,” Kiera said.
“We’re going out,” Jeremy chimed in. “You’ve been stuck inside this house since you moved in. And it’s about time you get some air.”
“I have not,” I shot back at him. “Ethan and I went to school.”
“Allie, school doesn’t count,” Kiera added in her two cents.
Why did they always have to gang up on me? It was unfair.
“I’m driving,” Jeremy stated.
“I call shotgun.” Kiera winked as she bent down and scooped up my shoes.
Oh, no. What was going on? They were up to something.
“Wait!” I tried to resist, tried to stop, tried put on the brakes, but they weren’t having it. “Which car are we taking?” I winced, knowing that I didn’t want to hear the answer to that question.
A playful smile extended across their faces while I shook my head. “No! No way!” I protested as they clasped their hands around my arms and dragged me out the front door.
Chapter 17
“It’ll be okay, Allie,” Kiera tried reassuring me as she opened up the door to Ethan’s shiny, scratch-free, non-dented, super-fast, yellow sports car.
“Oh, please, no. Kiera, we can’t!” I argued with her, envisioning something terrible happening to that car—something terrible happening to me with Jeremy behind the wheel of that car.
But she wasn’t having any of it. She continued to push me forward. “Jeremy’s had his license for what…a year?”
“Yes, a year! And that hardly qualifies him for driving something with so much power—something that’s not even his.”
“Oh, Allie. You worry too much. You need to learn to live a little,” she said from behind me.
“That’s my point. I do want to live.” I attempted to struggle away from her. But she was too strong.
Jeremy laughed from inside the car. “Allie, get in and stop being such a baby. I’m not going to kill you, I promise.”
“Fine,” I said, relaxing all my muscles and climbing into the backseat. “But if you get one scratch on this car, no matter how microscopic it may be, then you’ll be the one answering to Ethan when we get him back.”
“Don’t worry.” Kiera smirked as she slid into the car and shut the door. “I can handle Ethan. Besides, it’s not like he actually paid for the car.”
“What do you mean?” I scrunched my face up, totally confused. “I thought with the house and the car that Ethan had more money than he knew what to do with.”
She laughed. “He would with all the Confederate money he once had, but he sold most of it on the black market years ago. And whenever he steps into this world, he feels he’s under some obligation to hand the money he made to the orphanages. You know,” she said, shrugging, “since he lost his mom and dad.”
“Yeah. And he actually won the car through some sweepstakes.” Kiera lifted her brows. “Without using his powers.”
I shook my head, not sure what to say.
“I mean, he’s not completely broke,” she continued, taking the shaking of my head the wrong way. “He keeps enough around so he can survive here comfortably. That’s why he hasn’t restored his house yet, just in case he needs the cash for emergencies.”
All of a sudden, Jeremy slammed on the brakes.
Kiera turned around as my body flew forward, but the seatbelt caught me, throwing me back into the seat.
“What the heck!” I glared at him.
“Sorry,” he snickered. “I missed my turn.”
“I don’t care whether Ethan got the car for free or not. It’s still his car, and I’d rather you not hand it back to him totaled.” My face burned.
“It’ll be fine.” Kiera laughed again, like she was enjoying every minute of this.
“Whatever,” I huffed, folding my arms across my chest and narrowing my gaze out the window. I ignored the laughter from the front seat as Jeremy threw the car in reverse and made a right onto Route 9.
Jeremy drove fast. Really fast. I gripped the back of the seat and yelled at him for speeding. But all he did was smile. Sitting next to him, Kiera was no help. Not only did she encourage him to go faster, but she had her head out the window, squealing as the wind ripped through the curls in her hair.
“Slow down!” I demanded for like the billionth time as Jeremy skidded around one of the sharp turns too fast, squealing the tires and throwing me against the door.
They laughed harder as my heart attempted to claw itself out of my chest.
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Stop!”
The engine cut off and the wheels began to slow. “Oh, crap. What happened?” Jeremy’s voice shook, but he managed to keep control and bring the car to a stop.
I opened my eyes. “What—what’s wrong?” I cried out, eyes wide and nails digging into the headrest on the seat, thinking something really bad had happened to the car.
Kiera was laughing hysterically in the front seat. “Nothing…it’s…just you… managed…to turn off the car,” she said between gasps.
“What are you talking about?” I squinted at her.
She held up her finger, gesturing to me to give her a second while she tried to contain herself.
“I think she’s trying to say that you turned off the car, Allie,” Jeremy said, turning toward me, the tension washed away from his face.
“Me? But how?”
“I felt your energy getting stronger, Allie,” Kiera answered, more composed this time, but still smiling. “The more terrified, the more angry you grew, the stronger you became. I felt it. And, let me tell you, Ethan was right when he said you were stronger than you think you are.”
“But I don’t know how I did it. I don’t even know how to make my powers work.”
“And that’s precisely what I’m here for.” She grinned as she closed her eyes and brought the car back to life. “To teach you.”
Jeremy accelerated, but not as fast as the last time, and continued up Reedy Point Bridge into Delaware City. The last place in the world I wanted to go right now.
He made the left on Clinton and headed toward the water until the road ended, then turned into the very same parking lot I had been at with Erica and Ben when we’d boarded the ferry to Fort Delaware. We got out, but instead of making our way over to the fort, we walked to a local seafood restaurant.
We stepped into a little gift shop in the restaurant’s foyer, where they sold all sorts of novelties, and waited to be seated. I glanced around the store and then froze when I saw Becca Wallace standing in the corner, holding a red shirt up against her chest.
Jeremy stepped forward, jaw clenched, eyes moving back and forth from Becca and me. He moved toward Becca as Kiera stood next to me.
“What’s he doing?” she asked.
“I have no idea,” I whispered. “But it can’t be good.”
We both watched as Jeremy tapped Becca on the shoulder, causing her to look up. She didn’t look as angry as she had the last time I saw her.
Jeremy’s lips moved fast, but his voice was too low for us to hear. Whatever he was saying to Becca must’ve been bad, because she looked like she was going to cry. Jeremy’s face softened a bit when Becca began to talk. Then they both looked at me.
My body went rigid as Becca and Jeremy started walking toward Kiera and me. What was he doing?
I tried to take a step back, but Kiera wrapped her hand around my arm. “Wait. It’s okay.”
Becca stopped in front of me, her eyes soft, but sad. The darkness I saw that day behind the school was gone. “Hey, Allie.” She bit her lip while she attempted to smile. “I’m not sure what exactly happened at school, but I want to say I’m sorry.”
What? Was this seriously the same Becca that nearly killed me?
“I guess I had some medical problem. It was like I’d blacked out or something. My doctor gave me some meds, but he couldn’t figure out what was wrong.” She dropped her eyes to the floor. “I honestly don’t remember what happened. I’ve just heard some people say I beat you up pretty badly.”
“Uh, yeah.” That was all I could manage to say.
“And I’m sorry about the night in your shop. I didn’t mean to get you fired.”
“Okay,” I said, still completely confused about the situation.
“Cassie’s the one who took the rock.” She glanced back up at me. “I returned it last week. I hope it gets your job back.”
“I doubt it, but thanks anyway,” I said, the tension lifting slightly.
“Hey,” Jeremy jumped in and grabbed my arm. “Our table’s ready.”
“Well, I gotta go,” I told her.
“Yeah, my mom’s in the car. I’ll see you around.” She smiled. Then she turned and walked out the door.
After she left, I joined Jeremy and Kiera at the entrance to the restaurant.
“That. Was. Weird,” I said as the hostess approached us. Maybe underneath all that nasty was an insecure girl. Someone who felt she had to be mean to feel power. Maybe blacking out while beating me up had shaken up something in her. Brought her humanity back to the surface.
“Just a little,” Jeremy agreed.
We followed the hostess outside. Considering we now had a view of the Fort, I would have rather sat inside. Seeing where Ethan had once been imprisoned stabbed at my heart.
The hostess placed the menus on a table at the far side of the deck. After we picked seats and sat down, Jeremy leaned across the table to Kiera and me.
“Okay, forget about Becca, tell me about the immortals. How many are there? Do they have any weaknesses?” he asked.
I cleared my throat and said. “There were three of them who came. Marcus—”
Kiera jumped in. “He’s the leader and is the most powerful.”
“What can he do?” Jeremy questioned, his eyes focused on hers.
“It’s all about energy. Every Asterian can manipulate and magnify energy, including the energy in a human body. They can use it to harm, or they can use it to help, depending on their intentions.”
“So…basically we’re screwed,” he said, straightening himself up.
“Pretty much.” She nodded. “Unless I can get Allie to control herself. She’s our only hope of getting Ethan back.”
They both glanced at me as the waitress approached our table. Jeremy decided on the crab balls with Seaman Sauce, and Kiera and I got cheeseburgers and sodas. The waitress jotted down our orders on a small notepad and walked away, leaving us free to discuss people from an alternate universe.
“Who else was with this Marcus dude?” Jeremy asked.
“A guy with short, curly hair.” My voice and hands trembled as I recalled the anxiety I’d felt in his presence. “He was kin
d of tall and skinny.”
“Tobias,” Kiera gasped, leaning forward in her chair as the color drained from her face.
Jeremy squinted. “Who’s that?”
“He’s Marcus’s son.” She shook her head. “But I don’t understand why he would come, not when Marcus has so many others.” She stared blankly at the table. “Tobias is next in line as the leader. Why would Marcus risk exposing his heir to the Darkness?” she mumbled to herself.
“There was one more,” I spoke up, interrupting her thoughts. “I think his name was Arcadio.”
“What was Marcus thinking?” she whispered furiously. “Arcadio has never used his powers to restrain anyone, let alone used them in any way that’s harmful. He’s so sweet and caring.” She placed her hands over her face. “None of this makes sense. Neither one should have been there.”
“Well, maybe that will make it easier for us,” Jeremy said smugly.
Our conversation came to a halt as the waitress approached. As she laid our food out in front of us, I glanced over the river at the Fort. It was up to me to bring Ethan home. I didn’t know if I was strong enough to do it, strong enough to reach him. But I had to try. And it didn’t matter to me what waited on the other side, whether it made sense to Kiera or not. Ethan had saved me so many times, and now it was my turn to save him. I had to do it. I had to try.
“Allie,” Kiera said, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. “You’ll find him. I promise.”
“What if I can’t do it?”
“You can. I believe in you.” She squeezed me tightly. “Besides, you’re not going to let some stupid doorway come between you two, are you?”
“No, Kiera. No. I’m not,” I said, glancing at the Fort once more, remembering all the losses Ethan had in his past, the pain, the sorrow, knowing that I would not be another loss to him, which made me more determined than ever to find him. “We start practicing as soon as we get back.”
Chapter 18
“There’s energy everywhere. All around us.” Kiera’s voice flowed through my head. I stood next to the pond with my eyes closed, far away from anything remotely fragile.
Other Side Of Forever (Other Side Of Forever Series Book 1) Page 16