Wings and Shadowthief by May Sage
The Tunnel
Gwen was going to freeze to death before any vampire got the chance to bleed her dry.
Who would have thought that southern Italy could be this freaking cold?
The wind blew salt water on her face, negating the twenty-seven-degree Celsius temperature. She could have hidden inside Seth’s humongous yacht like Seth, Alexius, and Avani, but she wanted to be right here. Stuck inside, she wasn’t sure to feel the portal. What if Seth had made a mistake when he’d recorded the coordinates where they were supposed to find it? What if she couldn’t sense its magic?
She felt more than a little out of sorts. Water was her domain, but salt was well known to neutralize magic, or at least disrupt it. What if her magic wasn’t enough? What if she couldn’t activate the portal? Part of her wished for it. If she couldn’t do it, then they had no way to Atlantis, and her friends would stay safe.
Until the next time Aveka decided to come at them.
Jack joined, draping a throw over her cold shoulders. “Are you trying your luck as a figurehead? I can imagine you, carved at the bow.”
“Yachts don’t have figureheads,” she replied, tightening the blanket around her. “Thanks for this.”
“You’re welcome.” Jack made a face. “He noticed you were cold.”
He? She assumed he wasn’t referring to Seth—that man wasn’t likely to notice anyone’s discomfort save for his own. It could have been Mikar, Bash, or Alexius, but Gwen guessed, “Hunter?”
Jack nodded. “He’s better than me at analyzing details. When I walk in a room, he looks for exits, potential weaknesses in the layout, places where he could be shot, dark alcoves for an ambush. And he reads people—their posture, their expression. Our training teaches us that kind of thing, but Hunter does it constantly.” He seemed frustrated at the thought. “No wonder he always burst out when I needed backup. He’s always ready.”
“That sounds exhausting.” Gwen wasn’t often on her guard. She had no reason to be.
“What exhausts Hunter is me. The fact that I don’t always act like the warrior I’m supposed to be.” Jack paused. “I did it to myself, you know. Well, my parents made the decision, but I was willing. We sealed my powers when I could no longer control them as a child. Hunter’s the result.”
Gwen licked her lower lip. “If there had been a way, I would have done the same with mine.” She was glad she hadn’t, though. As terrifying as her powers could be, they were a part of her. “What do you think is going to happen between you and Hunter?”
Jack looked ahead, far into the distance, considering her question. The days were long and bright this time of the year, but darkness had won its daily struggle with light. The moon was the only light ahead, and in the dark, they would have been hard-pressed to say where the sea ended and the sky began. There was a beauty to the endlessness before their eyes.
Then she felt it. A smooth, caressing whisper of spells calling to her on a primal level.
Jack didn’t have a chance to reply.
“We’re getting close,” Seth announced, joining them toward the bow. “Everyone, gather and join hands. You need to maintain your link to Gwen through the travel, or you could get lost somewhere in the in-between." To her, he said, "You should feel the magic any time now. I'm not clear on what sort of magic is necessary to open the portal. If you need time…”
Gwen shook her head. She didn't need time, or a how-to manual, for that matter. The portal practically purred her name, whispering to her. Just like Jack's amulet, it called for what it needed of her. Energy. "I think I can do it."
Seth took Gwen's right hand, and Jack, her left. Tris, Alexius, and Avani stood on Jack's side, and Mikar, Cat, and Bash on Seth's.
"Ready?" Jack checked, somewhat gently.
She could tell that if she said no, if she shook her head and told him she wanted to go home, there would be no questions asked. Not from him, in any case. But as usual, in the thick of the action, Gwen kicked fear aside, concentrating on what she had to do.
She released her power, letting the voice deep inside the sea guide it to the core of the portal.
She didn't know what she expected, but certainly not an immediate, violent, brutal response. She was pulled faster than the speed of light, at an impossible rate. Her very self, her matter, disappeared, fusing with water and vacuuming through the emptiness of space and time. A vague awareness of her friends' presence reassured her a little, but it was faint, lost in a sea of dizzying sensations.
She heard a scream and couldn't tell whether it belonged to her, someone else, or perhaps to all of them at once.
They traveled through the energy tunnel, tumbling so fast Gwen wasn’t sure who was in control. Certainly not her. Then it was over, and they stood on a beautiful sandy beach that shone in the darkness of the moonlight.
A different moon, bloodred and brighter than the one they'd just left.
Gwen fell forward, retching, though nothing came out of her mouth.
That definitely wasn't her favorite method of transportation.
“Everyone all right?” Seth asked, looking around.
He seemed perfectly fine, though next to Gwen, Tris seemed just as sick as her.
Gwen frowned, wondering why Tris was so close now. She turned to look at her friends, and could immediately tell what was wrong.
Nine of them had been on the boat, but only eight stood behind her.
Jack had disappeared.