Everyone was silent as we digested the information. It just seemed so strange to me that there would be jinn living here who had gone undetected for so long. Especially if they had so much power over Nevertide—what was in it for them? Why did they so badly want to be cut off from the rest of the supernatural world—especially now, with the entity having escaped? Surely, at this moment, this was the most dangerous land in all the dimensions?
“I agree that this is good thing.” Sherus broke the silence first, his voice low and thoughtful. “It means there’s only one way out of Nevertide—through that portal. Which means there’s only one location that we need to guard and protect. Whatever happens, the entity must not be permitted to leave.”
I agreed with the fae king, but it was easier said than done. The entity was obviously aware of the fact, which was why it had chosen to concentrate its army at the cove. For all we knew, some of its army might have already escaped through the portal to Earth.
“We will find a way to shut it,” Aiden replied, “but not until we find a way to distract the entity. We can’t, and won’t, just blindly send more men out there to die.”
I could tell the fae king wanted to protest, but this operation was under GASP’s control. We would just have to wait, patiently, till we got our opportunity…
I hoped it would be sooner rather than later.
Hazel
I awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed. It was still mid-afternoon, judging by the position of the sun, and the room was silent.
What woke me?
I looked over at Tejus. He was groaning in his sleep, his eyes screwed shut with an expression of anguish across his face. Without warning, he suddenly cried out, his muscles tensing, entwining his body in the covers.
“Tejus, Tejus, wake up—you’re having a bad dream,” I whispered, gently shaking him. He caught my wrist in a tight grip, holding it still. His eyes opened, staring up at me. It took a moment for the dream to pass and for reality to reassert itself—eventually I could see his eyes focus, and he released my hand.
“Sorry,” he gasped, sitting up in bed.
His body was drenched in sweat, and he sat for a moment, his head clasped in the palms of his hands.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Am I okay?
“I’m fine! Wh-What happened?”
He shook his head, his hand coming to rest on the sheets, but his gaze was fixed ahead, as if he was reliving whatever it was he’d dreamed all over again.
“Tejus, stop,” I said firmly. “You need to talk—what was that about? Was it the battle?”
He shook his head again.
“No,” he replied quietly. “It wasn’t the battle we were in—it was other…places. On Earth, and somewhere else. People screaming, running for their lives, panicking…there was nothing I could do.”
My blood ran cold.
“Did it feel like it was a vision, or an omen?” I replied slowly.
“I don’t know. Perhaps.”
I reached out and touched his hand. He jumped a little, instinctively trying to move it away, but I held on, and eventually I felt his muscles relax.
“Can you share it through a mind-meld?” I asked. “Like we did when Queen Trina tried to kidnap me?”
“We could.” He gulped. “It’s not pleasant.”
“All the more reason for me to see it. If it is a vision of some kind, then it would be good to know where on Earth these things are taking place.”
“All right,” he conceded. “Just tell me to stop when you’ve had enough.”
I nodded.
“Promise me,” he growled.
“I promise,” I replied, hiding a smile. Tejus was trying to protect me from dreams now? He obviously hadn’t realized the extent of my over-active imagination. If he didn’t show me, I would imagine the worst.
I felt his energy reaching out for mine, dark and silken, like wisps of smoke. I realized that I was witnessing the look and feel of a nightmare. Instead of Tejus’s normal golden threads of mental energy, they had been distorted by whatever had plagued his mind. Regardless, my own energy reached out and intertwined with his, and soon the room, the bed, and Tejus’s form next to me faded away to nothingness. I felt like I was suspended in mid-air, surrounded by gray, ashen matter—almost as if I was in the midst of the shadow army itself.
The mists started to move, and suddenly I was jolted violently into a vision. I was on Earth, standing on a wide, neatly manicured lawn. Screams of terror came from behind me. Spinning around, I saw a multitude of people running at me head-on. Men with briefcases, women holding strollers and small children, students with book bags, and waiters still wearing aprons—hundreds of them all yelling and crying. I looked up to the sky, seeing the shadow of the entity appearing over a large, steel structure. Before I could react, a woman barged past me. As our eyes met, her body transformed, her blue dress and pretty face becoming distorted, graying before my eyes, till her sockets were black holes and she roared at me, her jaw hanging as the shadow consumed her. I screamed, feeling a burning sensation at the back of my mouth.