“Don’t move or she,” he pointed in her direction, “gets some of the good stuff.”
Vander lunged forward on his knees and his hands narrowly missed Rue’s legs.
“Fool!” he yelled, striking him with another magenta ball of light.
“Stop it! Please, don’t hit him anymore,” Karis screamed. The tears she had pushed back filled her eyes again as Vander groaned. She blinked them away as Rue walked over to her and met his curious stare head on.
“My, my, my, you’ve really got to calm down. I’m not going to kill him, but I will if you don’t show us where the next portal’s going to be.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if I can do what you ask.”
Rue smiled. “You will or he gets another blast.” He cast an indifferent look at Vander. “I’m afraid much more could very well kill him. So, let’s get started, shall we? Show me the doorway or your genie boy-scout gets it.”
Karis glanced away from Rue to look at Vander who had his eyes fixed on her.
Don’t do it, Karis.
Rue wrenched her face back up to his. “Now, Karis.”
Her last wish! If she gave Vander his freedom he would have free reign to do whatever was necessary to st—
“I’m not going to ask you again,” Rue said, squeezing her jaw.
“Bastard.” She winced as his fingers dug into the soft flesh of her face.
He released her abruptly. “Okay, we’ll do this the hard wa—”
“Wait! I’ll do it…I’ll try.” She gently laid her mom down on the floor and stood up.
“Good,” he said with a pleased grin. “Remember, try anything else and—”
“I get it!” She hissed. “Now, shut up, so I can concentrate.”
Rue lifted an eyebrow. “I do admire your fire, Karis.” He stepped to the side and folded his arms across his chest. “Go ahead.”
She closed her eyes and released a breath.
Vander, I wish for you to be a free Djinn, no longer bound by any vessel or master.
She heard his sharp intake of air, but she didn’t open her eyes and focused instead on finding a portal. Not knowing exactly what to search for, she concentrated on visualising a doorway.
Spirals of light swam behind her lids and she moaned, slipping further and further away from her present predicament. Her body was not her own, light, full, heating up with every breath she took. She opened her eyes, lifted her hands and gasped as two brilliant blue ropes of energy burst forth from her palms. The twin ropes of light joined together in an arc a few feet in front of her, pulsing and swaying for all to see.
“She found a portal here!” one of the men shouted.
“It’s even better than that,” Rue said, staring at her in wonder.
In a trance-like state, Karis barely registered his presence as the arc became a full circle.
“She’s got the power to
open
a doorway, absolutely incredible.”
She began to pant. Her arms and hands began to shake under the strain of her supernatural power. “I can’t hold it,” she said softly, but Rue and his men were not listening, their attention on the ever widening circle of light.
Let go of it, Karis.
Could she simply let go? Her arms trembled, the enormous pull of energy draining everything from her.
Do it now!
She shifted her gaze from the ropes of light to Vander. Her eyes widened as he quickly got to his feet, unnoticed by the others.
I don’t know how to let go.
Her gaze locked with his and the tears she had been holding back began to fall.
I’ll help you, hang on.
He moved so fast, she barely blinked and he was unfurling neon blue ropes of energy towards the two guards who fell to the ground instantly.
“What the hel—” Rue cursed, dodging to escape the blue rope now focused on him.
Vander pointed his other hand towards the open doorway, joining his energy with hers. “Let go, now, Karis!”
Rue howled as Vander’s neon rope struck him across his back. He crumpled to the ground in a daze a few feet away from her.
Near exhaustion, Karis envisioned letting go of the portal. She swayed with exhaustion as the power exchange between her and the doorway transferred to Vander.
“I’m going to close it,” he yelled over the strange humming vibration erupting from the circle of energy.
“No!” Rue yelled, scrambling to his feet. “Don’t close my doorway!” he screamed, stumbling backwards as Vander struck him again in the chest with a brilliant blue ball of light.
Close to fainting, Karis turned away from Rue to see the glimmering portal shrink in size. A few more seconds and it would be closed for good. She looked at Vander and hoped he could contain the powerful energy source long enough to shut it down. She knew the incredible strain on his body to keep the doorway stable. Only the clenched line of his jaw gave evidence to the amount of pressure he was under as he concentrated on closing the portal.
She never saw Rue coming. There was no way to escape as he yanked her hard against his body. His strong arms held her captive as she screamed Vander’s name. He turned away from the wavering doorway and lifted his free hand in Rue’s direction.
“Let her go!”
Karis could see the shock in Vander’s eyes.
“Hit me with your power and she’ll suffer too,” Rue rasped, moving away from Vander and closer to the narrowing portal. He gave Vander no time to react as he lunged them both into the waver circle of light.
Karis!
His voice followed her into the darkness and she knew she would never forget the look of rage on his face for as long as she lived.
* * * *
“No!” Vander roared.
What the hell just happened?
Karis was gone, somewhere in another dimension with Rue. He clenched his fists and stared at the empty space where the doorway had been only seconds before.
“What happened?” Rafi asked, rushing to Nadine who was beginning to stir on the floor.
“She’s gone.” He looked at Rafi, not really seeing his friend as he tried to erase from his mind the look of pure terror on Karis’s face before she disappeared.
“She’s coming around,” Rafi said, lifting his hand from Nadine’s carotid artery. “What just went down in here?”
“She’s gone,” Vander repeated, more to himself than Rafi. How could he have failed her again?
“You’re not making any sense, man.”
“We found Nadine here, minutes before Rue busted in. He had back-up and before I could react, I was hit. He told Karis to open a doorway or he would kill me. I told her not to do it.”
“But she did anyway,” Rafi said, crouched beside Nadine.
“Yes.” Vander shook his head. “She was able to open a portal right here.” He stared at his friend. “I’ve never seen anything like it, but the surge of power was draining her. I knew she wouldn’t be able to handle it for much longer. While Rue and his men were distracted, I regained strength, took his guys out and convinced her to let go.” He laced his hands behind his head as he turned away from Rafi. “I almost had it closed when Rue surprised us both and took her through the portal.”
“Karis?”
Vander whipped around upon hearing the soft trembling whisper. He rushed to Nadine’s side as Rafi helped her sit up.
Nadine coughed as her eyelids fluttered open. “Water.”
Vander held out his hand and a glass of water appeared out of nowhere. “Here, drink it slowly.” He exchanged a look with Rafi as she took a few sips. “Are you all right?”
Nadine waved her hand. “I’m alive and the rest will work itself out. Where is my daughter?” She lifted her hand to her chest and took a deep breath. “He has her?”
“Yes.” He wanted to crush something, anything to distract him from the hole in his heart.
“I can bring her back.” She struggled to stand up with Rafi’s help. “Take me to the clearing. We will find another portal there.”
“Can you walk?” He ignored the muscle spasms still echoing through his body.
Nadine scoffed. “I’m tougher than I look, let’s go. We have to hurry, my baby’s in danger.”
Her urgent words confirmed what he already knew. Rue would never let Karis go after seeing her ability to open portals at will. He led the way out of the old castle, noting Nadine’s slightly unsteady gait. He didn’t think she could handle the physical strain of transporting to the site. “Let me carry you.”
“I’m a little old for piggyback rides, besides the walk is clearing my head. I need to be able to channel my energy to bring Karis back.”
It would take them approximately five minutes to get down to the clearing. Five minutes longer than he wanted. Five minutes longer to find out if they could even reach Karis.
“I’ll tell the others what’s happened and we’ll meet you both there. Good magic.” Rafi’s voice was lower than the sound of the wind breezing over them.
“Good magic.” Vander hoped good magic would be enough as Rafi turned in the opposite direction.
“We’ll get her back,” Nadine said breathlessly. She grabbed hold of his arm as they climbed a small hill.
He didn’t answer. It disturbed him that she was offering hope when he should have been the one uttering the comforting words. They had to get her back. Nothing could happen to Karis now, not when he still had so much to say to her. She had given him his freedom and yet it would mean nothing without her.
“This is the spot.” Nadine pointed to a serene clearing ahead of them.
He followed her through the damp grass, grateful for snatches of moonlight guiding their footsteps.
“Do you feel the energy?” Nadine asked, lifting her hands to the sky.
“There is a powerful vibration.” He surveyed the clearing in search of an obvious sign of the portal.
“I feel stronger out here.” Nadine swayed, humming softly in the dark. She took a few more steps and stopped suddenly. “The doorway is here. All I have to do is guide her to it.”
“I can go in after her.”
“No.” She stopped moving and closed her eyes. “This doorway can lead to many different dimensions. Karis has to find this portal and step through on her own. I can help her.” She opened her eyes. “You be ready to catch her.”
“I will catch her.” He watched her close her eyes again. His heart hammered in his chest as he tried to ignore the gut wrenching anxiety plaguing him.
Dear God, he loved her. The depth of his love for Karis was bigger than anything he had ever known. How long had it taken him to admit his feelings to himself? How long had he held onto the past and allowed his pride to get in the way of feeling…of loving again? Karis had given him her love without asking for anything in return. Hell, she had given up a wish to save him. He had never known a woman so damn stubborn or unpredictable. And now, he might not ever get the chance to tell her his heart would forever be hers.
Nadine touched his arm. “No matter what happens, don’t go into the portal. My connection with you isn’t strong enough to guarantee I can bring you back.”
“Are you going to go through?” he asked as the air began to shift around them.
“Not if I can help it. Karis is strong enough to find her way back.”
A slight shimmer in the space before them glimmered and grew. Light pouring out of nowhere as the beginnings of the doorway was revealed.
He moved closer to the widening sphere of energy with Nadine. Minutes passed as the sphere opened up and filled the forest with unnatural light.
“I’ve found her,” Nadine said in a shaky voice.
Vander remained silent, not wanting to break her concentration as he stared into the open doorway. She had to come back to him. He glanced at Nadine who stood in a trance-like state. Risk or not, he would step through to the other side if Karis didn’t return.
One way or the other he would find a way to say what had been left unsaid between them.
Chapter Twelve
Karis groaned in pain as she picked herself up off the hard ground and rubbed her head. She couldn’t see anything in the pitch-dark landscape around her but she could hear Rue’s voice somewhere close. Her legs and arms were stiff and wobbly, her bare feet cold on the unforgiving rocks beneath her soles. She jumped as echoes of eerie, evil laughter bounced around her. What kind of place was this?
“Karisssss, I know you are there.”
She resisted the urge to scream in the darkness.
“This place is dangerous, Karis. Come to me and I’ll keep you safe.”
She could hardly see as she stretched her hands out before her and started to walk in the opposite direction of Rue’s voice.
“Karis?” His voice had taken on a harder edge.
A chill zipped up her spine as she picked up her pace and tried to ignore the strange animal sounds in the dark around her.
“I’m coming for you and when I catch you, I’ll make you regret running from me.”
Her heart pounded in her chest and she started to run.
“I can smell your fear,” Rue taunted somewhere behind her, his voice shifting to a low menacing growl.
Karis stifled a scream.