With that, I teleported us out.
No more Council.
And no more Clearwater Academy.
8
I hated this. I freaking hated this with every fiber of my being.
To save Bryan, one of us had to go into the void to pull him back out. I didn’t want to volunteer myself as the sacrificial lamb, but since I had the strongest connection to him, I drew the short straw.
Go me.
How the hell was I going to do this? I didn’t know how to break out of a teleport. I barely had any confidence in sticking the landings. No way could I teleport halfway and drop into the void that still terrified me and haunted my dreams.
But I had to do it. For Bryan. If I could just find Stace, I’d have her bring him back, but she’d disappeared and now wasn’t even answering my texts. I couldn’t wait around for her to reach out to me. It was up to me to bring my boyfriend back from the void.
I could do this. I’d just have to put on my big-girl panties and element up. Trust my instincts. Open my eyes. No other phrases came to mind as my mental pep talk fell flat.
“He’s not looking so good. Is he even breathing?” Clay placed his hand under Bryan’s nose.
Rob slapped it away. “Try something like that again and I’ll set you on fire.”
“Oh, whatever. You’re not the only one worried here.”
“You could show it by being a little more serious about this.”
Clay rolled his eyes. “Why should I when you’re serious enough for all of us?”
Rob shot him with a fireball. Clay caught it and tossed it from hand to hand before breaking it into three balls and proceeding to juggle.
“Can we please focus here? Whatever we decide to do, we need to do it now. The invisibility spell Leo and I put around us won’t last forever.” I squeezed Bryan’s hand, trying with everything I had in me to connect with him. “We’re coming for you. Please hang on.”
“I still don’t understand why we wouldn’t send Clay,” Leo pointed out. “He’s the strongest teleporter.”
“I already told you, I’m the only one who’s been there. Well, sort of.”
“Dreams don’t count, babe.”
“I agree with Leo.” Rob took a seat next to me on the couch. “Dreaming about the void is not the same thing as being in the void. But, I don’t think Clay has a strong enough connection to Bryan to find him and teleport back out. I do. It should be me.”
“No.” I wiped my hands on my jeans to dry my palms before standing and stepping away from the group crowding around Bryan, who sat on the couch and stared straight ahead. “I’m the one closest to him. If anyone can find him, I can. It has to be me.”
The guys’ protests were weak at best. They all knew I was right. It had to be me. When they fell silent, when there were no other words to say, we all simply stared at each other. This was it. There was a chance I wouldn’t find Bryan and get back out, a chance I wouldn’t even find my own way back out. This could be the last time I’d ever see any of them again. I could get stuck in the void, slip into a catatonic state like all the others I’d seen in there, and never come back out. I’d be lost forever.
But if I didn’t go in and do my damnedest to rescue Bryan, he’d be lost forever. I had to save him. He didn’t have any woulds or coulds in his choice. That was already his reality. “I guess this is it.”
“Hold up.” Clay nodded for Rob to join him, and they both approached me, leaving Leo standing next to Bryan. “Remember what Renee said? About us being the one?”
“Now is not the time, bro.” Rob furrowed his brooding brow.
“Leo?” Clay called out while regarding Rob and me.
“Yeah?”
“Keep the invisibility spell up until we get back.”
We?
He grabbed my wrist with one hand, Rob’s with the other, and teleported us out. A split second later, we hit some sort of invisible wall that broke our contact and separated us. We flew in different directions. I landed with a grunt and jumped to my feet, squinting into the darkness. When that did nothing, I widened my eyes until they hurt, and still I could barely see past my hand in front of my face.
A hand on my shoulder scared the bejebus out of me, and I whipped around. It was Clay. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He tried again and frowned. It was like someone had hit the mute button. Rob walked up, rubbing his elbow. He tried to explain why and scowled, thinning his lips as he glared at Clay.
He shrugged in response, tapped his temple, and gave a thumbs-up. At least he had a plan. I’d be mad at him hijacking my teleport later. Right now, we needed to find Bryan and fast, before the void sucked us in permanently.
He held both our hands and brought them up, nodded. He then let go of Rob’s and shook his head before grabbing it again and nodding. Rob and I both nodded. Don’t let go.
We began to walk through the darkness, Clay holding my left hand, Rob holding my right. People shuffled around, staring straight ahead, just as they had in my dream. No one seemed to be in a hurry. No one seemed to notice the others shuffling around in their catatonic state. They never bumped into each other. Then again, the void was endless, so there was plenty of space for them to travel untouched.
Which meant Bryan could be anywhere in the void. Fucking awesome.
Clay squeezed my hand, drawing my attention. With his free hand, he tapped his throat and motioned outward, like my old high school choir teacher used to do when she wanted us to project more. I
