“Where did they go?”
“The Blue Forest. They tried to find the portal. I don’t know how they heard about it, but I think Lorenzo knew some people in the resistance who might’ve told him. He tried to talk Zaiden into going with them, but he refused. He was the smart one.”
“They were looking for Carthem?”
“Yes, but the portal in the Blue Forest is complicated.”
Alina chewed on her lip. She mustered up the courage to ask Rex one more question.
“Did Zaiden know I was mortal?”
“Of course not,” Rex answered. “Your mission is top-secret information. But he must have known you were valuable somehow because he followed you all the way to Gordian after those men took you away.”
“I see,” Alina said quietly.
Rex heard the disappointment in her voice. “Oh! I don’t think that’s why he followed you, though. Seems like he was interested in you, too…” He trailed off, leaving an awkward silence.
She didn’t feel like talking anymore. Rex sensed this, so he yawned and said good night. He tossed and turned for several minutes before settling down. Alina knew he felt bad, but she wasn’t angry. It was best to hear the truth from a friend.
She blinked her tears back. It doesn’t matter how he looked at me in Sampson’s dungeon. I will no longer imagine he has feelings for me. But she’d take him in an instant if he found her and was whole and wanted her.
She forced her mind to other things: to Trinee, Janet and Baylor and their happy marriage, to Rex and Jade, Jade and J’koby, J’koby and her mother. She didn’t even know her mother’s name. How nice it would be to hear the full story from her father’s lips. Her heart lifted, but the warm feeling lasted only a few minutes.
A cold fear crept over her, and she wrinkled her brow, confused. Her instincts told her to flee, and as she opened her mouth to call Baylor’s name, a sound outside made her go rigid. She had felt this once before.
She heard the noise again, footsteps crunching on grass and sticks, making no attempt to silence its approach. The steps stopped outside the vehicle. Alina lay still and prayed the others wouldn’t shift in their sleep.
She knew this creature but was unprepared when its beady red eyes blinked through the window, examining every corner of the car. Terrified, she couldn’t move even if she wished to. The nightstalk looked directly at her, then disappeared.
She waited for her body to relax, indicating it had left, but when she tried to release her clenched fist, she didn’t budge.
A slashing noise echoed outside, and with a whistle the car settled unevenly on the ground. She heard a rustling around the car, another slashing noise and whistle of escaped air. Alina panicked. The tires! They couldn’t get away!
The nightstalk reached the last tire and the car sank to the ground. Alina needed to wake Baylor, but this creature had frozen every muscle in her body.
She listened, but heard nothing, no sound of footsteps or sticks snapping. The silence frightened her more than anything else so far. She tried to speak, but her teeth fused together. She focused on separating them.
A weak chatter, barely audible, escaped her teeth. “B-B-Baylor.”
No answer.
“Bay-Baylor!” she tried again, louder.
Nothing. Maybe he was also frozen with fear.
A sudden crash of glass shattered the silence. Screams filled the car, and Alina’s eyes widened in horror as long, thin fingers slid through the broken glass toward Jade. They grasped her ankle and pulled her up through the window shards, her frozen body unable to resist, her terrified eyes pleading for help.
This roused Alina, and she gritted her teeth as she tried to move. The words of the guidebook came to her. Nightstalks prey on fear. If one can overcome the fear, one can overcome them. Why was she afraid? This creature couldn’t hurt her.
Her hand found the dart gun and trembled as she lifted it. What if she hit Jade instead? The nightstalk raked Jade across the broken glass and she screamed, her legs and arms flailing. The pain had roused her.
That was it! Pain could be stronger than fear!
Alina focused all her energy on the thought of losing Jade, then stood up, aimed her gun at the red, beady eyes, and fired. The nightstalk dropped to the ground, bringing Jade with it. At the same moment, Rex and Baylor relaxed.
“Jade!” Alina shrieked. “Are you okay?” She flung open the door and ran to her. She was moaning on the ground, blood dripping through her torn clothes.
“You’re shaking so hard,” Alina said.
“From fright, that’s all,” Jade said weakly.
Alina looked at Baylor, who switched on a light and rummaged through the first aid kit. “Bring her inside and shut the door,” he ordered.
Rex helped Alina, and once inside, they grabbed the bandages and ointment from Baylor and got to work. Baylor was trembling uncontrollably.
He collapsed on the seat and released a breath that sounded like a cry. “A nightstalk,” he murmured. “I’ve never encountered one before. I’m sorry, I was so unprepared. I always thought I could defeat one, but I was completely helpless.”
“Don’t worry, we all felt that way,” said Rex. For once, he seemed more adept than Baylor. The sight of Jade dissolved his fear, and he began cleaning her wounds. Alina held Jade’s hands as she groaned with pain.
“I felt it, too,” Alina said. “It took a lot of concentration just to remember it couldn’t hurt me.”
“I couldn’t have taken on that nightstalk,” said Rex. “I love you, Jade, but it controlled me, and you would’ve died had you been in my care.” He worked gently with her, but his jaw twitched with rage.
“Don’t be hard on yourself. I don’t know how anyone overcomes them,” Baylor said as he worked on covering the window with heavy tape and plastic. Despite the weak shield, he assured them they would be safe if they stayed out of sight.
Jade’s cuts were deep but
