"Get up," John snapped, looming over her, "you've got work to do."
"I—what?" Mira stammered. "I'm not doing anything for you."
"You'll want to before the day is done." He kicked her and laughed again. "Things have changed since you were last here. Come on, I'll show you."
The little scream in the back of her mind grew louder, trying to take over. She saw no way to get out of this.
Shakily, she moved to her feet. John grabbed her hand this time, and like a kid wanting to show off a new toy, he took off running, giving her no other choice than to run as well.
Luckily, they didn't have to go far. At a neighbor's house, John pulled her up another set of stairs that took them higher than the stunted trees. Mira was already breathing more shallow than normal. Her chest felt as though it was being crushed, which didn't allow room for a lot of air.
"There," John said, dropping her hand and spreading his arms wide.
Mira stared out, seeing a small part of the city. She had no idea how she could see through the haze. Maybe the height or the strange light that distorted the world caused the effect.
"It's the city," Mira said. She was stuck here with John, but she didn't have to be. Well, she had to be stuck in the Ether—she couldn't think of a way around that, but would it be better with John, or away from him?
"Not just the city," he said, "watch."
She did as she was told, but the overriding thought was to get away. She took a few steps forward as though to get a better look. Her gaze traveled around the clearing below, looking for things that could trip her up.
A loud roar consumed the world. Mira shrieked and covered her ears, but she didn't dare shut her eyes. There was something out in the haze besides the buildings. A hint of movement caught her eye and she wondered what lurked in the shadows.
The sound swallowed her and reverberated through all the cells in her body. Ancient fears of darkness rose inside Mira. Shadows darted, and she badly wanted to see what moved out of the corner of her eyes, but she dared not look away from the city. Motion around one of the skyscrapers snagged her attention. A long tendril took shape and began to grow from the darkness. It wrapped a tower-sized root around a building. When it stilled and the movement stopped, she had a hard time making out where the building parted from the thing.
When the sound went away, Mira heard it continue in her mind. John said something, but she ignored him. Hands shaking, she removed them from her ears. Shrill sounds continued around her, and she glanced below and saw writhing in the grass.
Mira turned and ran.
Her mind blanked out and terror took over. The only thing she could do was run. The only place she thought to go was back to her apartment.
John yelled, but she didn't care. There was nothing else that she cared about. When she reached the garage, she ignored the stairs to her front door and rushed into the lower level, heading straight to her workshop.
When she slammed the door shut behind her, she locked it. The magic from her workshop had burned away most of the ethereal haze, but that barely registered. Seeing the darkness of the staircase, she ran across the room, slammed that door shut, and locked it.
There was loads of magic here. It was her magic, familiar and comforting in a small way.
Her mind feverishly fumbled through ideas on how to get back. What she kept coming back to was that there was no mirror. She seemed to fixate on that thought.
"Open up, witch!" John pounded on the door to the garage.
Mira's lungs froze, and she backed away from the door. In the middle of the room, she bumped into something. A terrified, squeaky scream burst out of her and she wheeled around.
An almost translucent form of Gabriel stood in the circle.
Mira reached for him, but the image faded away.
"Get the hell out here!" John roared.
Confused, Mira backed into a corner, trying to keep the door and where she had seen Gabriel in view.
When Gabriel flickered back into existence, Mira desperately wanted to run to him to have him get her out of there, but he wasn't solid.
"Mira? Dammit," Gabriel turned toward the door to her apartment as though talking to someone. "It's not working, Harker." The volume of Gabriel's voice fluctuated as much as his form. "Fix it."
"Don't come here," Mira squeaked. "Get me out!"
Gabriel became slightly more solid when he turned to her again. "Mira!" Hope lit up his face.
Mira didn't stop to wonder how they were making this work. She moved forward, ready to grab onto Gabriel.
The frame of the door shook. Something struck it, determined to get into the room.
Mira jumped, eyes fixed on the door.
Another shuddering bang and the door burst open.
John strolled into the room looking cross.
Mira reached out to take Gabriel's hand, but there was nothing of substance to grab. Not wanting John to get any closer, Mira backed into her corner again. John's eyes narrowed and he looked around the room.
His gaze went right past Gabriel, as though he couldn't see the angel. When John appeared satisfied they were alone, he smiled at Mira.
I must be going crazy, Mira thought, trying not to cry. Wishful thinking.
"I brought a friend," John said with a cruel cheerfulness that made Mira shiver.
From behind John, a moldy-looking creature stepped into the room.
"We just want to make sure you find your way," John said.
Gabriel yelled something, but he addressed a person invisible to her.
When Mira's attention wavered to Gabriel again, the moldy creature darted forward. Seeing the movement, Mira braced herself, expecting to be dragged out of her workshop.
As the monster reached the center of the room, Gabriel came into sharp focus. This time, he concentrated on the creature, not Mira.
It was the first time John realized they weren't alone. The apparition of Gabriel slashed out at the beast running towards her. For the space of a few heartbeats, a sword appeared in his hand and Gabriel's wings, hidden in the real world, shimmered.
The creature howled and scrambled backwards, and then Gabriel was himself once again. No wings, no sword.
"Leave her alone!" Gabriel yelled.
John tensed, expecting to be ordered away. When Gabriel's words didn't force him to retreat, John grinned. "Not even the bastard son of a god can straddle worlds for long. If you enter, your life is forfeit, same as hers."
Gabriel glanced at Mira and she saw his determination.
Another creature, previously unseen in the shadows behind John, dove forward, taking advantage of Gabriel's distraction. With seemingly little effort, Gabriel spun and the sword popped into existence again. This time, it remained for a short time after the beast screeched and ran away.
Once the creature reached the doorway, it screeched again, and Mira heard spirited movement in the garage. Remembering that the monsters ate their wounded, she pressed her hand tightly to her mouth and hugged her stomach.
John was right. Gabriel couldn't keep a foot in both worlds for long. Taking a few steadying breaths, Mira pushed herself away from the wall and moved to her worktable.
Hands shaking, she rummaged through ingredients. Maybe if she hurt enough of them, they'd be distracted and she could get away.
"Mira," Gabriel said, not taking his eyes of John, "I need you to help me over."
She stopped her search and gaped at Gabriel as though he were mad. "Not a chance. Stall them and I'll find a way to get past them."
"This isn't a debate," Gabriel said.
"You're right," Mira said. "If you can't get me back, I'll run." Mira turned back to her worktable, a fire of determination building. There was no way she could let Gabriel come here.
The fire dampened when she realized she had nowhere to run. Her last trip into the Ether hadn't been a success. If Gabriel hadn't been there, she would have died.
She began to tremble.
Magic was stro
ng in the Ethereal Plane. She knew that now and she was in her own workshop. She could make this work, and if she was able to get to Tyler, she knew together they could stand against them all.
Remembering that something lurked in the shadows of the city, she amended the thought. She and Tyler could stand against most of them.
That would give Emmit and Gabriel time to figure something out.
Feeling eyes on her, she glanced at Gabriel, who watched her almost as intensely as John.
A scratching noise drew her attention. Another creature must have been behind the door to her apartment. John’s smile returned, and staying clear of Gabriel, he went to the other door and opened it.
The creature that entered was a sickly yellow green with matted tufts of fur or hair in clumps around its body.
When it stepped forward, she automatically moved back. The thing wasn't erect, but low to the ground, looking almost like a person pretending to be a dog. It grinned at her, and more than one mouth appeared.
Mira shuddered and turned to Gabriel, but he was gone.
Panicking, Mira grabbed blindly at things on the table and moved toward the center of the room where Gabriel had been. She fumbled with the items she’d grabbed, and most of them fell to the floor, but it didn't matter, Gabriel had been stuck in her circle, unable to enter the Ether. She could use the same circle to keep everything in the Ether away.
Mentally, Mira reached into her core and let her power fall like a rock into the familiar lines of her circle. She saw the evil glint John had in his eyes, and then charged the circle, putting as much as she could into it. Growls and yowling erupted in the darkness. She could hear creatures running away as though scalded. Even John frowned and backed away.
For the first time since she’d entered the Ether, Mira was able to take a real breath.
"Your friend Tyler tried this trick," John said. There was an uncertainty in his voice that Mira clung to. "He's still recovering." John’s face distorted and a too large grin appeared. His eyes were bright. "If you can call it recovering, now that we have him."
Mira desperately hoped that John was only trying to scare her. "Why do you even want us?"
"Harker didn't tell you? You'll find out soon enough." John cautiously moved forward and studied the bubble of power she held around her. He prodded it, and after a moment's thought, he whistled sharply.
When nothing happened, Mira tried to relax, but that was impossible with John in the room.
"Magic is only magic," John said. "If you don't know what you're doing, it will fail."
Two sharp bangs came from the dark interior of the garage. The sound of wood slowly splintering quickly followed.
"I know what I'm doing," Mira said. Her voice trembled, taking away some of her certainty, but she barely noticed when her attention was focused on watching the shadows in the garage.
John laughed. "No witch alive knows what they're doing. You're strong, you and Tyler both. Especially now that you've been in the Ether." John moved unconcernedly toward the entrance to her apartment. "This dump of a place has some benefits."
The doorway to the garage filled. The brown-green thing trying to get through couldn't fit, so it drew back. A club swung out of the darkness, widening the space, and the creature tried again, forcing its way inside.
"It has several benefits, now that I think about it," John continued.
The thing looked like a person that had been inflated past endurance. The skin was green mottled with brown. When it spilled into the room, there was a lot less space available.
"Now," John said, moving into the stairwell, "we're not going to kill you. Yet. But you're going to wish you’d come with me in the beginning. It would have gone easier on you."
The hideous beast lifted a knobby wooden club. Mira backed as far away as she could while remaining in her protective sphere. She poured more energy into her circle, wondering how long it would hold against brute strength.
The hunk of wood swung down, and Mira watched it connect with her magic. The blow spread through her magic and straight back to her.
Mira screamed as the force made her crumple to the ground. Breathing hard, she tried to figure out what had happened, but her mind could comprehend very little beyond the agony of the assault. Dazed, she saw her creation grow dimmer.
It wasn't her magic that was going to fail, she realized. It was her.
Chapter 20
She hadn't even seen the creature swing a second time, but she felt the impact. Mira cried out, unable to stop herself. Her magic stuttered, and then stopped altogether. Tears ran unchecked down her face. She shut her eyes tight and tried to push aside the agony. If she was going to survive, she needed to be able to think.
"Go away."
The words were low, clear, and an obvious order.
There was a shriek. Mira heard something pounding against the wall.
Gabriel. For some reason Mira couldn't quite describe, his appearance made her cry more.
He didn't say anything else, but he didn't have to. After silence filled the room—the creature having pounded its way out of the garage, still he didn't make a sound.
Mira sniffed and tried to uncurl. She heard him walk across the floor and slam a door shut. He tried to shut the other, but had to push something in front of the door to keep it from opening.
She felt him kneel down beside her, and finally, Mira opened her eyes. Gabriel looked pale behind the pearly sheen to his skin. His wings were spread slightly behind him.
"Did that thing hit you?" Gabriel asked.
She took a few deep breaths and tried to sit up, but he gently pushed her back down and started running his hands over her arms, looking carefully for any damage.
It had taken a while, but Mira's brain pushed itself out of the cloud obscuring her thoughts. "I'm okay," she said.
Gabriel winced.
Mira's sighed, knowing that Gabriel caught the lie. "Would you buy, it’s not as bad as it looks?"
He let out a small grin. "If you believed it, I would. Did it hit you?"
"Yes and no," Mira said.
"I don't know what that means," Gabriel said.
"It... my magic and... I don't know. It felt like I was being hit, but I wasn’t."
"Anything broken?" Gabriel asked, his hand shifting to her legs.
"Nothing is broken." Mira gritted her teeth and pushed herself to a sitting position.
"Lie down," Gabriel said.
Mira found herself lying back down on the concrete without thinking about it. It took her a few moments to realize what had happened.
"Hey!" she snapped. "You can't do that."
"Sorry," he said, shifting to the other leg, "I'm not exactly good at control."
Mira winced when he pressed near her hip. "Still," she said, trying to find hints that he might be lying.
He pressed again, more carefully.
"Stop it," she said, "that hurts."
"I thought it didn't hit you."
She rolled her eyes. "It didn't. Can I sit up now? I feel stupid lying here."
He frowned uneasily. "If you're sure nothing is broken. You've got some nasty bruises."
Mira frowned and pushed herself up to a sitting position. "What are you doing here?" Seeing the hurt look on his face brought about by her words, she shifted gears. "I mean, I've never been so happy to see someone, but I hate to see you get stuck here again." She didn't add the 'because of me' part at the end.
"There was no way I was going to leave you here on your own."
"How did you get through?" Mira asked.
"Emmit helped." Gabriel's face took an angry turn. "Not that I gave him a choice. I don't know what you see in that guy."
Mira pulled her legs towards her and crossed them, sucking a pained breath when her hip protested. Her mind turned to Emmit, right before she was pulled to the other side. Emmit had already given up on her. He’d almost gotten her killed because he had already assumed she would die.
"Shit. Mi
ra, I'm sorry," Gabriel said.
She forced a grin. "Liar."
He didn't appear amused. "I shouldn't have said anything. It's none of my business."
Mira frowned and wondered about that. Was it his business?
Only if she let it be that way.
"It doesn't matter," Mira said. "We've got more important things to worry about."
Gabriel nodded and looked around the room.
"I'm really sorry you're trapped here," Mira said.
"Not for long," Gabriel said, standing up.
"I destroyed the mirror. I don't know of any other way to get out."
"Emmit is covering that one for us."
"He is? How?"
"I may hate him, but I trust that he can help. He just needs time."
"How much time?"
"He said he'd try to have everything ready within twenty-four hours."
"One day?" The thought made Mira shiver. One day in the Ether. Then her thoughts turned to Tyler, and she wondered how long he had been stuck here. "I hope that's enough time. Help me up."
"If he takes longer, we'll just have to wait."
Gabriel grabbed Mira's outstretched hand and helped pull her to her feet. Mira flinched and wished momentarily that she had stayed on the ground.
"If that big green thing didn't hit you, what did?" Gabriel asked, looking at her side as though trying to see through her jeans to the bruise beneath.
"The ground," Mira said.
"You fell?"
"I was pushed down the stairs."
Gabriel frowned.
"John isn't a nice guy."
Gabriel clenched his fist and Mira was surprised to see his sword appear readily in his hand. Gabriel, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice.
Mira decided to move things down a different train of thought. "I didn't mean that Emmit may not have enough time. I meant we may not." She moved to her workbench to see what supplies their current world mirrored.
"You're right," Gabriel said. When Mira glanced his way, she saw that he seemed to turn inward, as though thinking through several different ideas at once. "If we can track John, maybe we can end this here."
"I don't think finding John is going to be easy," Mira said. "He may not even be in this world anymore."
Spellbound Murder Complete Trilogy (Spellbound Murder Box Set Book 1) Page 43
