Chapter 21
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C yan turned to ask Steele something, only to realize that the gate had slammed shut on her , leaving him on the other side. She sagged in place as her mind filled with worry for him.
“Shit,” she cried out, trying to open the gate again. Even with her back supported by a tree trunk for added leverage, the gate refused to budge. She used force, energy, and every trick she knew to open the gate,… yet nothing.
She hated being separated from Steele. Not just because of his energy, thoughts, and emotions screaming through her brain but that whole divide and conquer idea that the Beacon just instituted.
She turned slowly to look around, immediately putting up a protective guard.
She called out to Steele but got no answer.
She called again, this time telepathically, but still got no answer.
Yet she had one more way to get through to Steele, and it sure wasn’t one either of them would choose, but it was all she got.
She closed her eyes, accessed his memories, and followed that trail of energy right back to Steele’s mind.
From here, she implanted her messages. Hey, I’m right here. Can you hear me?
I’m here too. Where are you?
On the other side of the gate. It won’t open from my side.
Silence came first. How did you get hold of me? She hesitated, and then he groaned. Right, of course you did. Damn, you know that’s cementing it, right?
Yeah, well, at the moment, I could care less about knowing your history than making sure we’re both safe , she replied, trying hard to not snap at him. Our personal lives are hardly the issue to worry about right now .
I’ll remind you of that later , he vowed, with a heavy snort. Look. I saw the gate close really quickly, but there was almost—
I know. I saw it. Hang on. Let me try something. And, within a few minutes, she said, Now try the gate again.
What did you do?
She heard him step forward as he tried to open the gate. Don’t open it with your hands. Open it with your mind first. It seems to be what I did, and I didn’t even think about it. Now that we’re connected telepathically, it should work easier for you.
You opened it with your mind first? Who opens gates that— Suddenly the gate opened, and there he was, standing in front of her.
She stared at him with relief, before throwing open her arms and jumping into his. His arms closed behind her, and he just held her for a long moment.
Finally he stepped back and made sure she wasn’t hurt. “So, we have a house of horrors that’s full of jokes,” he noted, with a calm, wry tone. “Let’s keep going and see if we can get through the next gate.”
“I wonder how many more there are.”
“If we’re in a damn loop, we’ll come back around,” he pointed out. “And that is something we need to know. So, if we can get through the next one, which in theory should be the last one, that will tell us if we’re in a loop or not.”
“ Right ,” she muttered, as she took a few steps slightly off to the side, separating their energies at least physically a little bit.
He looked at her and shook his head. “Nothing will separate our energies anymore,” he declared, with a wry smile.
“I don’t think what I did changed anything,” she replied.
“Nope because we’re already bonded, and it’s just getting stronger.”
She walked determinedly toward the fourth gate, refusing to look at him because he was right. Things between them had become a whole lot more intimate than they had been up until now.
They were together again, and right about now she would take that intimacy over being separated in this strange new world that they found themselves in.
He stopped up ahead and asked her, “Have you seen this before?”
She turned to look at what he was motioning to and frowned. It was a door, but it was more castle-like. Huge size, heavy wood, brass hinges and hardware, and a rounded top. She smiled. “Appropriate considering that we are trying to gain entrance to a castle,” she quipped.
“I know,” he replied, “but did you ever wonder if we’re even at the right castle?”
She winced. “I was trying not to think about that. I don’t want to consider other castles right now.”
He smiled. “Just as long as you were considering it.”
She glared at him. “What I was and what I am considering are two different things,” she declared, “and, right about now, absolutely everything you keep bringing up is enough to make me reconsider going forward.”
“I’m not walking away now.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, as she turned to him. “Because, wow, it’s tempting at this point.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Nope, let’s go. Another gate has presented itself, and we are going through it.” And, with that, he held out a hand to her.
She immediately reached for his hand, and, determined to stay together, they walked through the next gate.