about that before you waltzed on over here.” Angry now, he stormed around the fountain toward another direction in the maze, dragging me behind him. “We’re going to run from here. I don’t want to risk anyone seeing us in flight. Come on.”
After swerving through a few more twists and turns, I immediately recognized the old, rounded wooden door through which I’d entered. There it sat, nestled at an angle upon a small green hill, facing the same dirt path that led to the maze. The maze Andrew had said we wouldn’t be needing.
“Oh, thank God,” I breathed, leaned on my knees to catch my breath.
“No time to rest, it’s not over yet, come on.” Joel yanked me by the arm again, forcing me upright. Only a few feet away now, we darted for the door and raced inside it, past the earthen hallway and over the checkered tile, until we stood directly underneath the hole that had dropped me into this godforsaken place.
“You ready?”
I gasped, “I’m not going back without Gavin—”
A loud rumble sounded from the end of the hallway and the door swung open, Gavin swooping out of it and toward us.
“Speak of the devil,” Joel mumbled.
Guards poured through after him, one after the other surrounding us, cornering us, their menacing stares striking from every direction. Gavin latched onto me and shoved me behind him, exchanged glances with Joel.
“Get her out of here,” Joel ordered, stepping in front of Gavin, guarding us.
“Not like this.”
“Damn it, Gavin. I mean it. Now.”
“We’re not leaving you,” I said, looked to Gavin for assurance.
He didn’t offer any. “Close your eyes,” he said, picked me up, ready to launch us upward. As he crouched down, I reached out and grabbed the back of Joel’s shirt. “Joel, please, no!”
“Take care of each other, you hear me?” he glanced back at me, positioned himself to fight as the guards, daggers in hand, smothered him. Gavin’s feet left the ground and I screamed, watched Joel’s compassionate, wise face drift into the swarms of vampires covering him like a pack of lions closing in on an animal’s carcass.
Soaring upward through the darkened hole, we crashed into a wall of water, the impact stinging my skin. I held my breath and opened my eyes as the water engulfed us, the same invisible force stringing us along farther and farther upward, to the surface. The water became clearer when we neared the bayou’s surface, and I searched for Gavin’s eyes, kept myself parallel with him as we ascended.
The angelic purple light danced across my skin as we sailed through it, our heads finally breaking the surface. I choked when I took in my first breath of air, clawed to pull myself out of the water, feeling like I was in quicksand. Gavin made his way out and reached for me, carried me to my trusty old Jeep that sat where I had left it. My sobs began as soon as I had enough breath to cry.
“It’s okay, love,” he panted. “Just breathe.”
“Joel’s dead because of me! Why did you leave him there?” I spat, coughed uncontrollably. He propped me up in the passenger seat and tossed a sweater over me, slammed the car door.
“Rest now. It’s not your fault. None of this is. The portal’s about to close so we’ll be safe soon, but we still have to move fast, just in case.” He slid into the driver’s seat and tried starting the car, only to hear a rebellious stalling groan from the engine. He tried again, turned the key desperately.
“Battery’s dead. Think I left the lights on,” I explained, quivering.
“I need you to keep up with me. We have to make it to the highway, all right?”
“Can’t you just fly us—?”
“No, I’m so sorry. I’m too weak.” He hung his head as he pulled the key from the ignition. “We’ll be all right as soon as we get to the highway, I promise.”
He pulled me from my seat, waited to make sure I could stand, then took my hand to lead me into the woods. The sun began to rise, warm orange light slowly filtering in through the trees from the horizon, the sounds of dawn surrounding us. We trudged on through and eventually made it to the highway, and my heart lightened at the sound of cars passing by.
“We’re safe for now, the portal’s closed,” Gavin said, his relief evident. “Last night was the last crescent moon for a while. It’ll give us some time to figure