“Silas, stop her!” Logan yelled from behind him. Silas glimpsed his friend for only a moment, and then Nickelova’s hands clamped on his and Jason’s shoulders.
“It’s a portal!” Jason yelled.
But it was too late. Silas winced as he and Jason pitched forward along with Nickelova, toppling into nothingness.
“Silas!” Logan yelled, but his friend’s voice was cut off as all three of them landed inside what looked like an empty barn.
“Where are we, Nickelova?” Silas asked.
“I have no idea,” she said snarkily. “But I did what you ordered me to do. It’s here.” She pointed across the barn.
Hanging from a tack hook on the wall was the dragon fae amulet. Silas crossed the large space and lifted the heavy talisman from the hook, draping the chain over his palms. It looked authentic. What was it doing here? “What the hell is going on?” he murmured. His phone rang.
“The amulet is here,” he answered, registering that the number was Polina’s. “But Alex and Laina aren’t with it.”
“Silas, where are you? I can’t see you anymore,” Polina yelled, a tinge of panic in her voice.
“I’m in some kind of barn.”
“Silas? Silas? Are you there?”
“I’m here. Polina?” The line went dead.
“What is this place?” Jason asked. He stared at Nickelova, who was turning a slow circle.
“He lured us here,” she said ominously, shaking her head. “I told you. He’s always three steps ahead. Always.”
Silas pressed the GPS app on his phone. “I can’t get any service. Nickelova, take us back the way we came.” He rested his hand on the heart in his bag.”
“I can’t.” She shrugged. “The portal is closed, and I have no power without my heart.”
Silas searched the walls for any opening, but there were no doors or windows.
“We have the amulet. Can you use it to get us out of here?” Jason asked Nickelova.
“I can try.” She held a hand out to Silas.
“You will use this amulet only to return us to Red Grove,” Silas commanded with his hand inside his bag, gripping her heart. Although she rolled her eyes, he handed the amulet to her.
Draping it across both palms, she closed her eyes and tried again. Although the amulet pulsed, nothing changed. “I can’t,” she said. “There’s magic, powerful magic, preventing me from creating a portal.”
Silas removed the amulet from her grasp.
“You could give me back my heart,” she said. “I’d be stronger.”
“Fat chance,” Jason said, trying his phone again.
“It won’t help you anyway.” Alex materialized at the center of the barn, a familiar face at his side.
“Laina?” Silas asked. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
She strode to Silas and tossed her arms around his shoulders. He hugged her, but the hug felt unfamiliar, almost as if he were hugging a stranger. He couldn’t describe why, exactly, whether it was the pressure or the length of the hug. But Laina wasn’t herself. Had he infected her with sulfralite again?
As Laina retreated from the hug, she swiped the amulet from his grip and tossed it to Alex.
“Laina, what are you doing?” Jason spread his hands, a look of betrayal on his face. Laina backed toward Alex, her eyes going dull and blank.
“What have you done to her?” Silas drew his gun and leveled it on Alex’s head. “Let us out of here.”
