What was Jack playing at?
“I don’t like you even a little bit,” Mal informed Jack.
Jack’s face split into a grin. “Try not to make this adventure too much fun for me. It’ll make everything else pale in comparison for weeks.” Then Jack poked Mal with a finger, and the force sent Mal hurtling into the rift.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
CLAYTON
Going through Mal’s portal had been a terrible idea, and if he could have, Clayton would have turned around and gone right back the way he came.
It was similar to the time during the fight with the kidnappers when Clayton had hallucinated that he’d left his body. It had held a nagging sense of otherness that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
Currently, the nagging sense of otherness was hitting him like a load of potatoes flying from the back of a truck. It didn’t come all at once, but in burst after burst, until Clayton was buried in the sensation.
It was far worse than it had been the last time. Clayton’s body felt completely alien to him, small and ill-fitting. As the portal carried him away to their destination, the sensation grew worse and worse until finally, he thought he would explode like a grape from its skin.
Just when Clayton thought he’d go mad, there was apop,and he was free. His entire body tingled, and he felt lighter, like he’d shed something he never needed but had been stuck with his whole life. Now it was like his entire being was shimmering moonlight.
It was beautiful.
:Oh no, you fucking do not. Get out of my playground:A familiar voice rang out, and suddenly Clayton found himself in the dark space again, like before.
Only this time, he had a body and the space was much smaller. That probably had something to do with the people jammed in there with him. There was much muffled cursing and such going on, but Clayton ignored it in favor of pondering the mystery of the voice. It was feminine and had a motherly energy to it. Clayton couldn’t help but feel like whoever she was, she was there to help him.
:Don’t worry, dear, that wasn’t about you.:
Clayton felt a ghostly touch on his cheek. “Thanks?” He had no idea what was going on, but it never hurt to be polite.
:You’re always welcome here, little traveler, but you have questionable taste in friends. I let some of them through, but one of them simply had to go. He’s not allowed here, and he knows it. Honestly, I don’t know why he bothered trying to come at all.:
Clayton knew exactly who the voice was referring to, and was surprised to discover the alarm in his chest. “You didn’t hurt him, did you? Maliskind of an asshole, but he’s almost tolerable when you get to know him.”
“Wow. I love you too, Red,” Mal’s irritated voice came from somewhere below Clayton’s elbow. “It’s always nice to be appreciated.”
“You’re still here? Who did you get rid of then?” The first was said to Mal, and the second part was to the voice in Clayton’s head. “There’s someone with me worse than Mal?”
Clayton’s arm stung where Mal’s voice had come from. “Ow! Did you just bite me?”
“You were being mean for no reason.”
:Mal is absolutely delightful, Clayton. I’m happy you brought him.:
“Delightful? Mal?? Ow! Stop that!” Clayton wanted to rub his arm, but he was trapped in place. Being in a small, dark area wasn’t his idea of a good time.
“Stop randomly insulting me, then.” There was a touch of hurt to Mal’s voice.
“Are the two of you always like this?” Marshall’s voice came from somewhere near Clayton’s feet, which likely explained the foot in Clayton’s face.
“Are you always useless?” Mal retorted. “Why don’t you magic us out of here, pretty boy?”
There was a suspiciously long pause before Marshall said, “I, um… I seem to have lost access to my power. Jack? What about you?”
There was no answer.
:You’ll be fine without that one, dear. Oh my, he’s very angry at me right now. How amusing.:
