Chapter 1
Getting lost in the woods seemed very like us. I loved my friends—they were brothers, really—but hanging out in city parks did not make us outdoorsmen. Even Wally, the outdoorsy-est of us, looked like he wasn’t sure which planet we were on anymore.
“I blame you.” I pointed a finger at Milo.
He groaned and flapped his arms. I was pretty sure he was trying to create a breeze up under his kilt without any of us noticing. Dumbass was probably chafing his balls off.
“Youfollowed him,” Wally said to me.
“And you followed me.”
“And I followedyou,” Zalman said before tweaking Wally’s nipple. Wally flinched—we all knew he was sensitive there—and Zalman grinned like the devil when Wally actually growled at him. The two of them were seconds away from a fight and, even though it was practically their love language, I really wasn’t in the mood to referee.
“Alright!” Milo hollered, making me flinch. “You’re hungry, tired, and cranky. I get it. Me, too. So how about we look for aplace to sit down, have a snack, and enjoy where we are for a while?”
“Okay, Sergeant Milo,” Wally said with a roll of his eyes.
Milo puffed up. “That’sCaptainMilo, thank you very much.”
I didn’t need to be told to get the snacks out more than once. Shrugging out of my backpack, I set it on the ground and dug out the trail mix I’d made. I’d put something each of them would like in it, hoping nobody would bitch about it being too healthy. Dark chocolate for Zalman, macadamia nuts for Milo, and dried cranberries for Wally—I’d even toasted the oats and pumpkin seeds. But first…
“Drink your water,” I told them for the hundredth time. We were all sweating—well, except Zalman, who might be part dessert lizard—and they were shit at remembering to hydrate. I hadn’t gone from the fat kid in freshman year of high school to the healthy and built guy I was now without learning how to take care of myself. I stared them each down until they took a drink from their water bottles.
This kind of thing happened every year. Our first outing would usually go horribly wrong in some ridiculous way, and then we’d spend the rest of our vacation doing the touristy things that were safe and itemized while also poking at whoever screwed up until we flew home. So, this time, it would be making fun of Milo for getting us lost in the woods.
“Huh,” Zalman said, “this looks suspiciously like a fairy ring.”
I looked over, seeing rectangular rocks that were too thick to be paving stones arranged in a circle that was maybe six feet wide. Growing out of the spaces between the rocks were pretty little wildflowers in purple and white. I got out my phone to take a photo.
Milo chuckled. “I wish.”
I made to frame the shot, but Milo stepped in front of me and into the circle. He threw his arms up and hollered in alarm. I dropped my phone and lunged for him, but he was…gone.
At first, I stood there staring, just dumbfounded. Where was he? He’d slipped on something. He’d been falling. There wasn’t anywhere for him to?—
The edge. The edge of the path was right there. Had Milo gone over?
I rushed closer, stepping over the rocks.
“No!” Zalman said and grabbed at my arm.
Now I fell, dropping down to splash into warm water. I went under, the water closing over my head. I didn’t know how it had happened. Why it had. There hadn’t been any water inside the ring of rocks.
And I couldn’t swim!
I clawed at the water, kicking my feet. I had to go up. I had to get air!
Suddenly, it felt like something wrapped around my middle and hauled me up. Like a giant hand squeezing me, the thing pulled me up until I could gasp a breath. It pressed me against…the side of a pool? I was clinging to a rounded ledge of cream-colored stone and blinking up at a naked guy squatting in front of me. He had blue hair and butterfly wings on. His pubes were blue.
The fuck was happening?
“Are you okay?” he asked, bright blue eyes wide.
I nodded. Technically, I hadn’t drowned, so I was okay. But where the hell was I and who was he? What came out of my mouth was, “I was hiking. Did I fall down the mountain?”
His blue eyebrows hopped up. “Mountains? Those are miles away from here. You fell right through the ceiling and into my pool.”
I looked up since he was pointing. Shouldn’t there be a hole? Shouldn’t I have injuries? But the ceiling was beautiful tile work depicting a sunny day with flowers, butterflies, and bees. So I had just magically passed through a ceiling without breaking anything or hurting… Magically…
