Garrett stiffened, drawing Theo’s attention.
Wait…what was—
The ground under him shook.
Not like an earthquake.
There was something different.
Theo clambered to his feet but the grass… It rolled under him, knocking Theo to his knees.
“Garrett?” Theo reached out to the gargoyle who had returned to his stone form. No signs of life at all.
Hellcats! This couldn’t be good. No, this had to be bad. Very, very bad.
Pushing back up, Theo stood, placing one hand on the tree to keep upright as the ground moved under his feet.
That was not natural!
Blue smoke rose from between the grass blades.
He opened his mouth to call out for help, but the other students in the area didn’t seem to notice that anything was wrong. With one hand on Garrett and the other on the tree for support, Theo wasn’t sure what to do.
Theo didn’t want to leave Garrett behind.
He tried to take a step, but the blue smoke wrapped around his ankles, holding his feet frozen.
Oh no! The smoke moved up his ankles to his knees.
“H-help!” he called out, but his voice barely passed his lips.
The smoke now reached his hips.
Looking around frantically, Theo spotted two figures running toward him.
“W-Wylder!” he barely managed to croak out. He could see Wylder and Josh running at him, but they seemed to be getting farther away, not closer. “Wylder!” He tried again.
Below his feet, the ground opened. Theo dug his nails into the tree and gripped Garrett tighter.
He looked back at his mate, but Wyler was so very far away.
Then Theo fell.
It was almost like he was inside a tornado. Wind whipped his hair, clothes, and limbs. The tree’s branches shook violently as Garrett’s stone form seemed to move faster than both Theo and the tree.
He couldn’t see anything but that same blue smoke.
Whatever was happening was wrong. Theo could feel it in his bones. Actually, his entire body hurt like he was being pulled in several different directions.
Blue smoke surrounded him tighter until Theo couldn’t even see the tree or Garrett any longer. He clamped his lips closed but it still seemed as if the smoke was filling him.
Sweetness filled his mouth even as it burned.
Opening his mouth, Theo screamed until there was a loud pop.
Chapter One
Theo
