Chapter One
Colton swallowed down the lump that sat in his throat. His lungs felt tight as he fought against the worry working its way through his body, taking control of everything around him. How did they go from having lunch and arguing about the lack of money to having faeries in their house and a pissed off sluagh outside in the cornfield? Talk about going from the frying pan to the fire.
Their failing farm felt like a small problem compared to Kele, the little brown faery, laying on the bed all lifeless except for his chest moving up and down as he breathed. Colton thanked whatever gods would listen that the cute dude survived.
A sense of urgency laced through the room, wrapping them all up until they were tied together as much by the weight of the emotion as they were the shared ownership of the farm.
"My time is running out," Talli whispered. He sat in the plush chair in the far corner of the room in Laith’s lap. The two were soulmates or Anam Cara as Talli called it. Laith held Talli so close and protective. "I am not a strong enough faery to trap the sluagh for any real length of time."
The sluagh outside was more like a ghost. He was a shadowy creature that scared the shit out of Colton so much he never wanted to go outside again. Just knowing the thing had been out there the whole two years they’d owned the farm choked him in fear.
"You don't have to do this alone.” They were all connected to the problem, so they all had to fix it together. Colton would make sure Talli knew that.
Sly, who sat next to Colton, nodded in agreement. When he coughed, Colton rubbed his back. He needed a doctor, but they couldn’t afford to pay for one.
Sly smiled at him even as he caught his breath. When he was able, he said, "You said you could trap the sluagh, right? At least long enough for your friends to come help us."
Talli nodded. "I don't have enough time to do that though. Less than an hour at best. When the sun goes down the door between worlds closes for the next six months. Kele needs a healer, and Dasan’s the closest in our realm.”
"Well, why can't one of us go get this Dasan dude?" The thought of going through that door left him jittery, but he’d go if that’s what it took.
Talli waved a hand dismissively and lay his head on Laith's chest. "Humans do not go through the door."
Wyatt, who lay next to Kele, sat up. It was the first real movement he had made in the last few minutes. "Can't or shouldn't?"
"What?"
Wyatt sighed. "Is it physically impossible for a human to go through the door?"
"Not that I'm aware of. Your people just don't come through. Ever."
"So, it won't kill us?"
"Not any more than it would me."
"Then one of us will go, while you set the trap." Wyatt stood and looked from Colton to Sly. "Want to draw straws or what?"
"Rock, paper, scissors?" Colton suggested. He stood when Wyatt came around the bed. Sly stood beside him.
His heart beat wildly in his chest and butterflies flew around in his stomach. His gut told him he’d be the loser. He wasn’t sure how he knew that, but there it was in the pit of his stomach like a seed that had just sprouted.
Colton held his right fist in his left hand and waited for Wyatt to begin the countdown. When he did, they all counted with their fists. The first thing Colton brought up was scissors, which didn’t beat Wyatt’s rock. Sly drew the same thing as Colton.
Colton turned to Sly. “Down to you and me. Ready?”
Sly nodded and sniffled. The sniffle was what had Colton wanting to throw the whole stupid competition. Sly wasn’t healthy enough to go.
Butterflies churned his stomach bile so much he fought the urge to vomit. Talking himself down from the ledge of fear wasn’t an easy task and a part of him wanted to change his mind and just let Sly go.
Sly coughed again, and they had to stop the whole thing while he practically choked on the phlegm in his throat. The poor guy looked exhausted if the dark circles under his eyes were any indication. He swayed on his feet so much that Colton reached out to catch him. Wyatt wrapped an arm around his waist from behind. Sly leaned into him and held up his hands again, ready for the competition to begin.
He met Wyatt’s gaze and saw the concern.
Talli’s voice floated around the room, wrapping them all up even as they silently counted down with their fists. "You do not know our ways. Dasan is already going to be angry. We will all be in the dungeon. The things down there moan and scream all the time. They try to touch you through the bars on the door when you pass them. The ones in the big pit are even worse. You have to make the right kind of friends down in the pit, and a human can never do that. The things down there will tear you apart."
Colton kept his fist closed and watched as Sly’s hand went flat. He sucked in air through his nose and let it out through his mouth, attempting to calm his racing heart. He gave Sly and Wyatt a smile that he knew didn’t reach his eyes.
"Well, that just made me pee myself a little," Colton said, turning his smile to Talli and Laith. "Paper covers rock, so I'm it."
The portal was just a swimming dark blue hole with green weaved through. It looked like spin art and a science fiction movie had a baby. Beautiful and scary as fuck all at the same time.
He couldn’t take his eyes off it for fear something dangerous would come out. Would another one of those sluaghs come barreling at them ready to possess and cause mayhem? Did they possess and if they did would Colton’s soul get trapped with that thing? And what if a werewolf or vampire came out and started a killing spree.
The palms of his hands were sweating. He wiped them down the sides of his jeans.
Would Colton get to keep his body if he went through the portal or would he be just like a sluagh, all shadow, and ghost-like? Because the Otherworld was technically like heaven and hell all rolled into one place, wasn’t it?
Man, he really needed a manual or something.
Yeah, it suddenly felt like a very bad idea.
The things he feared most were where he intended to go.
"Dasan will lecture me to within an inch of my life and believe me when I tell you that is worse than the pit. He will make me sweep the dungeon for a whole year." The stress in Talli’s voice rattled him in ways he would rather not experience.
He wanted to tell him to shut up, but he wouldn’t for two reasons. First, he might have only met Talli that day, but he quickly learned that he would consider such language rude and it would probably hurt his feelings. Colton liked him too much to do that. Secondly, Laith would kick Colton’s ass. Would and could. That wasn’t in question. Considering he was already going into hell, Colton didn’t want to get an ass-kicking beforehand.
"Good news is that Colton is going. Not you. So this Dasan prick can't do jack shit." Laith pulled Talli into his side. Laith might have given Talli a hard time all day long about the soulmate thing, but Colton had a feeling he wouldn’t anymore. Talli was on the farm to stay if the affection written on Laith’s face was any indication.
Colton smiled. Something good came from Talli and Kele’s adventurous mishap.
Talli met his gaze. "Don't ever speak to him that way. Name calling will get you put in the dungeon for sure. He will punish you if you do. Better yet tell him that Kele and I are in trouble and to please save us. He likes saving people as much as he likes punishing them. Also, bow when you see him and don't look at him until he tells you. And speak plainly. They will not understand your version of English as readily as Kele and I. We have read many books that come from your world, so we understand your words better than Dasan and Awan will.”
"Stop worrying so much," Laith said.
"Easy for you to say. You do not understand how angry this will make him. Colton is in danger the second he steps through that door." Talli’s eyes widened right before he reached around his neck, taking a necklace off. He handed it to Colton. "Dasan and Awan will both know what this means to me."
Colton held the thing in his hand. It was a medallion made out of a material Colton couldn’t identify. On it, there was a bearded man that looked like a dwarf or gnome. He had a club in his hand.
Colton’s hands shook as he stuffed it in his pocket. "God, I'm about ready to puke, man. Seriously. How will I know where to find him?"
"Dagda will lead you."
"Trust the mythical god in the sky. Good advice," Colton said with no small amount of sarcasm.
Wyatt smacked him in the back of the head. "You're talking to a fucking faery."
Colton gave Wyatt a narrow-eyed look and rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah, at this point, I don't think any of us should doubt Dagda's existence." The fact that Laith agreed with Wyatt was a small miracle all by itself. The two brothers had fought nonstop since the farm had been going downhill.
They made a good point, and for that reason, Colton lost his irritation. He hugged Wyatt first since he was so close. "Just in case I don't make it back or whatever."
Colton hugged Talli and then Laith. "Take care of the farm."
Colton hugged Sly next. The fact that he came outside to see him off made Colton feel loved. Wyatt, Laith, and Sly were all he had. Their love and acceptance meant everything.
What if he didn’t make it back to the real world? What if it were the last time he saw his best friends?
Colton looked at everyone one last time and then stepped through the door.