8
Tense didn’t even begin to describe what Davey was feeling. Hogan had drifted off to sleep an hour ago. Now she and Ethan were simply waiting. Whenever Hogan showed signs of distress—the best indication he had traveled to the other realm—Ethan would take Hogan’s hand and hope to trigger a journey to the other side. The plan was a long shot. In fact, it wasn’t much of a plan at all, but it was the only option they had since Hogan had no idea how to control his abilities. Either Ethan would join him in the other realm, or Hogan would throw him against the wall again.
Or worse, Davey thought.
She watched her brother sleep and wondered if he ever simply dreamed. Was it bad all the time?
“What did it feel like?” she asked Ethan softly. “When Hogan touched you earlier, you seemed to be in pain.”
From the look on Ethan’s face, it was clear that he really didn’t want to answer the question, but when he did, Davey understood why.
“It felt like he was tearing me apart from the inside.”
Ten additional knots formed in Davey’s stomach, conjoining with the ones already there. She knew it was useless to argue. Ethan’s sense of duty would force him to take action no matter the cost to himself. Davey had to try anyway. “I know you want to help, but maybe there’s something else we can try first. If Hogan is what you say he is, then couldn’t he hurt you? What if he accidentally undoes the anchor? Your soul could be separated from your body. I can’t lose you, Ethan. Not again.”
“I know you’re afraid, Davey. I am too. But there’s no time. Mason Drekker won’t stop coming for Hogan, and now that I’m here, it’s doubtful Drekker will ever attempt another physical attack because he knows I can outmatch him in every way. Confronting him within the other realm is our best chance.”
Davey took his hand and gave it an anxious squeeze. “But what will you do once you get there—if you get there?”
“You have to trust me, Davey.”
“I do trust you. But I need you to answer the question.”
Ethan avoided eye contact, prompting Davey to press him further, but then Hogan whimpered softly. A thin sheen of sweat had broken across his forehead.
“I have to go,” Ethan said softly.
“I know.” Davey swallowed thickly. “What should I do if something goes wrong?”
Ethan’s cool fingers traced her cheek. His gaze was determined. “This will work,” he promised.
“Okay,” she whispered, finding faith in his assuredness. “Okay.”
“You should stand back. Hogan’s probably not in control right now.”
Fighting the twisted feeling burrowing into her gut, Davey moved away from the bed. Ethan waited until she was clear. Then, after a brief pause, he reached down and touched her brother. Closing his eyes as a soft blue light sparked between them, Ethan shuddered and was still. It took longer for the changes in Hogan to manifest, but he too was affected. His movements became less agitated. The sweat dried from his skin, and his whimpering stopped.
Davey wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, to celebrate at least what seemed like a tiny victory, but knew it was too soon. So, she waited.
And waited.
Minutes passed.
And then hours.
In the beginning, Davey was vigilant—a sentinel, guarding her boys with tireless vigilance. All the while she hated herself for being so useless, especially when her body betrayed her. The stagnant position had turned her muscles to stone, and the ensuing numbness slowly morphed into a more sinister, burning pain, and forced her to her feet. Awkwardly limping across the room, she paced until normal blood flow and feeling returned to her extremities. Even then, she kept moving, needing to be doing something. Otherwise, her mind would go insane projecting and analyzing every worst-case scenario.
As the first visages of dawn peeked through the curtains, casting grey streaks of light across the darkness, Davey worried for the millionth time that Hogan and Ethan might never return to her. Or what if Hogan awakened, but Ethan somehow remained behind—trapped in this other realm and unable to return to his physical body? Ugh. Davey yanked at her hair. She wanted to scream, but didn’t because she was also afraid that screaming might somehow harm a process she would spend a lifetime trying to understand.
When her brother finally stirred, the band of angst constricting her chest loosened and breathing became easier. Hogan slowly opened his eyes and sat up groggily, appearing confused to see her in his room. Then he looked to his right where Ethan still lay unmoving. Realization settled onto his features, quickly dragged down by apprehension.
Davey took him by the shoulders. “Are you okay?”
He nodded but kept staring at Ethan. The worry didn’t leave his expression.
Almost too afraid to ask, she did so anyway. “What’s wrong?”
“Davey, I don’t know if it worked.”
Not getting his meaning, she quickly shook her head. “I don’t know what’s going on. Ethan wouldn’t tell me. What happened, Hogan?”
Eyes wide and fearful, he took a deep breath. “Ethan wanted me to bring him back.”
“Who?” Davey demanded as her heart pounded a full chorus of drums within her ears.
“He said his name was Seth.”
Her mouth went dry. She licked her lips. Words became difficult to form. “S-Seth,” she stammered. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Hogan, this is extremely important.” She felt dizzy. Her head was buzzing, but her body was numb. “What else do you remember?”
“Almost all of it.” Tears welled in his eyes, and he started to shake. “The bad man was there, waiting for me. Seth told me to not be afraid and helped me hide. But the bad man found us. He was very angry. He was hurting Seth, hurting me.” Hogan hugged his knees to his chest. “Then Ethan came and they fought. He forced the bad man to leave us alone, but…”
“But what?” Davey urged.
“I’m not sure. I-It happened so fast.”
“Try,” she insisted with desperation thick in her voice.
“He made the bad man leave, but he promised something in return. Then Ethan told us to go. He said that Seth had to come back with us. Ethan swore he couldn’t leave without him if he was to fulfill his purpose. I told Ethan that I didn’t know if I could bring both of them back. I can’t control it like that, but he wouldn’t listen to me. He said we were out of time—I had to wake up and I had to take Seth with me.”
“Okay,” Davey said as calmly as possible, though she was freaking out on the inside. Her brother was clearly upset, and she didn’t want to make things worse by imprinting her panic upon him. She glanced uneasily at Ethan. He still hadn’t moved. “Hogan, why isn’t Ethan waking up?”
“I don’t know,” Hogan answered shrilly, curling his body tighter as he withdrew further into himself.
“It’s okay. It’s okay,” she said quickly, attempting to soothe him. “Whatever happens is not your fault. I’m just trying to understand everything that’s happening.”
Hogan stared at Ethan’s motionless form. He chewed his lip as silent tears streaked his cheeks. “I didn’t know how to do what he wanted, Davey,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”
The fear she felt was a sharp, stabbing pain, and it drove through her chest in a ruthless, repeating cycle. When she swallowed, spikes of dread pricked her throat raw. Ethan had to be okay. He just had to.
“It’s okay,” she said and squeezed Hogan’s hand. “Everything is going to be fine.”
∞∞∞
Just an hour after dawn, Ethan opened his eyes. But there was nothing human about them. Lightless voids pooled within both orbits, flooding darkness where life should have been. Instead of irises, there were colorless pits filled by a glowing green sequence of numbers. Repeating infinitely, the ones and zeros scrolled through the pitch of Ethan’s eyes at an ever-quickening pace, eventually becoming a jade-colored blur. Blue lines forged strange pathways across his face, tracing artificial blood vessels situated just beneath the surface of his skin. Not knowing what to think, Davey held her breath.
Movement from Ethan’s hand drew her attention downward. His fingers had curled into the sheets, gathering the soft fibers into tiny mountains. Then his arm jerked upward, the wave of motion undulating through the rest of his body to send a trembling ripple into his torso. Ethan sat up slowly, blinking as if the faint lamplight was too bright. Though his steely eyes appeared black in the dimness, Davey could tell they were human once more. Ethan was back.
At first, he considered her brother with steady contemplation. Then his scrutiny transferred to Davey with the slightest shift of movement. Looking down at his hands, Ethan wriggled all ten digits, made a fist and stretched his fingers out again. “Incredible,” he whispered.
“Ethan?” she called in a wavering voice.
“Yes,” he said. A sudden grin broke across his features. “It’s me.” Turning to Hogan with a start, Ethan’s expression faltered. “You okay, kid?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m fine.”
“Great.” Ethan stood up from the bed in an abrupt but fluid motion. Tugging at the lobe of his left ear, he looked sheepishly at Davey. “I guess I owe you an explanation,” he said.
She gave bewildered shrug. “At this point, you could tell me something…anything.”
“I’m sorry, Davey. I wasn’t sure it would work, so I didn’t want to say. I, uh, didn’t want disappoint you.” He paused, opened his mouth as if to speak, but then stopped again.
Davey frowned. “You risked yourself to save my little brother. Why would I be disappointed?”
“There’s a lot to explain. And there are certain things I will have to show you, but in time. Until then, I need you to trust me. Right now, you need to know I made a deal with Drekker.”
“What kind of deal?”
“I promised him a body—a permanent one. In exchange, he would leave the realm and stop tormenting Hogan. However, there is a but, and it’s a big one.”
Studying Ethan, Davey raised one eyebrow. She couldn’t put her finger on it at the moment, but she sensed something odd about him and crossed her arms. “I’m really not going to like the next part, am I?”
“No.” Ethan winced. “Drekker gave me twenty-four hours to prove I can uphold my end of the bargain. The body he wants—I have to steal it from Global Cures. Tonight. And I need your help to do so.”