Page 136 of Take You Home

Right?

Yeah, but what if that’s just because no one’s ever tried?

Chester licks his lips nervously. Carefully, he starts to untangle himself from Obie’s grip. “Obie,” he says, keeping his voice as low as possible, “I need to check something. I’ll be right back, okay?”

Obie’s hands twist tighter in Chester’s shirt.Please don’t leave me. Please don’t‍?—

Chester’s heart tears along the seams.I’ll be right back,he pushes through their telepathic link, and gently, he disentangles Obie’s fingers from his shirt.

It’s either a sign of how much Obie trusts Chester or how weak he is that he doesn’t fight back. Chester desperately hopes it’s the former as he edges up to the rift, braces himself for a world of pain, and taps one fingertip against the swirling surface.

Nothing happens.

That makes sense. He probably didn’t even reach far enough to actually touch Tamaros. Taking a deep breath, he sinks his finger alittle farther this time, hoping he’ll still be able to pull away before the burns start radiating down his arm‍?—

Nothing. Cautiously, he opens his clenched fist, letting the rest of his finger splay through the swirling magic.

Nothing. He slides his entire hand in, all the way up to his wrist.

Nothing.His pulse roaring in his ears, he steps forward and sinks his entire arm through, all the way up past his elbow, all the way up towards his shoulder‍‍?—

Nothing. No burns. No pain.

No curse.

“Holy‍—‍”Chester looks over his shoulder to see Sawyer gaping at him, her eyes wide with shock. “Chester‍?—‍”

Chester turns to Micah. “It’s a fountain, right? It looks like a fountain with crimson water?”

“I‍—‍” Micah’s thunderstruck gaze is fixed on Chester’s arm. “Yes, but‍?—‍”

“Humans can’t just go intoTamaros,”Gregorio cuts in. He looks as shaky as Chester has ever seen him, shaky with shock and disbelief and what looks a little bit like awe. “It doesn’t‍—it doesn’t work like that. It doesn’t‍?—‍”

Chester fights back an unhinged laugh. “Only because no one’s ever been stupid enough to try, apparently,” he says, andthis‍?—

This is it. All he has to do is run into the demon realm, find the ancient Fount of Blessings, and bring enough back to save Obie.

Three simple steps. He’s sure he can manage.

“It’s dangerous in there.” Maggie’s voice is low and concerned. “Maybe not for demons, but‍—but for anything else, it’s dangerous. You could die. You could‍?—‍”

“Don’t care. I’ve been living on borrowed time since I was ten years old. If anything is worth dying for, it’s this,” Chester says,glancing back at Micah. “How much do I need? Of the Blessings, I mean?”

Slowly, Micah nods. “As much as you can carry.”

“Chester.”Obie’s ragged voice makes Chester jump, whirling around to face him. Obie is still curled up on the mattress like he’s physically trying to hold himself together, his face ashen and his body wracked with tremors, but his bloodshot eyes are fixed on Chester. “Don’t youdare,Chester. Don’t you‍?—‍”

“I’ll be right back,” Chester promises, and he bolts through the rift.

43

Chester‍—‍!”JJ lunges forward, just a second too late to grab Chester before he disappears. JJ’s right hand swipes through the rift, and he hastily jumps back, checking his arm for burns. “No. No, no, no,no‍?—‍”

Obie’s pulse screams in his ears. It feels like his insides are liquefying and his blood is crystallizing and his soul is trying to claw its way out of his chest, but‍?—

But watching the love of his life run headfirst intoanother damn dimensionin a futile attempt to save him is somehow worse than everything else combined.

And his splintering headache didn’t spike higher when Chester stepped through the rift. Can it just not get any worse? Does the binding spell not work between dimensions?