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The itch started in my body alongside a low heat. The creature’s aura was the same sensation as before, but the intensity was five times stronger. I felt the beast in my bones. It hit me out of the blue, as fast as Sike saw the beast on the scanner, but it was undeniable that he was right. The creature was on its way, and the scanners were working perfectly.

Immediately, we all huddled together. Bryce stayed on the ground, but he pulled himself up to see what was happening. Urgency radiated through our huddle. Jennifer and Johnny hovered on the outside, looking skittish.

“We have a much bigger group this time,” Lyra said, jumping into planning mode. “That means we have a better chance of beating this thing. It’s invisible and incredibly tough.” We had more vampires, like Arlonne and Chandry, which helped our odds… but I wouldn’t mention that to Jennifer. We had to be careful fighting this thing, while also limiting our abilities to a believably human level. If it came down to it, though, I’d sacrifice my cover to protect someone.

Chandry’s eyebrows lifted with interest. “How fast can this ghost monster move?” She was probably calculating her acrobatic stunt timing.

“Ghost is a good name,” Sike cut in. Let’s focus. Hard to do with a panicked audience.

Jennifer watched us openly. Her tears had dried, and now her eyes had an unsettled, excited look that made me suspicious. She rubbed her arms vigorously against the chilly night air. Something about her energy radiated strangely. When she looked to the forest, she was looking right where the creature was coming. Had she somehow heard it arrive?

“Fast,” Lyra told Chandry with a serious frown. “TheGhost ripped apart an airplane like nothing, in midair, too. It’s strong, and worse, it seems to be attracted to our group, based on the fact that it keeps finding us. I’m not sure if it wants to eat us or destroy us, but our presence clearly attracts it.”

“Do you have any idea what it’s specifically attracted to?” Arlonne asked. Lyra shook her head. It was something we hadn’t understood when the beast had originally come for us in the airplane. It had beelined straight for us, left, and then come back, but why?

Jennifer sucked in an excited breath. At this point, I was positive Arlonne was weighing her options with murdering this young human and begging forgiveness from Bryce after the fact.

“It’s probably attracted to your, like, vampire energy,” Jennifer blurted. “Your camouflage orwhatever.” Her eyes were wide—not with fear, but excitement. Lyra gave her an incredulous look. I slowly watched my wife’s faith in humanity drain away as she glared at Jennifer.

My vampire energy? I guessed the game was up.

“It is camouflage,” I insisted weakly. We didn’t have time for this.

“This is serious. You should be terrified,” Lyra snapped. ”You guys need to stay back. You two are civilians, and you don’t know how to fight this thing. If you try anything stupid, you”re liable to get killed. I can”t stop it from shoving your body in its mouth if I can”t even see it.”

For a moment, Jennifer”s face actually paled. Finally. And yet, I sensed she wasn”t going to give in easily.

Lyra was about to move on when Jennifer quickly jumped back… only to bark an order to Johnny to get the camera out. I had seen Lyra angry many times, but in that moment, I wouldn”t have been surprised if actual flames sprouted out of her head.

”I told you to stay back,” Lyra warned, making a heroic effort to keep her temper.

Arlonne snapped her fangs, which weren”t extended but still provided a scare factor. ”You would be wise to listen to her.”

”We don”t have to listen to you.” Jennifer let out a scathing laugh as Johnny raised the camera with a shaking hand. They bunched up behind our group like lurking paparazzi at a press conference.The camera wasn’t part of the plan.

“Camera away,” Lyra snapped.

Bryce glowered at them both and lumbered to his feet. He had to stay fifteen feet from Arlonne, but that didn”t mean he couldn”t herd the civilians off to a safe distance. He grabbed Johnny by the collar with one hand and Jennifer”s backpack with the other, yanking them back with the full force of an annoyed Scotsman.

Twigs and underbrush snapped behind us as something crashed through the forest. The beast had found us. Jennifer let out a delighted gasp at the approaching sound. Johnny tried to put away his camera under Bryce’s fierce glare, but she snatched it from him to turn it on. Unable to do anything about them, I focused on what I could do to fight this Ghost. The branches broke on the trees, clearly marking where the monster was in its invisible form.

The beast flickered back and forth between invisibility and showing its milky scales. It had a new pink wound on its snout, and the scent of its sour-smelling blood filled the air. Arlonne crouched low and growled, likely smelling the same thing. The Ghost might be fleeing from another fight, given its recent gash. But was it a fight with other survivors, or with another monster? Chandry shifted her weight from foot to foot, her eyes darting around to find the beast as it shook the broken branches and twigs off its body.Everyone was ready except for Sike, who hung back with Bryce and the civilians, so he could help keep an eye on them.

Lyra readied a rifle alongside Cam. We had precious few bullets, according to Lyra, but this beast was a true threat.

”Fire,” she cried. Bullets sailed from their guns into the creature, and it shifted milky white. The beast roared, its wail furious as it quickly withdrew back into the trees. Lyra called to hold fire. ”It worked.” She sounded surprised, and I remembered how strange the Ghost’s reactions had been to our attacks. Why had her bullets worked this time?

The beast wailed again and charged back into the clearing, shifting into full invisibility. All I could perceive was the sound of the air around it and the faint smell of blood coming toward us. The Ghost circled the encampment, shifting back to its visible form every few seconds. Aggravated, it shook its head in circles.

”It”s confused,” Sike muttered.

”What the hell does it have to be confused about?” I asked. The Ghost was enraged, likely from the bullets, but there was something going on. Its cry grew louder. The beast jumped back and forth through the clearing, sailing through the air despite a lack of wings as it appeared to be lost on what to target. Sike was right. It was running itself ragged… and its anger was escalating, which wasn”t good for us.

”Let”s be careful with these shots,” Lyra said to Cam.“We don’t know how this thing takes damage yet. When we tried to hurt it before, I only got it in the shoulder when it was visible. Can it even be hurt when it’s invisible?”

Behind her, Jennifer stepped forward with the camera. This absolute idiot. I was going to chuck that camera straight into the woods. We were in the middle of fighting an actual monster, and she had the nerve to film this?

Lyra snarled at her. ”Get back, you idiot.” As she and Bryce dealt with Jennifer, I inched forward with the rest of the vampires, trying to get close to the creature. We had to take advantage of the confusion while it lasted.

”Come on, Dan,” Jennifer yelled at her boyfriend. Wait, she was using a new name. Johnny was Dan? I didn”t have time to think about it.

The creature groaned, its milky skin returning as the ghostly sound filled the clearing. It reached out, and its claws went straight for Lyra, trying to bypass our vampire trio. Chandry took her shot, sliding underneath the creature. As it looked down to follow her movement, Arlonne and I raced forward to attack. Arlonne landed on the creature”s shoulder, and I prepared to do the same, quickly moving behind the beast so I could climb to its head like a human might have. I was still hoping we could convince Jennifer she was mistaken.

The beast roared and tried to snatch at Arlonne by turning its mouth. Chandry came at the beast from the other side, yelling to distract it, but the monster acted like she didn’t exist. If this fight got bad, we would have to shred the human charade.

Cam fired a shot, and the beast shook us off. I tried to hold on, my nails dragging against its white leathery scales, but they were surprisingly smooth. I had nothing to hold on to. I flew off, rolling into the dirt as Chandry bounded over.

”Are you okay?” she asked.

”Fine,” I muttered. My eyes went to Lyra and Cam. Cam was glaring at Jennifer, now, and the newly renamed Dan.

“The creature isn’t going for me,” Chandry mused thoughtfully, breaking the tension as the monster slunk back to the trees, its red eyes on Arlonne. “Just now, I was right by its foot. It should’ve kicked me, at least, but it was bent on you and Arlonne, even when I hit it. And it went for Lyra first.” The monster moved around in the trees. She looked at me curiously. “Did you guys coat yourself in something?”

“No.” We hadn’t done anything different, from what I could tell.

”Wait a minute… the camera, the weird stories? I know who you are,” Cam said abruptly. ”You”re that stupid video blogger, Jessica Laurence. You do those awful conspiracy videos about the supernatural.”The creature continued shuffling in the trees. Its wail let me know where it was, but it shifted back to invisibility. They aren’t survivors at all. Anger flared inside me as Jessica fiddled with her camera and stared back at us with a defiant look.

”You”re—” Lyra sucked in air as her eyes narrowed. ”You lied to us.”

”It”s for the truth,” Jessica blurted, but her words sounded hollow and weak. She knew we were out here fighting for our lives, and she’d still lied? Dan, at least, had the common decency to appear abashed behind her. He was genuinely frightened; I could smell it on him. Jessica could learn a thing or two from him.

”You didn”t survive out here for months,” Lyra yelled. She was keeping a watch on the trees and the pair of liars at the same time. ”You trespassed somehow. Your own stupidity got you trapped in this place. I don”t even think you deserve a rescue.” Her voice was hot with fury, but I understood completely. She was probably thinking about her parents, who were still missing. We’ll have to evacuate them no matter what, although their rescue will lead to prison.

“Well, I know the truth now. You can’t stop my information. The world needs to know about your weird government coverup of the Leftovers.” Jessica’s eyes sparked wildly in the firelight. Her grating demeanor fell away to something more desperate. She was dedicated… but why this much? “I know you’re working with vampires. They’re all illegal now.” Before the meld, the U.S. government had severely restricted the number of vampires allowed inside their borders, requiring them to be licensed and accompanied by handlers at all times, in response to the revenant attacks. After the meld, the backlash had continued, to the point of outlawing them entirely, except for a few secretly employed by the Bureau. I’d learned that when Fenton had called me into his office in an attempt to talk me into rejoining the Bureau, a meeting which had ultimately led to the formation of Callanish.

Anger rolled through me like a wave of flames. These kids weren’t taking this seriously at all, and they were actively distracting us from our fight. The monster would come back any minute.

The air stilled for a moment. A faint groan came from the forest. Sike held on to the scanner, but the screen flickered and died. The creature’s aura flowed and ebbed for me. She’s threatening to expose us, which lets me know that she’ll do anything to keep the footage they’ve been risking all our lives to get.

“Tie them up and smash their cameras,” I told Sike. “I don’t want any risk of them escaping with footage.” Jessica and Dan stiffened as Sike made his way toward them.

Lyra and Cam readied their guns again at the tree line. The Ghost stepped out, visible, next to Sike. It was dragging its claws across its head and shaking it from side to side. Sike was right next to it. It looked like Chandry and Sike were correct. Something was wrong with it. Why wasn’t it going for them?

Sike tried to grab Jessica, but she darted out of his grasp and ran straight toward the beast. Dan followed right behind her. Sike only managed to grab Dan’s jacket off him.

Abruptly, the Ghost stilled. It vanished partially, leaving its head and a small tail I hadn’t noticed before as the only parts visible. It careened through the air. Chandry attempted to dive in front of it to impede it, but the beast maneuvered around her. This time, it wasn’t going for Lyra, but Jessica.

The air around us lurched like the atmospheric pressure increased. What on—? Jessica let out a high-pitched scream that pierced my eardrums, and Arlonne hissed at the sound. The creature’s jaw unhinged to grab her.

Dan shoved Jessica out of the way. The Ghost snapped him up, instead. Lyra shouted furiously and attempted a shot at the creature’s tail, the only place that wouldn’t endanger Dan more. Jessica screamed again.

The Ghost groaned and turned, and my heart fell with surprise. Oh no. It was leaving again, just like last time.

“It’s trying to escape,” I shouted, running forward.

“I don’t have a clean shot,” Cam cried, frustrated. Jessica wailed in the background, calling Dan’s name. Chandry volleyed herself over a fallen tree and grasped at the Ghost’s fleeing tail. It was a desperate move, but our only option. Her fingers missed. She rushed forward again for another try.

The air vibrated with energy, and I felt the barrier shift around us as the beast swiped through the air. For a moment, its claw went visible. Chandry missed the tail by inches as the beast propelled itself through… a portal that it ripped open just through psychic power.

The Ghost ripped open an actual portal in the barrier. Right in front of us.

Shock ran through me. Jessica gasped.

“It’s…” She trailed off, but her surprised eyes were trained on the portal. Could she see it? I didn”t even know how that would be possible for a human, and a brief look at Lyra and Cam told me that it wasn’t visible to them. Before anyone could stop her, Jessica took off after the creature and jumped through the portal herself, screaming Dan’s name.

“She disappeared,” Lyra said, stunned. “What the hell is happening? Where did she go?”

Jessica saw portals and barriers, was what happened. The monster had been creating portals all this time. That was how it was able to suddenly appear in the forest without any previous warning. All the pieces fell into place. Had its portal torn the airplane in half?

“The beast ripped open a portal in the barrier,” I explained hurriedly. “Jessica saw it somehow. It’s still there, but it won’t last forever.” The edges of the portal were already decaying. The misshapen oval in the barrier was slowly disappearing, although Lyra couldn’t see it.

Part of me was tempted to let Dan and Jennifer go. Those two got themselves into this mess through lies and threatened us with exposure while wasting precious resources with their trespassing, but we were supposed to save people…

“We have to go after them,” Lyra breathed and caught my eye. She was angry, too, but we needed to do what we had come here to do. Human lives had to be protected. “We have to save them.”

This is maddening.

Chandry clapped her hands together and strode toward the portal, grabbing its vibrating edges. To Lyra and the other humans, it probably looked like Chandry was miming in the air.

“I can hold it open briefly,” she announced brightly. “I’m great with portals. Let’s do this.”

Arlonne snorted. “You actually came in handy after all.”

Lyra and Cam grabbed the rest of our supplies, and Sike helped Bryce. All together, we rushed through the portal and after the creature as Chandry held it open. The faint cry of Jennifer’s screams still rang in my ears.

What was on the other side waiting for us?