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”We”ve almost got it,” Jordan cried triumphantly. He was confident, but I wasn”t so sure. The Ghost roared as Holt threw another net over its side, and I held tightly to the rope I had in my own hand. I’d managed to get a rope around the creature”s front arm earlier. Originally, we’d planned to stake the ends of our ropes into the ground to help keep the creature down, but it was putting up more of a fight than I’d anticipated. It was impossible to drive in an anchoring point, and I had a lot on my mind right now.

Colin looked worriedly at the creature. ”It really isn”t well.”

”It”s a monster,” Jones barked.

Their argument faded from my mind as Kane whispered, ”Roxy.”

I wanted to cry. The whole situation was absolutely overwhelming. Half my brain was trying to focus on subduing this creature, but my heart was beating painfully every time I heard Kane”s voice. He was here.

Sorry, Kane. I”m in the middle of something. The beast managed to free its hind legs and began kicking fiercely. Jones and Evans went flying, and a string of curses left someone”s mouth. I couldn”t even focus on who was going where. There’s a monster trying to put me between its spiny teeth again.

”The legs,” I shouted in warning. Jessie yanked one of the ropes down on the left side as Holt tried to maneuver his weighted net around the creature”s body. It was fighting like a bull out of the pen.

”This thing is strong, for something that”s supposed to be suffering,” Jones yelled as he dragged himself up. A trail of blood streamed down his face.

”I woke up after being passed out for a long time,” Kane said hoarsely. My adrenaline surged as I held tightly to the rope for dear life. I couldn’t let this thing go. The device sat in my belt in case of emergency, although I worried that if I used it again, I might kill the Ghost. ”I was out for too long. I”m hungry… I can”t remember the last time I ate. I don”t understand how I”m this tired.”

”Same,” I muttered beneath my breath. It was hard to concentrate on thinking my speech to him. Where are you? Do you see creepy clear surfaces around you? Lyra and Dorian might be headed your way.

”Captain,” Holt cried. ”Look out.”

I hissed as the creature managed to swing its arm and nearly escape my rope with a flash of its claw. Colin came up behind me as the twins officially took over his side. He helped me pull the rope and secure the arm again. The beast roared. Jones and Evans attempted to restrain the legs again.

”Use the device,” Jones grunted. I shook my head fiercely.

”If we kill this thing, Lyra and the others will be trapped,” I argued.

”You”re in trouble,” Kane said.

Are you kidding me? You”re the one who”s in trouble. Focus, Kane. Tell me what happened. The ropes burned against my hands, even though I wore gloves. The Ghost was incredibly powerful.

”Before this?” Kane asked sleepily. He was partially delirious. It reminded me of the poor man Lyra brought back. I’d neglected to tell Kane that I had overheard his anxiety about things affecting him differently, though I worried that he might be struggling with that very issue right now. ”I”ve been hearing your thoughts randomly. I just tried to keep getting closer to places where I could hear you better. I thought maybe I could connect to you.”

You were listening, too? The beast roared. Colin said something in my ear, but I couldn”t hear it between the wail and Kane”s weak laughter.

”I”ll tell you later,” he promised. He let out a rattling cough. ”Things are hard right now. I kept trying to find you. And… there”s something else. I”m being followed. I think it”s the same people who chased me and the kids earlier. They tried to take me out when I was a lot stronger, but… I don”t know if I can handle them now.” He let out a labored breath.

His energy was fading. Sweat broke out all over my body; I was killing myself trying to keep this monster down. Colin”s strength was helping, but it wouldn”t be long before the creature got away from us if the rest of the team couldn”t get a hold on things.

Why did this have to be happening now? Kane… I was worried for him. Wherever he was, he was in danger. I needed to help him.

”Who are they?” I muttered.

”What?” Colin asked, gritting his teeth as he pulled. My other teammates were staring, but all I could do was look at the Ghost and listen for Kane.

He must”ve heard me. ”The kids? Don”t worry,” Kane said. ”I”ll figure this out. I don”t expect your help or anybody else”s. I can handle this. I”ve always been on my own. I know that.”

“You idiot. You”re not alone.”

Jordan and Jessie were looking at me. Everyone was. I felt their confused gazes. I was saying my thoughts out loud, and I couldn”t stop.

“Captain Taylor,” Holt said. “Are you okay?”

The Ghost let out a wail that pierced my brain. My exhausted senses craved a break. Where are you? Like hell I’m not going to help you. Silence answered me. I dug in my heels to tighten my grip on the rope. It was losing strength, but we needed to hold on.I refused to go down without a fight, and that included in front of Kane, of all people.

I’m a hopeless leader. My team is watching me slowly lose my sanity. Answer me, Kane.This wasn’t working. I couldn’t save Kane and save my team.

“Roxy,” Jordan said fiercely. “What the hell is going on?”

Tell me, Kane. Speak.

“I’ve always been ready to die,” Kane said. “Only a coward faces death with regrets.”

“Roxy,” Colin whispered. “It’s going down. We can stake the rope now.” His voice was gentle. He helped guide the rope down with me. I was on autopilot at the moment.

Don’t you dare tell me you don’t have regrets, Kane. You haven’t seen me again yet. I’m coming to find you, you stubborn jerk. And when I do, I’m going to punch you straight in the face.

My face was hot with emotion—sadness and angry determination lit me up from the inside out. Colin staked the creature down, and I sucked in a gulp of cold air. My entire team was still looking at me.

It was time to come clean. Jones, Holt, and Evans had the Ghost down on their end. It gave a weak cry, but I could tell it was near its limit. I couldn”t keep up with the complicated conversations; it was time to abandon the pretense. I shook my head, frustrated.

”I”m sorry,” I told them. ”I”m not insane.” Hiding my conversation with Kane had put my team at risk. They deserved to know the truth about why their captain had a divided focus.

”You can tell us,” Jessie said, her eyes sparking with concern. The twins had never looked older or wiser. For a moment, I had the urge to lunge across the beast and drag them into a hug.

”I didn”t tell you about this, but I”ve been hearing the voice of an old ally who might be stuck in the Pocket Space,” I blurted out, knowing that I needed to make this fast. ”I know it sounds insane, but he”s a vampire. We have some kind of psychic connection thanks to the weirdness of the Leftovers, I think.”

Jones let out a scoff. ”You have to be kidding.”

”I”m not,” I fired back severely. ”Remember what happened the last time you didn”t believe me? I almost died. The Immortal Plane is strange, and the Leftovers are even worse. Trust me, I”m not making this up. I told Lyra”s team. They”re trying to find him in the Pocket Space. He”s a close friend from our time fighting to stop the universe from collapsing.” You”re welcome, Jones. You punk.

”Kane?” Colin guessed. His initial confusion gave way to a more relaxed air. ”Oh, I believe you. There”s no way anyone would imagine Kane in their brain.” He dropped his voice. ”Not with that attitude.”

”So, you”ve got a secret vampire friend in your head and you didn”t tell us?” Jordan asked, laughing as he helped Holt secure his net around the Ghost. It looked like it was giving up the fight, but I was watching it out of the corner of my eye.

”Lame, Captain,” Jessie added. ”You have to tell us if you get cool superpowers. It”s not nice if you don”t.”

Holt let out an impressed whistle. ”I guess stranger things have happened.”

”The monster,” Evans pressed, sounding slightly high-strung. She was still trying to hold it down. ”Let’s focus.”

I was trying to pay attention, but my chest was flooding with relief. My team believed me? Well, minus Jones, but he was an ass. The Ghost was secure enough for the moment.

”Lyra”s group might not find him, though,” Colin said worriedly. ”They”re looking for Black Rock survivors for the Bureau, right?”

My stomach knotted with worry. ”Yes, that”s true…”

”I can see why you”re worked up, now,” Holt said. ”I”d be suffering, too, if I knew an ally was in trouble somewhere. Is he hurt?”

”I think so,” I said, and tried to calm my breathing. I hadn”t noticed how charged up I was. ”He”s fading… There are times when he passes out for a long time.”

”Why don’t you attempt to rescue him?” Evans asked. Her bluntness surprised me, but her look was one of common compassion, like Holt’s. Even Jones was mollified by the idea of a hurt teammate lost somewhere. ”You said he”s hurt.”

”I can”t leave you guys,” I said. Didn”t they realize what a huge show of disobedience that would be for the Bureau? ”Hindley would tear me a new one.”

”But it sounds like your friend might not have much time,” Jessie piped up, crossing her arms. ”Can you just leave someone to die in that situation? Sure, he”s tough—he”s a vampire—but he”s obviously struggling.”

Colin cleared his throat. ”If there was a civilian in trouble, it would be our job to rescue them. You can tell that to Hindley.”

Jordancrouched down to get a better look at the Ghost while I attempted to process my team”s sudden cheerleading and support. I’d truly believed they would think I was insane, but I hadn’t accounted for the fact that this was a squad dedicated to fighting monsters.

”What if you rode this thing?” Jordan asked, pointing to the creature”s back. ”Looks big enough to carry you.”

I let out a mocking laugh. ”Are you insane? That thing wants to eat me and take me somewhere.”

”Take you to the Pocket Space, and maybe to where your friend is,” Jessie pointed out, her voice rising with excitement. ”The creature is going after interplanar connections, according to that researcher. It could take you close to Kane’s location!”

Yes, in the best-case scenario, but what if Joseph had misunderstood what it wanted? It could drop me off in an even worse location, and I would be stranded and alone. Like Kane.

Kane. Come on. Answer me. He had gone completely silent. My worry swallowed me up like a wave in the ocean. What if I was too late? The idea of being unable to rescue Kane was unbearable now. He was my friend. He was… He meant a lot to me.

”If you manage to control the Ghost, that”s technically our end goal,” Holt said. He ran his eyes over the creature, which was breathing slow and steady beneath our bindings. ”We can get you on top of it. If you”re willing to do it, the monster looks tired enough to not put up much of a fight.”

Kane. Talk to me. ”If I can get him to answer me,” I said cautiously. ”He’s gone silent.”

”So cool,” Jordan muttered.

”I”m here,” Kane said weakly. ”Stop making such a big deal. I”ll be fine.”

Shut your mouth. I”m coming to rescue you. Tell me where you are.

”I don”t need help. I just need to sleep.”

I gritted my teeth angrily. Don”t tell me that. Come on. Stay with me. Has the monster targeted you?

Kane sighed. ”Yes. It”s come after me. Of course it has.”

”The Ghost”s come after him,” I repeated aloud, tapping my foot anxiously as I studied the beast. Could I really use this thing to take me to him? I needed it to rescue Lyra and the others, too. ”What about Lyra”s team?”

“You can still use the Ghost,” Jordan said.

”Keep up the dialogue with him,” Jessie urged. ”If we’re right, the beast wants to bring together connections. It means you won”t lose the monster… and if you do, you know how to get it back.” She was right. I still had one of Reshi”s comms in my hand, but this felt dangerous. And stupid.

”I”m fine,” Kane wheezed.

You idiot, you are not fine. I”m going to find you. He was making me more certain of this plan with every assurance that he was fine. I refused to let him die like this.

”Fine,” I told them. ”Look, Hellraisers, I owe you an apology. A better captain would”ve told you sooner. You”re right. I”m going to go after Kane. I can”t wait for anybody else to rescue him, because it sounds like he hasn’t run into Lyra. I will take full responsibility for these actions with Hindley.”

Colin elbowed me gently. ”You can”t go alone.”

I raised an eyebrow. ”You”re offering?” He nodded. ”Fine. Colin will join me, because he”s either confident or insane enough to volunteer. We have the most experience with weird immortal happenings, but in the meantime, I”m leaving Holt in charge while I”m gone.”

Purposefully, I glanced at Jones. He looked calmer, or at least less doubtful of my sanity.

”Jones, if I fail and don”t come back from this mission, please act on what we discussed before we left for the mission. It”ll be fair.” I spoke without anger. We’d made an agreement, after all.He might make a good captain if I failed, but Holt was my choice for the moment as far as group cohesion went. Jones hadn’t demonstrated leadership skills to me yet, perhaps because he was so focused on undermining me. He needed to be calmer and cooler, like Holt. Holt could handle the twins, while Jones and Evans couldn’t question his age or expertise like they did with me.

Jones lifted his chin in a gesture of genuine respect for me. ”Of course, Captain. Thank you. I wish you luck.”

“Jordan, I need you to go back to the barracks and get supplies to cobble together a saddle, reins, and a bit,” I said briskly. He took off at a run.

”Roxy’s off to save her secret vampire friend,” Jessie cooed and then stopped. ”Wait, I mean, Captain Taylor is off to save her secret vampire friend.”

It was now or never. Colin nodded at me. “Let’s do it.”

Kane, I”m coming for you. Hold on.