Page 23
twenty-three
H ow did this happen? This is all my fault. I never should’ve asked to come here. Now I’ve put us all at risk.
Zeke’s voice sliced through my frantic thoughts, sharp and firm, his body tense with purpose. “Izzy, I need you to slow them down while we get away.”
Izzy responded instantly, his posture locking into place like he was bracing for a storm. “Got it.”
Fear gripped my lungs, every breath shallow and strained. My voice wavered, a tremor threading through the word. “Them?”
Zeke’s jaw tightened, his expression hardening as his eyes locked on mine with a flash of cold determination. “Reggie didn’t come alone. Sal’s with him. Maybe others.”
He turned to Izzy, and in that instant, they understood each other without a word.
Zeke leaned forward slightly, his shoulders squaring as he shot Izzy a sharp look. His voice dropped, low and urgent. “Just buy us a few minutes.”
Izzy nodded, chin lifting in a subtle but decisive motion, his spine straightening as resolve settled through him like iron sinking into bone. “Done.”
Then Zeke’s hand shot out, his fingers wrapping around the back of Izzy’s neck in a firm, deliberate grip. He pulled him close, his expression a blend of pride and something deeper, something that burned quietly in the space between them. The hold was steady, but the touch stayed gentle. Grounding. “You’ve got this.”
Izzy leaned in, their foreheads pressing together in a brief, powerful moment. His eyes said more than his voice ever could. But when he spoke, the words were clear, stripped of sentiment and full of resolve. “I won’t let you down. Be careful, and get her out.”
The last part came softer, heavier. “I’ll see you on the other side. Goodbye, brother.”
A lump rose in my throat, sharp and choking. Izzy was walking into danger, for me. For us. My hands trembled as I fought the tears, the collision of gratitude and fear hitting like a wave.
Zeke’s voice cracked, just barely, and a flicker of emotion reached his eyes, but his stance didn’t falter. His hand lingered a moment longer before he pulled back, the tightness in his shoulders betraying everything he was holding back.
“Goodbye, brother.”
Izzy planted his feet, grounding himself as a deep breath expanded his chest. Then his arms shot skyward.
The air shifted instantly. It thickened, buzzing with raw energy that crackled across my skin. Sunlight vanished, swallowed whole, plunging everything into an unnatural dark. Wind tore through the clearing, whipping my hair into my face and yanking at my clothes like the fingers of something unseen.
Lightning carved through the sky, each jagged burst illuminating Izzy in stark, white flashes. A split-second later, a deafening crack shattered the air, making me flinch.
His focus didn’t waver. Eyes fixed on something beyond us, he thrust his arms again, and the world responded. The atmosphere twisted violently. A tornado snapped into being, its funnel crashing to the ground with a roar that shook the earth. Trees tore free from their roots, the sound of splintering wood sharp and relentless .
Zeke’s hand found mine, grounding me against the chaos. “Let’s go!” he shouted, his voice cutting clean through the storm.
There was no time to think. I let him pull me, my feet stumbling to keep up as we plunged into the forest, Izzy’s raw power still thundering behind us. My heart slammed against my ribs, each frantic beat propelling me forward.
Darkness pressed in from all sides, thick and disorienting. We hadn’t taken a trail. There wasn’t one. I tripped over roots and low branches, my palms scraping against unseen bark and stone. But Zeke never let go. His grip stayed firm, his steady pull the only thing keeping me moving.
“We can get out this way, but it won’t be easy,” he said, eyes scanning the dense undergrowth. His voice was low but controlled. “If we push through far enough, we can lose him. Just make it to the car, then we’re home free.”
I swallowed hard, breath shallow as I tried to adjust to the dark. My fingers skimmed trees and rocks as I stumbled forward. “How much farther to the car?”
He glanced over, his face mostly shadow. “Maybe two hours. Less if we move fast.”
His pace never slowed. Every line of his body was coiled, focused. Ready.
As the storm raged around us, rain pelted our skin and wind shrieked through the trees. Every sound and shadow sent my mind spinning through worst-case scenarios. “But it’s so dark,” I murmured, voice taut with panic. “What if we walk off a cliff or something?”
Zeke glanced back, a flash of a grin cutting through the gloom. “We won’t,” he said. “I can see perfectly in the dark.”
Something about his certainty lit a tiny flame in me, just enough to keep my feet moving.
I let out a shaky laugh, brushing my fingers against a tree for balance. “You’re so full of yourself, even now.”
“Would you expect anything less?” he returned, that faint edge of humor softening the moment. Despite the fear twisting in my gut, I smiled.
But it didn’t last. His expression sobered, the tension creeping back into his voice. “We need to keep moving,” he said, tugging me forward again.
We ran until my legs screamed in protest and my lungs burned with every ragged breath. The ground shook beneath us, trembling from the winds tearing through the trees. Somewhere in the distance, violent cyclones roared, their unearthly sound like a monster growling just out of sight. The gusts built with each step, howling louder, as if the world behind us were unraveling in real time.
Finally, I couldn’t take another step. I stumbled to a halt, bent over with my hands on my knees, gasping. “Sorry,” I panted, wiping my drenched face with one hand. “I need a break. ”
Zeke stood beside me, unmoved by the chaos. His breath stayed even, his posture loose, like the storm was background noise. Water streamed from his hair and clung to his clothes, making him look like a rain-soaked action figure, annoyingly composed, as if he’d walked through a summer drizzle instead of a hurricane. He glanced over at me, the corner of his mouth lifting in a faint, amused smile.
“For someone who fades everywhere, you’re in crazy good shape,” I muttered, struggling to catch my breath. Each inhale came sharp and uneven. Zeke, though, just stood there, completely unfazed.
His smirk returned, effortless as ever, like he didn’t even notice the storm. “Thank you?”
I shot him a withering look as I pushed myself upright, rolling my shoulders back. “It wasn’t a compliment.”
He took a step closer, his movements as fluid as if we were standing in a peaceful meadow. He clapped me lightly on the back, the touch steady but playful. “For someone who walks everywhere, you’re awfully winded,” he teased, his grin widening.
I narrowed my eyes, swiping rain from my face. “Some of us are human—”
He cut me off with a wink, chin tilting mischievously, like I’d said something absurd. “Neither of us is human,” he quipped, the sound of laughter ringing in his words .
“Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean,” I grumbled, shaking my head. But despite the fatigue and the storm, I couldn’t stop the small laugh that slipped out.
Zeke shot me a quick, knowing glance before we continued moving, but we slowed our pace. My legs were still sore, my chest tight with each breath, but more than physical exhaustion weighed on me now. With each step, the worry for Izzy grew heavier, like a stone lodged deep within.
“Will…Izzy be okay?” I asked, fear filling my voice despite my efforts to bury it.
Zeke didn’t hesitate. “Yes,” he said, his voice firm, like he was willing it to be true. Water streamed down his face, dripping from his jaw, but he didn’t flinch, his focus sharp against the downpour.
The sinking feeling I couldn’t shake pushed me to ask more. “Can Reggie…hurt him?” My words trembled, impossible to hide.
He glanced down, swallowing as his eyes scanned the surrounding woods, his gaze steely, shutting out any trace of emotion. “Yes. But Izzy knows what he’s doing. He won’t let Reggie get close enough to land a hit.”
His words offered a fragile comfort, but unease still twisted in my stomach. Reggie wasn’t just powerful—he was ruthless . And even though I trusted Izzy’s strength, the dread trailing behind us only deepened with every step .
I shoved the thoughts aside and latched onto the first distraction I could find. “So, the weather manipulation thing…Is that a sorcerer ability, or more of a Zeke-and-Izzy thing?”
He gave a gentle, tender smile that eased some of the tension in my body. “It’s a Rykoff thing,” he said, quiet pride threading through his words. “Our bloodline’s power has always been rooted in the weather. My father, for example, can control the wind—nothing too grand, just gentle gusts and the occasional storm warning. He’s always said it’s a subtle art, like a whisper in the breeze, guiding it where it needs to go.”
He paused, eyes unfocused, like he was plucking memories from the clouds. “But Izzy and I?” His tone turned reverent, almost like he was speaking of something sacred. “We can completely bend the skies to our will. We don’t just ride the currents of the air. We shape them.”
He looked back at me, eyes shining with something darker now. A flicker of awe, or maybe something else entirely.
“It’s said that because we’re twins, our powers are amplified. There’s a connection between us, something primal, that makes the impossible possible. It’s like we’re two halves of the same storm—separate but inseparable. When we work together, there’s nothing the weather can’t do. The sky doesn’t just obey. It listens, like it’s waiting for us to speak its language. ”
I absorbed his words, fascinated by the depth of the Rykoff family’s powers. It was hard to believe how much of the supernatural world I was still discovering. But for now, I was grateful for the distraction, a small reprieve from the fear gnawing at the edges of my mind.
“Do you have any other special abilities?” I asked, my interest piqued by a sudden urge to know more about him.
Zeke’s expression shifted, hesitation flickering across his face. He tilted his head slightly, lips pressed into a tight, controlled line. Then he spoke—quiet and deliberate.
“I can manipulate minds. I can show you your worst nightmares—make them feel real.”
A chill crept down my spine. Sal’s screams from the diner echoed in my mind, and suddenly, it all clicked.
“Is that what you did to Sal?” I whispered, barely managing the words.
He nodded, his face unreadable. “Yes.”
I shivered at the thought, my body recoiling, but I pushed forward with another question. “Can you give happy visions?”
Zeke’s eyes softened, though something haunted lingered in them. “No,” he murmured. “It’s not that kind of gift. It’s defensive. Meant to protect, not comfort.”
There was a shadow in his voice, a sadness I couldn’t quite place. His power, meant to shield, seemed to carry a cost he’d never been able to set down. His shoulders dropped slightly, like even the mention of it was too heavy.
“Izzy too?” I asked, curiosity pushing me forward.
He shook his head, gaze dropping. “No. Only me.”
Then, without warning, he stopped. I nearly stumbled trying to catch myself. His body tensed, eyes wide with something I hadn’t seen in him before. Maybe fear. Or something close.
For one suspended moment, he stood completely still, as if the world had frozen around him and he was waiting for it to move first.
“What?!” I blurted, panic clawing at me. “Did he find us?!”
Zeke didn’t answer right away. His voice came out low and breathless, like he was still trying to make sense of it. “Izzy…”
The air shifted, subtle at first, then unmistakable. The sky, once thick with clouds, parted. A thin sliver of sunlight broke through, like the first light of dawn. The wind slowed. The roar beyond the horizon faded, leaving behind a strange, eerie calm.
Zeke’s eyes locked on the sky, his expression tightening like the sight itself hurt. “He’s…he’s been struck.”
There was something raw in his gaze, a kind of pain I hadn’t known he could show. It bled into the silence, thickening the space between us. His fists clenched and unclenched, shoulders tensing like he was ready to run, but didn’t. Couldn’t. A heavy hesitation weighed him down. His eyes squeezed shut, face twisting, and for a second, he looked like he might collapse. The urge to act was there, trembling through him. But something silent and immovable held him back.
“Go! Help him! I’ll take the path—just give me your keys. I can do this, Zeke. Please.”
His jaw tightened as he stared into the dark stretch of forest, saying nothing. When he finally looked back at me, something shifted, unspoken but certain. His shoulders sagged beneath the weight of what was coming. Then, a faint, bittersweet smile flickered across his face.
“I know you can,” he said, stepping closer. His eyes softened, but his stance remained rigid, like he was bracing for impact. “But it’s too late for that now.”
“No…” The word broke out of me, raw and splintered.
Then came the sound—branches snapping, underbrush crushed beneath fast-moving feet.
“Brynlynn!” The shout cut through the forest like a blade. “You know you can’t hide from me!”
My heart pounded so hard it drowned out thought, my knees threatening to give out. Reggie. He was here. He’d found us.
There was no more running.
This was it. The point of no return.