Page 37 of Loving Amari
I glance back at limbo. The door remains open, my family visible through the portal.
“You aren’t stopping what’s about to happen, Carla,” the young shifter says, his voice wrong, older. “You’re too late.”
The young shifter steps forward. It’s a young wolf shifter I’ve seen playing with Torin, but I don’t know his name. He cocks his head to the side unnaturally.
“I’m thankful for your Amari. He kept you away long enough for me to put my plan in motion.” His child’s mouth forms a cruel smile. “Now all I need to do is kill you.”
The young wolf shifter lets out an animalistic growl, his hands partially shifting. Claws extend from his fingertips. He’s possessed—possessed by Nathaniel.
I let magic spill from my fingers, pink webs forming. “Let’s do this.”
He charges toward me at inhuman speed, and I brace myself for impact. I can’t bring myself to hurt the little shifter. He doesn’t know what’s happening to him.
The boy leaps into the air, pouncing toward me with claws extended. I start to cast a web spell from my fingers to stop him gently, but Amari suddenly jumps out of the door of limbo, breaking free from our children’s protective webbing. He flashes in front of me with his vampire speed, catching the boy by the neck mid-leap.
Amari looks at me with a glare. “You may not be able to hurt these possessed innocent children, but if they hurt you, I don’t give a shit, Carla.”
“No, Amari, no!” But he’s not listening.
He slams the possessed boy against the wall. The boy’s body impacts with enough force to crater the plaster, dust raining down, but instead of crying out in pain, he begins to laugh—a horrible, grating sound, too deep and knowing for such a young throat.
“Amari Al-Baqar? The traitor.” The boy’s voice drips with venom. “I’ll never call you my Moorish brother. You had the ability to save us, and you didn’t.”
“And what did you do?” Amari growls back, his grip tightening. “My actions didn’t land me in limbo.”
Nathaniel laughs again through the boy’s mouth, the sound carrying unnaturally through the hallway. The possessed child’s small hands grab Amari’s wrist with impossible strength.
Amari looks at me for a split second, and Aya appears at the door of limbo. “Use your magic! He can’t stay in the body if you subdue the boy.”
I start to channel my magic, pink energy swirling around my hands, but the boy displays combat skills no child should have. He twists his body with serpentine flexibility, bringing his knee up to strike Amari’s elbow joint. The impact forces Amari to loosen his grip slightly, and the possessed child follows up with a devastating punch to Amari’s face that sends him staggering backward.
Blood drips from Amari’s nose as the boy lands in a crouch, then immediately launches another attack. His small fist connects with Amari’s gut, doubling him over. The force behind the blow is supernatural, Nathaniel channeling rage through this innocent vessel.
“You were always weak,” Nathaniel taunts through the boy. “Choosing love over power. Look where it’s gotten you.”
The possessed child spins low, trying to take out Amari’s legs. Amari barely keeps his feet as they trade blows, the child impossibly fast and precise.
I watch in horror as they dance this violent ballet, torn between helping Amari and not wanting to hurt the innocent boy caught in the middle. The child backflips away from Amari’s grasp, then races toward the balcony railing.
“Catch me if you can, traitor!” Nathaniel calls out mockingly.
The boy vaults over the railing, leaping from our floor with reckless abandon. It’s at least a four foot drop to the level below. My heart stops, knowing that even possessed.
Amari starts to flash after him, his vampire speed blurring his form, but to everyone’s surprise, black smoke erupts below and Kade appears, snatching the falling child from the air.
She grins up at us, cradling the possessed boy against her chest. “Hey, Nathaniel, get the fuck out of my boy.”
In the blink of an eye, she teleports, reappearing directly in front of us. A black cloud of mystical smoke dissipates around her and the child. The shock of teleportation seems to break something in the possession—the young wolf shifter’s eyes roll back, and he goes completely limp in Kade’s arms.
We all watch, frozen, as blue magic begins to seep from the boy’s unconscious form. It coalesces above us, forming a strange glowing ball of pure energy. The sphere pulses with malevolent intent.
“Now!” Aya shouts from the limbo doorway.
I react instantly, trying to cast a web spell around the blue orb. Pink strands shoot from my fingers, reaching for the escaping essence, but it’s too fast. The sphere zips through my webs like they’re made of smoke and flies straight back through the portal into limbo.
The door slams shut with devastating finality.
I want to rip open another portal, to chase after Nathaniel into limbo and end this once and for all, but Amari grabs my arm. His grip is steady, grounding me in the moment.