Page 76 of Resurrection

“Sorry, Sammie,” Kaine said. “Meet us at home?” Sam bobbed away, watching as Gabe tightened his grip on Seiran. Gabe felt Kaine touch Seiran’s leg. Page reached out a hesitant hand to Kaine, and they all moved forward. Gabe sucked in a deep breath and prayed that they would find their way to the other side. He had never crossed the veil before, though he could recall that Seiran had, and often found himself lost there.

“Don’t let go,” Gabe said to both Kaine and Page as he followed them all through the rippling tear between worlds.

Chapter 25

The trickling tug of magic woke Seiran. He instantly worried that he had died again, though his chest still ached and he seemed to be floating. He sucked in air and arms tensed around him.

“Don’t move too much,” Gabe said.

Seiran blinked, the world around him swirling with intense magic, undefined, but strong enough to make it hard to breathe. They’d crossed the veil?

“It’s okay, Papa.”

Seiran turned his head to find Kaine guiding them. His baby was not a baby at all here, and it made him sad. Kaine looked a lot like Bryar, handsome and strong, hair more like the back of a ladybug red, than any color found in the human realm for hair. Kaine gripped Seiran’s leg, and Page held on to Kaine’s other hand. Gabe carried Seiran. What had he missed?

When he looked up, Seiran found Gabe struggling. It was the easiest way to describe it. The edge of the revenant lingered, Gabe’s eyes tinged in red, his shoulders tight. “Don’t close the bond or pull away,” Gabe said quietly.

And Seiran understood. Gabe was not a creature of the fae realm. Seiran didn’t know if vampires ever crossed the veil. He knew most humans would be lost forever if they did. But Kaine guided them with purpose, the world undefined and ever shifting around them. Seiran relaxed into Gabe’s hold, trying not to focus too much on their surroundings. He didn’t need to give them purpose and chance getting them lost. His own control and understanding of the fae realm limited at best.

“Almost there,” Kaine said.

Nothing looked different at all, but Seiran felt Gabe warring with himself. The revenant wanted out, and the pull of magic in this other world seemed to have more power to set it free. Seiran suspected that was a bad thing. He sucked in a deep breath and let himself relax, even closing his eyes to open himself as much as possible to Gabe. He’d spent years finding clarity in this place, even when things were undefined along the edges of the world. The fae only let others see so much, and he’d not once been allowed into their living spaces, though he’d seen them from afar. Not castles or magic abodes like the story books at all, though some of the newer fae found ways to mimic mortal comforts.

This wavering wall of magic, not unlike a tunnel, that they walked, was the fringes meant for travel. Sometimes unsavory things lingered, waiting for hapless humans to stumble inside, and they would feast. Kaine’s power surrounded them, a bubble of warmth and clarity, which gave them a path seeming to be made from stone, but only projecting a few feet in front of them.

And then there was a door. “Page, can you open it?” Kaine asked.

Page reached forward and turned the handle. It opened to darkness, but Kaine tugged them forward anyway. Gabe taking the lead, and the entire group passing through.

When they emerged on the other side, it was to the arboretum and the ring of mushrooms that lived untouched in the far corner. Seiran breathed a sigh of relief as they all passed through, and the door closed behind them, sealing off the other world.

“Careful of the mushrooms,” Kaine warned them. Gabe stepped over the ring. The tension in his shoulders vanished, red haze finally fading from his eyes, and he seemed suddenly exhausted. Page still clung to Kaine’s hand, though Kaine had released Sei’s leg. The door to the house opened and Jamie stood there, looking worried.

“How bad is he? Is he still bleeding?” Jamie waved at them to enter the house. “Let me look.” The island counter was cleared and Seiran groaned.

“I’m fine,” he grumbled.

“You were shot. Sam said you were still bleeding.”

Gabe crossed to the wide island and set Seiran down. “I can’t tell if he’s still bleeding or if this is the blood from the first wound? Time is really off over there.”

Jamie shoved Seiran’s shirt up.

“Boundaries much?” Seiran griped.

“Shut up and let me look,” Jamie demanded. He probed at the wound, Gabe lingering nearby. Kaine looked like his child self again, small and uncertain.

Seiran reached for him. “I’m okay, baby.”

Kaine’s eyes glittered with tears. “It’s my fault.”

“What? What is your fault? This is not your doing.” Seiran waved at the pink scar from the bullet. He was no longer bleeding, but he did feel weak. He’d need food and some rest.

“You gave too much to me. It’s why you can’t hold back the Green Goddess very well anymore.”

Had Bryar told him that? Seiran swallowed back his frustration. It wasn’t fair to put that burden on Kaine. He hadn’t had any say in how he was created, and it had been Seiran’s mistake. “Baby,” Seiran said, running his fingers through Kaine’s hair. “You are exactly as you should be.”

“But you’re not as strong.”