Page 62 of Hidden By the Gargoyle

I started to nod, to say something else, but my chest was suddenly tight. I lifted a hand and pressed it against my sternum. The tightness increased, then spread to my abdomen. I looked down, expecting to see my belly expand, but I looked normal.

“Talant?” I whispered, my voice harsh. “What’s happening?”

He seemed to know exactly what I was experiencing. “Just breathe, Ally. Your power is spilling out. Remember the call I told you about?”

I managed to nod.

“You’re about to put out your first call. If you wake, don’t fight it. Let it happen and it will be much less painful.”

The pressure was becoming excruciating, but I couldn’t respond to him. I could feel myself falling away from the cave, which meant I was about to wake up.

“I’m here, Ally. Even if you can’t see me.”

His words echoed in my head as my eyes popped open and I jerked into a sitting position on the bed, yanking myself out of Dax’s arms.

ChapterFourteen

“Ally, what’s wrong?”

I could hear Dax, could hear the concern in his voice, but my chest and abdomen were so full that there was no room for air. I tried to gasp it in anyway, but nothing happened.

I had to get outside. I needed the night air, the stars above me, and the trees around me.

I ran to the steps, my feet barely touching them as I sprinted down them and unlocked the door.

“Ally!”

Dax’s hand slammed onto the door, keeping me from opening it. The pressure was building, and I knew I only had moments before it exploded. I had to get out.

“Out, I need out,” I rasped. “Dax, let me out.”

He stared down at me. My body spasmed and I nearly fell to my knees. If I could breathe, I would have screamed at the pain.

“I need the air,” I whispered, the words sounding as though they were torn from my throat.

I writhed again as another pain wracked me. I needed to be outside before I released all this pressure. I had to or something terrible would happen.

Dax unlocked the door and threw it open before he swept me into his arms and carried me out onto the porch.

“The trees,” I choked out. “Take me out there.”

He sprinted down the steps, past his SUV, and out into the woods.

“Further.”

I couldn’t scream, but there was a horrific sound escaping my throat as I fought the tension building within me. I had to wait. Had to.

When we were out of sight of the house, I could take it no more.

“Put me down and run,” I panted. “My power. It’s building and I have to release it.”

“Your power can’t hurt me,” Dax said.

I wanted to argue, to warn him that I was no normal witch, that I was different, but there was no time.

“Down,” I said.

Dax knelt on the ground, lowering my legs and buttocks to the grass. He cradled my upper body against his chest. “Let it go, Ally. You’re hurting yourself.”

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