Page 178 of Illusory

Too many sounds.

Too much pain.

Unable to cope with any of it, my head collapsed backagainst Trace’s shoulder, my body trembling uncontrollably as the aftershocks of bone-splitting magic rippled through me.

“Fuck! What happened to her? What’s wrong with her?” Trace shouted, terror burning through his voice and sending a cold knot twisting into my stomach.

“Angel, can you hear me?”

I nodded, or at least I thought I did.

“Why isn’t she answering us?” hissed Trace. “And what the fuck is on her forehead?”

“I think she’s in shock,” I heard Gabriel say, his voice sounding so far away from me then that I wasn’t sure if we were even in the same room still. “We need to get her lying down.”

I felt myself being shifted on Trace’s lap and then lifted in the air abruptly, my limp body pressed against a firm chest before being gently laid back onto the couch. My lids fluttered weakly as I struggled to open my eyes.

“Jemma? Can you hear us?” Gabriel’s worried face swam into view as he knelt beside me, his hand cool against my forehead, brushing my hair back as his eyes quickly scanned my features, taking in the bloody runes that marred my skin.

I didn’t mean to make them worry. It was the last thing I wanted to do. I tried to focus my eyes, tried to show them I was okay, but the room spun sickeningly fast around me, colors and shapes blurring as the hissing whispers grew louder, overlapping each other until they were all I could hear.

…hear us...

…must kill…

…come forth…

…yield…

…your resistance…futile.

…the time is now….

…must destroy…

“Please… make them… stop.” My voice came out weak and trembling, barely more than a whisper.

Gabriel’s brows furrowed as he glanced at Trace and Dominic. “Make who stop?”

“What’s she talking about?” asked Trace, his voice a nervous hiss.

“It’s…too loud.”

“What’s too loud, Jemma?” Gabriel’s voice felt distant, muffled, like I was hearing it underwater. It was as though we were being pulled apart, tugging in opposite directions, his words slipping further away with each beat.

“The… voices,” I mumbled choppily as I felt my consciousness begin to flicker and waver.

“Our voices are too loud?” asked Gabriel, misunderstanding what I meant.

“Back up and quit hovering!” barked Trace.

“The…Horse…men…”

“The Horsemen’s voices?” verified Gabriel, his confusion slowing his words.

I tried to nod my head, but the movement sent jagged waves of pain crashing through my skull, leaving me gasping for air. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak—could barely even breathe. I needed to sleep. To close my eyes and sink into the darkness. But I had to tell them. I had to warn them first.

“They’re…in…side…my head,” I finally rasped and then felt the switch go out as I sank away into the dark abyss, where the pain and screaming could no longer reach me.