Page 69 of Knox
"Leon! Where are you?"
A faint voice answered from behind a collapsed market stall. "Adrian! Over here!"
Adrian rushed to the stall, finding Leon trapped under a wooden beam. "Thank God," he breathed, kneeling down to assess the situation. "Are you hurt?"
"Just my leg," Leon grimaced. "Can you get this off me?"
Adrian braced himself and heaved the beam off Leon with all his strength. "Come on, we need to move. Knox is keeping the troll busy, but I don’t know how long he can hold it."
Leon nodded, gritting his teeth as Adrian helped him to his feet. "Watch out," he said, pointing to something near them.
Adrian’s gaze followed Leon’s pointing finger to a swirling, colorful hole in the ground. It glowed with a strange light, pulsating with energy that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
"What the hell is that?" Adrian asked.
Leon winced as he shifted his weight, leaning on Adrian for support. "Portals. They popped up all over town. The monsters came out of them."
Adrian stared at the portal, his mind racing. It looked like something straight out of the fantasy novels he loved, but seeing it in real life was something else entirely. The colors pulsed in ahypnotic pattern, and he could feel a faint, almost electric buzz in the air around it.
"So that’s how they got here," he muttered, half to himself. "Do you think we can close it?"
"I have no idea," Leon admitted, his voice strained. "But we need to get out of here before more come through."
Adrian nodded, helping Leon hobble away from the portal. As they moved, he kept glancing over his shoulder at the swirling hole, half-expecting another creature to emerge at any moment.
Knox’s voice cut through the noise of the troll’s rampage. "Adrian, hurry!"
Adrian swallowed hard. They couldn’t move faster with Leon’s leg the way it was.
"It’s okay," Leon said, doing his best to pick up the pace.
As quickly as they could, they made their way toward Knox, who was still engaged in his magical battle with the troll. The tendrils of shadow seemed to be holding, but Adrian could see the strain on Knox’s face.
And then he had an idea.
"Knox!" he called out. "Can you make it go there?" He pointed to the portal on the ground. If that was how the troll had come here, maybe they could force it back through?
Knox’s eyes flickered to the vortex. Understanding dawned on his face, followed by a determined nod. He shifted his stance, and the tendrils of shadow began to pull the troll toward the portal.
The troll bellowed in rage, its limbs thrashing against the magical restraints. The ground shook with each step as it was forced closer to the portal. Adrian watched, heart in his throat, praying that their plan would work.
Leon leaned heavily on Adrian, his face pale with pain. "We need to get out of here," he urged, his voice tight. "If that thing breaks free…"
Adrian shook his head, tightening his grip on Leon. "Knox can do it."
Knox’s concentration never wavered, even as the troll’s struggles grew more violent. With a final, desperate roar, the troll’s massive foot crossed the threshold of the portal. The swirling colors flared brightly, and the creature was sucked into the hole, disappearing from sight.
The square fell eerily silent, the only sound the distant wail of sirens. Adrian let out a shaky breath, his legs threatening to give out beneath him.
Knox stepped toward the swirling portal, his eyes narrowed in curiosity. The vibrant colors reflected in his gray eyes, giving them an otherworldly glow. Adrian’s breath hitched, a wave of anxiety washing over him.
"Be careful," Adrian called out. "You don’t want to get sucked in."
Knox turned to face him, a contemplative look on his face. "What if I did?" he mused, almost to himself. "I’m assuming this portal leads back to Veridia."
Adrian’s heart sank at Knox’s words. The realization hit him like a punch to the gut. Knox could leave right now. He could go backto where he belonged, back to the world Adrian had only ever dreamed of. They’d only been together a short time, and yet, the thought of losing Knox, of never seeing him again, was almost unbearable.
Adrian couldn’t say that.
