FINAL GATE (#3 GHOST PORTAL series)

SIXTEEN

Jessamine's throat ached from her screaming. She'd said the name Avery so much that it no longer made sense in her mind. She'd tried different intonations, different volumes, different levels—crouched, on her tip-toes, sideways, backwards—to no avail.

Avery wasn't answering, or wasn't in proximity to the door. Ignoring her, avoiding her pain, disgusted with having had to speak to her before? Or was he in danger?

She saw the door from afar, taunting her to come closer, to reach out for it, to burn herself while trying to touch it. But she'd learned her lesson earlier, when the spiked vines had wrapped around her skin and plunged into her. A hallucination it might have been, but that didn't change the agony she'd experienced. A very real, very stabbing agony that she doubted she'd forget about any time soon.

"You need to face the facts, doll," said Landon, who'd opted to stand closer to her this time, squinting towards the door as Jessamine yelled. "He's not there, he's not coming back, and even if he does, he can't save you."

"I don't want him to save me." She seethed, clenching her fists at her sides as she lowered her voice. "I want him to tell me it's okay to do whatever is possible to save this realm. A realm that probably shouldn't be saved, but..."

"I'm telling you to save it." Landon extended a hand, peering around at the damage crawling towards them. "Is my word not enough? Is Avery's agreement all that matters to you? We have history, Jess, and I know I fucked up when it comes to you. I know I treated you like shit. But you know I wouldn't lie to you, not about this. We're on a time-crunch, here, in case you hadn't noticed." He waved his hands about him, gesturing at all that had been going on.

Jessamine had been so busy screeching for Avery that she hadn't spotted the slight change in scenery; the darkened skies were now orange and choked by fumes, and the surrounding air smelled of fire and burning wood.

She pried her gaze from the door to fully witness all the distant forests set aflame, smoke swirling up past the tree-tops and into the clouds. Red lightning streaked overhead, and the gloom from before was more pronounced, more apocalyptic.

"Fuck," she placed her hands on her knees and bent forward, "I can't do this. I can't do this."

Landon marched over to her, grabbing her arm to heave her upright. "Hey," he slid his fingers between hers, "seriously, do you not trust me? Why do you need this dude's confirmation to work with the demons?"

Jessamine snarled at him, ripping from his grip. "I don't trust you, Landon. Yes, you're right, we have history, but it's bad history, okay? You led me here! It was you and Angela who got me into this mess by alluring me, lying to me!" She spun to the door, wishing it were nearer, wishing Avery were behind it and listening to all this. "And it's not okay to work with the demons, we both know it. They don't want us to work with them, they want to possess us. Wake up and understand that. We'd be voluntarily giving them all that they want, and it'll be all over for us."

"I already understand that." Landon perked up, eyes narrowing. "I accepted their proposal while you were busy screaming your lungs out for someone who won't come and can't do anything if he does. We have to give them what we want, otherwise we're giving up our souls, our bodies. We won't survive whatever the fuck is coming out of those portals. You're gonna have to make an executive decision here, doll."

"Doll," she spat, scowling at him as he stood there all proud and prepared—or thinking he was prepared. "Don't call me that, ever."

A weak smile slid over Landon's lips. "You used to love it when I called you that."

"Yeah?" Jessamine stomped a foot. "Well, three years have passed, and I sort of started hating you since you disappeared on me and I had no idea why. I woke up in a fucking hospital, was lied to about what had happened to me, and you were gone. You were gone. Nothing is as it was before, Landon."