Gone: A Shadow Slayers Story (Shadow Slayers Stories Book 3) by Nellie Steele (best books for 20 year olds txt) 📕

“D,” Celine whispered, reaching out to touch his shoulder. “D, wake up!”

Celine shook him again. “Huh, what?” Damien asked, sleep still in his voice. He opened his eyes, blinking a few times in the darkness.

“D, it’s me,” Celine whispered. She flipped on the light on the night table, perching on the edge of the bed. Marcus approached from across the room.

Damien blinked against the light, covering his eyes for a moment. “Wow, that light is bright.” After a moment, he lowered his arm. His eyes grew wide, and he leaned away from Celine, climbing out of bed and backing away. “No. No! It can’t be. Celine, no!” he shouted.

“D, wait,” Celine said, springing to her feet. “Just a second.”

Michael burst through the bathroom door moments later. “Damien, what’s going on?” He glanced at the two new people in the room. “Oh, no. Wait, this can’t be. How is this happening? Are things just randomly getting worse?”

“Michael!” Celine exclaimed. “Now, wait just a minute, both of you. You’re jumping to the wrong conclusion. I can explain.”

Damien stared at Celine, cocking his head. “Wait,” he said. He glanced to Michael then back to Celine. “Wait, your accent. It’s gone.”

Celine nodded. “Yes. D, it’s me! It’s the real Celine from your time.”

“Huh?” Michael queried. “Why are you dressed like that?”

“You are not in your own time. You’re in an alternate time band,” Marcus explained. “The pulse wave that struck you sent you to an alternate world. We followed you to it but arrived where you did in the 1800s.”

Damien and Michael shared a glance, unsure whether or not to believe Marcus. “He’s telling the truth,” Celine replied. “You’re in a place called Alterra. We’ve come to take you home.”

“We? What kind of world are we going back to?” Damien cried.

“Yeah, this one was bad enough, but you and him working together seems way worse,” Michael agreed.

Marcus rolled his eyes. Celine informed them, “The one you are used to. Your bodies are still there. But they are dying. We came to retrieve you. We must take you back across the in-between to our world to revive you. To save you.”

Michael approached Damien, standing next to him. “Yeah, I’m not buying it,” he said. “A world where you’re working with him? Why?”

“Your family always exhibits such deep depths of gratitude, Celine,” Marcus commented.

Celine shot him a glance. “Marcus was the only one I knew who had experience traveling to Alterra. I asked him for help.”

“You asked HIM for help?” Damien questioned; his voice incredulous.

“You are dying, D. Millie can’t help you. No one can help. Marcus was the only one who could help me save you.” Damien eyed them, suspicion filling him. “It’s me, D. Ask me anything!”

“How did we meet?” Michael fired at her.

“I ran into you when I was Josie at a coffee shop, The Burnt Bean, on Third Street. Right down from your office. I literally ran into you, spilled my coffee all over you. You told me I could make it up to you by going to dinner with you.”

Michael and Damien glanced at each other. “When did you marry Gray?” Damien inquired.

“1789,” Celine answered.

“What’s your mom’s name? Your adopted mom, my aunt?” Damien questioned.

“Monica,” Celine responded.

Damien glanced to Michael, nodding his head. “It’s her.”

Celine breathed a sigh of relief. Now they could begin the journey home. The nightmare was coming to a close. Soon, Damien would be safe back in their world. She opened her mouth to speak, but a knock sounded at the door. “Damien?” a familiar voice with a British accent called through the door. “May I come in?”

“Shoot!” Damien exclaimed. “It’s the other Celine! Should she see you?”

“Probably not,” Marcus admitted.

“She definitely shouldn’t see him,” Michael added, pointing to Marcus.

“Ah,” Damien glanced around before suggesting, “hide in the bathroom, I guess?”

“Okay,” Celine answered, retreating with Marcus to the bathroom and pulling the door almost closed. She left a slit open to peer through.

Present Day, Bucksville, Original Timeline

Gray paced the floor, glancing at Celine’s limp form in the chair. Her hand clutched Marcus’ hand. Alexander sat in the armchair across the room. Millie flitted in and out, checking vital signs on everyone in Alterra.

“Any change?” Gray inquired as she did her latest check of Damien’s vitals.

“None. Which is a good thing. They are no worse.”

“I hope Celine finds him in time,” Gray commented. “She will never forgive herself if he dies.”

In an instant, the monitors in the room indicated abnormal activity. Gray stopped pacing, staring at them then Millie. “What is it? What’s happening?”

“A stimulus, it seems,” Millie replied. “Breathing, heart rate, brain activity are all elevated. I’ll confirm it with Michael.” She disappeared from the room, when she returned, Gray hovered over Celine. “Michael is the same. What are you doing, Gray?”

Gray held the red vial in his hand. “Something is wrong.”

“Wait, cousin,” Alexander answered, standing and approaching Gray. “Look, Northcott is experiencing the same.”

Millie checked both Celine and Marcus. “They are exhibiting similar symptoms to Damien and Michael,” she announced. “Elevated heart rate and breathing.”

“Perhaps they’ve found one another,” Alexander suggested.

“I hope so,” Gray responded. “I cannot wait for this to be over.”

Chapter 26

Present day, Bucksville, Alterra

“Curious?” Marcus inquired.

“A little,” she answered, shrugging.

“Come in!” Damien called.

Celine peered through the crack in the door as a figure entered the room. She recognized herself, although it was bizarre to see herself in the third person. “Is everything all right?” the other Celine asked. “I heard shouting.”

Damien nodded. “Yep,” he answered, his voice an octave higher than normal. “Just fine. Just a bad dream. Really bad dream, terrible, the kind that you wake up screaming from. Well, you know that because you heard it, so, we’re all good here. Everything is all good.”

“Wow,” Celine whispered to Marcus. “Good thing she doesn’t know him better. She’d be able to tell he was lying in a heartbeat.”

“He is rather bad at it, isn’t he?” Marcus commented.

Celine glanced at him. “Some people