Wild Tiger Chase | Book #2 (Complete)

26: a brewing storm

— Rafaela —

She opened her eyes, but the darkness stuck to them like tar. Cold energy pumped into her veins coming from her right hand, while the whole left side of her body seemed to burn. Rafa took in a deep breath, sucking as much air as she could, but not even that was enough to ward her from the breathlessness growing in her chest.

Connected to her hand, she felt long, sweaty, freezing fingers that latched on to hers like an unwelcome old friend. Her heartbeat picked up, and she placed her left hand, warm and swollen, on top of those frozen fingers. She tried to push them away, but couldn't. Instead, her skin glued to them.

The coldness threatened to spread to her left hand as a wave of anxiety washed over her. There were pins and needles sprouting along her arms, an ache deep in her stomach, and an invisible force closing around her neck. It was so difficult to breathe now, her body was losing strength.

What the hell was happening here?

The words came as if whispered from the other side of a big, empty room.

Your hand.

Rafaela winced, the coldness spreading and crackling as a thin layer of ice formed around her arm.

Remove your hand!

Right. Okay. She could do it. Rafaela focused as well as she could and peeled off her warm hand bit by bit, like dried duct tape. Her skin stretched, stuck to the cold fingers as they would be to a block of ice. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Calm down. Breathe. You're doing good, Rafa.

As her heartbeat slowed and the burning subsided, her memory came back. Rafa was standing on the edge of Caidara's pocket dimension looking for the gems that, according to Pipo, could help them get their powers back. She had helped Léon climb the platform; he dropped an amethyst, she took it, and everything was fine.

Things got fuzzy after that. As she held the amethyst, she could almost hear someone talking to her. It wasn't a voice, and it didn't use words, but somehow she knew the rock in her hands belonged to Léon. She knew she should give it back to him, and she knew she had to close her fingers around his when he touched it.

And then... what?

She shut her eyes and shook her head as if the gesture could make the confusion go away. In a way it worked, for clarity dawned on her thoughts.

She was holding Léon's hand and the amethyst was pressed between their palms.

"Léon," she called. "Can you hear me?"

Instead of an answer, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and his reaction sent a warm ripple across her right warm. The coldness of his touch felt tenderer.

"Do you know what's happening? Are you doing this?"

She looked around. A thin pink line crossed the darkness, fast as a falling star. Rafa looked up, and several child-like white stars looked back at her. "By the Goddess, we're in...!"

Finally, he said, "Yes. In my undimension."

Rafa looked down and there he was, a few centimeters shorter than her. With a free hand, Léon dried the tears in his eyes and adjusted the collar of his polo shirt. His hair was disheveled, his lips trembly, and the dark circles under his eyes were even darker.

He looked so frail and so scared at that moment, Rafa almost offered him a hug.

Léon swallowed hard. "What's happening here?" His hand slid from his collar to his arm, rubbing it up and down. "How come you're inside my undimension? I don't even remember stepping inside it."