Page 13 of 3013: Hellion
“You aren’t supposed to be here,” he snapped. “You snuck on the island using fake identification to rent a boat. Then, you broke through the protection barrier using an illegal device that could get you kicked out of the academy and even doing some time in the Mars penal colony.”
“It’s not our fault your security sucks,” Eddie countered.
“Why, you little—”
Jaya placed a hand on his arm to stop him from lunging at the boy. “You can punish them later.”
“Look, we know it was wrong to sneak onto the island,” Eddie conceded. “Cosmo and I were invited to Evo with our gaming team, but my parents followed us here and ruined everything.They’ve been driving me fucking crazy, so we thought we could escape here for the day.”
“This place is restricted for a reason,” Xian growled. “And now that the games are becoming real, it is even more dangerous. Just look at the freaking tornados! Do you realize what would have happened to you if Jaya hadn’t saved you? Two of our staff members almost died in an earthquake on the other side of this section, and more than a dozen NPCs were wiped out in a flash flood.”
Cosmo cringed. “We’re really sorry.”
“What is an NPC?” Jaya asked.
“It stands for non-player characters,” Xian explained. “They are characters in the games that aren’t controlled by the players, but now they are real. Sort of. They are more like puppets doing what they were programmed to do, and when they die, they sort of disintegrate.”
“Aye, I encountered several of those. They burst into dust like the zombies and alien insects.”
That made Xian stiffen. “The zombies and insects are real now, too?”
Both boys nodded, then Eddie explained, “We were playing in this section of the island when we got caught in a net. Then, the zombies surrounded us. Thankfully, Jaya saved us before we got eaten.”
Xian muttered a curse. “The zombies were able to cross over to this sector? That means the barriers between the sectors aren’t working anymore.” He turned and gripped her shoulders as he looked her over. “You’re okay? You weren’t hurt?”
She smiled. “I am unharmed.”
Eddie snorted. “The zombies didn’t get a chance to even get close to her before she destroyed them with her magic whip and fireballs. By the way, that was pretty frosty to watch.”
Jaya chuckled. “I am glad I could entertain you.”
Xian tried to relax. The thought of her being hurt had filled him with dread, but he had to remind himself that she was more than capable of handling whatever came at them.
Jaya used their new blood bond to assure him,“Do not worry. I am well, mate.”
He did a double take and gaped at her. He could hear her in his head, but it didn’t feel the same as when his seeker ability allowed him to hear people’s thoughts. It didn’t feel intrusive or like she was pushing her way in. It felt natural to hear her speaking to him this way.
Intimate.
“Aye, we formed a blood bond during our kiss when we shared blood. Was that not your intention?”
“I—honestly, no. I mean, I knew that we would bond at some point. I just didn’t realize that’s all it would take. Sorry, I was just a little startled,”he admitted.
“It is not a formal bonding,”she said.“We only exchanged enough to establish a blood bond between us. Forgive me, mate. I should have warned you.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m the one who bit you first, remember?”
“Why are you two just staring at each other like that?” Eddie asked. “It’s kind of creepy.”
“Dude, they’re mates. They are probably speaking to each other telepathically,” Cosmo explained.
“Whatever.” Eddie sighed heavily “So, you are here to take us back to my parents?”
“I was, but that will have to wait,” Xian said. “We’re stuck on the island right now. We can’t get out, and the people waiting for us right outside the protection shield can’t get in.”
Relief flooded through Jaya when she felt her sister reaching out to her. Closing her eyes, she focused on her bond withher sister, holding the bridge between them so it wouldn’t hurt Jecca’s head as much.
“Are you there?”