Love Beyond Oceans Read Free Page B

everything.
    Marina…

Chapter Two
     
    Marina gripped the floor of the cave like she might will it to stop moving, as if she had the power to do so. The crazy Outsiders were getting to her. People didn't control natural disasters. A large jolt made her cry out and she realized how vulnerable she was standing in a cave during an earthquake. She closed her eyes while she tried to breathe through her terror. Nothing about this was okay. How long did earthquakes go on before they ended?
    The one rattling her seemed to last forever. Were the old cave walls going to survive the shaking?
    She lifted her lids and cried out again, jumping backwards. Standing in front of her where he had not been a second earlier was a man she'd never seen before. Tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed and dressed in a seersucker suit, the new individual didn't seem to mind the rattling floor beneath his feet.
    "Who are you?"
    Blond guy cocked his head to the side. "Can you see me?"
    "Of course I can. I'm not blind. You're two feet away from me."
    The cave stopped shaking. "Interesting. I was under the impression you wouldn't be able to see me anymore." He squatted down. "Here. Let me help you up." The stranger extended his hand.
    A cold wind shot through the cave and Marina's skin crawled. Yeah, she needed to get out of the cave and away from the dude right away. Reaching out she tried to take the stranger's offering of help, but her hand slipped right through his fingers like she touched nothing but air.
    The blond guy laughed, throwing his head back as if her not being about to touch him was the funniest thing ever. Marina gritted her teeth. She had to be hallucinating. Otherwise, what had just happened made no sense.
    Reasonable individuals did not see people who were not solid. She didn't know much anymore but that truth she would hold onto. She did not believe in ghosts.
    Marina pulled herself to her feet. "Go away, delusion."
    The ghost stopped laughing. He put his hands on hips before saying, "For generation after generation I have dealt with you: the Outsiders and their eternal soul mates. None as connected as the eighteen of you. You're always sent after us when we're getting the most powerful. You're the mythical keepers of balance. In this world, humans don't even know who you are. Ask the average Joe and they don't know you exist."
    "Stop talking about me like I'm one of them."
    She rushed past the phantom into the hallway. Somehow, she had to find her way out via the path Drew brought her. He'd popped away. She had a hard time rationalizing exactly how he'd done such a thing. As she ran, she refused to dwell on the odd. There would be time for it later, while she listened to the water drip.
    The image appeared back in front of her. This time he didn't look jovial. His face scrunched in anger, he pointed his incorporeal hand at her.
    "You're always the worst. You and your stupid soul mate. The two of you are even worse than the rest. So damn powerful. And full of yourselves. But not in this world, Marina. You and Drew are pathetic. Lost. This time around I'll win and, unlike the last time I won, you won't be poking back to destroy me in another fight. When you die as a human, you don't come back as an Outsider."
    She covered her ears. His words made her head pound; his every verbalization rang like a firework exploding inside her brain. "Stop it."
    "You want out of here. I heard you talking. You think of them as your kidnappers. I love your description. I can make all of your dreams come true, Marina Moore. You'll never have to face them ever again."
    "Move," she said, before she rushed forward. Truth was, she didn't need him to move. He wasn't really there. She'd run straight through him like he didn't exist because, technically, he didn't.
    She ran down another corridor. At this rate, she'd make it back to the living quarters in no time. She'd never run so hard in her life. Or maybe she had. How would she know? Her fingers buzzed and she really