LILY POV
The shadow-creature's claws missed my face by inches.
I rolled sideways as another Devourer lunged at me through the gray space, its body made of hungry darkness that seemed to eat the light around it. My dimensional energy flared automatically, forming a barrier between me and the monster.
"Stay together!" Aiden shouted from somewhere behind me. "Don't let them separate us!"
But the Devourers were everywhere now, pouring through cracks in our pocket realm like black water. Each one looked different - some had too many teeth, others had eyes that burned like dying stars. All of them wanted to eat us.
I grabbed little Jake's hand as he stumbled past me, his own dimensional glow flashing with fear. "I can't control it!" he cried. "The energy keeps jumping around!"
"It's okay," I told him, pulling him close. "Just breathe. Your power reacts to your emotions, remember?"
