Closer: Bay City Paranormal Investigation, Book 4

and felt an entity following the thread to the door.”
Bo’s mouth opened, then closed again. He didn’t say anything, but Sam saw the fear in his eyes, and knew he was thinking the same thing Sam was.
Somehow, the things from the other dimension had sensed the group’s presence at the fort from across the barrier. And they were coming.
Chapter Nine
    Unable to go back to sleep, Sam and Bo dressed and trudged downstairs. Bo made a pot of coffee, and the two of them sat on the back porch sipping the extra strong brew and watching dawn creep over the world. Neither spoke. Sam knew they’d have to talk soon, but he had no idea how to bring up the fears he suspected Bo shared. Bo evidently didn’t either. So they sat in silence and watched the rising sun turn the water to molten gold.
    When the first early riser appeared on the beach, a young woman jogging along the strip of damp sand stranded by the receding tide, Bo turned sideways in his chair and pinned Sam with a troubled look. “It bothers me that we had such similar nightmares. What do you think it means?”
    Sam stomped hard on the part of himself that wanted to remind Bo of how he’d dismissed it when Sam had expressed that same concern only a day ago. Now wasn’t the time.
    “I’m not really sure,” he said, watching Bo’s face. “But I don’t think we should ignore it, especially since both of our dreams have been so similar to what you said you felt during those weird spells you had.”
    Bo curled a leg underneath him. He turned and gazed out over the water, his coffee mug cupped in his hands. “You think Fort Medina is a potential portal site, don’t you?”
    “Yeah, I do. The EMF level is high enough, and the psychic energy is awfully unstable there.”
    Nodding, Bo lifted his mug to his lips and took a sip. The steam curled around his face. “Did you feel anything last night? Psychically speaking, that is.” His gaze wouldn’t meet Sam’s.
    He’s afraid. Sam’s stomach clenched. He wished he could tell Bo he’d felt nothing, that the episode last night and the dreams this morning were the result of Bo’s illness and Sam’s empathy for him, nothing more. But that would be a lie, and lying wouldn’t help either of them.
    Sam set his coffee on the porch railing, reached over and laid a hand on Bo’s knee. “Right before you passed out, I sensed something. It was just for a second, right on the edges of my perception, but it was enough for me to know it wasn’t anything that belonged there.”
    Bo’s tongue darted out to probe at the corner of his mouth. “Was it a portal trying to open?”
“Possibly.”
“That’s why you said we needed to get out of there.” “Yeah. I didn’t think you heard that.”
“I did. Just barely.” Bo set his mug beside Sam’s and turned to look at him. “The portal didn’t open, though. Why? And why do you think it was trying to open in the first place? Was it because we were fighting, do you think? That’s what finally triggered the one at Oleander House.”
Sam dropped his gaze to his lap. Nine months later, he still couldn’t think about Oleander House without feeling nearly smothered by guilt and shame, even though he knew he wasn’t to blame for what had happened. “I think my anger and frustration with you is probably what caused it to almost open, yes. I have no idea why it didn’t.” He raised his eyes to meet Bo’s. “My control is better, but it’s not that good.”
“Well, it’s not as if you’ve had very many portals to practice on, thankfully.”
“True.”
Bo stared into his coffee cup. When he looked up again, his expression was full of worry. “You don’t think my…illness, or whatever it is, has anything to do with that portal, do you?”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been wondering.” Sam drew a deep breath and let it out. “Truthfully, I have no idea. I sort of feel like it does, but I don’t have anything to base that on. Just a sort of gut feeling, and we all know how reliable those are. And to be honest, I don’t know how the two could possibly be related. Unless you’ve suddenly become psychic.” He nudged Bo with his elbow. “You haven’t, have you?”
He was only half joking, and Bo’s laughter at the idea was a relief. “No, Sam, I haven’t become psychic. The only thing I felt last night was nausea and dizziness. I can’t sense the fort’s energy, and I certainly haven’t felt anything that I would describe as portal-like, going by