Monster Realm Survival Tip #100:
If a miracle happens and you do escape the monster realm... Don’t look back.
CELINE
Escape day dawns dark and ominous. Jagged, charcoal-rimmed clouds coat the debris field, and thick mist presses against the glass wall of the safe house. It’s searching for a way in, but it won’t find one.
I stare through the glass as stress treats my body like a puppet. Chest tight, back itchy, I’m past ready to eradicate the unsettling mixture of dread and rage inside me.
Riven moves through the kitchen silently, making preparations.
Luca and Alistair stand at my sides, flanking me like sentries.
Malach sits quietly at the table. Ciprian has one hand pressed to the glass, his face twisted with disgust as if he thinks the weather is actively plotting against us. “We could delay,” hesuggests.
I shake my head, even as Riven says, “This is a good thing. Their visibility will be limited.”
“So will ours,” Luca points out.
“We can put it to a vote,” I say. “I won’t take the risk if everyone isn’t on board.”
Ciprian grabs my hand and tugs me into his chest, a mischievous smirk spreading across his face. “I’m in, hot wings. I thrive in a creepy atmosphere.”
Luca nods. “I’m ready to go home.”
Malach dips his chin. I expect him to reach for my hand, but he remains unusually still; big and vacant, even though he takes up a lot of space.
“I’m with you, angel,” Alistair says. “We’ve put in the planning. It’s solid. We’ll get to the first landing point and go from there. No heroics or deviating from the plan. We’ll be slow, steady, and careful.” He looks at Riven. “Hyacinth confirmed the placement of the rocks?”
The witch stones make me nervous, but in the end, they’re our only option.
They can only be spelled to transport back and forth—starting point A to destination B—no option C allowed. Given the magic defense system in place around the portal, and the huge number of patrolling veydran, we’re stuck making our escape in multiple legs.
Hyacinth will leave the rocks in secret locations for us to grab.
Locations that everyone has memorizedin case we lose someone.
I’m shocked Riven agreed to share the coordinates, but he did it without complaining. Ever since we agreed to take Hyacinth with us, he’s been fully cooperative.
I glance around the kitchen.
No more plans or debates. This is it, the moment we’ve been working toward.
Everyone is reluctant to break the silence as we gather around Riven, grabbing him one at a time. I close my eyes, and by the time I open them again, I’m ready. This is going to work. Failure isn’t an option.
Riven’s fingers close around the first stone, and the safe house disappears.
We materialize at our first checkpoint location, and I sense immediately that something isn’t right. A growl echoes to my left, and Luca shoves me to the ground, his eyes flashing a ferocious yellow as he petrifies the monster.
The creature turns to stone, but not before it makes a hell of a lot of noise.
Was it sounding the alarm?
Riven’s face glitches constantly as he strides to his hideaway tree, presses the knot, and pulls a fabric-wrapped lump from the hole. There’s a note attached.
He reads it silently, and his face warps again. “The veydran offered a reward to any escaped monsters who’ve managed to evade capture. Freedom and passage to any realm in the known universe if they bring you in—dead or alive.”
A chill runs down my spine, but it has nothing to do with the cold.
