“Find a picture of it and I’ll help you,” she suggested.
I appreciated her willingness to help, but this wasn’t a place I could get a picture of.
“It’s Tartarus, so no picture. Apollyon cloaked it in magic, so even if I can open us a portal there, I’m not sure we can get through his magical barrier.”
She rolled out her neck, and then reached into her pocket, pulling out her talisman. “Open the portal and I’ll get us through.”
I let out a shaky breath and then nodded. Her confidence that she could break through Apollyon’s magic gave me strength.
Peering over my shoulder, I noticed that the entire gang was packed and ready to go. They were all staring at me. The pressure mounted knowing they all depended on me.
“You’ve got this, Tate,” Gage said.
They’d clearly picked up from the conversation that I needed to make us a portal out of here. I just didn’t know if anyone was prepared to go to Tartarus. I didn’t know ifIwas prepared for Tartarus.
Closing my eyes, I shook out my arms in an effort to relax myself.
Tartarus, Tartarus… no big deal. Portal to the hidden realm that you saw in a couple of memories of Apollyon’s.
Easy peasy.
I thought of Tartarus, pulling up everything I could remember. The issue was most of the memories were of when it was pretty and thriving, but that’s not how Tartarus was right now. So I focused on the final memory of Apollyon’s that I’d relived when it was a desolate wasteland, robbed of its greenery. I thought of the darkened sky, the black net Apollyon had erected over it, and the dry grasses in the field.
Breathe.
I had one shot at this. If it didn’t work, there wasn’t time to try again. I’d just have to portal us to Fiji or something and hope for the best. I’d never been there but I’d seen plenty of pictures of the overwater bungalows.
Focus, Tate.
I could almost see the souls being sucked into the black cube in my mind’s eye as I relived that horrible memory of Apollyon ruining that beautiful place.
“Now would be good,” Marlow said nervously, and I knew she must have seen or sensed something coming on her gadget.
I spread my palms and then pulled my power to the surface, holding that vision in my mind and opening my eyes just as my friends gasped.
Tartarus.
There was a five-foot circle opening right into Tartarus. The grass was dead and the sky was dark. I could hear the waves lapping at the shore behind us, as the portal stood on the edge of the cliff.
There was just one issue: the entire portal was covered in a black, sticky web.
“I got this.” Harley stepped forward, holding her talisman out before her like a wand. Her brows drew together in concentration, then lime green power shot from the tip of the talisman like a laser and carved a line into the net, cutting it.
“Yes!” Drea cheered.
Harley grinned and made a huge circle motion. The net fell away and onto the dried grass of the land.
“Go!” Marlow yelled, looking at her device, which was now beeping.
Okay, technically, this was a land for dead people, but if we could go to the Netherworld without ill effects, then my friends should be fine here.
Right?
Before I could even say a word, Gage rushed forward, and Jacob was right behind him.
“All clear!” Gage said from the other side of the portal, and then Drea, Indigo, and Marlow stepped through.
It was in that moment that Skye and Aurum popped into the hotel room behind Dash.
