“We think they could be Shades,” Jacob added, flexing his wings anxiously.
“They’re right. They are Shades,” Skye confirmed, and I told the group.
“You have to make a portal now, Tatum,” Drea said. “We need to get out of here before they try and stop us.”
Geez, no pressure. I hadn’t been able to make a portal to the Netherworld when I tried in the past after leaving my mom there. The only portal to or from a different realm I’d ever been able to make was the one from the Netherworld back to New York, and I’m pretty sure my mom helped me somehow. But before today, I hadn’t been able to portal to a different country either, so maybe I could do this…
I shook out my arms, trying to shake off my nerves, and Indigo stepped up and grasped my hands with a smile.
“You’re a good friend,” I told her.
She nodded. “I know.”
That made me chuckle.
“Okay, so the last time I saw my mom she was in a black stone building that kinda looked like a modern-day castle in the middle of Shadow City. It was the tallest structure there, so I guess that’s where we should look for her. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’ll try to open a portal there.”
“Wait,” Gage said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “You won’t be able to portal straight into Shadow City. Apollyon has wards around it, preventing that. I’ve heard my father talking about it before.”
“But I created a portal from inside the city back to New York,” I argued.
“You can portal out, but not in,” he said.
I growled in frustration.Of course I can’t portal right to the creepy castle to save my mom. Why can’t I catch a break?
“All right, form a line and let’s be quick. I’ll try to get us to the gates of Shadow City. I remember it well,” I said, recalling the two demons that stood on either side and the way the lava seeped through the cracks in the ground.
Drea pulled a giant light sword from the tattoo on her arm and stepped forward. Dash and Jacob fell into line behind her, both pulling their own weapons and readying themselves for whatever they might face when they entered the Netherworld. Gage stayed next to me, but Marlow palmed matching daggers as she moved behind Jacob.
I took in a deep breath, pulling on the energy in the cemetery as well as Indigo’s power, while simultaneously calling up my own. I imagined a portal forming right in front of Drea.
“It’s working!” she yelled.
Relief rushed through me, but I kept my focus.
I’m coming, Mom. Hang on.
I took in another deep breath, channeling my power toward the portal while I siphoned from Earth and Indigo.
“It’s creepier than I thought,” Marlow said, and I popped my eyes open. There, just beyond Drea, was an open portal to the Netherworld. The Shadow City gates rose far in the distance.
I did it!
“Let’s go. For Emery.” Drea had more courage than anyone I’d ever met. She charged through the portal with her sword clutched in both hands, ready to cut down anyone who got in her way.
Dash, Jacob, and Marlow were next.
“I can’t go there, or Apollyon could eat my soul,” Skye said. “I’ll see if there’s anything I can do to help from Earth or Avalon though.” She blew me a kiss and popped out of existence.
I turned to look at Gage, and he gave me a small smile as he jogged forward. “See you inside—”
He didn’t make it far before he grunted and then stumbled forward, falling to his knees as blood bloomed on the lower half of his t-shirt.
I gasped, and then spotted Arthur standing about twenty feet away, wearing a grin. Several Shades I’d never seen before stood in a crescent around Arthur, backing him up.
“Gage!” I screamed.
A Shade suddenly dropped from the sky, tackling Indigo, and my hands were ripped out of hers. The loss of power, coupled with the sudden attack, caused me to lose control on the portal, and it fizzled to nothing, leaving Drea and the rest of the Angel Gang trapped inside, and Gage, Indigo, and me to face Arthur and his Shades alone.
