“Okay, we need to move quickly,” Drea said. “Apollyon could come here any mo—”
The entire building shook and Drea’s eyes went wide. Without thinking, I pulled my palms apart and started to make a portal into the courtyard. I had a gut feeling that Apollyon had arrived and Aurelia would need my help to close whatever portals he and his demons had made.
I could see the pandemonium the second I opened the gateway into the courtyard. Lumen hunters were running around left and right. Arcs of red and black magic zapped the ground like lightning, scorching the grass.
Drea didn’t ask any questions, she just pulled a light weapon from her arm and charged headfirst into the portal. I followed, knowing that Harley would be safe with the healers. Once the portal had closed behind me, I took stock of everything.
Aurelia was in the center of the courtyard, a look of absolute concentration on her face. A portal would appear and she would snap her attention in that direction and throw magic at it, closing it before it could begin. There were no demons yet, and no sign of Apollyon. The blue wards around the school lit up and shook with each hit from the outside, but it was holding.
More red and black lightning zapped the ground, and I looked up.
Oh crap.
Apollyon was flying above the school, his wings flapping around him, a portal to the Netherworld open above him. And boy did he look pissed. He stared right at me, nostrils flaring as he threw lightning bolt after lightning bolt of angry magic at the protective dome covering the school. Only about half of his projectiles made it through the barrier, but it was enough to do significant damage.
“Drea, we have to go!Now!” I screamed to her. “He has to see us go so he will stop the attack.”
Drea followed my gaze skyward and the color bled from her brown cheeks.
Aurelia’s head snapped in my direction, and I held her stare. I’m sure she was worried about her daughter and me just running off to hide somewhere, but if we stayed Apollyon would tear this whole place apart, and Harley wasn’t healed enough to fight him with me yet.
Aurelia gave me a single nod and that was all I needed.
“Apollyon is building an army. Thousands of demons and hellhounds. Gage saw it,” I yelled to Aurelia.
She swallowed hard and bobbed her head up and down.
“We’re here,” Gage’s voice called behind me. I nearly sagged in relief at the sight of him jogging toward me. He’d thrown on a shirt and had a pack slung over his shoulder. Marlow, Indigo, Jacob, and Dash—with Harley in his arms—were close behind him, all carrying at least one backpack each.
The next bolt of lightning pierced a giant hole in the protective dome and streaked down to the ground, searing into the grass inches in front of my feet. I threw out my hands and opened a portal into the first place I could think of.
Drea was the first to run through, then went Gage followed by Indigo, Marlow, and Jacob. Dash and Harley were last. And when my sister looked up and saw Apollyon scream in anger, she raised her middle finger to the sky.
Oh great, just what we needed to anger him further.
Another electric streak of red and black magic snapped at the ground. This one singed my ankle. I shrieked and jumped through the portal, sailing through and landing in Gage’s open arms. When his strong hands steadied me, the portal snapped shut and we looked around.
“Is this… are we atDisney World?” Marlow asked, her voice thick with shock.
I winced, a little embarrassed at the sight of the iconic castle. It was late and the park was closed.
“You portaled us to Florida?” Harley tapped Dash’s arm and he released her, letting her slide slowly down his body.
“I panicked. There are worse places,” I said with a shrug, trying not to feel defensive.
Gran took me here when I was little. It was the best memory I had before she got really sick. Speaking of Gran, her and my mom were probably worried sick. I whipped out my phone and sent them a quick text telling them I was safe and would call in a few days.
“Should we portal somewhere else really fast? Can Apollyon follow our portal trail?” Drea asked, rubbing her chin in deep thought.
“Yes, that’s a thing, but I can block him.” Harley stepped forward and then swayed. Dash swooped in and reached out to steady her. She cast him a scowl but didn’t swat his hands away as he settled them on her hips.
“The healers said you needed to sleep for the next twelve hours, and no magic,” Dash warned.
Harley growled in frustration but nodded. “Sure, but after this one tiny spell.”
She pulled out a small silver feather charm from her pocket and rubbed it. Was that her talisman? Next, she murmured a few words too quietly for me to hear and flicked her hand toward the place where the portal had closed. Green magic shot from her fingers, creating a web, much like a spiderweb over where the portal had been. Her magic looked a lot like Apollyon’s concealment spell over Tartarus, but the threads of magic he’d created had been black. I wondered if they were similar, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
“There. That will keep him from following us,” Harley said. Her knees buckled. Dash scooped her back up, and she must have really been tired, because she didn’t complain.
