Apollyon was stepping through the Netherworld portal as I envisioned Skye standing in the Hall of Angelic Records in Avalon.Tall rows of leatherbound tomes and the—there was a tug at my navel as Apollyon slipped into the Netherworld, but I fought back against it.
Keeping calm and envisioning the library, I opened my palms and nearly cried in relief when I saw Skye staring at me with wide eyes. The portal was only about three feet wide, and when I tried to make it bigger, I was jerked away from it.
“Skye!” I screamed in panic.
Skye’s face paled and then I saw…myself. My body was in a trancelike state, holding Apollyon’s life book in my gloved hand and staring blankly at it. Seeing your body without a soul was beyond creepy, but I had no time to dwell on it.
Without hesitation, Skye reached out and pushed my body. It fell awkwardly against the small portal. My torso and upper body came through the portal I’d made, but my lower half remained in Avalon with Skye. If the portal snapped shut while I was like that, I’d be cut in two!
I quickly reached out and touched my arm. The second my ghosty fingers connected with my physical form, I was sucked back into my body with a dizzying snap.
Skye bolted forward, grabbing hold of my right leg, and yanked me through the small window-like opening with so much force that I knocked her over and we both hit the ground hard.
“Ow,” I groaned, rolling onto my back just in time to see the portal shut. My stomach felt sick as the connection to the memory, to Apollyon, was broken.
Skye sat up with a hopeful look in her eyes. “Did you find out where he hid it?”
I winced, trying to mask the guilt I felt from showing on my face. “Not exactly, but next time I will.”
Skye frowned, opening her mouth to speak, when the hall door burst open. Darius ran in looking flustered. “You need to go now. Cael is headed this way.”
His wings snapped out as he picked up Apollyon’s life book from the floor, shooting up to the stacks to shelve it.
Skye looked at me. “We will have to come back another day.”
I nodded. That was okay with me. I wasn’t in the mood to find Tartarus right now, especially not since I needed to find and protect my sister first.
Skye stood, brushing off her shirt, and then stared at me. “Make a portal home.” She snapped her fingers.
Oh, right.
“Quickly please.” Darius landed beside us, casting worried glances outside.
The last few times I’d come to trainings, Aurum had wanted me to learn how to get home by making my own portals. It was exhausting in the beginning but I’d gotten pretty good at it, and now I was thankful for all the training because I could make one without needing help to stabilize it as I did before.
Pulling on my power, I envisioned the inside of the small sanctuary, and a round portal appeared and grew before me with relative ease.
“Crap! Cael!” Skye yelped and pushed me through. I stumbled, falling into the sanctuary and landing hard on my knees.
I looked behind me, expecting Skye to be right there, but the portal had already closed and she hadn’t followed me through.
Awesome. I hope Cael didn’t see us.
As I stood I brushed off my knees and peered around the space, an idea forming in my mind.
Sam died and it was clear there was no baby in her belly, which meant she’d given birth before overdosing. The baby might have died before or during birth, but I doubted that. Apollyon seemed to believe Harley was alive and that he needed her for something. He’d said as much when I faced him in the Netherworld. So that meant Sam had given birth at a hospital or somewhere and… what? Left the baby there? Maybe Harley had fallen into the foster system or something.
I needed to find out and there was one person who would know for sure what happened.
Sam.
Yes, Sam was dead, but death wasn’t the end. When she died her soul had to have gone somewhere. I didn’t think she’d have been stupid enough to go to the Netherworld where Apollyon would probably interrogate and consume her, but as a Shade she couldn’t go to Avalon, and she couldn’t go to Tartarus since it was lost. That left one place.
Earth.
That was assuming she had some sort of power to keep herself here. It was a long shot, but my gut was telling me to check that apartment. That her soul might still be lingering there.
Looking over my shoulder at the two closed sanctuary doors, I pulled up the image of the apartment in my mind. The Formica countertops, the carpet, even the view of Los Angeles in the window. I held it all in my mind and then pushed my power through my palms, opening a small portal to peek inside.
