Chapter 9

The sun had completely set by the time Ru reached the point in the woods where she believed the portal to be located, and darkness enveloped them. Cutter used his hand as a torch, which helped, but Ru was following something other than her line of sight. Memories of the time she’d spent here recently drew her back to the location where she’d been headed with Kyle the night she’d discovered the man she was ready to give her heart to was actually Thanatos.

Her team had come out here one other time after that, before they traveled to Los Angeles, in an attempt to close the portal. That night, they had found the three trees that “Kyle” had told her he was looking for the evening he brought her out on a walk, which was really Nat’s attempt to trick her into joining his forces. He’d been planning to take her into the portal, but Ru had realized his plan and escaped, with the help of her friends. He’d mentioned the three trees, though, and Ru had wondered why she’d never heard of them before once she laid eyes on their peculiar trunks. They seemed like the sort of anomaly teenage lore was based on. With white chalky bark and branches that twisted and tangled into each other, it seemed like anyone who stumbled upon them would run off screaming in the other direction, leaving a trail of curious pilgrims streaming back to repeat the process.

Ru could see them looming in the distance. Despite the darkness, their discolored bark gave off an eerie glow, which served as a beacon every bit as much as the calling in her gut. She pulled up a few feet in front of them, letting the feeling inside of her speak. It only made sense that the portal would be nearby, but she’d have to feel it out, and right now, all she sensed was a darkness coming from inside the tree trunks themselves.

“Do you want us to start searching again?” Lyric asked, her voice nearly a whisper.

“No,” Ru replied. “It won’t do any good. You won’t be able to find it.”

“How do you know?” the other woman asked, but Ru wasn’t sure what words she could use to answer the question, so she ignored it.

A thin veil of fog began to travel in from all directions, misting its way between the other scraggly tree trunks of the dense forest. Like a snake, beckoned by Ru’s very presence it came, shrouding the ground in a white film. It ebbed and flowed, stretching its tendrils and spreading around them. Something in Ru’s gut told her this was more than a weather anomaly, but without the ability to defend herself against the vapor, she decided to disregard it, assuming something else would show up eventually, something more formidable but also more easily reckoned with.

The last time she’d searched the woods, she’d concentrated on these trees, certain the portal had to be here, but she’d left disappointed. This time, she decided she needed to be more thorough. Her mother had told her the first time they met, just a few days ago, though it seemed much more distant now, that she believed Ru could find the portal, that she had everything she needed inside of her. Now, Ru realized she must’ve been eluding to her Reaper blood. Surely, the half of her that had come from her father would want to find the opening to the world his ancestors had emerged from.

Ru raised both of her hands and began to feel the air between herself and the trees. Her teammates spread out, as if they were waiting for Nat and his minions to rear their ugly faces. Such a thought temporarily made her lose focus since Nat’s face was anything but ugly. With a sigh, Ru returned her attention to the tree in the middle. It made perfect sense that this is where it would be. But the air felt no different. Even placing her hand on the tree, there was nothing, no vibration of life, no heat, nothing at all. It was as if the tree was made of something unnatural, like foam, or concrete—or hate.

She made her way around to the back of the tree. It felt the same here. Frustrated, Ru dropped to her knees and felt down the side, reaching toward the earth and the blanket of dead leaves, brittle pine needles, and other debris. The ground felt different here, loose somehow. She slid her hands further apart, and the wider they stretched, the crumblier the ground became. “That’s odd,” she mumbled.

“What’s odd?” Cutter asked stepping around the trees to join her.

“The ground…” Ru replied. She decided it would be easier for him to feel it, so she pivoted on her boot, brushing her hands off, intending to turn around and move out of the way so that he could see for himself, but as her other foot came around, the ground gave way, and suddenly, Ru was falling, plummeting beneath the tree, sucked down backward.

Her stomach hit the ground, knocking the wind out of her. Visions of Alice in Wonderland filled her head as she scratched at the earth in front of her, trying to gain some traction, but there was none. Pine needles dug into her palms and rocks plowed into her knees. She managed to twist herself around so that her back was making contact with the rough side of the tunnel, but by then, she could see the ground rising up in front of her. Ru’s left foot hit first, gravity quickly causing her backside to slam into the hard earth.

It took her a moment to catch her breath and assess whether or not she was injured. Her hands stung from the scratches and her tailbone felt bruised, but other than that, and the possibility of some abrasions on her knees and stomach, she thought she was okay. Glancing up, she saw a small opening, maybe a foot across in diameter, about fifteen feet above her. Four heads peered down at her. “I’m okay!” she shouted up, hearing their sighs of relief from there.

“Where are you?” Cutter called.

“I don’t know,” Ru admitted. Looking around, she could hardly see anything, not even what was above her head, other than the hole, or how large the passage was. “It’s dark.”

“Use your light,” Cutter reminded her.

“Oh, yeah, right,” Ru muttered, feeling silly for having momentarily forgotten she could do that. With a bit of concentration, she illuminated her hand and took a careful look around.

She appeared to be in some sort of a tunnel, though it was difficult to see for certain because the passage twisted off in the distance so that she couldn’t see if it actually came to an end or if there was more beyond the bend. Above her, the ceiling consisted mostly of tangled tree roots and some larger rocks all woven together with packed dirt. Here, it was about four feet from floor to ceiling, which she realized would be problematic for a group of people where every member was over six feet tall. There was a possibility the passage would open up later on. Or it could narrow. Or the ceiling could crumble, suffocating all of them.

“Well?” Rider called, impatience evident in his voice. “What do you see now?”

“It looks like a tunnel,” Ru replied. “The ceiling is pretty low, though.”

“Is there any chance the portal opening is right in front of you?” Ivy asked. “I mean, it makes sense that it would be. You’d think it’d be right at the bottom of the tree.”

“No, it’s not,” Ru replied. She stuck her hand out to feel, just to make sure, but she’d definitely know if the portal was here. “It might be on down the passage.”

“Well, let’s find out,” Rider suggested. “Best move, girl. Incoming!”

“No, but wait…” Ru began, but she didn’t have time to say anything more before she had to scoot out of the way. Rider didn’t tumble down like she did, however. He had a nice, controlled, levitating descent, which brought him down right next to her. “Thanks for the warning,” she said, brushing her hands off in preparation to stand.

“You bet,” he replied, extending his hand. She took it, and he pulled her up. “Lead the way.”

With her fingertips still ignited, Ru bent over and began to squeeze her way down the tunnel. She heard two more sets of footsteps behind her. “Who are we missing?” she called, though she didn’t try to turn around in that position.

“Lyric’s going to keep an eye on things up there,” Cutter replied. She could tell from his voice he wasn’t any more comfortable than she was. He was even taller than her; she couldn’t even imagine how he and Rider, were even walking.

Once Ru rounded the corner, she breathed a sigh of relief. The ceiling actually raised a bit, and she was able to straighten up some. Off in the distance, she saw a break in the stone wall ahead of them where a plume of foliage broke through, and she assumed that was an exit.

It was difficult to keep herself from hurrying because she wanted to get out of the cramped quarters before the ceiling came down or her strained shoulders gave way and she crumpled to the ground, but she took careful steps hoping not to disturb anything that might cause the tunnel to cave in. Reaching the potential opening, she smelled fresh air. Even if the scent of decaying leaves was unpleasant, at least it wasn’t the mineral-heavy, damp earth smell she’d been inhaling since she took the plunge.

The opening itself was even smaller than the one she’d fallen down. “I don’t know if you’re gonna fit through here, Rider,” she said, pushing fallen leaves and dead grass out of the way so she could more clearly see what they were working with.

“Are you insulting my girlish figure?”

She laughed, but she didn’t bother to come up with a response. Taking a step forward, Ru peered through the hole. Looking down, she realized where they were. “It’s the ravine,” she said quietly. “The passage comes out where I fought Nat.”

“Really?” Ivy asked, stepping up next to Ru, clearly wanting a look. Ru stepped aside. “Oh, yeah. But we’re at the other end, where you blasted him. See! The trees hang down over the sides of the hollow right there, making a little crawl space.”

Ru wasn’t able to understand what she was saying until Ivy stepped back out of the way, and she had a look for herself. The end of the ravine was obscured by an overhang, and from here, Ru could clearly see where the two banks met, sheltered by the forest floor, a large cedar tree standing guard on top. No one would’ve even noticed there was anything under there if they weren’t looking from this angle which gave a perfect line of sight right beneath the outcropping.

As Ru continued to stare, she saw a small shimmer in the air, like a wave, though there really was no light. It was like a disturbance caused by evaporation or the desert in a heat wave. She immediately knew what she was looking at. “The portal,” she whispered.

“Where?” Ivy asked, shoving back over. “I don’t see anything.”

“Under the overhang, back there,” Ru replied, though there was no way she could point it out through the small opening in the tunnel.

“If you see the portal, we need to get our asses out of this passageway,” Rider said, “before company arrives, and we are the proverbial ducks on their butts.”

“Right,” Cutter agreed. “Why don’t the two of you go out this way, and we’ll go back to the other opening and meet you there?”

“Okay,” Ru replied, but as Ivy began to hoist her up so that she could stick her head and shoulders through the opening, she realized she had two problems. First of all, it was at least ten feet down to the bottom of the ravine from this point, and she’d be falling head first. She had no idea how to levitate. Secondly, they were not alone. While she sensed Lyric had discovered their location and was rushing in that direction, she wasn’t the only one. A cloud of darkness was forming in the distance.

“Wait,” Ru said to Ivy, trying to figure out how she could get out without falling on her head, but Ivy was determined, and with one more shove, Ru found herself plummeting through the air once more. This time, she had a perfect view of the ground as it rushed up to meet her face.