Page 238 of Dark Haven Omegaverse

The panel of experts argued back and forth, speculating on things they would never truly understand. The one they all thought was crazy was more on par than the rest. This was no economic downfall, but the work of demons.

The camera panned out over New York City. How had the demons reached that far?!

Monty had explained that with the portal wide open, the tethers that kept them in Ridgefield were gone. I just hadn’t expected them to literally take over the country, and likely beyond, in mere weeks. The destruction was insane and people were terrified.

Rightly so.

“As long as the portal remains open, they can go as far as they want, as long as they want? No drain to their power or consequences?” I questioned my demon commander.

He nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. Or at least I’d assume. We don’t exactly have this happen every day in Helheim.”

“How would their power not drain regardless?” Hiro questioned. “That’s a lot of distance.”

“The rules of this world don’t exactly apply,” Kol pointed out. “Gargoyles are tied here to Dark Haven specifically. The demons are different and their magic is part of them as well.”

“Great.” I sighed. “Now we get to go see it firsthand.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just figure the portal out?” Roman questioned, likely because, as a gargoyle, he’d be left behind.

“Not if the city is now a threat to this building,” I said.

“My guess is that it’s literally Hell on Earth outside of Dark Haven,” Hiro guessed. “Every city they’ve shown on the news has been worse than the last.”

That was an understatement. Stores were broken into, desperate people trading for supplies, bodies lining the sidewalks, shootings, destruction, bombings, the list was endless. There wasn’t a single major city unaffected. They had yet to show us how the rural areas and suburbs were doing, but I could only imagine it was more of the same.

I already felt an urgency to close this portal, but now it was amplified.

“Then what are we waiting for?” I questioned as I stood from the couch. We’d reclaimed the common room and Drake fought with the old generators so the TV was working enough for us to tune into the news. Between that and turning water back on, Layne was already looking better.

The longer I spent in Dark Haven, the easier it was to call on my muted powers. Especially near the portal. I managed to conjure us some black clothing, hoping to give us an advantage when we were outside of these walls.

“I’m staying here with the gargoyles,” Layne said. I could see in her eyes she was afraid to leave Stravos’s side. It was probably for the best, especially if any confrontation with Crew occurred.

At least I knew she’d be safe here, Stravos would die protecting her.

We made our way to the front doors of Dark Haven. It was strange to see it so dark and empty in the halls. Even when the demons had flooded the building, it wasn’t this desolate.

Just like when we stepped out of the portal, the city was far too quiet. I’d expected screams, sirens… the works. Instead, it was pure silence, as if this portion of the city had been abandoned altogether.

From the debris and destruction out here, it likely was. Every car on the street was stripped for parts. There wasn’t a tire or door in sight. Fire barrels were set up on the street corners, but they’d long run cold.

The diner across the street was the only one that had boards over every entrance. It was likely Crew’s doing before he left. He may be an idiot but a small part of myself believed he’d drawn things away from Dark Haven for her.

The rest of the businesses were nearly gutted. Jagged pieces of glass hung in their window frames. Shelves and displays were left empty, and trash littered the floors. If they hadn’t boarded up the diner and protected it, then they’d have starved completely.

The city smelled of rotten food and garbage with a hint of smoke. I couldn’t quite see over the buildings, but I guessed somewhere else in the city smoke was rising into the air.

The farther we walked down the sidewalk, the worse it got. As we rounded the corner near what locals called downtown, I could finally see the fire, and hear the first sounds of life.

Smoke, thick and black, hung over this area like a cloud. From the hint of burning rubber in the air, we likely found where all the tires had gone.

Cries of anger and anguish hit our ears and I gripped the spear in my hand as if it could stave off what was coming.

“We all have our weapons, right?” I questioned. We didn’t know who or what was coming for us, but if the demons were now influencing humans, it wouldn’t be easy.

I had no doubt the demons would feel us coming and react accordingly. To them, I wasn’t their leader, I was an impostor, and that would make me a target.

If not for Crew and what he meant to my best friend, we wouldn’t even bother with going farther into the city. My job was in Dark Haven and the portal.

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