Page 12 of When Monsters Fight
“Wait!” I hurried after her, and Bastian followed.
The gloom lit up an eerie green color as a strange growth on the walls began to glow, as if activated by our presence.
“What is that?” Bastian said.
“I don’t know.”
“The power…” Jilyana crooned. “It’s calling to me.”
The steps seemed to go on forever as we descended into the earth for what felt like minutes but surely couldn’t have been that long.
A new source of light filtered up the steps, and the green glow died.
“Almost there.” Jilyana’s voice trembled with excitement.
The bottom of the steps came into view—flagstones decorated with strange etchings.
Jilyana led the way away from the steps and through an arch into a circular chamber that housed a well.
“There!” She leaned over the edge. “Oh…It’s…beautiful.”
It looked like she was about to topple in, so I grabbed her and hauled her away. “What are you doing?”
She yanked her arm away from me with a frown. “What areyoudoing? It’s the door. We must go through it.”
I grabbed her again, but she was strong and broke free, making a leap toward the well, but Bastian managed to hook an arm around her, then Gabriel appeared, placing himself between the well and Jilyana.
“Take the relics off her,” he said. “Do it now.”
It took a moment, but I managed to wrestle the bundle from her and back away with it.
Jilyana stopped fighting and went still. “I…I’m sorry. I’m not sure what just happened.”
“You were enraptured,” Gabriel said. “It happens sometimes when a being is presented with an excess ofpower. Power that isn’t naturally meant to flow through them.”
“The relics?” Bastian said.
“The relics and this doorway…” Gabriel peered into the well. “It’s ancient. This convergence…almost as if it was planned.”
“And maybe it was,” Kabiel said from the steps. “A hidden doorway between worlds is hardly a novelty.”
“It is when God asserted that all such doors were sealed,” Gabriel pointed out.
“I think the relics help to open this door,” Jilyana said. “The power inside them…It’s meant to open the way.”
This was Lucifer’s power, which meant this door was created for her. The well was large, though, at least five feet in diameter. “We’ll need to go down in groups. Each group holding a relic to make sure no one gets locked out.”
I inched closer to the well and looked down at the swirling red and purple portal housed inside.
“We go. Now,” Kabiel said.
“As soon as the people have left. We need to give them an hour.” I looked across at Bastian. “You need to go.”
His throat bobbed. “I know, but I need…” He licked his lips. “I have some supplies packed for you. Food and water. You better come and make sure you have everything you might need.”
I nodded mutely, my mouth suddenly dry because this was happening. The portal was here, and I was about to go to hell.
Back in the study upstairs,Bastian pulled me into his arms in a bear hug that melted my resolve to stay strong.
