Page 66 of In Between Darkness
I’m getting antsy now and don’t want to delay for too long; otherwise, I’m afraid I will talk myself out of entering the portal.
“Okay then. Enough waiting around, let’s do this. Let’s get River out,” I chant, instilling motivation in Ryder and myself.
‘There is one thing you need to be cautious about, child. If you allow your thoughts to stray, you may become trapped in separate realities. You hold the key to escape, but there is a possibility Ryder will become lost forever.’
Oriah’s voice plays on repeat in my mind. I can’t lose Ryder too.
“I’ll go alone.” I look over at Ryder, who is just as startled by what Oriah has said. “It’s just too much pressure.”
“No. There’s no way you’ll be able to carry him out by yourself and control the portal. He’ll be a deadweight.”
I try to walk past Ryder, ignoring his pleas, but he stands in front of me, immovable. “It’s too dangerous,” I say, gripping his cheek, his body heat radiating off my cold hand.
“It’s not up for discussion. I’m coming with you,” he snaps and gestures to my hand. “Summon the portal.”
I hesitate for a moment but realise that there is probably nothing I can do to make him stay. I visualise the pot in my head again and turn on the metaphorical heat. I feel my right armtingle as the pot heats up. The orb becomes present, and I watch as it pulses in my palm.
‘Getting better at that, aren’t you, child? Now manifest it onto that tree. You have to feel the energy transferring over.’
I stare at the tree in front of me and mentally take in its grooves and ridges, placing my hand carefully onto its rough bark, hoping to avoid splintering my fingers on its sharp edges. I close my eyes, and I swear I can feel its heartbeat. The wood creaks at me as the cool wind brushes through my auburn curls, and the mossy smells from the forest enrich my nostrils. This is it. My hand heats up, and I feel my power transferring over. I open my eyes and see the blackened orb growing in size against the tree trunk. When it looks big enough for me and Ryder to squeeze through, I pull away, leaving the orb to stand freely by itself. I can still feel the pressure in my hand, but its energy is all focused on the tree. Ryder and I stand in awe at the unpredictable vortex. I take hold of his hand and squeeze it tightly. The strong pull of the vortex is compelling us forward.
“Astra Nova, here we come.” Ryder winks and squeezes my hand back before taking a step forward towards the portal.
I guess now is as good a time as any. I exhale and give in to the portal’s pull, and, in the blink of an eye, Ryder and I are wading into its depths.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It’s different here; the air is much thinner. There is no cool breeze, but it’s cold, and I have goosebumps. I glance over at Ryder, who is finding his feet on the nonexistent ground. It is just like on my visit. We are walking, but there is no solid flooring. I spin on my heels, taking in my surroundings; Ryder was right; it is just a whole lot of nothing.
“Come on, this way.” Ryder leads the way into the midst of darkness, each footstep sounding like an echoed drum.
I follow closely behind him, trying not to peel my focus away to a separate reality. Seeing as we have a little time on our hands, I should try to distract myself.
“So, sky serpent venom?”
Ryder turns back to look at me and shrugs his shoulders before continuing his walk towards where River may be.
“Isn’t small talk for people that haven’t reached first base yet?” He smirks, and I feel my cheeks heat slightly.
“That was not first base.” I scoff at his remark. It wasn’t even real; it was just a scene to trick an audience, an audience I didn’t see coming. “Sorry if I wanted to take my mind off of everything and just have a simple conversation.” I continue in annoyance, and a brief silence follows.
“The healers didn’t think I was going to make it. They said it should have killed me.” He sighs. “Guess I was just lucky.” Looks like he changed his mind about the small talk.
He continues traipsing through the black ether. I notice the hair band floating ethereally and pluck it out of its orbit to place it back around my wrist.
“Do you remember much? Oriah said you’ve been to this place before,” I ask, knowing that I may be pushing my luck.
“No, not really, but when I saw it through my hawk’s eyes, it felt…familiar. I don’t really know how to describe it.” His voice trails off, and silence encompasses us, but the echoed footsteps of our boots remain.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” I ask curiously.
“Depends, am I gonna like what I am asked?” He raises an eyebrow as he looks back at me.
“What was your childhood like?” I hold my breath after asking. I am sure he will bite my head off, but he doesn’t.
“You mean after my parents left me for dead?” He laughs a little, but I know he is hurt by the thought. I see him scratch the back of his neck, indicating that this is a sensitive subject for him. “It was… messy. No one wanted to foster the kid with the weird arm, so I ran away from the orphanage and wound up in some man’s garage. Just so happens that man turned out to be my father now. He and his wife took me in.”
“What are they like?” I ask, taking advantage of his current vulnerability.
