Page 158 of Every Shade of Shadow

“Mortis?” I ask.

He nods, pacing. “In the ballroom, but in a different dimension—a construct. She’ll need time to recover, to build back her power after the…”

He doesn’t say it, but we’re all thinking it—massacre.

Because that’s what this is, plain and simple.

Half the student population must be there, murdered in cold blood.

I think of Leo, that look on his face, like he couldn’t believe he was dead.

The gaping hole in his chest.

I can’t bear it.

“If we are to strike,” continues Damien, “we strike now while she is weakened. That many deaths, that much concentrated pain… It will take time to filter to her, but when it does, she will be unstoppable.”

I steel myself, because fuck this bitch. She has to go down.

“I think I know how to find her,” Damien says. “I can open a portal, but like I said, it’s now or never.”

I nod. “Let’s do this then.”

I look around, but the others, while nodding their approval, don’t seem so sure.

“We’re agreed?” Damien says.

“We’re agreed,” I answer.

Damien eyes with me. “Ana, are you sure?”

I nod again.

My stomach twists at the thought of what's to come. I know better than to protest, though—we all have our parts in this. I won't back down from mine. I lift my head and stare into the shadows, see them now as my kin and power.

"I'm ready," I say, willing my voice not to shake. "Let's go.”

Damien nods and steps forward, raising his hands. Magic crackles through the air as he begins to chant, ancient and guttural. The candles flare up, shadows dancing. A surge of energy fills the space, the stench of ozone overwhelming.

When he finishes, a shimmering portal has appeared before us. Framed by silver, the interior glows a dull gold. "It will only allow two at a time. Ana, Lily, you first. Go now," he says.

Lily squeezes my hand, her eyes bright with fear and determination. I squeeze back. Together, we step through the portal, penetrating its gold interior.

It’s a large room, like any other in the castle, though dim. I smell rotting flesh, blood, even though the room is largely empty.

We step in and the portal closes behind us.

Here we go.

Shadows flicker and dance across the walls, but they are my familiars now.

Mortis stands in the center of the room, emerald robes turned black flowing around her now lean frame. She is so consumed in shadow that any shred of humanity has been stripped away. Her skin is blackened, only the whites of her eyes, wild, visible in the dim. There’s madness within them.

"My darling Ana, and a friend, I see." Even her voice is wrong, like multiple people speaking at once. “How nice of you to join us."

Only now I see something on the wall. Or rather, someone. It’s Cassandra, chained there naked, her body covered in cuts and bruises. Her eyes meet mine, glassy with pain. More pain for Mortis to feed on, no doubt.

What’s it been? Five minutes? And Mortis has done this much damage?

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