Page 109 of Wings of Betrayal

I bite my bottom lip and look at him. “Yeah. I’ll try.”

He gives my arm a reassuring squeeze, then backs up, giving me some space. I close my eyes and dig deep for the feeling inside me, my connection to the Spirit Realm. The feeling is a cool, almost tingly sensation, and I grab onto it and bring it to the surface. I allow it to seep into my fingers, and then I raise my hands and focus on sending it toward the lost one.

“I think it’s working,” Kyle whispers.

I continue to hold it before I carefully open my eyes. The lost one appears more subdued, as if in a trance, just like the ones back in the Sprit Realm. Just like the ones I controlled on the battlefield. But it’s focused on me.

Just as quickly as I’ve gained control over it, I lose it. The lost one flails about and screeches.

We both cover our ears, and then Kyle grabs me and leads me back out of the cells to the training arena. A group of guards stand there, and when they spot us, I can immediately tell something is seriously wrong. One of them rushes over to us.

“There’s a situation on Earth, and we need to get down there. Now,” the guard explains.

“Shit,” Kyle says. “Let’s go.”

We both release our wings, and I follow Kyle to the borders, where we fly down toward Earth. The guards lead us to where the situation is, and we spot about twenty lost ones attacking a group of archangels.

A flash of red catches my eye, and I spot Em battling amongst the other archangels. I grit my teeth and swallow down my annoyance.

Focus, Zarla. Who cares what she’s doing here?

We land in the street as more lost ones file through a large open portal to the side of the battle, and then it closes. Shit, there are at least forty of them now. We all rush in to help the other angels fight the lost ones, but we’re quite outnumbered.

Gold wings flash in the sky, and Atticus lands in the street with a thud. I stare at him as he charges toward me. I duck out of the way just as he swings his gigantic sword and takes the head off a lost one. We gaze at one another for a moment before he hurries away into the chaos and continues to battle the lost ones. I do the same, but there are so many of them.

Atticus looks at me and shouts, “Open a portal! You can do it!”

I frown at him, confused how he would even know about that.

“How? To where?” I shout back as a lost one slashes its claws at me.

“The Realm of Lost Souls!”

Gods above, how the heck am I supposed to do that? I have no idea where to even begin, but I have no choice. We’re outnumbered. I have to do something.

I close my eyes, focus on the same cool, tingly sensation inside me, and visualise a portal back to the Realm of Lost Souls, but nothing happens.

I open my eyes to find the lost ones aren’t as easily defeated. Several of them attempt to get to me, but Atticus and Kyle fight them off, blasting them with their powers. I close my eyes and focus again.

You can do this. Easy.

I visualise the portal once more and throw all of my energy into opening one.

“It’s working!” Atticus shouts.

I continue what I’m doing until the sensation eases a bit, and I somehow know I’ve done it. Snapping my eyes open, I use my powers to control the lost ones, moving them back through the portal into their realm. I’ve just about got them all through it when I feel myself losing control. Something doesn’t feel right, and it’s as though I’m being pulled toward the portal myself.

“Kyle!” I scream, but it’s too late.

Before he can get to me, I’m sucked through the portal into the Realm of Lost Souls.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Shit, this is bad. This is so, so bad.

The Realm of Lost Souls is a blanket of darkness, the skies black with red blood-like streaks. It appears the portal has opened on the outskirts of a city visible in the distance. Its jagged landscape and dark-grey buildings are a stark contrast to the dusty and barren landscape of dead forests surrounding it.

A river of lava cuts through the ground from the base of a vast, active volcano, winding its way through the dead forest toward the city. Lost ones hover around me, the ones who got sucked back through the portal, and they slowly drift toward the city.

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