Page 94 of Wings of Betrayal

Movement in the bushes near the edge of the forest catches my eye, and then Keva steps out. He stares at me for a moment before bounding toward me at full speed. He nuzzles his face into my neck and licks my cheek, and I giggle.

“Hey, that tickles!”

He grunts, and I stroke his thick neck.

“I’ve missed you.” I haven’t attempted to take Keva through the gateway before because it could be dangerous, but I don’t want to leave him here either.

I’m contemplating the risk of flying with him to Zarquon when a strange, yet familiar, feeling passes through me. Something, or someone, wants me to go into the forest. I immediately trust my instincts and give Keva one last scratch behind his ears before slowly walking to the treeline. Keva lets out a quiet growl, and I glance back at him and raise my hand to let him know it’s okay.

“What is that feeling…” I wonder, stepping between the trees and into the thick of the forest.

Keva yelps from the clearing, but I push on.

The air around me shifts, and suddenly I’m no longer in the Dark Forest at all. I’m inaforest, but this one is different. Different but familiar enough to know exactly where I am.

I’m in the Spirit Realm.

I’d love to know how that works. Is it something I do, or is it certain parts of the forest that seem to be portals from one realm to another? Unlike previous visits here, the air feels calm, and I don’t sense any danger. The feeling from before, this sort of pull, is still there. So I give in to it and follow where it wants me to go.

I walk through dense forest, climbing over fallen moss-covered logs, twigs, and leaves, and eventually arrive at what appears to be the edge of the forest. Water runs nearby, but it sounds different, and I know it’s not the waterfall I have come to expect. I’m somewhere else entirely. There’s a stillness in the airthat doesn’t sit right, though, and I can’t put my finger on why that is.

I check my ring, but it’s not glowing red. That’s good, at least.

While standing between two large pine trees, I look out over a meadow filled with thick, luscious grass and little blue flowers. The pull tells me to keep moving, so I do. I walk through the flowers and knee-deep grass to the other side, where the forest seems to continue. Farther in, my surroundings change, and unease grows inside me.

A cave lies up ahead nestled into a bank, and although I know I shouldn’t go in, that pull wants me to. Crap. This better not be a damn trap. I suck in a deep breath of air then head right for it. Some form of light illuminates the huge cave opening from deep inside. Who the hell, or what, is in there?

Despite every cell in my body telling me to turn back, some unseen force pulls me deeper into the cave. Knowing I can’t simply ignore it, I carry on. A humming noise echoes through the cave, and for a moment, I worry it’s a swarm of bees or some other unknown creatures. The cave narrows significantly the farther I venture into it, which doesn’t help my unease.

Whatever provides the dim lighting in here, it seems to grow brighter, lighting the cave up in a soft blue hue. What is that?

I carry on down the cave until I’m forced to duck down and crawl through the narrow space. Luckily, it opens up again to a wider cave, where the glowing blue light is even brighter. I cautiously move forward until I reach what appears to be the end of this tunnel.

It opens up into a larger area, and as I peek down into the vast opening, I see it. The source of the blue glow. A stone pillar sits in the center of the space, with some kind of glowing blue orb hovering above it. It’s so darn bright I have to shield my eyes from it, and when I do, I notice them. Hundreds of angel spirits and lost ones surrounding it.

And then I see it. There’s a large portal about ten foot wide, illuminated near the edge of the room, sucking angel spirits through it.

What the heck is this?

Gods above, this is it. This is the weapon of the gods that Grazen told me about.

I found it

CHAPTER TWENTY

Istare at the fifth weapon of the gods, totally and utterly captivated by it. How does this thing work? It seems to control not only the portal but the angel spirts surrounding it as well. It’s like they’re in a trance, being drawn in by the orb, only to be sucked through the portal.

If only I could swoop down there, grab the orb, and then hightail it out of this cave and into Zarquon. But it’s far too risky. If one of those lost ones saw me… Well, I don’t even want to think about what could happen. I’ve been slashed before, and it’s not something I want to experience again. Especially when I’m stuck in the Spirit Realm on my own.

There’s a shift in the air behind me, and someone touches my arm. I spin around and stifle a scream when I see my mother.

“I’m sorry I frightened you. I sensed you were here, and it concerned me when you didn’t come to me as you usually do.” She looks past me down into the vast opening and frowns.

I follow her gaze to the lost ones. “Did you know about this?”

“I did. It’s been going on for some time now, and there’s nothing we can do. I can’t get too close, or I, too, could be sucked through the portal.”

Shoot, I hadn’t thought about that.

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