Over the quaking of the earth came the sounds of monsters— roars and tortured screams of demons escaping from their hellish prison. I felt Ava’s fear sink through my gut as she observed animalistic monsters clawing their way out of the depths of the earth. There were all different kinds— some appearing as dark spirits, others as monstrous animals with sharp teeth and razor-like claws.
In the middle of it all was the Warden, his arms held to the skies as he manipulated his new power to his will— bringing hell upon Earth.
“You cannot escape me!” the Warden’s voice rang above the storm. He didn’t need a loudspeaker to project his voice across the entire island. He was a demigod now, and was more powerful than ever. “My monsters will hunt you down, until every last one of you has suffered for turning your back on the one true god!”
Cries echoed in the distance as the monsters caught up with the students who had escaped. Animalistic roars filled the air.
“What do we do?” Kallie demanded.
Ava and I didn’t answer. I should’ve felt the desire to stop this. To kill these monsters, and end the Warden’s rampage…
But I didn’t.
“Ava! Charlie!” Kallie yelled. “We’re unstoppable now. We can bring down the Warden. We already let the school burn. Are we going to let him get away with this, too?”
“He already has,” I said as more and more screams reached our ears. “The Warden took our magic, so he has our powers now. He’s as unstoppable as we are.”
“We can take him, and his monsters! We’re strong enough!” Kallie protested.
“Not without risking our lives, and we don’t need to die tonight!” Ava cried.
“What about our friends?” Kallie asked.
“It doesn’t matter now,” Ava shouted back. “Noneof this matters until we get the remaining keys!”
“What do you mean?” Kallie yelled.
“We don’t know whether our friends are dead or alive, and we can’t risk our lives trying to find out,” Ava insisted. “If the Warden got to them, they’re already dead, and he took the keys we found. There are two more keys to find, and at least one of them is off the island. Marcus’ locator spell showed us that. Our priority now is getting those last two keys before the Warden does, because if he gets all seven keys, it’s over. Our friends will suffer a fate far worse than death.”
“What are you talking about?” Kallie demanded.
“I’mtalkingabout the afterlife,” Ava said harshly. “When I was in Cellblock 9, Coyote came to me and told me the afterlife is closed to new souls. If our friends are dead, they’re stuck in the in-between, and they’re not moving on. The Blessed Haven is shut down, which makes our mission more crucial than ever. If we want to save everyone from this hell the Warden’s created, save all the souls that ever were, we have to gonow.”
It was worse than we could ever imagine. I didn’t have to think before I made a decision. “If that’s the case, nothing is more important than getting those keys. Even if we stop the Warden tonight, it’s useless if we don’t open the Elven gate. Ava’s right. We can’t put our lives at risk fighting him when there’s a prophecy we have to fulfill. We can’t stay here any longer.”
We turned from the tree line. As we did, I felt a horrible sinking in my gut, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose. I could feel someone’s eyes on me.
I realized theywere. I was feeling Ava through the bond, perceiving what she saw. The Warden had spotted us at the tree line and locked eyes with her. The whole earth stopped shaking for a second as his magic faltered in disbelief. An angry roar erupted around us from all angles as the Warden screamed in frustration.
“After them!” the Warden ordered. Roars echoed, and a stampede of monsters started running in our direction.
“Time to go!” Marcus exclaimed.
We took off running. An explosion sounded behind us, and I felt the earth snap once more. I quickly ordered my magic to seal the crack forming. The Warden surely intended to trap us in it. His magic warred against mine, and the monsters’ footsteps came closer.
“We’re almost there!” Kallie shouted.
Her voice became muffled as she slipped inside the Lair, followed by Marcus. I rushed to lift Ava off Oberi’s back, so that he could change into a husky and fit through the opening.
A monster growled, and a claw sliced my jumpsuit a moment before I slipped through the rock. The monster must’ve been huge, because he reached his arm inside the door and scratched at the floor. I used my Earth magic to seal the entrance off, and his arm snapped as it severed in two.
The earth continued to shake, and monsters roared from outside as they tried to claw their way into the Lair. My Earth magic felt the rocks breaking as long claws chipped away at the rock.
Oberi barked, and I felt his horror through the bond.
“The Warden’s defiled Marcus’ painting!” Ava cried, and my stomach hollowed as I read her thoughts. Marcus’ beautiful paintings had been scratched to pieces. The door he’d painted that Kallie had used to make a portal barely looked like a door anymore. Remnants of the painting remained, but so much of the painting had been destroyed that Kallie couldn’t combine her magic with Marcus’ art.
“He’s going to have to paint another one,” I demanded.
