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I decided that I would only spend five days in Oreylia, which equalled to one day here. In approximately twenty-four hours, Belinda would reopen the portal so that I could haul my arse back home. This meant my parents would barely have time to notice I was gone. I’d set an alarm on my old digital watch so I’d know exactly how much time I had to get back to the portal.
“So, what exactly is your plan?” Ren asked.
“Find Vas and Sven. Free them. Kill Red Armand. Come home. Job done.”
“Do you know where to find them?”
“I know they’re in Red Armand’s reylite mine. My great-grandfather, Roman, gifted me the Oreylian language with a spell, so I’ll be able to talk to the locals and ask for information,” I explained before turning to Belinda. “Okay, I think I’m ready,” I said, sucking in a deep breath.
She was perched atop my chest of drawers, a concentrated look on her face. Ren remained seated on my bed, wearing a strange expression. I wondered why he was staring at me so intensely before he blurted, “I want to come with you.”
I froze facing him, certain my look was quizzical.
“What? No. You can’t. You have school.”
“You said you were only going to be gone for a day, and I’ve already ditched so I might as well do something worthwhile with my time. Besides, if Gran’s prediction holds any merit I’m supposed to become your right-hand man. And what self-respecting right-hand man allows their leader to go on a dangerous mission alone?”
“One who’s smart enough not to risk their life for a cause that doesn’t even affect them.”
“Maybe it does affect me and we just don’t know it yet.”
I racked my brain for something that would put him off. “But…you’re still in your school uniform, and I only packed enough food for one.”
“So I’ll borrow one of those oversized hoodies your wardrobe is full of. And look, I’m already wearing boots. Plus, we can just pack another bag of food.”
My heart lifted, because although I didn’t want him taking such a risk, I’d feel a lot less terrified if he came with me.
“You’re really sure about this?”
He nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. “I’ve always wanted to journey to another dimension. It’ll be an adventure.”
“Whatever you say,” Belinda muttered, her expression showing she thought Ren was nuts to volunteer to come with me. Thankfully, he could neither see nor hear her.
Twenty minutes later we’d further pilfered my mother’s pantry and filled a second backpack with food and other essentials. Ren had stripped out of his uniform shirt and blazer and changed into a spare T-shirt and hoodie of mine. It was a good thing I favoured oversized clothes because Ren, though skinny, was a lot bigger than me.
“Are you ready?” Belinda asked and I nodded while a knot tightened in my middle. I was completely terrified but also determined. Just like entering the Prison of Thorns, this was something I had to do. It also didn’t hurt that focusing on rescuing Vas and Sven allowed me to ignore the shitshow my life had become.
Belinda’s beyond the grave magic stirred to life, the air thickening around us, and then something strange happened to the door that led to my bathroom. The dark panels began to disintegrate, melting away until the doorway no longer led to my bathroom, but instead to an entire other world.
Ren and I stood in front of the opening, mouths gaping in stunned silence as we stared through the door. Oreylia lay beyond and it was a beautiful and horrifying sight to behold.
Vasilios’ home city of Treyu sat in the distance, the towering metropolis a dark, foreboding presence. The sky was grey with patches of fiery orange and I couldn’t tell if this was their night or if it was always so dark and gloomy. Fear caught in my throat at the winged creatures that flew in the distance. I’d never witnessed demons with wings before.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Belinda complained. “Get going. I can’t keep the portal open indefinitely.”
I glanced at Ren. “You ready for this?”
“Not at all but let’s go before I chicken out.”
With that I took his hand in mine, and holding my breath we stepped through the portal and into the unknown.
8.
The first thing I felt was the heat, like walking into a furnace. I decided that it must’ve been day since I was already sweating and Vas said it was cold at night. That also begged the question, if it was this dark and gloomy during the day, how dark did it get at night? Or perhaps it was bright. This was, after all, a dimension where none of the same rules applied.
Okay, Darya, stop panicking and focus.
“It looks like we’re a few miles from the city,” Ren said. “We should start walking.”
