Drawn to the Sea

Chapter 26: The Portal

Douglass

I coughed as the dust cleared, waving it out of my face and looking at the huge hole torn out of the wall. I was surprised at how easy the wall broke apart; I'd hardly used any magic.

Nate stepped through the opening, then helped me through. "Do you think you can get us out of here?"

I looked down the long hall we stood in, then started walking carefully. "We're in the attic. Max had a cell put up here with only a window so that only he could fly up to access it. I think I know a way out. Where do we need to get to?"

"A portal opened by my pack and a witch, hopefully. I don't know how long they'll be able to hold it open." He walked after me. "And who knows how many demons are swarming it trying to get them out before we get there."

I hummed. "We'll need to get there fast, then."

"Is there some sort of shortcut we can take?"

"We don't even know where it is we'd be taking a short cut to." I thought for a moment.

He looked at me. "You got an idea?"

"I might be able to hone in on the magical energy output by the portal and get us to it faster."

"Does that involve you opening a portal to get to it? That would drain too much of your magic if you need to fight."

I shook my head. "No. It'll just let me know where the portal is so I can lead us there."

He nodded. "Yeah. Okay, lead away."

"I have to locate them first. Just give me a second."

He nodded again, and I closed my eyes. I reached out with my magic, focusing on finding the tear in the realm that worked as a portal to hell. When I finally locked in on it, I snapped my eyes open.

"This way." I took his hand, leading him through the winding halls, following the string of magic that connected to the portal. Nate's hand was cold in mine. I stopped for a moment, looking back at him. "You're cold."

He shook his head. "I'll be fine once we get out of here. We just need to keep going."

I pursed my lips but kept going. "Okay."

We passed the room where I'd killed the fake Nate, and Nate pulled us to a stop. "Hold on, I think my knife is still in there."

He ran in quickly, snatching up the long knife from the floor and coming right back to me. "Alright. We can keep going."

I nodded, starting to lead us again.

Once we got out of the front door, I immediately spotted the portal. It was surrounded by demons, and there were wolves guarding its front. Nate smiled. "Yes! Let's get the hell out of hell."

I chuckled. "Just stay behind me. The demons won't get close if I use my magic but I need you to be careful."

He nodded. "Stay close and be careful. Got it."

I let go of his hand, raising mine and focusing. The earth rumbled and fire swirled around my hands, fanning out until there was a dome of flames around me and Nate. He looked at it impressed. I started walking, gathering up rocks as we went and melting them with the heat. They turned into rings of magma swirling around us.

None of the demons dared risk being burned by the intense heat, so we made our way as fast as we could to the portal. When we got there, I opened up the front of the dome. "Nate, go through the portal. I'm right behind you. I'll go after all of the wolves get through."