Chapter 57

One by one the insects and snakes vanish. I look to the others who shrug and look as surprised as I am.
The Order of Terror has struck again. “Hold on a second, Chris, where’s Misty and Kayla?” James is afraid in his eyes. I dart outside with my heart hammering. They are nowhere to be seen.
We search the forest but with no luck. I try to contact Misty telepathically, but there is no reply.
We gather in the living room. My nerves are eating away at my insides. If the council have her,she will be dead by nightfall.
James lays a map on the faded carpet and dangles a crystal above that is tinged with his blood. The crystal doesn’t budge, which means either Misty is not in this world, or she is dead. He throws the crystal across the room. We are at a loss as to what to do next.
I pace the room, trying to think. One thing becomes certain, and I voice it to the others. “We need to find out where the council is hiding them before it is too late.”
“We don’t have time for that,” James answers. I know he is right. The Council won’t hold her long. They will kill her sooner than later to stop what has already started. They believe that with her death the prophecy will come to an end.
Without any warning, James’s eyes turn white. I rush towards him. It is exceedingly rare this happens. His knees buckle, and I catch him before he hits the ground. Cole darts over to help.
James shakes violently like he is having a fit. “Quick, grab his legs,” I order Cole, while I pin his arms down and tried to steady his body.
“What is happening?” Cole asks urgently
The shaking dies down, and James’s body goes limp. “He has had a vision,” I say, getting to my feet and rubbing my hands through my hair. I can only hope the vision is good news.
We have never been able to prevent James’s visions from happening. The more we try, the worse the events become.
“Wow, I heard visions within angels and Guardians are a rare gift to have,” Cole responds as he looks wide-eyed at James. I nod my head. My thoughts are elsewhere and consuming my mind, which just adds fuel to my terror.
James inches himself up, “What did you see, James?”
“A portal. I saw a portal.” I see fear in his eyes.
“A portal…?” I let the question hang in the air.
“Kayla will jump into a portal. It will kill her and drag the complete collection of underworld creatures back to their realms and lock them back where they belong.” I stand, my hands shaking, and my heart dancing a crazy rhythm.
“We have to stop her.” I know that is not possible, but right now, I can’t think straight.
“If we do that, Chris, then we risk things getting worse.” James looks at me, I bow my head. I can’t let her kill herself, even if it is the only way to save us all.
“We don’t tell her, or Misty.” What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her, right?
***

The screech of rusty metal gates wakes me, and I jump to my feet. The man with the warm green eyes walks into the cell. I get an ache of familiarity. I have seen him before. Everything about him feels like déjà vu.
For the very first time, he speaks. “Do not worry I am not here to harm you.” He raises both of his hands, palms outward. “Come, I will set you free. There is not much time so you must hurry.”
We’re ushered out and through a trap door in the floor. We climb down a rusty old ladder that squeaks and groans with every step. He lights an old oil lantern and leads us further into the tunnel. The light flickers casting an ominous glow throughout, causing shivers to ripple over my body, from the gloomy shadows.
“Here I must leave you,” he says. “Take the left tunnel and keep to the right. You will come to a point where a further three tunnels intersect, take the one on the left. You will come to a circular room with a round table in the middle. Above it, you will find another set of ladders. Climb them to the trap door.” He disappears before we can thank him.
We follow the narrow tunnels. I chant the directions he’s given us in my head, hoping we stay on the right path.

As we exit the last tunnel and enter the circular room, we see a man with a crooked smile on his face standing by the table. Even though the air is still, his long brown hair blows around him. He has the eyes of an untamed animal.
I can’t help screaming as yet more of those big spider’s crawl over his body, covering every inch. I shrink back. Misty pulls me forward, giving me a look of sheer determination. Taking a deep breath, I give the impression that I have pushed my fear aside. However, inside, I feel like my blood as turned to icy liquid metal. I clench my fist as I hesitantly take each step. My feet tremble and my legs twitch, fighting the impulse to whirl around and run. The bugs fall off his body and onto the stone floor. I fight the almost overwhelming urge to turn and run. Retreat would be a disaster, a show of weakness, an inlet for the enemy to surge through. I hope my face doesn’t portray my fear and is the mask of defiance I think it is. Some of the bugs scuttle towards me. Calmly I step on them one by one. They crunch under my feet, making a sickly sound that gets on my nerves.
The man growls a feral sound and shakes more of the bugs from himself. They land on the floor and become larger, nearly as big as my palm. The urge to scream again is strong. I swallow hard. Misty joins me in kicking and stamping on the creepy crawlies. With each one we kill my confidence grows stronger, and my fear dwindles. The man, whom I presume is from the Order of Terror, becomes angrier with each second that passes. The spiders become the size of footballs, their eyes as big as golf balls. The unwanted fear creeps over me like invisible shackles. My body becomes stiff and rigid as I look at the giant spiders heading my way.
Counting to three, I kick the nearest spider, sending it sailing into the air. The simple act helps to calm my raging nerves. Kicking and jumping on the spiders sends the man bouncing off the walls with ear-piercing screams. One by one the spiders evaporate. A gray mist fills the room, sucking the man into the black hole that opens in the floor.
Misty grins and throws her arms around me, bouncing us up and down in excitement. “I knew you could do it. I knew it.”
Pulling back, I stare at her in astonishment. “You knew I could do what?” I place my hands on my hips prompting her to spill.
She shifts uncomfortably for a few moments, biting her bottom lip. “You see...The only way to stop them was for you to conquer your fear.”
“Why didn't you tell me?” I yell.
She looks at me sheepishly. “Well, if we told you, it would have been harder for you to face them.”
“That maybe so, but you still should have told me.” I feel more than a little peeved that they left me in the dark like that.
“Come on, let’s not argue over it. Let’s get out of here.” Misty pushes me towards the old iron ladder which we climb with great caution. It wouldn’t pass any Health and Safety tests. They sway from side to side and threaten to give way with each step.
We emerge inside the school cellar. I look around, amazed that the Council of Deranged Angels would use the school for their needs. Misty takes hold of my arm, and we orb into the cabin, right into the middle of the boys. Much to their surprise. All of them have their mouths hanging slightly open, looking rather silly.