Chapter 18
Morgan awoke before dawn, a knot in her stomach. She dressed quickly and went downstairs, the smell of coffee drawing her into the kitchen. Johanna was already up, sipping tea, her worried eyes meeting Morgan”s.
”I couldn”t sleep,” Johanna said.
Morgan nodded. ”Me either.”
They sat in silence as pale light crept across the floor. The old house creaked and settled around them.
Johanna reached across the table and squeezed Morgan”s hand. ”Be careful out there today. I wish I could join you, lend my strength...” She trailed off, and Morgan knew she was thinking of the years lost to captivity, her power drained away.
”We”ll be okay, Mom. We”ve got this.” Morgan hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. So much still unknown, so much at stake.
”Good. Then I”ll make breakfast. Don”t want you to go off hungry.” Johanna rose and started pulling ingredients out of the fridge.
The clink of plates echoed through the quiet kitchen as Morgan set the table. A flutter of white outside the window drew her gaze. She peered out at the herb garden, illuminated by dawn”s rosy glow. Impossibly, the herbs had shot up nearly a foot since yesterday, growing tall and wild. Morgan”s breath caught. The magic was strengthening.
In the tangle of greenery, Belladonna rolled happily, crushing a large ferny plant beneath her snowy fur. Morgan recognized it—agrimony. Great. Now the cat would smell like apricots all day.
A prickle on the back of Morgan”s neck made her turn. She peered into the gloomy woods. Among the gnarled trunks, a pair of yellow eyes stared back at her. Morgan gasped and stumbled back. What creature lurked in there?
”What is it?” Johanna asked from the stove.
”Just some odd animals at the forest edge.”
As Morgan set down glasses of orange juice, the others began to arrive. Mateo and Luke were clean-shaven and sharp looking. Jake was still rumpled from sleep, his blond hair sticking up. Calvin squinted slightly without his glasses.
Fiona entered and laid the crystal necklaces on the table. There were enough for all of them including the guys. ”Let”s do this,” she said. Her jaw was set, eyes glinting.
Morgan loved her sister”s grit.
”First, we eat.” Jake pulled a chair out for Fiona, and they all started to dig in.
”Pass the butter,” Luke said, never one to let a dangerous assignment ruin his appetite.
Morgan slid the butter dish over and forked a plain scrambled eggs onto her plate beside the toasted English muffin.
The tension in the room was palpable as they ate breakfast. Morgan passed around small glass bottles of her homemade herbal spray. ”This should help protect us in the woods today.”
Everyone spritzed themselves liberally. Luke”s nose scrunched as the pungent odor hit him. ”I smell like baked chicken now,” he complained.
Celeste chuckled and held up the brass navigational instrument, its needles trembling. ”I think this thing can help us navigate the ley lines toward the epicenter. And I”ve been practicing some new spells to try once we find it.”
Morgan wiped her mouth with a napkin and set it on her empty plate. Around the table, the others were finishing up as well. Celeste drained her glass of orange juice, and Calvin stuffed the last of his English muffin into his mouth.
Johanna stood and began gathering up the dishes.
”Let me help you with that,” Jake said, grabbing a few plates.
Morgan met Fiona”s eyes across the table. Her sister gave a slight nod. This was it. Time to head into the woods and find the source of the disturbance before it was too late.
Morgan took a deep breath. ”Well, I guess we better get going,” she said, pushing back her chair.
The others murmured agreement and also stood. Morgan watched Celeste tuck the sextant into her bag. Luke checked his gun and slid it into his waistband. Morgan had no idea what good a gun would be against paranormal forces, but one never knew what might help.
Johanna set the dishes in the sink and turned to face them, twisting her hands in her apron.
Morgan went over and hugged her mom tight. ”We”ll be okay,” she whispered.
Johanna nodded and smiled. ”I know.”
Morgan stepped back and faced the group. ”Let”s roll.” She stepped outside, squinting in the bright morning sunlight.
Belladonna bounded over through the lush herb garden, meowing loudly. Bits of leaf and stem clung to the cat”s pure-white fur.
Morgan bent to scratch Belladonna behind her ears. The cat bumped her head against Morgan”s hand then trotted off toward the looming tree line, looking back over her shoulder as if making sure they were following.
Belladonna waited at the edge of the woods, tail swishing impatiently. With a little chirp, she bounded into the trees. They scrambled to keep up as she led them along winding deer trails and over mossy logs. The woods felt charged, humming with power. Morgan sprayed more of her herbal mist as they walked. It left a tingling, cleansing sensation on her skin.
They passed strange mysterious animals—phantom deer that were practically invisible, glowing frogs, rabbits walking on their hind legs. Their presence unsettled Morgan, even though they seemed unbothered by the group”s passing.
Celeste held the brass instrument up to her face as they walked. ”I can see them! They look like lines of light in the woods. But there are so many of them.”
”Do they point in a specific direction?” Morgan asked.
Celeste shook her head. ”The lines are going haywire. I can”t get a clear reading.”
”According to the maps, the epicenter is near where the stream turns toward the east.” Cal pointed. ”That”s this way.”
They pressed on, the trees closing in around them. Dark shadows stretched between the gnarled trunks, and vines curled from the branches like skeletal fingers. The air felt heavy, charged with power that raised the fine hairs on Morgan”s arms. She shivered despite the late-summer heat.
A shriek split the eerie quiet, making them jump. Morgan”s heart hammered against her ribs. She grabbed for her crystal amulet with one hand, the other hovering near the herbal spray on her belt. Another cry echoed through the trees, inhuman and chilling.
A dark form burst from the undergrowth, rushing straight for them. Celeste yelped and stumbled back. Morgan”s finger found the spray nozzle.
Before she could use it, lightning crackled from Jolene”s palms, arcing out to strike the creature. It recoiled with an unearthly wail, dissolving into wisps of shadow.
”Thanks,” Morgan breathed.
Jolene nodded, eyes vigilant for more threats.
They continued on slowly. The trees and boulders around them shimmered as if reality were destabilizing. Strange rifts opened in the earth, glowing with unnatural light. Morgan skirted one, careful not to look into its hypnotic depths.
Beneath their feet, the earth began to shift as if reality itself was tearing at the seams. Small fissures appeared, glimmering with an ethereal light. These were not mere holes; they were gateways, openings to another realm, growing larger with each passing second.
Suddenly, one such portal expanded to an alarming size. Belladonna, unfazed by the phenomenon, sauntered over it as if strolling across a patch of sunlit grass. Trusting the feline”s instincts, Jolene mirrored her steps, pressing forward with a steady gaze.
However, no sooner had she set foot on the shimmering surface than it gave way beneath her. One moment, she was solidly grounded, and the next, she was falling, her scream swallowed by the gaping maw of the portal.
”Jolene!” Morgan rushed forward, heart in her throat. But it was too late. Jolene was gone, swallowed by the mystical portal. Morgan turned desperately to the others. ”What do we do?”
”No!” Mateo”s shout echoed through the woods as Jolene disappeared into the glowing portal. He shrugged off his jacket, preparing to dive in after her.
But Luke was faster, grabbing Mateo around the waist and pulling him back. ”We don”t know where that leads!” Luke yelled over the noise of the shifting earth and whirling energy. ”We can”t lose you too!”
Morgan felt like she was in a nightmare, watching helplessly as her little sister vanished. But there was no time for panic. They had to act.
”We need rope,” she said, her voice shaky but determined. She met Luke”s gaze, seeing her own fear reflected at her. ”And something to anchor it.”
Without waiting for a response, Morgan turned and sprinted back toward the house. Her heart pounded in her ears, drowning out the eerie sounds of the woods and the rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins.
As she ran, dodging the strange rifts in reality, she caught sight of peculiar creatures out of the corners of her eyes. A skunk looked down at her from a tree branch. A chipmunk grinned with comically gigantic cheeks. And an acorn as big as a football sat incongruously in the middle of the path.
Shaking off her bewilderment, Morgan reached the house and flung open the door. Johanna was pacing by the window, wringing her hands and casting anxious glances outside. The sight of Morgan”s frantic entrance seemed to amplify her distress.
”What happened?” Johanna asked, rushing over to Morgan.
”Jolene fell into a portal,” Morgan gasped out between breaths.
”What?” Johanna looked stricken. ”How do we get her back?”
”We”re working on it,” Morgan replied quickly, already moving toward the closet where they kept camping gear.
She pulled out several coils of rope and a few heavy-duty carabiners. As she was about to head back outside, a calm meow stopped her in her tracks. Belladonna was lounging on the windowsill, bathing in a patch of sunlight. The white cat seemed completely unfazed by the chaos, even going so far as to curl up for a nap.
Shaking her head at the absurdity, Morgan hoisted the rope over her shoulder and dashed back outside. Luke and Mateo were waiting, their faces grim.
As they prepared to head back into the woods, a voice from behind them stopped them in their tracks.
”What in the world are you guys doing?”
They turned as one to see Jolene standing there. She was soaking wet but looked otherwise unharmed. But the really weird thing was that standing beside her was Maynard Dove.