Chapter 35: Chapter 35

Before they could ask any other questions, they heard the sound of footsteps off in the distance. Aaron and Elliott exchanged glances, not sure if they should brace for the worst or assume that was their friends. Part of him didn’t want to know who else was trapped in here. He could easily guess Holland would want Jamie, possibly Brandon, but who else she would target, he had no idea.

“Dad?” The sound of Brandon’s voice echoed off the rock walls around them, and he came running in their direction even as the girl cursed him for being loud. Elliott didn’t pay her any mind either and shot off to embrace his son in a tight squeeze.

“I hate that you’re here, boy, but at least you’re okay.”

“I’m glad it’s you and not... Cass,” he replied, patting his dad on the back. A few seconds later, the others came into focus.

“Damn it,” Aaron muttered, shaking his head when he saw Dax. It was bad enough one kid had ended up in here, but Dax was so new to the team, so young. Aaron should’ve never let him come to the Eidolon Festival.

“Well, at least we’ve got a Healer,” Elliott said, reaching for Jamie’s hand. They hugged instead, and Jamie looked happy to see the two of them but not happy to be there. As soon as his hand made contact with Elliott, the scratches the hellcat had left on his shoulder healed up, leaving only a ripped jacket and a bit of blood as a reminder of the encounter. Elliott thanked Jamie before the Healer even realized what he’d done.

Alex brought up the rear, and once they’d all greeted each other, and Aaron apologized that any of them had been put in this position, the woman cleared her throat and said, “Y’all done with the waterworks or shall I pull out my embroidered handkerchief and let you pass it around?”

“I’m sorry—who are you?” Jamie asked, looking at Aaron and then Elliott.

“Don’t matter much who I am, young feller,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “Y’all are gonna help me get out of here, and when that portal opens, I’m gonna be the first one out, ya hear?”

“Who...? What...?” Brandon stammered.

“Our new friend here saved me from some sort of hellcat. She’s been here a long time, and we’re all gonna figure out a way for us all to get out of here. She says there’s a key hidden in here somewhere, and on top of that, the portal opens every six hours. So... we’ve got some options.” It was the friendliest Elliott had been to the girl since she’d saved him.

“Oh, thank God,” Dax stammered wiping at his eyes. He was the only one who looked like he’d actually been crying, so Aaron assumed that’s who what’s-her-name had been referring to when she mentioned her handkerchief. He had his cell phone in his hands, which Aaron figured was pointless except for maybe as a flashlight, but Dax only glanced away from it momentarily as the girl started talking to him.

“Ain’t as easy as that, now. You’ll find out soon enough. Soon as you hear a poppin’ sound and there’s a little whoosh of all the fog shifted in one direction, you’ll know the damn thing is open. But ya can’t just go sprintin’ out. We ain’t exactly in the moon I reckon, but sometimes the sucker’ll open up right into the middle of outer space. Or the center of the Earth, or the middle of the damn ocean. So you gotta look before you leap.”

“Good to know,” Jamie nodded. “Anything else?”

“Yes, what is it that’s making all of those unpleasant noises? Hellcats you say?” Alex asked in his proper way.

“All kids of demons and shit,” she replied. “You gotta be careful. You can die in here jest as sure as you can die out there. Don’t matter what you is. It’s like bein’ a human all over again.”

“Well, unfortunately, dear woman, I have to say that’s likely not true. You see, Dr. Sanderson and myself have come through the Blue Moon Portal, so, it seems we are not capable of dying.”

The girl’s eyes shifted from Alex to Elliott and then back again. “I highly doubt that’s true in here. But maybe we’ll find out. Also, why is that unfortunate?”

“It’s... a long story.” Aaron interjected, thinking now was not the time to go into it.

“Where is the door to hell?” Brandon asked, and they all turned and looked at him. “I mean, if this is a portal, like you said, used by demons and hellcats and what-have-you, isn’t there a door to hell?”

“Yep. It’s that way.” She pointed way off into the blackness. “You’ll wanna steer clear of there. That’s where the worst beasties hang out, where they come through. I’ve checked for the damn key back there and nearly gotten eaten alive. I don’t think it’s back there.”

“But if whoever threw you in here didn’t want you to get out, isn’t that where they would’ve put it?” Dax asked.

“Nah, they ain’t got no control over the key. Demons did that. I was put here by Vampires, my own kind. Well, sort of my own kind. I ain’t really gotta kind.” For a moment, her rambunctiousness turned into sorrow, and Aaron felt slightly sorry for her again, though it was hard to when she was tough as nails.

“What do you mean?” Brandon asked, taking a step closer to her.

“Nothin’. I don’t like to talk about it.”

He continued to stare at her for a moment, studying her face, his eyes flickering to her hair before he asked, “What did you say your name was again?”

“Told you, it don’t matter. Ain’t nobody missing me.”

“I’m not sure that’s the case,” the teen replied. “We gotta call you something. May as well be your name.”

“Fine. If you insist.” With a deep breath, she said, “You can call me Heather.”

***

Somehow, the sun had managed to climb the sky the same way it always did. Cadence stepped out into the parking lot to make a few of the hardest phone calls she’d ever made, and part of her was startled to see that big, orange globe hanging there like nothing unusual had happened the night before, like it was just an ordinary Thursday afternoon.

She pulled Cassidy’s phone out of her pocket first, deciding it would be easier to call Amanda than her own parents. She had missed IAC messages from at least a half dozen people who deserved to know what was going on, too, but she’d been trying to defer all of the telling to Hannah. The temporary-Guardian Leader was also swamped, Cadence imagined, even though she was on a plane headed back to Kansas City right now, with Christian, so there may be a few people Cadence would actually have to speak to herself. Which sucked. She wasn’t even sure the words could make it out of her mouth. At least Hannah confirmed she’d already talked to Dax’s parents.

Without giving it anymore thought, she pressed in her sister’s pin and clicked on her recent calls. “Brandon’s Mom”—that had to be it. With a deep breath, she pressed the name and waited.

She didn’t wait long. Amanda answered immediately. “Hello? Cassidy? Oh, thank God. Do you know where Brandon is? I can’t get ahold of him, and I know it sounds silly, but I just have this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach....”

“Ms. Keen, this is Cadence Findley, Cassidy’s older sister.” She had to break in or who knows how much longer the worried mother might talk. It seemed a far cry from the woman who hadn’t been able to complete a sentence without adding a ton of expletives the last time Cadence had been around when Amanda had called. It was amazing what a few months of rehab could do. “I have some not-so-great news. You might want to sit down.”

“Oh, my God!” Amanda exclaimed. “Is he okay? He isn’t dead is he? That would be worse than not-so-great, right?”

“He’s not dead,” Cadence assured her, pacing back and forth on the narrow walkway between the office and a row of parking spaces. “But... he is gone.”

“What?” she asked, and there was nothing else for her to say this time, so she stopped talking.

“Gone... for now. Through a portal. A different portal than the one that got Elliott back to us. We didn’t know about this one. But... we’ll get ‘em back, I promise.”

Amanda was silent for a moment, and then she said, “I’m going to kill his father. I knew this was a bad idea! I knew he wasn’t old enough! But Elliott kept saying he’d be just fine. That stupid, son of a bitch! Just when I was starting to trust him again....”

“Amanda?” Cadence must’ve said her name five times while she was ranting. “Amanda? Listen, this isn’t Elliott’s fault. He didn’t know. And besides... he’s gone, too.” It was one of the most difficult things she’d ever let escape her lips. The only thing harder for her to say stayed inside for now. She generalized instead. “We are missing six Guardians. But like I said, we’re going to get them back. We have a... book that says how this portal works. So... yeah. It’ll be okay.”

The other end of the call was so quiet, Cadence thought maybe she’d hung up or dropped the phone or passed out. Eventually, she said, “Elliott’s gone, too?”

“For now.”

“How... how long?”

“A couple of hours. We’ve been trying to make sure we knew what happened before we called anyone. But... you can come here if you want. Or maybe not here. I don’t know if I’m staying here or going back to KC. But you can come to where we are, if you want.” She wasn’t making a whole lot of sense, but she hoped Amanda could decipher her meaning.

“I want to,” she began, and it was obvious she wanted to help. “I’m not sure I can get out of rehab, though. What do I tell them? My son is trapped in a portal? No, probably not. Maybe I could just say he’s missing, but then they’ll wonder why I haven’t called the police, why it’s not all over the news.”

“Right. Well, I can have someone call them and explain that this is a government operation, that it’s a security issue, so that’s why there’s no media coverage, if that helps.” She went through the people she knew who could run interference, which was tricky with both Elliott and Brandon gone. Hannah could do it.

“Okay—yeah, that’ll work,” Amanda said quickly.

“All right. You should go to Kansas City. Hannah will be there whether I am or not. That’s where the book is.... It’s probably better than here.” She thought about the fact that Holland wanted her and Cass more than anything. She would attack sooner or later. Amanda didn’t need to be here for that.

“Do you think the portal will reopen where you are now?”

It was a legitimate question, and Cadence had no idea how it worked, but she had a feeling this wasn’t unique to West Virginia. “Probably not. But we have a fleet of airplanes, so wherever it might open, we’ll be there. Do you need someone to pick you up?”

“No, I can drive. It’ll do me some good.” Amanda sounded a little calmer but still upset, and Cadence completely understood the sentiment.

“Okay. I’ll have Hannah give your center a call. We’ll see you soon. Be careful.”

“Thank you, Cadence.”

“I’m sorry.... I’m sorry I didn’t take better care of them.” Tears stung her eyes, but she swiped them away before they could blur her vision.

“It’s not your fault.” Amanda’s voice was strong and steady now. “They’re meant to keep you safe, remember?”

“No, I know. But... when you’re the boss...”

“I’m sure Aaron will do everything he can to get them back.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” She cleared her throat, not yet willing to state aloud that he was gone, too. Wherever he was, she was certain her husband was doing everything possible to find his way home.

“See you soon.”

Cadence hung up her sister’s phone and took a deep breath. Calling her parents was going to be even more trying. There was a wedding to postpone after all. She glanced down at her ring, pulled out her own phone while putting her sister’s away, and called her dad.

It took forever for him to answer, but when he did, his voice was chipper. He had no idea, which was odd because there were enough team members there, she thought maybe one of them might’ve mentioned it. But then, he would’ve called if that was the case. And then, who would want to be the one to tell her parents?

“Well, if it isn’t my little bride-to-be! How are you, honey? You headed back?”

“No, Dad.” His voice brought tears to her eyes, and once again, Cadence wiped them off of her face with anger. “Is Mom around?”

“No, no she’s over at the church, walking through the layout with some of the girls.”

“Damn. Okay, I need to talk to you both at the same time. Hold on while I dial her in, okay?” She was not saying this twice.

“Okay, honey. Is everything okay?”

“Nope. Not even a little bit.” She pulled the phone down and dialed her mom’s number. Liz picked up pretty quickly. After a similar greeting as her father’s Cadence managed to tell her to hang on and had them both on the line again.

“Honey, you’re worrying me. What’s the matter?” her mom asked.

“Uh, well, a portal opened last night during the Eidolon Festival, and, uh... Aaron’s gone. So....” That was it. That’s all she could say. She’d go back later and fill in the details, but that’s what she needed to tell them. Remarkably, the tears had learned their lesson and stayed snuffed inside. For now.

“He’s gone?” Liz asked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean what I said. A portal opened, and he’s gone. We’re going to get them back, but for now, he’s gone. And so are a lot of other people.”

“What?” It was her dad’s turn now, and Cadence began to realize she needed to be more succinct.

“Listen, this isn’t exactly easy for me to talk about, okay, but Mom, I need you to... postpone the wedding. I don’t know until when. Can you let my human friends know? I’m not sure what to tell them. You can’t say Aaron got sucked up by a damn portal. But I don’t want them to think we’re having issues.”

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.” She was starting to get it now. “Yes, of course. I’ll think of something. How awful.”

“Yeah. It is.” She needed to tell them who the others were, but she knew her mom would freak out when she heard about Brandon, and then she’d be calling Cass, who wouldn’t want to talk about it. Still, it had to be said. “Listen, you should know, Brandon, Elliott, and Jamie are gone, too. So... Cass is pretty upset. You should let her call you, though, okay? She’s trying to fix it herself now, you know? She’ll call you when she feels like it. Her friends Dax and Alex are the other two. That’s it. Six of them. Gone.”