“So you’re an angel, huh?” Taylah said. “Should have guessed from all that clean livin’.”
“How did you know?” I asked.
“I didn’t when I was alive. But I can sense your presence now. And besides, your glow kinda gives you away.”
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“Nothing surprises me anymore.”
I didn’t know what else to say so I changed the subject. “Molly misses you,” I said and Taylah smiled miserably.
“How’s she doing? I miss her too.”
“She’s fine,” I said. “Was that really you on the night of Halloween?”
“Yeah.” Taylah nodded. “I was trying to warn you. Didn’t do much good, though. Here you are.”
“You knew what was going to happen?” I asked.
“Not exactly, but I knew the séance was stirring up something bad,” she said. “Abby’s an idiot; she had no idea what she was messing with.”
“Don’t be too hard on her; she was sorry once she realized. How did you know to come?”
“I heard on the grapevine that a portal had opened up in Venus Cove. I knew that could only mean trouble so I tried to warn you. Guess I messed that up too.”
“No, you didn’t,” I said firmly. “You tried.”
“You’d think an angel would know better than to mess with that stuff,” Taylah scolded, sounding a little more like her old self.
“You’re right. I should have tried harder.”
“Oh, don’t get all sentimental,” Taylah said. “You know, you’re kind of a legend down here. We’ve all heard the story of how you broke Jake’s heart and your brother banished him underground. He’s been waiting ever since for a chance to get you back.”
“Does anyone know how the story ends?” I asked croakily.
“Nope,” Taylah said. “That’s what we’re all waiting to find out. I really hope you get back to Xavier.”
“Me too,” I said.
The expanse of cracked earth before us seemed endless. Only the occasional boulder or solitary cactus plant broke it.
“There’s nothin’ here,” said Tucker, defeated. “I reckon we should head back.”
“We can’t,” I protested. “Asher said there’s a portal out here. We need to keep looking.”
“We don’t have to find it today. It’s only one battle we’ve lost, not the whole war.”
“Don’t be a pussy,” Taylah told him, with her usual candor. “I want you guys to bust out of here.”
“When will I get another chance?” I said in a plaintive voice.
“I don’t know.” Tucker looked apologetic. “But we’ve been gone too long now, and we’re skatin’ on thin ice.”
The taste of failure was bitter. We’d come so close and ended up getting nowhere. We’d risked everything and achieved nothing. It was only out of concern for Tucker that I was persuaded to turn back. Jake might be angry with me, but the worst he would do was reinforce security so that I’d never set foot outside the penthouse again. Tucker was a different story. Jake kept him around for his own perverse amusement, but I knew he saw him as expendable. We’d already turned to go back when I became aware that something in the air had changed.
“Wait!” I cried, throwing a hand out to clutch Tucker’s sleeve.
“What now?” he said. He was growing increasingly uneasy. Perhaps in his mind he’d concluded that we’d been led on a wild goose chase.
“Something feels different.” I turned in a slow circle. “Actually, something smells different.” This time I had his attention.
“Describe it,” he said.
“I think it’s salt,” I said, suspending thought and allowing my senses to take charge. I knew that smell. It was as familiar to me as my own skin. It was the briny distinctive scent of the ocean and it washed over me like an old friend welcoming me home.
“The portal must be close,” I said, detaching from them to scramble feverishly forward. “I think … I think I can smell the sea!”
I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me and wasn’t sure whether it had come from Tucker or Taylah or both.
“Up ahead!” Tucker’s voice was charged. “That’s gotta be it. I can’t believe you’ve found it!”
I whirled around to see a mess of tumbleweed drifting back and forth across the dusty red earth, only meters from where we stood. It looked twisted and knotted from its endless journey of being tossed around by the wind across the Wasteland, but there was no mistaking what it was.
I ran forward, half expecting it to dart elusively out of reach, but I was able to grasp it in my hand. It felt coarse and dry beneath my fingers but gave off a compelling energy. I was drawn to it like a magnetic force. Its unobtrusiveness made it the perfect cover for a portal. It was big enough for me to be able to crawl through and on the other side, I was just able to make out a yellow finger of sunlight spilling across white sand.
Tucker and Taylah were beside me in a flash, watching intently. Tuck’s face was flushed with anticipation and Taylah’s soul practically vibrated with excitement. I reached my arm tentatively through the center of the tumbleweed and felt its dry twigs scratch my arm. At its core the consistency was like dough, malleable but tough to push through. It only allowed access up to a certain point before my arm met with resistance.
“It won’t let me get any farther,” I complained.
I began to wriggle my arm more determinedly through the opening. I had forced myself into the scrubby tunnel up to my shoulder when I felt a gentle suction tugging on my hand. Panic seized me. What if it was all an illusion? What if the tumbleweed was an elaborate joke being played at our expense? It seemed a pretty far-fetched idea but what if Asia and Asher had been having us on for their own amusement? They were demons, after all. Trapping souls was what they did. What if I came out at the other end of the tumbleweed not in my Georgia hometown but in an even darker recess of Hell? Then I would be completely alone, not even Tucker would be able to find me. I made myself snap out of it. I remembered what it felt like melding with Xavier in my spirit form. How whole and safe I’d felt. The memory of it made me strong. Xavier wouldn’t want me bailing on him when I’d come this far. How proud would he be if I actually succeeded in getting out? If I made it through, Xavier would get to see me in the flesh, not as just a vibration in the air. The thought was too tantalizing. I was counting down the seconds in my head before I would feel my feet touch the silky sand.
“Here. Let me try,” I heard Taylah exclaim impatiently. I watched as she effortlessly darted above me, a wispy substance floating through the tumbleweed until she was calling out to us from the other side.
“How’d she do that?” I exclaimed, withdrawing my arm and peering through to see her hazy face at the other end. Taylah gave me the thumbs-up before checking out her new surroundings.
“Of course.” Tuck slapped his forehead. “A soul can easily slip out!”
“I know this place!” cried Taylah, her voice quavering with excitement. “Beth, you won’t believe where I am!” She was crying now. I saw tears of happiness streaming down her face.
“You’re in Venus Cove, aren’t you?” I guessed immediately.
“At the Crags?”
“Yes, Beth,” Taylah whispered. “I’m home.”
19
Sacrifice
“I can see your yard from here!” Taylah cried triumphantly. “The lawn seriously needs mowing.”
“Is anyone out there?”
“No, the beach is empty. But the sun is shining and there are no clouds in the sky and someone’s out sailing and … it’s so beautiful here. What are you waiting for? Come on, Beth.”
I hesitated. Taylah had gotten through the portal, but what would happen now?
“Taylah,” I called tentatively. “Do you think you can stay there? You’re still—”