good guys.
Right.
Like you know this for certain?
Well, her libido could argue
with her common sense all it wanted. They still needed to find the Lemurians
and the portal in the vortex…if either actually existed.
Willow buzzed by her face, and
Bumper growled. Even Eddy sensed a shift in the currents, a feeling of
something not quite right.
“Shhh.” Dax tugged Eddy’s hand
and slowly knelt behind a fallen tree alongside the trail. He held a finger to
his lips and motioned toward a large tumble of dark rock. “Look closely, on the
downhill side of the biggest boulder.”
Eddy held Bumper close to her
side and crouched next to Dax. She stared over the top of the splintered trunk
at the pile of rock. It was like every other pile of rock on the side of this
ancient volcano, most likely left over from some monstrous cataclysm eons ago.
She opened her senses, searching for whatever it was that had caught Dax’s
attention.
Birds chirped, cicadas buzzed,
and the sound of Bumper’s panting added a steady rhythm to the soft symphony of
sound. As she stared, the rock seemed to shudder and swell.
Eddy shot a quick glance at
Dax, but his focus on the boulder was absolute. She looked back just as a
shadow along the downhill edge of one of the boulders seemed to detach itself
and float away on the soft breeze.
Dax rose to his feet and held
his hands out. A burst of icy air caught the shadow. Like the demons he’d
stopped in Eddy’s living room, this one dropped to the ground in a pile of
frozen shards. Dax leapt over the log, raced across the rocky ground with
Bumper on his heels, and hit the icy bits with fire.
A burst of steam quickly
dissipated until nothing remained beyond a scorch mark on the ground. Dax
raised his head. The bloodthirsty look of feral satisfaction on his face set
her back a step. Then he grinned as if nothing had happened. “I think we’ve
found the portal,” he said. “Are you ready?”
“No. Of course not,” she
muttered. But she adjusted her pack, climbed over the fallen tree, and
carefully crossed the rock-strewn ground.
Dax walked slowly around the
pile of boulders. Willow buzzed alongside, dipping down occasionally to check
the ground, then flying up over the higher reaches, above their heads. The
stink of sulfur, a smell Eddy had learned to associate with the demons,
lingered.
It gave her goose bumps to
realize they’d been so close to one as it made the crossover from Abyss to
Earth. Dax paused near the downhill side of the largest boulder.
“It’s here,” he said. “I don’t
recognize it, so I’m not even sure it’s the same one I came through, but this
is definitely one of the portals.”
Eddy looked at the solid wall
of rock. The boulder was the size of a small car. “I don’t see anything there.”
She shrugged. “How do you get through it?”
Dax ran his hand over the
rough surface. As Eddy watched, he pressed against the boulder. His hand
disappeared up to his wrist. He pulled his hand out and continued to study the
surface.
Wide-eyed, Eddy touched the
hard surface. She pressed. Nothing happened. She pushed harder and then,
frustrated, slapped the rock. Nothing. “I don’t get it.”
Dax put his hand next to hers.
“You’re not actually trying to go through the rock. You’re moving from one
dimension to another. Think of the journey. You have to see the pathway beyond
the wall of rock. Picture a long tunnel and then push your hand into it.”
“What if it’s not really a
tunnel. What if there’s a big lake or a small room on the other side? What if
there’s fire?”
“That can’t happen, so it
doesn’t matter. You can only pass through where a portal exists, and portals
only go where they should. What matters is what you’re expecting. If you see
this as a doorway instead of a solid wall of rock, you will find the opening.
Try it.”
Eddy stared at the
lichen-covered boulder. Patches of yellow, orange, and green grew across the
rough surface. The
Right.
Like you know this for certain?
Well, her libido could argue
with her common sense all it wanted. They still needed to find the Lemurians
and the portal in the vortex…if either actually existed.
Willow buzzed by her face, and
Bumper growled. Even Eddy sensed a shift in the currents, a feeling of
something not quite right.
“Shhh.” Dax tugged Eddy’s hand
and slowly knelt behind a fallen tree alongside the trail. He held a finger to
his lips and motioned toward a large tumble of dark rock. “Look closely, on the
downhill side of the biggest boulder.”
Eddy held Bumper close to her
side and crouched next to Dax. She stared over the top of the splintered trunk
at the pile of rock. It was like every other pile of rock on the side of this
ancient volcano, most likely left over from some monstrous cataclysm eons ago.
She opened her senses, searching for whatever it was that had caught Dax’s
attention.
Birds chirped, cicadas buzzed,
and the sound of Bumper’s panting added a steady rhythm to the soft symphony of
sound. As she stared, the rock seemed to shudder and swell.
Eddy shot a quick glance at
Dax, but his focus on the boulder was absolute. She looked back just as a
shadow along the downhill edge of one of the boulders seemed to detach itself
and float away on the soft breeze.
Dax rose to his feet and held
his hands out. A burst of icy air caught the shadow. Like the demons he’d
stopped in Eddy’s living room, this one dropped to the ground in a pile of
frozen shards. Dax leapt over the log, raced across the rocky ground with
Bumper on his heels, and hit the icy bits with fire.
A burst of steam quickly
dissipated until nothing remained beyond a scorch mark on the ground. Dax
raised his head. The bloodthirsty look of feral satisfaction on his face set
her back a step. Then he grinned as if nothing had happened. “I think we’ve
found the portal,” he said. “Are you ready?”
“No. Of course not,” she
muttered. But she adjusted her pack, climbed over the fallen tree, and
carefully crossed the rock-strewn ground.
Dax walked slowly around the
pile of boulders. Willow buzzed alongside, dipping down occasionally to check
the ground, then flying up over the higher reaches, above their heads. The
stink of sulfur, a smell Eddy had learned to associate with the demons,
lingered.
It gave her goose bumps to
realize they’d been so close to one as it made the crossover from Abyss to
Earth. Dax paused near the downhill side of the largest boulder.
“It’s here,” he said. “I don’t
recognize it, so I’m not even sure it’s the same one I came through, but this
is definitely one of the portals.”
Eddy looked at the solid wall
of rock. The boulder was the size of a small car. “I don’t see anything there.”
She shrugged. “How do you get through it?”
Dax ran his hand over the
rough surface. As Eddy watched, he pressed against the boulder. His hand
disappeared up to his wrist. He pulled his hand out and continued to study the
surface.
Wide-eyed, Eddy touched the
hard surface. She pressed. Nothing happened. She pushed harder and then,
frustrated, slapped the rock. Nothing. “I don’t get it.”
Dax put his hand next to hers.
“You’re not actually trying to go through the rock. You’re moving from one
dimension to another. Think of the journey. You have to see the pathway beyond
the wall of rock. Picture a long tunnel and then push your hand into it.”
“What if it’s not really a
tunnel. What if there’s a big lake or a small room on the other side? What if
there’s fire?”
“That can’t happen, so it
doesn’t matter. You can only pass through where a portal exists, and portals
only go where they should. What matters is what you’re expecting. If you see
this as a doorway instead of a solid wall of rock, you will find the opening.
Try it.”
Eddy stared at the
lichen-covered boulder. Patches of yellow, orange, and green grew across the
rough surface. The
Similar Books
