Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Maggie's massive wolf form charged into the fray, her powerful muscles rippling beneath her fur.

Time seemed to slow as I watched Maggie collide with the brawling men. Her jaws snapped and tore into flesh indiscriminately. Blood sprayed, droplets hanging in the air like crimson mist.

The metallic scent of blood mingled with the musky odor of wolf and the inexplicable sweet aroma.

Garrick's pained yell and Justice's inhuman snarl rang out. Tufts of Maggie's black fur joined the blood, floating on the breeze like macabre confetti.

A rush of adrenaline flooded my system, and an overwhelming urge to join the melee consumed me. I wanted to be in charge, to show I was supposed to be their leader. My muscles tensed, my body instinctively preparing to leap into action. But a small voice in the back of my head held me back. I didn't possess supernatural powers like the others. What could I possibly do?

I reached for my backpack, fingers fumbling with the zipper.

My hand plunged inside, searching for the familiar hilt of my dagger. Instead, my fingertips brushed against something smooth and cool.

A jolt of electricity raced up my arm, accompanied by a shower of golden sparks.

I jumped back with a startled yelp, nearly losing my balance. The shock wasn't painful, but it sent a wave of clarity crashing through my mind, drowning out the siren call of violence.

My chest tightened, but my thoughts were clearer than they had been since entering this cursed meadow.

I blinked rapidly, taking in the scene before me with fresh eyes. This was madness. My friends—Garrick, Maggie, and Justice, all people I cared about deeply—were tearing each other apart.

I turned to my backpack, this time more deliberately. What had I touched? The memory of my mother's gift surfaced through the haze. With trembling hands, I reached in and pulled out the Mirror of Aethereal.

The mirror's surface rippled like liquid silver, reflecting distorted images of the chaos around me.

My mother's clear, urgent voice emanated from the mirror.

"Justice and the others have been touched by lust demons. They are all around you. Jump into the portal before they touch you."

Dread pumped through my blood, and goosebumps erupted across my cold, clammy skin.

I hesitated, torn between the instinct to flee and the desire to help my friends. The sounds of the fight behind me grew more frenzied, punctuated by growls, cries of pain, and the sickening sound of tearing flesh.

"You can't save your friends until you get the hourglass."

I spun, my gaze darting frantically across the meadow.

Something seemed to move through the air, a ripple in reality coming directly for me. Though I couldn't see it, I could feel its wicked intent.

The air around me was thick and heavy, as if I was trying to move through syrup. Still, I threw myself toward the circle of standing stones. As I passed between the ancient monoliths, the world seemed to twist and blur around me. I couldn't hear Justice, Garrick, or Maggie in their death fight.

My stomach lurched like I was in freefall, every nerve in my body screaming in alarm.

An icy, bitter wind whipped around me, its razor-sharp gusts slicing through my clothes and seeping into my bones. I crashed into something unyielding and frigid. The impact forced the air from my lungs. I gasped and blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision as stars danced before my eyes.

The biting cold seeped into my skin, numbing my fingers and toes. As my senses slowly returned, I became aware of an eerie silence broken only by the howling wind. Snowflakes, sharp as tiny daggers, pelted my face. I struggled to push myself up, but my hands sank into a thick blanket of snow.

Disoriented, I looked around, searching for any sign of Garrick, Maggie, or Justice. But all I could see was an endless expanse of white, broken only by jagged ice formations looming like silent sentinels in the distance.

I was alone in this frozen wasteland.

My mind raced, replaying the chaotic moments before I fell through the portal. The fierce battle for power, Garrick's imposing presence, Maggie's snarling wolf form, and Justice's vampire swiftness. It all seemed like a distant dream now.

As the adrenaline faded, fear crept in. How would I survive in this hostile environment? More importantly, how would I find my way back to my friends and my mate?

With trembling limbs, I forced myself to stand as determination set in. I had to keep moving, had to find shelter. As I took my first tentative steps in the crunching snow, I vowed to find the hourglass and hopefully stop the fighting. The lust demons were even worse than the sloth demons. They were turning us against each other. I had to stop it before the three of them killed each other.

I trudged forward, each step a battle against the merciless wind and stinging snow. Time seemed to lose all meaning in this desolate wasteland. Minutes stretched into what felt like hours, yet the landscape remained stubbornly unchanged. An endless sea of white broken only by the occasional jutting ice formation.

My mind raced, grasping for answers. Where had the mirror taken me? This frozen hell seemed a far cry from the world I knew. The cold numbed my extremities, and exhaustion tugged at every fiber of my being. But I couldn't stop. To stop was to die in this unforgiving terrain.

Desperation clawed at me as I realized I needed a plan. The compass and the mirror, my only links to understanding in this alien world, might hold the key. But could I even hear the mirror's guidance over the incessant howling of the wind that rushed through my frost-bitten ears?

With fingers stiff and clumsy from the cold, I fumbled in my backpack. The familiar weight of the compass offered a small comfort as I pulled it out. Its needle swung decisively, pointing west. But what did it mean? Was it leading me to safety or deeper into peril?

I swallowed hard against the lump of fear in my throat and retrieved the mirror next. My pale, wind-burned reflection stared back at me as I posed my question to its mystical surface.

"Where am I going?"

I waited, breath caught in my chest as the glass rippled like disturbed water. Instead of the familiar voice, eerie orange letters materialized, dancing across the reflective surface.

Follow the compass until you come to the wall. Utter your name, and a door will open. If you're worthy.

The words sent a chill through me that had nothing to do with the freezing temperature. A wall in this vast emptiness? And what did it mean by "worthy?"

Panic rose in my chest as the implications sank in. "Crap," I muttered, my voice immediately swallowed by the howling wind. What if I wasn't deemed worthy? Would I be condemned to wander this frozen tundra for eternity, slowly succumbing to the cold and isolation?

I forced myself to take a deep breath, ignoring the frigid air burning my lungs. I couldn't afford to give in to fear now. With trembling hands, I tucked the mirror away and gripped the compass tightly. West it was, then.

After squaring my shoulders against the relentless wind, I pressed on. Each step was an act of defiance against the hostile environment and my own growing fatigue. The compass was my lifeline now, its steady direction the only thing keeping me from giving in to despair.

As I trudged forward, my mind conjured images of Garrick, Maggie, and Justice. Were they searching for me? Did they even know where I'd gone? The thought of never seeing them again, of leaving the battle they'd been fighting, spurred me onward.

I didn't know what trials lay ahead, what test of worthiness I might face, but I knew one thing for certain. I had to survive this. Too much depended on it.

However, the journey grew increasingly arduous with each laborious step. The pristine snow, deceptive in its beauty, deepened treacherously. What started as ankle-deep trudging soon became a grueling, knee-high slog.

Each movement forward was a herculean effort. Lift one leg, wrench it from the snow's grasp, plunge it forward, repeat. The simple act of walking had transformed into an exhausting battle against nature itself.

My breath came in ragged gasps, visible in small, fleeting clouds. My teeth chattered with such violence that I feared I might chip a tooth or bite clean through my tongue. The taste of copper in my mouth suggested I might have already done the latter, but the numbness spreading through my face made it impossible to tell for certain.

Through it all, the compass remained clutched in my frozen hand, feeling fused to my skin. Despite the whiteout conditions surrounding me, the compass face glowed with an otherworldly light, a small beacon of hope in this vast, unforgiving wasteland. Its steady pull westward was the only thing keeping me oriented in this featureless expanse of white.

As my body fought the elements, my mind drifted to Justice. How I longed for his presence, for his embrace to chase away this bone-deep chill. But he was far from me now, locked in a battle for his existence. The thought of him fighting with Garrick and Maggie sent a pain through my chest, sharper than any icy wind.

Unbidden tears welled up and spilled over, instantly freezing on my cheeks. The icy trails were a physical manifestation of my inner turmoil. The pain of separation, the fear of loss, the overwhelming responsibility. Each frozen tear was a reminder of why I couldn't give up, why I had to keep pushing forward despite every instinct screaming at me to stop, to rest, to surrender to the numbing cold.

"I have to save them," I whispered. "I'm their only hope."

A fresh wave of determination hit me. Whatever power struggle was happening back home, whatever forces were aligning against my friends, my mate, I was the wild card. The unexpected element that could tip the scales in their favor. My journey through this frozen hell wasn't only about my survival. It was about theirs, too.

With renewed purpose, I forced my leaden legs to move. One step. Another. A silent promise to those I'd left behind. I would find this mysterious wall. I would prove myself worthy. I would open that door and find my way back to them, no matter the cost.

Somewhere ahead lay the answers. But what if the compass was wrong? I tried to shake my doubts, but they clung to me like dandruff.