Cadence hadn’t thought about the fact that they couldn’t always see the moon when the portal opened, but it was true. “I don’t think the portal is directly related to the moon. It’s just a trigger or something. Maybe it only matters when someone’s trying to force it open during the blood moon.” It had been up at Stonehenge, but not directly overhead, and she had no idea where it was when Brandon, Dax, and Heather came through.
Cassidy looked across the sky before her eyes returned to Cadence’s. “Well, if this works, hopefully we’ll never have to worry about it again.”
Cadence agreed. With a deep breath, she turned to look behind her. People were falling into place. It was an expansive area, and there wasn’t a surefire way to know where the portal would open, but she was standing near the coordinates Ward had given her from the work he’d done with Christian. It would be great if the portal opening was back away from the cliffs themselves. It was a long fall, no matter whether a person could die or not.
“Ah, the Cliffs of Insanity,” Elliott said, walking over and taking a quick peek down. “Where are Inigo and Fezzik when you need them?”
“In a movie,” Cassidy reminded him, patting him on the arm before moving away toward where the Vampires were approaching. Cadence wanted her close enough to easily throw the shield, though far enough behind a line of Guardians she’d be fine. It was a risk with Cassidy because she was unpredictable, but Cadence thought she’d stick to her one job this time.
She wanted Elliott and Jamie with her. The Healer needed to be there in case Aaron or Christian were injured, and after Elliott had caught her when she fell at Stonehenge, she decided he’d be good to have around if the portal opened as high as Ward predicted it would. It shouldn’t be quite up to the height that Brandon and the others had fallen from, but it wouldn’t be near the ground like last time, either.
“Think it’ll work?” Elliott asked as Jamie headed over to their other side. Ashley and Cale also moved into position.
A fan of The Princess Bride herself, Cadence recognized his quote an answered with her own. “It’ll take a miracle.”
“Inconceivable.” Jamie snuck his comment in as he fell into position, leaving all three of them laughing, though on the inside Cadence felt like Holland’s dragon was trying to claw its way out. This needed to be over soon.
“Don’t worry, kid. He’ll get out. If that thing opens again, he’ll find a way.”
“What if something happened to Hines?” Cadence would’ve never thought the Vampire’s health would be of such importance to her, but she was just as concerned that he would die as she was about Christian’s survival.
“They won’t let that happen. As long as those demon hunters have that baby demon to chase, they’ll be fine. And the other demons’ll leave ‘em alone, too. It’ll be all right.”
“Okay.” She didn’t feel okay, though. Not even a little bit.
Elliott tensed up beside her before Cadence even noted a slight popping and whirring noise. It was like he felt the portal opening before it announced itself, and she assumed there were subtleties she’d missed because she hadn’t been inside of it for so long like he had. A glance in his direction confirmed he was good, and then she looked up, trying to figure out where it was opening.
It took her a moment to see it. The sky was lighter now, and the opening itself was small, though growing. A wave of static against the cloudy sky, the opening vibrated and stretched, hanging in the air at least a hundred feet above her head and only ten or twelve feet from the sheer drop off. If the Guardians fell straight down, they’d land on the ground, but if their momentum was carrying them at all, Cadence imagined they’d end up in the Atlantic.
“What’s that?” Ashley’s voice sounded in her IAC, and Cadence turned to look out across the sea. Behind them, the Aron Islands were visible off in the distance, which Cadence had thought fitting. But above them, a small dot appeared to be drawing closer, and even from here Cadence could tell what it was.
“That’s a dragon,” Cadence murmured. But Holland was too late. The portal was already opening. She expected the Guardians to come flying out at any moment. Across the field of green the first line had already opened fire on the Vampires, and most of them were scattering, like Cadence imagined they would. Hannah and Moira’s orders were simple—take no prisoners, destroy all of them. Obliterate Holland’s forces before she had a chance to regroup.
Holland was closing in fast, and Cadence desperately wished she had some sort of a rocket launcher so she could blow her out of the sky. But someone else would have to worry about the queen for now, and she felt reassured when Cale said, “We’ve got her, Cadence. You do your thing.”
She returned her sights to the portal, which was as wide now as it had ever gotten in Stonehenge. The clock was ticking, and there was no sign of anyone coming out. Cadence took a few steps nearer to it; Elliott followed, standing as close to the cliff edge as he could without falling over himself. He took a stance like he was playing center field, and Cadence would’ve probably giggled if she wasn’t starting to feel like something was wrong.
The portal seemed to be acting differently than it had the last time. It was shifting and quaking violently, and then rumbling noises drowned out the usual sparking and popping noises. “What is that?” she asked Elliott.
“I honestly don’t know. I’ve never heard that before,” he admitted.
“Me neither,” Jamie called out from his spot a few feet away. “It sounds like... an earthquake.”
“Do you think....” Cadence couldn’t finish the sentence. Was the cave system within the portal falling in on itself? Was that even possible?
