FINAL GATE (#3 GHOST PORTAL series)

TWENTY-SIX

"No, no, you can't let her do this," said Jessamine, reaching out to grab the demon, though she knew she couldn't touch it. "A Guide, in here? No, no way. That can't be what that reaper guy meant by an exchange, right? It's not fair. A human for a Guide?"

Jessamine knew little of the Guides, only what the demons had repeated in her head while they possessed her. Guides were the enemy, to them—the ones who prevented them from spilling out into the mortal realm to take it over. Guides weren't solely created to lead spirits to their Afterlives; they were meant to block the demon door, and to thwart the demon's plans at all costs.

She'd encountered the Guides herself, her first time in the house, but her memory of it all was still blurry. The demons had fueled her into hating the Guides, and she'd been under the impression Avery didn't like them much either, when she'd been near him in her demon form. She'd sensed the rage in him, slightly directed towards the Guides, and Ada in particular.

But rage wasn't enough of a reason for her to hate Ada, to let her sacrifice herself like this. She had no idea what she was getting herself into. The demons weren't the ones waiting for her in here—that reaper dude was, and he knew so, so much about her. Her prophecy, her powers... he was expecting her, craving her powerful presence, and she was delivering herself to him on a silver platter.

But how to tell her that before she entered, and it was too late?

"Yes, way," said the demon, fixating on the door, as if drooling in anticipation. "Guides are like candy to this place; we'll gobble up all the sugar and it'll fix us. Or like a permanent jolt of coffee. Do you understand? This is better than we could have hoped, and that reaper dude did want this, I'm positive. It will be thrilled. A Guide?" It whooped, thrusting its arm in the air. "Score!"

It spoke as if it were watching a sports game and its team had hit a home run. A Guide willingly coming into this realm was a home run, from what Jessamine understood; but it was a point for the enemy team, not the good side. It was another trick up the demons' sleeves, another win in their pocket. More chances for them to find a means to escape. They'd torture Ada, in there; they'd shake her for all sorts of universal answers. For indications on secret ways to get out. Not that she'd know that, but they'd torment her until she died. If Guides could die.

Jessamine's sacrifice, Avery's sacrifice will have all been for naught.

"A Guide, yeah, fine," Jessamine puffed out a breath, "but why not another one? Why her?" She was too powerful, too knowledgeable. Too cunning, too filled with secrets that the demons would wrangle out of her. Maybe not secrets that would be in their current benefit, but things to use against everyone in the long run.

With her here, they'd succeed. They'd get back out.

"What, are you fond of her?" The demon snorted. "She made you who you are; the vessel. Don't act like you care. She made her choice, anyway, and we're not going to stop her. We need her."

Jessamine scrunched her nose. "I'm not fond of her, I just... why her? Some other Guide can do it, right? Someone who's not a leader in the mortal realm, someone who's more... disposable?"

The demon swept up to Jessamine, its red, nose-less and mouthless face pressing its energy into her. "No Guide is disposable. And she happens to be the most powerful of the Guides, and her presence in our realm will fix everything, like I said. So, get to it, then."

Jessamine recoiled backwards, brushing herself off as if the demon's proximity had left some poisonous residue in its wake. "Get to what?"

"You think you get to stand by and wait?" The demon gestured at the door. "You have a role in this, too. That thing won't open on its own."