Eternally Yours

Midnight Attack

The sky was red like blood and there were continuous sparks of white lightning cracking in it. The air felt different and there was also this stinging feeling around Hannah and Garin as they surveyed their surroundings. Also, from the surface, the water that flowed in the rotating river was as black as night and it just kept flowing in a circle with a giant architectural construction in the middle of it.

It was like a giant castle but it was unlike any castle that existed on Earth. It was taller than Mount Everest and a lot scarier. While the couple looked around, Cleo scanned the building to make sure that Summum wasn't back yet because that was detrimental to the success of the plan.

"What is this building?" Hannah asked as she looked upon the massive construction.

"It's where I grew up in. It's called Salem's Hearth and it's a lot scarier on the inside than it is on the outside. Summum carved out a massive chunk of her power to open a doorway into this realm and she's been hiding here for centuries, unable to be seen or detected by Verum," Cleo said as she continued scanning.

She looked through every single corner of the enormous castle and couldn't spot Summum.

"Good news! She isn't back yet which means our work will be a lot easier," Cleo said.

"That's good to hear but what about your siblings? How many of them are around?" Garin asked.

"There's about a dozen of them. The rest must be on Earth carrying out certain tasks," Cleo answered.

"So, which part of this building is Jasmine and Yelena being kept?" Hannah asked.

"At the very top. The highest room in the tallest tower," Cleo said and pointed at it.

"How do we get up there without being seen?" Garin asked.

"Just follow my lead and try not to make too much sound with the flapping of your wings," Cleo said and elevated off the ground.

"Stay close!"

She began to fly upward and they sprouted out their wings and followed her. They were here now and they needed to be careful so they wouldn't be seen by the Nephalems that were sure to still be in the hearth.

As they flew up, Hannah and Garin could feel a strong force trying to push them downwards the higher they flew and they held on to each other to combine the power of their wings so they could keep going.

"It's called The Mind Effect," Cleo began to say to them, "I'm sure you can already sense that the air is different here in Salem. That force that's trying to push you down isn't physical; it's mental and it's meant to keep non-nephalemic creatures from being able to reach the top of Salem's Hearth.

"Just stay calm and don't try to fight the push and you won't feel it anymore," she said.

Hannah and Garin did just as Cleo told them and they found it a lot easier to fly against the pushing force. They made it to the top entrance and they landed on the rocky floor just in front of a small door.

"Remember to stay close! We can't afford to be caught before we free my sisters," Cleo said.

She detached the relic that she had stolen before escaping Salem the last time and used her powers to activate it. It transformed from the volcanic rock that it looked like into a weird-looking bottle.

"Alright! Time to cloak us up," Cleo said.

She opened the lid and poured the contents of the bottle into her hand. It looked like sand but was glowing like pixie dust.

"What is that?" Garin asked.

"Granulated Concealer; one of Summum's powers that she extracted and gave a physical form. For centuries, Nephalems have used it on themselves while visiting Earth to hide from Verum and his angels. We used it to build houses, shops and many other buildings on Earth, including the one in Quaddick where I took you," Cleo said.