Dead Lines

19: Monster Fight

Unedited.

Chapter Nineteen

There was barely anything left of the keep. I surmised it must’ve been made of mostly wood in order for there to be only this much left. The whole thing was burned to the ground it looked like.

“Andrzej…”

“I’m starting to think your faith in me is shaky.”

“Portals need enclosures. This is not an enclosure. It’s wide open space with some rock haphazardly lying around.”

“Only the portals made by the Gods need enclosures.”

“I’m learning so much today it’s incredible.”

We were standing where the main entrance to the keep would’ve been. The only thing left was the stone foundation and even that was barely holding up. There was a larger, more intact stone wall surrounding this barely existing outline. The ancient rocks were charred and black, crumbling just like the rest of the village. The stone had the same markings as the pillars we’d seen earlier. The whole thing was sad, devastating.

I glanced over at Andrzej but got nothing from him. He was shielding everything again, hiding away how he truly felt.

“What now?”

“The portal is open.”

“Well, I figured that since my skin feels like the hair on my arms are trying to rip themselves out. Where is it?”

“Right in front of you.” He held out a hand, palm facing out, and as he pressed forward, a blue light flared to life. It looked like he was touching one of those static electricity globes except it was more of a plate of glass.  I could suddenly see the outline but not much more.

There was something wrong, however.

A streak of black shot across the faint surface and before it could reach Andrzej’s hand, he pulled it back.

“The Nothing.”

“They’re guarding it.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I don’t know. The Elite haven’t had an encounter with them since they stole away the Goddesses.” His eyes darted over the now invisible portal. “This isn’t good.”

“Is it time to talk to the wolves?”

“The wolves should’ve already intercepted us.”

“But they’re still here.” I turned and looked around. “I can feel it.”

“Yeah. I can too. Looks like we have a couple options but only one’s going to work.”

“Please tell me it doesn’t involve violence. I’m still reeling from the trip to the past.”

“Maybe just a little violence.” He rolled the sword in his hand and turned around, facing the high wall like I was. “Ready to test out those fancy demigod skills?”

“Are you going to start trouble?”

“It’s part of my charm.” He flashed me a smile before whistling really loud. So loud, I went deaf for a few seconds. He started calling out in a language I didn’t recognize and didn’t want to. By the inflection of his voice, I assumed it was colorful. “They’re coming.”

“The wolves?”

He nodded. “And what they were fighting. It’s the reason the wards were up as high as they were.”

“Great.”

“Your first monster fight. Aren’t you excited?”

“Giddy.”