Chapter 67 Arrival

Chapter 67 Arrival

Brea’s POV

Every minute I waited felt like playing Russian roulette with my own mind.

I had barely started packing a small bag near the back of Elias’s makeshift shelter when the freezing pressure slammed into my skull again without warning.

My hand froze around the strap of my bag. I couldn't blink or breathe.

Ah, little Anchor, Isadora’s icy voice whispered, echoing right behind my eyes. I remember the smell of your mother's cheap perfume. I remember the night your father traded your life for his debts.

A cold sweat broke out across my neck as she flipped through my private memories. She was revealing things I had buried deep down so I wouldn't have to feel the shame.

My right hand suddenly jerked upward on its own as my fingers locked around a sharp hunting knife sitting on the wooden crates.

Stop it! I screamed internally, slamming every ounce of my Anchor power against the intrusion. Get out of my head!

I fought her for five agonizing seconds, my body trembling so hard the wooden crate rattled against the dirt floor. I finally forced my fingers to open, letting the blade drop to the ground with a loud clatter.

I fell forward onto my hands and knees, breathing heavily.

Realization hit me. If I stayed here, Isadora would eventually find the master key to my body and lock me out forever.

"Elias," I gasped, pushing myself up and stumbling into the main room where the others were waiting. "Do it now. Open the gate.”

Elias looked up from his chalk drawings on the stone floor. He didn't bother asking what happened. He just nodded and picked up a silver bowl.

"Salem isn't just another town down the highway, Brea," Elias said as he poured a strange blue powder into the chalk lines. "It exists in a completely separate supernatural dimension. The ancient witches detached it from our realm centuries ago to protect their magic. Normal portal spells won't get us through. I have to construct a temporary dimensional gate, and I need your Anchor energy to punch a hole through the fabric."

"I'm coming," Rayne said instantly. He was standing near the door. "I don't care about their dimensional laws."

Elias paused, looking up at the vampire prince with an unimpressed stare. "Entering Salem as a vampire is basically a suicide mission, Rayne. The witches there have a bloody history with your kind. If their wards don't burn your blood, their enforcers will gladly hang you from the nearest tree."

"Let them try," Rayne said coldly. "I'm not letting her step into a city of dark witches alone. End of discussion."

Drake stepped forward from the shadow of the doorway. "I'm coming too then. And Brandon."

"No," Elias snapped, tossing the empty bowl onto the table. "This isn't a family vacation. The dimensional passage I'm ripping open is unstable. If I take too many supernatural beings at once, the energy will collapse and slice all of us into meat paste. I can take Brea, myself, and exactly one companion. That's the limit."

Brandon looked like he wanted to fight, but Drake put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

I looked at Rayne, then at Drake.

"Rayne comes with us," I said.

Drake let out a sigh, stepping back into the shadows without another word.

Brandon just looked at me with worried eyes. I gave him a reassuring smile and then turned to face Elias.

Elias sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Fine. But if the witches turn him into ash, I'm not carrying his urn."

Elias knelt beside the glowing circle on the floor and gestured for me to step forward. "I need you to channel a steady stream of Anchor power into the center, Brea. Just a little. Don't blow us up."

I stepped up to the edge of the chalk circle and reached down, letting the golden energy flow out from my palm. The blue powder ignited instantly.

A vibration began to shake the ground beneath our boots.

Elias’ eyes narrowed as he read the magical flow. Suddenly, his hands froze in mid-air.

"What is it?" Rayne asked, his hand dropping straight to his weapon. "Is something wrong?"

"She stopped," Elias whispered, his face going pale under the blue light.

I blinked, feeling the inside of my head.

Elias looked up at me with a deeply disturbed expression. "When you started channeling your Anchor energy into the Salem portal, her fragment retreated.
It seems she isn't trying to fight you for control anymore."

A drop of sweat rolled down my temple. "Why would she do that?"

"Because she wants you to go to Salem," Elias said with sudden dread. "Hmmm…What exactly is Isadora planning?"

"Let's stop then," Rayne said immediately, grabbing my arm to pull me back from the circle. "It's a trap."

"If we stop, she will take Brea's body in two days!" Elias shot back, staring at the blue portal that was starting to rip open in the middle of the room. "Salem is still the only place with witches strong enough to strip a soul fragment out of her head. Even if Isadora wants us there, we don't have another choice! We either walk into her trap with our eyes open, or we sit here and let her win."

I looked at Rayne's terrified face, then down at the portal opening before us. Elias was right. Running away wasn't an option anymore.

"Keep going, Elias," I tried to keep my voice steady. "We're going."

Elias threw his hands forward, shouting an ancient word that made the air tear apart with a sound like thunder. The blue flames exploded upward.

Through the doorway, I didn't see normal trees or human buildings. I saw a massive, ancient city sitting between dark mountains. Floating stone towers moved through the clouds above, and thousands of glowing magical lights floated like artificial stars over the streets.

It was beautiful, terrifying, and completely alien.
"Hold on to me," Rayne held my hands gently.

"Don't lose your footing," Elias warned, stepping into the light first.

Rayne and I took a deep breath together and stepped into the light.

The moment our boots hit the smooth ground on the other side, the air behind us snapped with a deafening pop.

I turned around fast, but the portal was already gone.

There was only a solid stone wall behind us.
The portal had closed.