Portal Opens
Maya's POV
"NO!" I screamed as Elena's body started to fade like smoke.
My hands shot out on their own, grabbing her arm before she could disappear completely. The second I touched her, white-hot pain exploded through my whole body, like someone had plugged me into an electrical socket and cranked it to maximum.
"Maya, let go!" Elena shouted. "You'll erase yourself too!"
"I don't care!" I yelled back, holding on tighter even though it felt like my bones were melting. "You're not doing this alone!"
The other Maya—my future self—grabbed Elena's other arm. Then Marcus grabbed my shoulder. Then Damien wrapped his arms around all of us, his armor clanking as he pulled us into a tight circle.
"If one goes, we all go," Damien growled.
The fake grandmother—or whatever that monster really was—started laughing. "How touching! You're all going to die together. That saves me so much trouble."
But something weird was happening. Instead of all of us disappearing, the magic Elena had cast started swirling around us like a tornado made of light. It got brighter and brighter until I had to close my eyes.
When the light finally faded, we were all still there. Elena looked shocked. "That shouldn't have worked. I cast an erasure spell. We should all be gone."
"Family magic," Catherine Wu said weakly from where she sat on the ground, her own powers drained. "Blood calls to blood. When you all grabbed each other, you created a protective circle. The spell couldn't erase any of you without erasing all of you, and apparently the universe decided that was too much."
I looked at Elena, then at Marcus and the other Maya and Damien. We were all connected. All family. And somehow, that had saved us.
The fake grandmother's smile disappeared. "No matter. I still have all the power I need."
She raised her hands, and I felt the air itself start to rip apart. The time bubble gave one final shudder and then—
BOOM.
Reality exploded.
I was thrown backward so hard I couldn't breathe. When I finally managed to sit up, I saw that my entire apartment had been blown to pieces. The walls were gone. The ceiling was gone. We were sitting in a crater where my building used to be, and I could see the night sky above us filled with swirling purple and green lights.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was the giant glowing doorway hanging in the air above us, crackling with energy. It looked like someone had cut a hole in the world, and through that hole I could see another place—a castle, torches on stone walls, and stars that looked different from our stars.
"The portal," I whispered. "It's open."
Damien staggered to his feet beside me. "That's my time. I can see Blackthorne Castle."
My heart leaped. This was it! This was how Damien could get home! After all the fighting and running and nearly dying, we'd finally opened the portal back to 1524.
But then I noticed something that made my blood turn to ice.
The portal wasn't just open. It was getting bigger. And bigger. And through it, I could see shapes moving. Lots of shapes.
"What is that?" Marcus asked, squinting up at the doorway.
The fake grandmother started laughing again. "That, dear boy, is my army."
The shapes became clearer. They were soldiers. Hundreds of them, maybe thousands, all wearing medieval armor and carrying weapons. But there was something wrong with them. Their eyes glowed red, and black smoke poured from their mouths.
"I've been planning this for centuries," the creature said. "Did you really think I was working alone? I have allies in every time period, and they've been waiting for this moment. When the portal opens wide enough, they'll pour through into your modern world."
"An invasion," Catherine breathed. "You're going to invade the present with an army from the past."
"Not just the past," the creature corrected. "I have friends in the future too. Once I control all of time, I'll have infinite resources, infinite power, infinite chances to reshape reality however I want."
Elena struggled to her feet. "Maya, you have to close that portal."
"How?" I asked desperately. "I used everything I had just to stay alive!"
"Use the Blackthorne-Ravenwood connection," Elena said. "You and Damien together are stronger than any witch alive. You can seal the doorway."
I looked at Damien. He nodded and took my hand. Immediately, I felt power surge through me—his strength combining with my magic, creating something neither of us could do alone.
But when I reached out toward the portal, trying to close it, the creature laughed again.
"Oh, Maya," she said sweetly. "Did you really think I went through all this trouble just to let you close my portal? I've been planning this moment for sixty years. Every spell, every manipulation, every lie—it was all leading here."
She snapped her fingers.
The world tilted sideways. Suddenly, I couldn't feel Damien's hand in mine anymore. I couldn't feel my magic. I couldn't feel anything except cold, creeping fear.
"You see," the creature continued, "I've been stealing more than just magic tonight. I've been stealing connections. Every bond, every relationship, every thread that ties you to the people you love—I took them all when I drained the city's power."
I tried to reach for Damien, but my arm wouldn't move. I tried to call out to Elena, but my voice wouldn't work. It was like invisible walls had been built between all of us, separating us even though we were standing right next to each other.
"And now for the final step," the creature said, walking toward the portal. "Maya, dear, I need you to do one more thing for me."
"Never," I tried to say, but only a whisper came out.
She smiled. "You don't have a choice. You see, to stabilize a portal this big, I need an anchor on both sides—one in the present, and one in the past. I already have my anchor in the past."
She gestured up at the portal, and through the swirling energy, I saw someone else standing on the other side. Someone in dark robes, holding a staff that crackled with purple lightning.
Marcus the Sorcerer.
The Marcus from Damien's time. The one who'd started this whole nightmare by sending Damien forward five hundred years.
"Meet my partner," the creature said cheerfully. "We've been working together across the centuries, preparing for this moment. He wants to conquer his time. I want to conquer yours. Together, we're unstoppable."
She turned back to me, and her smile became cruel. "And you, Maya Chen, are going to be our anchor in the present. Your magic, your blood, your very soul will hold this portal open forever."
I felt something wrap around my chest—invisible chains made of pure magic, pulling me toward the portal.
"No!" Damien shouted, but he couldn't move either. None of us could.
I was being dragged through the air, closer and closer to the glowing doorway. I could feel the portal's energy starting to attach itself to me, digging into my magic like hooks.
"Please," I whispered. "Somebody help me."
But nobody could move. Nobody could speak. We were all frozen, watching helplessly as I was pulled toward my doom.
The last thing I saw before the portal swallowed me whole was Damien's face, his eyes wide with horror and love and desperate determination.
And then everything went dark.
When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in two places at once—still in the present, but also somehow in the past. I could see both times overlapping, like a photograph printed on top of another photograph. Modern Portland and medieval England, existing in the same space.
And I was the bridge connecting them.
The creature's voice echoed in my ears: "Welcome to eternity, Maya Chen. I hope you enjoy your new job as my personal doorway through time."