coarse and dry beneath my fingers but gave off a compelling energy. I was drawn to it like a magnetic force. Its unobtrusiveness made it the perfect cover for a portal. It was big enough for me to be able to crawl through and on the other side, I was just able to make out a yellow finger of sunlight spilling across white sand.
Tucker and Taylah were beside me in a flash, watching intently. Tuck’s face was flushed with anticipation and Taylah’s soul practically vibrated with excitement. I reached my arm tentatively through the center of the tumbleweed and felt its dry twigs scratch my arm. At its core the consistency was like dough, malleable but tough to push through. It only allowed access up to a certain point before my arm met with resistance.
“It won’t let me get any farther,” I complained.
I began to wriggle my arm more determinedly through the opening. I had forced myself into the scrubby tunnel up to my shoulder when I felt a gentle suction tugging on my hand. Panic seized me. What if it was all an illusion? What if the tumbleweed was an elaborate joke being played at our expense? It seemed a pretty far-fetched idea but what if Asia and Asher had been having us on for their own amusement? They were demons, after all. Trapping souls was what they did. What if I came out at the other end of the tumbleweed not in my Georgia hometown but in an even darker recess of Hell? Then I would be completely alone, not even Tucker would be able to find me. I made myself snap out of it. I remembered what it felt like melding with Xavier in my spirit form. How whole and safe I’d felt. The memory of it made me strong. Xavier wouldn’t want me bailing on him when I’d come this far. How proud would he be if I actually succeeded in getting out? If I made it through, Xavier would get to see me in the flesh, not as just a vibration in the air. The thought was too tantalizing. I was counting down the seconds in my head before I would feel my feet touch the silky sand.
“Here. Let me try,” I heard Taylah exclaim impatiently. I watched as she effortlessly darted above me, a wispy substance floating through the tumbleweed until she was calling out to us from the other side.
“How’d she do that?” I exclaimed, withdrawing my arm and peering through to see her hazy face at the other end. Taylah gave me the thumbs-up before checking out her new surroundings.
“Of course.” Tuck slapped his forehead. “A soul can easily slip out!”
“I know this place!” cried Taylah, her voice quavering with excitement. “Beth, you won’t believe where I am!” She was crying now. I saw tears of happiness streaming down her face.
“You’re in Venus Cove, aren’t you?” I guessed immediately.
“At the Crags?”
“Yes, Beth,” Taylah whispered. “I’m home.”
19
Sacrifice
“I can see your yard from here!” Taylah cried triumphantly. “The lawn seriously needs mowing.”
“Is anyone out there?”
“No, the beach is empty. But the sun is shining and there are no clouds in the sky and someone’s out sailing and … it’s so beautiful here. What are you waiting for? Come on, Beth.”
I hesitated. Taylah had gotten through the portal, but what would happen now?
“Taylah,” I called tentatively. “Do you think you can stay there? You’re still—”
“Dead,” she finished my sentence cheerfully. “I know I am. But I don’t care. I’d rather be a ghost, free to roam the earth forever than spend another minute in that sewer.” A note of panic suddenly crept into her voice. “Oh my God, someone’s out here! I can hear them.”
“Calm down,” Tucker reassured her. His face too was alight with excitement at our discovery. “It’s probably just someone on the beach. You’re on the other side, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.” Then concern crept into Taylah’s voice. “I can’t be seen like this. What if it’s a hot guy?”
“Even if it is, he won’t be able to see you,” I reminded her.
“Right.” She sounded disappointed. I couldn’t suppress a smile. Even Hell with all its terrors hadn’t been able to entirely suppress the girl Taylah had been in life.
Once Taylah made it through I relaxed a little. There was less urgency now as I knelt by the portal ready to try again. I longed to join her so that I too could look out over the ocean and feel the wind whipping my hair so it streamed behind me. The first thing I’d do after that would be to run home and straight into the arms of my brother and sister. In my enthusiasm I kicked off my heels and sort of jumped headlong into the portal. Suddenly I was inside it, half my body stuck in the Wasteland, the other half looking directly at a shell peeking out of the delicate white sand. I reached out to it. I could almost feel the warmth of the sun on my hands and hear the crash of the foamy waves over the rocks.
I was not a wraith like Taylah and once inside, the portal seemed to tighten around me, like it knew I shouldn’t be there. A magnetic force that had first drawn me forward now propeled me backward, but I held on. I soon heard the sound that had alerted Taylah to someone’s presence. An energetic sniffing could be heard that was more inquisitive than menacing. My nostrils were suddenly assaulted by an even more familiar scent. It was just the encouragement I needed. I knew who it was even before his silky coat, the color of moonlight, came into view. I caught sight of a pale silver eye and a damp brown nose.
“Phantom!” I gasped in delight. I could only see him in fragments — but it was still my beloved dog. I heard Taylah jump back, alarmed by Phantom’s enthusiasm. She’d never really been a dog person, but the emotions that hit me upon seeing him were almost unbearable. I reached out a hand and let it pass right through the portal. Phantom nuzzled his spongy nose into my palm, frantic with the pleasure of recognition. I scratched behind his silky ear and a lump rose in my throat the size of a golf ball. I had to gulp to get my next words out.
“Hey there, boy,” I murmured. “I’ve missed you.” My emotion was reciprocated by Phantom, who now began to whimper and scratch furiously at the portal, trying to gain access. Then, like a thunderbolt it struck me that Phantom could not possibly be out on the beach alone. Someone had to be with him. Someone I loved was perhaps only meters away and heading in this direction! It was probably Gabriel, who always took Phantom with him when he went for runs along the beach. I imagined I could even hear his padded footfalls on the sand. His strong, comforting arms might soon enfold me. When that happened every bad memory would be obliterated. Gabriel would know exactly what to say to make everything right again. I repressed the urge to scream out to him just in case something went wrong. I felt as if I were walking a tightrope and needed to tread carefully.
“Tuck,” I said urgently. “How do I do this?”
“Slowly,” he said, a look of determination spreading over his face. “One bit at a time — don’t rush it.”
My heart was pounding so loudly I thought everyone could hear it. “Go on now,” Tuck said. “Easy does it.”
I struggled against the portal, slowly pushing my way to the other side. Once my hands were through Phantom began licking them relentlessly and I had to swallow back a giggle. The comforting roar of the ocean at Venus Cove and Phantom’s familiar panting filled my ears. I pushed forward, feeling the portal first resist and then relax, allowing me to edge through. It was slow work, but I was getting there.
Then I heard the growls.
The sound was so chilling I thought my heart would stop. The low, guttural snarls were coupled with the sound of claws ripping at the earth. Just ahead of me hovered Taylah’s face, now drained of color, and Tucker’s hands had gone limp on my back. Even before I fully understood what was happening, I knew I had a choice to make. Tuck was still trapped in the Wasteland.
“Keep going!” he said desperately. “You’re almost there. Don’t turn back.” He couldn’t hide the terror in his voice.
But I could as much keep going as I could stop breathing. Tucker had been like a brother to me in Hades and I would never abandon him. In the next instant I wrenched myself free from the pull of the tumbleweed and scrambled to my feet beside Tucker. He was riveted to the spot, looking devastated by my decision. I peered into the dusty expanse before me that was broken only by some straggly scrubs. The sound I’d heard was coming from somewhere nearby and it was growing more insistent by the second.
Sheer terror made me duck for cover, but it also made me lose my footing so that I ended up skidding and falling to my knees. Tucker hauled me up, covered in the red dust of this surreal landscape.
