by Dana Gricken
“When the Dark Queen trapped me—and she should be glad I don’t hold grudges—I feared I would be locked away forever,” the Cardinal said, gesturing to his glowing hand. “My power is remarkable—stronger than any other kind. It deserves respect and awe…and most importantly, it deserves to be unleashed.”
“Are you just going to brag, or will you get to the point?”
He glared at me. “As I was saying, the time spent in my tomb was long and uneventful. But when the Dark Palace crumbled, something inside of me awakened. The spirits spoke to me, whispering about Riley Stark. I knew you were special.”
“What are you saying?”
“If you had never foiled the Dark Queen’s plans, if you had never been so bold as to destroy the palace, perhaps the souls in the Quintessence never would’ve linked us. A simple chain reaction,” he said, with a grin. “And besides that, we have many things in common. We’re both misunderstood creatures, feared by our friends and family. You can run from it, but this is your destiny, Riley Stark.”
It really was my fault—our connection, our similarities, our mutual power, everything. I couldn’t believe it.
“When they linked us, it posed a problem,” the Cardinal continued, staring into the portal I’d created. “It weakened my power a little to give some of it to you—which in turn, strengthened our link. It’s why I need you to unleash the Quintessence. In my younger days, perhaps I could’ve done it myself.”
“Believe me,” I muttered, “I’m not thrilled to share this with you, either.”
He chuckled. “Oh, you misunderstand. I don’t mind sharing my power with you, Riley. In fact, it’s an honor to meet a revered Sentinel such as yourself. The spirits speak of you often.”
I grimaced, feeling myself growing weaker. Being forced to keep the portal open—and trying to prevent any spirits from leaking out—was taking its toll. “I won’t let you do this. When the others get here, we’ll all stop you.”
He ignored me, turning around. “Wanda, are they close?”
Wanda nodded. “I can see the vision now, husband, even if my power isn’t as strong as it used to be. The others draw near, just as I knew they would.”
Maybe I should’ve told Patrick and the others to stay away instead of sending Angel after them, but it would’ve been no use. Patrick hated me now, and he’d never listen—not even when it came to the Cardinal.
Especially when it came to the Cardinal.
The Cardinal smiled. “Good. Then we will wait for our guests to arrive. Make sure you keep the portal open, Riley. Well, it’s not like you have much choice.”
As I groaned in exhaustion, I heard several trucks approaching in the distance. Patrick must have salvaged what vehicles he could after Caleb had almost destroyed them all.
The first truck turned around the corner, and I saw who it was. Patrick sat in the driver’s seat, with Caleb in his Restrictors beside him. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw he looked unharmed. Lara, Jade, and Ruby sat in the backseat.
I squinted through the darkness and noticed Angel was leading the car. It was a good thing they’d listened to the Darkhound…or was it? I was glad I had backup, but terrified they could get hurt.
Patrick got out first, using Caleb as a human shield. He pushed him along, leading him over to the gate of the cemetery. The rest of the trucks pulled up, joining Patrick with their weapons drawn.
“Ah, her friends have arrived,” the Cardinal began, walking toward them. “And just in time for the show.”
“Stay back, soulless,” Patrick snarled. “I take it you’re the big bad Cardinal?”
“Bad? No, I wouldn’t go that far. In fact, I seem to be the only one who sees the benefits of the afterlife merging with ours.”
“Look, Patrick. Riley’s got the portal open!” Lara said. “Who knows what she and the Cardinal are planning?”
“It’s not my fault! I can’t close it!” I replied. “I’m not with the Cardinal. You have to believe me!”
Caleb twisted his wrists, looking disappointed when nothing happened. With the Restrictors on, his firepower wouldn’t work. “Riley’s telling the truth. We need to attack Wanda and the Cardinal together.”
“Caleb, the Dark Queen tricked me. She’s been working with the Cardinal too!”
He growled, but there wasn’t much else he could do. He was just as much of a prisoner as I was.
“We have the biggest threats to our world—Riley, the Cardinal, the Dark Queen, and now Wanda—in one place,” Jade said, unleashing her sword arm. “I say we take them all down while we still have the chance.”
The Cardinal laughed. “You seem to think you’re in control here. No—the power is all mine. Well, the power is ours…right, Riley?”
I snarled. “If you hurt them…”
“I have no intention of hurting them,” the Cardinal began, “but I mentioned nothing about subduing them. All but Caleb, of course. Anya?”
The Dark Queen nodded, flicking her wrist. A gray fog spread around Patrick and the others, trapping them in their fears.
I wanted to run to them, to use my power to remove the hold of the Mindfield, but I couldn’t move. The energy from my hand was taking everything out of me, and all my focus was on repelling the spirits.
As the Samaritans writhed on the ground, haunted by their fears, Caleb stepped forward. He and I were the only ones left—the only ones unaffected.
“Ah, my grandson. We meet at long last,” the Cardinal said. “Wanda has told me much about you—including your relationship with Riley. If you and Riley marry, she and I will be related, after all. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? We could be one big happy family. Rulers of life and death.”
“What I have with Riley is none of your business,” Caleb snarled. “If I didn’t have these Restrictors on, I’d light you up right now. I have no desire to help you, so save your speech.”
“You’ve trained him well, Riley. He almost sounds like you,” the Cardinal said, before he turned to Wanda and the Dark Queen. “Everyone has arrived. It’s time to finish what we’ve begun.”
Just when I thought his mind games and lectures would never end, the Cardinal raised his hand, aiming it at my portal. Before my eyes, the portal expanded until it erupted. Hundreds—no, thousands—of spirits emerged from it, circling above us.
And they were only the beginning.
“When these souls become accustomed to this world again, they will join us,” the Cardinal said. “And we will reign forever.”
It was like my worst fears had come true. The portal was open and the spirits were free, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. My hand lowered, its energy draining. The portal had taken enough out of me to stay open on its own now.
“I promised I wouldn’t harm your stubborn friends, and I will honor that promise. However…there is something else I must do,” the Cardinal said, approaching the portal. “I have not yet given up on you or Caleb yet, Riley. Perhaps some time to think it over will change your minds—as well as the removal of your Purity Crystals.”
The Dark Queen stepped forward and I cowered, trying to tilt my neck away from her. She grabbed me, holding me in place. “Don’t fight it, Stark. This must happen.”
She ripped the Purity Crystal off my neck and threw it on the ground. When she crushed it with her boot, an amber-colored mist spread around us, and I knew I was really in trouble.
The Cardinal nodded. “And now for Caleb’s.”
Caleb couldn’t resist—not with his Restrictors. The Dark Queen ripped his crystal off easily, shattering it on the ground.
The Cardinal smiled. “Excellent. And lastly, their isolation.”
The Dark Queen grabbed Caleb and I, leading us to an open crypt. Before I could ask what she was doing, she had already thrown us inside and slammed the door shut. I tried to tug on it, but I was too weak.
Caleb sighed. “Riley, it’ll take some time for the Primal to take over, but when it does…”
“The
n it’ll be too late for both of us—and we’ll probably accept the Cardinal’s offer. I know, Caleb.”
As I sat down on the cold ground, wanting to cry, I felt something small shift in my pocket. Retrieving it, I realized the Dark Queen had left us a Communication Crystal—the same one I’d seen her with in the truck. She must’ve slipped it in my pocket when she’d dragged us in here.
But why? Was she only pretending to ally with the Cardinal and Wanda?
30
Into The Portal
The Communication Crystal flashed white, signaling there was a message inside. I lifted it and pressed the crystal, but it wasn’t just a text or audio message.
The Dark Queen’s face appeared inside the white jewel. “Hello, Stark. If you’re listening to this, then everything has gone to plan.”
“Gone to plan?” I mumbled, rolling my eyes. “Yeah, I already know you’re a traitor.”
“By now, the Cardinal and my mother should believe I’m helping their deranged plan to unleash the Quintessence.”
Caleb stepped forward, his eyes going wide. “My mother…was only pretending to ally with them?”
“So she says,” I muttered.
“You may not like it—and I knew you wouldn’t approve—but the Cardinal using Synergy to combine your powers was the only way you could grow stronger. By doing so, he may have unleashed spirits across our world—but he also unleashed you, Stark. My training would have been nothing compared to his, and this was your true lesson.”
The Dark Queen had mentioned fighting the Cardinal with equal power. I had assumed she was going to train me to do so, but maybe it had been her plan all along to have the Cardinal help me instead—without him knowing.
The message continued: “I had a suspicion the Cardinal would choose a location like the cemetery to hide, which is why I brought you here. The Veil is thin here, with life and death so closely intertwined. I could speculate on his future plans, but I am not certain. However, I believe he will take my mother and I across the Quintessence.”
“Across the…Quintessence?” I repeated, in shock. “How is that even possible?”
“As I’m sure you’re curious, allow me to explain. The portals can be used for more than summoning spirits. Someone like the Cardinal can manipulate them to travel wherever he pleases. The spirits give him access to teleportation. However, because of your Joining, you will have this power as well.”
Caleb sighed, pacing. “We have to get out of here, Riley. If the Cardinal can teleport, what terrible thing is he planning to do with it?”
The message continued. “I regret removing your Purity Crystals, but I had to in order to fool the Cardinal and my mother. With luck, they will let their guards down and allow us to attack. Wanda’s power allows her to see into the future, which means she may know what we’re planning. You must act fast before she sees this in a vision.”
“But how?” I asked, glancing down at my hand. It had stopped glowing.
An idea came to me. I reached into my pocket, retrieving the Purity Crystal Caleb had given me. He had wanted me to give it to the Dark Queen, but we had run out of time.
“Here, Caleb,” I said, holding up the crystal. “This is the last one I have. You should put it on.”
He shook his head. “I want you to have it, Riley. You have the best odds of defeating the Cardinal.”
“But Caleb—”
“I know, Riley. Please, do it for me.”
I gave in, slipping the crystal around my neck. I could already feel it invigorating me, putting up a mental barrier to prevent the Primal from seeping through. Although Caleb hadn’t been without his crystal for long, the voice would start to sink in soon.
I shuddered as I remembered the time King Lucius had removed Caleb’s crystal. We had almost fought to the death. I didn’t want that to happen twice.
I pressed on the Communication Crystal again, hearing the Dark Queen’s final message. “You may think the Cardinal has bested you, or that you are weaker than he is, but you would be wrong. Trust in your power. Do not fear it—not when it’s the only thing that can save us now.”
The message cut out. I sighed, putting the crystal away. It was a lot of information to take in—especially when I’d thought the Dark Queen had betrayed us. Maybe I had been wrong about her after all.
Caleb groaned, throwing himself against the door of the crypt. “I wish I had my fire right now. Can you remove these Restrictors?”
“Sorry, but I can’t help you. I’m soulless now, remember? Only soulful can take them off.”
Caleb nodded. “We need to get this door down, at least. Maybe Patrick and the others can remove my binds.”
Patrick and the others. I had completely forgotten about them. As far as I knew, they were still stuck outside, consumed by fears. The Dark Queen claimed she wasn’t a traitor, but when she did things like that, it was harder to believe her.
As I stood up, walking over to run my fingers along the door, Caleb gave me a sideways glance. “What are you doing?”
“The Dark Queen said I’m more powerful now, even if I don’t feel it. I need to use my Quintessence to open this door.”
“Won’t that be dangerous?”
“Of course, but what other choice do we have?”
I closed my eyes, visualizing what I wanted in my mind. I focused on the door opening, freeing Caleb and I from our prison. It was working—even slowly and painfully.
It wasn’t something seen or easily explained—only felt.
A minute later, I opened my eyes. A swirl of energy circled the door, rattling it. Caleb stepped back, both in awe and fear of my power.
“Open!” I commanded.
I felt the power twirling inside of me as if a dam had burst. The door exploded open—flying off its hinges—and landed between the tombstones. I lowered my hand, commanding the energy to dissipate, and it listened.
For once, I felt like I was in charge. The Cardinal himself had been the missing puzzle piece—the key that had unlocked my true potential. He had doomed himself by joining our power without even realizing it.
Caleb smiled. “You did it, Riley. I can’t believe you…you…”
His smile faded, and he stumbled. I caught him, holding him up. “Caleb! Caleb, are you okay?”
He shook his head. “No. The Primal… It’s starting to emerge. Its voice is quiet right now, but it’s only a matter of time until it gets stronger.”
“Then we need to find you another Purity Crystal,” I said, pulling him with me. “Come on. We have to get going.”
He shoved me away. “No! What if we can’t find a crystal? I’m a danger to everyone—especially you, Riley. You should leave me here, inside the crypt, where I can’t hurt anyone.”
I scoffed. “First you wanted me to open the crypt, and now I’m supposed to lock you inside again? No. If the Primal comes out to play, we’ll find a way to stop it.”
Caleb looked apprehensive about it, but didn’t argue. I helped him out of the crypt, gasping as I looked up at the sky. It was a thick, gray hue, with smoke wafting through the air. Dark spirits fluttered about like birds, decorating the sky.
It was like the apocalypse.
“I hope my mother knows what she’s doing,” Caleb said. “Because right now, it seems like the Cardinal has won.”
I looked out across the tombstones, noticing that the portal was still here. It wasn’t sucking anything in anymore, though. Instead, it seemed to operate as a door. When I gazed inside, I saw nothing but energy—almost like the door that had freed the Lost Ones and I from the Mindfield.
Wanda, the Cardinal, and the Dark Queen were gone. If the Dark Queen had told the truth, they had escaped through the portal. With the removal of our Purity Crystals, the Cardinal was probably hoping the Primal would consume Caleb and I, and we’d follow him.
I still didn’t know where the portal led, or how I could teleport through it, but it was my only link to the Cardinal now.
When I
turned around, Patrick and the others were still rolling around between the tombstones. They were incoherent—mumbling and groaning to themselves. Whatever fears they had, the Dark Queen had multiplied them—putting on a convincing show for the Cardinal.
“Riley, you have to help them,” Caleb said. “I know they refused to help us, and they’ve done nothing but cause problems, but we can’t let them suffer. We’d be no better than the Cardinal.”
I nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ve done this before, remember?”
When I lifted my hand, it was of my own volition this time. The energy spurted out, lingering around Patrick and the others. In a few seconds, the mist of the Mindfield started to dissipate.
I felt no pain when using the Quintessence anymore—just strength. It was empowering. Now I understood how formidable the Cardinal really was.
Patrick was the first to recover. When he did, he stumbled a bit, using a nearby tombstone to leverage himself. One by one, the others rose to their feet. I counted Jade, Ruby, Jacob, Lara, and many, many more. Patrick had brought them all.
Patrick’s eyes widened when he noticed the portal behind me. “What the hell is going on? Where’s the Cardinal now?”
“He’s gone. He took the Dark Queen and Wanda with him. They went through that portal—to teleport somewhere to complete his plans.”
“We failed,” Lara muttered. “My mom died for no reason. Look at the sky!”
They gazed up, noticing how grim everything had become. They looked frightened, confused, but most of all, angry. Angry at me, because they believed I’d done this.
Caleb staggered forward. I could see the pain written on his face. He was trying his best to repel the Primal—and it was taking its toll. “We don’t have time to argue, Ramsey. Whatever the Cardinal is doing, we have to find him. You need to let us go.”
I nodded. “Caleb’s right. But before that, we need your help. We need you to remove his Restrictors.”
Patrick scoffed. “Not going to happen, kid.”
“We’re not going to attack you, Patrick. The only people we’re at war with are the Cardinal and Wanda, and we don’t have time to fight you,” I replied.