I was fine apart from a few bruises. But I stared up into his dark, concerned eyes, tempted to keep lying there so he’d continue his full body examination.
I might have done just that, if I wasn’t lying in the sand. And if the next person in our group wasn’t going to fly through the portal at any moment.
At the thought of the portal, I glanced at it. It had returned to purple once Noah had come through. Now it was back to blue.
“I’m fine.” I sat up and wiped the sand from my arms. He stood and helped me up, and I continued trying to wipe myself free of the sand. But it was hopeless—it was everywhere. Even in my hair. “Ugh. I hate sand.”
“You live on the beach.” He looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
“So?” I gave my hair a final shake, figuring this was the best it was going to get. “Doesn’t mean I have to like the sand.”
“I guess.” He shrugged and reached for my arm. “But we should probably move out of the way so the next person who comes through doesn’t crash into us.”
“Right.” I nodded, moving to the side with him.
“Why didn’t you move earlier?” he asked. “You knew I was coming through.”
“I actually didn’t,” I said. “When I turned around to look at the portal, it was blue. Like it is now. I thought I’d broken it or something. I was scared that no one else was going to be able to come through, and that I’d be here all alone.” I glanced around, still not sure where “here” was. It looked like the Pacific Northwest. But foggier.
“Right. That.” Noah glanced at the swirling portal. “Blue means the portal’s in use. Purple means it’s open.”
“How do you know that?”
“Jacen told us after you went through and it turned blue,” he said. “We had to wait for it to turn purple to know you were through and it was my turn to go.”
“Great.” I crossed my arms and let out an aggravated huff. “You’d think he could have told me that before I was dumped into this creepy place and thought I broke the portal and would never be able to find you all again.” I paused, realization setting in. “Oh, wait. He probably knew exactly what he was doing. I bet he was testing me to see how brave I am.”
“You’re brave,” Noah said simply. “You don’t need a test to prove it.”
“Thanks.” I smiled up at him. “But let’s keep the fact that I freaked out before you got here to ourselves, okay? I don’t want Jacen to know.”
He smirked, clearly amused. “You got it,” he said.
The portal flashed lightning again, and Jacen popped out.
Unlike Noah and me, he didn’t crash into the sand on all fours. He was prepared and landed gracefully on two feet.
I was glad he hadn’t witnessed my graceless entrance. The last thing I needed was for one of the leaders of Avalon to think I didn’t have what it took to complete the Angel Trials.
“I see you both made it through in one piece.” Jacen walked over to Noah and me, looking us over. “Don’t worry about that landing. It gets easier with practice.”
How did he know…?
Oh, right. The sand.
If I looked anything like Noah, there were still patches of it that I’d missed getting off.
I. Hated. Sand.
“We knew we had some time before the next person came through.” I shrugged and leaned in suggestively toward Noah. “Can you blame us for having some fun while we waited?”
Noah made a strange sound in the back of his throat, like he was holding in a laugh.
Was I really that not believable?
Apparently so, because Jacen looked amused, too. “Whatever you say,” he said.
Awkward silence descended between the three of us. It was thicker than the fog.
“So,” I said, desperate to change the subject. “What is this place?”
“Good question,” Jacen said. “And one that I’ll answer once the others arrive. No need to waste time repeating myself when I can wait and tell you all at once.”
22
Raven
One by one, the rest of our group tumbled through the portal and fell into the sand.
Jessica came through after Jacen, followed by Bella, the twins, and Harry. Thomas was last, which was a good call. Because the humans were anxious and jittery. Hopefully knowing that a supernatural had their back had helped take some of the edge off on the other side.
In moments like these, I felt like I had more in common with the supernaturals in our group than the humans.
Kara, Keith, and Harry were so unused to the supernatural world. It showed with every anxious, startled look on their faces, and with how they couldn’t stop fidgeting.
I, on the other hand, was starting to feel like this was my world.
“Welcome to Sir Gawain’s Cove.” Jacen gestured around as if we could actually see the cove through the thick fog. “Sir Gawain was one of the legendary Knights of the Round Table. He was known for his chivalry, his bravery, his compassion, and most importantly, his wisdom. These are all characteristics that citizens of Avalon are expected to have. Once you leave here and head toward Avalon, the island will decide whether it wants to welcome you or send you back to Earth.”
“Back up.” I held up a hand and looked around in newfound amazement. “You mean we’re not on Earth anymore?”
“Correct,” Jacen said. “This cove is an anchor island around Avalon. It’s only accessible by portal, and it’s a required stop for every newcomer. To reach Avalon from here, you must prove your worthiness.”
“How do we do that?” Noah’s eyes narrowed, like he wasn’t sure whether or not to believe Jacen.
I couldn’t blame him. The Earth Angel had already sent Noah on a quest to prove his worthiness. He’d completed it by gathering those ten demon teeth. Of course he was skeptical about having to prove himself again.
“Guess.” Jacen clasped his hands behind his back, looking at us like he knew we wouldn’t guess correctly.
Bella gazed out at the dark, gently lapping waves. “Do we swim?” she asked.
“Or climb?” Thomas glanced up at the cliff. His eyes went wide like a child’s, like he was excited by the prospect of scaling it.
I hoped his guess was wrong. Noah and Sage’s minimal training definitely hadn’t prepared me to scale a cliff. I’d fare better swimming through the ocean.
But still, neither option sounded appealing.
“Wrong,” Jacen said. “Both of you.”
I let out a breath, glad we wouldn’t have to do either of those things.
“I can’t believe it’s not swimming,” Bella said. “Demons hate the water.”
Jacen ignored her and focused on the rest of us. “What are your guesses?” he asked.
I didn’t have one. I could feel through the imprint bond that Noah didn’t, either. And Jessica and the three humans were new to the supernatural world. They were more out of their element and clueless than the rest of us.
I crossed my arms and tapped a foot impatiently. “Obviously none of us know.” I was annoyed, and I didn’t bother hiding it. “So why not get to the point and tell us?”
He chuckled in amusement. “You’re just as feisty as Annika warned me you’d be,” he said.
“She knows I’m coming?”
“Of course,” he said. “After Mary gave me the heads up about who you were, I popped back over to Avalon to let Annika know you’d be on your way. I didn’t want her to be shocked at your arrival.”
“Right,” I said, since it made sense. “But why are you asking us to guess? Why not just tell us what we have to do so we can get started?” I bounced from foot to foot, ready for whatever the next step would be.
“Because unlike Avalon, this cove is accessible to anyone who finds a portal to get here,” he said. “That includes demons. I’m asking because I want to understand what someone’s initial thought would be to do from here. So far, this hypothetical demon would have tried swimming and climbing the cliff. Which are good
things. Because neither of them would get him to Avalon.”
“Even if he did the right thing, wouldn’t this hypothetical demon be unable to get to Avalon anyway?” Thomas asked. “You told us yourself that the island will judge us to decide whether it wants to give us entry or not. Assuming you’re telling us the truth, that would mean this hypothetical demon would be judged as unworthy and sent back to Earth.”
“It would,” Jacen said. “But it’s always best to be prepared for any possible situation.”
“True.” Thomas gave Jacen a single nod of agreement.
Silence again. Jacen was obviously waiting for one of us to speak up.
“Maybe the answer isn’t right where the portal drops us off,” I said the first thing that came into my mind. “That would make it too obvious. Maybe we need to explore.”
“Smart,” Jacen said, and then he winked at Noah. Like, actually winked. “She’s a keeper.”
“I know.” Noah stepped in front of me and gave Jacen his scary wolf stare down.
“Relax,” Jacen said with a friendly smile. “I’m not trying to steal your girl. In case you’ve forgotten, there’s a beautiful Earth Angel on Avalon who I’m very much in love with. Not even the most charming woman in the world could tempt me away from Annika. No offense,” he added, directing the final part at me.
“None taken.” I smiled back. “Especially since I’m pretty much as far from ‘charming’ as it gets.”
“Hey.” Noah wrapped his arms around my waist and nuzzled into me. “You’re charming to me.”
Heat flared in my stomach, and I automatically leaned back into him. Every instinct inside of me wanted to pull him closer and mate with him then and there.
The imprint bond was making my hormones go crazy or something.
“Enough of this sickening love fest.” Bella rolled her eyes, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and looked around the cove. “Let’s do some exploring and figure out the way to Avalon.”
23
Raven
Jacen saved us a lot of time by telling us we were wrong every time we had an incorrect guess. Which was good, because we had a lot of wrong guesses. There were tons of caves inside the cliffs. We would have been there all day if we’d explored them all. And Kara’s perfect sense of direction wasn’t any help, since we didn’t know what we were looking for.
“Maybe we’re not looking in the right place,” I said after what felt like over an hour of wandering around aimlessly. “Maybe we need a different vantage point.”
“Does that mean you’re ready to scale the cliff?” Excitement flashed in Thomas’s eyes as he looked at the cliff and back at me.
“Definitely not.” I shivered at the thought. “But I’m from LA, which means I’ve dealt with my fair share of fog. It hides everything that’s not in your immediate vicinity. And this particular fog is thickest over the water. So if there’s something we’re missing—something that has to do with the water, perhaps—we wouldn’t be able to see it from the beach.”
“What are you suggesting?” Jacen asked.
“I’m suggesting we step into the ocean,” I said. “Not too deep. We can walk back with our feet in the water to see if we can spot anything new. Demons wouldn’t want to do this, since like Bella said, they hate the water. Right?”
“Finally.” Jacen glanced up at the sky in relief and held out his arms, like he’d been waiting for someone to say it the entire time. “A good idea.”
“So I’m right?” I jumped up, giddy with excitement.
“Would I have said that if you weren’t?”
“I guess not.” I took off my shoes—white sneakers provided to us by the Haven. Then I rolled up my thin white pants so they were above my knees. Holding the shoes in one hand, I ventured out toward the water.
The others did the same.
The moment a wave came ashore and brushed against my toes, I yelped and jumped backward. It was freezing. Like this ocean was in the Arctic Circle or something.
“Cold?” Noah asked, amusement flashing through his eyes.
“Why don’t you see for yourself?” I challenged.
He stepped into the next wave and sucked in a deep breath the moment his feet made contact with the water.
I smiled, glad that his being supernatural didn’t make him magically immune from the cold. Or, his being a shifter didn’t make him immune to the cold. Because the three vampires in the group—Jacen, Thomas, and Jessica—didn’t seem phased by it at all. They simply marched in until the waves were midway up their shins, like the water was the perfect temperature.
Noah and I glanced at each other. In an instant, we rushed to join the vampires. The water was so cold that it burned. I shrieked like a little girl as I ran.
Hopefully we’d get used to it as we kept walking.
Once I joined the others, I saw that I was right. We could see further out into the ocean now that we’d stepped into the fog.
But the whole group wasn’t here. Bella, Harry, Kara, and Keith were still on the shore. At least that’s where I assumed they were. The fog was so thick that it was impossible to see the beach.
“Are you guys coming?” I screamed out to where we’d been standing.
“Yep,” Harry grunted, he and Bella making their way toward us. Harry was holding Keith up on his back, and Bella was holding Kara.
“The water was too cold for them,” Bella explained. “So we improvised.”
The twins were smiling happily, their arms and legs wrapped around Harry and Bella. They were carefree and relaxed. But I couldn’t help feeling concerned.
If they couldn’t handle a bit of cold water, how were they going to handle the Angel Trials?
They were too young for this.
Hopefully there’d be another place for them in Avalon—a place where they could contribute without having to join the Earth Angel’s army. Hell, I didn’t feel ready to join an army. I was only doing it to save my mom, and because Noah was going to Avalon. Otherwise, I probably would have stayed at the Haven and tried to help from there.
We waded through the icy water in silence. Finally, just when I was about to give up hope, something took form in the distance.
Brown blobs on top of the water. Rowboats. They were anchored to the water, which was why we couldn’t see them from the shore. There were eight of them in all.
Just like there were eight of us journeying to Avalon for the first time.
Bella smirked, like she understood something we didn’t. “We’re taking boats to get to Avalon,” she said. “Just like King Arthur.”
“You mean the King Arthur?” I asked. “The one who pulled the sword from the stone and ruled Camelot?”
Bella nodded slowly, like my question was beyond stupid.
“But he’s a king of myths,” I said. “He’s not real.”
The moment the words were out of my mouth, I realized they kind of were stupid. Because I’d learned in the past few weeks that most everything I used to believe were myths were real.
Why not add King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table to that list?
“King Arthur was real,” Jacen confirmed. “And he was more than just an average king. Arthur, Lancelet, Guinevere, the Knights of the Round Table… they were all Nephilim. They lived in Camelot and went on quests to kill demons and protect humanity. They were the last of the good Nephilim.”
“But aren’t all Nephilim good?” I asked.
“No.” Bella shook her head vehemently. “The only creatures who are truly either good or evil are angels and demons. The rest of us all have free will… choices about what we’ll do and who we’ll be. The Nephilim were originally created to protect the Earth from the demons still living on it. But King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table killed the last of the demons. After that, the Nephilim had no purpose anymore. So the next generation turned their sights on killing other creatures they deemed as threats. Their fellow supernaturals.”
“Like… you guys?”
I looked at the supernaturals surrounding me—people I’d grown to love and see as friends—and shivered in horror at her implication.
“Yes,” she said. “The Nephilim became fanatics. They were convinced that supernaturals were a threat to humanity, and that all supernaturals needed to die for humans to be safe on Earth. There was no reasoning with them. No stopping them. They were determined to hunt us to extinction. Which was why a century ago, supernaturals of all species banded together in the Great War and killed the last of the Nephilim.”
“Which is why there are no Nephilim around today to kill the demons that escaped the Hell Gate,” Jacen continued. “It’s why Annika has to create her army from scratch.”
“Wow,” I said, baffled by the enormity of it all. It was too much to take in at once. Especially when I was freezing in such cold water. “But what do the rowboats have to do with all of this?”
“King Arthur and his Knights killed the last demons in the Battle of Camlann,” Bella continued. “It should have been a day to celebrate. But Arthur was wounded during the battle. The witches tried to save him, but their potions didn’t work. He was mortally injured. But while dying, an angel sent Arthur a vision. The angel told him not to have a funeral pyre so his body could join his soul in the Beyond. There was a different plan for the great King. And so, Arthur begged those tending to him to place him in a boat so he could sail to his final resting place. Avalon.”
“So we’re taking boats to Avalon.” I glanced at the rickety rowboats creaking in the waves. I was wary about their ability to take us anywhere, let alone to a mystical island. “Just like King Arthur.” Then a crazy thought popped into my mind. “Is Arthur still on Avalon today?” I directed the question to Jacen, since he was the only one of the group who had actually set foot on the island.
“I can’t tell you that,” Jacen said. “But we’ve been standing here long enough. As you see, there are eight rowboats—one for each of you. I’ll be waiting for you on Avalon when those of you deemed worthy arrive. As for those of you not deemed worthy, a guard will be waiting at your arrival spot to escort you back to the Vale.”
The Angel Trials- The Complete Series Page 70
