The Portal to Sidhe: Book 2

by Kelsey Schaeffer

  As Ben tried to console me, Damon shook his fist in the air as he stormed away. Nathen quickly ran after him with Delia trailing behind. As tears streamed from my eyes, my father knelt down to Ben and I, as he quickly pulled out his first aid kit. I saw Emerlee in the distance beginning to set up camp, as she didn’t want any part of our drama.

  My father pulled sterile gauze from his first aid kit as he quietly wiped up Ben’s nose. As he cleaned Ben up, Ben kept his arm wrapped around me as tears continue to stream down my eyes.

  As soon as Ben’s nose was cleaned up, my father looked at me and said, “Is that all true...what Damon said.”

  I nodded my head and felt ashamed.

  My father looked disappointed, but as the tears fell harder from my eyes, my father’s face softened. He shook his head and looked at Ben, “I’m not sure I will ever understand what the three of you are doing,” my father looked at me, “but if you love them both, and this is what you want...I will support you.” He looked back at Ben, “Son, there are three children...and another on the way. If the three of you are going to do...whatever you are doing, you can’t have this jealousy and bickering. The three of you have to be a family…for the children. I know this is all unfair.” My father continued to look at Ben, “You came back from the dead and found the woman you love married and your child being raised by another man.”

  Then my father looked at me, “Damon has loved you his entire life...he thought he finally had a chance to be with you and have children with you. He is King now...and,” My father looked back at Ben, “he feels like you’re going to take it all away.”

  “I get that,” Ben said, “I don’t want to take anything away from Damon. Not Miranda, not his crown...not even my son. Damon agreed to all of this, he suggested all of this.”

  My father shook his head, “It’s just hard...hard for all three of you.”

  I nodded my head as I looked around and I saw that Damon and his parents were heading back our way. It was obvious Damon had been crying as his parents were both holding him tight. I felt ashamed of myself for cheating on Damon, and ashamed of myself for getting pregnant. I didn’t know what to do to fix anything, but I knew we had to rescue our son, above anything else. No matter what I had done wrong, all of us had to set our feelings aside and make Benny’s rescue a priority.

  “Can you get up?” Ben said as he held out his hand.

  I stood up and realized the pain from my fall was fading away. “I’m feeling much better,” I said.

  Ben wrapped his arm around me and walked me towards the blazing fire Emerlee had set up. Our group quietly sat around the fire and ate peanut butter sandwiches we had made in the village. It was late when we finished our meal the sky was black with stars sparkling bright, so we immediately laid our blankets out under a giant tree. Everyone in the group lay together side-by-side for warmth. My father took one side of me, and Ben took the other, but Damon was lying on the other side, far from Ben and I.

  It took me quite some time to fall asleep, as the wind grew fierce throughout the night and my mind ran wild. Ben cuddled besides me, trying to keep me warm as the two of us trembled from the cold. After only a few hours of sleep, the sky turned pink as the sun began to rise from the snow. As I stretched open my eyes, I felt exhausted and miserable from the lack of sleep.

  As soon as everyone was awake, we quickly packed up and began our journey to the top of the mountain. As we hiked up the snow-covered mountainside, I protectively grasped my stomach and Ben looked extremely concerned.

  “Are you okay? Still hurt from the fall?” he asked eying my belly.

  “Just a little sore. I’m okay though.”

  “I’m so worried about the baby,” Ben said quietly as we walked forward. “Damon was right, you should have stayed at the village.”

  I shook my head in aggravation that Ben was agreeing with Damon, and I hissed, “I’m fine.” But deep in my mind, I was terrified I had hurt my unborn child during the fall.

  Our group finally reached the top of the mountain all in one piece, and after a few hours, we were well on our way down the other side.

  After several hours of hiking down the mountain, my father said, “We aren’t far from the perimeter of the Desmorelda’s cabin. I think we should find a place to camp for the night and get as much rest as possible.”

  Everyone agreed as Emerlee said, “Tomorrow we will have to search for the cave. It could take hours as there are many caves and we don’t know the exact location of the cabin. Like Alexander said, we should get plenty of rest. We might be taking on Desmorelda tomorrow.” Then she looked towards Damon and Delia, “Are the two of you prepared to send her to hell?”

  “Yes,” Damon said enthusiastically.

  Delia nodded her head.

  Our group found a small cave near the bottom of the mountain, and we camped for one final night. The cave brought relief from the wind, and the moment I snuggled into Ben’s arms, I instantly fell asleep from exhaustion.

  The next morning our group awoke and began our final hike towards Desmorelda’s cabin. Once again, Damon avoided me and remained by his parent’s side. My father and Emerlee led the way, and Ben never left my side. We spent the entire morning searching through several caves at the base of the mountain, but after several hours, nothing had been found.

  “Maybe we should take camp here for the night,” my father said as our group stumbled upon a small cave entrance looking only four foot tall.

  Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

  As we stood by the cave entrance, I suddenly felt as if a million butterflies had been released into my stomach. I quickly took a drink of the energizing elixir as I quickly leaned against Ben as if I might collapse. He wrapped his arms around me as I took his hand into mine and I gave it a tight squeeze.

  “Is everything okay?” Ben asked as I began to lightly tremble in his embrace.

  I didn’t answer.

  Our group entered the cave, just as we had entered the others. As soon as we were through the entrance, the ceiling grew until it was at least seven foot high. The entryway was still tight, but even with our bags, the seven of us were able to hike through it. Our group continued to hike through as we searched for large enough space to camp for the night, but the cave seemed to be a very long hall.

  “Maybe we should keep looking,” my father said quietly from the front of the group.

  No one said a word as we hiked on.

  As we continued on through the long hall with only the light of our flashlights lighting the way, my nostrils were engulfed with a musty stench as I heard water dripping somewhere in the distance. Suddenly a creature squealed as it flew only inches over our heads. I began to scream, but I instantly threw my hand over my mouth, in fear Desmorelda could be nearby. I heard Delia gasp from behind as I crawled back into Ben’s arms. As my heart raced in fear and butterflies swarmed my stomach, the creature flew above our heads once more and landed nearby on the wall. I quickly shined my flashlight towards its silhouette, and I realized it was only a bat, but I still felt skirmish at its sight.

  “It’s okay,” Ben whispered in my ear. I nodded my head as we walked on.

  The deeper into the cave we walked, the taller the ceiling grew, and a stream of water began to run beneath our feet, making the ground quite slick.

  “Easy,” Ben whispered as I suddenly slipped and fell into his arms. Damon shot me a disapproving look and shook his head, but Delia smacked him on his arm as to behave.

  As we continued on with my father in the lead, we came to a fork in the cave. My father shined his flashlight towards both entrances before he turned to look at Emerlee and shrug. The two of them whispered to one another very quietly, and no one else could hear. Finally my father gestured everyone to carry on as he headed to the right side of the cave.

  Our group marched on for twenty minutes and found nothing but running water and rock formations. I felt anxious as the butterflies were still fluttering through my belly, but t
here was not a sign of life in sight. Finally my father gestured us to turn around and head the other way. Nathen was in the back of the group, so he led the way until we returned at the fork.

  When we once more reached the fork in the cave, my father and the others gathered around, “Let’s try the left side,” my father said. “We’ll go for another twenty minutes, and if nothing is there, we’ll try another cave. This one is much to narrow and damp to stay the night.”

  Everyone agreed, but I knew my son had to be nearby, I could feel it in my gut.

  Our group continued towards the left side of the cave for only a few minutes, when several bats flew above our heads squealing loudly, sending echoes throughout the cave. As they flew over my head, they brushed against my hair, sending shivers down my spine. I screeched in horror and slammed into Ben, who slid on the slick floor and slammed into a wall. I almost fell into the solid cave ground, but Emerlee quickly grabbed my shoulder to slow my fall. I regained balance and took a deep breath as my heart raced in panic. But before I could settle down, I heard Delia screaming in horror as the bats began swarming her tiny body. Nathen was shooing them away as they dove towards her head, squealing as if they found joy in Delia’s terror. As Nathen batted the bats away, my dad held on to Delia, to ease her fear and help block the attack.

  Finally, Emerlee threw out her hands and began chanting quietly. The moment the words began to stream from her mouth, the bats suddenly calmed down and began to disappear. As soon as the bats were gone, Delia began to sob and jumped into her husband arms. As he calmed her down, I could see she was trembling profusely in fear.

  I turned to see if Ben was okay, and saw he was rubbing his arm as if it was in pain, “Are you okay?” I asked.

  He nodded his head, “My arm just hit the wall. I’m fine. Are you okay?”

  “Emerlee caught me,” I said, but my heart was still pounding from the swarm of bats.

  Nathen continued to calm his wife down as my dad gestured us to continue on. Everyone began to carefully walk on, following my dad in the lead.

  We only walked for another moment before my father stopped and quickly clicked off his flashlight. Everyone froze and my heart began to pound once more in fear. As sweat began to draw across my forehead, I felt the butterflies in stomach flutter so hard it felt as if they were trying to escape.

  As I looked around, I saw nothing as the cave was completely black, but as I looked beyond my father, I suddenly saw a faint light coming from the right side of the cave just ahead.

  I felt the warmth of Ben’s body nearby, so I reached out and took his hand. I leaned towards him and whispered, “Do you think that’s it?”

  “It has to be,” he whispered.

  Suddenly my father clicked his flashlight back on, and shined it toward the rest of our group. He walked towards the middle of our line, and as he projected the flashlight to the ground, he began to softly speak, “It looks like a doorway with light ahead. Remember our plan. Damon and I go in first. I want Delia and Emerlee near Miranda at all times. Protect her no matter what.” My father paused. Then he said, “Do everything you can to kill Desmorelda, and when she is dead, the fairies will send her to hell. The moment Benny is found...Ben and Miranda will take him away whether Desmorelda is dead or alive. If we are split up...we will meet outside the cave.”

  I could feel everyone nod their heads as my heart was still thundering in fear. I was terrified of what I would find beyond the light. I was scared that we had traveled all this way and my son would be gone, but I had to be positive. I had to keep hope; it was the only way I could save my son.

  My father clicked off his light once more, and we began to head forward with my father and Damon in the lead. We slowly walked through the dark with only the dim light from ahead guiding our way. As we walked towards the light, it grew brighter until we were standing in front of a large door that was cut into the side of the cave wall. A small amount of light was emitting from underneath the door.

  I watched from the back of the group as my dad reached his hand forward to softly grasp the doorknob. As he carefully turned the doorknob, Damon put his hands up as he prepared for a fight. Emerlee and Delia were besides me and they placed their hands towards me, ready to throw out their magic at any second. Nathen was just ahead of us, and like Damon had his hands out, as he was ready to fight.

  Ben stood right behind me, as I heard him pull out a hunting knife. “I won’t leave your side, Miranda,” I heard him whisper.

  Finally the doorknob had unlatched the door, and my father softly pushed the large door open, exposing a giant burst of light. I squinted my eyes for a moment, before we began to head inside.

  To our surprise, there was no one inside the entrance to what was surely Desmorelda’s cabin, as the decor was an instant indication that the cabin belonged to her. The entryway was much brighter than the cave, but still dimly lit by several gold sconces lined against the wall. The carpet was velvety plush and the color of blood, and the walls were the color of cream; the ceiling was painted solid gold. We slowly walked down the long hallway, treading as quietly as possible.

  I gazed around cautiously as we walked down the hall, and I noticed strange paintings between each sconce. While the frames were ornate and elegant in gold, each picture was a very graphic sexual scene. Each image was a depiction of some type of supernatural orgy. There were several different creatures in the images. Some of the creatures looked to be demons with horns and tails, while some of the creatures had wings. A few of the creatures seemed to be humans, while some were obviously vampires biting into the human’s flesh. In the images, no one seemed pleased, instead the creatures looked demented and evil as they were having wild sex.

  As we continued down the hall, I felt my face turn red, as the images grew more graphic than I could ever imagine. As we continued on, I noticed some of the paintings were not only sexual, but also shockingly violent near the end of the hall. The last few images were absolutely horrifying. There was an image of a demon having sex with an obviously dead human, while his hand was torn through her bloody chest.

  But the one that disgusted me the most was the last image at the end of the hall. A naked vampire was crawling over a very pregnant woman who was completely undressed. His fangs were pressed into her belly as blood gushed out of her side. I stopped for a moment as I grasped my pregnant belly, and I stared at the poor woman’s terrified face. She looked as if she was screaming out in pain, as a drop of blood dribbled from the side of her mouth. I heard Delia gasp as she passed by the painting and threw her hand over her mouth. As the others cried out in shock by the nature of the painting, I felt as if I was going to be sick knowing that my son had likely seen these horrifying images.

  I sighed in relief when we reached the end of the long hall and the images came to an end, and my father paused as he peered through the small archway at the end of the hall. My father nodded his head and gestured us to carry on. Our group walked through the archway, into the main sitting room. The sitting room was just as disturbing as the main hall with burgundy red walls and a solid marble floor, but it was quiet and there was no one in sight.

  Everyone quietly began looking around for any sign of Desmorelda or my son; I even looked for Taylor, but everything was quiet and empty. We began to head towards another hall, when suddenly we heard the clinking of heels against the marble floor. I felt my heart thunder once more, as I could recognize Desmorelda’s footsteps from a mile away.

  As the entire group prepared for a fight, I saw a dark shadow emerge from the archway from the adjacent hall. As she stepped into the light of the sitting room, she looked exactly as I had remembered. She was dressed in black lace lingerie, with her breasts and most private parts clearly exposed through her flimsy attire. She had towering black heels on her feet, and her long curly black hair bounced behind her with each step she took. I gasped and began to tremble not only fear, but disgust as I remembered everything she had done to Ben and I on Sidhe.

 
The moment her figure was exposed, Damon and my father charged towards her, but with a flick of each hand, she sent the two of them flying away.

  “Protect Miranda!” My father screamed, as Desmorelda continued casually walking my way as if we didn’t even faze her.

  As she grew closer, I could see her wicked smile across her face as Emerlee and Delia stood on either side of me, projecting protection magic across me. Desmorelda giggled as she continued to stride our way. She casually flung her wrists towards Emerlee and Delia, as the two of them flew through the air and slammed into the wall.

  As my protection magic disappeared, Ben stepped in front of me, holding his knife in the air. Desmorelda began laughing hysterically as if she found Ben’s action hilarious as Nathen and my father tried attacking her once more. Just as easily as she had before, she flung them across the room as if they were ragdolls.

  As Desmorelda grew closer, her smile never faded. I was trembling on the inside, but I did everything I could to control my fear as I yelled, “Where’s my son!”

  Desmorelda howled at my demand, but continued to step forward, until she was just in front of Ben.

  She instantly flicked the knife from Ben’s hand as if it were nothing, then moved her face towards his, until she was only millimeters away. Ben didn’t move.

  “I see you have returned,” she giggled as she threw off her translucent top, exposing her pale breasts as if no one was around.

  She threw her top on the floor, and then quickly flicked off her lacy bottoms. As she stood completely naked, she leaned towards Ben until her lips were pressed against his. I growled in disgust, but Desmorelda began to passionately kiss Ben as he tried to pull away.

  The others continued to try and attack her but she continued to slam them away as she forced herself onto Ben. As I stood there terrified of what to do, I noticed the others were not standing back up after they hit the ground.

  “Stop!” I screamed. “Stop!”

  “What are you going to do about it you little bitch!” she screamed as she shoved Ben’s face into her breasts. Ben growled, but the Queen was much too powerful for him to pull away.