Page 29

“I don’t know that, either.” Orik pressed his lips together and led us out onto the road, where we turned to the left and began the jog.

Trees stretched tall overhead, bordering both sides of the road.

About a hundred or so feet ahead, we came to a set of steep, narrow steps.

The staircase led up to a neighborhood about three hundred feet above, with a switchback along the way.

Steep, the staircase contained over 270 steps according to the map information.

Rain made them slick, so one misstep could lead to a twisted ankle, or a dangerous fall.

“You’re sure she went up there?” I asked.

Orik nodded. “I saw her go. She may have gone off trail, into the woods. I don’t know why she would have gone all the way up to that neighborhood.”

“It wouldn’t make sense for her too.” We were about thirty steps up. “Dante, you check to the right, Orik, to the left. My sense is that she did go off trail.”

I wanted to jog up the steps as quickly as possible, but with one slip, I came down hard on my knee. I slowed my pace. “Guys, it’s super slick. Be cautious.”

We worked our way up through the drenching downpour. The rain stung against my skin, pelting down. Everything was soaked, every branch, every leaf, every tree, and the vibrant smell of petrichor filled the air. I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes.

“Hey, look!” Orik pointed to the left, where we saw some freshly broken branches and what looked like imprints in the thick mulch covering the ground.

“Let’s go,” I said. Suddenly, I could feel her near. I knew Penn was in the woods. I leapt over the railing and began tracking her energy. Orik and Dante followed.

We pushed through the bushes. The light was wavering—it was nearly four-thirty, and we barely had another hour before the sunset. It was cold and getting colder, and Penn had been wearing a skirt and shirt.

“Did she have on a coat when she ran out of the office?” I asked.

“No, I don’t think so. I caught a glimpse of her, but I think all she was wearing was her skirt and blouse,” Dante said.

I knelt down, trying to read any signs in the bushes. There was a place where the bushes had broken.

“I think she went this way.” I pointed at the bushes. “I’m no Strider, but even I can see a freshly broken branch, and there don’t seem to be many other people out here right now.”

“Let’s go,” Orik said.

“I can track her,” Dante said. He stood back, stripping off his jacket and shirt, then his shoes. He unzipped and kicked off his jeans.

I grinned and caught his clothes as he tossed them to me. Dante was good looking, that was for sure, and more than adequately blessed, but not once had I ever been tempted to push our relationship out of the friendzone.

He shimmered, then without a blink, a giant white wolf stood there.

He sniffed the broken branches, then took off silently through the forest. Orik and I scrambled to follow.

The park wasn’t huge, but the thickets and copses were dense enough that both Orik and I slipped and slid on the wet vegetation.

I went down once as my heel caught on a root, but rolled back to my feet.

Gathering up Dante’s clothing again, I scrambled to keep up.

We were about ten minutes into the thicket, when Dante started barking. We followed him, till we could see a body in blue lying up ahead, under a fern.

“Penn!” I raced forward, dropping Dante’s clothes. He shifted back into his natural form and began to dress.

Penn was unconscious, lying on the ground. I felt for her pulse, and sure enough, she was still alive, though her pulse was racing.

“We have to get her out of this weather. I think she’s going into shock.” I stood back as Orik gathered Penn up in his arms.

Before we began to return to the steps, something caught my attention.

A twinkling of some sorts. At first I thought it was raindrops, but then I looked closer and saw a rock.

It shimmered with magic and I headed over to it, suddenly thinking of the rock in Ami’s yard.

But it felt different. There was something dark and moody about it. I motioned for Dante to join me.

“I think this is a portal. I think this is what Penn was trying to find. She was probably directed to come here after destroying our computers.” I reached out toward the rock, then paused. Something felt familiar. It felt…like me .

“This portal has demonic energy on it. I can feel it—what the hell is it doing right here? Anybody could stumble on it. Any child could accidentally run into it or go up to touch it.” I began to panic. How could a portal to the UnderRealms end up in the middle of popular park?

Orik handed Penn to Dante and walked over to examine it. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. You can feel it because you’re part demon, but look.” He reached out and touched the stone. Nothing happened.

“But Penn’s not part demon—” I stopped, then turned to Dante. “Let me look in her skirt pocket—wait.”

I noticed she was wearing a pendant on a chain. I’d never seen it before, but now, I zeroed in on it. I reached out and unfastened it, looking closely.

“This pendant… It has demonic energy in it.” I turned back to the stone.

“The energy of the pendant matches the stone. It’s a talisman.

Okay, the stone won’t harm anybody who doesn’t have either demon blood or a charm that matches the frequency.

Make a note to come back and see if we can somehow destroy this portal.

Now, let’s get Penn out of this weather. ”

I pocketed the pendant as Orik once again took Penn from Dante’s arms. We made our way back down the stairs, helping Orik so he wouldn’t miss a step and fall while carrying Penn.

In the parking lot, we put Penn in the van and I bound her hands with Hecate’s rope so that she couldn’t easily slip away.

Dante found Sophia’s keys and drove her car back, as we headed back to the office, in hopes of figuring out what had happened.