novelapdf Chapter 241: Close
Chapter 241: Close
Why?!" Theo asked, "Why do I need to move awadeeplylylylylylyom the veil?"
"Because...," Ava struck another demon, "It responds to you. You’re the key, and the closer you are to it, the more it tears open!"
"But a key works in both ways, doesn’t it?"
Ava suddenly paused, realization dawning on her.
"It opens and closes a lock,"
"Yes!" Ava exclaimed, thinking deep, "Why didn’t I think of that? Wait — where is the pendant? Is it still with you? The one your demon was holding,"
Theo finally looked down at the object she’d been instinctively clutching tightly ever since she awakened. She opened her palms and saw a Golden black pendant in her hands, then looked back up at Ava, "Is this it?"
"Yes!" Ava replied, "This was regarded as the lock and key before, but we were wrong. Although it still has it’s purpose of keeping demonic energy away. Theo, you’ve been wearing this pendant around your neck all your life. It might have the answer,"
Theo looked utterly confused, "This is all too much. It seems you expect much from me and I can’t...,"
Ava gripped her shoulders hard, so hard that Theo could feel her claws digging softly into her skin, "I know you don’t remember anything, but you can feel everything. Look inside of yourself and you will find your answer. Look deep,"
"I...I...,"
*I’ll talk you through this,* Seraphina said to her, *But we won’t be able to go far if you do not believe in yourself first,*
*I’m trying! I’m trying!!*
*No pressure, Theo. Just remember the fate of this world rests on your shoulders,*
*Is that supposed to make me feel better?*
Seraphina snickered.
*Oh God,* Theo groaned.
*To do this, you’ll have to transform into me,*
*I can transform?*
*Duh!*
"My wolf says I’ll be transforming into her, if we want to close the Veil,"
"Alright," Ava replied, "You will be fine with her. I’ll leave it all up to the both of you. I have to join the fight again and move with the other girls,"
Theo nodded sharply, "Thank you!"
Ava gave her a short smile, and then she jumped out of their hiding place and joined the battle again.
*This might hurt a little,* Seraphina warned, just as Theo’s physical form began to change.
A yelp of pain and surprise fell out of Theo’s lips as she felt her bones twist and grow, her muscles following almost immediately. Every part of her changed, and fur replaced her skin.
In seconds, she was standing on all four and looking through the eyes of a wolf. And all her senses were much Sharper than before.
*This is amazing!* Theo whispered to herself
Seraphina smiled but didn’t say anything else.
Then, she leapt out of her hiding place and joined the fight again. Every demon that stood in her path was trampled and torn apart and soon enough, she was standing in front of the veil.
It pulsed and shuddered, the tear growing bigger as more and more demons poured out of it. It was definitely reacting to her presence.
*What now?* Theo asked.
Another demon lunged at them, and Theo barely thought before she moved. Her body reacted on instinct, faster than her fear and she tore through it with her claws and felt it dissolve into ash beneath her weight.
Her eyes widened for a second. Her wolf powers felt so natural. It was fascinating.
*Focus,* Seraphina warned gently.
Theo inhaled and did as she was told. The air tasted different now. It was metallic with the stench of demon residue. But, beneath it though... she could sense something else.
A pull.
From the center of the Veil itself.
*This pull is how you know you fit perfectly into the keyhole,*
*What do I do?* Theo asked, quieter this time.
*You stop fighting it like it’s your enemy,* Seraphina replied, *You treat it like what it truly is,*
*And what is that?*
A door that needs to be locked once again,*
Theo blinked. That was the strangest explanation she had ever heard.
*That doesn’t even make sense.*
*It will.*
The Veil pulsed even more violently this time with the edges sparkling with dark lightning as if rejecting the very air around it.
Theo felt something tug around her chest.
The pendant.
It sat around her chest, steady, it’s magical golden chain elongated enough to sit perfectly around the neck of her wolf. Right now, she could feel it warming up her body.
*Feel it,* Seraphina whispered. *Don’t think. Feel.*
Theo closed her eyes, which was terrifying, considering the battlefield. But somehow, nothing touched her.
It was like the demons sensed something changing.
Inside her, the gold and black energy pulsing from the pendant began to stir.
It seemed to be turning slowly, searching for alignment with something.
The Veil reacted instantly, and instead of widening like it always did, it suddenly froze. The edges stopped stretching even more and the darkness from within flickered, getting more and more unstable.
Theo’s eyes snapped open, *It stopped,* She breathed.
*Because you stopped resisting,* Seraphina said softly.
Then, Theo carefully took another step forward and to her biggest relief, the veil did not tear wider. It trembled instead, as though it was unsure of what to do.
*What if I make it worse?* Theo asked, fear creeping up her spine.
*You already know you won’t,* Seraphina replied. *You just don’t trust yourself yet,*
That stung a little.
Theo swallowed afterwards, then she did something reckless.
She reached out with the pull she felt and the energy from the pendant. But this time instead of letting it move as it wanted, she controlled the energy and let it flow toward the veil.
*What are you doing?* Seraphina asked.
*You asked me to feel, that’s what I’m doing* Theo replied.
*Oh!*
The moment the energy came in contact with the tear, the reaction was immediate.
The tear convulsed violently, and a deafening screech ripped through the forest as if the world itself was protesting. Demons halfway through the opening screamed as the space around them warped, and a wave of shock slammed back out of the veil.
Theo almost pulled back as it crashed into her.
*Don’t,* Seraphina warned.
Theo gritted her teeth, *Ouch!*
The energy between her and the Veil locked, and that was when she felt the full effects of the pull.
The pull was more of a mechanism. An ancient mechanism that was just exactly as they knew.
A lock that needed to be turned in the right direction.
*Oh...* Theo whispered.
*Yes,* Seraphina breathed.
Theo shifted her energy then, trying to turn it the other direction.
The energy moved clockwise, and the veil followed instantly. The edges began folding inward instead of stretching out. The darkness twisted too, compressing into itself.
Demons shrieked as they were dragged backward, sucked into the narrowing tear.
A terrible wind suddenly flooded the battleground, and the ground cracked beneath her paws.
But she didn’t stop. It was going to takena lot more than that to make her stop.
She turned harder instead.
Pain shot through her body, and she staggered back held her ground.
*This hurts!* She hissed
*I know.*
The Veil shrank another inch.
Then another.
The demonic stench was beginning to fade.
Theo exhaled sharply, and with one final push, she completed the turn and heard something like a click finally locking into place, followed by a deep, resonating sound that echoed through the forest.
Then, the Veil collapsed inward, shrinking rapidly until it was no bigger than a coin suspended in midair. It flickered once, twice...
Then, it vanished.
Silence fell, and everyone paused just as the remaining demons dissolved into smoke as if they had never existed.
Every single wolf battling against a demon that had emerged from the veil paused midway, as their opponent suddenly turned into dust right before their eyes.
Theo stood there, chest rising and falling heavily. She looked around them, watching the scene unfold.
The pendant around her neck glowed softly for a second, then a thin line split through the gold and black.
Theo felt no fear this time. Only understanding.
The pendant shattered gently, dissolving into fine golden dust that swirled around her in a soft spiral before drifting into the night air.
Gone.
Its purpose fulfilled.
*Did we...?* She began.
*Yes,* Seraphina replied softly.
Suddenly, a monstrous presence filled her back and primal fear coursed through her skin.
From a distance, she could hear Zevon and Zeke yelling something that sounded like a panicked warning, but there was no time to turn, or to evade whatever was about to hit her.
It all happened too fast.
Something slammed into her back hard, but the pain that hit did not land as hard as it should. Instead, she heard a painful groan behind her and turned around just to catch the movement.
Momentarily, Alcaeus had broken out of Zeke and Zevon’s hold and come directly for her, but a figure had shot himself between the demon and her.
Alcaeus’s massive fists had smashed into the figure’s chest instead, caving right through it till it punched right through the other side of his back. Theo’s eyes widened from the sight as the impact rippled Through the air.
"No!!" She cried, lunging forward instinctively just as Alcaeus ripped his hands out of the body, "No!!!" She screamed, her voice raw with panic as the figure staggered back, falling.
She caught him, her body shrinking back to her human self.
Next to her, Zevon’s shadows swarmed around Alcaeus’, forcefully dragging him back.
But Theo’s eyes never left the injured man for a second.
Her breath came out in sharp pants, "You’ll be fine," she said shakily, wondering if he was going to survive this.
There was literally a hole through his chest.
It was lethal.
What she didn’t expect was for him to smile back at her, "No, I won’t," He replied, blood running down the corners of his lips.
She stared into his eyes, and her heart ached badly.
Did she know him too?
"You’ll heal, right? Werewolves have...super fast healing, right?!"
She looked up, her gaze trembling.
"I need help!!" She cried, "Please, someone...Help ..,"
"No," He shook his head, "Don’t call for help,"
She looked back at him.
"I would pretty much like to die now," He said, smiling as he motioned toward him arm.
The decay was so deep, and it had already spread around his chest too.
Theo gasped, tears gathering in her eyes.
*Oh, Liam...* Seraphina murmured softly.