Cadence and I both took in the ocean for a few more minutes. It seemed to be growing angrier. The wind had picked up, a likely explanation, but to me, it seemed to shift with the arrival of the Vampires, as if to say nothing that evil was welcome there.
Since we were asking personal questions, I tried one of my own. “What about Cale?” He was currently standing with Hannah about a hundred yards on the other side of Cadence. “Why is he really here?” He glanced over at my sister, like I’d seen him do a half a million times since he picked us up at the airport.
Swallowing a lump in her throat, Cadence admitted, “I’m pretty sure he still has feelings for me.”
“Oh.” I already knew that, but it was good to see she knew it, too. “Did he say something?”
“Yeah.” I stared at her a moment longer. “Something.”
She wasn’t going to tell me anything else. “What about Morgan?” I had always liked Morgan, blunt as she is, but I had the feeling my sister didn’t like her much, for whatever reason.
“Apparently, he really is finished with her, which I think is a good thing because I’ve never been a fan, though that might make Reno a little difficult to deal with for a while. I don’t know. I guess portals make good confessionals—for the people left behind.”
Something told me there was more to that last statement than I was currently privy to, but I didn’t ask her to elaborate. I decided to change the subject. “Assuming Christian comes out of there, what are you going to do about this? I mean, you’ll have to transfer him, won’t you?” How could they keep someone on the team who’d done something so reckless, selfish, and stupid?
“That’ll be up to Aaron. Who knows what agreement they might reach while they’re in there together. And Christian did redeem himself a little by jumping in with Hines.”
“True, but that wouldn’t have been necessary if he wouldn’t have been such a jerk in the first place.” I was starting to get angry again, and I needed to just let it go. Now that Brandon was safely back, I shouldn’t let it bother me. That was easier said than done.
Elliott and Jamie were standing a little ways behind us talking, along with Ashley who hadn’t left Jamie’s side for a second. “Do they know?” I asked, looking at them.
Cadence spun around as Cale came over and joined them. “I’m not sure. Probably. Aaron likely figured it out thirty seconds after he realized he was in a portal.”
That didn’t mean he’d told them, though. Elliott already hated Christian. “If Elliott beats the crap out of Christian, I doubt Jamie will put him back together. I’m surprised neither of them said anything to him before Christian flung himself into the portal.” Not that they’d had much of a chance during the battle.
“I think we’re all just trying to end this part of the problem. Then, we can go back and look at what we could’ve done differently.”
I had another response but decided to let it go. I’m not sure why it meant so much to me that Christian be punished for causing all of this, and it didn’t seem so important to everyone else. I’ve always had a sense of justice that nags at the back of my brain every time I see someone getting away with something they’ve done wrong.
Cadence’s phone was vibrating. It was five minutes until portal opening. Time to get focused on the task at hand. We needed to get Aaron out—and maybe that other guy. “You need me to keep up a shield, right? Anything else?”
Turning off her phone, Cadence said, “I think that’s all.”
I looked up at the sky to see if the portal was opening yet but didn’t see anything and realized the sun was up, and there was no moon. “Seems so odd the moon isn’t even visible, yet this is where the moon portal will open.”
Her forehead crinkled in contemplation of my comment. “I don’t think the portal is directly related to the moon. It’s just a trigger or something. Maybe it only matters when someone’s trying to force it open during the blood moon.”
I had no idea either, but it still seemed weird to me. I’d ask Heather later if I got a chance. She might know. It had been up at Stonehenge, but not directly overhead like it was the night it had opened in West Virginia. I never noticed where it was at in Rome. “Well, if this works, hopefully we’ll never have to worry about it again.”
Cadence nodded in agreement and turned around. I did the same. Everyone was in place, the Vampires preparing to launch their first attack. The area was so large, it was hard to tell where the portal would open. I thought Cadence had found the coordinates Ward had given her and that’s where we were standing, but that didn’t mean the portal would cooperate. If it opened too close to the edge, the Guardians could fall right over. I’d catch Aaron if I could, but it would be hard since I’d be busy with the shield and who knows what else.
Elliott strolled over. I had to smile at him. It was so nice to see his face. He glanced over the edge but didn’t linger. “Ah, the Cliffs of Insanity. Where are Inigo and Fezzik when you need them?”
I laughed, getting his reference to The Princess Bride. “In a movie.” I patted him on the arm and then went over by Brandon, closer to where Moira was directing the first line of defense. I had my own line. Brandon, Dax, and Heather would be in front of me to keep me safe while I did my thing. Behind me, my sister, Elliott, and Jamie were still spewing movie quotes and laughing before they went together a few feet away to where Cadence seemed to think the portal would open.