Falling Through Portals

Darkness at the Fall

Chapter 67

    Lorem felt the floor drop out from under them. Suddenly they were all wrapped in darkness. She was mildly surprised that none of the human hybrids cried out at the surprise. In the split seconds before they were bound to hit the ground she commanded a flash of light.

    "Think!" she commanded them as the room they had fallen into was lit up before them. The floor looked thirty feet away and rapidly approaching. There were metal contraptions on one side of the room. She didn't recognize what they were. The ground was too close to check out what was behind her.

    Lorem hit the floor and rolled. The others followed suit. Then the light was gone. It had only lasted a split second, she couldn't spare anymore in case they needed to travel out of there pronto. Whatever light had been coming in from above them was reduced to nothing. The others breathed heavily, or maybe it just felt like it since no other sound came from anywhere.

    "The vile is okay," reported one of them.

    "Great," Jace said sarcastically, "What about living things? Is everyone alright?" the two girls and Alec responded with yes. "Is there any way we can get a light?"

    "No, depletes me too much-"

    "I was actually talking to the others," Jace said. Lorem's eye brows went up. So this is what embarrassment felt like. Then there were four glowing orbs in the palms of the Shadow hunters. "These are Witchlights," Jace explained to her showing her his own.

    "Good," she said with a nod. The room seemed to soak up the light like a magnet. "Does anyone recognize what those machines were?" no one responded.

    "How do we get out of here?"

    Lorem couldn't tell which of the girls had said the statement.

    "Well we have the vial and all of us are in one piece, let's get out of here- go back to New York," Lorem thought it was Alec. Even with the lights she tried to spot surroundings, not singular voices.

    "You're right," Jace agreed, all of the hairs on Lorem's body stood on end, "Lorem let's just get-"

    Lorem raised her hand abruptly. Everyone stopped and stared at her.

    "We are not alone," she said softly.

    As if responding to her, the machines turned on. It was the sound of a washing machine going through a shredder on repeat. Then there was the smell. It reeked of something long dead. It was familiar, yet much more ancient and alien. How that was possible she couldn't guess.

    Just outside of their ring of light, something moved past them- faster than humanly possible. With the machine in the background, Lorem almost had to strain to hear maniacal laughter bounce off of the walls. In silent agreement, all of them formed a circle with their backs to each other.

    "Now would be a great time Lorem," Jace hinted under his breath as whatever was in that room with them neared them.

    "Not that simple," she responded, "I don't know your forms well enough for a straight jump in this circumstance. I could accidentally mistake you for whatever is about to attack us."

    Her senses were on overload. She could feel it- no there was more than one, and they were getting closer to them.

    "There is more than one," she told them.

    "How can you tell?" Clary asked. Out of Lorem's peripheral she could see each of them arming themselves.

    "Yessss," said something from the darkness beyond. Lorem's eyes narrowed. Then a red man with black eyes stepped into the light, "How did you know?"