Midnight CEO

57.

EBONY'S POV

"Eb, to your right," Jake yelled as he slit the throat of a creature in front of him.

"Thanks." I turned and kicked the creature charging at me from the castle onto Henry's sword, slicing its body into two pieces. "Teamwork," I smiled, giving Henry a high five.

"Good shot." Henry smiled. "The door is this way. I will clear your path, and Jake will take you inside."

"What about you?"

"I must stay out here and keep the creatures away from you. Callan is waiting for you inside quickly Ebony; we don't have a lot of time." The ground shook beneath our feet once again, and the blood-red sky rumbled as lightning struck the earth around us. "Whatever happens tonight, Ebony Summers, I want you to know that I will always..."

Three creatures jumped onto Henry's back suddenly and pulled him back into the darkness of the forest.

"Henry!" I screamed, running towards him.

"We don't have time for this. We must stop Leon right now, or no one will survive this night."

I started to panic at the thought of losing Henry. I couldn't see him anywhere in the crowd around me. "HENRY!" I screamed, looking around me.

"I'll find him Eb; you need to go inside," Jake said calmly next to me. "Go, I'll find him."

"Jake, I can't lose you again. Please."

"Go, I will catch up." He kissed my forehead softly and then took off towards the creatures approaching us from the portal.

"This is not right. Something is not right." I could feel it inside me, something was happening, and it was not good.

"I can feel it too. We must get inside." Ariel's voice sounded confused, and for the first time, I was actually starting to doubt things. "This is where I take over. Hold on, Ebony Summers." Before I could even process what was happening, Ariel had taken off towards the castle at such a speed that the world around me became nothing but a blur. I couldn't hear anything but the air rushing past my ears as he charged towards the castle. I started to feel dizzy and tired all of a sudden, like I was on a roller coaster at a fairground. I could feel my body getting weaker with each step.

"He is in here, Ebony Summers." I opened my eyes slowly and saw a massive wooden door in front of me. I could once again feel Carter calling to me, screaming at me, but I couldn't make out the words. It sounded like he was in a huge amount of pain, and I started to cry at the sudden overwhelming fear I was feeling.

"Something's not right, Ariel."

"I know. I don't understand what is happening. Something is telling me not to allow you through that door. Something has gone terribly wrong, Ebony Summers. Something even more powerful than me is awaiting you on the other side of that door. We need to get out of here."

"What? No, I'm not leaving Carter inside there. He told me what I must do, and I won't fail him. Ariel, we have to go in there."

"On the other side of that door is an evil that even I can't comprehend. Whatever dark magic has been used to summon this, it will be our end. I hear the screams in your head, and you know I am right. Carter is warning you to stay away."

I was frozen with fear as I listened to Carter's warnings in my head. What are you saying?

"Ebony, is he in there?" Callan said next to me, making me jump.

"I...I don't know? Something is not right, Callan. Can you feel that?"

"Yes. He stopped calling for me, and then I heard the sound of screaming and death." I looked into Callan's brown eyes and saw the fear he is feeling as well.