I wake up in the woods on the other side of the boardwalk, and see Dylan hunched over me, looking all around. I see ice dancing on his skin still and he looks pale in the red light of the sky. But it isn't long that that is an issue anymore, as suddenly, like ink, purple spills across the sky, turning it a strange pink color.
Dylan looks up, and I sit up, making him look at me again.
"Autumn, are you okay?" he asks.
"Yeah," I say. "What is up with the sky?"
He shakes his head. "I don't know."
"We should get moving," I say. He nods and helps me stand up, and we walk down to the boardwalk. When we reach the wooden planks of the boardwalk, the sky is now purple.
Dylan and I look around nervously, and as the wind blows, I smell something on the wind. I don't know what it is, but I do not like it. I look down, ready to take Dylan's hand in mine and start to run, when I see the red ribbon is now the same purple shade as the sky.
"Dylan?"
"What?" He looks down and sees the ribbon. "What does that even mean?"
"I don't know, but it can't be good," I say.
We start walking down the boardwalk in silence, looking at the water, the woods, the purple sky, and as we come back into the woods and round a corner, and then something jumps at us, grabs ahold of me and Dylan, and slams us against the wooden planks of the boardwalk.
Dylan and I both fall hard on the wood, and we lay a few inches from each other, both of us landed on our sides.
Then, something flies down from the purple sky above us and lands on the planks hard, making the wood creak.
"Get up. Get up now," says a guy with large, black feathered wings, dark brown skin, and hazel eyes and black hair. We scramble up as the man steps closer to us. "I am Ivan, and I need to get you two out of the Kalabai ritual right now."
"Why?" Dylan asks.
"You can't. We would die," I say.
He swears under his breath. "The fae who brought you here are all dead. They were betrayed. And now, we need to save you before the Kalabai demons that are lurking in here are going to be ramping up their attacks. They will be impossible to defeat."
"We have Eldersblood," Dylan says.
"Good for you, still gotta get you out of here."
"Look, Ivan, is it? We will literally die if we leave the ritual before its completion. So sorry, but we can't go," I say.
Dylan takes my hand, causing my heart to beat a little faster than normal. And together, we run away from Ivan, and further into this weird, purple world.
"Wait," calls Ivan. He flies up beside us. "I'm coming with you."
"Why?" Dylan asks.
"To help keep you alive. These demons are no joke."
"What even are you?" I ask him as he lands and we are stopped and looking at each other.
"I'm a demon. A wraith, actually."
"And why are you helping us?"
He shrugs. "Got bored. Felt like it."
"How do you know about the faeries dying?" Dylan asks. "Is Izak dead?"
Ivan nods. "The traitor killed him. Raul, one of the fae, betrayed them. I know because I saw it happen. I'm not sure how much time I have here with you guys, before the magic of the ritual expels me from here, but I will help you while I can. So let's go."