Chapter 386: Thalia Isn’t Here

She pulled a small mirror from her bag, spelled for communication, keyed specifically to Elena.

She activated it and waited.

Elena’s face appeared in the glass almost immediately. She looked exhausted and worried.

"Victoria," Elena said. "Did you find her?"

"No," Victoria said, and the word tasted like failure. "She was here but she’s gone. I think she set up decoy locations. Left her magical signature to make trackers think she’s somewhere she’s not."

Elena’s expression was grim. "That’s smart. And frustrating."

"I don’t have time for this," Victoria said, and she could hear the desperation in her own voice. "I need to find her. Need to get to the Underworld. Need to...." She stopped and took a breath. "How long has it been? Since Lilith died?"

"Six hours," Elena said quietly.

Six hours.

Out of seven days.

Victoria felt the timeline pressing down on her.

"I need to search faster," Victoria said. "Find other locations Thalia might be using. But I don’t know where to start."

"What’s around you?" Elena asked. "Any signs of magical activity? Portals? Recent travel?"

Victoria looked around the abandoned quarry. "Nothing. Just old mining equipment and..."

Movement caught her eye.

Victoria’s head snapped toward it.

Something was watching her from the shadows between two buildings. Something large. Something that definitely was not human.

"I need to go," Victoria said quickly.

"Victoria, wait...." Elena started.

Victoria closed the mirror and slipped it back into her bag.

The creature stepped out of the shadows.

It was tall, easily seven feet. Its body was vaguely humanoid but wrong in ways that made Victoria’s skin crawl. Too many joints in the limbs. Skin that looked like old leather. Eyes that glowed faintly red in the fading light.

"Witch," it said, and its voice sounded like rocks grinding together.

Victoria called up her magic defensively. "What are you?"

"Guardian," the creature said. "This place is claimed. You trespass."

"I’m looking for someone," Victoria said carefully. "A dark witch. Thalia Morvaine. Have you seen her?"

The creature tilted its head in a way that suggested curiosity. "Why do you seek the dark one?"

"That’s my business," Victoria said.

The creature made a sound that might have been laughter. "The dark one left three days ago. Created portals. Many portals. Went in many directions."

Three days ago.

Before Victoria had even started preparing for resurrection.

Thalia had been planning her escape for longer than she had been planning to find her.

"Do you know where she went?" Victoria asked.

"Many directions," the creature repeated. "West. North. South. East. All directions. To confuse pursuit."

Victoria felt her heart sink. "How many portals?"

The creature held up one hand. Fingers that had too many knuckles. "Five portals. Five directions. The dark one is clever."

Five locations.

She would have to search five different places to find which one Thalia was actually hiding in.

At six hours per location.....assuming she could travel and search that quickly....it would take over a day. Maybe two.

She did not have two days to waste.

"Can you tell me anything about the portals?" Victoria asked desperately. "Any detail that might help me narrow down where she actually went?"

The creature considered. "West portal smelled of ocean. North portal smelled of snow. East portal smelled of desert. South portal smelled of swamp. Center portal smelled of nothing."

"Nothing?" Victoria repeated.

"Void," the creature clarified. "Empty space. Between places. The dark one’s most powerful portal. Requires great magic."

The Underworld.

Thalia had created a portal directly to the Underworld.

Which meant she either had business there herself, or she was hiding in a realm most pursuers could not follow.

"Where did the center portal lead?" Victoria demanded.

"Cannot say," the creature said. "Void portals lead nowhere and everywhere. Only the creator knows the destination."

Victoria felt frustration burning in her chest.

Five portals. Five potential locations. And one of them led to a realm Victoria could not track without entering it herself.

"Thank you," Victoria said, even though the information felt more like a curse than a gift.

The creature inclined its head. "The dark one left message. Said pursuers would come. Said to tell them: the price is higher than they think."

Victoria went cold. "What does that mean?"

"Cannot say," the creature repeated. "Message delivered. Duty fulfilled."

It turned and walked back into the shadows between the buildings.

Victoria stood alone in the abandoned quarry feeling the weight of impossible choices pressing down on her.

Five portals.

Five directions.

And only six days left to find Thalia, make deals with Underworld entities, gather resurrection components, and return to the estate.

It was impossible.

But she had already committed to doing impossible things.

She looked at the ritual circle Thalia had left behind. At the dark magic residue. At the evidence of her cousin’s careful planning.

West portal - ocean. North portal - snow. East portal - desert. South portal - swamp. Center portal - Underworld.

Victoria pulled out her map and marked the locations. Drew lines radiating out from the quarry in five directions.

Which one would Thalia actually use?

Not the Underworld portal. That was too obvious. Too dangerous for long-term hiding.

One of the others. But which?

She closed her eyes and tried to think like Thalia.

Where would I hide if I wanted to be difficult to find?

Somewhere remote. Somewhere magically active enough to mask my signature. Somewhere I could access dark entities if needed.

The swamp.

Southern territories were largely unclaimed. Wild magic territories where supernatural creatures lived without pack or coven structure. Perfect place to disappear.

Victoria made her decision.

She would search south first. Then if that failed, she would try the other directions systematically.

Starting with the most likely and working toward the least.

She pulled out the portal components and began drawing a new circle.

This one would take her south. To the swamp territories. To hopefully the end of this search.

She activated the portal and stepped through.

The quarry disappeared.

And Victoria’s desperate race against time continued.