Chapter 31

  CHECKING CRACKED BARRIERS

  The full moon, tinted with bluish hues, rose over the forest and bathed it in a cold, spectral light. It was a lush, dense place, steeped in an antiquity so deep it seemed to have witnessed the birth and ruin of entire civilizations. Silence enveloped everything with an almost physical weight: there was no wind, no animals, no leaves crunching beneath the branches. Only that absolute muteness… and the unsettling certainty that something was watching. It did not act. It did not speak. It simply observed.

  Max straightened when he made out a barely marked path in the earth, a trail carved by the passage of time. Something about it called to him, like a whisper buried deep within his mind. His body tense, he began to move forward. The shadows stretched around him, silently accompanying him, and the feeling of not being alone sent a shiver through him.

  After several minutes of walking, the forest opened into a clearing. There, standing like an anomaly, rose an old, cracked door. Its wood was gnawed by the years, but the white doorknob broke disturbingly with the dark aesthetic of the place, as if it did not belong to that world. Max tried to open it. It was locked.

  Then he heard footsteps.

  They were subtle, measured, almost ceremonial. He did not feel fear; still, he turned. In front of him, sitting with imposing stillness, was a large wolf. Its fur was as dark as night, yet it radiated a bluish aura that seemed to emanate from within. Looking more closely, Max noticed it had three thick tails, moving calmly, as if time itself were unhurried there. The animal held something in its mouth: a metal key, worn from use. At its head, the metal formed the shape of an eye that seemed to see everything.

  The wolf waited.

  Max approached cautiously and took the key.

  — Thank you —he murmured, stroking the animal’s head.

  The wolf responded with a slight gesture, clearly pleased, before becoming still, like a living statue.

  Back in front of the door, Max inserted the key. It fit perfectly. As he turned it, the dry sound of the click echoed like a verdict. He hesitated for a few seconds, his hand still on the knob, and then gathered enough courage to open it.

  A blinding light burst from within. As the glare began to fade, the scene transformed into something like a memory made of smoke. Through that haze, Max made out the figure of a woman.

  She had an androgynous, athletic appearance. Her medium-length, messy hair was predominantly dark, streaked with strands of intense red that created a fierce contrast. Her face, serious and sharply defined, showed strong eyebrows, a few scattered freckles, and a firm, defiant expression. She wore a light gray sports top that left a strong, toned abdomen exposed; her arms and shoulders reflected the same defined musculature. Standing with a frontal, confident posture, she radiated strength and determination.

  She was striking a punching bag with precision and contained fury.

  — Find her…

  The whisper rose from everywhere at once. Three distinct voices, layered together, resonated through the air like an ancient echo.

  — Find her.

  Max jolted awake, drenched in sweat, his heart pounding. The dream clung to his mind, leaving more questions than answers.

  Who was that woman?

  Why did he have to find her?

  He took a deep breath, got up, and washed his face with cold water, trying to anchor himself in reality. With the image of the wolf and the door still etched into his mind, he went to make some matcha tea, as if that small ritual might bring him back a measure of calm… or push away the feeling that the dream was not yet over.

  In the distance, Gabriel was watching the hospital of the town of Arbolaria Viate. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary medical center: doctors and nurses moved back and forth at a brisk pace, just like in any human hospital. However, it only took a closer look to notice that the place did not fully belong to the ordinary. In the cabinets, alongside medications like adrenaline, diazepam, or lidocaine, rested ointments that glowed with a faint, unnatural light. There were vials filled with liquids of impossible colors, labeled with names such as *Potion of Sleep*, as well as ritual candles, enchanted threads, small statuettes, and other objects whose purpose lay beyond traditional medicine.

  Gabriel felt a knot tighten in his stomach. The fear of crossing those doors was real, almost paralyzing, but he had promised Sofía he would get a checkup. Though no one said it out loud, everyone was worried: the seal was almost broken, and no one knew what would happen to his body when DecHal emerged from within him.

  — Ready? —Sofía asked, approaching from behind and placing a steady hand on his shoulder.

  — Yes… yes! —Gabriel replied, with a feigned confidence she noticed immediately.

  They entered the hospital. The interior was saturated, both with bodies and with desperation. Wounded witches wrapped in bloodstained bandages, half-demon hybrids agonizing on improvised stretchers, and humans with mutilated limbs filled the corridors. The air was thick, heavy with moans and murmurs. Gabriel felt this was the closest he would ever come to hell, and his blood ran cold.

  — Oh, Gabriel —said a woman with a gentle face, approaching with a kind smile that clashed with the chaos—. Please, this way.

  She led them to a room set apart from the noise.

  — Can she come with me? —Gabriel asked, pointing to Sofía.

  — Of course, of course. Follow me.

  The room was small and orderly. In the center stood an examination table; along the sides, cabinets packed with vials, medical instruments, and arcane objects. At the far end, away from the door, a desk with a computer emitted a soft, constant hum.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  — Sit on the table, please —the woman asked as she put on a pair of gloves.

  She stepped closer and began examining him with a small flashlight: first his mouth, then his eyes, then his ears, with meticulous attention.

  — Have you had any trouble seeing, hearing, or eating in the last seventy-two hours? —she asked without stopping her inspection.

  — No… everything’s normal —Gabriel replied, uncomfortable.

  — Take off your shirt, please.

  Gabriel obeyed, somewhat embarrassed. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sofía’s gaze: there was no judgment in it, only deep concern. The doctor noticed it too and, without saying a word, moved around Gabriel to examine his back more carefully, as if she knew something was hidden there—something that would soon stop being a secret.

  The silence that followed was more unsettling than any scream in the halls.

  — Interesting… —the doctor murmured as she placed her gloved fingers on Gabriel’s back—. ?Do you feel pain when I press here?

  — No… just the cold of the glove.

  The woman picked up a camera and began photographing his back from different angles. Then she touched him again, more precisely, and took more images, as if documenting something that might disappear at any moment.

  — What’s happening? —Gabriel asked, his voice trembling.

  — All right… wait a moment —the doctor said as she connected the camera to the computer. She dimmed the lights and turned on a projector—. This is what you have on your back.

  Terror seized Gabriel.

  On the projection appeared veins of an unnatural black, branching across his skin like living roots, spreading in ways that followed no known anatomy.

  — When I touched them, they changed into this —the doctor continued, moving to the next image.

  The same veins now glowed with a golden hue, almost sacred. In the following photograph, the black markings had shifted position, as if they were moving beneath the skin.

  — Every time something comes into contact with these veins, they emit that golden light and reconfigure themselves —the doctor explained, studying the images in silence—. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s… similar to broken vessels.

  — Similar? How? —Sofía interrupted, stepping forward.

  — Vessels, before breaking, develop luminous cracks. Then… they turn to dust. But here it’s different. When the veins turn golden, I sense a surge of healing magic. Your angelic side is trying to repair the cracks in the nearly destroyed seal.

  She paused.

  — It’s fascinating.

  — Is that good? —Gabriel asked, clinging to that word like a lifeline.

  — I don’t know —she answered honestly—. I suppose so… I’ll be frank with you, Gabriel: this is completely new to all of us. You’re the first vessel that is a living being. Maybe… this will give us more time to find a safe way to contain DecHal.

  — Contain? —Sofía’s voice hardened—. The demon doesn’t matter. I want to know if you can help Gabriel.

  — We don’t know —the doctor replied cautiously—. But you must understand that DecHal is not just any demon. Our primary goal is to prevent his release.

  — You’re just like the Angelic Tribunal —Sofía snapped, barely holding back her rage—. ?Do you already have what you needed?

  — Yes… you may go —the doctor said nervously, aware of the contained fury in Sofía’s gaze.

  Sofía stormed into the corridor, muttering insults under her breath, moving with hard, fast steps. Gabriel followed in silence, still processing every word, every image projected in the room.

  — Hey —Sofía said suddenly, stopping and wrapping him in a firm embrace—. I’m going to fix this. I won’t allow them to gamble with your life over that stupid demon.

  Gabriel took a deep breath, resting his forehead against her shoulder.

  — Go back to your cabin —she continued in a softer tone—. Relax, take a bath, and sleep. I know all of this must be terrifying you… but you’re not alone.

  And though Gabriel nodded, deep down he knew that whatever was growing beneath his skin had no intention of waiting for them to find a solution.

  Gabriel returned to his cabin without saying a single word. His skin felt heavy, as if it were coated in a filth impossible to wash away; but he knew it wasn’t his body that weighed on him—it was his soul.

  He opened the door and found Max sitting on the floor. In front of him lay a map spread out, and at each cardinal point, a lit candle: brown, blue, white, and red. The wax melted slowly, forming small rivers around the paper. Max let a drop of his own blood fall onto the center of the map.

  — Blood of my blood, flesh of my flesh… show me the path, *dirige occultam viam* —he recited.

  Unlike other times, there were no vibrations in the air, no flashes of magic. The drop of blood remained still, dark and silent.

  — Shit! —Max growled, frustrated.

  — Max? —Gabriel stepped closer and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead—. What are you doing?

  — I’m trying to find the place where they’re holding my parents, but this stupid spell isn’t working —he said as he extinguished the candles one by one and stood up—. How did it go at the hospital?

  — Um… fine.

  — That didn’t sound like everything’s fine… —Max stopped putting the candles away and stepped closer, resting a hand on Gabriel’s cheek—. You don’t have to keep anything from me.

  Gabriel looked away.

  — There’s something on my back…

  Carefully, Max lifted his shirt. His eyes fixed on the black veins branching across the skin. He touched them gently, and at once they emitted a golden glow. Max closed his eyes; when he opened them, his pupils shone with a faint lavender hue.

  He saw more than what was visible.

  The veins released an enormous charge of magic and celestial energy. And behind that radiance, barely perceptible, hid a dark stain: a dense, demonic presence, watching and waiting.

  — The spell’s magic and your celestial energy are keeping the demon sealed —Max explained, his voice distant, as if speaking from a trance—. But it’s trying to get out… It’s incredible how powerful my grandmother’s magic is. It works as an amplifier of your celestial energy: the more the demon struggles, the stronger the seal becomes.

  — So it can’t get out? —Gabriel asked, clinging to hope.

  — Sadly… it can —Max replied honestly—. There’s wear; I can feel it. But we still have time.

  — The doctor said their main goal is containing DecHal…

  — What? —Max dropped the shirt abruptly—. I won’t allow them to sacrifice you just to contain that thing.

  He leaned in and kissed Gabriel’s lips with a firm, almost protective tenderness.

  — We fight for ourselves and for the people we love, never for them. I still don’t trust the council… Laura is far too alert about all this, and, honestly, I think she’s right.

  — I don’t want to hurt anyone, Max… —Gabriel’s eyes filled with a crystalline shine as he fought back tears.

  Max wrapped him in a tight embrace, anchoring him to reality.

  — You won’t —he whispered—. Not while I’m here.

  The cabin lights went out abruptly. A heavy silence fell over the place when, suddenly, the candles began to levitate. Still lit, they slowly circled above the map, tracing perfect rings, as if obeying an invisible will.

  Max and Gabriel watched, motionless, as the drop of blood began to slide across the paper. It moved slowly, carving a precise path, until it stopped at a marked point in the middle of a forest. Then, as if an unseen seal pressed down from above, the blood contracted and, at its center, a perfectly defined cross appeared.

  The candles fell to the floor at the same time, going out with a sharp thud. The light returned all at once, restoring the cabin to its usual appearance.

  —What happened?! —Gabriel exclaimed, his heart racing.

  —The place! —Max kissed him roughly, unable to contain his excitement—. The spell worked.

  He pulled out his phone and marked the location on the digital map, his fingers barely trembling.

  —It’s about a three-hour drive.

  —I’m going to warn the others —Gabriel said, taking a step toward the door.

  Max grabbed his hand and stopped him.

  —No —he said tensely—. They don’t care about my parents. They wanted the warlock… not the ones who brought him into the world.

  The knot in his throat was obvious.

  —Then I’ll call the others —Gabriel insisted—. I don’t feel safe going alone.

  —They’re not in town —Max replied, grabbing his car keys—. If we don’t leave now, it might be too late.

  He turned to him, his gaze fixed.

  —Are you coming? I’m not wasting any more time.

  Gabriel felt the weight of the decision settle on his chest. Warn his friends and let Max go alone… or go with him and face whatever awaited them there together, just the two of them against the unknown.

  —All right —he said at last, determination mixed with fear—. I’m not leaving you alone.

  Even though, deep down, he knew it was without a doubt a terrible idea.