by P R Glazier
Chapter 41. First Contact
The Gatekeeper sat on her stone throne. The minion lay at her feet upon the steps leading from the dais. She sat, eyes closed, she probed the arcane energies above the rift for she had felt several flickers in the substance of the shroud. Something large and immensely powerful had passed through and over the city several times.
Someone was looking for them, she was sure. On satisfying herself that the shroud was complete and remained intact, she pushed the minion with the toe of her boot.
He stood and bowed. Held his hand towards her in an offer to aid her rise.
She stood and knocked the offered hand away with a sneer. She walked down the steps of the dais, as she walked out upon the tiled floor of the throne room she said, “come, we have work to do”. She passed through into an anteroom where she stopped in front of a curious looking piece of stone work. Seven curved pillars rose from the floor curving up towards the high ceiling of this chamber, but they did not join at the top, rather they disappeared into an indistinct shimmering of the air above them. The Gatekeeper drew a dagger from her belt, the minion came to stand it her side a grimace upon his face. She rolled back the sleeve of his garment and stared at the multiple wounds along his forearm, some had healed, some seemed raw and fresh. She purposely chose a red rather raw unhealed place and drew the sharp blade across his skin. He cried out in pain. Blood welled up in the line of the cut and dribbled down his arm into a stone bowl set within the strange stone arch. She didn’t heed his cries of agony, it was of no consequence, she just raised her hands and concentrating to focus the flow of arcane energy she opened a portal. She walked forward and stepping through she left the sanctuary. The minion followed as he always did.