Exile: Sídhí Summer Camp #3

by Jodie B. Cooper

  Thirty feet away, a small gateway appeared. Looking through it, she could see a small waterfall. She blinked. Turning, she looked behind her and saw the exit portal some fifty feet away.

  “Distance is not important, just the technique,” Colin said with a smile.

  Nodding her head in agreement, she tried to mimic the gateway. Power filled her as she aimed it to the left of Colin’s gateway. Boom! A chunk of ground exploded. When the dust cleared, a trench twenty feet deep greeted her frustrated gaze.

  She tried again, and again. Finally, Colin called a halt. “I can feel you gathering power, but when you release the energy it is explosive, not aimed. Tell me what you are thinking when you try to create the gateway?”

  “I gather the energy and push it as hard as possible into creating a hole between locations,” she said despondently. Perhaps being a halfling kept her from the finer techniques of manipulating synth crystal.

  “Ah, okay,” he said. A muscle twitched in his jaw and she got the impression he was trying not to laugh.

  “So help me, you laugh, and my sister may never have children,” she said, snarling her frustration.

  “Sorry,” he held up a helpless hand, “honestly, I don’t mean to laugh. You have the brute power, but you are trying to use a hammer without the benefit of a chisel.”

  Frowning at his analogy, she waited for him to continue.

  “Next time you try, use this process: First, gather the power. Second, in your mind, form a picture of the exact location you want to go. Third, while creating a tunnel toward that location add power. Don’t shove it like an avalanche. Instead, use a steady push until the gate opens.”

  Nodding her head, she silently went over his instructions. At her side, she felt Nick’s calm presence as he continued to believe in her.

  Taking a deep breath, she completed the steps, one by one. On the opposite side of the ravine, a gateway opened, revealing the sparkling water of the waterfall.

  At her side, Nick whooped in excitement. “Yes! I knew you could do it!”

  He had.

  She had started out doubting her ability, but he never did.

  “Good job. Now, close the gate by seeing the tunnel close and disbursing the energy. Don’t just cut the energy. Ah, very good. Now, open another gate. This time, anchor the gate to the synth spring below us.”

  “Anchor?” Startled, she glanced at him. “You mean I can create a permanent gateway?”

  He chuckled. “Yes, as long as you anchor the gate in a self-renewing crystal spring it should remain open. Even a dormant chunk of crystal will support a gate for years.”

  She did as he asked, anchoring the gate into the seething mass of energy hundreds of feet below them. The gate remained opened. “So easy,” she whispered, half to herself.

  Nick laughed, hugging her. His excitement matched hers.

  “If you two are the only people who can create a gateway, how can the dragons change a gateway’s destination?” Nick asked.

  Elves couldn’t growl, but Colin gave a good impression. “Bloody dragons are a menace. The old Chi’Kehra used dragons like errand boys never dreaming their ability to teleport also gave them kinship with gateways.”

  “You mean any race with teleporting ability can manipulate a gate?” Sarah asked with a growl.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” he sighed, “but only the dragons have figured that out. As Chi’Kehra there are precautions you can put in place to prevent gate tampering.” He continued his instructions, including several critical points she would never have considered.

  Sarah opened and shut several gates, including one to Earth in a desolate part of Trellick Valley. She opened a final gateway near the forest where the umbra’s gateway was located.

  A snarl curled her upper lip as she stepped toward the opening. The gate worked, but was useless. Gray rock filled the entire doorway.

  “Well, it looks like they are trying to cover their tracks,” Colin said softly, touching the rough surface of a protruding rock. “Try moving the gateway.”

  “Moving it? While it’s open?” Sarah asked, wide-eyed. “I can do that?”

  She didn’t wait for him to answer her. Excited, she focused on the opposite end of the gateway, telling it to shift a mile to the north. The rocks disappeared. To be replaced by the blur of a fast moving picture. The motion jerked to a halt. The trunk of a huge furble tree appeared.

  Inching the gateway to the left sounded easy. The image blurred. Markles appeared. On her next try, she gave the gate a gentle bump. The gate swiveled, opening amid a group of short fiskberry bushes on the edge of a large lake.

  They didn’t waste any time discussing various options.

  Racing through the trees, Colin took the lead, saying he knew where the umbra settlement was located. She wondered why he didn’t just open another gateway when the smell of a faraway ocean filled the air. As if following the scent instead of Colin, they reached the edge of a large town.

  Sitting on the high wall surrounding the town, a lone bird sang a merry tune. The gentle clink of a chain hitting wood added rhythm to bird’s song.

  Nick growled, voicing her growing dread.

  She strained her ears, but she didn’t hear the normal sounds of a large village. Birds sang, bugs chirped and buzzed, while the wind whistled through deserted streets.

  Glancing at Nick’s rapid thoughts and she knew he agreed with her. They appeared to be too late. The umbra had escaped.

  Nick stalked forward, sweeping the ground of the main road for clues. Before long, Sarah was following him down a once narrow trail. Crushed saplings on either side of the path reflected the movement of a large group of people.

  They walked around a dense crop of silver, centa trees. It didn’t take long before they found a rockslide blocked their path. The pile of rocks and dirt slanted upward. When it became apparent going forward would prove difficult, she searched for the power signature of the Earth-Sídhí gateway.

  Upon finding the gateway, she groaned. The pulse of power lay straight ahead of them under several ton of rock and debris. “They must have blown the cliff to cover their escape route.” Her frustrated words broke the hushed silence.

  “Yeah, but they didn’t expect you to live through your first meeting with Colin. We will find them,” Nick said determinedly as he glared at the inert pile of rock.

  “But will it be too late?” she asked without expecting an answer. “What if they figure out a way to sped up the ruins being filled?”

  “Stop and back up,” Colin ordered. “You told me about the umbra, but you didn’t mention anything about the ruins being refilled.”

  “We’ve had a lot going on,” Nick said somewhat harshly.

  “It wasn’t an intentional omission,” she said quietly, trying to keep the peace as Nick snarled at Colin. Vampire and elf, like working with oil and water. “For so long, my primary concern has been finding a way to keep the empire out of Trellick Valley. Everything else took a back seat. As far as the ruins were concerned, I figured I would be cutting it close, but I thought I would return to Earth in plenty of time to stop the umbra from filling the ruins with crystal.”

  “You will return in time,” Nick said.

  “I hope so. I guess the umbra escaping is making me question a lot of things,” she said with uncharacteristic doubt. “What if they implement a back-up plan, one that takes my return to Earth into consideration?”

  “Even if they do, they won’t expect the both of us,” Colin said, crossing his arms.

  “You’re willing to help?” Sarah asked, surprised he was willing to appear on Earth. From what he said at dinner, he didn’t want anything to do with Earthborn elves. After studying the elvish political structure, neither did she.

  Colin’s eyes flared, but he didn’t answer her question. He got a distant look in his eyes, one that normally reflected a mental conversation with someone. His next words confirmed her guess. “Captain Gabriel just contacted me. A large army is making
its way toward Elfheim.” A gateway appeared at his side. He hesitated.

  “Go, you take care of Sídhí and my sister, we will take care of Earth,” Sarah said, grasping his forearm in a firm grasp of farewell.

  Colin nodded once and disappeared through the gateway. A moment later, the gate disappeared.

  “Well, looks like we are on our own again,” Nick said, kissing her temple.

  Nodding, she glanced toward the spot where Colin had created his gateway.

  “Missing her already?” he asked, hitting the nail nearly square on its head.

  “I didn’t even tell her bye.”

  “Before we head home, make a stop at her room,” he said encouragingly. His hand rubbed her hip gently, and she leaned into his touch.

  “She’ll still be asleep. Any other time, I would wake her up, but she really needs rest,” she shook her head and sighed. “Let’s head home.”

  His hand tightened, stopping her. “Call Fritz, tell him to give her a message. It won’t be the same, but she’ll know you’re thinking of her.”

  Leaning up, she brushed her lips across his chin. “You think you are so smart.” She paused, letting the words sink in. Another kiss and she caressed the firm muscles of his arm. Looking him in the eyes, she said earnestly, “You would be correct, you are brilliant.”

  He snorted, choking on a laugh. “If you think that was brilliant, I’ve got you totally snowed under.”

  Enjoying the feel of his humor floating through her, she relaxed her body against his. “Fritz,” she called.

  “Liege,” his instant answer made her pause. She had assumed he would be sound asleep. “There are rumors of a large, heavily armed force approaching the castle.”

  “Colin is on his way back to deal with it. Nick and I are returning to Earth.”

  “I would request to remain on Sídhí.” His request sounded more like a demand, but Sarah knew him well enough that she didn’t take offense.

  “Good. When Miranda wakes up, tell her I said goodbye and I’ll return as soon as things have calmed down on Earth.”

  “Yes, liege,” he agreed.

  “Fritz, stay near her, protect her,” she ordered.

  “As always, my liege,” he swore.

  Sarah cut the connection. She hated leaving unfinished business, but she had found out a lot more while on Sídhí than she had ever hoped to know. It was time to return home.

  Gathering energy around her, she focused on the war room inside Trellick castle. The gateway opened. She felt a surge of arrogance, not her own. A glance at Nick showed a smirk covering his face.

  Weapons drawn, people surged toward the gateway only to stop in mid-lunge. Several had blank looks of astonishment, while others literally grinned at her. It was one of the later that greeted her with a snarky tone. “My Lady Chi’Kehra, about time you showed up.”

  Beatrice McLoud, a phoenix with short, pitch-black hair sheathed her longs claws. The general of the Phoenix Valley army lost her grin. Her eyes turned into pure silver flames.

  Her look of fury probably had something to do with Nick shoving Sarah forward as he jerked Sarah’s thirteen-inch bowie knife out of its sheath.

  Chapter - Attack!

  The back of Nick’s neck prickled, and his instinct screamed danger!

  He shoved Sarah toward the gateway. With his free hand, he ripped Bowie out of the temporary sheath Sarah had made him.

  He lunged toward a slight shimmer in the air, slashing Bowie outward. He struck pay dirt. The blade hit resistance. A black furred arm flopped to the ground, and blood spurted.

  Fury bloomed through his blood. Filthy umbra nearly killed my mate, he snarled to himself. The creature’s ability to shift between dimensions was not its greatest weapon. Even more deadly was its chameleon properties that made it blend into any environment, making it nearly impossible to detect.

  Dual swords drawn, Sarah appeared at his side, slashing in a double figure eight.

  Before he could take another breath, a half dozen people surrounded him and Sarah, creating a protective barrier between them and the forest.

  Baring her fangs, Sarah stepped forward.

  “Liege, we haven’t time for an extended fight,” a man to Nick’s right said urgently. “Trellick Valley is under attack.”

  The burst of Sarah’s ice-cold rage took his breath away as the explosive emotion burned through his veins.

  Together, they turned toward the gateway. Once inside, Nick took everything in at a single glance. Large, thin monitors covered the far right wall; twenty-five feet of a horror show in the making.

  A dozen screens showed warriors at rigid attention, waiting for an attack to come through large gateways that stood in the distance. He noted each screen, and shoved them to the back of his mind.

  More than half of the screens showed raging battles, warriors clashing with swords and claw. Each set of four screens depicted a different area, a mountain pass, a large meadow, a city, a small town… there were dozens. Only the terrain changed the picture.

  A sea of endless bodies fought in the rural areas, but it was the urban areas that built a sense of dread in his chest. Death and destruction filled the streets as flames shot from buildings. Warriors were not the only ones fighting, civilians, some in shorts and summer dresses, fought the endless flow of men and creatures flowing from open gateways.

  Glancing behind him, he turned in time to see Sarah’s people retreat from Sídhí, returning through the gateway. One person remained behind, the dark haired woman that smelled of a lightning storm.

  Her slender back suddenly sprouted brilliant red wings. Spread wide, they blocked part of the forest, but not too much. She began to glow. An instant later, pure white-fire danced around her wings, surrounding her entire body.

  The deadly flames shot outward, destroying everything within a dozen yards of the open gate. Trees and shrubs burst into flames. So did five bodies. Invisibility didn’t help the umbra against a physical weapon. Unbelievingly, the glow grew brighter, giving it a blue halo, and the umbra went from flame to columns of ash, collapsing as they tried to escape.

  The glow around the phoenix pulsed again, appearing to increase instead of dissipate. The edge of her red wings turned blue.

  “Bea, shake it off. I need you here, now,” Sarah said calmly.

  Nick glanced at his soft-spoken mate. Her calm, outward demeanor didn’t match the explosive emotions, surging below her skin. Then he looked into her eyes. Her fury-filled eyes told the true story.

  The blood-winged woman bowed her head once in acknowledgement. A shudder shook her body. Wings disappeared, folding into thin ridges along her back. Walking backward, the woman entered the room without turning her back to possible enemies.

  As soon as Bea cleared the opening, Sarah closed the gateway.

  “Status,” Sarah said with icy precision, her gaze flickering between monitors. Hands clenched at her sides, her eyes sparked with mounting rage.

  “Four primary gateways have been breached,” a white-blond-haired elf stated, motioning toward four sets of monitors. “We are pushing them back at Red Oak Gateway, but they have complete control of the gateways at Hot Springs Castle, Gila Cliffs, and the West Coast Metro Gateway.”

  Nick felt a hard knot of grief flow from her, but her deadly rage never lessened.

  “Aaron?” she questioned.

  Nick cursed softly, remembering Shelby was in protective custody with Sarah’s cousin. From her flashing thoughts, Aaron lived at Hot Springs Castle.

  “Unknown.”

  She nodded once.

  “Timothy,” she didn’t glance at anyone specifically, but a dark haired man, sitting at one of the computers, snapped to attention, “ten minute countdown on the wall.”

  Turning from the monitors, she looked at the phoenix. Deadly intent flashed from her eyes as she said, “Bea, I need a thousand phoenix per breach. I will port them directly in front of each portal. You have ten minutes.”

  “Liege,
” the phoenix hit her chest with a closed fist. “Gathering points will be at Kenai, Whitehorse, Juneau, and Trout Lake. Send me to a central point like Juneau.”

  The phoenix disappeared.

  After porting the phoenix, Sarah didn’t pause. She turned to a hazel-eyed vampire and said, “Cory, leave fifty men at each secure portal. I want a third of the freed-up warriors to help with evacuating the nearby towns. Place the remaining troops in front of the invading armies.”

  In his mind, Nick envisioned the pincer move she described.

  The vampire nodded once and disappeared.

  Her gaze focused on a single monitor.

  On the screen, one of the largest gateways he had ever seen was spewing hundreds of dhark warriors. Their mouths opened in roars of attack, but there was no sound coming from the muted screen.

  The rustle of paper and the clicking of keys paused. As if they knew something major was about to happen, the room grew quite as a tomb.

  Knowing what Sarah was about to do, Nick didn’t bother to hide an arrogant snarl of anticipation.

  “And then there were three,” Sarah murmured softly, a slight smile curled her lips, a smile that would have sent any sane adversary screaming in retreat.

  The image on the screen changed. The gateway, some hundred yards wide, ceased to exist. Power from the closure flickered outward, exploding in a white light of erupting energy. To the naked eye, it exploded, destroying thousands of the enemy as they tried to invade Trellick Valley.

  “Oops,” she said calmly. “I must need additional practice.”

  Glancing to the next screen, the process repeated itself without the explosion at the end. Nick understood why. At the first gate, dhark warriors flowed through unhindered, without any of Sarah’s people in sight. Fighting warriors surrounded the second gateway. Exploding the gate would have killed hundreds of her people.

  The third gate closed same as the second one. One after another, screens reflected gateways across Trellick Valley closing, whether they were under attack or not.

  As the last one closed, Sarah straightened, and before he had time to demand she take him with her, the same blond-haired elf stepped forward. A calm, forceful look covered his face. His features rang a bell, but Nick couldn’t place him.