The Cardinal Gate

by Amy Cissell

  “Are you sniffing me?” I asked, needing clarification.

  “You were kissing him,” Finn answered.

  “One kiss. Nothing else.”

  “You desire him.”

  “Yes.” I squirmed, but refused to even attempt dishonesty on this.

  Finn stepped even closer and his body pressed against mine. “You desire me, too.”

  “Finn, I like you, but—”

  Finn interrupted, “No buts, not right now, Ellie.”

  I ignored the elephant in the room and sighed. If he was calling me Ellie, our friendship was salvageable.

  “Fine. No buts tonight.” I couldn’t help it. I started laughing. After a moment, Finn joined in, and we laughed until my sides hurt. “We should get some dinner and sleep so we can go open that gate tomorrow, huh?”

  “That sounds like a good idea,” he said.

  After dinner, we sat on the back porch drinking a last beer. I fiddled with the label on my bottle. My stomach was uneasy, and I couldn’t stop fidgeting.

  “Finn,” I whispered.

  “Yeah, Ellie?”

  “I’m scared.”

  He instantly went into high alert. He looked around, and his hand reached around as if he were about to draw a sword he wasn’t wearing. “Do you sense something?” His voice was barely a whisper.

  “No, nothing like that. I’m scared about tomorrow.”

  He relaxed, his body flowing back into the more languid posture I was familiar with. He looked at me with an intensity that was more than intimidating. “Whatever happens tomorrow, I’ll protect you. Whatever you need. Always.”

  “Stay with me tonight?” I asked.

  He raised an eyebrow, and I hastened to clarify. “Not sex. Just…sleep with me? I need someone to hold me tonight.”

  “I can do that.”

  He grabbed my hand and led me up to his room. After we’d settled into the bed, I turned my back to him and scooted in close. He put his arm around me and pulled me tightly against him.

  “Whatever you need, Ellie. Always.”

  Chapter Six

  I OPENED MY eyes to an unfamiliar landscape. Jagged, rocky peaks jutted up around me. I shivered as a breeze blew over me and realized I was still in my pajamas. “Whatever this is, there is no way it’s good.” My voice echoed in the eerie silence. A faint light shone on the distant horizon, but the sky was still covered in pinpricks of starlight.

  The Milky Way gave enough light for me to examine my surroundings. I walked to the edge of the outcropping I was on and stared down into a dark abyss of indeterminate depth. The bottom could be three feet or three hundred in this light, but without knowing, there was no safe way to get down. Fear raised goosebumps on my body, and I shivered, though the air was warming quickly. The eastern horizon lit up, pink and peach. Heat waves shimmered in front of me; I began to sweat. My pajamas were drenched, and I was gasping for air. The ground shook, and an enormous gust of wind nearly knocked me down. I threw myself to the earth when I heard the roar of a train, or a tornado, or a low-flying aircraft. The rock was hotter than the air, and I cried out in pain as I scrambled to my feet again.

  The wind and roar came again as the sun peeked over the horizon. I threw my arms over my eyes to protect them from the bright light and the dust. That’s when I saw something that wasn’t earth or sky. Black and matte. Wings and tail. Claws and teeth. I was willing to believe in vampires and werewolves and fairies, but this…this was too much.

  I squeezed my eyes closed and counted to ten. I opened them again in time to see the creature dive straight at me. I opened my mouth to scream, but all the breath was stolen from my lungs before I could. I gasped for air. Spots exploded across my field of vision. The beast attacked, I blinked, and it was gone. I could breathe again. The air temperature dropped drastically, and I shivered at the sudden change.

  My skin felt too tight. I wiggled and shook, trying to make it fit better. It was at that moment, and an instant before I saw smoke rising in front of my face in two thin plumes, that I realized I was dreaming.

  The moment I told myself it was a dream, I woke up. Finn was leaning over me with an empty glass, and my face was uncomfortably soggy.

  “What the hell, Finn?” I gasped out.

  “You were smoking.”

  “I quit six years ago.”

  “Your skin was so hot, it woke me up. You were steaming. Smoke was coming out of your nose.”

  “Jesus, Finn. It was a dream.”

  “What did you dream about, Ellie?”

  “A dragon. I dreamed I was being attacked by a dragon. Wait…that’s not right. It didn’t attack. It dove at me and then through me and then I woke up. It was just a dream.”

  Finn laughed shakily and ran his hand through his tousled red hair. “Yeah, Ellie. I’m sure it was a dream. A dream that almost gave me third-degree burns and lit the bed on fire.”

  “Do you want me to spend the rest of the night in guest room?”

  “Yes, but only because I don’t want to change the sheets, and when I tried to extinguish you, I got the bed wet. Help me strip the bed, and we’ll both go to the guest room.”

  We pulled the charred and sopping sheets off the bed and headed next door. I curled into Finn again and dropped off quickly into a dreamless sleep.

  I woke to Finn shaking me. “Go away,” I muttered into my pillow. “I don’t wanna get up.”

  “Come on, Eleanor! Let’s go be big damn heroes!”

  “I don’t wanna be a hero. I want to sleep.”

  “I brought you a latte. It’s yours for the low, low price of getting out of bed.”

  “Dammit, Finn. You know all my weaknesses.”

  I stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. After washing my face, brushing my teeth, and getting dressed, I wasn’t exactly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but at least I’d be capable of drinking my latte without spilling it down my front.

  Before heading downstairs, I had one more thing to attend to. My hiking pants and red tank top needed some killer accessories. I buckled on my arm sheathes and carefully filled them with my throwing knives before pulling a light-weight long-sleeved blouse on. I looked at my watch. It was 6:30 am. I wasn’t sure that even a caramel latte would be enough to make up for the early wake-up. I stomped downstairs and into the kitchen as loudly as I could in my sock-clad feet. Before I could even begin bitching, Finn shoved a huge, steaming latte into my hands. The caramel aroma rose up, and all I could do was breathe it in. I smiled, closed my eyes, and took a tiny sip. Perfection.

  “My life goal is to make you look that blissful someday without the application of caffeine,” Finn said.

  “Never going to happen, Finn. There’s not a man alive that could compete with my first cup of coffee.”

  He laughed. “Sit down. Let’s have breakfast and strategize.”

  My stomach clenched and it was all I could do to not give in to the fear-induced nausea.

  “Are you okay?” Finn asked.

  “Sure.” I swallowed. “Just nervous.”

  “Yeah, me, too. That won’t do either of us any good, though, so let’s talk it out.” He paused and looked at me, obviously waiting for me to start.

  “Well, I know approximately where the gate is. It’s the right day. Do you know if there’s a specific time?”

  Finn shook his head. “I believe we won’t be able to open it if the time isn’t right. That may be why you couldn’t nail down the location until yesterday—it gets stronger and more real the closer we get to the moment of opening.”

  “So…we show up and open it? That’s our plan?”

  “Do you have a better one?”

  “I guess not. Fingers crossed that’s all there is to it.” I stood up and took the dirty dishes to the sink and washed them up, leaving them in the drainer to dry. “Ummm…I should probably tell you that Isaac will be there today. And he’s coming with us to the next gate.”

  Finn’s eyebrows shot up so fast I was surprised
when they stopped at his hairline. His pale face darkened, and he half-closed his eyes. “You invited him to go with us? Are you that desperate to get in his pants?”

  “I did not invite him. His pack sent him. I don’t have any authority over the werewolves. But this is good, right? We won’t have to spend our time dodging homicidal shifters. Now we only have to worry about crazy vampires, possibly hostile witches, and the weirdo Fae tree person who hates you.”

  “Did it have to be Isaac?”

  I sighed. “I don’t know, Finn. Do you want to ask the pack for someone else?”

  “Would you be okay with that?”

  “Of course. I’m not going to lie—because I can’t—I’m attracted to Isaac, but you’re my best friend. If you want someone else, you can ask.”

  Finn looked surprised. I guess he hadn’t expected me to acquiesce so easily. “All right. If we’re still alive tomorrow, we’ll go to the pack so you can request someone else.”

  I punched him in the shoulder. “You can go ask for someone else. I won’t argue, but I won’t do it for you.”

  “Ow! That hurt!”

  “It was supposed to, idiot.”

  He grinned at me, and I knew everything was going to work out.

  “Shall we go?” he asked.

  We loaded up my truck, shoving bags of clothing, food, and camping supplies into the tool box in the bed. I packed the huge cooler topped it with bags of ice before Finn reappeared to carry it out to truck. When everything was loaded, I hopped into the driver’s seat and waited while Finn did one last sweep of his house. I glanced at the clock when he got in. Eight.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “As I’m ever going to be.”

  We drove to our regular parking spot on Germantown Road and headed westish on Wildwood Trail. Less than two miles in, we left the main trail and headed south. I handed Finn the GPS and read the coordinates.

  After a few minutes, I sensed Isaac trailing us. “You might as well come out,” I said. “We know you’re there.”

  Finn was nearly successful in his attempt to hide his surprise when Isaac walked out of the woods. The shifter was wearing faded blue jeans, tighter than should be legal, black motorcycle boots, and nothing else. I tried valiantly not to stare.

  He looked at me. “Are you ready for this, Princess?”

  “I doubt it, but what else am I going to do?”

  The three of us walked in the direction the coordinates indicated. Every few feet, we paused so I could redirect my focus to ensure we were on the right course. We’d only covered about a mile by noon.

  I was exhausted and scared. I was about ready to call it quits and offer to buy rounds at the nearest pub until we were drunk off our collective supernatural asses when I was literally knocked on my ass.

  I went down hard, dust swirling up around me. Isaac and Finn looked down at me and then, with a speed that bore testimony to their extreme paranoia and years of training, both went on high alert, weapons at the ready.

  I trusted Isaac and Finn to watch my back. I relaxed into my slump, trying to figure out what had bowled me over and not affected the other two. I reached out with my senses as slowly as possible. There was a major power source close. Since I’d been wandering around this section of Forest Park for weeks, I knew it hadn’t been here before. It must be the gate.

  I was up and walking as soon as the realization hit me. I couldn’t not move towards the gate. Isaac and Finn were following me, but it didn’t matter if they did or not. After twenty minutes of fighting through the underbrush and getting scratched up by sweet-smelling blackberries and itch-inducing stinging nettle, the wild growth abruptly ended in a small clearing not more than ten feet across.

  I walked to the center and sunk immediately into a cross-legged position. Isaac and Finn paced the perimeter, circling around me like professional bodyguards. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I knew it would happen soon.

  Every nerve ending in my body came alive, and I was nearly lost in the competing pleasure and pain signals being sent through my body by the power taking root in me. I gave Finn and Isaac a thumbs up, hoping to alleviate any concerns. My skin felt stretched too thin, like there wasn’t enough to cover my bones. The trees, bushes, and blackberry and ivy vines glowed verdant green and gold out of the corners of my eyes. Life was everywhere and the energy fed me. I looked deeper. In the center of it all was nothing. This must be what a black hole looks like, I thought.

  I stepped into the void. I was simultaneously stretched and squished. I struggled against it for a moment before letting it envelop me. My arms and legs snapped into a rigid “X” position, and the solid ground beneath my feet disappeared. Energy poured through me, and I didn’t know if I was on the verge of death or the most intense orgasm I’d ever experienced.

  The power flooded my mind and showed me an image of what it needed. I opened myself up completely, letting go of shields I didn’t even know I had. There was one moment of rightness, and then the energy that had been kept at bay by my shields and the mostly closed gate flooded through me. I cried out in ecstasy. The heat and energy and power and life were so beautiful that tears sprang to my eyes. By the time it overwhelmed me, it was too late to stop it. The power kept pounding through me. I opened my mouth to scream but couldn’t tell if I was making any noise.

  Pain turned to agony. I was raw, like I was being flayed alive. The only way to keep my brain from succumbing was to pull healing energy from the world around me. Trees shot up a decade’s worth of growth and the sap boiled in their veins.

  The air around me grew hotter and hotter, wilting the grass beneath me. Small fires ignited in the clearing, and I knew I was the spark. I was earth and fire. I filled my lungs with scorching air. I needed to let go before I got everyone killed. As I let out my breath, I concentrated on feeling the ground beneath my feet. I found each fire and willed them out of existence.

  My breathing slowed. The fires went out. I opened my eyes.

  Everything felt different. Right. Whole. Open. I took a deep breath and looked around. I frowned at the brown and wilted grass and the spots of fire damage. I hadn’t meant to hurt anything. I concentrated, found all the damaged spots, and willed life and moisture back into the brush and grass. In seconds, the clearing was full, lush, and green.

  I didn’t know if it was minutes or hours later, but the smile of satisfaction that had been ghosting up over my lips faltered when Isaac and Finn turned in unison and backed towards me. The edge of the clearing moved and we were surrounded. The shapes that stepped out of the woods were a mix of human, shifter, Fae, and some other power that could only be witches—mages—I corrected myself.

  They closed in, almost as though they were one entity. I was certain they weren’t united, though. They’d been drawn by the power, and the level of distrust they had for each other was trumped only by their distrust for me. Isaac stared at one section of the crowd, and those folks took a step back. The humans, too pale, even for Oregonians, stepped back next. The Fae dropped to their knees, and I had the uncomfortable feeling that they were bowing to me. The only threat still standing was the witches.

  I took a step forward and nearly ran into Finn’s back. I reached out and touched his shoulder to reassure him that I could handle this. At my touch, he jerked away and tendril of smoke curled up from the small burn mark on his shirt. Oops.

  I shot him an apologetic grin and walked past him, careful to keep my hands to myself. He and Isaac took up positions slightly behind and to either side of me.

  “Hi,” I said. Surprise rippled through my audience, as if they weren’t expecting me to talk.

  “I don’t know any of you, but I’m hoping you’ve come in peace.” I winced at the cliché and hoped no one asked me to take them to my leader. “I don’t want to fight, but I will if I must.”

  All the shifters except one took another step back. The remaining shifter strode into the clearing, exchanged a look with Isaac, and then spoke. �
�Our pack has voted to allow the gates to be opened as long as one of our own accompanies you on your quest. Isaac’s presence will guarantee you safe passage through all shifter territories you journey through. We do not support you, but we do not oppose you. Those allied with the North American Packs will not enter into war.”

  That wasn’t as promising as it could be, and I made a mental note to ask Isaac how many shifter packs were not allied with the North American Packs. Still, it was better than a price on my head.

  “Thank you. I appreciate your caution and am grateful for your support.”

  The speaker nodded at me. He stepped back to join his companions, and then they turned and melted back into the forest.

  The dozen or so sunglass-shaded humans stepped forward and then one strode all the way into the clearing. I recognized her as the Goth woman who’d attacked me with pepper. Finn tensed behind me, and I fought my desire to turn and check his expression. He recognized her, too, and I wanted to know why.

  “We represent the Pacific Northwest Vampire Clan.” I made the connection—my attacker was a Renfield! “We do not support the opening of the gates. You will be afforded no quarter, no mercy, and your blood and life are forfeit for your actions today. This is your only warning. Once the sun goes down, all who are allied with us will hunt you until your heart’s blood is drained.”

  I shook two throwing knives into my hands but before I could think of using them, Finn and Isaac each grabbed an arm. “This is a warning, Princess,” Isaac hissed. “If you attack now, you will be breaking the no-aggression laws afforded by this informal palaver and everyone in this clearing would either actively seek your death or do nothing to prevent it. I don’t want to die today.”

  I was shaking with anger but saw his point. There were only three of us—and that’s if I counted Isaac as an ally—and at least four dozen others.

  “Thank you for the warning.” I did not resheath my knives.

  She and her pale human companions, all radiating with a power that declared them slightly more than human, disappeared into the forest.