Chapter Ten

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Kozzanth

Raisi leads me to the spot he found the packs. Just as he said, there is nothing here. It's not that I thought he was lying, but it's easier to believe he was mistaken than to think our queen and Theodas are missing.

"You checked around the area?" I ask as I stare down at the spot he marked his name in the dirt.

"Yes. It took me some time to find the packs, but Theo and our queen are not here."

"Their scent is faint, hardly noticeable. It's been a while since they have been near."

I think of the time that's past. How long has it been since we left them? I can't be sure. Half an hour? An hour? Longer?

"Perhaps they had to move to another location? Someone found them?" Raisi suggests.

I shake my head, moving around to get a look at other areas. "Their scent does not go in any direction but the one where we left them." I settle my eyes on Raisi. "I will stay here to look around. You head back to where they were to make sure they did not head back that way for some reason."

Raisi nods, drops two packs by my feet, and hurries away.

I stand in my spot. Listening, looking, thinking.

There is no scent of blood in the air. No sign of a struggle. The dirt is settled, not messy as if a fight took place. It's almost as if they vanished into thin air, but that only happens when there is magic involved.

So, magic from who?

My attention turns to the pile of trees a foot beside me. I step back a good distance to get a look. Something about it is… off. It seems too perfectly set. Too neat. I can't place my finger on it, but now that I focus on everything around me, it all seems too calm. Quiet. In the woods, there are sounds. Birds. Bugs. Animals. Maybe not close, but off in the distance. Here, there is nothing. It's silent.

I spot a tree that should be easy to climb, so I move to it, jump up to the lowest branch, and pull myself up. I do this until I am high enough to look down on the pile of trees. Which isn't a pile of trees at all.

Well, it is, but it's something else too. A cover to a portal. It's meant to look natural, as if the trees fell on top of one another accidentally, but it's too perfect. Especially from up here, you can see how purposeful the placement of the branches are. They're almost woven together.

Carefully, I climb back down and move around the structure, stopping where the packs are. Shifting to allow more light inside, I lean forward and swear I see something in there but can't make out what it is. Getting through the branches will be difficult because of my size, but Tabitha could certainly fit in there with ease. Perhaps she went in for shelter and was pulled through the portal? Theodas went in to save her? He and Raisi could both make it through a bit easier than me. It's not impossible for me to fit, but I wait for Raisi anyway. I could be making all this up. Thinking this is something it isn't. My gut tells me I am correct, but it's possible something else entirely took place here.

"Nothing that way."

I glance over my shoulder and find Raisi looking at me curiously.

I didn't think he would find anything that way, but it's good to know for sure. Our only suspect now is this pile of trees.

"I think I have something here," I say, gesturing to the pile. "I think this is covering a portal."

Raisi's brow furrows and he steps closer, stopping by my side. A frown falls upon his face as he looks this way and that, taking in all areas of the structure. "You're sure?"

I nod, gesturing behind me. "I climbed a tree to see the top of it, and this isn't natural. Plus, there is something in there. Do you see?" I point to where it is. He bends, placing his hands on his knees and looks forward.

"I do. Can't make out what it is, but it looks like writing." He straightens and looks at me. "So, a surprise portal. Wonderful."

"Let's hope it takes us to the same place."

He chews on his bottom lip before turning toward me.

"Are you sure this is what we're doing? If they didn't go this way…"

"They did," I say confidently. There is nowhere else they possibly could have gone. "Their scents disappear right here." I point at the ground in front of me.

He looks from me to our packs, then takes his off.

"I'll push one in front of me and tie the other to my leg. You'll have to take the third."

I nod and use my foot to scoot one pack my way. Neither of us will fit in there with it on our backs. Raisi sits in the dirt and ties the strap to his ankle, grabbing the other in his hands. He looks up at me.

"Good luck, Kozzanth. Hopefully I see you in a moment."

"You will," I say confidently.

He nods as if he is unsure, but that's okay. He doesn't have to believe me; he only has to trust me. Raisi will see soon enough that I am correct. Turning onto his stomach, he slides forward, pushing the pack in front of him.

"Tell me what you see," I say once the upper half of his body is beneath the branches.

"Looks like a stone with writing on it. Definitely a spell," he calls out.

"Can you read it?"

"Partially? It's covered in dirt, and—"

Raisi does not finish his words because his body is sucked forward, a low orange glow coming from within the trees. The light streams through the open spots between the branches and trees.

"Raisi!" I call, dropping to my hands and knees to glance inside. But he is gone.

Damnit! Portals rarely work like this. They don't just suck you in for being near it. This is magic I am unfamiliar with. Though, with it being so well hidden, I can imagine it may be magic that isn't legal. I grab the pack and push it in front of me as I crawl into the small space. Branches and twigs scrape me as I go. One snags on my shirt, ripping it because I can't waste time trying to untangle it. Everyone has been taken into this portal, and they could need help. I continue until I am above the stone with the writing on it. I cannot see behind me as there is no room to move, but I can only assume I am in the same spot Raisi was, so why am I not being sucked in too? Is there a limit? A time-lock? Did it run out of power?

I scoot a little deeper and shift my pack to see the stone. Raisi was in the middle of reading it when he was taken, so I do the same. My eyes widen when I read what it says.

Portahle Oedaeth de magika luna.

Well, that isn't good. Of all the places to go, the Oedaeth Realm is not one I would choose.

But what's even worse is that my fellow Dravens, and my queen to whom I am dutied to protect, is in the ogre realm and I am stuck here.

I think back to my training on magic to figure out why it won't take me. We have few spells that we are capable of, but we have a decent knowledge of magic. And rule number one is to be exact. The slightest misstep can ruin a spell or make it something different entirely.

What was Raisi doing when he was sucked in? He was lying here, like me. He read the stone, like I did. But what else?

He told me that he could only partially read what is written. That it was covered in dirt.

That is all.

I've read what is written, yet I am still here.

The stone was covered in dirt.

It was covered.

I glance down at it.

It had dirt on it, and now it doesn't.

I brush my hand across the stone, and within a second, my body is tumbling through space, only to be dropped heavily onto my ass. I groan, the messy portal journey disorienting me.

"Kozzanth!"

I open my eyes and look around, spotting Raisi standing beside Theodas and Tabitha.

Thank the gods, she is safe.

I get to my feet, pick up my pack, and walk toward them.

"Oedaeth," I grunt.

"Unfortunately," Theodas answers with a heavy sigh.

I look at Tabitha. "Are you okay?"

She nods, but I see the fear in her eyes.

"She is sore from all the walking, so I fed her some of my blood," Theo explains.

I narrow my eyes, looking from him to her. We all know what happens to our queen after she feeds.

"What took you so long?" Raisi asks, interrupting my thoughts. He smirks at me. "Were you too big to get through?" His tone is teasing.

I frown. "No, I was not too big to get through. It seems you have to rub the stone for it to work."

"I did not brush the stone," Tabitha says, pointing to herself. "But Theodas did."

"Were you both in there together, then?" I ask. If she had gone first, I suppose they both could have fit. Beyond the stone there was still a bit of room. Tabitha is small.

They shake their heads. I narrow my eyes, thinking this over.

"But you were close?" I ask.

Tabitha nods. "Just by the entrance."

"Perhaps there is a well on the magic. It was full the first time it went off, so the span was larger. It took you because you were close. The second time it went off, there was not as much magic, so its radius wasn't as large. It could only take Raisi. And the third… well, there was no one else to come along anyway."

"It's possible," Theodas says thoughtfully. "Did it glow orange? The words?"

"Faintly for Raisi. I don't recall seeing it when it took me," I add.

"It's likely the portal is out of magic then, and we have no way of knowing if it replenishes on its own or if it needs to be filled," Theodas says.

"What does that mean?" Tabitha asks quietly.

"It means we aren't going back the way we came," Raisi explains, running a hand through his curly hair.

"This is a detour I was not prepared for," Tabitha says.

"It's okay, my queen. Things happen. We will be fine," Theodas adds, putting his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"But this messes everything up. Though we had no time constraint, the plan was to kill those six men in quick succession before news had time to get to my father. He will know it's me once he finds out three of them are dead." She looks at me. "You did kill him, right?"

"Of course," I say. "I would not leave him alive."

"And he will have all his men looking for you in that realm, which you are not in," Raisi says. "Maybe this is a good thing."

A long and low growling sound echoes in the distance, causing the three of us to turn our heads in that direction. The sky burns a faint orange, similar to the glow from the stone. It looks as if the air should be hot, but it's chilled and tinged with a foul odor.

"Or perhaps this is a terrible thing," Raisi says, moving closer to Tabitha and putting his arm around her shoulder.

I suppose this could go either way.

"I am sure we will find out soon enough," I say, prepared to do whatever it takes to keep our queen safe.

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