Page 69 of The Sundered Realms

Liris rounded on him. She understood the reasoning—without an official understanding, after the battle Periannolu could claim Isendhor had invaded, incurring damages—or even colluded with the Gwenni. But surely, under the circumstances—

Vhannor held up a hand when she opened her mouth to argue. “Officially, however, to do a thorough job of dismantling this demon portal, which Special Operations was called on to do, I will have to ensure it is not part of a troubling pattern in other locally reported magical anomalies before my job is complete. This is within the bounds of my authority, if Periannolu’s own guards will consent to supervise my inspection. And in that capacity, if I were to see a threat, I would be compelled to take action.”

Damennol let out a breath. “Thank the gods. I am licensed to escort you. I’ve committed your message to memory and so long as I remain able I will repeat it to Periannolu’s government officials, now please, can we—“

“Liris,” Vhannor said. “If we face enemy combatants, understand, we may have to kill them. That’s not what you signed up for. You can stay—“

“No,” Liris said. And when Vhannor opened his mouth, she said again and more firmly, “No.”

He was not going to leave her safely behind while he threw himself into danger. That was not the kind of partner she would be to him. At the very least, she would have his back.

Liris had been trained not to blink when faced with violence and death.

They would see how well she held it together if she had to deal it herself.

For her partner’s sake, she resolved she would not outwardly falter, no matter what.

“Let’s move,” Shry growled.

Liris was already closing the spell circle to activate her skimmer.

Liris actually knew the story for how this Gate had been found, because it was a common example for both identifying Gates and the sensitivity of animals to magic: the bison thundered across every part of the grassland except this one spot. Eventually someone magically tracking the bisons’ movements over time had noticed and wondered why.

Periannolu had hammered a large bronze ring around the Gate to mark its location, anchored it in multiple directions, and enclosed it in a barn for human convenience, and eventually other buildings had cropped up around to support it—places to store food, for guards to sleep. It wouldn’t have looked all that different from the industrial processing center—built short, with heavy materials, to withstand high winds and winter blizzards.

That barn had been blown apart.

What was left was scattered in chunks of siding across the grass and on fire, and in the process of setting fire to the surrounding buildings; one shed was already a pillar of flame. In the dimming light of the sunset they gleamed like shattered embers as Periannolu’s remaining thirtyish defenders formed a silhouetted line facing the Gate.

As they approached more distant outbuildings—ah, fantastic, a latrine—Vhannor swore and signaled for them to stop, ducking behind. He dismounted his skimmer and motioned for Liris to leave hers hidden as well, presumably because they wouldn’t be able to navigate them and cast for a battle at the same time.

But also, just casually abandoning an item of unthinkable expense for the sake of strangers.

No, she was not in Serenthuar anymore.

“Lord Vhannor—“ Damennol protested.

“Our experience is no good to them if we charge in stupidly. Stay back.”

Shry didn’t. “I’ll keep them busy.”

All dozen of them?

“Don’t shift,” Vhannor yelled after her. “We’re already on shaky legal ground.” Then he turned to Damennol. “Any relevant combat expertise?”

“Running,” they said flatly. “I can keep pace with a bison, and I can keep out of their way. That’s what I’m trained to do.”

“Understood.” Vhannor scrawled out a spell and commanded, “Liris, copy this four times. Damennol, you’re going to place them in a circle around us, this distance away. Fix them in place. Don’t be seen, and don’t get hit. Make sure you’re on the outside when it activates and do what you can for any sparks that drift that far. If the fire spreads through the prairie it will be catastrophic, but we can’t prevent that if the people creating the flames remain. That will be our priority. We’ll leave defending the prairie to those who know it best.”

Damennol’s eyes gleamed. “Understood.”

Liris worked out the spell as she copied it. Trapping the mercenaries to limit the damage they could do, just like demons. But unlike the normal demon sphere, this one was made to hold casters.

But not for long.

“Why the time limit?” she asked.

“Takes less power. Containing casters is no small thing.”

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