Page 39 of Trapped to Tame
He wondered again if Drax would have Priest break the bond they had with her as soon as she was able to get them into the Underhill, or if he’d wait. Fie knew that as soon as they didn’t need her, Priest would kill her and probably send her head to a father who might not even know she existed.
But Drax … Fie wasn’t sure. Drax was protective of the female, and he hadn't seen his Brother act in that way before except perhaps with Fie himself when he first joined their unit. He’d tried to protect her from Priest as well.
Fie had truly thought his Brothers would fight for leadership that night in the clearing and he didn’t like that he’d taken Priest’s side so blatantly against Drax. That wasn’t right. Drax was in command. There were laws that must be kept to in the Dark Army. You didn’t turn on your Brothers, you didn’t rebel against your commander.
They travelled into the afternoon,the terrain around them becoming more and more marked by the portal that was out here. Fie was surprised that they hadn't seen more creatures that shouldn't be in this realm. He’d assumed the land would be overrun with them up here. But perhaps they'd moved on to greener pastures for they'd not seen any animals, nor another human in some days.
The female stayed closer to them now. She had noticed the change. The sun was just a little bit dimmer here, the colors muted. The trees were starting to die as well.
‘It shouldn't look like this,’ Drax muttered.
Priest nodded. ‘Too much magick,’ he said.
‘A conjurer?’ Fie asked, but Priest shook his head.
‘Doubtful. More likely this realm is out of balance with the others now. The power from the destroyed portals has to have somewhere to go. I suspect the other bridges will start to open more frequently, be larger, throw out more magick, be more dangerous to cross.’
‘Aye,’ Drax murmured, keeping his eyes moving to ensure they weren’t ambushed.
Priest didn't say anything more as they journeyed along the path, treacherous in places as they moved up the mountain.
When they were about halfway, they took a path that meandered into the rocks and they all drew their swords just in case anyone orthingwas waiting, but nothing came for them as they made their way to the base of a sheer cliff.
The female looked around them as they stopped. ‘What now?’ she asked.
Priest sat back on his horse. ‘We wait.’ He looked around. ‘I don’t think it will take long.’
Priest was right. Fie barely had time to double check that his amulet was around his neck before the air began to feel charged. He heard the first crackles of lightning and they huddled together, closer to Eve, who was looking around like a trapped doe.
‘Nothing to worry about,’ he said with a grin. ‘This is the fastest way to the Ice Plains. If not for this portal, we’d have the wait until the thaw to take a ship. It would cost us weeks. Just follow us, and you'll be all right.’
The female didn’t look soothed by Fie’s words, but there was no more time as the hole opened in front of them with a thunderous sound, their amulets saving them from the stray bursts of energy that fizzled out into the air around them.
Drax look back at them. ‘Come on,’ he shouted, struggling to be heard over the roaring.
The female’s horse began to dance around, and Priest took its reins tightly, ensuring that it would follow them and not bolt with Eve on its back.
Where only moments ago had been solid rock, there was now a tunnel stretching in front of them, dark in places, yet blindingly, beautifully light in others. The female was breathing hard, rapidly glancing around, and clutching at her horse’s mane.
They moved forward as a group into the portal, the ground disappearing as they entered the breach.
Fie didn't know what happened, but the female was suddenly off her horse’s back, and, inside of the portal next to them, there was another bridge opening.
Priest yelled at her to come back, throwing himself from his own horse and colliding with her. Fie reached out, grasping for Priest but both he and Eve were already gone. The second portal disappeared.
‘We have to go back!’ Fie yelled.
Drax shook his head. ‘We can't stop in the middle of the tunnel. Keep going.’
He and Drax emerged on the other side to a bright, white snowscape and the bridge closed behind them.
Drax swung around, noting the bare backs of the horses. ‘What happened?’
Fie stared in disbelief at where the portal had been. ‘There was another breach inside the tunnel. They were both sucked through. They’re gone.’
Drax swore, pulling up the hood of his fur cloak, and drawing it closely around them as the wind whipped, blowing snow into their faces.
‘What are we going to do?’ Fie asked.
