Page 84 of Oaths & Vengeance
“Where do we go from here?” I asked, glancing around me.
He headed toward a boulder where a large sack sat atop it. “Normally, we’d take a trail on the other side of this clearing to reach the village, but you are going to open a portal for me to the Andalagar tribal lands in Juvarn.”
“What?” I frowned, calculating the distance. “If I do that, we’ll have to stay there for two hours until I regain my strength.”
I would barely have enough power to make it that distance now since I’d had to use a little fighting the various creatures who attacked us. It never occurred to me that I’d need to open a portal this soon, much less one so far away, but perhaps I should have known. My gift would always be the factor that made me valuable to everyone.
“That’s all the time it will take?” he asked, stunned.
I nodded. “As long as I don’t have to use my powers for anything else.”
“You won’t, but the question remains whether you can open this one or not.” He gave me an inscrutable look. “It is far more difficult than others.”
I straightened my shoulders, tired of everyone doubting me. “There is no portal in Paxia I can’t open.”
“That remains to be seen.” Orran grabbed the cumbersome sack from the boulder and brought it to me. “Here are the supplies you’ll need, and this is the rune sequence.” He also drew a folded piece of parchment paper from his pocket, giving it to me.
The bag was so heavy I nearly dropped it.
I dumped the contents onto the grass. A thin, four-inch-wide metal coil with fused algodonite stones fell to the ground, along with a pouch of Holmium. I pocketed the small bag and spread out the other item, finding the silver circle stretched to a ten-foot diameter. It was slightly smaller than the temporary portal ring I kept stored away at Ivory Castle for occasional use. Since this type was not grounded to a specific place, and the metal that linked the runes was much thinner, it required more power and concentration to travel far. It didn’t even have its own rune address since it wasn’t permanent, so we couldn’t use it to return and would need to use the main ring by the sea when it was time to come back.
“Do you have a channeler here?” I asked as I adjusted the circle to smooth it against the ground. Every minute that passed brought me closer to fully recharging, so I didn’t rush the setup. “My uncle said you were short one.”
He nodded. “I took one from one of my other territories since the other passed, but he cannot open a portal for long distances more than once daily. I must always plan to stay the night if I visit other lands.”
“At least he can do it. Most of ours can only channel within Therress, except one who is like yours. She can open to longer distances but needs about eighteen hours to recover,” I said, standing back to check my work. It looked perfect.
He lifted a brow. “Is it ready?”
“Yes.”
I pulled out the parchment to study the rune sequence. I realized I didn’t have it in my records, though I did have another for the Andalagar tribe in Juvarn that led to their main village, so there must have been more than one ring there. Where would this one take us?
After pinching a healthy dose of holmium powder, I gathered the necessary elements together. Orran kept his gaze focused on me as I worked.I extended my hands and pushed the light magic toward the runes on the ring. It struck each of them, one after another, until all five stones glowed, and then I intertwined my wind to begin channeling.
I pushed more power to form the connection to the other side. My hands shook, and it took all my attention to force the magic to reach the desired destination. It was so much harder than with an established ring that was properly grounded and had better conductive metal.
My muscles ached and strained as I pushed and pushed as if trying to move a mountain. When I finally reached the receiving end, I found layers of glowing, intricately woven wards. Gritting my teeth, I quickly began working my way through them before I ran out of energy. My power burned through me faster than usual because these couldn’t be broken or bypassed like most others, but rather, had to be solved like a riddle.
I’d only run into a few like this in my life, though not nearly as complicated. I was grateful for the practice I had with them since the experience helped guide my intuition now. These wards were more complex, but somehow, I could easily visualize how to unravel each one with a little concentration and patience. It wasn’t a skill that could be taught.
After nearly a minute of furious work, apopsounded, and a blue glow formed over the grass where the circle sat. “Hurry, go!”
“See you in a moment,” he said, giving me an impressed look.
Orran stepped into the ring, sinking downward until his body disappeared. Heaving for breath, I pushed the last surge of power remaining in me. Weakness assailed my body. I stumbled forward and entered the portal, grateful to let go of my magic as my feet disappeared into the swirling depths.
The distance was quite far since it spanned much of the continent. As my body glided through a swirling tunnel of light, I had more time than usual to study the beautiful color patterns. They were incredible, like a rainbow surrounding me and dancing to a silent tune.
I estimated that thirty seconds had passed before I exited the other side of an upright ring. Stumbling over rocks, I managed to right myself and get my bearings. We were high up in the Sobaryan Mountains, with their lavender peaks and hazy clouds surrounding us, making it impossible tosee the land below. The ring had to be in the northeast corner of Juvarn, which was near the ice giant territory of Hisgar.
The air was chill at this elevation so far north. I hugged myself, trying to preserve my body heat since I had grown accustomed to summer's scorching temperatures. The animal skins kept my legs warm, but the halter top did little for my upper body. Not far from us were patches of snow that never melted, telling me it must not ever get hot here.
“You truly are impressive, Lady Aella,” Orran said with unrestrained astonishment. “I hadn’t expected you to succeed despite what I’d heard about your power.”
What had my uncle told him? Lord Morgunn shouldn’t have known the depth of my abilities, yet the tribal chief acted as though he’d expected me to be far above average, though not quite talented enough to reach this secret place. Did I need to worry about Orran’s enthusiasm? Darrow and his mother had mentioned I should keep the breadth of my skills quiet, but I couldn’t imagine the Andalagar being a problem since they’d never align for the dark elves or Unseelie.
I drew my gaze to him. “What do you mean? I told you I can reach any portal in Paxia.”
