Page 221 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
“What’s on the other side? Is this not the Gate?” Disappointment laced the words. What if she’d merely created another Passage? The Gate in Myrrai had housed timelines flying by so fast that they were nothing but blurred images. This was perfectly clear and calm. Picturesque, even.
Fely shook her head. “I would assume that it would be much like the one in Myrrai, though I have only seen that one in books my family has in our library. This is different. It feels different, though I do not know why.”
Hallie sketched out the base of it and looked toward the ceiling. Only half of the image was there, the flowers and the forest bleeding into the stone wall. “Not sure where we are in the city exactly, but if we could maybe find where this goes above us, we might have a better picture of what’s on the other side?”
“Saldr needs to see this.”
“But—” If Saldr came and inspected it, he might still want to go through with his plan.
Fely stuck a finger into the small pouch at her waist. When she took it out, it was covered in Zuprium dust. “I’ll be back shortly. Stay here. Whatever you do, don’t go through it.”
“I think we should wait to tell him,” she tried weakly. But Fely didn’t answer, snapping her fingers instead. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.
Why couldn’t Saldr have shown Hallie how to do that instead of pushing her so hard on the stupid fireball? She shook her head. This had to be the Gate. It didn’t feel like the other Passages, though it looked like them. The other two had been characterized by a portal brick at the base. The only reason Hallie had thought to check out this area of the tunnels again was because her power had reacted to it when she was down here with Kase and the golden haze that had been present.
When Fely didn’t return after a second or two, Hallie picked up the book, causing the Gate to disappear once more. She moved to the other side of the tunnel and held out the book.
Nothing.
She moved back toward the original point, holding out the book at intervals. Five side steps forward brought the Gate into existence. And it continued to reappear until her right shoulder met the wall, though at that point, only the golden fire was visible—not the flower field.
That confirmed it wasn’t the book itself. It was the area. But the book was the key.
Hallie set the journal down, allowing the center of the archway to appear. The flowers, faraway mountains, and little woodcutter’s cottage painted a nice picture against the dimness of the Catacombs. She flipped the pages, careful not to touch the fiery outline herself. The images didn’t waver. It didn’t matter which page she was on, it seemed.
She flipped back to the sketch of the sword. It glowed in the light from the Gate. Quickly, she flipped to the next page in her sketchbook and copied it there. It looked so familiar, but she couldn’t place it. Probably because it was similar to the shadow sword. This Gate wasn’t angry like the other one, which might lend evidence to it only being a Passage.
It was still a good discovery, though. It might very well be one that had been closed decades ago with the Great War. She hoped not. She hoped that she’d stumbled across the one they needed.
She finished the sketch and tucked her book into her satchel. She took that off and set it to the side, rubbing her neck. Maybe she wasn’t quite recovered from her ordeal earlier in the day. Stars, what time was it, even?
This had been one of the longest days of her life. Going up in the hover, saving Ben, almost dying herself, turning downKase’s proposal, finding out that Ben was really the heir to the Cerl throne, and now this.
Hopefully she could get some good sleep that night. She’d need it. Any rest she’d gotten after overextending her power with Ben had evaporated with the revelations and events of the last hour or so.
She stood and stretched a little more. Her back popped rather loudly. Where was Fely? Hadn’t she been able to find Saldr? Surely they weren’t coming the long way? Why use the Chronal power to flicker out of existence to fetch him only to walk all the way back?
She stretched her neck and was about to sit back down when a hand slid across her mouth and a knife pressed against her throat.
She froze.
“Found the other Gate, have we?”
That voice. She knew that voice. Hallie didn’t respond. One wrong move or word would end with her throat sliced.
“Relax. I’ve been known to be merciful from time to time,” the man whispered in her ear. “Instead of killing you outright, I’ll let you go painlessly…because once you’re on the other side, there’s no returning for you. I’ll tell Shackley you put up a fight.”
She did the only thing she could do—reach for her power. If she could muster up enough, she might unravel the man who held her hostage. But it was for naught. She was too slow.
Before she could do anything else, the man shoved her into the flowery meadow. She screamed, falling to the ground, scrambling for purchase. Bright light assaulted her, but her fingers found purchase in Navara’s journal. She yanked it. A ripping sound met her ears.
She squinted against the light burning her retinas to see Mr. Gray…and Correa behind him, torn journal pages in his hand.
“No!” She yelled, but it was too late. They were gone in a blink, the dark Catacombs disappearing as Fely had done earlier.
She thrust the book out in the same spot. She picked at her cuts that had begun to scab and bled onto the book, but nothing happened.
She scrambled around on her knees, holding the book out as a peace offering. Nothing appeared. Her only companions were the daisies.
