Page 73 of A Tale of Treachery

I hated his plan, but Redmond had tried to enter the portal without me. The soldiers had tried, too, but nobody could make it through. The gooey material inside would simply harden into a wall and send anyone who attempted to cross bouncing back, but the sample of material Redmond experimented with did react strangely to me.

I sighed, gazing into the distance. “Let’s get a move on. I want to get this over with as quickly as possible.”

I nudged his arm from my shoulder and started the descent that led deep into the canyon. Redmond trailed along beside me, calling for the men to follow.

We hiked for hours through narrow valleys and beneath steep walls. Rocks crumbled to dust beneath our feet, and a few tumbled from the cliff face, nearly striking one of the soldiers in line behind us. A winding river cut deep through the rock at the lower level of our descent, the current rapid enough to warrant carefully sticking to the sandy bank that ran beside it.

Redmond and I kept a quick pace ahead of the others, refusing to slow down or prolong the journey. He remained silent by my side while I mentally prepared myself for what needed to be done, but despite his silence, I could feel his eagerness and excitement at the chance for discovery.

My focus was glued to the ground as I stepped over stones, narrowly avoiding the trailing river, refusing to get my feet wet. And before I knew it, I slammed into a barrier—Redmond’s arm across my chest.

Without looking up, I knew what lay ahead of me, could feel it calling to the core of my being, tugging my body closer. The pounding of my pulse created a raucous thumping in my ears that was soon drowned out by the incessant humming emanating from the portal.

I looked up, shocked to see that it was still far away. Even from the distance, I could taste it, feel it as if it were right in front of me, a gateway on an open plain of grass, nestled between the outcropping of rocks and cliffs. The river we trekked along forked, winding around the flatland and creating a moat that would make it nearly impossible to cross.

I groaned. It looked like I would be getting wet after all.

“This wasn’t here the last time I visited,” Redmond said, eyeing the body of water that surrounded the grounds in a protective vise.

“Then where did the river flow?”

“To the left in one direction. We didn’t even have to cross it to reach the gateway. Do you think it is a protective measure of some sort? The portal sample seemed to have a very moody disposition. Maybe the fluid within moved the river to surround it after I took the sample.”

“It could be a protective measure,” I agreed, tilting my head to listen to the loud, angry hum emanating from the portal. “You’re right. I can feel it, and it’s irritated. I don’t think it’s supposed to be so loud. You brought the sample with you, right?”

Redmond patted his overcoat pocket where the small vial was contained. “I brought it. We’ll return the material before we do anything else.” His brow furrowed. “What do you mean, loud?”

“You don’t hear it? The hum is going to burst my eardrums.” I threw my hands over my ears as the noise grew louder. Angrier.

“Dahlia, there is no noise that I can hear.”

I squeezed my hands tightly to my ears, blocking out Redmond’s voice, but it didn’t stifle the vibration, which grew more frantic the longer we waited. The humming pulsed in my skull as if it were coming from within my head.

“We have to move!” I shouted, probably a little too loudly, seeing as everyone else flinched at the volume of my voice. I lowered my hands. They didn’t mute the noise, anyway, and only made me seem insane. Clearly, the others didn’t hear what I heard.

Redmond gave a swift nod and started shouting orders to the men who had journeyed with us. I had no idea what he was saying but tried my best to follow along as the others quickened their pace toward the forking river. This time, we let the soldiers lead the way while we slowed to take a place at the back of the group.

I winced as the men lowered their armor-clad bodies into the rushing rapids of the river and fought to stay upright. They connected a long rope between them that held them together as the water threatened to send them tumbling downstream. When the last soldier entered, George tied me to the rope and tilted his head for me to follow. Redmond tethered himself behind me and squeezed the back of my shoulder, spurring me into motion.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the rapids and followed George, fully prepared to drown.

The icy water rushed around us and sent us sprawling. My breath hitched as a cold shock caused my muscles to lock. I fought against the numbing force and righted myself, using the rope connected to me, and pulled forward. The humming grew louder as the water chilled my bones, and I fought against the bruising current of the rapids. Disoriented, I forced myself to focus on George’s head, never losing sight of him as he and the others paved the way across the river.

Everything grew hazy the longer we swam. My vision slowly filled with black dots and narrowed on the sides, until I could no longer see what lay in front of me. My head dipped beneath the water, and liquid flooded into my nostrils and mouth. I sputtered and coughed, fighting for air. Water filled my lungs, and no matter how hard I fought, I couldn’t breach the surface. I grew dizzy, and my efforts to fight and see tomorrow slowly faded away, despite the unfinished business that I was reticent to leave behind.

I would never see Ryken again. I would never get to apologize.

The rope tugged at my waist and grew taut, jerking me back to reality. My head rose above the waterline, and my chest heaved with racking coughs, my body shaking from the force of each hack. Water sluiced from my throat and down my chin as I battled for air, the fight within restored by the realization that we’d reached shore. George’s strong hands grasped underneath my arms and pulled me from the chaotic rush of rapids, plopping me unceremoniously out onto the riverbank.

I coughed and wheezed, twisting to search the river for Redmond. I tugged on the line, and it tensed, but the weight on the other end was too heavy for me to pull. Redmond wasn’t visible beneath the white spray of the rapids.

“Redmond!” I shouted, unable to hear my own voice but pleading for the soldiers’ help.

They were already on it, taking his hand and pulling him from the river, soaking wet and frazzled. George was behind him, supporting him with one arm grasped around his torso. I shot him a thankful smile for taking care of my guardian, and he returned my gratitude with a grim nod.

Redmond squeezed my arm and whispered something in my ear, but I couldn’t hear him over the incessant humming. When I shook my head and tapped my ear, a look of realization spread across his face. He pulled out the vial containing the portal gel, cut the rope that tied us together, and approached the churning mist to return what had been stolen.

I sensed the portal’s excitement as he neared the mist with the promise of reunion. When he was nearly touching the portal, the humming drew to a loud crescendo. He uncapped the vial, and the material briefly floated in the air before merging with the rest of its kind.

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