“Access the upper portal in the usual way,” Morgan said. “I want a complete report when you return.” She waved her hand over the surface of the column. “If you return.”
Mardon’s body elongated into a thin ribbon and burst into a flash of sparks. Mara staggered backwards, spreading her arms to keep her balance.
“Don’t worry,” Morgan said, extending her hand toward Mara. “Dimensional travel looks painful, but it is quite safe.”
Mara inched her way back toward the column, her face and ears prickling with heat. “What did you mean by, ‘If you return’?”
“Just a joke. I enjoy putting a fright into him from time to time.”
Mara fanned her face. “He’s not the one you scared.”
Morgan leaned over and smiled a fake, condescending sort of smile. “There is no need to fear, Mara. You will return. You are the most intelligent spawn we’ve ever had. Even the few giants we’ve been able to grow have been stupid beasts, unfit to release to the world above. But I’m sure you and I can work together to create a great army of magnificent beings, strong enough to destroy the dragons and smart enough to thwart the vicious plots of Elohim.”
“What about Mardon? Don’t you need him?”
“I will have use for both him and his father at a later time. For now, just do what he says. But you must also perform one task for me.” She reached into her pocket and withdrew a leather pouch, untying its drawstring as she held it out for Mara to see. “I went to the new dig area and found the pit you told me about, and now I know what this is.” She pulled a sparkling jewel from the pouch and laid it in her palm. Radiance from the shaft streamed toward her hand, and the jewel absorbed the flow, making it pulse with green brilliance.
“The gem I found!” Mara said.
Morgan curled her fingers around the gem and slid it into Mara’s dress pocket. “Don’t take it out until Mardon introduces you to his father. Bow low and present it as a gift from the lady in black. Tell the king that it is a candlestone from the walls of the abyss. He will know what to do with it.”
Mara patted the outside of her pocket. The two glass oddities were cushioned by her coif, so they seemed secure. “Will you please ask Naamah to look after my spawn?”
“She will be glad to.” Morgan flattened Mara’s hand against the pocket and guided her toward the column of light. “You must keep the gem secure while you’re in the portal.”
Mara paused at the edge of the column and smiled. Soon she would see the endless sky, and maybe even a dragon. She took a big step into the light. The radiance tickled, but only a little, and when she looked out, everything in the cavern, though tinged with light green, seemed clear and detailed, as though she were looking at it from inches away. She could see tiny pores in each stone and minute crystalline facets within. When she glanced where Morgan had stood, a large winged creature had taken her place. “Morgan!” she cried. “Where are you? I can’t see you anymore!”
“I am here,” the creature squawked. “I have never taught Mardon how to use the lower portal by himself, so don’t tell him what to do. Reach up and grasp a handful of light, then pull it down as if you were climbing a rope.”
Mara followed orders. The light in her hand felt like a cable, similar to the one that pulled the shaft platform up and down, only thinner, about the width of Nabal’s whip. As soon as she finished a single pull, the cavern shattered into a million pieces and fell like volcanic ash, leaving a curtain of complete darkness. Then, a new scene formed, coming into focus as though her eyes were adjusting to the lighting of a lantern. As the view brightened, everything grew sharp and clear, clearer than her normal environment down below, but darker than she had expected. She blinked and drank in her surroundings, recognizing most objects from sketches or descriptions in Mardon’s scrolls buildings in the distance, trees much bigger than any spawn, and a light in the sky, a semicircle of whiteness.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Mardon sitting on a log poking a long stick at a small fire near his feet. He glanced up. “Oh. There