Bloodfire (Blood Destiny 1) - Helen Harper Page 0,94
single-handedly.”
I took another small shuffle backwards, hoping he wouldn’t notice. “But as you know, my Lord, the portal is closed. Even if I wished to make such a foolish move, I would be unable to do so.”
He didn’t say anything in return, just folded his arms and gazed at me implacably.
“I couldn’t sleep, alright? I thought I’d just come out for a walk and maybe bring your servants, sorry – guards , something to drink to keep their spirits up.”
The werefox appeared vaguely alarmed. “I apologise, my Lord. We didn’t think there would be any harm in accepting her offer of a drink.”
I felt vaguely sickened at the Brethren member’s bowing and scraping. So apparently did Corrigan because he bared his teeth slightly and snapped, “You are permitted to fucking drink if you need to.”
Both of the sentinels cowered slightly. I wondered at the sort of regime Corrigan was running, that his own shifters were immured in fearful obeisance. Before I could comment on it, and really piss Corrigan off though, my watch beeped. Almost immediately, the portal shimmered purple and began to hum. I twisted round in one swift motion and ran. I felt rather than saw Corrigan lunge at me, grabbing a hank of hair, but I managed to pull free, leaving what felt like half my scalp behind in his large hands. Sand kicked up as I sprinted at the portal, just a few metres away. I had to make it before he stopped me. I heard him roar in uncontained rage but the distance was too short for him to pull me back in time. The magic of the portal rippled painfully against my skin, tightening around my entire body as I battled through.
And then I landed in an ungraceful heap in broad daylight on the other side. I was through.
Chapter Twenty Six
I picked myself up, blinking in the unexpected sunshine. Corrigan’s roar of rage was still echoing in my ears. I turned back to the portal, half expecting an enraged were-panther to come leaping through, but the purple shimmers were frozen. Clearly Alex had managed to immediately reseal the barrier as soon as I had entered. I felt grimly satisfied. At least the failure or success of my mission would be down solely to me and I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else coming through and getting in my way. Corrigan would realize Alex’s complicity straight away but I knew that the mage would be aware of that and would make himself suitably scarce. Let’s face it, no-one would want to hang around to see the full wrath of the Brethren’s Lord Alpha. I dismissed my thoughts of him.
Surveying my surroundings, I was very much aware of both the vast differences and surprising similarities between this plane and my own. The sky here was so very blue, in fact such a deep rich shade that I’d never before seen anything like it in my life. The air felt cleaner and purer than even Cornwall’s fresh salted scents, and the grass too was greener, with an earthy base. And yet something felt completely wrong about it all. It took me a moment to work out that it was because there was a total absence of sound. No insects, no birds, no gentle whistle of wind. The whole place was completely devoid of life.
I was stood on top of a small grassy knoll. There were undulating hills off in the distance, and what looked to be a deep valley cutting into the landscape some miles away on my right. But there were no trees, no plants, nothing apart from the grass, the ground and the sky. It was just as well that Alex had cast the locator spell on the black bolt of fabric or I had the feeling that I’d end up trudging through this blue green desert forever.
Pulling it out of its side pocket in my backpack, I held it out in front of me, trying to ignore the smell. Almost immediately a thin blue smoky tendril rose into the still air and then snaked its way towards the valley I’d spotted before. To the right it was then. I slung the cloth over my shoulder and began to walk.
The uncomfortably unfamiliar sensation of fear had disappeared from the pit of my stomach. I was glad that it had gone. It could sharpen my focus and keep me alert, but feeling frightened meant that I was also more than likely to fumble and fail