rushed over the doorway, some of it spilling into the mountain on the other side. Bren held the spell until his arms grew tired from being held outstretched. As the spell dissipated and the smoke cleared, Bren found that the doorway had not given an inch; it still looked the same as it had moments ago. On the other hand, where Bren’s magic had hit the mountain looked as if a large section of it had simply disappeared.
Bren pushed away his anger and tried again, and again, until the sun had risen and had moved halfway through its path in the sky. Exhausted, tired, and angry, Bren let his emotions get the better of him. Bren pulled his sword from its scabbard and threw it through the air toward the door.
When the sword hit the doorway, it stopped in midair and hung there. Half the blade showing and the other was simply gone. Surprised, Bren walked over to the sword and calmed himself. He reached out and took the sword by the hilt and pulled on it. It tore free and came out looking as it had moments before. Curious, Bren cut at the doorway, and for the first time, it looked as if it had been affected.
Bren pulled the sword up and swung down as hard as he could. The blade struck the shimmering doorway and stopped then slowly, as Bren pushed with all his might, it started to move downward. When the sword passed through the last bit of the doorway, Bren lost his balance, and the sword slipped from his hands and stuck into the ground.
Cursing himself, Bren retrieved his sword and moved back to strike the doorway again but found something different. Where there had been one shimmering light, now there were two, and they twisted and curled as if in pain then broke, and all that remained were wisps of smoke.
As the smoke dissipated, the ground started to shake, and the wind picked up, blowing with enough force to rip trees out of the ground. “What in the nine hells is going on,” Cass screamed as he crouched on the ground trying to keep his bearings.
“I don’t know,” Bren replied as his eyes stayed focused on where the door had been only moments before.
Suddenly, the area filled with a strange fog and as it cleared, the small valley was filled with numerous people. Bren looked around and found his father standing dazed and slightly confused near the corner of the valley. Bren started to walk toward him but noticed that two other people stood beside him. Unlike his father, the other two had silver skin, just like him and their hair shined a light grey just as his did.
“Bren,” Thad called out to him as he ran toward him.
Bren was lifted off the ground as his father pulled him into a tight hug. “Father,” Bren said as he tried to release himself from Thad’s grasp. “You look just as you did when I last saw you.”
Thad let his son go and pushed him back to arm’s length so he could have a good look at him. Even though he had seen his son through the magical mirror, seeing him in person was much different. It didn’t escape his sight that Bren now had the same silver skin as Humanius and Belaroan. “To me it has only been a month at most since I left. You have grown so much.”
“I hope you are over your little reunion. Right now, we do not have the time for chitchat. The abyss is gone, the space between the two words is gone, and soon the very fabric between our world and yours will open,” Humanius said, coming between Bren and Thad.
As if on cue from Humanius, the area began to twist again. Where there was once a shining silver door, now there was just a tear in the area, and on the other side was a billowing storm land just like that of the Deadlands.
Epilogue
The people in the vail turned toward the opening in the valley. Bren looked around and couldn’t count the number of souls that must have been lost in the abyss. Most of them were mages, but also a few were soldiers belonging to the Brotherhood. They were from all ages, and some obviously dated back to before the Fae War. The worst were those who had been mortally wounded before being thrown into the abyss and now who finished what had started many years before. Some of the people around tried to help those that lay dying, but nothing could be done.
Most of the people wondered where they were, or when. There were tears, screams, and even a few fights. Seconds after they had appeared, new figures joined the group, appearing out of nowhere.
“My children,” Belaroan yelled as her godlings appeared out of nowhere. The gods’ first actions were to start attacking Humanius, who had been their fear since their mother had been taken from them, but Belaroan stopped them. “Now is not the time for that. He has agreed to help, and that is more important than revenge.
“Sister, I do not think you will get what you wish,” he said, pointing toward the doorway between the two worlds. “Look.”
When Belaroan turned around and looked through the doorway, she let out a gasp. “What has happened?”
Large gem pillars stood on the other side of the gate, and Bren could feel the immense magical powers flowing from the other side. It was ten times stronger than that in the Deadlands. Bren had never imagined so much power in one place before. In the distance a manlike figure appeared, though instead of flesh and blood, he was made of a dark obsidian crystal.
“Scion,” Belaroan said, her voice sounding slightly scared.