Exile: Sídhí Summer Camp #3 (29 page)

“Yes, how else would I do it?”

He chuckled. “Come on let’s see what you can
do.”

Standing to follow him, she felt a surge of
warmth from Nick.
“You’ll do great,”
he said, snagging her
hand in his as they stepped through the gateway Colin created.

His support was wonderful, but he had never
seen her in action, not really. She had only told them of one of
her attempts to close a gate. She had been down that path a hundred
times. It always ended in creating actual earthquakes in whatever
valley she was in, and on Earth.

No doubt, she had caused the seismologist on
Earth to scratch their heads in concern. She snorted softly. From
the various news reports, they were actually blaming all the oil
wells and other drilling for the small tremors she had caused.

They emerged from the gateway half a world
away. It had to be that far, because the sun was high in the sky.
Birds flew across the wide meadow. A cluster of markles grew to the
right of them, while tall furble trees surrounded the entire area.
Behind them, she heard the crash of water. A swift glance confirmed
the presence of a waterfall.

“Okay, I am going to create a small gateway.
Watch the energy fluctuation,” Colin said in the exact tone of
voice her last tutor had used.

Thirty feet away, a small gateway appeared.
Looking through it, she could see a small waterfall. She blinked.
Turning, she looked behind her and saw the exit portal some fifty
feet away.

“Distance is not important, just the
technique,” Colin said with a smile.

Nodding her head in agreement, she tried to
mimic the gateway. Power filled her as she aimed it to the left of
Colin’s gateway. Boom! A chunk of ground exploded. When the dust
cleared, a trench twenty feet deep greeted her frustrated gaze.

She tried again, and again. Finally, Colin
called a halt. “I can feel you gathering power, but when you
release the energy it is explosive, not aimed. Tell me what you are
thinking when you try to create the gateway?”

“I gather the energy and push it as hard as
possible into creating a hole between locations,” she said
despondently. Perhaps being a halfling kept her from the finer
techniques of manipulating synth crystal.

“Ah, okay,” he said. A muscle twitched in his
jaw and she got the impression he was trying not to laugh.

“So help me, you laugh, and my sister may
never have children,” she said, snarling her frustration.

“Sorry,” he held up a helpless hand,
“honestly, I don’t mean to laugh. You have the brute power, but you
are trying to use a hammer without the benefit of a chisel.”

Frowning at his analogy, she waited for him
to continue.

“Next time you try, use this process: First,
gather the power. Second, in your mind, form a picture of the exact
location you want to go. Third, while creating a tunnel toward that
location add power. Don’t shove it like an avalanche. Instead, use
a steady push until the gate opens.”

Nodding her head, she silently went over his
instructions. At her side, she felt Nick’s calm presence as he
continued to believe in her.

Taking a deep breath, she completed the
steps, one by one. On the opposite side of the ravine, a gateway
opened, revealing the sparkling water of the waterfall.

At her side, Nick whooped in excitement.
“Yes! I knew you could do it!”

He had.

She had started out doubting her ability, but
he never did.

“Good job. Now, close the gate by seeing the
tunnel close and disbursing the energy. Don’t just cut the energy.
Ah, very good. Now, open another gate. This time, anchor the gate
to the synth spring below us.”

“Anchor?” Startled, she glanced at him. “You
mean I can create a permanent gateway?”

He chuckled. “Yes, as long as you anchor the
gate in a self-renewing crystal spring it should remain open. Even
a dormant chunk of crystal will support a gate for years.”

She did as he asked, anchoring the gate into
the seething mass of energy hundreds of feet below them. The gate
remained opened. “So easy,” she whispered, half to herself.

Nick laughed, hugging her. His excitement
matched hers.

“If you two are the only people who can
create a gateway, how can the dragons change a gateway’s
destination?” Nick asked.

Elves couldn’t growl, but Colin gave a good
impression. “Bloody dragons are a menace. The old Chi’Kehra used
dragons like errand boys never dreaming their ability to teleport
also gave them kinship with gateways.”

“You mean any race with teleporting ability
can manipulate a gate?” Sarah asked with a growl.

“Unfortunately, yes,” he sighed, “but only
the dragons have figured that out. As Chi’Kehra there are
precautions you can put in place to prevent gate tampering.” He
continued his instructions, including several critical points she
would never have considered.

Sarah opened and shut several gates,
including one to Earth in a desolate part of Trellick Valley. She
opened a final gateway near the forest where the umbra’s gateway
was located.

A snarl curled her upper lip as she stepped
toward the opening. The gate worked, but was useless. Gray rock
filled the entire doorway.

“Well, it looks like they are trying to cover
their tracks,” Colin said softly, touching the rough surface of a
protruding rock. “Try moving the gateway.”

“Moving it? While it’s open?” Sarah asked,
wide-eyed. “I can do that?”

She didn’t wait for him to answer her.
Excited, she focused on the opposite end of the gateway, telling it
to shift a mile to the north. The rocks disappeared. To be replaced
by the blur of a fast moving picture. The motion jerked to a halt.
The trunk of a huge furble tree appeared.

Inching the gateway to the left sounded easy.
The image blurred. Markles appeared. On her next try, she gave the
gate a gentle bump. The gate swiveled, opening amid a group of
short fiskberry bushes on the edge of a large lake.

They didn’t waste any time discussing various
options.

Racing through the trees, Colin took the
lead, saying he knew where the umbra settlement was located. She
wondered why he didn’t just open another gateway when the smell of
a faraway ocean filled the air. As if following the scent instead
of Colin, they reached the edge of a large town.

Sitting on the high wall surrounding the
town, a lone bird sang a merry tune. The gentle clink of a chain
hitting wood added rhythm to bird’s song.

Nick growled, voicing her growing dread.

She strained her ears, but she didn’t hear
the normal sounds of a large village. Birds sang, bugs chirped and
buzzed, while the wind whistled through deserted streets.

Glancing at Nick’s rapid thoughts and she
knew he agreed with her. They appeared to be too late. The umbra
had escaped.

Nick stalked forward, sweeping the ground of
the main road for clues. Before long, Sarah was following him down
a once narrow trail. Crushed saplings on either side of the path
reflected the movement of a large group of people.

They walked around a dense crop of silver,
centa trees. It didn’t take long before they found a rockslide
blocked their path. The pile of rocks and dirt slanted upward. When
it became apparent going forward would prove difficult, she
searched for the power signature of the Earth-Sídhí gateway.

Upon finding the gateway, she groaned. The
pulse of power lay straight ahead of them under several ton of rock
and debris. “They must have blown the cliff to cover their escape
route.” Her frustrated words broke the hushed silence.

“Yeah, but they didn’t expect you to live
through your first meeting with Colin. We will find them,” Nick
said determinedly as he glared at the inert pile of rock.

“But will it be too late?” she asked without
expecting an answer. “What if they figure out a way to sped up the
ruins being filled?”

“Stop and back up,” Colin ordered. “You told
me about the umbra, but you didn’t mention anything about the ruins
being refilled.”

“We’ve had a lot going on,” Nick said
somewhat harshly.

“It wasn’t an intentional omission,” she said
quietly, trying to keep the peace as Nick snarled at Colin. Vampire
and elf, like working with oil and water. “For so long, my primary
concern has been finding a way to keep the empire out of Trellick
Valley. Everything else took a back seat. As far as the ruins were
concerned, I figured I would be cutting it close, but I thought I
would return to Earth in plenty of time to stop the umbra from
filling the ruins with crystal.”

“You will return in time,” Nick said.

“I hope so. I guess the umbra escaping is
making me question a lot of things,” she said with uncharacteristic
doubt. “What if they implement a back-up plan, one that takes my
return to Earth into consideration?”

“Even if they do, they won’t expect the both
of us,” Colin said, crossing his arms.

“You’re willing to help?” Sarah asked,
surprised he was willing to appear on Earth. From what he said at
dinner, he didn’t want anything to do with Earthborn elves. After
studying the elvish political structure, neither did she.

Colin’s eyes flared, but he didn’t answer her
question. He got a distant look in his eyes, one that normally
reflected a mental conversation with someone. His next words
confirmed her guess. “Captain Gabriel just contacted me. A large
army is making its way toward Elfheim.” A gateway appeared at his
side. He hesitated.

“Go, you take care of Sídhí and my sister, we
will take care of Earth,” Sarah said, grasping his forearm in a
firm grasp of farewell.

Colin nodded once and disappeared through the
gateway. A moment later, the gate disappeared.

“Well, looks like we are on our own again,”
Nick said, kissing her temple.

Nodding, she glanced toward the spot where
Colin had created his gateway.

“Missing her already?” he asked, hitting the
nail nearly square on its head.

“I didn’t even tell her bye.”

“Before we head home, make a stop at her
room,” he said encouragingly. His hand rubbed her hip gently, and
she leaned into his touch.

“She’ll still be asleep. Any other time, I
would wake her up, but she really needs rest,” she shook her head
and sighed. “Let’s head home.”

His hand tightened, stopping her. “Call
Fritz, tell him to give her a message. It won’t be the same, but
she’ll know you’re thinking of her.”

Leaning up, she brushed her lips across his
chin. “You think you are so smart.” She paused, letting the words
sink in. Another kiss and she caressed the firm muscles of his arm.
Looking him in the eyes, she said earnestly, “You would be correct,
you are brilliant.”

He snorted, choking on a laugh. “If you think
that was brilliant, I’ve got you totally snowed under.”

Enjoying the feel of his humor floating
through her, she relaxed her body against his.
“Fritz,”
she
called.

“
Liege,”
his instant answer made her
pause. She had assumed he would be sound asleep.
“There are
rumors of a large, heavily armed force approaching the
castle.”

“
Colin is on his way back to deal with it.
Nick and I are returning to Earth.”

“
I would request to remain on Sídhí.”
His request sounded more like a demand, but Sarah knew him well
enough that she didn’t take offense.

“
Good. When Miranda wakes up, tell her I
said goodbye and I’ll return as soon as things have calmed down on
Earth.”

“
Yes, liege,”
he agreed.

“
Fritz, stay near her, protect her,”
she ordered.

“
As always, my liege,”
he swore.

Sarah cut the connection. She hated leaving
unfinished business, but she had found out a lot more while on
Sídhí than she had ever hoped to know. It was time to return
home.

Gathering energy around her, she focused on
the war room inside Trellick castle. The gateway opened. She felt a
surge of arrogance, not her own. A glance at Nick showed a smirk
covering his face.

Weapons drawn, people surged toward the
gateway only to stop in mid-lunge. Several had blank looks of
astonishment, while others literally grinned at her. It was one of
the later that greeted her with a snarky tone. “My Lady Chi’Kehra,
about time you showed up.”

Beatrice McLoud, a phoenix with short,
pitch-black hair sheathed her longs claws. The general of the
Phoenix Valley army lost her grin. Her eyes turned into pure silver
flames.

Her look of fury probably had something to do
with Nick shoving Sarah forward as he jerked Sarah’s thirteen-inch
bowie knife out of its sheath.

The back of
Nick’s neck prickled, and his instinct screamed danger!

He shoved Sarah toward the gateway. With his
free hand, he ripped Bowie out of the temporary sheath Sarah had
made him.

He lunged toward a slight shimmer in the air,
slashing Bowie outward. He struck pay dirt. The blade hit
resistance. A black furred arm flopped to the ground, and blood
spurted.

Fury bloomed through his blood.
Filthy
umbra nearly killed my mate
, he snarled to himself. The
creature’s ability to shift between dimensions was not its greatest
weapon. Even more deadly was its chameleon properties that made it
blend into any environment, making it nearly impossible to
detect.

Dual swords drawn, Sarah appeared at his
side, slashing in a double figure eight.

Before he could take another breath, a half
dozen people surrounded him and Sarah, creating a protective
barrier between them and the forest.

Baring her fangs, Sarah stepped forward.

“Liege, we haven’t time for an extended
fight,” a man to Nick’s right said urgently. “Trellick Valley is
under attack.”