“And you’re different?”
Good, let’s talk about his ego… just a few seconds more.
“I kill only when necessary. I would not kill you because it is not needed. I can control you; therefore, your death would be pointless.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. You are no different from anyone else. Giving one’s life for a noble cause sounds heroic, but very few actually go through with it. We are creatures programmed to survive. We will shove our friends into the fire if it means our own survival. It is not a matter of cruelty. It is basic psychology.”
Geth and his psychoanalysis. Give me a break.
“You’re right.” I tried to put as much dejectedness into my voice as possible, then inhaled and sighed deeply. I’d taken a few acting classes in high school. Now I hoped they were paying off. “I’ll give you the bloom,” I said, “but it’s up to you to find it.”
I tossed the ball as far as I could. It sailed through the air across the parking lot and landed with a thump on the other side of the chain link fence. Geth swore, and then he and his two goons raced toward the ball.
I ran.
I ran as fast as I possibly could away from the men, down the dock and toward the portal, but still I felt as if I weren’t going fast enough. When I reached the dock’s edge, I didn’t hesitate, leaping off the pier and onto the brittle ice.
Ice shards broke free, cracking and snapping on impact, and I burst through as quickly as I’d landed. The icy water enveloped me, stealing my breath. Pain shot through my nerve endings from my head to my toes. The cold stole the oxygen from my lungs. My only coherent thought was to get out of the water, but a gray mist surrounded me. The world faded away. I clutched the genuine basketball tightly as the gray fog shrouded me in darkness.
Soon, the cold disappeared. My head spun as dim lights faded in and out around me. I kept the ball close to my body, feeling the gentle hum of magic fill me with warmth. I focused on going anywhere in Faythander except where Geth had taken me. I knew if I returned to that place, he would find me.
Concentrate. Someplace in Faythander. Someplace safe.
The image of a beach formed in my mind. I wasn’t sure where it was, exactly, but it felt as though the magical bloom was controlling our passage through the portal, as if I was supposed to go there.
I centered my mind on the image of the beach. Crystalline turquoise water. Black sand. Violet sky. A setting sun. My stomach churned, and the gray fog clouded the vision. For a brief moment, the image of the gnarled tree on the moor overtook the vision of the beach.
No. I can’t go there.
I pushed the image away and reconjured the beach’s image. Pain throbbed through my head as I forced the mental picture to reappear. Ignoring the pain, I dug my fingernails into the basketball—which now felt smooth and glassy—and uttered the magic word that would take me where I needed to go.
The vision of the beach formed so brightly in my mind that it drove away the gray mist.
Enter.
My body slammed into a wall of sand. I gasped, feeling as if I couldn’t breathe in enough oxygen. My own inhalations sounded loud in my ears, though somewhere in the distance, I heard waves crashing. I opened my eyes. Dizziness made the world spin around me. The metallic taste of blood, mingled with sand and salt, filled my mouth. I rose onto my hands and knees, trying to let my thoughts catch up with the rest of me.
I traveled away from Earth. I’m on Faythander. I’m alive.
I was no longer holding a tatty basketball. A glass ball was cradled against my chest, and evening sunlight glinted over its transparent surface as I sat up. The orb shone with a prismatic radiance, as if tiny rainbows had been trapped in the glass, and a glowing white flower floated inside.
Running my fingers over the glass, I felt the calming hum of magic warm my hands. It seemed like such a fragile object, yet it had the power to save our world. I knew that my first priority was to keep it safe. Sheer luck had let me escape with it. That—and a little pure magic.
I stared around the beach, taking in my new surroundings. The bloated orange sun sparkled over black sand. Despite the dark sand, the ocean water remained a clear blue-green. In the distance, I spied gently sloping green mountains.
I wasn’t sure where I’d come to, or what creatures inhabited this place, but I knew one thing—I had to keep the bloom out of sight. My muscles cramped as I opened my pack and stuffed the ball inside. As soon as I fastened the clasp again, I heard footsteps. A shadow loomed over me.
I looked up to find a woman standing near me. I almost didn’t recognize her—her cheeks were more sunken, her skin more pale. She looked gaunt, yet more dangerous than ever before. She clutched a knife and pointed it at me. Black blade, ornate handle. A goblin blade, and an exact match to Geth’s. She gave me a knowing smile, though the glint of madness in her eyes sent shivers down my spine.
Heidel.
Chapter 16
I held my pack close as Heidel stood over me. Kull’s sister was dressed as I remembered her—her forearms encased in silver arm guards, her shapely frame emphasized by her black leather tunic and snug breeches, her long dark hair pulled back in a braid. I’d always found her a bit aloof, but now, I saw her for who she was.
A servant of Geth.
I hadn’t escaped him at all.
“Well,” she said, her knowing smile still plastered to her face. “I’ve found you.”
I gathered my magic.
