Earth magic. I need Earth magic.
I stretched my senses, digging deep. Since I was half human, I knew I had it in there somewhere.
Earth magic.
An amber glow mingled with the blue in my cupped hands. It wasn’t much, but it was all I could muster.
Stupid non-cooperative Earth magic.
I whispered a spell into the pewter piece, hoping it latched on. The magic didn’t budge.
Figures.
Trying harder, I made the decision to channel my own life’s energy into the spell. Not always a bright idea, but sometimes necessary, especially when I was dealing with stubborn Wult artifacts.
Letting go of my life’s energy, I allowed it to seep into the spell. A burst of brilliant light shot from my fingertips, reflecting off the mirror in my laptop box.
Curses. This couldn’t be good.
Warmth enveloped me. A howling wind pierced my ears. The world went white.
Am I in a portal?
Not good. Not good at all.
Portals were dangerous. There was a reason I hadn’t been back to Faythander in ten years. I never knew where I’d end up—or even if I’d make it to the world I wanted to be in. Or if I’d make it there in one piece.
The rushing wind grew louder. I wanted to cup my hands over my ears, but with my body spiraling through the portal, I had no control over my movements. I cursed my rotten luck.
That stupid Wult statue…
I landed on my butt in the mud. My ears rang, and I clutched the figurine in a death grip. When the world stopped spinning, I took in my new surroundings.
This definitely wasn’t the computer lab.
I sat in a fog-covered forest. The sound of running water came from somewhere, and the air held the scent of rain. Squawking birds, and the hooting of unfamiliar animals came from the trees.
Rubbing my head, I tried to make sense of my new situation. Was I on Faythander? Overhead, a red glow tinted the sky, and the trees grew with long, fan-like leaves, like large umbrellas overshadowing me. Furry caterpillars in brilliant neon colors covered the trunks. Some were the size of cars. This doesn’t look like Faythander.
A round object on the ground caught my attention. Brunette hair stuck out from the gray skin.
Bill Clinton’s voice intruded. Is that… a head?
Surely not. I stood slowly, trying to breathe through the dizziness. When I approached, my insides wanted to heave. Definitely a head. The person’s face was locked in a soundless scream. He was male, older than me, with streaks of gray along his temples.
Behind me, shouts echoed. I glanced back at a group of fur-clad warriors carrying swords and battle axes. They ran straight toward me. Panicked, I jumped out of their way. The sudden movement made dizziness disorient me, and I crumbled to the ground.
The cold tip of a sword pressed the back of my neck. I froze.
“Who are you?” a male voice said.
“Don’t dismember her, brother. She may know where the beast went.” A female voice.
“Look at those ears,” another male said. “She’s got elven blood for sure.”
“What’s this?” a third male voice asked. “Another head?”
“Yes, so it is.”
“Oi, elf,” a third male voice said. “Did you do this?”
“You mean, behead him? That wasn’t me.”
“Who are you?” the woman asked. “Are you from Faythander?”
“My name is Olive Kennedy. I’m from Earth, but I was born on Faythander.”
“What’re you doing here?”
“Good question.”
“Will you harm us?”
I could if they gave me reason, but with the cold steel of a blade pressed to my neck, I decided to play it safe. “No.”
“Turn around slowly,” one of the men said. “Don’t give us cause to dispatch you.”
I did as he said, turning until I faced them. They were Wults. Had to be. With those clunky-style blades, battle axes, and animal hides thrown over their clothes, there was no mistaking their identity.
The man in front held my attention. His blond hair and blue eyes gave credence to his Nordic ancestry. His sword held my attention, too, as he held it pointed at my chest.
“You’ve no need for that,” I said.
“Haven’t I? There’s a discarded head nearby. You’re elven. You possess magic, don’t you?”
“Yes. But as I said, I didn’t do that, and I have no intention of harming you. Now, how about you tell me where I am?”
“You don’t know?” the female asked. Tall and well-muscled, she wore silver greaves around her arms and wrists. Her braided dark hair was draped over her shoulder.
“I just landed here, actually. Through a portal.”
“A portal?”
“Yes. From Earth.”
“Ah yes, Earth. We came from there not two days ago, chasing a beast we meant to slay. We followed it here, wherever we are.”
“You don’t know?” I asked.
“No idea,” the tall man said. “You’re the first living soul we’ve seen apart from the caterpillars and the beast we’re chasing. But it’s been leaving a string of heads behind it. I suspect it must’ve been here only moments ago.” He sheathed his sword, and I let out my pent-up breath.
I supposed I should’ve counted myself lucky. I’d needed to find Wults to fix my mirror. But perhaps that was the very reason I’d found them—I had been holding the Wult statue when the portal brought me here. Maybe the little statue was finally working. Except it had brought me to the wrong world, blast it all.
I got a better look at the two men standing behind the others. One was younger, with light hair and eyes, just a teenager, really. The other man was more rotund with a long, rust-colored beard. Both eyed me suspiciously.
“You really have no idea where we are?” I asked the group.
“No,” the woman said. “A week ago, our people started getting attacked by a strange beast with golden eyes. It left nothing but headless corpses behind. When we tracked it down, it created a portal to Earth Kingdom. We followed it, tracked it there for three days until we cornered
