While still holding the box, I stood and faced the rock formation. Magic hummed beneath my fingertips. With one hand holding the plastic casing, I reached out with my other and channeled the energy through my body. I grasped the power and conjured a spell, then released it through my fingertips.
Controlling the magic was a problem as there wasn’t much to use in the first place, but as I watched the waves of blue light flow from my fingertips and into the stone separating the two arches, I knew it was working. The rock shimmered like waves rippling on a pond, and then, the rock between the two arches disappeared altogether.
A portal appeared where the rock had been. My heart leapt at the sight. It was about time something went my way for once.
“You did it,” Kull said, staring in awe at the glittering portal overhead.
“Yeah. Next time we come to Earth, remind me to bring my magic with me. That was a pain in the neck traveling all the way out here just to get through a simple portal.”
“I never intend to return to Earth again.”
“You didn’t like any of it?”
“No. I’ll be glad to be rid of all my memories of this world.”
“I agree,” I mumbled.
Kull grasped the sword as he studied the portal. Eying him, I prayed crossing through it restored his memories of me. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could put up with His Majesty the Skullsplitter.
I closed the mirror and stuffed it in my backpack. Kull and I hiked up to the formation and climbed to the now open archway, but as soon as Kull grasped the ledge leading to the portal, a blast of white light blinded us both, and the familiar shot of a basita weapon echoed through the canyon.
Kull screamed and fell backward. In horror, I watched as he tumbled down the ten-foot drop and landed hard on the ground. The sword clattered beside him, and Kull cursed. Writhing, he struggled to get to his feet.
“Kull!” I called, scrambling to get down to him.
Two elves emerged from behind a set of pillars. I recognized them both, though I wasn’t sure I’d ever officially met either of them. One man had black hair that he wore in long, greasy strands down his back. He also wore black robes that contrasted with his chalky skin. He’d been in the Madralorde’s castle working for the queen. Veladon, I remembered, the queen’s vizier.
The other elf was female. While beautiful with long, midnight-blue hair and a shapely figure, I couldn’t mistake the hostility in her eyes.
My throat constricted as I reached Kull’s side. He’d been shot by a basita. As I rolled him to face away from me, I noticed a burn wound boring into his back.
The two elves stood over Kull and me.
The male elf picked up the sword as the woman looked on.
“Bastards,” I spat. “You waited to shoot him in the back? You’ll regret this.” I ground my teeth, wanting so badly to strike them down.
“That’s not a very kind greeting, is it?” the woman said. She had a musical voice, one that carried authority and power. I couldn’t mistake the intensity I felt in her magic, but I wouldn’t let her intimidate me.
“If you wanted the sword,” I said, “you should’ve just taken it. You had no need to shoot him.”
The man approached me. His pale skin reminded me of the flesh of a corpse. He reached out with his magic and constricted my throat. His power buzzed through my nerve endings, heat lancing through my arms and into my fingers, then throughout my body, into my legs, and down to the tips of my toes.
He leered as he drew close to me, and his fetid breath was even more unpleasant than the sensation of his magic.
“I’ve seen you before,” he said, his voice a hiss, reminding me of a snake. “In the vaults beneath the Madralorde’s keep. You eluded me then, didn’t you?”
If I could’ve breathed, I might’ve answered.
“You won’t elude me now.”
The magic grew stronger until stars danced in my vision. My lungs screamed for air. Panic welled inside me at the loss of oxygen. Sweat beaded on my brow as the two elves backed away from Kull and me.
The woman uttered a spell, and a portal formed behind them. Without another word, they crossed through it, carrying the sword, leaving us to die.
Chapter 18
I awoke with a pounding headache. Trying to focus, I realized I no longer lay in the Utah desert. Overhead, a starlit sky flecked with the purple bobbing lights of fairies soared above me. The headache faded as I breathed deeply. My churning stomach settled as I inhaled the cool Faythander air. There was nothing so healing as returning to Faythander after a painful quest to Earth. I’d come back home, back where I really belonged.
But how had I gotten here? The last thing I remembered, I’d been on Earth under Veladon’s spell.
Kull loomed in my vision, blocking out the sky. Had he saved me?
“Hey, Skullsplitter,” I managed, my voice hoarse.
“Skullsplitter?”
I only smiled. Talking right now wasn’t an easy task.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“I’ve got a headache, but it’s going away pretty quickly.”
“Can you sit up?”
“Yeah, give me a minute.” After a few more deep breaths, the headache dissipated enough to allow me to move. As I rose onto my elbows, I scanned the area.
A gentle breeze tugged on shoots of purple grass that smelled of lavender. Their stalks made a whispering sound as the wind blew. Shallow ponds were interspersed throughout the area, and nobbinflies darted. Some made ripples in the water, while others
