She heard Corian’s soft laugh through his nose. “Another time, kid. You’re going through this one as you are.”
“And that’s because…”
“You’re gonna be the first thing she sees when she opens the front door. After you.”
Never show up at someone’s home unannounced, Cheyenne. Mom would be furious if she knew about this. Cocking her head, Cheyenne stepped through the portal and onto the sidewalk in front of Professor Mathilda Bergmann’s house.
Chapter Seventy-Five
The soft tingle of the portal’s magic flashed across her skin for a brief second before she was out of the low, dusty light inside Persh’al’s warehouse. Cheyenne blinked against the sudden brightness of the early afternoon before a harsh whisper came from behind her.
“Make some room, huh?”
She thought it was Byrd, but it didn’t matter. The halfling took a quick glance around the neighborhood, but at noon on a Sunday, there wasn’t anyone around to see a Goth chick suddenly materialize out of thin air. That part’s luck.
Moving quickly up the walkway toward Mattie’s front porch, Cheyenne almost turned again to double-check that the four O’gúleesh magicals were following her. Can’t hear the goblin’s mouth-breathing this time.
When she made it to the base of the three stairs leading up to the porch, she stopped.
“Can’t back out now, kid,” Corian whispered in her ear.
The tickle of his breath and what felt like a whisker or two almost made her flinch. “I’m not backing out.”
“Just a friendly reminder.”
With a deep breath, the halfling forced herself up the stairs onto the porch and toward the navy-blue front door. Her fist rose, and she paused again. Please just hear them out, Mattie. Then you’ll see why I’m doing this. Even if you don’t end up forgiving me for it later.
Cheyenne knocked three times on the front door and waited. None of the magicals behind her made a sound.
Footsteps grew louder on the other side of the door, then two deadbolts slid back, and the doorknob turned slowly. Mattie opened the door with a curious smile, wondering who could possibly be at her door on a Sunday. That smile widened when she saw Cheyenne Summerlin standing on her front porch, and a small laugh escaped her. “You know, I did tell you I’d email you before tomorrow. No need to hunt me down at my house. Good to see you’re so eager to prepare for your first class, though.”
Cheyenne tried to smile back and couldn’t quite manage it. “I’m not here about an email.”
Brushing a lock of wavy black hair out of her face, Mattie glanced around her front yard. A hint of wary skepticism flashed across her luminous green eyes, and she folded her arms. Then she took a step back into the house and eyed Cheyenne up and down. “You look like you fell into some kinda trouble, kid.” The woman briefly closed her eyes. “Well, you’re already here, and I can’t turn you away. Come on in and tell me all about it, then.”
Swallowing thickly, the halfling stepped into her first mentor’s house. “I, uh, I’m not in trouble.” Cheyenne turned back to glance out the open front door. Time for these guys to show themselves. “Sorry, Mattie.”
“Come on, Cheyenne, I wasn’t born yesterday. Nobody looks over their shoulder like that when they’re perfectly comfortable being where they are. Who’s following you now?” Mattie stepped forward and reached out for the open door, keeping her gaze on her former student.
The door swung away from her open hand and closed on its own. Mattie’s eyes narrowed as Corian’s invisibility spell shimmered around him, and the Nightstalker reappeared with his hand on the doorknob. “Hi, Maleshi.”
Mattie’s green eyes widened. Then Persh’al and the goblins appeared on either side of Corian, and the college professor lifted a finger. “Oh, no. No, no.”
“We just need a minute of your time,” Corian said softly.
“Get the fuck out.” Mattie pointed swiftly at the door, which let off a silver flash before opening again.
Corian pressed firmly on the door until it clicked shut behind him. “Just twenty minutes, Maleshi. Please. Give us that much, and then we’ll leave.”
“I don’t want to give you anything.” Mattie’s green gaze darted from Corian to Persh’al and she shook her head. “Especially not when you coerced Cheyenne into this. I’m not playing your games, vae shra’ni.”
“No games.” Corian spread his arms. “And I’m sorry to have to surprise you like this. You’ve made it very hard to find you.”
“That was the point, Corian.” Mattie’s jaw clenched and unclenched as she pressed her lips together. “I came out here to start over, and I’ve spent way too long on building a life to throw it all away because you want to walk down Memory Lane.”
He let out a bitter laugh. “You think I’m here for nostalgia, General—”
“Don’t call me that,” Mattie hissed and took a lunging step toward him. Corian didn’t react beyond holding her green-eyed gaze with his silver one. “I’m a college professor. Mathilda Bergmann.”
“Yeah, so we heard.” Persh’al folded his arms and leaned against the wall beside the door.
“Then you’re a lot stupider than I thought possible if you actually believe I’ll entertain the notion of sitting down and talking about the old world with you.”
Cheyenne stepped toward the staircase just inside the door and bit her lip. Pretty much what I expected.
“We need your help.” Corian didn’t look away from the gaze of the Nightstalker, who looked very much like a human. “Please.”
“You’ve lasted this long without me.” One of Mattie’s eyes twitched as she leaned toward him and bared her teeth in a feral snarl. “You’ll just have to keep it up.”
“There’s a new Border portal, Maleshi.” Corian swallowed and raised his eyebrows when the woman took a small step away from him. “Unregulated. Most people don’t know about it. And it’s not doing what it’s supposed to do.”
The woman studied his face before she stepped back. “Not my problem.”
“It will be. You’re the only person I know who can help us figure out why it’s
