I handed Clem the map that I’d studied after I’d finished the last of my jinsei. I still couldn’t see the coordinates that Abi insisted were on the map. I just had to trust that he had more experience with those things than I did, and that had given him some insight I didn’t share.
“And what are you doing?” Clem asked, one eyebrow raised suspiciously.
“I need to make a phone call,” I said. “One last favor.”
Clem pursed her lips and pointed a finger at me. “Jace, do not leave without us.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” And that was the truth. I wanted my friends on this mission. I needed them. “Five minutes.”
“Five minutes,” Clem repeated. “Or I’ll come looking for you.”
When the door closed, I fished the cell phone out of my desk drawer. Hahen sniffed at the device and turned his nose up.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked.
“No,” I answered. “But it’s the only idea I have.”
Before Hahen could try to talk me out of it, I flipped the phone open and pressed the speed dial. The phone rang a single time, a digital bleating that irritated my ear.
“Yes?” a deep male voice asked.
“It’s time,” I said. “Are you ready?”
I heard a faint crackling sound of the other end of the line, like cellophane crushed in a fist. I realized that was the sound of a burning cigar near the phone’s mouthpiece.
“I received the payment from your dragon friends. That will cover the extra travel fee quite comfortably. My team is ready,” a man’s voice oozed into my ear. I swore I could smell smoke in the air. “Fifteen minutes. We’ll be in position, don’t make us wait.”
“Twenty soldiers,” I said. “As we agreed. When I’m back at School, I’ll send another payment equal to the one you just received.”
That was a lot of money, millions all told, but if it bought loyalty and kept me and my friends safe, it was oboli well spent.
The cigar crackled. A gust of breath washed through the receiver.
“Twenty men will be there. Armed and ready.” The receiver went dead.
I glanced at the clock. It was four in the morning local time. That made it noon at our target. Perfect.
The trip to the PDF terminal only took me a handful of minutes, and the rest of my allies were already in place. Eric and Clem sat next to one another on a bench beside the portal terminal, deep in conversation while Abi explained the details of our travel plans to the intern. It was the same kid who’d seen us through the past trip, and he looked just as nervous now as he had the first time. When Abi finished the lecture, the kid shot me a thumbs-up and a too-wide grin.
“I’ve got your back, Mr. Jace!” he called out.
The kid’s enthusiasm and high spirits were infectious. It was hard not to feel confident with him as a cheerleader. I waved to him and joined my friends.
Niddhogg emerged from where he’d been standing behind the terminal. He looked upbeat, though I saw the worry aspects floating in his aura.
“I still think you should let us go with you,” Niddhogg said. “I’m a dragon, Jace. That has to count for something.”
Clem scratched the little guy between his horns, and he let out a puff of smoke and closed his eyes.
“Somebody has to hold down the fort,” she reassured him. “If the bad guys show up here, we’re relying on you and Hahen to let us know. You can’t do that if you’re knee deep in trouble on the other side of that portal.”
The two of them grumbled at that, then shrugged. Hahen stiffened his spine and tugged at his belt. He bowed to each of us, before straightening and fixing me with a steely gaze.
“The four of you have done great things. You will do even more very soon.” He clasped his hands in front of him. “It has been my sincere honor to have met all of you. I hope that the words of wisdom I have been able to impart will help you in the challenges to come. I want you to know in your heart that you can do this. You are all stronger than the challenges you will face. None of your enemies is worthy to block your path. If they dare to stand in your way, strike them down. There can be no mercy for any who oppose you.”
Hahen’s words filled me with pride. I’d come such a long way from the kid who’d first met him. He’d helped me grow into the man I’d become. I kneeled in front of him, bowed my head to the floor, and pulled him into an embrace. I clutched the little spirit to my chest, then rested my forehead against his.
“We will do you proud, Master Hahen,” I said. “And we will see you again. Soon.”
I stood and nodded to Abi, who snapped his fingers. The attendant’s fingers floated over the portal control terminal. Our gateway appeared a split second later, crackling like a live wire. It was time to go.
I rose, nodded to Niddhogg, and strode through the portal. I emerged on the top of a towering sand dune in the heart of the Gobi Desert, and the sun slanted across me to cast a giant’s shadow on the white sand. The cold nipped at my cheeks, but it was easy enough for me to ignore. My disciple-level core protected me from all but the most extreme environments, and this was far from that. I stepped away from the portal to make room for our friends.
There were no buildings for as far as I could see. In fact, I detected no signs of life, other than my little group, at all. The only features I could see in any direction were sand dunes. Their skins of loose grains shifted and undulated under
