“Might be the only time a loose tongue comes in handy, huh?” Mattie nodded slowly. “You deserve to know.”
“What, you mean that L’zar had a bunch of other kids before me, and they all died when they started their trials because some prophecy said they would? Yeah, that’s a pretty important nugget of information. There’s a lot more I’d like to know on top of it.” Cheyenne raised her eyebrows and almost held her breath. She’s known about all this for a long time. No way she’s keeping the same promises Corian made. “Care to tell me the rest of it?”
“Not now, Cheyenne.” Corian leaned forward in the loveseat, shook his head, and shot Mattie a quick, warning glance. “Right now, we’re here to tell Maleshi what’s happening and to ask for her help. We only have twenty minutes.”
Mattie flashed him a quick smile, but it disappeared just as fast. “You think the Crown’s responsible for opening a new portal that doesn’t differentiate between creatures of the middle realm and those of us who belong on either side of the Border?”
“It’s possible,” he replied. “The Crown’s found out about Cheyenne. That she’s here, Earthside.”
“And no one wants this drow halfling to complete those trials.” Mattie dipped her head. “I understand.”
“I’ve done what I could to keep her hidden, but it’s temporary.”
“The Heart of Midnight was meant to support drow magic.” Mattie glanced at the shape of the pendant protruding beneath Cheyenne’s hoodie. “Not to battle it.”
“You knew what this was when I asked you about it.” The halfling tapped her fingers on the pendant.
“Of course I did. I just wasn’t aware of who’d given it to you.”
She doesn’t want to talk about any of this right now, either. What happened between those two?
“So now you want my help at this new portal.” Mattie crossed one bare foot over her knee and glanced at the other magicals in her living room. “Because you think the Crown might have opened it to get at Cheyenne.”
Corian nodded. “It’s only one possibility of many, Maleshi.”
Hearing that name made Mattie close her eyes again, but she seemed to resign herself to the fact that he wouldn’t stop using it. “Take me to the portal, then.”
“Thank you.”
“For Cheyenne.” The Nightstalker woman turned to offer her former student a real smile before she nodded. “If the Crown’s ripping through two worlds to get to her, it’s the least I can do.”
Cheyenne’s heart sank when she saw the ghost of old pain behind Mattie Bergmann’s green eyes. She really doesn’t want this. “Mattie, you don’t owe me anything.”
“Of course I don’t.” The Nightstalker woman chuckled. “If anything’s owed to anyone, Cheyenne, the armchairs in my office have yet to be replaced. But I will say I’ve grown pretty fond of you, kid. And the bigger picture is making itself more than apparent.” Mattie pushed quickly to her feet and twirled her hand in a gesture to speed things up. Everyone else scrambled up so as not to be sitting while General Hi’et stood before them. “Whatever you have to do to get us there, Corian, I strongly suggest you do it quickly.”
Corian forced back a laugh and summoned another portal right there in Mattie/Maleshi’s living room.
Mattie leaned toward Cheyenne as the dark, shimmering oval grew in the air. “I always had a feeling you were something special, kid.”
“You just wanted to say you trained a drow halfling.” Cheyenne looked at her friend and grinned.
“Turns out, I had no idea what I bargained for.” The Nightstalker woman smiled at the half-drow, but it lacked her usual mirth. “Hopefully, I can give you guys a better idea of whether the Crown’s behind this unaccounted-for portal. That’s what we’re hoping for, at any rate.”
Cheyenne frowned. “I thought we were trying to keep the Crown from finding me.”
“Oh, fuck the Crown. I can handle that self-absorbed drow with my hands tied behind my back.” Mattie snorted. “But if it’s not the Crown, there’s some other reason this new Border portal appeared without warning. Then both sides of the Border are fucked.”
Lumil let out a low whistle at that last statement. Corian pursed his lips. Persh’al tried to hide a chuckle and shook his head.
When Corian’s newest portal was fully formed, Mattie frowned at the image of a dark, empty warehouse and a bunch of computers scattered over three tables. “I’m not an idiot, Corian.”
“Neither am I.” The Nightstalker laughed, his silver eyes shining from across the room. “You didn’t have a single ward or bonded alarm around your house, General.”
“Because I didn’t expect a gang of rogue O’gúleesh to show up at my front door using L’zar’s halfling daughter as bait.”
Corian shrugged. “I’m sure you’ve just fallen out of the habit.”
She snorted and rolled her eyes.
“And I’m not interested in leaving a trail from the border right back to your living room.”
“Aw, man.” Byrd grimaced. “Come on!”
“Deal with it, goblin. We’re going for another drive.” Corian stepped through the portal, which shimmered around him as he disappeared.
Cheyenne watched him reappear in Persh’al’s warehouse, walking away from her. The goblins followed, with Persh’al close on their heels.
Mattie winked at the halfling. “Looks like you’ve had your fair share of portal-hopping too.”
“Enough to know I’d really like to learn how to open one on my own.”
Chuckling, the Nightstalker woman shook her head. “Good luck.”
Frowning, Cheyenne followed her former professor into Persh’al’s warehouse. I could open a portal if someone taught me. And if they won’t, I’ll teach myself.
Corian clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention, then pointed at Lumil as she headed for his unfinished sandwich on the table. “Don’t even think about it.”
The goblin woman grunted. “Come on. You can’t at least buy enough for all of us?”
When the Nightstalker glanced at Persh’al, the troll turned away and pretended to be intensely interested in the overhead lights hanging above loose metal cages in the warehouse ceiling.
“We’ll make it a better trip this time,” Corian said through clenched teeth.
