“That’s plenty, thank you. Corian?”
“Yeah.” They both jumped down into the vat beside Venga, who stood at least three times as tall as either of them, and sneered up at Cheyenne.
The halfling rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
Her black Vans landed with a metallic thud on the floor of the tank, and she looked up to take in Venga’s green-brown and light-gray scales and the four muscular arms above two legs as thick as tree trunks. Something smacked the other side of the tank, and Cheyenne peered around the giant lizard-thing to catch a glimpse of the source. Is that a tail?
“Here.” Corian grimaced as his portal flared in front of the tank wall. He stretched his arms apart with a growl and ripped the shimmering window of light higher and wider to accommodate Venga’s gargantuan size. Then he raised his eyebrows at Venga and snarled, “Nineteen seconds. Go!”
With a booming laugh that made Cheyenne think her brain would be permanently scrambled, Venga stalked through the abnormally large portal into the empty lot just outside Chateau D’rahl’s property line. His tail whipped the tank as he moved. L’zar would have been flattened against the side if he hadn’t darted out of the way at the last second. He grabbed Cheyenne’s wrist and dragged her through the portal behind him.
“Hey.” The halfling jerked her arm out of his grasp and scowled at her father. “I know how this works.”
“I know, Cheyenne.” L’zar took a deep breath and watched Venga, who stood stock-still on the asphalt, his glittering black eyes flicking to Persh’al’s black SUV filled with his rescuers. The siren still blared behind them.
Cheyenne turned and waved Corian forward. “What are you doing? Come on.”
“Go take care of your business with that one, kid.” The nightstalker nodded at Venga’s hunched, scaly back. “Let me take care of mine.”
“What are you talking about?” The portal closed with a pop, and Cheyenne hissed, “Are you kidding me?”
“By the blood of Op’paro,” Persh’al said, leaning halfway out of the driver’s side door and staring at the massive magical standing in front of the SUV. “Nobody said shit about driving around a fucking mountain!”
“We can’t fit him in the car,” Maleshi said as she closed the door behind her. “But we can at least make him look like he’ll fit.”
L’zar shook his head. “We wait for Corian.”
Lumil rolled down the back driver’s side window and thrust a hand toward the huge complex of Chateau D’rahl a mile in front of them, which was mostly hidden by the high line of thick bushes that also hid their vehicle. “Man, that place is falling apart. Sirens. Flashing lights. And you just wanna wait!”
“We will wait.” The drow thief pointed at the goblin and fixed her in his glowing golden stare. “Quietly.”
Venga chuckled and crouched even lower in front of the SUV.
With a hiss, Lumil slapped the outside of the car and slumped back against the seat before rolling the tinted window all the way up again.
Cheyenne eyed the high-security magical prison going into lockdown and shook her head. “What the hell’s so important that Corian had to stay behind?”
L’zar shrugged. “That’s his business, don’t you think?”
* * *
As soon as Corian closed the portal into the empty lot, he lifted his hands again and cast another in the same place. The siren wailed overhead, echoing inside the tank as the red light spilled across the chamber. The red light fell through his newest portal too, streaking across the damp stone floor in an otherwise lightless room. It looked a little like blood.
The nightstalker gazed into the dark room, his silver eyes glowing brightly. Then he grinned. “Oh, you’re going to love this. Time for a change of scenery.”
Chapter Seventy-Five
The second Maleshi opened a much larger portal in the lot outside Chateau D’rahl, Corian’s next portal opened in the air beside it, and he stepped quickly through with a feral grin. Behind him, the wailing siren was punctuated by panicked screams and incoherent pleas. The portal closed behind him with a pop, and the empty lot fell silent.
Cheyenne stared at him and folded her arms. “Do we have your permission to leave now?”
“I didn’t ask you to stay.” The nightstalker flicked bits of crumbled stone and what looked like a chipped claw off his shoulder and headed for the car. His silver eyes met Maleshi’s gaze. “But I’m glad you did.”
“And I’m done waiting here for everyone else to get their shit together. Warehouse.” Though the general pointed sternly at the huge portal she’d opened in front of the SUV, large enough to fit the crouching, heavily breathing creature called Venga, a tiny smile flickered at the corner of her mouth before she stalked toward the extra-large window of wavering light.
Persh’al started the engine and rolled the driver’s side window down to jerk his chin up at Cheyenne. “What about your FRoE friends?”
“They’ll be fine. They deal with this kind of chaos all the time, and for the most part, they clean up pretty well.”
In the front passenger seat, Ember leaned forward to meet Cheyenne’s gaze. “Even with their bosses?”
Cheyenne snorted and flipped Chateau D’rahl the middle finger. “Those guys in there aren’t Rhynehart’s bosses. He can handle it.”
With a shrug, Persh’al slowly drove the SUV through Maleshi’s portal back to his warehouse. Cheyenne shoved her hands in her pockets and stalked after it.
“One more relocation, Venga.” L’zar grinned at the enormous magical, craning his neck to meet the creature’s gaze. “Then you and I will have an opportunity to chat.”
“It will be more than that, Weaver.” Venga grinned right back, his razor-sharp teeth covered with yellow flecks of who-knew-what. A glistening forked gray tongue flickered out between his teeth as he stooped over L’zar. “I look forward to it.”
“Oh, as do I. Very much, in fact.” The drow thief gestured at the portal, and Chateau D’rahl’s only two
