Not long after that, he sent a raven to the Orc King in the Terran Mountains, and a new plan was put into motion.
Chapter Five
When they arrived on the other side of the portal, Maria stuck the landing. A little wobbly, yeah, but better than landing face-first in the grass. Sherlock wasted no time in bounding across the wide open field. He galloped, moving faster than he had since the fight with Malakai, barking his head off, and shouting, Here we come, you Gnome bastards!
“Geez, he really doesn’t like Gnomes for some reason,” Maria told her grandfather, who was standing in front of her with his hands on his hips and gazing at the night sky, which was now breaking into dawn—or whatever they called dawn on Oriceran. “Any reason why?”
“No, none that I’m aware of,” Gramps said. He turned to look at her over his shoulder. There was a slight smile on his face. “Don’t worry, Sherlock will soon learn humility.”
“As if that’s possible for a telepathic dog.”
“Now is he telepathic or are you?” Gramps asked.
“Ah, the questions that really matter; I’d assume me, because I can hear his thoughts and he can’t hear mine…or can he?” Maria took a step toward her grandfather and watched Sherlock with him. By the orange light on the horizon, she could see him jumping and snapping at various insect-like creatures that had taken flight at his arrival.
“Ah, smart girl,” Gramps said.
Then, out of nowhere, Sherlock shuddered to a stop. It was as if he’d hit an invisible wall. His voice filled Maria’s head.
OWWWW, WHAT THE HELL!?
“Sherlock? Are you okay?”
Do I look okay?
The answer was a definite no. Sherlock looked like a tangled up Slinky toy, his ass over his head.
Was it a fucking Gnome? Is there a Gnome hiding somewhere? I’ll kill him, I’ll rip—
“Not a Gnome,” Maria answered. She was just a few steps away from him now. “Do you see any Gnomes?”
That’s why I specified…invisible Gnomes. They could be anywhere, Maria.
She helped him up.
“Invisibility is a myth. Not real, Sherlock.”
But then again, magic wasn’t supposed to be real; giant spiders, either—in fact, none of this was supposed to be real.
Gramps addressed the thoughts coming to her mind. “Oh, my dear, don’t be too sure of that. It seems Sherlock has hit not an invisible Gnome, but an invisible fence. For we are here." He looked up at seemingly nothing. "At the Light Elves' invisible castle.
"Invisible? You can't be serious…are you?" Maria asked. This is way too fucking cool.
He walked between them and raised a hand toward the sky.
Maria’s mouth hung open.
Above them, a door opened, and standing in the opening was a tall, slender but slightly muscular man…except for the long silken hair and the pointed ears. His face was a mask of unfriendliness. He was not the type of person Maria would’ve asked for directions from, had she stumbled across him while she was lost. Then she noticed that once the “door” had been opened, she was no longer looking at the vast field that had only been there seconds ago, but was looking at the inside of a monumental castle.
What is going on here? It just gets more and more weird, doesn’t it? Maria thought to herself.
Sherlock was equally baffled. He didn’t even bark at the tall man standing in front of them. She thought he would’ve at least stuck his snout into the door and sniffed for Gnomes. Luckily, that wasn’t the case.
The man’s face broke out into a smile. It was a kind smile, and it changed his demeanor almost instantly. Maria noticed for the first, but not the last time that this particular man was quite handsome.
Light Elf, Sherlock said. Almost just as bad as a Gnome. He growled low.
“Ah,” Maria said under her breath. It made sense to her now.
“Ignatius Mangood,” the Light Elf shouted in a high, sweet melodic voice. "Come, come, join us, old friend. Your companions, too."
"Hold on," Gramps whispered.
Mangood, Maria thought. After all of this, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to my grandfather’s true last name. Mangood, that sounds like something out of an epic fantasy novel. He’s always been Ignatius Apple to me, just as I’ve always been Maria Apple. Does this mean my real name is…Maria Mangood? I don’t know if I like the sound of that. "Wait…hold on?"
Suddenly, the three of them were lifted in the air, soaring up to meet the Elf hanging from an invisible doorway in an invisible castle. Maria's fear overtook her. If they didn't slow down or stop soon, they would soon meet the distant mountains.
Alas, they did stop, just as Maria closed her eyes.
When she opened them, she was standing in a large shimmering room.
Holy shit, she thought. This is crazy.
“Where in the two moons have you been, old friend?” the Light Elf asked.
“Earth,” Gramps answered. “I’ve been on Earth, where I would’ve stayed had certain circumstances not forced my hand.”
“Oh, that does not sound good.”
“It’s much worse than it sounds, actually,” Gramps said.
“I’m sorry to hear that. Truly I am. But know you are always welcome here in our castle.” The Light Elf made a sweeping gesture to the now-nothingness behind him. Maria blinked a few times slowly.
“What the heck?” she said. “I just saw the inside of the castle and now it’s gone. What kind of magic is this?”
“There’s plenty of magic you don’t quite know yet, Maria,” Gramps said, smiling at her. “Even magic I don’t understand. That’s the beauty of Oriceran. We are surrounded by mystery, by beauty, by magic.” He looked out at the distant mountains on the horizon. Maria had never seen him look at anything like that.
“Ah, Ignatius, you speak so poetically,” the Light Elf said. “Our sweet home.”
As Gramps shook his head, the hazy look in his
