“I don’t know, Gin. Maybe your Sephine is real, after all?” Sath chuckled as Gin smacked him on the arm, but she shared the laugh. “Seriously, I imagine that they don’t know they need to get out of there, so they don’t look for a way out. They don’t know about the Mother Dragon’s traps, or that so many have left our home and traveled here, never to be seen again.” Sath raised an eyebrow warily. “Or, we are still stuck, just in a different trap.” He shrugged as he looked around at the other arches. “So, this one here then?”
“Yeah, I think so.” She walked toward it and turned around just before stepping through it to reach for Sath’s hand. “Together.” Sath smiled and held out his hand, but before she could take it the darkness that could be seen through the portal’s archway—already writhing and seeming to move—reached out a tentacle-like appendage that wrapped solidly around Gin, pulling her through the portal as she screamed for Sath. He ran through the doorway, plunging into the darkness as he answered her scream with his own roar. There was nothing there—it was like the first transport magic gone wrong that had brought them to the Void. The loud sound of wind in his ears that he could also feel against his face, combined with the salty sea air and darkness that wrapped around him like a hot woolen blanket on a sunny summer’s day, sucking all the air from his lungs as he screamed noiselessly into its depths—that was all there was.
He landed hard on sandy ground. The salty smell was stronger here, and he could feel the moisture in the air. “Gin.” Sath pushed up from the prone position of his landing onto all fours and then stood up, blinking into the afternoon setting sun on the horizon. “GIN!” Sath’s mind sought hers, finding the low hum in the back of his mind to be very low indeed—but still there. He exhaled loudly as he searched for that hum—searched for her through the bond—but she was too far away. Had the portal taken him somewhere different than it took her?
Gin, where are you?!?
There was no response. Sath roared as he hit his knees, fisting his hands and punching the wet sand. Over and over, he struck the ground, out of a mixture of anger and fear. His knuckles grew sore, and he stopped, holding his hands up to his chest in pain.
Gin! GIN!
I’m here, Sath.
Her voice was so soft in the back of his mind that he almost thought he had imagined it.
Gin?
Yes, Sath, I’m okay, but I don’t know where I am. Where are you?
I’m on a beach, and I’m alone.
Did the darkness take you too? The last thing I remember is reaching for you—and it has been all dark ever since. I think that I’m in a room—maybe a dungeon? The floor is hard. I haven’t moved since I—well, woke up, I guess?
I’m going to find you, Gin. I just need to figure out where I am.
You are far away—that is all I can tell. Your voice is so faint, Sath, please be careful. I can take care of myself. You need to find a way back to your son.
I won’t leave without you.
Suddenly there was someone else there in the bond with them—an intruder, like someone hiding around a corner and eavesdropping, then suddenly popping out to be seen. This was a new sensation for Sath, and he wasn’t sure the feeling was real until Gin confirmed it.
Who are you? How are you intruding on our bond? Sath, can you feel that?
Aye, Gin, I can.
Sath opened his eyes after the fur on the back of his neck stood on end and nearly lost consciousness at what he saw before him. “No, this has to be a dream. I must have hit my head when I landed.”
You haven’t hit your head, Rajah. I am Kaerinth, and you are standing on my beach. I have already taken the Nature Walker – will you join her?
Sath hit his knees, more due to them giving out from under him than any sort of reverence. His mind could not wrap itself around what he was seeing. The Mother Dragon was dead. She died two centuries ago, and yet there she was, right in front of him. Her dark blue scales reflected the setting sun, shimmering as she shifted her weight and then tilted her head to one side, considering him. Something was wrong, though, and as Sath looked up at her, he thought he could see through her at some angles. She was a projection!
Do you speak Eldyr, Qatu?
No, not very well.
Such a shame that they no longer teach that to the young ones on your island. Then this will be the way for us to communicate as I have not spoken the languages of the lesser races in so long that I have forgotten them. Now, tell me why you are here on my island?
This, I do not know, Mother Dragon. The Nature Walker and I found ourselves in the Void and tried taking a portal to return home, but that led us here.
Sath felt her amusement and revulsion at his mention of Gin, and it set off alarms deep in his mind—the place where he was connected to Gin.
Yes, YOUR Nature Walker. I know all about her, through my bond to my mate, whom she killed. I believe she was also tangentially involved in the death of my son, Kalinth, who resided in the Western Tower.
Your son is not dead, Mother. He sleeps, but he is not dead.
Irrelevant. The Nature Walker is where she needs to be until she can answer for her crimes, but I have no intention of bringing all of the Guardians to my door. You may leave now, Rajah, and make
