Chapter 21 #3
“The bloodline endures,” I said, my voice carrying clearly across the clearing as I wrestled with the flow of power. It felt like trying to hold onto a firehose, but I knew I couldn’t lose my grip. I had to keep that energy moving in the right direction. “And you are not welcome here.”
Through the brilliant light, I could see the portal forming, shimmering like liquid diamonds. The otherworld beyond it was visible, all teal meadows and silver trees under an aquamarine sky.
Home, the griffin said, wonder and relief clear in its mental voice. The way home opens again.
But the shadow stalkers weren’t about to give up without a fight. Several of them rushed toward me, trying to break through the barrier of light I’d created. Where they touched the radiance, they screamed and dissolved, but more kept coming.
That was when Dr. Rosenthal and her team — well, what was left of them, anyway — burst into the clearing.
“What the hell — ” one of the agents started to say, then cut off abruptly as a shadow stalker flowed toward him. The bullets he fired off passed harmlessly through the stalker’s insubstantial form, and I could see the way his eyes widened in fear.
“Fall back!” Dr. Rosenthal shouted, but there was no way they’d be able to flee in time. The shadow stalkers had found new sources of life energy, and they were converging on the federal agents with terrifying speed.
No time to think. Instead, I extended the flow of light far beyond myself, creating a wider circle of protective light that encompassed Ben, the griffin, the unicorn…and Rosenthal’s team.
It felt as if I was being stretched in all directions at once, but I somehow managed to hold on. Whatever my feelings about Dr. Rosenthal and her methods, I wasn’t going to let innocent people die on my watch.
“The portal!” Ben shouted over a burst of completely useless gunfire. “Sidney, can you hold it open?”
I gritted my teeth, pouring even more energy into maintaining both the protective barrier and the gateway to the otherworld. “Not for long!”
Then we end this now, the griffin declared, spreading its wings wide. Shadow-eaters! Your hunt is finished. Return to the dark places, or face the light’s judgment.
The largest shadow stalker turned its attention back to us, its pale eyes burning with frustrated hunger. Will not be banished by dying guardian tradition. Will consume the light-bringer and grow strong enough to devour both worlds.
It launched itself directly at me, moving faster than anything had a right to move. But the unicorn was faster.
The ancient creature stepped between us, its horn blazing with power that made my own abilities look like a candle next to the sun. When the shadow stalker struck that radiance, it didn’t just recoil — it began to unravel, its very essence burning away in the purifying light.
No guardian stands alone, the unicorn said simply. The compact between worlds endures.
With their leader destroyed, the remaining shadow stalkers seemed to lose their coordination. Some fled back into the forest depths, while others rushed toward the portal, apparently preferring exile to destruction.
Dr. Rosenthal was looking around her with wide eyes, her professional composure finally cracked wide open. “This is impossible,” she whispered. “Everything we know about physics, about reality….”
“Your reality is bigger than you thought,” I gritted, even as I funneled my dwindling energy into the portal through sheer force of will. “Maybe it’s time to expand your perspective.”
Light-bringer, the griffin said, his inner voice urgent. Can you hold the way open long enough?
“Yes,” I said, even though I could feel my strength ebbing with each passing second. But he had given me all the help he could, and he needed to go back where he belonged. “You can go home now.”
The griffin’s dark eyes met mine one final time. The guardian’s duty is remembered. The compact between worlds is renewed. If darkness threatens again, call, and guardians will answer.
With those words, the griffin launched itself toward the portal, its great wings carrying it through the shimmering gateway and into the otherworld beyond. The last I saw of it was a flash of golden-brown feathers against the teal sky, and then it was gone.
The portal began to collapse immediately, since I knew I couldn’t hold it open a single second longer. But as it closed, I sensed something else…a sense of completion, of balance restored. The wrongness that had plagued Silver Hollow for weeks was finally healing.
The last shadow stalker disappeared into the forest, and the supernatural cold that had gripped the clearing began to lift.
Normal temperatures returned, along with the ordinary sounds of a cloudy afternoon — birds singing in the trees, the rustle of small animals in the undergrowth, the whisper of leaves on the trees.
I swayed on my feet, utterly drained, and Ben’s arms tightened around me, holding me steady.
“It’s over,” he said, and I could hear the amazement in his voice. “You did it. You actually did it.”
Dr. Rosenthal approached us slowly, her two remaining agents flanking her. They all looked shell-shocked, struggling to process what they’d witnessed only a minute earlier.
“Ms. Lowell,” Dr. Rosenthal said after a long pause. Her voice wavered, and if I hadn’t known she was the one speaking, I would have thought it was someone else. “What we just saw…it challenges everything we thought we knew about the world.”
“Good,” I replied, leaning against Ben’s solid warmth, grateful beyond words that he’d been there for me even through all the craziness. “Maybe now you’ll think twice before trying to weaponize things you don’t understand.”
She was quiet for a long moment, studying my face in the dim light filtering through the forest canopy. “The readings we just took — they’re unlike anything in our databases. The energy signatures alone….”
“Will be classified and filed away where they can’t hurt anyone,” I said, glad that I sounded so firm, even though my knees were shaking and I was pretty sure I would have gone over in a heap if Ben hadn’t been holding me up.
“That’s what’s going to happen, Dr. Rosenthal.
Because the alternative is that I make sure no electronic device within fifty miles of Silver Hollow ever works properly again. ”
It wasn’t an empty threat, and we both knew it. If I wanted to, I could make their lives very difficult.
Dr. Rosenthal’s cool gaze flicked to the unicorn, which had remained in the clearing, watching our exchange with ancient patience. “And that creature?”
“Goes back to coming and going peacefully in the forest, the way he and others of his kind have done for generations,” I said. Then I added, thinking of Victor Maplehurst’s violent end, “Assuming he’s left alone, of course.”
The unicorn dipped his head slightly in what might have been acknowledgment, then turned and melted back into the shadows between the trees.
“The portal site,” Dr. Rosenthal said next. “Our readings suggest the dimensional barriers have stabilized, but — ”
“But nothing,” I cut in, not caring how rude I sounded. “The barriers are stable, the threats are gone, and Silver Hollow can go back to being a quiet little town where the most exciting thing that happens is the annual holiday parade. That’s what you’re going to report to your superiors.”
She looked like she wanted to argue, but something in my expression must have convinced her that doing so would have been pointless. Still, she couldn’t seem to help asking, “And if other threats emerge? Other dimensional anomalies?”
“Then I’ll handle them,” I said simply. “That’s what guardians do.”
She nodded slowly, and I could see her making mental calculations, weighing the benefits of trying to force my cooperation against the very real dangers of antagonizing someone with my abilities.
“Very well,” she said after a long pause. “My official report will state that the electromagnetic anomalies were caused by unusual geological activity that has since resolved itself. No ongoing threat to public safety.”
“Good choice,” Ben said dryly.
Dr. Rosenthal signaled to her agents, and they began to back out of the clearing. But at the edge of the treeline, she paused and looked back.
“Ms. Lowell,” she called out. “This isn’t over. There are things in this world — in other worlds — that pose genuine threats to national security. Someday, we may need your help.”
“And someday, I might choose to give it,” I replied. “But that will be my choice, Dr. Rosenthal. Not yours.”
She gave a curt nod, then disappeared into the trees along with the two remaining men on her team. Within a minute or so, we could hear their vehicles starting up and heading off toward town, leaving Ben and me alone in the clearing.
“So,” Ben said after the sound of engines had faded completely. “How does it feel to save the world?”
I chuckled, surprised I had the energy for even that much. “I didn’t save the world. I just protected my little corner of it.”
“It looks like about the same thing from where I’m standing.” He gazed down at me, expression now very serious. “Do you think they’ll actually leave us alone?”
“I hope so,” I said. Sure, I’d been able to see into the woman’s mind, but that didn’t mean I knew everything. “But even if she backs off permanently, there might be others. There always are.”
“Well, when that happens, we’ll deal with it.”
The confidence in his tone made me smile a little. “You’re a good guy, Ben Sanders.”
Once again, he bent down to kiss me, only this time, he merely pressed his lips against my forehead. “Can you walk? Or should I carry you out of here on piggyback?”
I couldn’t help laughing again at that mental picture. “I think I can manage…as long as you let me hold your hand the whole way.”
“It’s a deal.”
As we began to walk toward Silver Hollow, the clearing behind us settled into peaceful silence, the portal site stable and secure once more. The compact between worlds had been renewed, the guardian tradition restored. And somewhere in the otherworld, a griffin was finally home.
It was enough. For now, it was enough.