Chapter 18
The journey through the pathway was as dizzying as usual, but we both managed to keep our feet. It was a good thing too, with King Francis and all of his warriors watching us. Not just his warriors, but so many others had gathered too, ready in case any shadows came through.
But something still felt off. Ringo was in Elena’s hands, just like he’d been when we left. And Gabriel had not, in fact, pulled out all of his hair with worry.
“An odd way to regrow a pathway,” Mistral mused, his eyes on the shimmering portal.
“Wait.” I held up a hand while I breathed through my remaining dizziness. “Why do you all look like we just left?”
Mistral stepped closer, concern now etched across his brow. “You were gone for but a moment. I’ll admit, we were worried, but then we felt you again on the other end and knew your intent.”
I turned to Crispin, my brows raised.
He already wore an identical expression, so it was a surprise to him too. “Celestials work in mysterious ways?” he suggested.
“Um, we don’t time travel.” It was only by a day, but we had spent that entire day and night somewhere else only to return to the moment we left from. Of course, my great grandfather had pulled the same trick when we met with him in the pocket realm, so maybe celestials did time travel.
“What are you two going on about?” Sebastian interrupted, but King Francis approached before either of us could answer.
He looked at the portal like it was his long lost love, not the woman he might soon see on the other side.
The king and I hadn’t always gotten perfectly along, but I was excited for him.
He had been away from the woman he loved for far too long, and it was a sacrifice he’d made willingly, knowing the threat of the darkness.
He’d placed the safety of his home realm above his own heart.
Of course, he would have a long ride ahead once he went through the pathway…
I caught Crispin’s gaze again, and he shrugged. We would figure out later how to break it to Francis that he would need to ride for two days to the capital on the other side.
The king turned to address his people, a broad smile crinkling the slight lines around his eyes.
“We will begin preparations for the first journey through the pathway. Once we’ve ensured that all is secure, those wishing to return to our home realm will be free to pass.
” He looked back at me and Crispin. “What of the darkness?”
Crispin’s cheeks were looking a little bit red. “I will provide a full report. In private.”
The king’s brows lifted, but he nodded. “Perhaps that is for the best.” He looked at me. “Which pathway will you see to next?”
Sebastian loudly cleared his throat, and I sighed. “I should know pretty soon.”
Pretty soon, after Sebastian fetched Penelope. It was time to give her what she wanted, and to give Sebastian what he wanted. A completion to our contract with her, and the power to end her life.
Gabriel took my hand and gave it a squeeze, likely not actually knowing my thoughts but just sensing that I was worried. It should be a simple task, but when it came to Penelope, nothing seemed to go as planned.
I opened my eyes as we appeared in Mistral’s sitting room within the Citadel.
Sebastian had gone to find Penelope, while Crispin had gone to the palace to give the king his full report.
That left me with three goblins to go check on the Bogs, one on each side of me and Ringo on my shoulder.
I was still feeling pretty good after all the magic Crispin had given me in the elven realm.
It was incredible how much power he had there, and it meant a lot that he didn’t intend to stay and take advantage of it.
Of course, it wasn’t just for me. He liked earth and the city, and as long as he had access to Emerald Heights, his magic wouldn’t fade. But I was still happy.
“It’s interesting that earth time did not pass while you were in the elven realm,” Mistral was saying, continuing the conversation we had started in Emerald Heights after the elves had returned to the palace.
He squeezed my hand, then let go to walk toward the window.
“I do wonder if it’s simply because you did not wish for time to pass while you were away.
Perhaps it was not when you left that you jumped back in time, but when you returned—” He stopped halfway to the window. “Something is not right.”
I was still holding Gabriel’s hand, and he gripped tighter at Mistral’s words. “The pathway?”
Mistral finished his walk to the window, peering outside. “I cannot be sure, but the magic here feels overly active.” He looked over his shoulder at Gabriel. “I’ll check the pathway. You go to the nearest village, make sure nothing is amiss.”
They both looked at me.
Knowing their intent, I dropped Gabriel’s hand and crossed my arms. “I am not staying here.”
Ringo hopped down from my shoulder and scurried toward the nearest cushioned chair. “I’ll stay. When the magic goes wild the trolls are always out.”
Gabriel frowned, but Mistral sighed. “Stay with Gabriel, then.”
Gabriel opened his mouth to argue, but Mistral cut him off. “If you try to leave her behind, she’ll just jump to you anyways.”
“Exactly,” I agreed.
Swiping a palm down over his face, Gabriel shook his head, but then took my hand again, tugging me toward the door. I followed after him, hoping whatever Mistral sensed was nothing serious. Surely the fates would not throw yet another curveball at us.
Surely.
With the Bogs acting up and affecting the magic flowing through the land, we had intended to ride to Evenlee, the nearest village, but we only made it as far as the stables.
There were all sorts of little goblins running around, many of them closer to animals than humans, their furs, scales, and skins conspicuously damp.
A fuzzy green creature that looked a little bit like a hedgehog scampered right across my path, shaking droplets of water everywhere as it went.
A more humanoid goblin the size of a small child but with incredibly wrinkled skin hobbled in the other direction.
His pallid skin and rough looking clothing dripped with moisture.
I shut my gaping jaw, then looked at Gabriel, whose hand was hesitating near his sword hilt. “Why are they all wet?” I asked.
“The pool. The pathway. It has to be. They are coming from the goblin realm.”
“But that isn’t anywhere close to here. They should be dry by now.
” Just as I said it, the ground lightly rumbled beneath our feet.
“The Bogs is having fun,” I realized. While my connection wasn’t as strong as Mistral’s, I could still feel the playful energy coming from the ground at my feet.
The wild magic was loving the new pathway, and was attracting creatures to pass through.
“What should we—” I started, but cut myself off, sensing it the moment the Bogs turned its attention to us. “Uh-oh.” I grabbed Gabriel’s hand, knowing what the Bogs was about to do.
We reappeared moments later near the gates leading out to the city. There were more creatures here, some on four legs and some two, many of them going to investigate the gates.
“Crap,” I muttered, dropping Gabriel‘s hand and running toward the gates. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but if the creatures were from the goblin realm, we couldn’t let them pass out into the city.
Many of them wouldn’t understand that their magic wouldn’t be as strong there, if it was accessible at all.
Not to mention that they would probably get run over.
Gabriel quickly caught up as I reached the gates. I was already waving my arms as I slowed. “Hey! Stay away from there!” I really wished I had taken the time to learn more of Mistral’s language.
Another one of the green hedgehog things was squirming through the bars, and I took a chance by grabbing it and pulling it back. It squirmed in my grip, scratching me before Gabriel took it and tossed it away from the gates.
I stepped between another smaller humanoid goblin and the bars, holding out my hands. “You can’t go out there. It’s not safe.”
The goblin tilted its head, fluffy brown hair floating around its face and bobbing with its movement. While it observed me, several other goblins tried to rush toward the gates.
“Stop!” I whipped out my arms in both directions. Darkness flowed out of my hands, swarming around me and blocking the rest of the gates. All the goblins skittered back, making either strange noises or speaking in the goblin tongue.
I was pretty sure my heart stopped beating for a second as I looked back at the wall of darkness I had formed. I still held out my hands. No more darkness came out of them, but I was afraid to move. Despite the possible danger of the occurrence, Gabriel remained right next to me.
He spoke calmly in the goblin tongue, addressing the creatures who were now all huddled away from me. They chattered amongst themselves, then turned and ran in the other direction.
As we watched them go, Mistral appeared amongst them, walking toward us.
I lowered my trembling hands and the darkness receded from the gates, absorbing back into me, which only made me tremble more.
Gabriel stayed close, but seemed unsure if he should touch me.
And I was feeling pretty unsure about that myself.
Reaching us, Mistral looked at the gates where the darkness had just been, then observed me and Gabriel. “Many lesser goblins have come through the pathway. I believe the Bogs lured them here and provided extra magic to speed their travel.”
I stared at him. “Really?” I asked, my voice hoarse. “No comment on—” I gestured vaguely at the gates behind us.
He inclined his chin. “I’ll admit, I am curious. But you seem on the verge of, to put it quite plainly, freaking out.”
I glanced at Gabriel, then back to Mistral. “Yeah, that’s a pretty accurate way of putting it.” It was one thing when I was making darkness disappear, quite another when I was shooting it back out again. And shooting it back out on earth. The whole point was to keep it away from this realm.
“Well you don’t seem to have harmed anything.
” Mistral stepped past us toward the gates.
We turned to watch him kneel down, placing a hand on the earth.
Vines snaked up, weaving their way around the bars until they formed a solid wall.
He stood, dusting off his hands. “That should keep them contained for now.”
Unlike Gabriel, he didn’t seem worried about touching me, and slid an arm around my waist before grazing his lips across my cheek. “Thank you for keeping them safe.”
My bark of laughter sounded a bit hysterical, even to me. “Yeah, no problem. Didn’t want to see anyone getting hit by a car. But what are we going to do about them now?”
“I will encourage the Bogs to send them back.”
I pulled away just enough to observe his face. “And you think it’s going to listen?”
He smiled. “The wild magic is more joyous than it’s been in a long time. It’s only having a bit of fun.”
I looked at the vine covered gates, imagining those little critters running out into traffic. “Fun. Right.”
“It will take me some time to set things to rights. Perhaps you should locate Sebastian and see if he’s made any progress with his sister. I’ll be ready when it’s time for the next pathway.” He kissed me again, then wandered off.
“We’re going to pick up Ringo first!” I called after him.
He lifted one hand in acknowledgment, not turning back.
I stood there, still feeling a little shaken, and watched him go. “You know, sometimes I forget that he’s an old as the hells, powerful goblin.”
Gabriel smirked. “I do not.” He took my hand. “Which is why I tend to do what he says.”
Having his hand in mine made me feel a little more steady. “I have a natural inclination to do exactly the opposite of what anyone tells me to do, but I suppose this time I can make an exception.”
Hoping Mistral’s confidence in the Bogs was not misplaced, I closed my eyes and thought of the Citadel. We would pick up Ringo, then head to the apartment. When he was ready, Sebastian could find us there, and I wouldn’t have to see any more of Penelope than was necessary.