Chapter 17 #2
“This is madness,” he spat at Skye. “Your selfishness has put us in this deathtrap. When we’re free of this, your father will learn of your deceit.” He stopped, leaned so close she must have felt his breath on her cheek. “I will certainly not forget it.”
Skye said nothing. She stood with her spine straight and her hands clasped at her waist, armored in her own stillness.
“Austin,” Taran called, his face drawn with worry.
“I ken little of portals and their outcomes. Our only experience was an accident o’ sorts.
So I’m askin’ one last time for yer help.
Ye’ve admitted tae countless trips through the portal.
And ’tis clear from the different items in the Citadel that ye’ve been tae many different times and places.
Paige and I need tae return tae the time ye both came from, tae get Emily the help she needs.
We cannae take a chance on endin’ up in a time that cannae help her.
How have you determined yer destination?
How did ye insure ye always came back tae the same place?
I’m askin’ ye how tae make sure we dinnae end up in a place where the limitations for the child are even worse than they are here. ”
Finn snorted. “Worse than this? Look around you.”
As if to prove his point another rumble rolled beneath their feet, and a chunk of stone fell not three feet from where Paige sat. She flinched and clutched Brody tighter but said nothing, merely nodding to Taran that they were okay.
Austin scowled. “I’m not your travel guide. Go where you will, or not. I don’t care. I’ve fulfilled my end of the bargain.” His gaze slid to Skye, possessive and cold. “Now I intend to see that you will fulfill yours.”
Noah couldn’t hold his tongue any longer. “You can’t expect—”
“It’s the intent.” The blurted words came unexpectedly from the younger guard who’d been whispering to his companion. He spoke before he seemed to realize what he was doing, his fear clearly stronger than his obedience.
“What do ye mean?” Taran asked.
“You will be silent!” Austin commanded.
The guard flinched, shot a fearful glance at Austin, and another at the collapse blocking the tunnel.
“You must hold fast to your intended destination in your mind, or the portal will take you where it pleases. You must know precisely where you want to go, the time period, even the specific place if you know it. At the very least, you need to have in mind the purpose you seek when arriving.”
“Aye,” Taran nodded. “Which is why Paige and I were able tae come tae this time without even realizing we’d chosen it. Our single intent was for Paige tae reunite with Austin. So it brought us tae this world.”
“Yes,” the guard nodded.
“But ye’ve been able tae come and go. Paige and I couldnae go back. Why?”
The guard shrugged. “I’m not sure. Perhaps because you hadn’t fully realized your intent yet? What you came for?”
Paige looked up at Austin with an expression of such sorrow it twisted Noah’s heart. “No,” she said, almost in a whisper. “We certainly had not.”
Noah let the guard’s words take root in his mind. Intent. If he used the portal, he would need to focus on a destination with absolute clarity.
He looked at the solid wall behind Paige, where the portal was supposed to be, and tried to push away the nagging thought that they could be waiting for something that might never appear.
Even if it did, he wouldn’t go without Skye.
Another tremor vibrated through the stone around them, triggering a deafening crash not far down the tunnel, and visibly widening the fissures above their heads. A large slab of stone shifted, dropped a few inches, but thankfully held.
Paige gasped, eyes fixed on the ceiling as the guards scrambled to their feet, eyes darting, searching for a place to hide that didn’t exist.
Austin visibly blanched and seized Skye’s arm. “We’re going back. Now! If we linger here, we’ll be trapped.”
Skye pulled against his grip. “What’s wrong with you? We’re already trapped. You saw the cave-in. The tunnel is blocked, Austin. And even if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t go with you. Our bargain isn’t sealed until I see them walk into the portal.”
He wrenched her closer, his face inches from hers, as his mask of civility fell away entirely. “You foolish, spoiled woman! You think I care about your ridiculous bargain? I’m not going to allow your stubbornness to get us killed.”
“Fine. Go. Save yourself, if you think you can.” Skye’s voice didn’t waver. “No one is holding you here. Although I’m not sure how you plan to get through several tons of collapsed rock.”
“Mark me.” Austin’s eyes narrowed to slits as he tightened his grip on her arm until she winced. “You will pay for your insolence.”
Noah took a step forward before conscious thought could deter gut instinct. Two of the guards responded, swords rising to block his path. But the other two, including the young one who’d explained the portal, retreated a step, their faces tight with fear and indecision.
“What are you waiting for?” Austin screamed at the guards, pointing to the blocked tunnel behind them. “Begin clearing. At once!”
The guards exchanged confused glances but didn’t move.
“You dare refuse me!” Austin bellowed. “I will have your heads.”
Still, they didn’t move, backing away from Austin to stand with the others against the far wall.
Austin sputtered with rage, helpless in the face of their mutiny. Finally, visibly shaking, eyes wild and darting around the tight space, he dropped onto a large boulder and shoved his trembling hands through his hair as he fought for control.
Seeing Austin begin to unravel almost turned Noah’s fury to pity.
Almost.
Instead, he forced himself to focus on what might come next. With the entire tunnel on the verge of collapse, if the portal did open, everyone would make a panicked scramble to get through all at once. What if they all had different destinations in mind?
How could he ensure Taran and Paige could get Emily where she needed to be?
He turned to the guard. “What happens if there are multiple people in the tunnel at the same time, wanting to go different places?”
The guard shrugged again. “I don’t know.” He glanced nervously at Austin. “We’re given specific assignments with time periods and places already scouted. Those with the same assignment go and return as a group.”
“Makes sense,” Taran said, turning to Finn. “I ken we’ll part here, then. Ye’ll wish tae return tae yer family, aye?”
“Aye.” Finn’s face revealed the toll all the years of loneliness and separation had taken.
“I can’t deny that I miss them terribly.
I’ve thought a lot about them since the idea of a viable portal arose.
But, so many years have passed. Who knows where or what they might have moved on to.
Or what fear and confusion my return might cause after so long. ”
He looked at Emily’s still form in Taran’s arms, at Paige and Brody huddled against the wall. “But you are my family as well. So, my intent will be simply to go where my family is. I’ll let the magic and wisdom of the portal decide which one.”
“Ye’ll always be a part o’ us, but if I dinnae see ye again, thank ye for helping save my,” he faltered for a fraction of a heartbeat, “our, family.”
Another deep rumble shuddered beneath them, and a small crash not far from Austin produced another blast of dust and rubble.
Taran turned his back to it, shielding Emily the best he could.
Once the worst was over, he turned to Paige.
“Up, Love. I ken ’tis somewhere past midnight.
If the portal is goin’ tae appear a’tall, ’twill likely be soon.
” He glanced up at the shattering ceiling then back at the group.
“We should all be ready…for whatever comes.”
“What if it doesn’t open?” one of the guards shrieked as he stared at the widening cracks above them.
“If the portal doesnae open soon, I ken we should move tae the storage cave Austin mentioned.”
“And then?” Austin sneered from his perch on the boulder. “What exactly do you plan to do from there? All that is, is a bigger coffin.”
Taran gave him a look that could have sliced stone. “I’ll do whatever I can tae save my family, for as long as I can.”
“Fool,” Austin snorted, turning away.
Noah hurried to help Paige as she struggled to get up. With one arm curled tightly around Brody, she lost her balance and reached out, pressing her hand flat against the stone wall for support.
And sank through.
She gasped, lurching to the side as her fingers, then her wrist, then her forearm disappeared into what had been solid rock only a moment before. If Noah hadn’t had a grip on her other arm, she’d have fallen completely through.
He yanked her back and she staggered against him, eyes wide, chest heaving. She looked at Taran, and her expression was something Noah knew he would carry for the rest of his life. Terror and elation tangled so tightly they were inseparable.
“It’s happening,” she whispered.
“Just as before,” Taran muttered, staring with relief at the patch of wall where a section of solid stone had become a shimmering, rippling, faintly luminous entrance to the portal.
He looked at Paige for the space of a single breath, and Noah watched his father pour a lifetime of love into that one second. “I love ye both, so fiercely. Hold tight tae our son.”
“And you, to our daughter,” she replied.
Taran moved to her side as she looked at Noah, her question visible on her face.
“I’ll follow you,” Noah managed, his throat tight. Relief filled his chest that Emily would have the chance she desperately needed, but a piercing pain took hold knowing he might never see them again.
“We cannae thank ye enough,” Taran said to Skye. “For everything.”
When his gaze settled on Noah, the world compressed to the unique space held by father and son. “I love you, son. Trust yer heart. Whatever ye decide, our love goes wi’ ye.”