Chapter 35
Aella
As it turned out, Yorick had enlisted the aid of a dozen men and women.
Even with our group joining theirs, it was a burden to carry the ring.
Everyone’s faces were pale, and some of the druids even threw up from the horrible, rotting stench that permeated the air.
Two masons worked quickly to hammer the supports and break the seals.
As soon as they finished, my uncle directed us. “Half of you need to help lift it from the bindings while everyone else needs to grab it once it’s coming down.”
I grasped a lower spot on the ring. As we carefully lowered it sideways, my arms shook from the burden.
The land was draining my natural strength as well as my magic.
We’d cut it close moving the portal’s location now.
Darrow helped at first, but he cursed and finally stood back to use his powers instead.
We all sighed as he made our load a little lighter.
If not for the ill effects he also suffered, he probably could have lifted the whole thing on his own.
The town appeared far away as we carried the ring over the decaying ground. We grunted, trying to stay in step as we coughed up dust from the former road, now turned powdery black.
Everyone was sweating and out of breath by the time we reached healthier land. Darrow was able to take most of the weight once he had more magic at his disposal. We groaned in relief, and I gave him a grateful look.
The new supports for the ring were a short distance up the road from my sister’s house, a quarter-mile south of the village.
We moved faster now that we weren’t suffering physically from the dying land and didn’t have as much weight to carry.
I helped prop the ring onto the supports, then stepped back to begin my preparations.
They continued to lift it until it was perfectly upright.
The masons got to work filling in the small spaces to fix it permanently.
Once they finished, I poured a large handful of holmium powder into my palm. I took several deep breaths to prepare myself, because it took a lot of power to force a ring to put down its so-called “roots” in a new location.
“Everyone, please stand back,” I announced.
They stepped clear of the area between me and the ring.
I began pulling wind and light elements, absorbing and braiding them together until one couldn’t be distinguished from the other.
Then, I lifted an arm and shot the bundle of energy toward the large metallic ring.
The brilliant golden stream hit one rune after another until all of them lit brightly.
I kept pushing that power through my shaking hand as the ring studied its new location and spread its magic into the ground with tiny tendrils growing into roots. It seemed to go on forever until my breathing grew ragged from pushing so hard.
I’d relocated a portal once before for different reasons, but it hadn’t been this difficult.
My energy reserves weren’t as high as usual.
I had to grit my teeth to keep the connection flowing.
After what seemed like an eternity, the ring’s bond with the new location grew strong enough that I felt confident it had settled into place.
I released my magic and dropped my arm. It felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
“Darrow,” I said weakly, looking over at him. “Sketch the coordinates when they appear.”
He already had a quill and parchment in his hand.
I noticed my uncle and a few others did as well.
One after another, the runes lit up until we saw all five go in order.
He quickly drew the simple marks, but he still double-checked when they flashed in sequence again.
The ring would do that a few more times as part of its magical programming.
The spell that originally woke the portal device already included those instructions, so it didn’t require any input from me.
My vision began to swim, and my head felt light.
I stumbled toward a nearby tree to lean my back against it.
The process took more out of me than I expected, but that might have been because we spent so much time on the dying land.
With every moment that had passed, I’d felt magic slipping from me.
While I knew I wasn’t at full strength when we arrived, everyone had been so excited to finish setting the ring up that I hadn’t wanted to ask for a break first.
Now, I paid the price. I was so busy concentrating on breathing that I didn’t see Darrow through my blurred vision until he lifted my chin with his fingers. He appeared to have two faces, which was odd. I was certain he only had one.
“You nearly drained yourself,” he said, concern in his voice.
I tried rubbing my eyes, but it didn’t help. “The dying land took more power from me than I realized.”
“We should have waited. I felt the drain as well and couldn’t use as much of my magic as I would have preferred. It seemed to take physical strength, too.” He lightly caressed my cheek. “If I’d known how much this required of you, I would have insisted you rest first.”
His two faces almost converged together, which I took as a good sign. “I’ll be alright.”
“Prove it.” He moved back a few steps until there appeared to be two of him again. “Walk toward me.”
I started okay, but when I moved my foot forward again, the ground rose toward me. Right before my face planted onto it, I stopped midair. Darrow had used his powers to save me. In the next moment, I was in his arms.
“Maybe…I’m not okay,” I admitted.
He cradled my head into his shoulder. “I will see to it that you get some rest, and we will wait until morning to leave.”
“Is that Aella? What’s wrong with my sister?” Two figures I couldn’t make out ran up to us, but I had no doubt one was Priyya by the voice.
My blurred vision was starting to get annoying.
“She nearly drained herself setting up the new portal location,” Darrow said.
I tried to squint at her, but it didn’t help much. “Where have you been?”
Uncle Yorick had looked for her and Tadeus, but he hadn’t seen them since early morning. My grandmother didn’t get one of her visions until two hours before we arrived. He hadn’t been able to warn my sister.
“We went out to take care of a few sick dragons and just returned,” she said, anxiety in her voice. “Over the last couple of weeks, more and more of them are getting ill. It’s really worrying me.”
“They didn’t even mind me helping when I usually have to keep my distance,” Tadeus added, keeping his gaze on my sister. He didn’t sound angry, but his posture was tense.
Maybe these latest problems bothered him more than us banishing him to Alavaar. He loved to see the dragons, but over the years, only two of them tolerated my cousin. If more were allowing him near them, he must know it was bad.
Darrow shifted me in his arms. “I believe the dark elves started this war knowing the damage it would cause to Paxia, and the natives seem to feel the change more than the fae. Perhaps it’s affecting the dragons even worse.”
“We need that fountain back,” Priyya said, sighing.
“We’re working on it.” I tried to read her facial expression, but I failed.
“Anyway, I’m too tired to say this delicately, so I’ll just get it out.
Darrow’s friend, Loden, is actually our cousin.
Apparently, his mother and Uncle Yorick had a fling all those years ago when he visited Zadrya, but he left before finding out she was pregnant. ”
“What?” my sister shrieked.
“I’m taking Aella to rest at your house,” Darrow informed her, which made sense because it was just a three-minute walk from the new portal location. That would make my life much easier.
I gave her a weak smile. “Go talk to Loden, and make him feel welcome in our family. Will you?”
“Of course. Uncle Yorick always wanted a son, so this is great news, and I actually like him. If we had to get a new family member, he’s a good one.” She reached out and squeezed my hand. “Get some rest.”
“That is the plan,” I said.
As Darrow began the trek to Priyya’s house, my vision darkened. I was already unconscious before he got there.