Malin – Portals #3
Once the lock was open, Jacien and Malin packed it with snow to cool the metal before helping the prisoners out of the cage.
As Malin supported the skeletal frames of two women dressed in nothing but rags, hot bile rose in her throat.
The sheer cruelty of treating another person like an animal turned her stomach.
One of the women desperately clutched Malin’s hand.
Her grip was surprisingly strong, and fresh tears froze instantly on her hollow cheeks.
“A contact at the tavern told me about a safe house,” Jacien whispered.
“I’ll get them there.” He squeezed Malin’s shoulder, dropping his usual playful mask to reveal absolute seriousness.
“I can’t make you, but please, go back to Bratha’s.
I need to know you are safe while I move them. I’ll join you soon.”
“They need to be healed, and I can help. I’m staying with you.” Her tone left no room for debate; it was a firm order, and she would not accept an alternative.
As they stepped into the shadows to walk, the golden glow of Malin’s healing magic was already beginning to pulse from her hands.
When her eyes snapped open, the sun was already high in the sky.
A wave of sheer panic crashed over Malin.
They had spent the darkest hours huddled in the hidden cellar of the safe house, and by the time she healed the last person, her magic was almost tapped.
She had only meant to rest her eyes for a moment after returning her amulet to her neck.
Malin and Jacien hurried through the town, walking quickly as they dared without drawing unwanted attention. Finding Bratha and Therin missing from their home, they grabbed their packs and rushed to the next logical location.
They burst into the reception area of Therin’s office, praying they were not too late. Marli barely glanced up from her desk as they passed.
When they opened Therin’s inner door, a swirling portal of liquid gel already dominated the room.
It mirrored the portal Malin had gone through to get to Gorek and Lysa’s burrow house under Stoneholds in Media.
Going through that one felt like walking through gelatinous water, where the Mellyrn Elven portals were glowing electrical circuits.
While the first trip had left her violently nauseous, leaving had been manageable. She silently prayed her stomach would hold together for this one.
Bratha beamed the second she realized they were there. “See. I told you they would come. Therin was worried you would miss the window.”
“The conduit can only hold the tether open for a few minutes,” Therin warned, his voice tight. “If we don’t step through right now, the Hold’s automated wards will sever it.”
He picked at the frayed edge of his suit, his eyes darting to the Elf. “I… I don’t know what they will do about those weapons. Armaments require special approval inside Fellspire. You are sure to be flagged. Perhaps it would be better if you stayed here.”
Malin looked to Jacien, who offered her a distinctly wolfish grin.
“I’ll take my chances. I can’t exactly be her protector if I’m unarmed.
Just walk normally, and I will take care of any questions.
There won’t be issues. I’ll follow your lead.
” Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a long cloak.
He threw it over his shoulders and pulled the cowl low, perfectly concealing the blades strapped to his body.
“I’ll stay under cover. No one will notice. ”
“It looks like we are ready,” Malin said to Therin, then turned to Bratha, holding her hand.
“Mom sent me to you because she must have known you could help. I will be back to spend more time with you. I really am glad we had time to visit. This is not the last time we will see each other. I haven’t had family for most of my life.
It would mean so much to get to spend time with you and introduce you to my family. ”
Malin took a last look at Bratha, who hugged her so fiercely she could barely breathe.
“Be careful,” Bratha whispered. “I want to see your mother when you come back to us.”
As she looked at the swirling vortex, she wondered if her magic was strong enough. She pocketed her amulet as she focused her mind. She didn’t dare go into the viper’s den without her strongest weapons.
Malin nodded, then stepped into the circle, Jacien beside her, Therin just ahead. As she stepped through, she considered warning Jacien about how the portal made her feel the first time she went through, but surely he had gone through these portals before.
The first step felt like moving into a dream, neither quite water nor quite air.
Cool pressure wrapped around her, thick as fog.
She expected dampness, maybe resistance, but the barrier gave way like a weight of mist. Each step deeper was like wading through memories that weren’t hers, whispered curling around her ears in languages she didn’t understand, but that sounded more familiar this time.
Though not as intensely as last time, her body rebelled, as it had the last time in Media, with her lungs straining to draw breath that didn’t feel like air.
Power pressed in on her from all sides, thick and electric.
Beneath it, the voices stirred; they were familiar but warped as if echoing through water, deeper and more ancient than before.
Maybe there was some hope that she was getting used to traveling this way.