Chapter 5
DISRUPTED
The portal stuttered and groaned, spinning and swirling, tossing me around like a log stuck in an ocean storm. Then everything came to a crashing halt. The portal spat me out. My body smacked against hard pavement.
“Savannah!”
I lifted my head just far enough off the ground to see a blurry shape walking toward me.
“Savannah, get up!”
I blinked a few times. Seriana reached down and pulled me to my feet. My whole body ached.
“Where are we?” I asked her.
“Gaia.”
I took a closer look around. I saw ruins, debris, and, somewhere in the distance, the Harbour Bridge. “We’re outside the Fortress.” I gave her a dark look. “Where the Cursed Ones roam.”
I waited, half-expecting to hear the answering call of the Cursed Ones, but all I heard was the wind cutting through the broken, hollow remains of a once-great city.
“Capricorn’s portal was supposed to bring us to the Fortress,” I said. “Fenris threw something into the portal, and it went all weird.”
“A Portal Disruptor,” Seriana said. “A very expensive piece of magic and notoriously unreliable. He tried to override the portal’s destination. It only partially worked. We still made it to Gaia, and nearly to the Fortress too. We’re not far from our destination.”
“But far enough.” Fenris’s mocking smile shot across the debris field, aimed right at us.
Of course he was here. But if he was here, the question was why. He could have escaped. Why hadn’t he?
Seriana read the question in my eyes. “I grabbed him as we fell through the portal. I wasn’t about to let him get away.”
Fenris tromped toward us. “Yes, Mother, and now here we are. You’re cut off from your bodyguards.”
“So are you,” she shot back.
“I don’t need guards,” he scoffed.
“Neither do I.”
They both drew their swords. Fenris swung, Seriana parried, and soon the ruins echoed with the staccato notes of swordplay. Seriana was very skilled, but Fenris was better, and he was stronger. It didn’t take him long to land a hit.
Seriana withdrew a few steps, clutching her arm. Crimson stained her gold sleeve.
“You’re slowing down in your old age,” Fenris taunted her. “Do you need a rest?”
“I’ll rest when I’m dead,” Seriana replied, gritting her teeth.
The swordplay symphony played on. Fenris landed another hit. Seriana was slowing down, and he was just getting started. I wanted to jump in and help her, but I didn’t know anything about fighting with swords. We hadn’t yet reached that part of our training program.
Magic was out too. Fenris’s Portal Disruptor hadn’t just affected the portal; it had scrambled my magic too. I figured that out real quick when I tried to knock Fenris back—and blew up an old mailbox instead.
“Your era is over, Mother,” Fenris said. “The days of the Court are over. The Order’s time is only just beginning.”
“You talk big, Fenris,” she shot back. “Is that all you can do?”
“No.” He knocked the sword out of her hand, then plunged his blade through her. “It’s not.” He pushed her off his blade, and she hit the ground.
“You’re a monster,” I growled at Fenris. “She’s your own mother. She’s family. That’s not how you treat family.”
“What would you know about family, you freak of nature? You know those people you think are your family? They’re not.”
“That’s not true.” My fists clenched up, like they had a mind of their own. I wanted to punch Fenris, and I wanted it so bad.
“Of course it’s true. They’re human. You are not. Your magic is proof of that.”
My fists squeezed tighter. “Stop it.”
“You don’t have a family, you aren’t human, and you don’t belong anywhere. How does it feel knowing that your whole life is a lie?”
“Stop it!” I bellowed.
Magic punched out of my words, hurling Fenris backwards. Behind him, the space between dimensions split open, and he fell into Oblivion. The glowing seams stitched themselves back together.
“Savannah,” Seriana croaked.
I rushed over to her, cradling her trembling body. “I’m sorry. I don’t know any healing spells.”
“It’s too late for that now anyway.”
“No, it’s not too late. Wait, I can do it.” I stared at my hands until they started glowing. It was a weak, pitiful glow. “I saw Conner do it. I just need to figure out how he did it.”
“It’s too late, Savannah. You’ve already used too much magic.” She grasped my hands. Hers were so very cold, and mine were so incredibly hot. “You’re running a fever.”
“I’ll be ok. I just need to heal you.” I tried to free my hands so I could perform the healing motions over her body like I’d watched Conner do so many times before.
She clung to them. “No. You can’t heal me.”
“I can. I’m strong.”
She gave me a weak smile. “You are, but some things simply can’t be fixed.”
“No! I can fix anything. I’m supposed to be able to fix anything. Otherwise, what’s the point of having all this magic? What’s the point of me?”
“All of us, we spend a lifetime trying to figure out what our purpose in life is. We all want to leave our mark on the world. Everyone wants their life to mean something. We all want to discover our purpose.”
“What is my purpose?” I asked her.
“I can’t answer that, Savannah. But I can assure you that you have already made a difference. You freed the Apprentices and the spirits that Fenris imprisoned.”
“I need to do more.” I tried the healing spell again, and was treated to a migraine for my efforts.
“Yes, there’s so much left to do. This isn’t over. The Order is still out there. And so I’m going to ask something of you that no one should ever ask of another person, especially one so young.”
I blinked. Everything was so blurry.
“I’ll do what you want. Just don’t die,” I pleaded with her.
“You’ll be all right.”
The curtains of blurriness parted just enough for me to see her tired smile.
“You are stronger than you know, Savannah. Make sure my son pays for his crimes. Make sure he will never again be able to do something so horrific. Stop the Order of Kings, and save the Many Realms from this never-ending madness.”
“Never-ending?”
“Please, promise me you will stop them.”
“I’ll try.”
“I’m sorry to force this burden upon you. My burden. I should have kept Fenris in check. I failed him, and I failed the Many Realms. And, now, because of that, the Order of Kings is threatening everything and everyone we hold dear. I believe in you, Savannah.”
Seriana let out a final sigh, then she stopped breathing.