Chapter 77 #2
Before I can think on it for even a second, I lift my hands so they’re slightly ahead of me. The first part of me to touch the sheet of blackness. Then… I follow.
My fingers disappear into the dark.
My wrists. My forearms.
And with the next step, my leg. My arm. I hold my breath. My face.
I blink.
I finish the step.
And I’m standing beside Volik, in a different set of woods.
The Appalachian Mountains type of woods.
Woods with lore. With creatures that roam. Ones that hunt. Ones that whistle.
Steady pulse or not, nerves dance under my skin.
The air is filled with the pleasant buzzing of crickets and frogs. And a breeze is gently rustling through the leaves…It would be lovely, if it wasn’t so scary.
Then, the forest goes silent.
“Um…” I clutch Volik’s arm. “Doesn’t that mean something is coming?”
“Da. But do not worry. The bats will help us.”
My mouth opens as I look up at Volik. “Really?”
He holds my gaze. “No.”
I purse my lips, trying not to smile. “You’re annoying.”
“Da.” The big vampire smirks.
I squeeze his arm. “You’re the one who said something about Maleficent, or whatever, when May said we were coming here.”
“Maleficus,” he corrects.
“Right. So I’m assuming you know about all the scary shit that happens out here.”
Volik looks down at me. “I know what resides here.”
I lower my voice. “So you’re admitting that things live here?”
“Mea Unica,” Volik sighs. “I am the scariest thing in these woods.”
“You’re not scary,” I snap.
Volik grins. “Not to you, My Flower. But trust me.” A pulse of energy rolls out of him. “I am scary.”
Another pulse, stronger this time, shakes the ground.
Okay, that’s hot.
Volik grips my shoulders and pulls me in front of him, so my back is to his front.
“The things out here are more animal than man. They can feel the danger I am to them. But if it will make you feel better…” He inhales, then he projects his voice through the trees.
“I am Volik Vadas, vampire of the kingdom of Saxony of old. Son of the Fire Touch. Brother to Vameer, Interfector Mali. I am here to pass through and no more. If you attempt to harm me, my mate, or the one we came to speak with, I will end your existence.”
There’s a beat of silence.
Then the crickets start again.
And… I have to clench my thighs.
Volik groans. “Nix.”
“Sorry,” I laugh. “I can’t help it that you’re sexy when you’re being scary.”
Yes, I can admit that being on the wrong end of Volik’s attention would be scary. But I know I’ll never be there, so it’s hard to really imagine it.
“Come.” Volik steps out from behind me and grips my hand. “Let us talk to your Miss Branock, then we can go home. To bed.”
Squeezing his fingers, I glance behind us at the blacker-than-black portal. “Animals won’t just walk through that, right?”
“Doubtful. Only a very dumb one would try.”
I snort. “That’s not nice.”
Volik shrugs.
I look back again. “Um… Just one second.”
Volik releases my hand, and I jog back to the portal.
“Nix.”
But I don’t go through it, I go around it. “I just want to see what the back… looks like.” I stare. At nothing.
Careful not to accidentally step through it, I move back around to the front.
Still there.
Straight on, the gold glow outlining the portal looks to be about half an inch thick all the way around. But when I move to the edge so I’m standing perpendicular to the portal, there is just the tiniest sliver of gold. Like the portal is no thicker than a sheet of paper.
I move another step farther so I’m looking at it from the back again.
Not a flicker of gold. No hint of the rectangle of doom.
Nothing.
“What happens if something accidentally walked through it from the back?”
“Nothing would happen.”
I look up at Volik, who is now at my side. “Are you sure?”
Rustling comes from the tree beside us.
We both turn our heads, and I step back, bumping into Volik.
But all that appears is a squirrel.
It clings to the tree trunk as it lets out a string of rodent shouts at us.
Volik hisses at it.
Before the squirrel, or I, can react to that, Volik lifts his hand, and the squirrel goes flying through the air.
I watch, mouth agape, as the furry creature flies through the blank space that should be the back side of the portal.
Nothing happens to it.
It doesn’t make a special sound as it passes through the invisible barrier. Doesn’t bounce off. Doesn’t disappear. Just floats through.
Then, on the other side, it slowly lowers to the ground as Volik, thankfully, sets it down gently.
I turn to the man beside me. “Did you just hiss at that poor thing before flinging him from his tree?”
“Da.” Volik looks down to where the squirrel is now trying to bite through the toe of his shoe. “Can I kill him now?”
“No.” I shake my head but can’t stop my smile. “He might not be smart, but he’s got guts.”
Volik takes a step.
The squirrel clings to the top of his shoe.
Another step. The creature doesn’t let go.
Volik lifts his foot and shakes it.
The squirrel chitters his displeasure, still hanging on.
Volik sighs as he looks at me.
I shake my head.
He lifts his foot higher, grips the squirrel, looks at me again, then tosses the fur ball through the front side of the portal.
“Volik!”
“He is fine.” Volik takes my hand. “Dread can deal with him.”
I side-eye my mate as we start to walk again. “Does Dread just stand on the other side the whole time?”
There’s a squeak, then the sound of something small landing in the grass behind us.
Volik grunts.
Question answered, I ask another. “Does Dread do this portal stuff for free?”
“He will collect payment when he decides it. Druids usually deal in favors, not currency.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“Doesn’t that make you nervous? That he might ask for something you don’t want to give?”
Volik shrugs. “He knows better than to ask for more than what he is owed. And the favor is usually stealing. I do not mind stealing.”
“Fighting squirrels and stealing for druids. I’m learning so much about you.”