Page 111 of A Drop of Anguish
At the end of the dozens of portals, two figures lean over a stone basin. I expected Laithe, but I hadn’t expected Manuela.
“Is it ready?” Jarron seems so much more at ease right now than even minutes ago in Minor Hall. Perhaps the shock has finally worn off.
“Not yet,” Laithe answers. “A few minutes.”
Jarron looks around the room. “No Thompson?”
Laithe shrugs. “He said he’d be here.”
“What are they doing?” Janet asks, standing on her tippy toes to peer over at Manuela’s spell without getting any closer.
“Creating a shortcut, and an escape plan,” Jarron answers.
My lips part. Manuela is casting some elaborate spell over an empty, shallow basin on the ground. A circle, only a few feet in diameter. “Do you mean to tell me that Manuela ismakinga portal?”
“Of sorts.”
“She can do that?” Janet exclaims. Portals take days to create and chart, even for skilled magic users. The idea that a student in this school has the ability to just make one on the spot is absolutely ludicrous. Even if it will only take us a few miles away.
He nods. “The mixture of dryad and witch magic allows her to create a portal through specific tree root systems. We’ll portal in half a mile from where the tattoo has pinpointed. We’ve been able to establish that there are no major players in that area so it will give us some cushion.”
“How in the hell did you plan all of this in the last thirty seconds?”
“Your sense of time seems to be a tad off.” He smirks.
“Five minutes, thirty seconds—what difference does it make? You only figured out where the tattoo led a few minutes ago.”
“Laithe gathered supplies and our portal-making ally and was here waiting when I sent him instructions.”
“Sent him instructions?” I repeat stupidly.
He tilts his head, as if surprised I’m not aware of the answer. “We are bonded.”
“And that means you can, what, send him psychic messages?”
He shrugs. “Not exactly. But close enough.”
Right. Okay, so they do have a psychic link. I bookmark this in my mind to come back to later. I have a lot of questions.
“So, once she’s finished with the portal,” Jarron continues, “Candice and I, and whomever else chooses to join, will enter the portal. We will need to be quiet, but please each do whatever you can to memorize the spot of the portal in case you need to retreat.”
“Got it,” Lola says, voice firm. Janet looks less sure.
“Done,” Manuela announces. She straightens and brushes her hands on her slacks. Her skin is paler than usual.
“Good luck,” Laithe says to me with a solemn nod.
I squint. “You’re not coming?”
“No. Laithe will be entering a different portal.”
Laithe grins, exposing sharp canines and then marches right through a portal with red glowing power.
“The portal to Oriziah is open?” I nearly squeak. I thought they were supposed to be closed until someone from administration approves them being opened.
Jarron nods. “Manuela opened that portal before she set to work creating the new one. Laithe is going to rally help from home. In case we need it.”
Last time, we only survived because Trevor was able to get to us in time. I try not to let any of that information—or the fact that Laithe justcasually walked through a portal to the Under World three feet away—dig too far into my mind. I need to focus.
