Page 37 of Heart of a Dire Wolf
Nic tightened his hand on hers and pulsed a thought.Moira and the others have hardly moved from when I left. Time is passing for us, but not for them.
Skyla cleared her throat. “Is this a time stasis chamber?”
“Yes,” said the dark elf. “Our magister created it.”
Ortesse, the human woman, looked stricken. “He sacrificed himself to save us, so we could save the town. We failed.”
Grafit frowned. “He built the chamber too well.” He pointed to the polar fairy. “Rorabek tried to open a portal for Dirosha to cross and ask Kotoyeesinay for help, but the chamber warped the magic. We made the difficult decision to sleep and dream and wait for the prophecy to unfold.”
The elders all turned to look at Skyla and Nic expectantly.
Skyla held up her hands to ward them off. “I’m just a grad student. Nic is a geologist. The spirits led us to you. The rest was just a SWAG.”
“A what?” asked Dirosha, the arctic elf. She crouched to touch the moss on the floor. As she stood, the moss flowed through her fingers to make a flowing caftan, which she handed to Ortesse. The woman nodded thanks and pulled it on over her head.
“Strategic wild-ass guess,” replied Nic. He stood and stepped off the throne platform, so Skyla did the same.
“Can you send us back?” He pointed to the ceiling. “Those are our friends.”
“We’ll all go,” said Ortesse. “That’s our town.” She turned to Skyla and Nic with an anticipatory smile. “And then I want to hear all about this thing called the ‘internet.’”
* * *
Luckily, Nic remembered to retrieve the borrowed keys. Skyla’s two experiences with portals caused her to wince and cling to him as they walked through, but Rorabek’s portal ring was just like stepping from the throne room into the dark center of the three conifers. Frost-covered pine needles littered the ground.
Spirits swirled around them all except Ortesse, whose magic felt like Moira’s, and like Rayne’s had been. Skyla couldn’t tell if the other elders couldn’t see the spirits, or just ignored them.
The elders stood in a circle and linked hands. The three conifer trees lit up with glade magic. The elders broke their circle and strode determinedly out of the tiny glade, each glowing with ancient magic.
Skyla started to follow, but Nic pulled her back and into his arms for a hug and a kiss. “Not the warmest bunch, are they?”
“Elves don’t do warm.” She chuckled. “Actually, they remind me of my dissertation committee, operating by rules they forgot to tell the students.” She held up her hand to let spirits dance on her palm like tiny flames. “People paid a heavy price to protect them and the town.”
Nic held up his hand, mimicking her gesture. She smiled when spirits left her hand for his. She’d given up trying to talk to anyone about her gift. She’d never expected to be lucky enough that her mate would share it.
Nic watched the spirits for a long moment. “The elders should read your stories.”
The level of magic in the glade increased.
She pulled on her gloves. “Let’s get away from the firehose.” She stood on her toes for a quick kiss. “Besides, I want to see wizards getting their asses kicked.”
