Page 51 of Witchbane
“I’ve practiced alchemy for years. Alchemy is structure.”
“Which is why your wards work.”
And my portals didn’t. I blinked at him. He was fucking brilliant. I wasn’t using the magic right. Didn’t have the symbols right, yet. It had taken a while to figure out wards. There wasn’t a how-to book on warding a house or a person, so I’d used ideas to create the symbols and spells.
“I’m not sure experimenting with symbols to open portals here is a good idea,” I said staring at the spot where the giant had tried to come through.
“No opening portals,” Nick asserted.
I agreed. But, “I wonder if the symbols are similar enough, fae symbols to alchemy. Can you show me how you do the doorways?”
“Not here.”
“One of the sanctuaries, perhaps?” Liam asked. “Away from the center of Kiran’s magic in case something goes wrong with Seb’s power?”
“There are only a handful of sanctuaries left. They are the only safe place to travel outside the castle,” Nick said.
“And what you do is create a doorway, a portal within the world,” Liam said catching onto my thoughts.
“Portals are really tears in the veil between worlds. They don’t always heal properly and sometimes weaken the fabric of magic around it. Doorways are jump points. Shifts from one location to another. Like fast travel.”
“In theory, Seb should be able to create these jump points, right? Instead of holes in the veil?”
Nick nodded, “In theory. We’ll go to one of the sanctuaries first. That way if we do damage, Kiran doesn’t have to fix it.”
I looked at Liam, wanting him to stay here, behind the wards of the castle where he was safe.
“Not a chance,” he told me. “Where you go, I go.”
I groaned. “I thought you were supposed to be my perfect mate?”
“I am,” Liam said. “It’s why we both get to be stubborn asses sometimes.” He gathered up an armful of books. “Can I bring the books to read while the two of you practice?”
“Yes. But try to keep them close and don’t leave them behind in the sanctuary. They are small bits of Kiran’s magic, but we need every bit of it we can hold on to.” Nick shut the door to the library, traced a symbol on it, and then opened it again.
Instead of a hallway there was darkness. Nick stepped through first. I gave Liam a worried look. He held out his elbow, arms full of books, and nodded toward the door. Together. Okay. It was a hell of a lot better than alone.
When we stepped through, we emerged into a somewhat familiar landscape. It was a forest with autumn-colored trees and a heavy layer of fallen leaves. In the distance I could hear water running, a stream of some kind, but it was too far to see it. And a few feet away was another one of those huts, surrounded by mushroom-like growths as large as the trees. Outside the ring was a sign, carved in wood, with instructions to wait in the hut.
There was no smoke or any sound of monsters nearby, though the eerie feeling of being watched crawled over my skin. This place appeared similar to that first portal I’d broken through to get home to Liam before we’d sealed the mate bond. I remembered the stream that had tried to eat me, and the monsters lingering not far from the water. And even the possibility of selkies who could disguise themselves as the people we loved. Were there any left? Was there still a door to home nearby?
“Stay within the ring,” Nick told Liam. “It will be safer in case our attempts attract something big.”
I let Liam go and he stepped into the ring. He didn’t appear willing to go inside the hut. He found a spot to sit and spread the books around him. He seemed to be planning to read while I got magical training. At least one of us was going to have a relaxing day.
“Is there a doorway near here? To the other world?” I asked. Maybe it only looked the same. How vast was this area?
“There used to be. Not close really.” Nick pointed away from the hut. “A couple miles in that direction. It’s gone now. Swallowed up by Underhill. These woods sort of stop. It becomes a wall of nothing. There are a handful of disconnected spots like this, where Underhill has vanished.”
“What about selkies? Or a creek that tries to eat people?” Still vivid memories though it had been a while since they’d happened.
“No selkies. Not sure there are any left in Underhill to be honest. But the creek is there and deadly. Stay away from the water.” Nick cracked his knuckles, “Now are you ready for some training?”
“Sure. Can’t be that hard, right?” I asked. Famous last words.
* * *
Wild magicand I did not mix. Didn’t matter how “structured” I tried to make it. Oil and water were right. We spent hours going over the same thing. I had the symbols right. I knew I did.
