Alora glanced at Uncle Charles, who stood staring out the window, probably avoiding eye-contact with anyone. Of course he already knew all about the plan, having had a lengthy discussion with Graely and Nordamen. While he’d agreed to let Alora go, she knew he was against it. Plus she could tell from the dark circles under his eyes he hadn’t been sleeping much the past few days.
Her mind wandered as the adults debated the merits of the plan, but she already knew the outcome. There was really no other option. Uncle Charles had suggested Vindrake might not know about the portal, but Nordamen and Graely said he was too smart not to come to the same conclusion.
Nordamen said he wouldn’t be surprised if Vindrake had already found the portal and sent some men through to explore. At least they knew the portal entrance was in the middle of Yellowstone National Park. Even if Vindrake found the portal, it would take a while for his people to learn enough about this realm to be able to navigate to a city without raising suspicion. The snow would also provide an extra measure of protection, hampering travel by foot.
Meanwhile, Raelene and Bardamen had embarked on a journey to some place filled with ancient writings, hoping to discover a way to eliminate the soulmate bond between Kaevin and her. Evidently her grandmother’s vehement argument that removing the soulmate bond should take precedence over closing the portal had been ignored. She was so adamant, she swore to find the answers on her own. Alora felt a bit guilty for praying Grandmother wouldn’t find a solution.
“Why don’t we wait until Spring Break to do this, so I could come, too?” Wesley was drumming his fingers on his legs. The action seemed nonchalant, but Alora had learned he did this when he was upset. Wesley couldn’t stand being left out of the action.
“The longer we wait, the more likely Vindrake will find the portal on his end. He might set a guard at the entrance, and that would complicate Arista’s mission.” Graely’s use of the word “complicate” didn’t fool anyone. The longer they waited, the less likely the three would come out of this alive. If someone wearing an iron belt grabbed her wrist or Kaevin’s, they would be at Vindrake’s mercy.
“I don’t understand how we can locate this portal you’re talking about,” said Brian.
“We know Alora’s mother, Wendelle, must have come through the portal when she first appeared with Alora.” Graely gave Charles a chance to confirm his statement, but he kept his gaze fixed outside the window. “Charles remembers the exact location where Wendelle appeared with Alora, sixteen years ago.”
“But didn’t you say Alora’s mother could transport people, just like Alora?” asked Steven, without lifting his eyes from his iPad. “Maybe Alora’s mother just transported over here from your world to ours. How do you know this portal even exists?”
“We’re certain Vindrake had Wendelle warded to stop her ability to transport. Otherwise, she would’ve returned to Laegenshire. Furthermore, a bearer can only move to people or places he or she has seen in the past, since there must be a clear image in the mind.”
Steven looked up, narrowing his eyes as he studied Graely. “Why did she wait so long to escape? Did you say she returned to Laegenshire a year after she was captured?”
“We have to assume Wendelle didn’t discover the portal until after she was pregnant. With Vindrake’s killing ward on her, she couldn’t travel through the portal while pregnant without sacrificing the baby’s life, along with her own.”
“What’s a killing ward?”
“I can’t explain it well. Even Nordamen can’t explain the ward, except to say its victim will die if he moves beyond the warded borders.”
“Who’s Nordamen?”
“Nordamen is our chief shaman,” Graely answered.
“Shaman? So he does voodoo and stuff like that?” Steven’s voice was full of derision.
Beside her, Alora heard Wesley groan. She turned to see him drop his head into his hands.
“Steven, stop with the rude questions,” said Brian through clenched teeth. Karen, standing behind Brian’s chair with her hand on his shoulder, seemed to be keeping her husband from jumping up to throttle Steven.
“What?” Steven blinked, apparently clueless. “I was just curious.”
Only a small twitch of his left eye indicated Graely’s irritation. “A shaman has knowledge of all the gifts and trains the clansmen. And he can manipulate the elements through his gift.”
“If Nordamen knows all about the gifts and the elements, can’t he figure out a way to get rid of this bond between Vindrake and Daegreth?” Leaning forward with an eager expression, Steven set his iPad aside.
All eyes in the room turned to Daegreth, who’d insisted on being bound hand and foot to a chair across the room. His face turned a bright shade of red.
Graely’s steely gaze softened. “No, I’m sorry, but Nordamen has no understanding of the bloodbond. We have no knowledge of the source of Vindrake’s dark magick. Certainly it didn’t come from his father; he was a man of honor, though we disagreed on many points.”
A tight band squeezed Alora’s head, and the voices faded into the background for a moment. Simultaneously, Kaevin’s grip tightened on her fingers, and she knew he shared the sensation. She took a deep breath and pushed the pain away.
“How are we going to handle the trip to Yellowstone this time of year? We’ll have to trek to Imperial Geyser on cross-country skis, right?” Br
ian asked.
Uncle Charles answered Brian, still avoiding eye contact with Graely. “We can’t get close to the Imperial Geyser by car for several more months, but according to Graely and Nordamen, we can’t afford to wait.”
Alora felt the crackling tension between Graely and her uncle.
“So you can’t let Alora transport you there and skip over all the snow?” Steven asked the question, but answered himself. “I guess she doesn’t remember what it looks like, since she was a baby when she was there before.”