“And you know what?” I pause. Like maybe this isn’t a rhetorical question and he has a chance in hell of guessing what I will say next. But he’s really good at remaining silent and just stares at me expectantly. “I think I’m gonna leave now.”
He chuckles like this is funny. Like I’m joking. Like I have no power here, like he’s the owner of my debt book.
But I’m not joking, I do have power here, and maybe he is the owner of my debt, but he hasn’t been gifted the ability to walk through portal doors by making up poems.
“A horn, a hoof, an eye, a bone.”
Tarq’s whole face lights up. Like this is the miracle he’s been waiting for. “Wha—”
“A beast, a nymph, a place called home.”
And it is his miracle. Because I have figured out the magic of doors.
Too bad I’m not going to take him along for the ride.
Tarq’s face scrunches up. Like he’s catching on. “Pie?”
“A lab in Vinca becomes a door—”
“Pie. What the fuck are you doing?” Yep, he’s definitely starting to understand because he comes towards me now.
But I scoot away and get the big conference table between us and quickly yell the final part of the spell. “The nymph goes through, her boss no more!”
A door appears.
A bright, shimmering, violet door appears. Right in front of me. Like inches away. Like it was meant only for me. I look over my shoulder. Tarq is yelling. Something about security, something about debt books, something about—
Well, I don’t hear the rest because I step through my door and Tarq, and his crazy world, just disappears.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE - PELL
I am in my tomb.
I started out in the smithy, then I made a portal, and now… I am in my tomb.
I just stand there for a moment, relishing this new feeling of power.
It has been so long since I had power.
I turn in place, look behind me, but the door I came through is already gone. I like that. A lot. Because it means the doors are temporary. If it was permanent, then people could follow me through. I will have to test these boundaries, make sure I have the magic straight in my head before I really start using this new power, but it’s a very good sign.
When I look around, I realize that I’m well inside the interior of my tomb. The forest. In fact, it’s the same place where Pie and I slept last night.
My favorite spot under the canopy of lush green boughs is just a few feet away so I sit down and lean my back against the thick, leathery trunk and sigh.
Life is so weird.
A couple months ago I was stuck here with Grant. Nothing to look forward to. Nothing to reminisce about, either. It was just thousands of years of stagnation and stupidity.
And now, everything has changed.
It’s Pie. I know it’s Pie. She was the catalyst for everything.
And how ironic that Grant was the one who set it all in motion.
I reach into my pocket, pull out the bag of rings, and stare at the metal plate on the front. Pie will have to say these words and put her stamp on it. Then the magic will be both of ours. Something meant only for us. Maybe I’m not the smartest monster in the sanctuary, but I’m not bad at finding a connection when I try hard. And I think this bag of rings is our power.
No. It’s more than that. It’s our future and we need to protect it.