“Ooh, fudge,” Kyla murmured as she caught a sign outside one of the tourist stores. “I like fudge.”
I shot her a look and she grinned. “I’ve never been to the Middleground.”
“Me neither. I don’t know many people who have.”
The Middleground wasn’t ruled by any one ruler, but was, instead, split into different territories.
It required much less power to cross into the Middleground compared to the other realms. That made it a popular choice for refugees who were fleeing other realms, along with plenty of unsavory types who had escaped the authorities in their own realms.
It was a good thing both of us were armed to the teeth.
I was carrying my Nim Cub, my Mark II, my throwing knives, and my Colt. Misty was also tucked away out of sight—it wasn’t a smart idea to flash a powerful artifact in this realm unless I had to.
I’d restocked my utility belt—the sight of it forging a vicious longing for my demon—and I’d wrapped a long, thin piece of metal around my hair band, just in case I needed a garrote.
Kyla had her own gun, several knives, and, of course, her fangs and claws.
We parked next to the gift store and ignored the curious humans who held up their phones to record us as we walked through the portal.
It spat us out in the middle of Harlen, one of the smaller territories in the Middleground. From here, we’d need to head west.
I scanned our surroundings. So far, the Middleground was a dark, dingy place, the atmosphere worsened by the sky, which was the yellow-green of an old bruise. We were standing close to the portal on the edge of the village, surrounded by wooden buildings that looked like they’d blow over with the first gust of wind. But from the decrepit look of them, they’d stood here for decades.
“Remind me where exactly we’re going?” Kyla said.
“Tengu like mountainous areas. Sometimes they even live in trees.”
“And what exactly are tengu?”
I took one last look at the village. There was such little movement that my neck itched. But I could feel eyes on us.
“They originated in Japan. At least, that was what we thought before the portals opened. Now we know that they may have come from the Middleground. Some people consider them demons. Others consider them gods. But they’re actually unseelie. They’re known for their swordsmanship, and they can also control the wind.” I glanced at her. “Whatever you do, don’t take anything from the forest.”
She nodded and we turned toward the dirt road leading out of the tiny village. Nothing moved.
“Creepy,” she murmured.
I let my hand slide down, resting it just a few inches from my Colt. We began walking. No one stopped us.
For a city girl, I was spending far too much time wandering through various forests.
I pointed at the ominous dark line of the mountain chain to the north. “We’re heading that way.”
It took us close to two hours to walk through this side of the forest and into the foothills. The mountains loomed over us, and the forest seemed to grow colder as we approached, the trees growing further apart.
The forest went silent. Both of us tensed.
And then the winds started. A gentle breeze at first, but within a few moments we were being pelted by dried leaves and twigs, dirt and grass flying up toward our faces. I ground my teeth.
“We were sent by a Dearg Due,” I called out, but the wind ripped the words from my mouth.
Nothing to do but wait. We bowed our heads, holding our hands up to protect our faces from the forest debris. Eventually, the wind slowed.
“Interesting welcome,” Kyla murmured.
Something dropped down from a tree a few feet in front of us, hitting the ground with a thump. I had my Colt out and pointed before I realized I’d moved.
Two legs poked out of the tengu’s long robes, but that was where any similarities to humans ended. He carried a large fan in one clawed hand, and his wings flapped threateningly as he blocked our way forward. His face was bright red, with a nose that must’ve been six inches long.
