“So how do you take this time from us?” Medea glanced back to the zeitjägers.
The copián laughed. “It’s already gone. As I said, you don’t even miss it. You didn’t even know we did it.”
Falcyn leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Told you. Insidious bastards.”
The copián walked toward the portal and lifted his staff up. The moment he did, the portal came alive with swirling, vibrant colors. He moved his staff through it until the mist began to mimic his movements.
Red fire shot out from the torch and was absorbed by the mist.
“It’s ready.”
Urian grinned at Medea. For the first time in a long while, he enjoyed being the little brother. “Ladies first.”
She rolled her eyes. “Like you’d know if I didn’t make it.”
“You might be polite and scream … then again, it is you. Maybe Blaise should go first? I know he’d scream to warn us.”
He turned an angry glare to Falcyn. “I thought you weren’t going to tell anyone about my screaming fits?”
“I didn’t. That was Max who outed you.”
“Oh.… Remind me to kill him later.” Blaise headed for the portal. “Fine, I’ll go through first.”
Brogan took his hand. “I’ll go with you.”
Urian followed them into the stinging vortex. Damn it, he’d always hated stepping through one of these gates. They were similar to the one for Kalosis and Katateros.
Like him, Blaise held one of the keys that enabled the mandrake to travel to and from the veil world where the sorceress Merlin had pulled Avalon and Camelot out of time and place, so that she could protect the other worlds and realms from Morgen’s evil.
Once more, Urian found himself landing on hard, crappy ground.
Falcyn landed a few feet away. “Blaise? You dead?”
“No.” He didn’t sound like he was in any better shape than Falcyn, though.
“Good. I want the pleasure of killing you myself, you bastard!”
Blaise snorted.
“Don’t scoff, dragon.” Urian was every bit as peeved. “Soon as I can move again, I intend to help with your murder and dismemberment.”
Falcyn turned his head to the right, where Medea lay a few feet away from his side, unmoving on the grass. “Medea?”
She finally lifted a hand to brush her hair from her face. “Not dead, either.”
“Brogan?”
“Just wishing I were.” Shifting her legs, she made no move to rise. Rather she seemed content to lie on her back, staring up at the dismally gray sky. “Is it always this miserable to travel in such a manner?”
Blaise sighed. “Pretty much. Least I didn’t slam into an invisible force field this time.”
Rolling over, Falcyn pushed himself into a sitting position, then scowled as he caught sight of the dark, twisted trees around him. Trees that lined an equally screwed-up, bleak landscape.
“Hey, Blaise … Why the hell are we in Val Sans Retour?”
Yeah. Urian rose slowly.
Sitting up immediately, Medea scowled. “The what?”
