Portal: A Nina Decker Novel Part 4

Severin and I got off the trail and sought some kind of shelter. The forest path was now as wide as a city street. I silently wished the woods would close in again making it easier to hide. We ducked behind a moss covered boulder. I heard the loud beat of horses' hooves approaching.

"Nina, hide your glow," Severin said.

My skin was still throwing off silvery light. It would make hiding a problem to say the least.

"How?" I asked. I had never had to worry about light radiating off my body before.

Severin's voice stayed calm and level. "Just think about it. The power is within you. It responds to your thoughts and desires."

I took a few deep breaths and thought about darkness, deep enveloping darkness. The light immediately faded. It was like my body was on a dimmer switch all of a sudden and I turned the k.n.o.b.

The sound of horses grew louder. I bit my lip as pebbles and small rocks on the path vibrated and jumped. I kept thinking about my glow. I pictured a starless night. The light around us faded and the woods around us plunged into total darkness. The blackness covered Severin and I like a comforting blanket.

As the horse hooves came closer, a bit of a ghostly orange light pushed aside the new dark. The light came from small lanterns and it reflected off the armor or the riders as they rode into view. There were at least twenty of them and they all rode huge beastly horses with black hides and red eyes. There was a uniformity to these animals that was unnatural. No two horses, even those from the same sire looked exactly alike yet all twenty of these mounts were identical from what I could see. That unnerved me more than the riders themselves, although they were not a comforting sight either.

Their armor was like nothing I'd ever seen or had read about. It was form fitting and inlaid with wild flame-like designs. The helmets had metallic spikes shaped like tongues of fire around the crowns. A large grill covered the face of each rider. Nothing like this had been produced in the Middle Ages or even the Renaissance. It was more like something a Hollywood costume department would churn out. Even at this distance I could tell it wasn't made of iron. That meant the riders were fae.

There was another strange detail. The breast plates were so form fitting it was obvious that half these riders were women, including their leader. They all carried long spears with silver points. Four of them held the lanterns that gave off the orange light. Their leader rode slowly down the center of the wide path while the rest of the company split into two groups, each checking a side.

The boulder Severin and I crouched behind seemed like poor cover but their lanterns gave off very weak light. I thought, hoped really, they would pa.s.s us by if we stayed quiet and still. Severin's hand found mine and gave it a comforting squeeze. But then I jerked my head up.

"Severin!" The leader shouted. Her voice was sweet but tinged with steel. "We know you're out here wolf. Come out now."

I swallowed hard. How did she know his name?

The leader went on. "Did you seriously believe that you of all people could come back to Nightfall and we wouldn't know? Didn't you learn anything from the last time?"

Last time? I thought. What did she mean? Then I realized Severin had been here before. Why didn't he tell me before we went through the portal?

"Come out and you won't be harmed," the leader promised before adding, "much."

My heart thudded as the riders approached the boulder.

The leader said, "If you continue to play this game I can't guarantee anything."

I tried to calm down but all of these new questions played in my head. When had Severin been to Nightfall? Why didn't he tell me? Was he truly here just to help me? Or did he have ulterior motives?

I wanted to see his face to gauge his reactions, but he was covered by shadows. My eyes strained and I saw his features become clear. He looked tense and kept his eyes focused on the path. Then he stared at me, his eyes widening by the second.

"Nina!" he whispered.

His face was clear now. But it wasn't because my eyes had adjusted.

It's my glow! It's come back!

In an instant I lit up like a full moon. I tried to supress it but it was too late.

"There!" one of the riders shouted.

Severin bolted to his feet and handed me the bow and arrows.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Run!" And with that Severin s.h.i.+fted into wolf form and leapt out onto the path to meet the riders now charging towards us.

For a moment all I could do was stand and watch as Severin loped towards the riders and their silver lances.

Without thinking I nocked an arrow and drew back the bow. As I did, a surge of power flowed through my body, into my hands and into the weapon it held.

A while ago I got angry at Severin and I struck him but not with my hands or anything like that. Inside me was a burning fire and I let part of that fire out. It shot from my hands like a beam in a sci-fi movie. Now when I drew back the bow, that same energy filled the arrow. Somehow the ancient weapon was focusing that power and amplifying it. I was almost afraid to let it loose.

I saw the riders bearing down on Severin. They would impale him in seconds. Without another thought, I shot the arrow at them.

I watched it shoot through the night sky like a flare. I hadn't been aiming. I didn't have to. It landed among the first wave of warriors and exploded in bright blue and red light. The attackers were tossed aside as a wave of energy expanded outwards. Riders were thrown from their horses and landed in the woods nearby. I sensed that none had been killed but they all had been stunned.

Severin had been just short of the blast. Still in wolf form he wheeled around and growled at me. He was telling me to run and escape. When he turned back to face the riders, their leader was on top of him.

She and her black mount dashed past Severin. She threw something over him as she pa.s.sed. It was a silvery net and it tangled Severin. The leader wheeled around and paid me no attention. She rode back towards Severin who laid howling and writhing in the middle of the path.

The rest of the riders joined their leader and circled Severin. He was trapped.

None of them looked in my direction. I had a chance to run. With my bow and arrows I could easily beat back any who tried to pursue. But where would I go? How would I find my mother or my father? I knew nothing about this land. I didn't know where to go or how to get there. At best I would wander around for days without a clue, without food or shelter. I would likely die.

That wasn't what I came here to do.

I needed to find my father. I needed answers. And it didn't look like I was going to accomplish any of that by hiding in the woods.

I raised the bow over my head. "I'm coming in."

I heard Severin howl loudly. I was sorry to disappoint him.

The leader turned her mount and trotted towards me. She stopped just short, towering above me on her great black horse. She raised her lance in a form of salute, then used the weapon to pluck the bow out of my grasp.

"Princess N'Lina, my name is J'Tara, captain of the royal guard of Nightfall. I welcome you home," she told me.

Well, I guess Severin wasn't the only one they'd been expecting. And calling me princess no less. That was interesting I swallowed hard and hoped for the best.

Chapter 7.

J'Tara removed her helmet and shook out her long sandy brown hair. Her face was unusually long with a pointed chin and high sharp cheekbones. They jutted out like triangles on her face. She was very beautiful despite that but had a cruel twist to her mouth.

"We knew you were here too, Princess N'Lina," she told me.

It was hard to miss the condescension in her voice.

I said, "Well you did send Ralph Donnelly to my place of work then turned him into a tree. I a.s.sume there was some planning involved."

Severin's growls caught my attention. He was still in wolf form and still struggling in the silver net.

"Don't hurt him," I yelled.

"That's entirely up to him, princess," J'Tara answered.

It hurt me to see him struggling. "Severin! Please, stop it."

He stopped thras.h.i.+ng and turned his great wolf head towards me. The wolf still had his eyes. They were angry. But when he looked at me the anger faded a little. Severin stopped thras.h.i.+ng and snarling. His great wolf head dipped. One the riders snapped a metal collar around his neck. Then they took off the silver net.

"Thank you, princess," said J'Tara. "That ought to make him easier to handle. I a.s.sure you he will be safe. I fully intend to see him stand trial."

I watched them pull Severin away. He put up no resistance. He must have seen how pointless it would be.

J'Tara then motioned one of her riders to come forward. He did, leading one of the huge black horses behind him.

"It's a long way back to the palace," she said. "We brought you an extra mount."

I shuddered at the thought of riding the huge beast. It made no sound at all and hardly moved which made it seem strange. Unnatural even.

"I've never ridden before," I confessed.

J'Tara laughed. "That hardly matters. These are not like your earth horses. They have no wills of their own. They are more like those vehicles, what do you call them?"

I thought about my bike back home. "Motorcycles?" I offered.

"Yes motorcycles," said J'Tara. "But one that obeys your every whim."

That explained a lot about these creatures; their identical appearance, the way they stayed quiet and still. Despite J'Tara's a.s.surance I approached the great horse carefully. Mounting was not easy. The saddle was so high it was almost like a rock wall climb to reach the top. Somehow I managed to climb up and preserve a bit of my dignity. The horse didn't budge the whole time. That was good until it was time to go. I dug my heels into its sides and it made no movement at all.

"No need to spur it on," J'Tara explained. "This beast will go where you want it to when you want it to without any complaining."

"So where's the starter?" I asked. "For that matter where's the steering wheel?"

J'Tara pointed to the black and red reins.

"Grab hold of those and simply think your commands."

I grasped the reigns firmly in my hand and thought forward. The beast lurched suddenly. Instantly I thought stop and it almost threw me. I let out a surprised gasp. It was a long way to the ground.

"It takes a while to get used to," J'Tara said with a barely disguised chuckle.

I calmed myself, took a firm but gentle hold of the reins and tried again. I went forward, backed up, and even went sideways. It didn't take long for me to get into it. This horse was easier to control than any bike I ever rode. I began to feel powerful on top of its high saddle. Just as I started to enjoy myself I cast a glance over and saw Severin. He was still in wolf form. Now he was sullen and silent with the metal collar around his neck.

"You can release him. He's my friend," I told J'Tara thinking it was worth a shot. Although I knew it wouldn't persuade her.

J'Tara replied coldly, "He's a criminal."

The word criminal made me uneasy. I wanted to deny it but how could I? What did I really know? Severin had been to Nightfall before, that was obvious. That was something he left out back in Vancouver. I had to admit there were parts of his past that I didn't know. And I didn't know these things because Severin hadn't told me. Perhaps he hadn't lied to me but at best he had only told me part of the truth.

"What did he do?" I asked.

J'Tara scoffed, "It would take too long to list all of his crimes and we must get back to the palace. Word of your return has reached Lord Wolfstriker and he will want to welcome you back himself."

I thought about the palace. Severin had said that all my answers would be there. I hoped he was right about that. But I still couldn't stop the rush of dread that surged through me. There were likely some things that I was better off not ever knowing.

Chapter 8.

As we rode toward the palace, Severin lagged behind. The rider holding his collar jerked him forward. J'Tara prodded him with the tip of her spear.

"Don't do that," I yelled.

J'Tara said with a shrug, "He'll get much rougher treatment once we reach the palace."

"What do you mean?"

I worried Severin would be killed the moment we reached our destination. The thought made me ill with dread.

"He will be taken into custody and will be held until Lord Wolfstriker can try him," the guard captain explained. "We are hard but we are fair."

That gave me some comfort but not much. I toyed with the idea of freeing Severin. Beating back twenty armed guards and outrunning them seemed like a dim prospect. But then I wouldn't get any of my answers. I wondered if there was a way to free Severin and stay in the court's good graces.

"You call me Princess, that means you must obey, right?" I asked.

"On most things. But the wolf is a military matter. And while you are of the royal house you are not in the chain of command," was J'Tara's answer. She drew her sword, it glowed with power. "When it comes to matters of the sword, I answer to Lord Wolfstriker alone."

Just like my bow the weapon focused and concentrated J'Tara's inner magic. The glow was bright and warmth emanated from the metal. Something in my mind told me she wasn't as strong as I was, the fire that burned inside me burned brighter for some reason. Maybe it was because my grandparents ruled this place.

I let the matter drop. There was no alternative but carry this through to the end. I hoped it wouldn't be a final end for Severin. Or for me, for that matter.

I began to wonder about the horse beneath me. Was it really a horse or some kind of automaton put together by magic? Or had it started out as a real horse only to have every ounce of its will taken away? Obviously, magic was powerful here and it could do many great things. But it could also reduce a living creature to a mere tool. So what did they have planned for me?

I noticed the sky lightening.

"It will be dawn soon," J'Tara said.

I said nothing. I thought Nightfall would be a kingdom of permanent dark but apparently that wasn't the case. Because I didn't want to give J'Tara another reason to look down on me, I kept my thoughts to myself. I reasoned it still made sense. In order for Night to Fall there must be a day. And permanent night would be bad all around. People couldn't get around easily and there'd be no crops to grow except mushrooms.