Through the Fairy Ring

Chapter Twenty-Five

Arden and I took a quick detour to Rosen Manor to grab my fleece jacket and get my cell phone. I'd learned the hard way that the electromagnetic energy of magic in the Realm fried any activated electronic device within seconds of crossing over. If cell phones were powered off before stepping through the portal, we could carry them over and then have them available when we went back into Adven. Pretty important, considering that the portal emptied us into the middle of a national park outside of Boulder, and we needed to call someone to come get us.

By foot the trip from Arden's to the manor was an hour long walk, but with the Suntaria we were there within fifteen minutes and arrived at the portal in half-an-hour. The two six-foot, gray stone rectangles maintained a distinguished presence in a grassy meadow as sentinels to the doorway to the other world...my original world. I nudged my horse to Arden's side. "What are we going to do with the horses?"

"I'll tell them to graze nearby until we get back. Then we can go straight to Shee-Elan."

I nodded but didn't feel very comfortable with Arden accompanying me to Edlark's. Saying goodbye anywhere was going to be hard, but it'd be ten times harder with Edlark watching us. I'd have to find a way to convince Arden to let me go on my own. I dismounted and stripped the bridle from the Suntaria's head. "Should I remove the saddle, too?"

"No, we'll be back soon enough."

"Really? It'll be at least a couple of hours."

Arden's eyes got a far-away look to them and then snapped back to normal. "They say they'll be fine."

I shrugged. If the horses were fine with it, who was I to argue. "Give me your bridle, and I'll hide them both together."

He handed me the mass of leather cords attached to the bit. Careful to avoid the spitty metal, I took both bridles to the bushy shrub where I normally hid the items I couldn't take into Adven, and shoved them underneath the lowest branches. The likelihood of anyone coming here in the time we'd be gone was minimal, but it was always good to be cautious. I didn't know how to ride a horse without reins.

The bush next to me twitched. I jumped back and drew some of the heat from the air around me to make a fireball. It wasn't huge, but it'd singe some fur at the very least.

Frederick slunk out from under the low-lying branches. I dissipated the fireball. "Great gods, cat, you scared the daylights out of me."

He sat with his front paws close to his body and leveled his golden gaze at me. Clearly he thought I was acting foolish.

"I'm not that silly. There are rogue Fairies and a vicious dog-creature on the loose, you know." He continued the solemn stare. "Anyway, why are you here?"

"He's coming with us," Arden said from behind me.

"He is?" I knelt to stroke the fur between Frederick's ears. Since Tavi was with Garron and Meara, I knew they'd be looked after. I stroked the fur along his back. He dipped his belly toward the ground, making sure I got maximum back coverage as I ran my hand along his spine. "Have you always been able to speak with him?"

"Only through impressions, probably like you get when you talk to him. Let me send off the horses," Arden said. "They'll stay close to the portal so we can summon them quickly when we get back."

The shiver of Daragward magic passed over me, and the horses trotted into the forest, their ears pricked forward. Arden grinned. "They're always so happy when they get to go out on their own."

"I wish I was going with them, instead of going to talk to Quinn."

Arden placed his hand on my back, between my shoulder blades. The warm thrill soothed my nerves.