Wielder

Chapter 5 - The Portal

Darrel scowled. "Pretty much. Except we'd be traveling through the dying world, not hiding out in it. Even I know better than to stick around there for very long."

"How long would that take?"

"I don't know. A couple days?"

"Days?!" Michael felt sick. They were already late getting home. He dreaded the lecture that was due to him from Alie's dad. And he hated the thought of either of them being grounded the rest of the summer. But those punishments were nothing compared to the nightmare that would await them if they just showed up after having vanished for a few days.

"Getting back will take longer. You'll have to take the safer route through Tambrin, Song's Pass, and Azure Plains. That will take at least a week, maybe more like a week and a half. But, that should be enough time for the authorities here to realize we're long gone and stop looking for you here."

"That's way too long. Alie and I have to get back home tonight."

Darrel gave him an unsympathetic stare. "You're in a magical realm and you're worried about breaking curfew?"

"I have my reasons."

"Fine. Whatever. Be that lame." He rolled his eyes. "But you really don't have anything to worry about. Remember when I said you were in a different plane of space and time? The days pass here a lot faster than they do back on Earth."

Michael narrowed his gaze. "How much faster?"

"I've been here five years, give or take a month. The last day I spent on earth was Saturday, August 11, 2018. Now: what day is it for you?"

"July 9, 2019," Alie answered, her eyes widening in awe.

Michael turned his glare to her. She was just encouraging him, now.

The smug look on Darrel's face said everything. "There, see? It hasn't even been a whole year, yet."

"You could be lying," Michael pointed out.

"What would it benefit me to lie? You ruined my plans, remember? I don't want you tagging along with me. You'd slow me down."

"If you're going into monster-infested territory, wouldn't you want some help?"

Darrel pointed to Alie. "As quick as she was to figure out magic, she'd last all of two seconds in a fight."

Alie blinked at him in surprise. "Hey!"

"And, no offense, but I don't trust you not to stab me in the back," Darrel continued, ignoring her.

Michael matched the thief's half-snarl with one of his own. "The feeling's mutual."

"We're obviously not compatible. So, why would I bother lying to you to try to convince you to come with me?"

"I don't know. To get a kick out of tricking us again?"

Alie took a step closer to him, hugging her arms to her chest. "Uh, guys?"

"Wow, you must really think I'm some sort of egotistic maniac to think I'd go to that kind of trouble," Darrel chuckled. He shook his head at the thought.

"I'm sorry, what part of 'Follow me, I'm a tour guide, oh no, I'm just a thief who was using you to get away with crime' isn't egotistic?"

"Guys?!"

"You're no picnic yourself." Darrel hardened his face into a flat, vacant expression. "I'm Michael. I'm in a world filled with magic and wonder and all I can think about is getting home."

"You don't know anything about me," Michael spat.

"SHUT UP!" Alie threw up her hands, and a golden shield of light formed above them. A moment later, a ball of blue energy erupted against it, splattering out like paint on a canvas.

Darrel and Michael both gawked at her, too shocked by the eruption to know how to respond.

"Move now, talk later," Alie scolded.

Darrel shook his head, as if clearing himself of his aggression. He grabbed his pack off the ground and threw it hurriedly over his shoulder. "Right. Portal's this way. Guess it's all we've got, now."

Michael glanced up to the rooftops. A swarm of officers in black uniforms were gathering around them. Several of them had pistols aimed in their direction, the blue energy building within their barrels.

"Keep that shield up," Michael instructed, grabbing onto Alie's arm.

As a unit, they advanced into the street. Darrel took the lead, and Michael followed closely behind, pulling Alie along with him. Alie kept her arm extended above her, holding the golden shield in place with all her concentration.

Three blue balls of plasma energy rained down on them. The shield caught them all, protecting them from the subsequent blast that took out sections of the vacant shops around them. The blinding light that followed their explosion nearly made Alie lose her footing. Michael pulled her upright, tugging her close to keep her on her feet.

They rounded a corner and raced for the end of the street.

Something was very wrong with the road. Light from the surrounding city didn't quite reach the stone. Shadows stretched over the surfaces of the old shops and apartments like ghosts, twisting and contorting the brick into a black hole of endless nothing. Tendrils of darkness licked out like black flames across the ground, threatening to consume everything in its path.

Maybe Michael couldn't feel magic the way Alie could, but he could certainly feel the chills sweeping down his spine at the sight of the corruption leaking out from the end of the path.

If it weren't for the authorities shooting at his back, Michael would have turned around and never looked back.

The portal glowed up ahead. It took the form of a large blue, round spot on the ground that emanated a florescent glow. Black smudges swirled within it. Darkness, complete and cold and all-consuming, leeched out from the portal's edges, eating up all light in its path.

Darrel whirled around, drawing a pistol from somewhere that Michael hadn't seen. He fired one round of plasma energy straight for a rooftop. The bright blue ball exploded against a chimney, throwing dirt and bits of brick everywhere. The structure collapsed into the street, blocking the way they had come.

"This is going to be a bit rough," he warned, waving them toward the corrupted portal. "See you on the other side." With a quick, playful solute, he stepped onto the blue spot.

Golden magic rushed up from the portal and swallowed him whole. It sucked him down through the blue spot, causing him to vanish almost instantly.

"Go," Alie urged, her hands shaking. So far, her magic shield had held. But, judging by the sweat forming on her brow, she wouldn't last much longer. Another round of plasma rained down on her shield, making her wince.

Gritting his teeth, Michael grabbed her around the waist and tugged her onto the portal with him. No way would he go on without her. They were in this together. He clamped his eyes shut and held onto her tight as the magic swept over them, praying to whatever gods controlled the Realm that they would make it swiftly and safely to the other side.