Beyond the Glow

Chapter 34

I drift alone for hours, planning, preparing, and then honing all the details of my plan out perfectly. This won't work twice. When Rena comes I have to be ready for her.

The hardest parts were when I was sleepy. I couldn't go to sleep, and had to stay on high alert for the right moment. Missing my opportunity wasn't an option, I always expected to wake up and see the portal closing, Rena's maniacal laugh echoing from the other side when she realized she'd foiled my plans.

But she didn't come, and I got whatever rest I could, only using magic to summon food when absolutely necessary.

In the times when I take a break, when there's a lull in my preparation, all I can think about is Len and my Father. One's probably in a coma from loss of magic, and the other is stuck in a never ending nightmare. The thought itself shows how terribly fast everything went downhill after my escape from Cynthia. Maybe, if I'd just stayed there, they would all be safe now.

But I wouldn't know that, and they wouldn't know about me. I steel myself, not letting the despairing thought take hold. I'll find a way out. We'll be fine. Besides, if this had never happened, who knows what would happen to the Magics in the King's control. Whatever he's planning with them could spell certain doom for all of us.

I drift for a little while longer, my power almost back to a point I would use it without depleting my magical reserves completely. I have almost everything I need, now Rena just has to open the portal again for my plan to take motion.

The air begins to shimmer, and my eyes widen, my heartbeat racing in anticipation for what was about to happen. I reach out, dropping a crystal in the air, and paddle myself around the shivering air, so that I'm behind it. Or at least; I think I'm behind it. 

The bait has been placed, and the portal opens. I reach out, grabbing the back of it, from behind, the surface is nimble under my fingers, twisting and shivering at the touch. But I grip the edge, watching as the first crystal disappears into the open portal, then I make my move.

With all the strength I can muster, I drag myself around the edge of the portal and swing around, using my momentum to throw myself onto a very surprised Rena. She tumbles to the ground under my sudden appearance, and in her shock, the portal flickers in and out of existence behind us.

I stand, and take off at a sprint. I can hear Rena getting up behind me, but I need to get away from the empty crystal she has before it can drain the magic I saved up while I waited. I run down a hill and into a valley, past tall grass, the tall blades reaching all the way up to my thighs it had grown untouched for so long. They wave back and forth in all around me in a big empty field, with trees rimming the area all around the clearing.

Not the best if i'd been planning to make a run for it, but thankfully, that wasn't the plan.

Not entirely anyways.

I whirl around just as Rena reaches the crest of the hill I just ran down. Her face is red, her hair a mess around her face, whereas before it have been orderly and framing her face, but her tumble in the grass had put a twig in the short locks, and a smudge of dirt on her cheek. She raises her staff, the portal behind her closing with a snap.

"You want to escape!?" She laughed, spitting the words out. "You'll never beat me!" She smiled, her pointed teeth making another appearance. "But it's always fun to have something to do. I've been quite bored all day. Perhaps this is just what I need to wake myself up." She leveled her staff at me, the crystal beginning to glow at her mental commands, whatever they were.

The crystal continued to brighten, and I hesitated, unsure of what it was about to do. At the last second, I dodged to the side, deciding if it shot at me, not being hit was better than just waiting, no matter what it did.