The Quest for Normania #1: The Door of Andrios

23. A Revelation for Agatha

Present day on Earth

Even before she opened her eyes, Ayesha could hear the low voices speaking not very far away from them.

She couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but it didn't take a High Priest's Ultimate Spell to realise that a repeated mention of her name meant they were talking about her.

She tried to open her eyes, but they stubbornly remained shut. She groaned as pain seized her entire left arm. "Aw, shucks!" she hissed.

At once, she felt a presence approaching her side rapidly—it was Norin Zura, if the sudden jump in her newly-developed bond was any indication.

She turned to lie hard on her injured arm in the hope of relieving some of the pain. "Norin, is that... you?" Her voice came in a hoarse whisper.

"It's me," his familiar warm voice replied. "That wound won't go away very soon, you know. The antidote knocked you out. I'm so glad I had just the one leaf of it."

"What?" She coughed into the mattress beneath her body. "You used it all on me?"

A hand caressed her loose hair that had come undone from her ponytail away from her face, something she had been meaning to do herself. "Now then, we'll be going back home very soon, don't you worry. We just have to wait until..." His voice died away and she couldn't help a scary thought coming to her mind.

"You know, I'm thinking the exact thing you are," she gasped. "The longer we stay here..."

"The worse for us," finished Norin.

Ayesha nodded and turned back to where she thought he sat on her bed. "How long have I been out?"

"About three hours."

She heaved a sigh of relief. "That's a day, then."

"Norin! At last!"

Norin jumped violently and looked around, his eyes and ears on high alert. The voice in his head was very, very faint, but still, completely out of the blue!

"Hey, it's your communicator!" came the voice again and he relaxed.

"Mithra!" he exclaimed. "What is it? Can't you work the portal yet?"

"No. Did you make it work by imagining the place?"

"No, I didn't. Just give the word."

"It ain't working that way. Teresa and I have been here a whole day trying to make it work on verbal command. Perhaps it'll listen to you?"

Norin nodded. "Right." He glanced at the woman on the bed and he knew she was listening eagerly. "Ayesha is right here – er, I mean, Eurin Ayesha. So are all of the others. It's as good time as any: we're ready to leave at a moment's notice." He cleared his throat. "All right then. Ideally, I'd have to hold the handle and imagine it – or command it – but I'll try without it anyway." He closed his eyes and concentrated all of his energy on his communicator. "Via apertum!"

At once, a doorway appeared in front of him, not unlike the Door of Andrios, with a loud whoosh. From the bedroom, the others came rushing out to see what the commotion was about. Cassandra hoped against hope it wasn't another ambush.

They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the open door, two figures beyond, and a grinning Norin beside it all. Even Ayesha sat up on the bed, her eyes half-open.

"Off we go!" he announced. "Who's coming with us?!"

On the other hand, Ayesha wasn't so sure it could be this easy.