Chapter Eight - The Portal Is Sealed

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Malin looked a little saddened by the news. 'That is a pity we could have used their help... Never mind I am sure we will manage.'

George looked passed the Elven Captain. 'What's happened?'

'Grave news I am afraid,' he said sombrely. 'The beast from earlier... it has broken through the barrier... killed a number of hunters.'

'What!' exclaimed George. 'How is that even possible?'

Malin shook his head. 'We do not know. The Veil only lets those in that it deems worthy. Somehow the creature fooled the barrier into letting it in. Now that it is inside we think it hunts the same as us. It is after the Key Stones. It means to try and free its kind from their prison.


'Danielle!' 

Someone was calling her name, it sounded far away and for a moment, she could not place who it was.

'Danielle!' 

She pushed the duvet off her head and blinked her eyes open. Except for a trickle of light seeping in from the hallway, her room was still in darkness.

Jessica was leant over the bed, shaking her gently.

'Dan, it's George, he's gone,' she blurted out.

Danielle sat up slowly. 'Wh...what?'

'It's George, he's gone. I just went to his bedroom, and he's not there.'

'He'll be around somewhere,' Danielle replied sleepily.

'No, he's not I've checked and Stryker's gone as well.'

Danielle glanced at her alarm clock. The display blinked red in the dark. Six twenty.

She jumped out of bed and ran to the window. 

He wouldn't have, would he?

Looking out over the garden and the misty field beyond, she hoped to see him walking Stryker, but he was not there. 

She glanced down and her heart sank. There, etched into the frost that covered the lawn were two sets of footprints, her brother's and Stryker's. They lead off into the trees and shrubs that led to the hidden doorway.

She recalled their conversation from last night. She had told him that they were not going to go on another quest with the Elves; it was too dangerous. But it seemed he had chosen to disregard her and go anyway.

'Go and get dressed,' she whispered to Jessica. 'We'll have to go after him.' 

If he wasn't killed on the quest then she would kill him herself, she thought. It was Sunday morning and they should be enjoying a lie in not chasing her brother through the woods before it was even daylight. 

'And do it quietly,' she added. 'I don't want to wake Mum and Dad. I'll leave them a note saying we've gone for an early morning walk.'


Malin Thrax escorted George through the portal into Ellyonia. Unlike the winter gloom of the outside world, it was daytime here and warm sunlight flooded the clearing. Elves were everywhere hunting for any signs of the creature but it appeared to be long gone.

At least, George hoped it was; the thought of it probing his mind sent a shiver down his spine.

Beneath the arched branches of the twin oaks, several purple robed Spellcasters were invoking a spell. Their hands wove intricate patterns in the air above their heads, then the magic broke from their fingertips. It crashed against the portal causing its surface to ripple and flow. Finally, it quietened and once again it looked just like any other path that passed through the woods.

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