Page 32 of The Princess of Portals

I felt the blood drain from my cheeks. I did not care to imagine those ‘other things’ or ‘oozing’ of any kind, for that matter.

“But that won’t happen here. You’re really smart, right?”

“Yes. I’m really smart,” he said with a chuckle. He really was an arrogant man, wasn’t he? “Of course, if you want there to be oozing, I can make that happen.”

“Why would I want that?” I gasped.

“Oh, I don’t know. I suppose it depends on the truth serum’s intended recipient. If you’re not overly fond of the person…”

“Now there’s an idea. Say, Ren, could you make an extra potion, this one with lots of oozing?” Conner’s whole face lit up with a grin.

I knew what he was thinking, and that was not happening. I gave him a sharp look. “We are not going to poison the General.”

He sighed. “You’re no fun at all.”

I smiled at him.

Ren finished the truth serum, and we left the hideout. We were halfway to the train station when we had an unexpected encounter with a tornado. The Templar was on the other end of that tornado spell, and he wasn’t fooling around. The spinning funnel slammed into me, throwing me up into the air—and right back down again. My body hit the hard asphalt road. I tried to roll into the fall, but only half-managed. My shoulder made a very unpleasant noise. And so did my knee.

Conner’s head came into view. “Savannah?” He helped me to my feet. “Are you all right?”

“Fine.”

He nodded, then took off running after the Templar. A weird, sparkly black mist billowed up behind Conner like a cape caught in the wind. Whatever spell he was brewing, it was serious business. The Templar turned and ran the other way. Conner ran faster.

I tested my throbbing knee by putting my weight on it. The pain intensified. Ok, bad idea. I grabbed a thick stick off the ground and limped my way toward the train station.

CHAPTER 5

KILLJOY'S WORKSHOP

Iwent to the Castle. The moment Kato saw me, he ordered me to the infirmary. He came along as my escort. He seemed to think I couldn’t make it there alone without falling into some new calamity along the way.

“You’re injured. Again,” Kato said.

We walked side-by-side down the wide corridor. There were Knights everywhere, and more than a few of them were watching us, looking quietly amused. Kato was as fit as always. I, on the other hand, was limping horribly, clutching a fat walking stick.

“You’re injured, and Conner just abandoned you,” Kato said.

“Conner didn’t abandon me. He chased after the Templar. He didn’t see my injuries.”

“Then he didn’t look very hard.” He was obviously annoyed. And Kato didn’t get annoyed. At least not very often.

“You’re worried about me,” I realized.

“Yes,” he cut out shortly.

“There’s no need. I’m safe now.”

“You’ve been attacked twice today, Seven, suffering injuries both times. That fiend is still out there, and he obviously sees you as a target. You’re most certainly not safe.”

It was hard to argue with that.

When we got to the infirmary, we were greeted with a chorus of mechanical screeches and bubbling pops. Directly facing the door, an assortment of tools in boxes and beakers filled with gurgling liquids covered a large workbench. Ansel Andersen, one of my fellow Apprentices, sat behind that workbench, a large, silver multifunction power tool in his hands. The tool was obviously magical. The screwdriver, the accessory that Ansel was currently using, had a distinct otherworldly shimmer.

When we entered the room, Ansel peered up at us through bronze-framed goggles. “Hey, Savannah. I’m glad you’re here. Killjoy kindly offered me some space here in his workshop. Come take a look at this.”

I moved toward the heavy workbench and looked down. Metal pieces were carefully arranged on the tabletop, like the pieces of a puzzle just waiting to be assembled. It looked like a suit of armor—and yet not entirely like a suit of armor.