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What surprised Hannah the most wasn’t the announcement of trouble, but her instincts. She didn’t think twice. She simply yanked the door open, shut it quickly behind her, then opened her arms to Paul. He pulled her hard against his side, then launched into the air and flew at top speed toward the realm access point, adjusting arms and feet while traveling.
“How long will it take?”
“I’m fast, but I can’t do it in under three minutes.”
The Kellcasse point was in the direction of Whidbey Island. But because Paul was realm, a tunnel in the midst of clouds appeared that led all the way down to the water.
A tour boat emerged carrying a variety of realm folk over to Port Townsend for the night, mostly trolls and a few shifters. Paul moved fast, speeding over the central canal that led into the myriad waterways that made up the island world of Kellcasse.
She might have enjoyed the trip, but the closer they got to Jude’s home, she could feel him as though he was trapped somewhere and couldn’t get out.
“Paul, what did he say?”
“He said it was an emergency and that he needed you and that there was some kind of mist.”
“Mist?”
“That’s what he said. Then nothing.”
“What do you mean, ‘nothing’?”
“I don’t know. The call ended, but it felt like he lost consciousness.”
“Go faster.”
Hannah’s palms were already tingling and her skin had started heating up. She warned Paul that she had a fire-gift power emerging, using Vojalie’s description. Since she was pressed up against him, he was going to feel it. “I just hope I don’t burn you.”
“Don’t you worry about that.”
Another hill and another and another. More canals below, villages, boats, lots of boats and in the lanes, people on bicycles.
It was such a picturesque realm.
Then there were the Invictus.
Oh, God.
One more rise into the air to clear a hill and Kellcasse’s large central lake came into view, with lights from scattered villages all around the perimeter glowing in the water.
Toward the nearer, south end, she saw what had to be Castle Island except that it was enveloped in a mist. And as Paul descended she could smell that it had a strange sickly odor.
“Drop me down at the end of the bridge and don’t go near the mist. But you’d better get some of your Guardsmen over here.”
“They’re on the way.”
As soon as he released her, she knew the heat she was releasing had given him some blisters. But she couldn’t worry about that.
Paul called out. “He’s on the balcony off the kitchen at the back of the house.”
She ran into the mist, past the stone arch of the courtyard. She raced toward the wood door and flung it open.
She saw a golden light out on the lake moving closer.
Margetta.
No, no, no.
Lorelei had told Hannah all about the ancient fae and her golden light.
