AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As if they summoned him, Roderick knocked on the office door and pushed it open, holding two steaming plates in his hand. Mara was behind him with more plates.
“You missed lunch,” Mara announced. “I know you’re holed up in here but you still need food.”
Claire smiled at the mothering and gratefully accepted the plate. “Thank you, Mara.”
“It’s nothing,” Mara dismissed as she handed Malcolm a plate and kissed his cheek like mothers do. Claire’s heart grew tight in her chest even as her smile remained. Malcolm had already been threatened by the Council once when he was younger and that was before Mara and Roderick openly defied them to protect Claire. She had a feeling Mara was remembering the same situation as before and probably like Claire was trying to figure out how to protect them all.
“What have you found?” Roderick asked. She didn’t know whether he read the room or could pick up on Claire’s worried face.
“We need to get back to the Academy. Preferably without announcing to the Council we are going there,” Malcolm said, summing it up in vague terms probably to protect his parents from knowing too much.
“We’re worried the portals are already being monitored,” Everett said.
Roderick and Mara shared a long look. Mara nodded and Roderick turned back to them. “We have a solution for that. Get packed and we’ll meet you on the flight deck,” he said shortly, offering no further details.
Claire and her Triad exchanged looks but it seemed they were all in the dark about what Roderick meant, even Malcolm.
“Eat first,” Mara said firmly. “Can’t save the Realm on an empty stomach.”
Claire obediently ate under Mara’s watchful eyes but didn’t really taste any of the food as it went down. They wouldn’t need to pack much. They shouldn’t be at the Academy long. They still had to go to the Fae lands. It was only a matter of time before they had to uncover all the clues hidden there.
25
Roderick and Mara were on the flight deck already when Claire and her Triad emerged from the tunnels, Puck balanced on Everett’s shoulder.
“This way,” Roderick said, seeming content to just show them rather than explain anything.
Everett slipped his hand in hers as they started down a smaller tunnel Claire hadn’t been down before. Puck stuck his head out for scratches which Claire gave to him with a smile and roll of his eyes. The Notus was a bit hyper having been siphoning off some of Claire’s extra magic to keep her level. This was probably going to be his new natural state with how much Claire’s magic was growing. She hoped Desmond was ready for him.
They walked in silence for about ten minutes before Roderick and Mara stopped in an empty stretch of tunnel. Mara cupped her hands and blew two small balls of fire onto the torches on either side of them, illuminating the tunnels in a soft orange glow. That was a neat trick. Claire wondered if she could mimic it.
Roderick also called fire into his palms. The heat of it was so strong, it glowed white. This was no ordinary fire. This was Dragon Fire. The small flame flickered in his palm until he pressed it onto the blank wall, snuffing the flame out. The tunnel wall absorbed the flame. The fire rippled across the wall’s surface like a pebble dropped into a pond. Runes etched into the stone wall began to glow, illuminating a hidden portal.
“Every Clan Leader and probably most territory leaders have a secret portal in case of emergencies,” Roderick explained. “The locations are moved with each change of leadership so even if Maxios remembers these portals, there is no way to monitor them. They are also cloaked so that even if the portal you are using on the other end is monitored, there’s no way to trace the location back to them.”
Desmond’s eyes were wide as he studied the glowing wall. “That takes an incredible amount of magic.”
Roderik nodded. “That’s why they are closely guarded secrets. To move them if they are discovered is a pain in the ass.”
Mara rolled her eyes at Roderick’s language but nodded. “They can be keyed to anywhere as well.”
“Even the Fae lands?” Claire asked.
Mara shook her head. “In times of peace before the Great War? Yes. But after the barriers were enacted over the Fae lands and Evlen Forests, all portals stopped working into those areas.”
Claire bit her lip. She wondered if she could key it anyways with her magic. Or at least key it to the Elven Forest since she had ‘opened’ that. If it worked, she would have a way to call the Elven warriors to her if the situation arose.
“Well let’s get it keyed up,” Desmond moved forward. “The faster we can get there, the faster we can come back.”
Claire smiled wryly. If only it would be that easy. Complications always seemed to arise around them.
Desmond placed his hand on the portal and his magic began to glow. Claire could feel the Energy coursing through him and into the portal and she cocked her head as she observed it. She was getting more and more sensitive to Energy it seemed. Another side effect of her growing magic.
The rock between the portal shimmered and Desmond pulled his hand away. “It’s ready. I keyed it to the Headmaster’s office.”
“Be safe,” Mara said. “Even though the Academy’s supposed to be neutral ground, I don’t put it past the Council to try anything. Something about Claire is making them desperate.”
Malcolm nodded. “We’ll stay alert. Be back soon.”
