AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I turn and stare at her in disbelief, shaking my head. I return to the portal and ensure everything is set in place for a successful trip.
“You can’t hold me forever,” she claims.
I whip around and approach her, towering over her again. “I don’t have time,” I say between breaths, “to be mocked, manipulated, or asked questions. Do you understand?”
She holds strong and stares at me with confidence. “Fine.”
I smile in irritation. “Good, now,” I motion to the portal. “Can I get back to what I was doing without you bothering me?”
She rolls her eyes and huffs, leaning her weight on her hip. She motions to the portal and nods. I turn back to my creation, praying all goes perfectly, so I don’t have to deal with her for much longer.
FIVE
LANA
I watch as the demon draws a circle in the cavern sand with his finger, marking runes on each side. I want to ask more questions and know more about my fate, but angering him could put me in an even worse position.
“All right,” he says, standing and shaking the sand off his hands. “Hopefully, that damn coin doesn’t mess this one up. With the added runes,” he turns to me, “we should be good to go.”
I nod and step forward. Blue light extends from his hand down to the circle, lighting it up and slithering through the sand to the runes. Before long, the circle fills with blue and black swirls, spiraling gently toward the center.
He motions for me to jump in, and I walk forward reluctantly. I look at him skeptically.
“Where is this taking us?” I ask firmly.
“I told you, demonic court,” he responds darkly.
“And where is that?”
He rolls his eyes and takes my shoulder, tipping me over into the portal. I fall for what feels like seconds before my body smacks the dirty, wet ground. I cough and groan, looking up from the dirt. The world spins in front of me, and I see two shoes appear in my vision. Looking up further, I see him crouching and sneering at me. I groan and lay my head on the ground, defeated.
He tries to grab my arm, and I pull away to calm my stomach from the dizziness.
“Get up,” he commands.
“Just hold on,” I plead through deep breaths. “I don’t know where I am. I don’t even know who you are.” My breaths are panicked.
“My name is Systorak.”
I blow the hair out of my face as I tip my head up to look at him. “Lana.”
“Okay. Now, will you come with me?”
I huff, and his patience seems to run out.
He grabs my arm tightly and pulls me up. I fall into his arms and close my eyes, trying to regain my composure. His hands feel warm and clasp around my waist tightly. I feel his breath on my neck, and I squirm slightly; I can’t be sure whether it’s from fear or desire.
“Come on,” he says, slowly standing me up.
He steadies me with his arms, two on my shoulders and two on my waist. I stagger slightly before shoving him away and dusting myself off.
“I’m fine.”
“Good,” he says, taking my arm and turning me around.
I stand and examine the ground beneath me. The grass is browning and damp from the rain. Forests line the small field we landed in, and a lake surrounds an iron tower in the distance. The clouds are ominous, carrying enough rainwater to drown me.
I examine the rusted iron tower with cracks on its sides and debris of metal and trash littering the ground beneath. There are old glyphs on each level that I can’t make out, worn from years of erosion. One side is falling apart with bars sticking out, their sharp ends reminding me of spears.
