“So, I’m really sorry about your friends.” And I actually was.

Both of them grimaced. “They were all strong brothers,” the other Brethren said, still not looking away from the portal but at least swigging the Coke and relaxing ever so slightly. I maneuvered myself slightly so that I was angled towards the gateway. As soon my watch hit 2.15am, I’d make a run for it.

“Let the Way light their paths through the long night,” I quoted, and each of the Brethren inclined their heads slightly.

Ummm…what now? I cast around, trying to think of an appropriate topic. The werefox rescued me, however. “So, I hear our Lord Alpha has offered you a place,” he said, in a tone of voice that suggested that he thought it was patently a ridiculous idea.

“Uh, yes, he has. The Brethren’s not really for me, I think though,” I replied.

“It’s a great honour,” he said stiffly, somehow offended that even though he believed I wasn’t worthy of such an honour I should be on my knees thanking them for it.

I kept my tone light. “Well, I prefer a quiet life.”

“And yet you’re such a skilled fighter,” said a third deep voice, smoothly.

I turned, heart thudding. I knew that voice. The two Brethren guards immediately bowed, deeply. So they’d take their eyes off their jobs to genuflect at least.

“My Lord.” Shit shit shit. “What brings you out tonight?”

His green eyes held mine appraisingly. “You were spotted leaving the keep. I was concerned,” he paused slightly before continuing, “for your safety.”

“Well, I appreciate your concern, my Lord. However, my skills at fighting, which you so gratifyingly highlight, mean that I am more than capable of looking after myself.”

“You wouldn’t be thinking of doing anything stupid, now would you, Miss Mackenzie?”

I noticed that he didn’t call me kitten when others were around. I filed that tidbit away and smiled at him, returning his gaze without fear. He couldn’t intimidate me, not when I was about to enter an otherworld demesne to kill a god. Besides which, I was part dragon. That beat a were-panther any day. “I have absolutely no idea what you could mean, My Lord.”

He stepped closer. I stepped back. I didn’t want him to be within grabbing reach when the portal opened.

“From what little I have managed to glean of your nature, Miss Mackenzie, you have about as much sense of self-preservation as a kitten would.” His eyes gleamed in the darkness at slipping in the kitten reference. Bastard. “I wouldn’t put it past you to try to run into the portal stupidly thinking that you could save the world single-handedly.”

I took another small shuffle backwards, hoping he wouldn’t notice. “But as you know, my Lord, the portal is closed. Even if I wished to make such a foolish move, I would be unable to do so.”

He didn’t say anything in return, just folded his arms and gazed at me implacably.

“I couldn’t sleep, alright? I thought I’d just come out for a walk and maybe bring your servants, sorry – guards , something to drink to keep their spirits up.”

The werefox appeared vaguely alarmed. “I apologise, my Lord. We didn’t think there would be any harm in accepting her offer of a drink.”

I felt vaguely sickened at the Brethren member’s bowing and scraping. So apparently did Corrigan because he bared his teeth slightly and snapped, “You are permitted to fucking drink if you need to.”

Both of the sentinels cowered slightly. I wondered at the sort of regime Corrigan was running, that his own shifters were immured in fearful obeisance. Before I could comment on it, and really piss Corrigan off though, my watch beeped. Almost immediately, the portal shimmered purple and began to hum. I twisted round in one swift motion and ran. I felt rather than saw Corrigan lunge at me, grabbing a hank of hair, but I managed to pull free, leaving what felt like half my scalp behind in his large hands. Sand kicked up as I sprinted at the portal, just a few metres away. I had to make it before he stopped me. I heard him roar in uncontained rage but the distance was too short for him to pull me back in time. The magic of the portal rippled painfully against my skin, tightening around my entire body as I battled through.

And then I landed in an ungraceful heap in broad daylight on the other side. I was through.

Chapter Twenty Six

I picked myself up, blinking in the unexpected sunshine. Corrigan’s roar of rage was still echoing in my ears. I turned back to the portal, half expecting an enraged were-panther to come leaping through, but the purple shimmers were frozen. Clearly Alex had managed to immediately reseal the barrier as soon as I had entered. I felt grimly satisfied. At least the failure or success of my mission would be down solely to me and I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else coming through and getting in my way. Corrigan would realize Alex’s complicity straight away but I knew that the mage would be aware of that and would make himself suitably scarce. Let’s face it, no-one would want to hang around to see the full wrath of the Brethren’s Lord Alpha. I dismissed my thoughts of him.

Surveying my surroundings, I was very much aware of both the vast differences and surprising similarities between this plane and my own. The sky here was so very blue, in fact such a deep rich shade that I’d never before seen anything like it in my life. The air felt cleaner and purer than even Cornwall’s fresh salted scents, and the grass too was greener, with an earthy base. And yet something felt completely wrong about it all. It took me a moment to work out that it was because there was a total absence of sound. No insects, no birds, no gentle whistle of wind. The whole place was completely devoid of life.

I was stood on top of a small grassy knoll. There were undulating hills off in the distance, and what looked to be a deep valley cutting into the landscape some miles away on my right. But there were no trees, no plants, nothing apart from the grass, the ground and the sky. It was just as well that Alex had cast the locator spell on the black bolt of fabric or I had the feeling that I’d end up trudging through this blue green desert forever.

Pulling it out of its side pocket in my backpack, I held it out in front of me, trying to ignore the smell. Almost immediately a thin blue smoky tendril rose into the still air and then snaked its way towards the valley I’d spotted before. To the right it was then. I slung the cloth over my shoulder and began to walk.

The uncomfortably unfamiliar sensation of fear had disappeared from the pit of my stomach. I was glad that it had gone. It could sharpen my focus and keep me alert, but feeling frightened meant that I was also more than likely to fumble and fail once I finally found Iabartu. It also proved to myself that what I was doing was the right decision. It might be lonely out here in this barren land but I felt confident that I was doing what was best for everyone. I began to whistle as I walked. The slightly off tune sound seemed to carry away from me leeching through the quiet atmosphere much in the same way as the blue trail. Let Iabartu hear it, I thought grimly. With the total absence of cover anywhere there was no doubt that I had no chance of the element of surprise. The least I could do was make her feel nervous at my apparent nonchalance.

As I continued to walk, part of me felt irritated that the best my part Draco Wyr blood could do was make me feel hot and fiery inside. It would definitely be handy right about now to be able to sprout wings and fly. Especially when I was going up against a demi-goddess of the sky. I wondered about what Tom had said, about how on earth a dragon mated with a human in the first place. Perhaps they could shift into human form? And had it been my great-grandfather or great-grandmother who was a lizard? I considered the fact that John had known all along what I was, dismissing me when he’d heard about my bloodfire, trying to turn me into a real pack shifter when I was eighteen, training me to fight. I fervently wished that he’d told me what I was. Then I could have asked him more about my mother. He’d known her; she hadn’t just been some strange human who’d turned up out of the blue one day. Somehow they’d had a history and she thought she could trust him with my life. Instead, my presence had taken his.

I frowned, trying to push the thoughts away. I’d get my revenge when I found Iabartu, one way or another. Even if the effort killed me, the least I could do would be to hurt her as much as I possibly could first. The familiar coil of heat asserted itself inside me at the thought and I concentrated on keeping it there. It would help when I finally uncovered whichever hole she was hiding in. My temper would at last do me some good.

I walked for what felt like hours. My senses were completely alert the entire time but I could feel myself becoming dangerously bored with the green and blue monotony. I tried to amuse myself by playing I-spy in my head for a short while, but there were only so many words I could come up with for grass, sky and valley. Although it wasn’t particularly hot on this plane, I could feel the trickle of sweat soaking into my t-shirt and backpack. The straps were starting to rub against the skin of my shoulders and I realised that the stench of my humanity was becoming vastly obvious. I supposed it was just as well that I wouldn’t be returning to Cornwall. The Brethren would never know the truth and the pack would be safe, not just from Iabartu but from me. I hoped that Tom wouldn’t be too hurt that I’d not told him my plans but I was sure he’d understand. And with any luck Julia would pull through too.

Shifting the damp straps on my shoulders slightly, I continued on. My watch had stopped at the moment that I’d come through the portal, which wasn’t particularly a surprise given what I already knew oh how time on other planes worked. I wondered how many Earth hours I’d already been here for. Or maybe it was days, or even just mere seconds. As long as I could find John’s bitch of a murderess before she sent anything else through to attack my pack then it didn’t matter.

I was so intently wrapped up in my thoughts about how I’d go about ripping the head off her shoulders, that I didn’t notice for a while that there was something up ahead. The valley had been getting steadily closer but what I hadn’t spotted before now due to the curve of the steep slopes was that there was something stood there in the middle of the grassy floor. From where I was it looked like a dark hole of black, incongruent against the other colours of the landscape. The blue smoke seemed to disappear into the middle of it. At last I was getting somewhere. I began walking a bit faster, feeling the lick of flames inside me rise ever so slightly.