The familiar warm pool of liquid wrapped around me like a spongy blanket. I shut my eyes to keep out the warped gray liquid. Like the last time I traveled through one of the portals, the pressure was nearly unbearable. Only Xander's hand in mine kept me from panicking.
Our tense ride ended with a hard stop as we were thrown out of the portal and onto hard ground. The portal shut behind us with a soft clap and we were plunged into the darkness of night.
I sat up and groaned. "Remind me not to do that again."
There wasn't a reply to my unoriginal joke. I looked around. The portal had dropped us in a clearing surrounded by a thick forest. The clear night sky allowed the stars to shine their lights on the thickly carpeted ground. A dark shadow lay a couple feet from me.
"Xander!" I shouted as I scrambled on my hands and knees over to him.
Xander lay face-down in the pine needles. I rolled him over and looked him over. His eyes flickered open and focused on me. "Miriam," he whispered.
I smiled back at him. "You really need to lose some weight."
He weakly chuckled and winced. "Perhaps when we return to Alexandria."
I glanced around at our wooded surroundings. "If we ever get back to Alexandria. I have no idea where we-" My eyes fell on an opening in front of us. A gasp escaped my lips.
Xander furrowed his brow as I sat him up and stood. "Miriam?"
I walked to the edge of the clearing where the ground sloped downward and looked out on a mass of twinkling lights. Spread out before us in a low river valley was the city of my childhood. A soft breeze flew from the city and the smell of industrialization wafted into my nostrils.
I shook my head. "I'm. . .home?"
A shuffling behind me caught my attention. I turned to find Xander coming up to my side. "If I'm home, how did you get through the portal without-you know-being evaporated?"
He clasped my hand in his. "I would venture to say our connection is what saved me from destruction." He set his hand against a nearby tree and looked out on the sparkling view. "So this is your home?"
I shrugged. "Well, used to be. It's where I grew up."
He turned to me. "You grew up among the stars?"
I laughed and shook my head. "No. Those are like that light we saw in the cell, only a lot more."
His eyes widened and he returned his attention back to the city. "Is there so much electricity that every person might have one of these 'light bulbs?'"
I covered my face to stifle my snort before I cleared my throat. "Definitely, and the rich have up to three."
"I would like to see this wondrous city," he requested.
I glanced around at the woods. "I don't think we have much of a choice. The portal disappeared, and unless you know how to open a portal then we'll have to get back to our world through the-" The bright light of the portal reopened. "Or maybe not." Gray-clad figures stepped out of the swirling mass. "Or maybe yes!"
I grabbed Xander's hand and dragged him down the slope toward the city. Shouts came from behind us, and more illuminated woods on either side told me there was an invasion force of monks through a half dozen new portals.
"These guys really don't care about the fabric of space!" I quipped.
Xander couldn't reply. His breathing was labored and he stumbled over every rock and root. One particularly vindictive root caught his foot and sent him tumbling into me. Together we rolled forward down the hill and into a thicket of brush. The sharp branches caught us in their unforgiving grasp and stopped our tumbling.
I wrestled myself free of the brambles and found Xander hopelessly thrashing among his own branches. I forded my way over to him, but paused when lights above us caught my attention. They were the beams of flashlights carried by our foes, the gray-clad guards of the temple. One of the beams floated toward my dragon lord.
I lunged forward and crashed down atop Xander. He stiffened, but didn't make a noise as I lay atop him. The guards circled our thicket and stopped.
"Where did they go?" one of them muttered.
"Burn the bushes if you must. They could not have gone far," came the familiar voice of Benedictus.
The guards opened their empty hands. Flames burst from their palms and lit up the area. I caught my breath as they began to toss their balls of fire into the brush. The dry bushes burst into flames and cast their light over the whole of the area.
"There! There they are!" one of them shouted as he pointed a finger at us.
I leapt to my feet and dragged Xander with me. We backed up until our backs hit the rough bark of a thick tree. The fire-wielding guards circled us and closed in. My heart thumped loudly in my chest. It skipped a beat when a hand slipped into mine. I looked up into Xander's face. He smiled at me. My face fell as I shook my head.
Not like this.
A green light burst from my pocket. I looked down in bewilderment as the light was followed by a warm, comforting heat. The light made our foes pause. I reached into my pocket and drew out the Soul Stone. It glowed with a beautiful green light that pulsed with heat.
I blinked against the strong light. "What the-" A brilliant flash burst from the stone.
The light flew outward in front of us and stopped a few feet away. The rays of green formed themselves into layers of bands that circled one another until they formed a circle. The bands melded together and another flash of light signified the completion of their task and the creation of a new portal.
I gaped at the swirling mess of green light. Our foes likewise gawked at the beautiful sight, but only for a moment.
"Capture them!" Benedictus shouted.
They moved in closer. I tightened my hold on Xander's hand and pulled him into the portal.