Chapter 22

  Sam saw where the two moons usually were and smiled. Tonight, clouds hid them, blocking all their light. Perfect for breaking into a building. She and Ayasse hid in the darkness outside a small store that sold fishing tackle. The fish-shaped sign was creaking in the breeze, but there was no other movement. They checked out the large warehouse on the docks in front of them. According to King Eon, there were at least fifty guards, several workers, and some magical defences inside. And the portal to her world.

  At three stories and built of black stone, the warehouse dominated the other small thatched houses butting up against them. In the two hours they watched it, several small ships had sailed away, presumably loaded with goods. Eon never said what they had here, but Sam had heard of this building. There was talk of a new port in the bars she used to frequent. The rumours didn’t say much, only that it was well guarded.

  At the castle, Sam had just walked in through the front gate, even with her picture everywhere. She could smell the contempt coming out of the castle. Eon liked to believe his people thought of him as a father they had to protect. Most of the regular people were waiting for him to eat himself to death and for the prince to take over. The threat of Eon’s soldiers was the only thing keeping the people in line. If they knew the truth, they would probably rise and dethrone him, and stick the prince on the throne. Sam had never met the man, but from everything she’d heard, he loved ladies and hunting and was a much better man than his father ever was.

  Sam had left Eon tied up in a closet and stole his dessert before she left. He was out of the way, but it was only a matter of time before someone found him.

  Sam chewed her fingernail. There was something not right here. “What do you think?” She turned to Ayasse. “Were you able to check it out?” She was still waiting for a problem to drop. They were having too much good luck.

  “No, there’s a shield around the building. I’m unable to get through.”

  “You should have tried harder,” she winced at her tone. “Sorry. That wasn’t what I meant to say. Should we go in the front door, like at the castle?” Sam tried to make it sound light and pointed to the building.

  “You’re not serious, are you?” Ayasse scoffed. “These guards here have more to lose. Eon needs them to control the portal. They won’t let you in easily.”

  “I’m so close. I can feel the gate in my gut, and we don’t have much time.” According to King Eon, things went in and out of the gate every two weeks. He didn’t control when it opened. That happened on the other side. This evening was his turn to send goods through and the gate only stayed open for an hour, two hours after midnight.

  “We still have a little time before it starts. I did see a way up the side of the black building. If you can climb it, we can enter through the roof.” Ayasse beckoned Sam to follow him. He led her to the side closest to one of the thatched-roof houses. “If you jump onto here and jump over to the building, it may give you a boost.”

  “Why don’t I take a running start and leap the building?” Sam boasted, stretching her legs. She cracked her knuckles and grinned.

  “Sure, that would work too, but the guards on the roof might see you.” Ayasse pointed to the top of the building. Sam could make out one dark shadow person sticking their head out. “My way minimizes risk. Can you take them out before they alert the rest of the soldiers?”

  “Probably not.” Sam clicked her tongue in frustration and went over to the small thatched house next to the warehouse. She climbed up to the top and stood on the frame. The enormous building in front of her dwarfed the smaller ones. A shallow jump should get her onto the rough stone, and there were enough handholds to get her to the top. If she needed to, Sam could make more, but that would be noisy and tonight was all about stealth.

  She turned to Ayasse. His mask hid his face, but he must be hurting. “How about you? Have you recovered from your beating? You haven’t been using your powers as much. Besides, didn’t we bury your master? You’re grieving and should sit this out. I’ll be fine by myself.” She placed her hand on his shoulder.

  “I’ll be okay. It was only an overextension of my powers,” he whispered. “I was able to get a potion when we came into the city to fix the remaining problems.” He held up his arm. “And I won’t be fighting.” He paused and looked down. “As for my master, there was something strange about that body. I told Eon it was her, but I’m not sure. Something was off. I’ll deal with that problem after this is over.” He waved her closer to the darkness.

  “You said it had her aura and the scars on her body were the same,” Sam said.

  “Yes, but we couldn’t find her head.” He dismissed Sam’s raised eyebrow. “Don’t worry. That is my problem and I can handle it.” He pointed to the wall. “Let’s go. I’ll ride your shadow up. I also should be able to soften your impact with the wall and make it easier to climb. If that’s okay with you?”

  Sam turned away, glad for the darkness. He wouldn’t be able to see her face turn red. She’d been awful to him when they came to the city the first time—controlling how he did things only because it embarrassed her.

  “Got it.” She crouched, prepared to jump. “You ready?” she whispered.

  Ayasse dove into Sam’s shadow and stuck a shadowed thumb out. She looked back at the stone building, made a step and jumped. She heard a crack in the thatch roof and a small thump when she landed on the building. The sudden noise caused her heart to race. “Did anyone hear that?” Sam whispered.

  “Don’t worry. I could muffle the sound with my shadows.” Ayasse said.

  Sam looked up. There was no movement on the roof. She wished he would tell her how he did that, but he never revealed anything. Sam gritted her teeth and let go of her control. She didn’t need to know everything.

  “You can do it. Make your arms work for you. Don’t gorilla ahead,” Sam whispered to herself as she made her way up the side of the building. It would be so much easier to go in the front door and force her way to the portal. Unlike breaking things, sneaking in was more difficult. She felt muscles she’d never used before twinge and shout in pain.

  When the clouds moved away from one of the moons, the bright light bathed the side of the building, exposing Sam’s position. She held her breath and tried to fade into the wall.

  “Don’t worry,” a whisper came from the shadow beside her head. “We’re flush on the side of the building. They can’t see you and I’ve been able to mask our presence somewhat. They shouldn’t hear you either.”

  “Thanks. That’s a relief.” Sam whispered back. She continued her climb, reaching the top after what seemed like an eternity. Pulling her head over the ledge, she located the guards. There were three outlined by the moonlight, watching the ocean. Another boat must be coming. She couldn’t see anyone else. Off to the left side was a door, set in a round stone turret, away from the sea.

  Ayasse flowed out of her shadow and went to the door. Sam bit her lip as he checked the hinges for squeaks and opened the door, slipping inside. He had to scout the area inside and take care of any danger. Sam felt her arms start to shake as she hung on the ledge. Pain flowed through her. She didn’t want to go over till it was clear, but her head was exposed.

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  Please don’t look over here. She thought to the guards.

  Sam watched the door open, and Ayasse beckoned for her to join him. Swinging a leg over the ledge, Sam rolled and slipped through the door. She closed it softly and looked around the small room. There was enough space for two people and some stairs leading down. “Dammit, that hurt. What took you so long?” She grimaced at her tone. “Sorry.”

  “No, it took longer than I thought. There were a few problems. I resolved them,” Ayasse said, putting away his knives.

  “I don’t want to know how you did that, do I?” Sam raised an eyebrow.

  “Nobody died if that’s what you’re implying. They won’t be waking up soon, though.” Sam saw him grimace through the mask. “I can incapacitate people without hurting them. It’s harder, but I’ll do as you wish, and not kill unless I have to.”

  “Good!”

  They went down the narrow stairs. Sam saw the small room off to the side on the first landing with two bodies lying over a table. They had cleaner-looking uniforms than the castle guards, but the same tan colour. Closing the door so nobody would see them, she followed Ayasse down to the first floor to a door at the bottom of the stairs. Opening it up, she peeked around the corner and saw a huge storage room. Spreading out from the door were hundreds of containers. They were taller than Sam, made of wood, and topped along each corner with a metal bracket.

  “These don’t fit this world. They come from mine,” she said, running her fingers across one of them.

  “What do you mean?” he whispered.

  “This bracket is too smooth. The technology here looks like the armour. It’s too perfect.” She ran her fingers over the metal. What were they sending here? “And look at this,” she pointed to a name.

  “What does it say?” He asked.

  “London. What’s happening here?”

  “Let’s take a look at the room,” Ayasse said, climbing to the top of a box.

  “Not again,” Sam grumbled, joining him to get a better view of the area. At the top, she crouched down and surveyed the room. There was a large open space in the center, surrounded by around thirty wooden box carts and packages, all of which were wrapped in cloth. Guards protected the carts in the center.

  Whatever was in them was important. Sam couldn’t see anything in the center, but she heard a humming coming from it, and it was getting louder.

  “What is that noise?” Ayasse asked from beside her.

  Sam shrugged and stared at the center.

  “I think we’re early. They haven’t sent the packages through yet,” Sam replied. The humming started to grow louder, shaking her teeth.

  “You’re right. Those carts wouldn’t be here otherwise.” Ayasse stood up and dove into Sam’s shadow. The magic preventing him from using his shadow powers to enter the building wasn’t stopping him inside. Sam saw him wave to her a little further ahead. She jumped down and joined him.

  “There are guards around the outside protecting the packages, but no one patrolling within them. They don’t expect people to break in,” Ayasse said, raising his voice. It was getting hard to hear over the hum. She stuck her fingers in her ears to try and muffle it.

  “How can the people outside not hear this?” Sam yelled.

  “The stone must block the sound, and the people around here are used to strange noises. Ships come and go all the time,” Ayasse replied, just as loud.

  Sam hit the crate beside her, leaving a hole in the wood. She crouched, waiting for someone to come. The hum hid everything.

  “You’re right.” What was happening here?

  Ayasse pointed to the hole in the crate. “What’s this?” He reached in and pulled out a round brown bulb. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

  Sam stared at the brown thing in his hands, and her jaw dropped. “It’s a potato! How in the hell did they get here?”

  “What do you mean? Po-tay-to?” Ayasse asked. Sam could hear the confusion as he tried to sound out the new word.

  “It’s a root crop from my world. With it, you can feed more people than the standard wheat.” Sam reached into the crate and pulled out more of the food. “It’s a little dangerous to eat raw, but it’s safe when cooked and can grow everywhere, even in low-yield soil.”

  Awed, Ayasse put the potato back and brushed off his hands. “That’s a miracle crop. With this, hunger could be eliminated, and there’d be fewer orphans from starvation.”

  Sam shook her head at the mystery and gestured for Ayasse to lead the way. If this is what King Eon was hiding, why did he give up the location so fast? These potatoes would end hunger and ensure his position for years to come. There had to be something else going on here.

  Sam snuck forward, going around the boxes. The humming got louder with each step. Her fingernails were tingling. Any stronger and it would feel like they were being pulled off. When they reached the edge of the crates, it stopped. The silence was even louder than the noise. Sam scrunched her face in confusion and looked out over the open space.

  “Get back! It’s starting.” She heard one guard say. After the hum, his voice rang clearly throughout the large room, even as far away as she was.

  Sam couldn’t take her eyes away from the center. A blue dot grew wider and wider by fits and starts. First, it crawled, then exploded to double its size without any warning. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

  When it finished growing, it stood about twice the size of the carts and was big enough for several to go through at the same time. Why were there no drivers on the carts? It was a mystery, but good for her. Sam planned to hide in the back of one of them. The first one was pushed through the portal and it was tied with a rope to the next one, and the next one after that. It would take some time to move all of them.

  “Yes. Let’s get you moving,” Ayasse said as he placed his hand on Sam’s shoulder.

  If this worked, she would finally be home. No more magic, no more orcs, no more killing. She’d have to deal with Robert and see Nadia again, but she would also lose the friends she had made.

  There was still so much to do here. Akira could cause trouble. Eon would try to get his revenge on Ayasse. Kale needed help. Her strength would help fix a host of things. Sam turned to the portal. Can I go home?

  “What’s wrong?” Ayasse asked, pulling down his mask. “This is what you’ve been working towards. You have to get on a cart.” He placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “Should I stay here? Help stop Akira and Mel? They are going to cause so much trouble for everybody,” her concerns rushed out. “I have so much unfinished business here that it’s selfish of me to want this. What about you? You’re my friend. I don’t want to leave you in trouble, especially with this question about your master hanging about you.”

  Ayasse took her hands. “Sam, I will be fine. I was living my life before you, and I will continue living after you are gone. Of course, I’ll miss you, and your stubbornness, but life’s all about moving forward. I will find out what happened and bring justice to Thane. You need to do that for yourself too, and we both know that isn’t here.”

  Sam nodded. She should stay, but she wanted this too much. She bent down and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed and raised his mask again. She wiped her face with her arm and turned back to the wagons. There were about half left. If she was going to do this, it had to be now.

  They snuck up to one of the carts near the end and Sam raised the tarp covering the goods. “Green carrots? Why the frack are they sending those through?” She wrinkled her nose at them.

  “Why? They’re delicious and taste wonderful in cakes. Come on, get in there.” Ayasse pushed Sam into the cart and lowered the tarp. There were no alarms yet. He needed to get out of sight.

  “We’re moving.” Sam raised her head and looked at the portal. She could see it getting closer. “Goodbye Ayasse. I’m going to miss you.” She waved to her friend.

  “Goodbye, Sam. Good luck. May the Gods be with you.” Ayasse lowered himself into the shadows and disappeared into the maze of crates.

  Sam was alone. Under the tarp, and riding with some carrots back home. Two out of three wasn’t bad, she thought. She had no idea what to expect when she arrived. From what Akira had said, the reception was going to be terrible. Sneaking her way in would fix some of that. And, if Robert was importing goods from Relancia, there was no way he was paying any taxes on them. That could give her the leverage she needed to get under his skin. After she found Nadia, of course.

  She peeked through the tarp and saw the blue sphere directly in front of her face. She shut her eyes. The force of the blue light stabbed its way through them, bouncing off the inside of her head. She let out a shout and stuffed her hand in her mouth to muffle the sound. It was like a screeching chalkboard and a hammer pounding her in the back of the head. Sam squeezed the carrots, crushing them, and reached for anything else to lessen the pain. The last thing she remembered was a blue knife to her eyes, then darkness.

  ***

  When she came to, she was still in the cart. The tarp was gone, and it was surrounded by guards. Sam counted seven men, all carrying truncheons.

  Unlike the ones in the warehouse, they were wearing dark blue uniforms with strange mechanical exoskeletons on their arms and legs. Sam could see the gears moving as the pistons pumped up and down from the contraptions on their backs. Smoke swirled up behind them, stinking up the air with its filth.

  Sam jumped up on the carrots, taking a swing at the closest guard’s chin. He grunted when her fist connected and staggered back, then countered, sweeping her legs with his arm. Sam collapsed onto the carrots; pain shot up her legs. “What the hell?”

  Sam tried to get up, but three guards reached in with their exo-gloved hands and held her down. She kicked one in the face and saw him fall back, blood gushing out of his nose. The other two seized her arms. She gasped and started kicking at the cart, trying to get some leverage. The man on the right loosened his grip, allowing her to work one arm free. She punched the man on the left in the nose and heard it crunch, but he didn’t let go. The first man returned and replaced the man on the right, grabbing her arm again. She couldn’t shake them off. They were too strong.

  “What’s going on here? Where’s my strength?” she shouted as the three men hauled her out of the cart and forced her down in front of a man in a pair of spotless shoes.

  A man’s voice, full of contempt, said, “That fat bastard told me he was sending me something he needed to get rid of. Why’d you have to be so stubborn and not die over there?”

  Sam knew that voice. She hated that voice. She looked up into the face of her guardian and scowled at Lord Robert.