Nights of Villjamur - Mark Charan Newton [184]
“Enough now,” Dartun decided, turning toward his sled. “We head for the Realm Gate.”
Dawn broke with ferocious speed, shadows chased off the ice in the blink of an eye. The sled ride was uncomfortable, the entire company remaining silent. It was as if no one even wanted to mention having just encountered things from another world.
Eventually the sledges came to a halt and everyone stepped off and stood in the same flat landscape they had been traveling through for days.
They watched, still in silence, as Dartun sauntered toward the glow of an immensely high doorway, which seemed to hover just above the ice, fifty paces away. A group of the red-skinned rumel stood by it, armed with swords, but showed no sign yet of having seen either the cultists or the undead. Their armor caught the rays of the new day’s sun, and their presence made Verain wonder just how many waited beyond.
She watched Dartun produce an aldartal, a narrow brass tube employed to pause time. As he approached, Todi and Tuung put their two arms around each other, and—
—suddenly were some way off, now taking a few belongings from their sled. She looked up to realize that Dartun had just unfrozen her in time, having the aldartal still in his grasp.
“You okay?” Dartun inquired of her.
“Yes,” Verain said, pulling her hood up and pushing the loose strands of her black hair under it. Dartun gave her a loving glance.
“We’re finally here. This is it,” he said with a smile.
“I’m a little scared.”
“It’s the unknown, that’s all. It’s all we’re ever scared of. I’ll look after you, I promise.”
She looked behind them and saw that everyone else was now motionless. Even the undead stood with precision stillness. Up ahead, the rumel soldiers, too, were perfectly still. In the snowy haze, the Realm Gate glowed invitingly.
“I’ll just get this lot undone and then we’re off,” he said cheerfully. Dartun headed back to free the rest of his order from the bonds of time.
He left the dogs in a state of suspension though, as they wouldn’t be required for the next stage of the journey.
As he marched back to join her, everyone else plodded after him. It was a surreal sight, these few dozen men and women, all cloaked in black, tramping across an ice sheet.
They continued toward the red-skinned rumels, Dartun pressing ahead alone, clearly the most eager. There were twenty rumel in total, but that showed no indication of their numbers beyond. Were these ones just as wary about being here in another world as she was to be stepping into one? A bitter wind forced her head down, but she continued walking in the footsteps of the cultist in front. When she looked up again she noted how the light from the Realm Gate didn’t cast any shadows. Just how ancient was the technology that had created this thing? It loomed higher and higher, and the nearer she got to it, the more impossibly tall it seemed.
Above the howl of the wind, Dartun was saying something. “… we must now remain cautious, because of our lack of knowledge of what lies beyond. Whatever relics you carry, make sure you have them at the ready.”
His form was now almost just a silhouette against the bright light. She sensed him glance back to her and smile, and couldn’t help but be infected by his keenness. The man knew what he was doing. For a moment she forgot about their immediate situation, remembered that they were lovers. Just what exactly did he hope to find here? That was another thing about him, the constant air of mystery. Always playing with secrets.
At that very moment Dartun Súr walked with casual grace into another world.
CHAPTER 45
TUYA REGARDED MARYSA AS THE FEMALE RUMEL STOOD WATCHING THE blurred figure of Jeryd pass the front window on his way to work. Faint flurries of snow slashed past the glass, morning sunlight penetrating in between. As Marysa turned to face her, she realized she was pretty for a rumel. Even without youth on her side, she still possessed a youthful