At first, nothing happens, but by eyeing the reactions of those around me, I gather that this is expected. Then I notice the Cores beginning to shine with light. The light intensifies and the channel of running water which leads between the basin and the pool and through the Cores begins glimmering. It’s not long before that brightness begins seeping into the pool, spreading out like ink.

  It takes a few minutes, but eventually the pool is full of an opaque brightness which makes it seem more like a liquid disc of mother-of-pearl. I can no longer see the tiles underneath the water – if it even is water any more. The Cores themselves have vanished – as their brightness faded, they each crumbled away into nothing.

  “No time to waste,” Nicholas says briskly after the last of the Cores vanishes. He turns away from the basin into which he’s been gazing intently this whole time. “The portal is fully open.”

  That galvanises the guards into action, though Sarran remains by my side. The three armoured figures step forwards into the pool. The first step has them in up to their knees. The second step takes the water up to their waists, and by the time they reach the middle of the pool – which prior to this was ankle-deep at most – they have to hold their heads high to keep them above the level of the liquid. After a brief pause, they each duck their heads in and vanish from sight. The odd liquid barely ripples and then it’s still once more, though I’m not sure if I’m imagining that it’s slightly less bright than before.

  “Some of your Bonded should go now to help Mathis, Laeman, and Regan to secure the area,” Sarran instructs. “Choose the two or three of the most sensible.”

  Bastet, Ninja, and Sirocco? Do you mind? I ask. They’re my scouting team.

  Very well, Bastet answers, though she sounds more than a little wary. Do we have to go through that liquid?

  I don’t like getting wet, Sirocco complains and Ninja adds her own wave of definite agreement.

  Sarran said that you shouldn’t get wet, I tell them. Both still seem dubious. Well, if you’d prefer to stay back here…? I ask seriously.

  No. I will come, the bird replies immediately, though she projects her displeasure. I hope you will dry me afterwards. Ninja seems to agree with Sirocco with both sentiments.

  Of course, I respond firmly.

  The three Bound step forwards to the edge of the pool, eyeing it dubiously.

  “They will need to take a deep breath before going in fully,” Sarran instructs me and I pass on the words. “The transition usually only takes a couple of seconds, but it can last up to a minute and there is no air to breathe during it.”

  “Is this safe?” I ask uncertainly.

  “Not entirely, but nothing is,” Sarran answers, his words not entirely reassuring. “I can tell you that fewer people encounter problems with portals than are hurt when riding horses, though. Just hold your breath, don’t panic, and stand up as soon as you can. It will feel like there is something holding you down until you have fully materialised on the other side.”

  Did you get that? I ask everyone, including Fenrir and Lathani in the conversation. A chorus of agreement ripples into my mind, some nervous, some excited. Lathani practically dances in place, apparently eager to try this new form of transportation.

  The two raptorcats and pseudo-bird step into the pool, Sirocco perched on Bastet’s back. Oddly enough, even though they’re half the height of the guards from earlier, they still have to step to the middle of the pool before they’re deep enough to duck their heads in without crouching, Sirocco only vanishing when Bastet goes low enough. I shake my head – clearly there’s magic at work here and it’s foreign enough that I probably don’t have a hope of deciphering it. I do trigger my mana sight out of curiosity, but quickly turn it back off – I thought the pool was bright before but it’s ten times that when I look at it with my mental eyes alone. It’s as uncomfortable as looking at the Pure Energy was, though in a slightly different way. I’m intrigued by the similarities, though.

  “It’s our turn,” Sarran tells me, his words jogging me out of my thoughts. “Nicholas will come next and then your last two Bonded should follow.”

  I turn my head to narrow my eyes at him.

  “There’s no chance of something going wrong, or them getting left behind, right?” I half-ask, half-warn. I didn’t imagine the slight reduction in brightness the first time the pool was used – it noticeably drops when Bastet, Ninja, and Sirocco disappear. If the magic is being used up with every person who goes through….

  “No – that’s why Nicholas used so many Cores,” Sarran explains. “It would probably have worked with three or four less Cores, but there was the risk of something going wrong with the last traveller, so he increased the power input. It will be fine.”

  “But not if you dally for much longer,” Nicholas snaps impatiently at us. “Just keeping the portal open drains its power so delaying will only increase the risk of something going wrong.”

  “Yes, my lord,” Sarran quickly answers, then steps towards the pool, indicating that I should go with him. Not wanting to be the reason for why there’s a problem later, I hasten to catch up with him. My first step into the pool is not at all what I was expecting. True to Sarran’s words, it doesn’t feel at all like water. Instead it feels more like energy, an electrified buzzing that makes my limbs go slightly numb.

  “This is weird,” I murmur to myself as the liquid rises to my waist and buzzes against my hands. Sarran chuckles lightly.

  “The first trip through a portal is always memorable – though I would be interested in knowing how this compares to your previous inter-world experiences. Academic curiosity, you understand.” Then, as if concerned that he’s been speaking a little too freely, I sense him pulling inwardly a little. “If you are willing, of course, my lord.”

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  “Sure. And I told you, call me Markus.”

  “Of course,” Sarran answers, relaxing a little. “Now, deep breath, don’t panic, and stand up as soon as you’re able to do so,” he reminds me, then waits – clearly he won’t go until I do.

  Nerves flutter in my belly, but I follow the instructions dipping my head under the ‘water’.

  Immediately, I know why Sarran gave me the instruction not to panic – as soon as I duck my head under, it feels like a force is pushing down on it. I try to resist instinctually, but the force will not be gainsaid. It pushes down on me until I’m bent double and then it pauses. That’s a relief since I was starting to wonder just how far it would push me down. There’s a feeling of movement, like I’m a cork in a river, the currents whipping me away.

  I closed my eyes when I went into the water, but now I force them open again. I’m disappointed with the view – it’s pure blackness. I don’t know whether it’s black because of the type of magic or simply because there’s no light here just as there’s no oxygen. From the utter silence, I have to wonder if there’s no sound either but I don’t want to lose some of my lungful of air in order to test whether I can speak. I try clicking my fingers but don’t hear anything. Clapping my hands is soundless so it seems like either soundwaves can’t travel in this medium, or there’s some other form of interference. It’s cold too, enough to make me shiver.

  I’m tempted to try to create fire for lighting and heat but decide that to do so would probably be reckless – I have no idea what combining fire magic with this transportation magic would do and testing it when it might lead to me being stuck halfway through a mountain or lost in whatever in-between space this is does not seem like the best of ideas.

  Looking around me with my mana sight is another question. In place of the pool of sun-bright mana that I saw earlier, it’s more like the river it feels like. With my mana sight activated, I see the surface above me which is keeping me pinned down and the currents of magic which whip past me and propel me forwards. As for the surface on which I stand, it seems to be a circular disc, only a little bigger than my feet. I feel a frisson of fear go down my spine at the thought of what might happen if I step off the disc – when I look down, all I can see are more currents of magic. I’m also alone which is interesting.

  I don’t have time to see more than that as we’re rapidly approaching a place where the surface changes. Instead of being a solid block of magic, here, it ripples just like the water currents. As I’d been half-expecting, the circle slides to a halt and I feel the force pushing against my back and head disappear.

  Deactivating my mana sight, I stand upright and open my real eyes. Sound explodes back into my ears and I feel the sensation of real air slap warmly against my skin. I quickly release my lungful of air and hastily draw in a new breath – my lungs had only just begun to complain but they’re still relieved when they’re replenished with fresh oxygen.

  My eyes come into focus and I realise that I’m standing waist-deep in another pool. Surprisingly, Sarran is already there – I thought that I went in first? Perhaps he sees my confusion as he answers my unspoken question even as he starts leading me to where my three Bound and the three guards are already waiting at the side of the pool.

  “The time of transit is unpredictable – everyone is different. One person can enter at the beginning and be the last out of the pool, though order does generally make a difference. It makes coordination rather difficult, but it does seem that there is some consistency across portals – someone who takes a while in one portal is likely to take a longer time than average in other portals."

  “Huh,” is my only comment, though I greet Bastet, Ninja, and Sirocco with relief that they got through fine. “You’re not even wet,” I comment to Sirocco teasingly.

  No, she answers, preening herself briefly. But I did not like it. I couldn’t fly, and something was trying to squash me.

  It wasn’t fun, Bastet agrees. I hope we will not have to do this again.

  I give her a rueful smile.

  “Unfortunately, we may have to do this again – I don’t know how Nicholas is planning on us going back but we might easily return via portal if he’s willing to pay the cost.”

  All three of them are unhappy about that possibility but resigned. The sound of an explosive breath draws my attention back to the pool and I see Fenrir emerge. He lets out a hiss of relief and quickly trots out of the water towards us.

  I don’t like that, he offers with distaste, the depth of his feeling obvious in the fact that he actually put his emotions into words, something he rarely does.

  “Join the club,” I comment wryly.

  Glancing over at Sarran, I notice that he’s looking at the pool with narrowed eyes. “What is it?”

  “Lord Nicholas should have been next,” he answers. "It is unusual for him to be delayed like this.”

  Fortunately, Sarran’s worries are put to rest a few seconds later when Nicholas is the next to rise from the pool. He doesn’t release the explosive breath that Fenrir and I did, instead breathing calmly as he strides towards us. Now it’s my turn to look at the pool anxiously – if something has gone wrong with Lathani….

  I stare at the pool but can’t help earwigging on the conversation between Sarran and Nicholas as the lord reaches the edge of the pool.

  “Did something happen?” Sarran asks Nicholas quietly. “You don’t normally take long to transition, but the spike-tailed lizard arrived before you.”

  “Nothing happened,” Nicholas reassures him, then his voice drops to a murmur that I can barely hear. “But…this journey was far rougher than any I’ve done previously.”

  “Was it the number of travellers going through?” Sarran asks, sounding alarmed. “Or the wrong Cores? Or…” his voice also drops enough that I strain to hear, “your condition?” What condition? I ask myself. Is Nicholas sick or something? I probably shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but I tell myself that if it affects the lord of the House, the heir should know, surely?

  Nicholas darts a look around briefly, but relaxes when he sees that no one else is paying attention – or so he thinks.

  “Not here,” he hisses at Sarran shortly.

  Lathani finally breaks the surface of the water and the knot in my belly loosens.

  That was weird, she tells me as she pads out of the water. It kind of felt like when I jump between shadows, but also not at the same time.

  “I hope you didn’t try to use that ability during the transition!” I exclaim, my eyes widening. If using fire probably wouldn’t have been a good idea, trying to hop between shadows while already using a portal is probably even worse.

  I didn’t, she reassures me. Mostly because I couldn’t, she continues and my heart leaps into my mouth again at the realisation that she seems to have tried.

  “Lathani, don’t mix magics unless you know what they’ll do,” I scold her. “Who knows what might have happened!”

  “Is everything well?” Nicholas asks, stepping forwards to stand next to me, a concerned look on his face. I suddenly wonder whether Nicholas’ delay was anything to do with Lathani trying magics she shouldn’t. Without evidence, I decide to say nothing.

  “It’s fine,” I tell him shortly. “What do we do now?”

  “Every Great House has a permanent set of rooms in the palace. We’ll go to ours and get settled in. Sarran has gone to warn the palace staff.” Sure enough, I notice that during my discussion with Lathani, Sarran vanished.

  Abruptly, I realise two things: that according to Nicholas’ words, we’re already actually in the palace; and that I haven’t yet actually looked at the room around us, so concerned with my Bound.

  here!

  here!

  here!

  here