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The Elemental Portals

Book I – Terra

Chapter XII – Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire

The mixed group of Terrans and Earthlings made good time to Cognitionis, finishing their journey in just fourteen more days after the incident with the robber. It was surprisingly quick, because by travelling off the main roads Paul had expected a few minor delays at least, but luck appeared to be with them, even when they were set upon by bandits.

It happened six days out of Cognitionis. Bad weather closed in on them but always stayed slightly ahead or behind them. Paul did not think that their luck would hold for much longer. Junafir said that she thought there would be a sheltered place up ahead and when the others asked how she knew that she said she could just sense it.

“Tiger instincts I guess.” She said when asked to explain.

There was indeed a perfect place to shelter less than a league away and they decided to say there for the night. Evidently others had the same thought because seven wet male wolves in a bandit pack came upon them as they were settling in.

It was a short, intense fight, one that the bandits probably thought they would win seeing as they outnumbered the travellers. They charged with no particular plan or formation, expecting a quick surrender, after which they would take their weapons and their money and rape their females. To their surprise even the females took up arms and fought fiercely, engaging the ones in the lead in individual combat. When the fight was over five of the bandits lay dead. Paul, Gael and James had each killed an opponent in individual battle. Annie had held off two of them until Gael came and cut one in half, whereupon the other ran off. James was set on by two more after quickly dispatching the first and it was Junafir that came up behind them and separated one from his head, scaring the other into fleeing. The travellers suffered only minor cuts and abrasions.

After the battle Paul went from one to the other cleaning their wounds and offering advice for future battles. Annie waited by Junafir, who was retching over a fallen tree while James was treated for a small defensive cut.

“Your first kill, eh?” Paul said coming up to them. Junafir nodded as she wiped vomit from her face. “Well hopefully you won’t have to get used to it. How did you do Annie?”

Annie hung her head. “I managed to keep my guard up and engage two of them but when a chance came up to stick one of them, I hesitated.”

Paul patted her thick shoulder. “You did very good for your first real fight. Just remember that you can’t hold back, especially when we are outnumbered. One lucky blow on their part and the force ratio in their favour would be insurmountable. As it was, we were lucky that they were unprepared and complacent.”

With everyone tended to Annie and Gael grabbed a couple of shovels and began hauling the bodies away from the camp while James and Junafir finished setting up camp. Paul headed to a nearby stream where he hoped to catch something fresh for supper.

When Gael and Annie returned they found a roaring fire with a rack of fish cooking beside it.

“Nice fire.” Gael commented. “I would have thought that the wood was too wet to light. Who built it?”

James raised a hand. “I did. I’ve been collecting dry moss and birch bark along the way but even with that I thought it would take some time to get it going, but it caught right away.”

“It’s perfect for cooking. You have a talent for fires. Like Paul has a talent for fishing.” Gael added, pointing at the half dozen good sized trout sizzling by the fire.

The collie shook his head. “I’ve always been unlucky with a rod, catching no more than a fingerling or two, but it seems my luck has turned.”

“Hmmh.” Gael grunted as he sat down beside the collie. “Too much good luck means much bad luck is coming.”

“How so?” James asked.

Gael shrugged. “We have not gotten lost or had to ask directions, not even once, despite being on unfamiliar terrain, because Junafir always knows which way we should be going. We have not been rained on, even when storms rage all around us. James lights fires with wet wood and you bring in fish like you were the Maker feeding his first creations. And while we were out burying those bandits Annie found a patch of wild onions and mushrooms that she swears are safe to eat. Just like she has found wild vegetables and herbs almost every day since we left.”

“It seems our quest is blessed.”

Gael continued to frown as he and Annie skewered the vegetables in sticks and held them over the fire to cook. “We had a saying in the army, ‘what goes around come around’, or in plain words, you pay for everything eventually.”

The rest kidded the big horse but now that he had brought it up they were keenly aware of every bit of good fortune that came their way. Along with their luck with building fires and finding food the heavy rains continued to follow them for three days, effectively wiping out their trail in case the surviving bandits tried to track them. Junafir was able to find the best route through the wilderness by instinct and the small creatures of the forest warned them of approaching danger at night by crying out to one another, something they did not do when the companions approached.

“It’s like they’re on our side.” Annie noted, pointing to a creature that looked like a large squirrel that was sitting alertly in a nearby tree.

Junafir licked her lips. “Think some of the more succulent ones might come over here and sacrifice themselves so we could have some real meat?”

Annie turned on her. “Don’t even think it. We don’t want to scare them off.”

“No, we want to roast them.” But as soon as she said it the squirrel creature turned to face her, chittered wildly for a minute and then ran off.

They were able to see the cone of the great volcano that loomed over Cognitionis long before they could see the city, but they could start to make out large buildings when they were still a good two days hike away. By the time they made their last camp they could see the grand scale of the city that was built on the North slope of the immense, active volcano.

Junafir peered at the city through a screen of bushes. “Aren’t they afraid that it will go off again?” She asked.

Gael, the only one of their group that had been to Cognitionis before, answered. “Some scholars say that it will be another thousand years before it is due to erupt again.”

“We’re those the same ones that said Vesuvius on Earth was safe?” Annie asked.

The slope leading down from where they had hid their campsite was bare of vegetation. Paul informed them that the forests had been cleared not only for farmland but also so that the city could not be surprised by an invading army.

“Many despots have tried to take over control of the portals here.” Paul explained.

“They are valuable for trade, I guess.” James supposed.

“That, and the wealth of knowledge about other worlds that is stored here.” Gael added. “The Wanderer’s Hall here is the biggest one on Terra, and with all the portals inside the volcano they are sure to be able to direct us to one that will take you home Annie.”

She frowned. “In time to register for school, hopefully.”

“Hopefully.”

James frowned too. “How are we going to get inside without being seen? My uncle must know that we did not head for New Lanark by now and may have spies watching the road.”

Paul pondered the question for a while before answering. “We may have to go down under cover of darkness and time our arrival for the gates open at dawn. But we’ve travelled to far today to continue, so let’s set up camp and get a good rest before we head down tomorrow night.”

The collie turned to the former assassin. “Can we trust you not to run off in the night now that we are close to a city where Rory Douglas might have connections?”

“Could I answer anything but ‘yes’, whether I’m telling the truth or not?”

“No, I suppose you couldn’t. Will you take middle shift?”

“Which will give you time to get away if I’m found missing when it’s my time or if you wake to find I ran off during my shift? Sure. Why not?”

The collie grumbled, still not entirely trusting the grey fox, but he assigned Gael to the shift before that and took the following one himself. He separated James and Junafir’s shifts on either side of that, reminding the young lovers with a look that if they wanted to engage in any distracting activities that they would have to do so when both were off shift and suffer the loss of sleep.

When they woke in the morning they found that Chris was still with them and that a thick fog had rolled in during the night.

“Perfect cover.” Paul declared. “We won’t have to wait until nightfall after all.”

“Too perfect.” Gael grumbled.

“Oh, come on. You can’t think that Rory had anything to do with this? Sorcery doesn’t work here, and it’s to our advantage.”

“Still, I’d suggest that we travel in battle formation.”

Paul agreed, and they made their way down in a rough circle while Junafir guided them with her ‘tiger instincts’. Most were surprised when, after four hours of walking, the great Northern gate of city loomed up out of the fog directly in front of them, but not James, who had faith in Junafir.

“They do not restrict access to the city to any but the most obvious bandits and war parties,” Paul told them, “but the guards do record everyone that enters or leaves. The Chief Guard reviews the rolls each night for wanted creatures or suspicious activity. Every inn and rooming house also sends a list of guests to the Chief Guard nightly. If Rory has bribed someone in the guard to keep an eye out for us our presence will not remain a secret for long. The best we can do is confuse the issue by splitting up.”

They split into two groups to approach the gates. Paul, Gael and Junafir entered first as a group of Terran trades people seeking employment as a Smith, a Butcher and a Clerk. James and Annie were to enter posing as human mercenaries there to inquire about work as bodyguards. Chris, who refused to leave James’s side, would pretend to be a Terran beggar who had happened to arrive at the gates at the same time. He looked the part after his stint in the cell despite the plentiful food and exercise on the journey.

The guards were efficient and helpful, suggesting businesses in the city that could use trades people or private guards. They did warn them that business had dropped off as of late, and that they would have a lot of competition seeking employment.

“And you better report directly to the Beggar King.” They advised Chris. “He doesn’t abide strangers panhandling without a license.”

“I promise not to take as much as free breath before paying my, uh, respects.” Chris’s assured them.

Once out of sight inside the gates they regrouped and ate a cold lunch from their provisions.

“Fog’s lifting.” James observed, looking up.

“Good. We’ll need to see more than a few paces to find our way around this maze.” Paul said. “Gael, do you remember where the Wanderer’s Hall is?”

“Uhm, Fifth Level, third quadrant, close to the central road, I believe.” They asked a passing local to confirm that he was correct before setting off.

Because Cognitionis was built on the slope of the volcanic cone there were two roads leading up. One meandered back and forth across the face of the slope on a gentle angel. The other went straight up from the main gate to the lip of the crater. The latter was far to steep for carts or wagons, but the guards and most permanent citizens were strong enough to jog up or down it if they were in a hurry. Stones could also be rolled down it onto any attackers that breached the gates.

Every double twist of the gentle road counted as a level. The neighbourhoods left and right of the hairpin turns were the first and fourth quarters. The areas on each side of the central road were the second and third quarters. To reach the fifth level they would have to either climb the central road for three leagues or follow the twisting road for fifteen. Their legs were all in good shape after thirty days on the road, but they had not developed the massive thigh muscles that the locals sported thanks to growing up in the vertical city. For the sake of time they opted to alternate by taking the central road until their legs threatened to give out then take the gentle road until the cramps were gone and repeat the process until they arrived.

It was still quite a trek, and slow going at the end, but they arrived in front of the great hall in the late afternoon.

It was not the largest or grandest building that James had ever seen, but it was close. Rising up from the road for many stories it was sloped to match the pitch of the volcano and looked to extend to the next level the of the gentle road. It was made from slabs of brown stone that were pierced by arched windows, strewn with balconies and hung with the vines of many plants. The doors were made from old, dark wood that was a span thick and studded with large iron nails, an expensive extravagance on this metal starved world.

All in all, it would have been most impressive, if not for one thing: it was open and abandoned. The thick doors hung from their hinges, the vines were dead and the decorative arches were broken.

Junafir, still stung by the dressing down Paul had given her and James the day after the robber was killed, tuned to face the collie. “Centre of Knowledge, did you say Mister Collieman?”

Paul, who had a puzzled frown on his face, ignored the sarcasm. “It was. Gael,” He addressed the horse, “didn’t you say this place was open when you were here?”

“Yes, but that was almost ten years ago, when I first left home. A lot can change in that time.” He said as he moved to the doors.

Following the big horse, they entered the building. There were no signs of a battle, no pock marks from arrows that missed their mark, no dark stains from the ones that had not, no signs of burning or breaking, just the sort of damage that looting and ten years of neglect can inflict.

After studying the bare interior for several moments Gael spoke again. “If I read this correctly, it looks like the Wanderers packed up whatever they could carry and left in a hurry. The less fortunate citizens probably broke in and dragged off all the heavy furniture and fixtures shortly after that, leaving nothing but cold stone and vermin behind.

“Why hasn’t anyone moved in?” James wondered aloud.

“I noticed that there were a lot of abandoned buildings in the city as we climbed up.” Annie replied. “Many of them are closer to the public fountains and markets where the homeless can get water and scraps. This place is just too bare and too far from the amenities to attract squatters.”

“Location, location, location.” James muttered, then added in a clearer voice, “What do we do now?”

“We can stay here and rest for tonight.” Paul answered. “We have enough food and wood to last until morning and avoiding the inns will throw any of Rory’s spies off the track.”

They all agreed but searched the entire building first to make sure they were alone and that they had not missed some clue as to what had happened to the Wanderers before settling into an interior room where their small fire would not show.

“Gael,” Annie said as she wiped the last bits of her supper from her lips, “didn’t you say that you know someone here in Cognitionis? Someone that works at a museum that deals with the portals?”

All looked down. “Uh, yes ... but ...”

“... but?”

“They are a curator that I used to be friends with.”

Annie’s smile was fading fast. “They? I didn’t realize that you had gender neutral people here on Terra.”

“Gender neutral?”

“People who don’t identify as male or female. People who use ‘they’ or ‘them’ instead of he/she or him/her. It’s the first I’ve heard of it here on Terra, so do enlighten me.”

“Actually, they are a she ... they is a she? I’m confused.”

“But not so confused to think that I would get mad if you confessed that you were taking us to one of your old girlfriends.”

“No, Annie. She was more of ... a ...”

“Lover?” Junafir asked with a wicked grin.

The ruddy colour that Gael’s skin turned under his short tan hair indicted that she had guessed correctly.

Annie rocked back and roared with laughter, slapping Gael on the thigh at the same time. “Oh, you are so easy. I had you going there good, eh?”

Gael looked confused but also relieved. “You were just kidding? You’re not jealous?”

Annie sat back and took a big swig of the last of the beer they had purchased several days earlier. “Of course not. I’m sure that she’s put you far behind her, and if she hasn’t,” she paused to wipe the foam from her mouth on her thick forearm, “I’m sure I can handle her.”

The conversation dissolved into jibes and aspersions cast at each other in jest that only the former assassin did not join in. Chris alone had not touched the beer and he informed them soberly when their giggling died down that he would stand the first watch.

The grey fox set himself in the doorway with his back to the rest as they sheepishly slid into their bedrolls for the night. As his back was to them they could not see that his lips were pressed tightly together or the way his brow furrowed. Even if they had they would have likely taken it for hatred towards them because of his situation instead of the tense pang of loneliness that had struck him out of the blue.

* * * * * * * *

There were two ways to get from Dainis to Cognitionis. One was to go directly by foot, a trip that could be slow and perilous. The other was to take the coach service, which was much faster and easier. Unfortunately, it was not a direct route. One had to take the coach to Norumbega first and then proceed to Cognitionis from there.

After being locked up for so long Sevade opted for the coach. By all accounts it would get then there just as quickly as taking the direct route but spare them the wear and tear on their feet. He for one had been sitting around in the cell for too long to take on such an arduous journey and the human girl was an unknown factor, so the coach it was.

Mister Ross gave Sevade a marker, a promise to pay any expenses incurred, that was etched onto a plaque of some strong, light silvery metal that Sevade was unfamiliar with.

“It’s Titanium.” Nahal informed him. “NATO ground attack aircraft use it as armour. The scrap merchants pay a lot to anyone who finds some and brings it in. Then the finders would come to the house where I worked and spend it all.”

The plaque had the same pledge printed on it in several languages. It promised that Rory Douglas of Forward Trading Inc., based on Earth and Terra, would pay any invoice signed by the proper bearer of the plaque, plus five percent.

“It’s as good as gold.” Mister Ross assured Sevade. “Mister Douglas may be many things, but he always pays his bills … as long as he isn’t being cheated, so don’t abuse it or you’ll answer for it eventually.”

Just in case Sevade ran into a merchant that could not read or needed to make some small purchases at a farm Mister Ross also gave him a pouch containing the metal coins and gems that served as currency on most worlds.

“Use it sparingly.” The bald human advised. “You will be asked to account for all your expenses on your return.”

They just managed to catch the morning coach to Norumbega.

The coach system consisted of closed carriages that were pulled by teams of strong horses. Depending on the length of the journey and the size of the coach the teams could consist of two, four or six horses. The horses would don harness and grip wooden shafts then run together at a pace they could sustain over long distances. They could run faster for short bursts if set upon by bandits, but it was up to the passengers to fend off the attackers, since they were the ones the bandits wanted to rob in the first place.

The route between Dainis and Norumbega was a popular one so Sevade and Nahal were crushed against each other inside the crowded coach. They did not speak. Sevade could not coach her in the ways of the assassins in such close quarters and there was nothing else he ever discussed with the human, so he sat through the first day thinking about whether she was not a deficit now that there was no hope of getting her close enough to Rory Douglas to kill him. He might need to move quickly once he caught up to the target and she would only get in the way. Besides, if he was caught training her by another assassin that knew that he was not really a Master his life would be forfeit, so it was best that they parted ways.

He told her as much that night when they stopped at the first inn on the route.

The coaches did not travel at night because it was too easy for bandits to set up an ambush in the dark and the horses could get hurt badly if there was an unseen hole in the road. But they changed teams at regular intervals throughout the day so that the coach only stopped moving for long enough for one to relieve their bladder or purchase some lunch to be eaten enroute. Inns owned by the same company that managed the coaches were built at the points where they had to stop for the night, giving the passengers the option of camping out, renting a bed in the bunkhouse or a separate room, if one could afford it.

With Rory’s plaque Sevade could afford anything. He had to be careful though. His excuse for renting a private room the first night was that he needed privacy to continue Nahal’s assassin training. His plan, however, was to dump her as soon as possible and claim that she ran off. He figured that she would not run back to the fox she despised and Rory would not miss her, and therefore not bother wasting resources on tracking her down, so his secret should be safe.

Nahal stared hard at him after he laid out his plan to go their separate ways.

“And what am I supposed to do? A scarred human in a world of upright animals?”

“Oh, you’ll be fine. I’ll give you a few jewels and coins and such. Enough to get you far from Rory Douglas. After that you’re on your own. You have a trade at least, and I’m sure that there are others who, like Douglas, find some fascination with your hairless hide.” He shuddered in revulsion at the thought, but his eyes slipped back to where she sat with her robe parted to expose a fair bit of that silky-smooth flesh.

Wait, he thought, had she been sitting like that when we started talking?

Before he could remember she slipped the robe farther off, baring a shoulder and one perfect breast.

No, he chided himself, it is not perfect. It has no fur and the dark nipple is always exposed. It’s just a globe of round, smooth, soft … He shook his head to clear it.

Nahal stood and dropped her robe. She had gone to clean up immediately on arrival and had returned to the room with her sweaty clothes under her arm, so she was naked underneath. She took two slow, mincing steps toward Sevade and then dropped to her knees before him.

“I can smell what you were up to when I returned to the cell.” She said in her steadily improving Terran. “What were you thinking about? Or rather, who were you thinking about? A vixen you knew in Norumbega? A boyfriend you had before you joined the guild, or after?” She saw him twitch and knew that she had struck close to the mark.

“Maybe you were jealous of me being with Douglas every day, getting what you wanted?” No, she thought, that is not it. “Maybe you were just jealous because you never had the nerve to make your move on the person you desired?” Yes, that’s closer. “Maybe you are a little ashamed because of who you desired?”

That last suggestion made him wince and look away.

Bingo, as the American soldiers that frequented the establishment she used to work in would say. More than one confused boy soldier was thrown into her room to ‘prove his manhood’. At first she was just as happy that they did not prefer girls but then their friends would take turns doing her and some treated her roughly, blaming their comrade’s lack of ability on her. She consulted the tea boys who the madam kept for those that leaned that way and picked up a few tips on how to deal with those of ambiguous sexual desires from them.

She had been pretty, before the scarring, but with her hair tossed back she and her head tilted she could look boyish too. Squeezing her thighs together she hid her lack of a penis, and by pulling her elbows together in front of her chest she blocked the view of her breasts. By pursing her lips she made them look thinner, straighter, and by looking up at him through her eyelashes she looked coquettish, like an innocent child asking for a favour.

She began rubbing his thighs through the thin material of his robe, leaning forward to hide her breasts as she spoke.

“I would like to stay with you and continue assassination training, if I may.”

“W- What? N- No, never. You were a means to an end, but that path is blocked now. Will you stop doing that!”

“This?” She asked with a voice dripping with innocence as she slid her hands under his robe and unerringly found his most sensitive spots.

“Y- Yes, that.”

With one delicate hand she rubbed his fuzzy testicles while the other traced the growing bulge through his sheath. “Are you sure that you want me to stop ... Master?”

He pulled his robe up and made like he was going to swat her hands away, but he just waved then ineffectually in the air.

“No ... Yes ... Don’t ... Stop...”

“Don’t Stop? As you command. Master.”

Nahal rolled his testicles around with the fingers of one hand while she rubbed his expanding sheath with the palm of the other. The combination teased the beginnings of an erection, the pointy pink tip of his penis just starting to show, but he fought against it. She was not what he wanted, was she? She was not the lover he had imagined when stroking himself in the lonely cell. She was the wrong species ... wrong race actually … not furry at all, and he wasn’t even sure if he wanted a female of any kind anymore.

Truth be told, a little voice inside him whispered, you don’t really know what you want because you are the next best thing to a virgin.

It was true, he had to admit. Other than a couple of hasty couplings with the cheapest of whores in Dainis, ones that smelled worse than the reclamation pits, he had no real sexual experience. After he had left for Norumbega to work on his Master Assassin’s ticket there was no money to waste on such things and little opportunity for social intercourse, let alone sexual intercourse. He supposed that the first might lead to the second, but he had a way of putting people off when he was not working. When he was on the job the only people he met were either victims or their revenge-seeking relatives. The former had generally ceased breathing before he could introduce himself and the latter were too blinded by anger for him to linger.

Sevade might not know what he wanted, but his cock seemed to, as it refused to stay safely inside his sheath. All she had to do was lick it and rub her moist lips on the tip to make the rest of it appear.

Once it was fully out she took it in her mouth, a warm wet orifice that was more accommodating than he had imagined. Her lips slipped down as gently as angels as her tongue whirled around his shaft, then they tightened as she drew her head back while she sucked all the air from inside her mouth. A twist of the head here and a turn of the neck there and he could feel the ridges on the roof of her mouth or the soft tissue at the back of her throat.

She was making soft cooing noises as she sucked, and despite knowing that she was doing so deliberately he found himself relaxing. The hands that had threatened to bat her away now rested on the sides of her head, fingers deep in the thick dark hair, hair that was as luxurious as any bushy tail could be. You just had to ignore the rest of her hairless hide, he supposed.

It was not long before a knot formed at the base of his cock, forcing his sheath to bunch up just above his balls. She had continued caressing those aching orbs as she sucked on his cock and they began to twitch in anticipation. Just as they did, she raised her head and gazed up at him with those beguiling blue-grey eyes and asked again, “May I continue training under you, Master?”

He had to gasp for air as his twitching cock wobbled a hair’s breadth from her lips. It was so close he could feel the air as she softly exhaled, and it felt oh, so good.

“I- I suppose th- that I could keep you around for a little lo- longer.”

“And train me? She said as she brushed her lips across the glistening skin of his knot.

“Yes … and train you.”

“Goody.” She said and plunged his cock back into her mouth.

It was so hot, and slick and her lips wand tongue were so cleaver that if he had not been masturbating so regularly, he might have cum then and there. He did manage to hold on, but only for about a hundred rapid heartbeats before he was overwhelmed by the soft hands that squeezed and poked expertly below where her warm mouth worked his shaft.

Just as he was about to come she pressed a thumb down just above his knot, forcing the spooge to fight its way though. The sensation was so intense that he came with a strangled cry that was still probably heard in all the adjoining rooms. He had to grit his teeth to keep from biting his own tongue as he felt each individual wad squeeze through the barrier she had created.

She could have pulled back, but instead she sealed her lips around his cock and slurped down each shot as it erupted from him. When he had nothing left but a few drips she started moving her head again on his shaft, now slick with saliva and cum. That was good for a couple more spurts before he was well and truly spent. She finished by licking his cock clean, right down to the tiny hole in the tip.

His knot was still as hard as a rock, but his shaft was as limp as week old celery. She lay his flaccid penis against his stomach and covered it with his robes before she looked back up with eyes that had gone as cold as the winter ice they resembled.

“When do we start?”

They trained throughout the night, with several interruptions when Sevade found himself overcome by desire.

It was the same for the next fourteen days. They dozed in the coaches during the day and they trained all night … almost all night. A good part of the training involved contorting oneself into impossible positions in order to squeeze through tiny spaces and Sevade had to guide her though the moves. Doing so meant that he had to put his hands on her to bend her into the proper position.

He often found his hands slipping along her firm calves past her knee, along well-tuned thighs and coming to rest against the mound of her sex or between her round buttocks. Training for her would soon devolve into another sexual experience for him as she used the positions she had recently been engaged in with Rory Douglas to keep him interested and on edge.

He wondered if there was any end to the variety of positions and orifices to explore. She wondered how much longer she would have to keep fucking him before she knew enough to set out on her own.

They were at the last stop before Cognitionis, and Sevade had taken the best bedroom in the Inn for them. It had plenty of room for them to practice the techniques assassins needed to know and had a large feather bed for rest sessions in between.

Sevade had come to look forward to those sessions more and more. He was like an addict, only thinking about the next encounter, willing to give up anything for it. The secret healing balm of the Assassins? She got it for a blow job. The pressure points that could paralyze a limb or render a victim unconscious? She got that when he experienced anal sex for the first time. And in Norumbega, while he hid in the Inn when they changed coaches, she took some of Douglas’s gold and visited the Assassins’ outfitters whose address and passwords he revealed on the promise of something special. She had returned with robes, weapons and harness all fitted for her, plus, something she had picked up in another specialty shop

“What is this for?” he asked as he examined the canvas harness and the knobby polished wooden pole attached to it.

She grinned in the same manner that he used to when he moved in for a kill. “Pegging. You’ll love it.”

Surprisingly enough, he did.

Sevade was a little ashamed of the way she manipulated him, but he could not help himself. His brain told him that once he started his own school of assassins in Dainis, assuming that he was successful and Rory Douglas allowed it, he could fuck all the acolytes he pleased. But he doubted that he would find any recruits as adept in the art of sexual fulfillment as Nahal.

It was after the second ‘rest break’ of the night, one that found him on top of her with her ankles locked behind his head for a hundred slow strokes, that he brough up the subject of a partnership.

She was relaxed, laying on her side with her eyes half closed, dreaming of her future, perhaps.

“Ahem.” he cleared his throat to draw her attention. “After this is over,” he asked tentatively, “will you come back to Dainis with me? You could be the first recruit for my new guild, and we could … you know … continue training.”

Her face changed so swiftly from idle dreaming to one of anger and disgust that he fell out of the bed when he jumped back. When he rose up on his knees he found one of her new daggers pointed at his snout.

“Listen to me, Sevade of the seven blades.” She snarled. “I will not be a prostitute for foxes forever. Don’t think that these things we do make me like you any more than when Rory Douglas forced me to do them. What I do with you I do in exchange for your knowledge, as a form of payment; that is all. When the training is done, we are done.”

Sevade nodded and she lowered the blade. She made it disappear somewhere in what was really a very impressive move for one with so little training. Although he was still in shock from her declaration, he felt proud of her progress.

“Now,” she said, producing a length of thin cord, “we were going to cover garottes before getting to Cognitionis, I believe.”

Sevade covered all he knew about strangling techniques before dawn. She allowed him one more tussle in bed before washing up for breakfast, which she devoured like a hungry lion while he just toyed with his food.

He had a lot to think about, but his exhaustion from the night of training and love making had muddled his brain. He was looking forward to a good snooze on the coach. The road from here to Cognitionis was smooth and flat and he should be able to get in a good six hours or more and still have time to ponder his situation vis-à-vis Nahal before they arrived. But when they exited the Inn they found that the horses had not yet taken up their harness.

“What’s wrong?” Sevade asked the lead horse.

The Stallion gestured to the white mist all around them. “We’re fogged in. It’s too risky to run the road to Cognitionis until it lifts.”

“Couldn’t you go slow at first? Start at a walking pace, perhaps?”

“No, bandits like to lurk by the road in fog like this. We’d be sitting ducks, and if it doesn’t lift in time we’ll be stuck in the middle of nowhere when night falls. There are no more Inns along the road.”

Sevade turned away, his face set in a thoughtful frown. No bribe would suffice when losing it to bandits was so likely.

“I’ve been keeping track of the days.” He told Nahal. “Douglas said that his nephew could make it to Cognitionis by today or tomorrow if the weather held.”

“They must be stuck in the fog too then. We can wait it out and catch up once the coach starts moving again.”

He shook his head. “The coach won’t go if today at all if it lasts all morning, which it looks to do. They can’t make the city in a single afternoon. And somehow I have a feeling that the fog isn’t going to slow young Douglas down much. If we wait, we could lose them.”

“So, what do we do now?”

“We run.”

* * * * * * * *

The next morning dawned cool and clear.

“Nights are colder up here on the volcano,” Gael told them, “but it will warm up soon enough, especially since the University Museum is close to the rim, on the twelfth level.”

He turned his back on their groans and lead them out of the Wanderers Hall.

Tiered muscles soon warmed up and by alternating between the short steep road and the long gentle one they were able to make the twelfth level before noon. The higher they went, however, the less signs of life there were. The buildings were grander but most of the mansions were deserted and the majority of the trading houses boarded up.

“Looks like Cognitionis has fallen on hard times.” Junafir observed.

The university was no different. The gates to the grounds stood open and the lecture rooms on the lower floors were empty. The only occupant of the Administrative wing was an old dog that looked like a golden retriever to James. He said that the university was closed due to lack of funding, but that he was keeping it in as good repair as he could in case things picked up in the future.

“I hope it’s the near future, for his sake.” Annie whispered to Gael. “As him if he knows where your lady friend has gone.”

“For the hundredth time, she is not my lady friend.”

“Just ask him.”

“Sir,” Gael said as the canine began to shuffle off to his next task, “Do you know where the museum staff have gone? Are any still living in Cognitionis?”

The dog turned back. “Some still do. Was there anyone in particular you were looking for?”

“Constance Jotkowska. She was a junior curator here ten years ago.”

“Sorry, the name is not familiar to me.”

“She was tall and lean with light brown eyes and thick brown fur on her shoulders.”

“Hmmm, a collie like your friend here?”

“No, a coyote.”

“Oh, why didn’t you say so! We’ve only ever had one coyote on the staff, but we call her Coyotka.”

“Yes, that was her nickname. I didn’t think she would use it for work in such a prestigious place.”

“Things were a lot more formal back then where we were the premier institute of learning on Terra.” The canine shook his head sadly. “But now after all fighting and the loss of so many portals. I’m afraid that Cognitionis is no longer the hub of learning that it used to be.”

Paul spoke up. “What happened?”

“Coyotka can explain it better than I. She knows more about history and such than I do.”

“Sorry, I should not have expected the maintenance staff to know the intricacies of the University’s administration.”

“Maintenance staff? Young pup, I am the former Chair of the Philosophy Department, I’ll have you know. I’m just doing this because, well, I have no where else to go.”

Gael stepped in and put his arm around the old dog’s shoulders. “I understand. It’s hard to leave when you have put so much of your life into the place.” After a pause he added, “You did say that we could ask Constance, I mean, Coyotka. Does that mean you know where she went?”

“Why, she hasn’t gone anywhere, young colt. She is still here, working in the Museum. She had no where to go either and took it on herself to protect and preserve the artifacts left behind when the University shut down.”

“Thank you, sir.” Gael turned back to the rest of the group. “Did you hear that? She’s still here. Let’s go.”

“You’re eager to see her again.” Annie observed.

“No, yes, I mean … I’m anxious to get you back home.”

“Can’t wait to get rid of me, eh?”

Gael was frozen in place with his arms spread and his mouth hanging open.

Annie grabbed his arm and pulled him in the direction he had been leading them in. “Oh, Jesus, I’m just kidding you. Come on, lets go.”

Gael led them through the convoluted halls of the University, up several flights of stairs and across an open area that must have been used for sports when the university still had students. On the far side of the field stood a low stone building that covered almost as much ground as the sports fields combined.

“The Museum.” Gael announced.

The main door was locked. Gael used his big fist to knock on it. The sound seemed to echo, as if the building was empty inside.

After waiting for forty heartbeats Gael knocked again.

“Maybe she stepped out?” Junafir offered.

Gael shrugged and raised his fist to knock one more time but before he did they heard the sound of footsteps coming toward them. The footsteps stopped before they got to the door.

“Alright, whoever is out there. I know that you’re not Professor Nilus because he can’t knock that hard. There is nothing of any value here to anyone other than an Archaeologist, and I’m the only Archaeologist around here, so don’t bother trying to break in. Besides, I have a weapon and I’m not afraid to use it.”

“Constance, It’s me, Gael!”

“Your voice is pretty deep for someone named Gale.”

“No, G-a-e-l, the blacksmith. Remember?”

There was a moment of silence. “Prove it. Tell me something only he would know about me.”

“Let’s see. You have light brown eyes … a little nearsighted … you have thick brown fur on your shoulders … uhm … you’re a coyote …”

“Everyone in Cognitionis knows that. You could have picked up as much in any pub.”

“Uh, well …” he looked around desperately at Annie, who just tilted her head and raised her eyebrows at him. “… ugh … well, your, uhm, pubic hair …” his voice dropped to almost a whisper, “… ‘s ark and shap ike double-u.”

“What did you say? Speak up! That’s a lot of door to get through.”

“YOU’RE PUBIC HAIR IS DARK AND SHAPED LIKE THE LETTER DOUBLEYOU!”

Annie almost collapsed laughing as the sound of several locks being disengaged came through the door.

The coyote flung herself onto the big horse. “Gael!” She cried. Then she stopped, noticing the group behind him. “Uhm, who’s your friends?”

Gael stepped back from her and pulled Annie forward. “Constance this is Annie. She’s from Earth. We’re sort of … together.”

Constance pulled a pair of glasses with no arms out of a pocket in her smock and balanced them on her snout. She peered at the human girl through them. “Oh, I see. Well, I couldn’t have expected you to still be pining for me after all these years, could I? You did pine for me, didn’t you?”

“Of course, for a very long time, but …”

She waved him away. “Pish posh. No matter.” She looked at Annie again, a bit sceptically. She took in her muscles and her half-bald head as well as the long dagger hanging from her belt. “Nice to meet you, uhm, young lady.”

Gael hastily stepped between the two and continued the introductions. “This is Paul Collieman, lately from Dougs-ur-Mark. James Douglas, son of Arthur Douglas of the same village. Junafir Pawstone, a uh, friend of James. And Chris Cinereo, an assassin sent to kill James but who killed his father instead.”

“Actually, ma’am, my colleagues killed his father. I was busy being chased down by your equine friend and several other villagers.”

Constance tilted her head back to get a good look at the grey fox though her glasses. “Hmmm. I take it that you have come to some sort of arrangement with your intended victim?”

“I gave him my Life Pledge.”

Constance’s eyes went wide. “Indeed? That’s rare these days. Well Gael, suppose that you didn’t climb all the way up here to the twelfth level just to introduce me to your new girlfriend?”

“Awww, Constance she’s not really my …” He was interrupted by a hard poke to the ribs. He turned to find Junafir retracting her claw.

“Time to shut up Gael, while you still have any girlfriends. James, why don’t you take it from here?”

James did, starting with the story of how they had become stuck on Terra and ending with their desire to contact the Wanderers to find a route back in time for Annie to register for her university,

The coyote rubbed her eyebrows after taking it all in.

“Well Gael, you’ve certainly made some interesting friends since I last saw you.”

“Do you think that you can help them, Constance?”

“Yes, I think I can. And stop calling me Constance. Everyone calls me Coyotka these days and I hardly recognise it when folk use my real name.” She turned and began striding trough the foyer of the museum. “Everyone come with me.”

Annie had to trot to keep up. She studied the coyote from behind. The canine was tall and fit and a bit on the slim side, the exact opposite of her body type.

“She looks very young, Gael. How old was she when you, uh, knew her?”

“We have different concepts about maturity and consent than you Earthlings do.”

“Depends on which Earthling you talk to.”

“She was young, but smart enough to earn a scholarship to the university here and a position as junior curator at the museum. I was pretty young too, at the time.”

“She seems a little abrupt.”

“She tends to be a bit overconfident and bossy, at first. It comes from being an expert at such a young age, I think. She’ll warm up to you … eventually.”

“Hopefully, I won’t he here long enough for that.” She cringed a bit on hearing herself. She sounded like one of those girls from the Gucci squad at school. “What is her area of expertise?”

“Other cultures, specifically those connected to Terra through the portals. She’s spent years travelling and studying them by now, I bet.”

“That’s perfect.”

Before Annie could say more Coyotka stopped and unlocked another heavy door.

“There is not much left of the museum’s collection, I’m afraid. They sold off all the valuable stuff to feed the staff as long as they could. Professor Nilus and I live off his pension and whatever the Wanderers that stop by can donate.”

“Wanderers?” James asked. “I thought that they all left the city?”

“They have abandoned their facilities here, but they left most of their stuff behind with me for protection before they did. Despite the reduction in usable portals here a few of them still stop by. Usually the ones who haven’t heard the news.”

“What exactly did happen, anyways?”

“Wars and in-fighting for control of the portals, mostly instigated by your uncle, I believe. You see, most of the portals here in the volcano were open for anyone to use. They led to open trading ports on worlds that were familiar with portal traffic. Others led to lesser known worlds or remote areas where trading was impractical. Those were mainly used by wanderers to move about unnoticed. But it was the popular ones that made Cognitionis a hub of commerce and learning.”

“Starting about ten years ago, just after you left Gael, something changed. Recently established leaders on the other side of many portals tried to grant exclusive rights to new trading companies that many thought were a front for some single entity. The declarations, issued by usurpers of kings, military coup leaders and dictators who had rigged elections, started a series of trade disputes that often became shooting wars. Several portals leading to worlds with powerful magic or science were destroyed by those too greedy to let them fall into anyone else’s’ hands. Others were blocked to prevent invading forces from entering Terra. Tariffs and taxes got so high on the rest that trading became unreasonable, and without trade Cognitionis had no revenue, no employment and no attraction for Academics. All that is left it’s a trickle of trade from a few smaller worlds and the agriculture that grew up around the city in its heyday. It’s barely enough to provide guards at the main gate to keep the bandits out.”

“You said that the leaders and their trade partners were acting on someone’s behalf.” Annie recalled. “Did they ever find out who was behind it?”

Coyotka directed her answer to James. “After years of digging I’ve established that they were both financed by your Uncle, Rory Douglas, in an attempt to corner the majority of the off-world trade on Terra. He failed, but he succeeded at the same time.”

“How so?”

“With most of the Cognitionis trade shut down everyone else’s share of what is left became more valuable. That has left your uncle as the second largest trader on Terra, with an extensive network on other worlds. It will not be easy avoiding his spies as you journey back to Earth.”

“But you can get us there.”

She was not altogether certain of the fact, but she answered in the affirmative none the less.

“Let me just consult these, uh, charts.” She adjusted her glasses and stuck out her tongue as she became lost in thought. “Let’s see … you can hop over to Asgard and catch a portal to Atlantis that should still be open. Then a quick trip to Xibalba that will take you two months into the past and from there a portal that lets out in some place called Sherwood Forest. You should arrive there at the beginning of your summer on Earth. Would that work?”

“The UK would be perfect.” James said. “I can contact the Clan in Scotland and they can get you home in time to register, Annie.”

Annie was impressed. “Two months in the past. With the time difference between here and Earth that would put us back there just after we left. Could we not get there a little sooner though? In time to stop Rory from blowing up the portal or killing James’s father?”

“No, I’m afraid not. You can’t be two places at once, at least on the same world. After many millennia of mapping the portals the Wanderers discovered that they have a way of avoiding temporal paradoxes like that. I could get you to prehistoric Earth by way of Kvenland but the best you could do is leave a message for yourself and come right back.”

“Leave a message?”

“Yes, inscribe a tablet or etch a message into stone and hide it somewhere you know you will be in the future, but the chances are it be lost or broken when the continents shift.”

“When the continents shift?”

“Yes, they do that over time you know.”

“Exactly how far back would we be going?”

“Uhm, just a second … carry the four and take away three ... divide by twelve … about a hundred million Earth years.”

“Holy crap! The world will be crawling with carnivorous dinosaurs! How are we supposed to even get to a place we could hide a message?”

Coyotka pulled her head back and looked down her snout at the human girl. “I never said that it was a good idea.”

While Annie and Coyotka argued Junafir wandered around the room examining the artifacts that the wanderers had left in the coyote’s care.

There was a pile of glasses like the ones Coyotka were wearing. She had only ever seen them on humans during her short trip to Earth and wondered if the museum keeper had chosen the ones she wore from the off-world collection. Another shelf held a number of devices similar to the portable phone James carried, but these had unfamiliar markings on them. Moving to the next row she tripped on something half-tucked under a desk. She reached down and lifted up the heavy, oblong object.

James heard her trip and looked around in time to see what she was picking up.

“Jesus Junafir, freeze!”

“Wha- what’s wrong? Is it a spider?” Chris asked.

“No, that’s an artillery shell. Don’t drop it or it might go off. Christ, even picking it up might have blown us all up.”

Coyotka strode over to where Junafir was standing and took the shell from her. She faked dropping it and laughed when James put his arms up defensively.

“Relax, James. They don’t work here.”

James straightened up, slightly embarrassed. “Oh yeah, right.”

“This item came sailing through a portal near a small village in the southern hemisphere that had been blocked because of a war on the other side. It punctured a barn and buried itself in the stacks of hay bales.”

James walked over and examined the shell casing. “These look like Earth numbers and letters. Did it come from my world?”

“I don’t think so. My records show that the people on the other side spoke a different language from yours and ate snails and frogs. No one I’ve met from your Douglas portals eats those things. Why is your friend giggling?”

“Never mind. We’ll take the two-month option. How far along will you be able to guide us?”

“Me? Go through a portal?”

“Sure. That’s what you do isn’t it? Go through portals to study other cultures?”

“Well … ah … no, not actually. You see, as an academic, it’s my job to compile the information that the field researchers like the wanderers bring in, combine the data and formulate a hypothesis from where to work from. I have … had … administrative and teaching duties, as well as the obligation to publish and defend my theories, of course. Academics are the lifeblood of a university, without which the institution would not exist. Isn’t it like that on Earth?”

James shrugged. “I don’t know. I just graduated from High School. Annie?”

“I haven’t started yet, besides, I’m in the Arts.”

Coyotka sniffed. “Oh, well. The arts. Not very practical for advancing the body of knowledge of the worlds, is that?”

Annie bristled, causing Gael to put a restraining hand on her shoulder. “I damn sight better than sitting on your ass surrounded by junk from places you’ve never seen.”

“Okay, let’s settle down.” Paul injected. He knew that they would need the coyote’s help, if only to draw them a map showing the way through the portals she had recommended. “Coyotka, can you take us as far as the first portal at least?”

The slim coyote sniffed, looked at the rag-tag group and made a decision.

“Yes. I can do that. And maybe provide you with a few things that will help along the way. But those who are coming back to Terra must promise to stop by and fill me in on everything you see along the way. I still have a paper to get out even if there is no one here to peer review it.”

“Good.” Paul turned to the others. “We’ll leave first thing tomorrow.”

* * * * * * * *

The fog had lifted at noon the day before, but Sevade and Nahal had only covered half the ground between the last Inn and Cognitionis. He knew that the stagecoach would not come because they would not be able to cover the entire distance to the city before nightfall, when the treat from bandits was too high for travel, so he kept running.

He was slightly impressed by Nahal’s ability to keep up with him.

They had arrived in Cognitionis just before dark. On discovering that the guards who had been on the gate had all gone home for the night Sevade decided that they would take a room at the nearest inn and return to question them in the morning. There was no training, or associated sexual activity, because they were both exhausted from the run.

The next morning, they went back to the gate. With a bit of gold to jog their memories the day guards recalled that a red-haired human with a short beard had come in the day before, in the afternoon. He had been in the company of a human female that looked more like a warrior than he did, although both were armed.

“Anyone else with them?”

“Just some beggar that was following them around.”

“What did he look like?”

“A fox or some other kind of canine. Had a scar on his snout, probably from the pox.”

Sevade shrugged it off. “Did they say where they were going?”

“No, they didn’t.”

The Terran assassin and his human apprentice began searching the nearby neighbourhood, offering a few coppers to the street people and local merchants for any information on a group of strangers that included a red-haired human. In the early afternoon they discovered someone that they had asked for directions to the Wanderers’ Hall and headed to the fifth level to look for them there.

“It will take until after dark if we follow the winding road.” Sevade scowled.

“We can take the steep road.” Nahal told him. “If you’re up for it.”

“Me? What about you?”

She laughed and sprinted a hundred paces up the direct route before calling back, “Afghanistan is a mountainous place, and the brothel I grew up in had a lot of stairs. Let’s go!” Then she turned and began running up the steep slope.

She waited for Sevade at the junction on the second level. He arrived breathing heavily, but ready to climb as long as she could.

“Maybe we should alternate routes.” She suggested. “It will do us no good to find them when we’re too exhausted to take them on.”

“My … … my thoughts exactly.”

There was still an hour or so to go before sundown when they arrived at the deserted Wanderers’ hall. The disappointment was evident on Sevade’s face but he stoically conducted a thorough search of the premises for clues of James Douglas’s whereabouts, instructing Nahal on what he was looking for and what the signs meant as he went.

“By the tracks in the dust there were at least six creatures here yesterday, two humans wearing shoes, a horse, a large feline, a canine and a fox.” He pointed out the slight differences between the canine and fox footprints. “It looks like they were all together but it is possible one or more of them were following the others.”

They lost the tracks once inside but picked them up again where dust had accumulated near open doors and windows. Eventually they found the remands of their fire.

Sevade examined the ashes and felt the warmth of the floor beneath them. “They stayed here overnight but left this morning. It’s too dark now to follow them and none of the few families still living at these levels will welcome strangers this late so I’m afraid that we have to stay here overnight also.”

“Good, I could use another good sleep. Dozing during the daytime in a moving coach is just not the same.”

“Don’t get too comfortable, we need to stand watch tonight.”

“Why?”

“Those fox tracks looked familiar. Rory had received reports that the third assassin in our group, a grey fox named Chris, had been captured, but perhaps he managed to escape and followed the younger Douglas. If he manages to kill him first he will have technically fulfilled his contract and be able to claim the payout. Otherwise he would suffer the fate of a failed assassin and be hunted down by his own guild. If he is on the track of the human and finds out that others are also he will not hesitate to take out the competition.”

“You assassins are a competitive bunch.”

Sevade shrugged. “What can I say? It’s a market driven economy.”

They rose early on their second morning in Cognitionis. Sevade had taken the last shift on watch and Nahal found him assembling a small crossbow.

“Where di you get that”

“I had the parts in my pack. With five or six of them to deal with a distance weapon will help to even out the odds.”

“My thoughts exactly.” She replied, mocking his answer the day before as she pulled a one-handed crossbow out of her robes.

“That centrepiece looks familiar.”

“It’s the peg from the harness I bought at the Lover’s market, and the straps are what propels the bolt.”

“That cannot be sanitary.”

Nahal smiled and put it away. “What do we do today?”

“We quarter the upper levels, looking for signs of them or word of any strangers. Maybe we can figure out where they went to or,” he tapped the assembled crossbow fondly, “we might get lucky and see them before they see us.”

* * * * * * * *

The travellers shared their supper of fish left over from those Paul caught with Coyotka, who was grateful as Prosser Nilus’s pension was not enough for them to have meat every week. After they ate, she lit a number of candles and started rummaging through the piles of artifacts, searching for anything that could help make their passage through Asgard, Atlantis and Xibalba.

“Okay.” She said as she dropped an armful of objects on an otherwise empty table. “Firstly, I’ve got amulets here to ward off Frost Giants.” She held up a few leather thongs with pendants stung on them that were shaped like tiny hammers. “Second, Shark Repellent for Atlantis, because you will have to swim to get around there and there are a lot of sharks. Next, a snake charming flute for Xibalba, in case you run into Quetzalcoatl, the feathered snake god.”

“Is he really a god?” Junafir interrupted.

“No, but he’s supposed to be a horny old bastard who can give you a lot of trouble and the only way to gain his favour is to seduce him or charm him with the flute.” She dug around and pulled out a picture of a green-feathered serpent large enough to swallow them whole.

Junafir examined the picture. “I dunno, is he, you know, built in proportion?”

James was upset. “Hey!” He injected, but Coyotka ignored him.

“No, the Wanderer’s Handbook describes him as a needle dick and a terrible lay.”

“Better give us the flute then.”

James, still ruffled, asked, “What else do you have?”

“The last thing I could find was this.” She held up a device that looked like a pair of goggles with a prism across the eye pieces. “This is a portal compass.”

Paul took them from her and peered through the lenses. As he turned his head the light spectrum created by the prism solidified into a black line. When he turned back it disappeared.

“That black line points to the nearest portal. It will be strong and thick here because there are so many big portals nearby, in the volcanic crater. Even if the nearest one is not the portal you want you can navigate around any given world with it when you combine it with an accurate map of that world’s portals.”

“Do you have such a map?”

“Well, I have the latest edition of the Wanderer’s Handbook and it has descriptions of all the major portals on the worlds you’ll be travelling through. When we are done here I’ll copy the relevant passages for you.”

“Thank you, that will be a big help.”

“Coyotka?” James asked. “Do you know anything about gems? Magic gems?”

The coyote bristled. “I should say so! My doctrinal thesis was on the inherent magical abilities of minerals; everything from Adamite to Zircon.”

“Oh, you have a Ph.D.?” Annie asked politely.

Coyotka’s head fell until her chin was on her chest. “Alas, no. Just when I was due to argue my thesis the Science and Magic Department shut down, leaving no one to defend it to.” Then she raised her head and glared defiantly at the group. “But one day they will return, and my theories will prove to be …”

“Alright, okay.” James interceded. “Would you mind taking a look at some of ours? My mother said that they might have magic properties.” He offered his sword, hilt first and still in its scabbard, to her.

She rummaged around in a drawer and came up with a jeweller’s loop that had several multi-coloured lenses that could be rotated in and out in front of the magnifying lens. She screwed it into her eye and examined the ruby on the swords hilt carefully.

“Oh my! Oh yes. This is a gorgeous specimen. Do you have others?”

One by one she examined the gems that the group had mounted on their weapons. Each new stone drew gasps of delight and cries of wonder. When she was done she set the loop down and looked around at the group.

“These are the best stones that I have ever laid eyes on, and this university used to have some of the best in the worlds in their collection. They are most certainly magic; you can tell by the way they bend the non-visible light bands. Where did you get them?”

“My father, Arthur Douglas, collected them. They were supposed to be my legacy.”

“Well on the right world you could buy a reasonably priced kingdom with these.”

“A world with magic?”

“Not necessarily. They will have active abilities for sure, but gems as powerful as these will have passive effects also. A noble warrior or capable wizard could use them to attack but the mere presence of a stone with strong protective power can keep one safe from most harm, even on worlds like Earth or Terra where most magic does not work. Take this ruby, for example.” She tapped the hilt of James’s sword. “Rubies have an affinity with fire. They can protect the bearer from being burned.”

“Hmm, James has been able to light a fire every night.” Gael mused. “No matter how wet the wood or the kindling.”

“On the right world he could learn to light one at a glance with a stone like this.”

“And Paul has been unusually lucky with fishing.”

“That will be the sapphire’s influence, but elsewhere the fish will throw themselves onto the shore at your command.”

“I’ve had this strange feeling that I know exactly which way to go since we left Dougs-ur-Mark.” Junafir offered.

“You’re the star sapphire then, right?”

The tigress nodded.

Coyotka turned to Annie. “Which stone did James gift you?”

“The emerald.”

“It has an affinity with the natural world, but I’m not sure how it would manifest itself here on Terra.”

“I have been good at finding wild vegetables and identifying which plants were edible.”

Coyotka shrugged, uncertain but not wanting to say so. She turned to the remaining two. “The diamond?”

Gael held up his hand as Chriss stepped back and looked away.

A shy one, Coyotka said to herself. Interesting. Then she looked back up at the muscled horse.

“Diamonds can effect the weather. On a journey like yours you should have run into three storms on average. But I’ll bet that it was clear skies for you all the way.”

“Almost.” Gael admitted. “And when it was raining it was always away ahead of us or behind us, never on us.”

“There was that thick fog though.” Annie pointed out.

“Just when we needed cover to sneak into Cognitionis unseen.” Paul observed, scratching his chin. “Tell me, Coyotka, will any of these work on the worlds we have to transition through to get Annie back to Earth?”

“Probably not on Xibalba or Asgard. On both of those it’s the metals that have magical properties. But Atlantis has a healthy magic gem economy, so they should have active abilities there. The sapphire especially.”

Paul took his sword back from her and shoved it into his belt. “We’ll be sure to guard them well then.” He said, looking sideways at the grey fox.

Coyotka noted the look and the submissive way the fox hung his head in response. Very interesting indeed, she thought.

Coyotka showed then to a room nearby where they could sleep and then went back to work on the notes she had promised them Although she had memorized almost all of the Wanderer’s handbook she used the university’s copy to refresh her memory as she went. When she was satisfied, she lay down on an air mattress that some wanderer had brought in as a cultural relic from somewhere known as ‘Florida’ and caught a few hours of sleep before it was time to leave.

James came to wake her at dawn, bearing a hot breakfast as thanks for her help the night before. She ate it hungrily as he rummaged around the artifacts, stopping at the artillery shell Junafir had been handling the day before.

“Coyotka, do you mind if I take the explosive out of this shell? As you said, it will not work here but it may come in handy on other worlds.”

She thought for a moment. The artifact would not be complete without the explosive, but it would be safer should anyone get it close to a portal, especially if James was right about them being unstable after so long.

“Alright. There are some bags with stoppers on that shelf over there. You can put it in one of those.”

James did as he was directed, keeping only the powdery substance from inside the shell and not the detonator, which had already developed a few corrosive holes in its outer layer.

The group assembled outside the Museum when the sun was a hand-width high. Coyotka appeared, armed with a compressed gas spear gun that she usually kept hidden near the front door in case of intruders. It had one spear already loaded and she carried two spares in a quiver across her back.

Annie looked at it skeptically. “Does that thing even work here on Terra?”

Coyotka was at a loss to answer, having never tried it before, but James stepped up to defend her.

“Sure, it will Annie, as long as the cylinders were pressurized on Earth.”

“Yes.” Coyotka rushed to add. “It all came from Earth.”

They hefted their packs and Coyotka led them toward the rim of the crater. The trail was steep and winding, but well paved, indicating that it was well used at one time.

Steam leaked from seams in the ground, prompting Annie to ask if the volcano was very active.

“Oh yes.” Coyotka assured them. “But it hasn’t erupted in thousands of years. It fills up with lava now and again, but when it drains back into the ground the portals created during the last eruption are still there … mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“Sometimes they shift around a bit, but it usually takes no more than a quick glance through them to identify which goes where and then it’s back to business again. At least it used to be … before all the fighting.”

When they were near the top Chris spoke up for the first time that day. “Don’t look now, but we’re being followed.”

Everyone else whirled around. “Where?” Paul demanded.

“About a league downhill. It’s the other assassin Rory sent to kill you, Sevade of the seven blades, and another assassin I’ve never seen before, a human by the way he moves. They are not following the winding path but coming straight up and catching up because of it. Sevade must have found out about his mistake and come after you to complete the contract.”

“What about the human?”

Chris shrugged. “Must be someone he picked up for help along the way when he found out how many of us there were. He probably paid for his assistance up front. I doubt that he has revealed how much the original contract was for.”

James thought about the miniature portal and his nighttime sessions with Rory Douglas. “Do you think my uncle might have sent him after us?”

“How could he know we would be heading here?”

James did not respond, but he thought he might know the answer.

“What do we do, Paul?” Gael asked their unofficial leader.

“We keep going. Coyotka, you take James, Junafir and Annie to the Asgard portal. Chris, Gael and I will hang back after we start to descend and ambush them if we can.”

Chris looked likely to argue but conceded that James’s best chance rested in taking Sevade out as soon as possible.

Coyotka, faced with real danger for the first time in her life, felt a flush of adrenalin that she mistook for courage. She gripped her spear gun. “I should stay behind. I can take them out from a distance with this.”

“You need to show us which portal to take to get to Asgard. After that we can follow your notes. With the portal compass and Junafir’s gem-enhanced navigation skills we should have no problems. If Sevade survives our ambush he will not be happy that you helped us, so you will likely need that spear gun to cover your retreat.”

“Alright. Come on, it’s this way.”

They passed over the lip of the crater. James estimated that it was a good two kilometres across, and there were dozens of shimmering portals of all sizes strewn about the floor of the caldera. A network of paths connected them with the main road, but many of them were in poor repair.

Coyotka led them downward toward a large portal that was still open for passage. Many of the others they passed were not, they had been blocked with thick stone walls built right up against the portals behind them. Looking through others James could see that walls had been built on the other side in many cases. Others seemed to have manned checkpoints where one might have to pay a fee for entry if it was allowed at all.

Paul, Gael and Chris set up their ambush as directed by the collie, but Chris was uncomfortable with the arrangement.

“What’s the problem?” Paul asked. We’re in a perfect position to surprise them when they come over the crest. It’s a textbook military exercise.”

“Assassins read your textbooks, but we have our own doctrine to respond to them, the most important of which is to do anything except what the military textbooks say you should do. We should expect them to appear somewhere unexpected.”

Paul was about to answer that his formation took into the account the need to pivot when a small boulder came crashing down the hill to their right. He called for them to pivot, but told Gael to watch the opposite side, in case the boulder was a distraction, set in motion by some organic timer.

The boulder had indeed been set to roll after Sevade and Nahal had repositioned themselves. The assassin had balanced it against a small water bladder that he poked with a needle to create a slow leak. When enough of the water had drained the rock overbalanced and rolled down the slope, brining more rocks in its wake. But the fox and his assistant had not moved to the opposite side, as one with a military mind might expect. They went right back to the same spot that they would have crested the rim at had they not changed course, which was the last place Paul expected them to appear.

They came over the top so fast that Paul and the others were unable to get back in position to block them. Sevade fired his crossbow at them without really aiming, just to send the message that they should not try to close in on him.

“Dammit! I wish we had taken that spear gun.” Paul spat. “But without it we’ll have to try to flank them, get between them and James again. Make as much noise as you can and hope that the lad catches on and turns the right way.”

They set off downhill, whooping and yelling at the top of their lungs while trying to keep just out of crossbow range. In the bottom of the crater, James heard them and soon saw the two assassins bearing down on them. Even at that distance he recognized the scarred red fox that had killed his father.

With a roar he drew his sword, but Annie put a restraining hand on his arm before he could charge the pair.

“He’s got a crossbow,” she yelled, pointing, “and he’ll be in range any second. We have to run for it.”

Reluctantly, James turned and grabbing Junafir by the hand, took off toward the portal they had been aiming for. Coyotka and Annie were a few paces ahead of them.

When they were almost at the portal they saw, to their dismay, that the other side had been blocked by a barrier made of fallen trees.

“Coyotka, you said the portal was open!”

“It was the last time I was up here!”

“How long ago was that?”

“A year and a season, maybe.”

Annie pushed them toward the centre of the crater. “We don’t have time for this. Paul is trying to get us to move inward so he and the others can cut them off. Let’s go!”

Coyotka felt another rush of blood surge through her veins. “No, wait.” She turned towards the rapidly advancing assassin with the crossbow and brought the speargun to her shoulder. “I’ll handle this.”

Sevade was shocked to see the coyote aiming what looked to be a distance weapon at him, one whose propulsion system was not evident. He fired off one of his precious crossbow bolts without taking time to aim, hoping it would scare her off even if it didn’t hit her.

The bolt passed a span left of Coyotka’s head, but she did not as much as flinch as she watched the fox skid to a stop well within what she had been told was the operating range of the spear gun. His partner wisely dropped to the ground as Coyotka squinted through the sights, determined to pull the trigger before he did so too.

She stopped breathing and squeezed. There was a loud ‘click’, but otherwise nothing happened.

“What the fu- …” Coyotka lowered the weapon and shook it.

“You sure you have the safety off?” Annie asked.

“There is no safety!”

James kept one eye on the assassin, who was slowly realizing that his opponents had weapon malfunction. “Is the cylinder in correctly?” he shouted.

“What the fuck is a cylinder?” Coyotka screamed, frustrated. “Isn’t the damn thin supposed to just fire?”

“Oh Christ.” Annie grabbed James and Junafir and dragged them toward the centre of the caldera. “Run!”

And run they did, in a dead panic. Coyotka only paused to throw the speargun at the advancing assassin, accidently putting herself between Sevade and James. Not wanting to waste another bolt on a creature he did not see as a threat Sevade held his fire until he could get a clear shot at the fleeing human.

James looked around as he ran. It was obvious that Paul and the others would not reach them before they ran out of room and the assassins caught them. He raised his sword, steeling himself for an act of sacrifice that would at least buy time to let Annie and the others escape, all the while wishing that he were on a world where he could the ruby’s magic to defend them.

A wall of fire would be nice, he thought.

As soon as the thought entered his head the ground began to rumble under his feet. Cracks appeared between them and their pursuers and great gusts of steam escaped from them, obscuring the line of sight and protecting them from the deadly crossbow for now. But it did not stop there, right behind the steam came intense heat and a fiery red glow, followed by a slow, sluggish flow of lava.

“What the hell is going on?” James yelled to be heard above the noise of rock grinding against rock.

“It’s an eruption!” Coyotka answered. She watched as the lava spread, separating them from the assassins. “Your gem must have caused it, bringing fire from the ground to defend us. Being so close to all these portals ahs activated it.”

“Is there any way I can direct it toward them?”

“Probably, but I don’t know how. You’ll need a lore master to tell you which spells to use.”

“I thought you majored in magic gems?”

“In their inherent abilities, not their actual use. I was in theoretical magic studies. You need someone from the practical magic department for current spells.”

“Oh, for fu- …” A crossbow bolt almost took his head off, but the thermals coming up from the lava spoiled Sevade’s aim. “They’re still coming, keep running.”

The lave pool continued to spread. Stone barricades melted in its path and it poured through the exposed portals the same as it did for those that were not blocked. Barricades on the other sides melted or went up in flames, and the screams of soldiers caught off guard could be heard above the hiss of the steam. The smell of burning fur, feathers and flesh that came back through the portals made all but Annie vomit.

Through the haze and the smoke she could see that the fox and his human companion were still after them. They had seen how the lava followed the contours of the ground and how it drained through the portals, leaving temporarily clear areas on the other side. They were using this to their advantage to circle around on them. She directed her companions toward a point where their path would converge with that of Paul and the others, but they had to keep moving as the lava continued to expand.

“Can’t you stop it?” She asked James.

“I’m not even sure how I started it.”

“Don’t worry about the lava.” Coyotka said as she wiped puke from her snout. “The ruby will protect you from its heat.”

Annie grabbed her by the thick fur around her neck. “But will it protect the rest of us?”

Coyotka pulled out of her grip and straightened her glasses. “Well, he would have to make sure that we were included in any protective spell that he cast and ….”

Annie shoved her. “Yes or no?”

“Ah … uhm … at the moment … probably not.”

“My fur is singing.” Junafir complained.

“Come on.” Annie said, dragging the coyote along. “I’ve lost enough hair for one adventure.”

They rejoined Paul, Gael and Chris near the far side of the crater, where there were just a few small portals. Annie pointed out the assassins, who were gaining ground now that most of the lava was draining through the central portals.

“Where to?” She asked.

“Through there!” The collie answered, pointing to a portal with a peaceful image of a sun dappled forest floor on the other side.

She turned to Coyotka. “Where does it go?”

The museum keeper looked around desperately. “I … I don’t know. I’m completely turned around.”

“Great. Not that we have any other options.” She said, leading the group toward the portal. “James, can you call some lava this way to cut off the entrance once we’re through?”

“I can try.”

They rushed through the small portal. Gael had to dive trough headfirst to fit. On the other side they paused while James rubbed his ruby and willed the lava to follow him. Paul and Gael took up positions to either side of him while Chris stood directly in front of the human. He had his knives out, but his main intent was to block any crossbow bolts that Sevade might launch at the man he had pledged his life to.

There was a roar from the Terran side of the portal and James opened his eyes in time to see a tsunami of red-hot lava coming his way.

“Oh Christ! Too much, too much!”

“Run!” Paul screamed, turning left towards higher ground. The rest followed him.

Behind them, an instant before the lava spurted though the hole, two figures in dark cloaks slipped through the portal. They dove to the opposite side, sensing a body of water that might quench the fiery flood. They made the shore of a wide river and dove in just as the lava started to pool around the portal, burning into the ground and collapsing the shelf of rock that the portal had sat upon.

The portal disappeared beneath the surface of the lava, but that did nothing to staunch the flow. The lake of lava continued to expand, contained on one side by the rising ground and on the other by the cold waters of the river. It continued to spread between them tough, cutting off any possibility of Sevade and Nahal following them.

Paul watched the two assassins paddle across the river, knowing they the lava had bought them a day or two’s head start.

“We’ll cross the ridge out of this valley and put as much distance as we can between us and them before we stop for the night. Meanwhile,” he turned to Coyotka, “you see if you can figure out which world in the Maker’s many realms we’ve ended up on.”

End of Book One

Paul Collieman © Collifan

Gael Tholkes © MarcusXLight

Junafir Pawstone © Frostlupus

Chris Cinereo © Kyroo Echos

Sevade © Frostlupus

Constance “Coyotka” Jotkowska © Coyotek