“Oh... I thought
we were going to need to travel through multiple portals to get to this one.”
I pulled my hand out of Tavlor’s grip so that I could catch myself against the wall.
“I’m still getting used to that feeling,” I said sheepishly, my face turning red.
Tavlor smiled. “Since you knew the exact town, I was able to channel the energy better, but even I’m surprised we made it in one jump.”
“Where are we exactly?” he asked, looking around the alley way as though he expected something to jump from the walls and roofs around us. His hand was on the hilt of his blade, as though he didn’t quite trust where he was and what he saw. I understood that. He had never been here before, and he wanted to be prepared.
I tried not to laugh. I was sure I looked the same way when I first got to the magic realm. In fact, I remember watching a wolf walk down the street and nearly jumping out of my skin. And no one seemed to care either way.
“We’re in an alleyway,” I said. “The main town is a few blocks that way.” I pointed in the direction of Aunt Alison’s house. “And my mother’s portal is this way.”
It was a nice feeling, to recognize everything here.
I began walking along the cobblestones and back towards the main road.
Tavlor didn’t follow.
I turned around to look at him. He stood frozen.
“Come on. Follow me. Unless you want to go back now... The portal is... just there.” I gestured to the wall where a shimmer of magic was still glimmering on the stones.
Tavlor glanced towards the portal, as though he was considering leaving me already. My heart dropped. I didn’t want to force him to stay. However, it was disappointing to know that he wanted to leave when I was dying for him to stay.
I forced a smile to my lips. “I’m safe now,” I managed to get out. “It’s okay. You can go.”
His spine straightened as though pulling himself together to garner the strength for a battle to come. He shook his head, pressing his lips together.
When he walked forward, I giggled, because he really had no concept of how safe we were now.
“You okay?” I asked as we walked together along the streets of the tiny town.
The sun was shining down. I was expecting rain, but the day was too beautiful for dark clouds to blot out the bright, blue sky. It relieved so much of the stress that had accumulated over the last few weeks.
“Yes, I...” His voice trailed off as he continued to turn his head one way and then the other, taking it all in. He seemed particularly fascinated by cars and any other kind of vehicle, whether it was a bike or a scooter.
Everyone minded their own business but offered friendly smiles when they passed by. Bubbling laughter from a nearby park indicated kids were playing without a care in the world. It truly was a nice place to be, and I was glad I got to be the one to share this with Tavlor.
His gaze shot from my quiet street to another, to a young mother pushing a pram.
“You don’t come to the human realm very often?” I asked him as we stepped onto the main road and headed out of town.
A car zoomed by. Tavlor startled, his hand going for his sword.
I reached out and took his hand in mine, giving it what I hoped was a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
“You can relax,” I told him. It was amusing to see this big tough guy who could kill anyone with his bare hands jumping in fear when a car whizzed by. “There’s no threat here.”
He stared at me, worry written all over his handsome face. “Are you certain?” he asked, wrinkling his brow. “There could be shifters, or Fae, anywhere. You wouldn’t know how to distinguish them from other humans. They are experts at camouflaging with their environment.”
I nodded at him, giving him the benefit of the doubt. “Okay, well, you can, so keep your eyes open and I’ll concentrate on where we’re going.” At least this would give him something productive to do, more so than simply worrying. “This way.”
I turned him down another road and headed towards the portal that would take us to my mother’s realm.
“Hey,” I asked him, as a thought occurred to me. “Why is it that when my mother died, our house and all our things disappeared, but the realm still exists?”