Jeff Inlo - Nightmare's Shad

He did not wish to die, not in that fashion or in any manner on that day. It might have been a noble sacrifice, a desire to give his friends a chance of survival, but he found little comfort in that consideration. Instead, he thought of Linda. He would be abandoning her, not by choice, but he would be leaving her nonetheless. He wished he could avoid his plight, but he could not see how.

Regardless, he fought on, would not make it easy for the caelifera. He charged over the ground with every bit of his fury, not holding anything in reserve. Eventually, he moved at a speed that he never thought possible. Amazingly, he even opened up some space between himself and the monster, but the gain was only temporary.

The winged creature adjusted its path, speared through the air to a point ahead of the delver and then turned back on its prey. It had successfully cut Ryson off and waited in front of the delver's path.

Just at the caelifera was about to make its final attack, a handful of goblins swept across its face as they shrieked in both fury and fear. It seemed as if they were falling out of the sky, plunging from above but from no apparent hilltop or mountainside. It looked almost as if they were flung deliberately in front of the monster.

Ryson took advantage of the momentary distraction and retreated in a flash. He spotted Holli and Sy in his wake. Holli had pulled to a halt as Sy continued to run to meet her.

The giant locust now cared little for the delver as the falling goblins proved much easier prey. They could not control their movements as they fell, and the caelifera plucked two out of the air. The giant winged insect flew off into the distance to enjoy a simpler meal, but perhaps much less tasty.

Ryson stopped in front of the elf.

"You did that didn't you?"

"The goblins to our rear were close enough for me to seize. I simply moved them through space in the most efficient manner and dropped them in a more suitable location."

"Thanks."

Sy reached them. He was still somewhat of a shadow, but his form was becoming clearer. Holli's spell was fading. He struggled through heavy breaths, but directed them onward.

"We can't slow down. Hook hawks are still coming in."

"At least we can fight those," Holli offered, "but you are right. This is not the place to rest. The portal should be close by."

"I'll take point," Ryson shouted, as he took off in another blur. He didn't even appear winded.

As he pressed forward, however, he could not locate the gateway. He recognized the spot where they first entered the dark realm, even found their initial footprints exiting the portal, but the rift itself was nowhere to be seen.

Holli and Sy came up to meet him and shared in his distress.

"The portal has faded out of existence," the elf shouted. "The sorceress warned us she lacked the control to make the rift permanent."

Ryson nodded. "Yeah, she said it would continuously appear and disappear."

"Any idea of the length of time?" Sy asked.

"None," Ryson admitted.

Sy then looked back at where they had been. The horizon was now filled with monsters of every type, as were the skies.

"Not good. Options?"

"If we run from this spot, we run to our death," the elf stated in an emotionless revelation. "I can cast a spell for a new portal, but it would require much more time than we have. They would be on us before I could even begin."

"Barriers to slow them down?" Ryson asked of the elf. "Can you buy yourself time?"

"No spell available to me can stop that many, not even slow them down."

"We go down as best we can," Sy announced. He noticed Ryson no longer carried his sword, and without question or hesitation, he removed two short war blades from under his coat and handed them to the delver. Eyeing the horde, he unsheathed his long sword.

Holli took hold of her bow and the three comrades stood shoulder to shoulder. She knew they had no chance, as it seemed as if every dark creature of elflore had been called against them and appeared willingly in droves.

It appeared their time had come.

"To the other side and the next adventure," she said, accepting her fate as would a true elf guard.

Sy and Ryson simply nodded in unison. They would fight, but they also knew they would die.

As if to reward them for their courage, the dimensional portal shimmered into sight. A rift opened a bare arm's length away from their position just as hook hawks began their attacking descent.

Ryson dodged low and then pulled both Sy and Holli through the gateway with all of his strength and speed. They made it back to the badlands of Uton with one bound.

"Fire into that portal!" Sy commanded to the troops who stood watch for their arrival.

Each guard fired without hesitation. It was a pathetic volley but enough to catch a handful of goblins moving toward the opening on the other side.

"Hold them off," Holli yelled as she positioned herself in front of the portal and began concentrating.

Ryson and Sy stood at her side, slightly in front with weapons still drawn. The guards reloaded their crossbows and took angled positions with clear lines of fire. They could all see into the dark realm. They witnessed the massive horde fall upon the rift, but then suddenly stop. Not one creature ventured across.

"They're not coming through," Ryson announced.

"Stand ready," Sy growled, not willing to accept any kind of fortune.

Yet the creatures across the void made no move into the rift. They appeared disgusted with their own inaction. Many fought among themselves. The chaos grew as more beast closed upon the opening, but none ventured forward. They watched and waited, but they did not cross, as if something held them back, even to their disdain.

Long moments passed as all but Holli joined in a frozen war of brinkmanship, menacingly staring at each other through the portal. Ryson, Sy and the guards, though ridiculously outnumbered, held their ground, and the monsters across the dimensional passage made no further advance.

The air around Holli began to glow with an emerald hue and a large green octagon formed around her entire body. She opened her eyes and focused on the edges of the rift. The bright green shape floated away from her body, guided by a force of will. It encased the entire portal and then began to shrink. As the octagon of energy closed in upon itself, it pulled at the rim of the dimensional doorway. The rift tightened into a small break in reality until the magical energy completely folded into itself and both the magic and portal disappeared with an air shuddering crash.

The gateway was closed.

Those on the light side of the portal stood quiet. The guards waited for news from the three that had entered, but none appeared ready to speak, until Sy asked for confirmation of their situation.

"Will it stay closed?"

"That portal no longer exists, but that does not mean another one cannot be opened. Gateways can be created from either dimension as long as there is magic on both sides to feed and anchor the spell."

"So if someone over there has the power, they could just reopen another one right now."

"I do not think that will happen. I cannot claim full comprehension, but they already chose to stay within their own lands. If they wanted to come through, they would have before I closed the portal. We could not have stopped them."

Sy nodded, "I know. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on. What happened with Lief?"

"Ryson destroyed the vessel, but Lief absorbed all the energy."

Sy could not miss Holli's tone or her expression. "That doesn't sound like a good thing."

"It is confusing," Holli replied. "It might explain why the beasts refused to cross, it might not. We have to return to Enin and inform him of what happened. He may be able to sense something within the magic."