Page 77 of Professor and the Seer
The spell didn’t require a circle of salt, or a ring of candles, not even an object. Dina, drawing on a magic that impressed, chanted and waved her hands in an intricate pattern. He could follow it but would have never been able to replicate it.
Unlike his teleport spell in his pocket watch, a massive hole opened, swirling and dark.
“Step through one at a time,” she ordered.
John arched a brow. “Where does it go?”
“Where do you think?” was her sarcastic reply.
“Given it’s your first time casting this spell, I don’t know. Maybe the bottom of an ocean or inside a mountain.” He worked at a college and had firsthand experience with spells going wrong because of cocky students.
“This doorway won’t stay open forever,” she huffed, her eyes sparking with annoyance.
“For fuck’s sake, I’ll go first.” Enyo charged for the doorway, with a rapidly shifted Bane on her heels. They dove into the dark shimmer and were gone.
A few seconds later, a rock soared through and hit the floor. A sign they’d made it to the other side.
John held a deep breath that steadied him before he stepped through and found himself on a mountain. The portal hovered a few inches above barren stone, only feet from a plummeting edge. Enyo and Bane were nowhere to be seen, and he could only assume they’d already infiltrated the scraggly trees, doing their best to survive in an unforgiving landscape. The sharp air hurt the lungs, but in better news, he saw over the sparse fir branches the stonework of a castle.
Fraussa stepped through the portal, quickly followed by Dina, who stumbled. John shot out a hand to steady her. He wondered if anyone else saw the smoky form that emerged before the portal closed. Reaper had followed but disappeared.
“Well, isn’t this a lovely location.” Dina’s lips twisted. “I should have brought a thicker coat.”
“Don’t complain. It’s unbecoming,” Fraussa muttered.
Meanwhile, John kind of agreed. The brisk wind went right through his jacket.
“There’s the fortress of doom,” Dina declared, pointing as if they couldn’t already see it.
They trudged through the thin copse of trees and emerged by the castle wall, an impressive structure of several stories with towers and a parapet all around. John might have worried about a guard spotting them, but just as he opened his mouth to give warning, Enyo sauntered into sight from around the corner, dragging the body of a minotaur with her.
She lifted and tossed the minotaur into the woods before stating, “Bane’s scouting the perimeter, looking for an access point.”
“Any doors and windows will most likely be guarded.” Dina glanced upward. “We know Frieda’s in a tower.”
“Which one?” John countered.
As if they’d synchronized the movement, both sisters pointed to the one on the left. “That one.”
Fraussa pursed her lips. “It will most likely have a ward to warn if anyone tries to access it.”
“There is a surprising lack of magic,” Dina murmured, trailing her fingers on the stone wall. “The whole place feels drained.”
“Most likely to prevent surprises,” Fraussa stated. For a woman who was supposedly weak in her witchy powers, she appeared well-versed and knowledgeable. At odds with what Frieda told him of her.
“Mom’s only capable of tiny spells. Glamours, really, to make people think they’re pretty. And what she knows of the arcane wouldn’t fill a chapter.”
John began to think the elder Grae had been deceiving her daughters. He just couldn’t think of why.
The leopard slunk into view, a massive feline who tossed his head before turning around, expecting them to follow.
They did so single file, close to the wall. John took the rear, poised to throw up some defensive magic if needed. Bane led them to a normal-sized door, known as a wicket or a side gate. The minotaur that guarded it wouldn’t be warning anyone of the breach, given he lay dead on the ground.
Enyo tugged at the handle. “It’s locked.”
“Give me a second.” Dina ran her hand over it, not quite touching, and murmured, “It’s spelled shut. Removing it will let the caster know it’s been breached.”
“So how do we get inside?” Enyo asked.