Page 4 of Alora: The Portal (Alora 2)

Their perch quaked beneath their feet as the ram heaved against the gate. Only one enemy warrior had been foolish enough to stray outside the shaman’s defense, so the archers didn’t waste their arrows. Instead they waited, each in their assigned positions.

Thung!

Waiting.

Thung!

The first gate pieces splintered on the gate. He cringed as the wood screamed in protest.

Thung!

The ram broke through.

Blackness fell.

His sudden blindness was disconcerting, despite being aware of the plan. Bardamen’s block of the moonlight was complete. Not a single ray escaped to give outline to their surroundings.

Outside the gates, voices rose in panic. A flickering light appeared, trickling through the shattered gate, growing brighter as two Water Clan warriors stepped inside carrying torches. In a unison dance, both men toppled to the ground with arrows blooming from their chests. More warriors poured through the opening, illuminated by the fallen torches.

Jireo’s hands were steady as his arrows flew in deadly precision. With orchestrated perfection, the bowmen continued their slaughter until the bodies piled up, smothering the torches and blocking the entrance.

As darkness once again settled over the gateway, he strained to see the incoming enemy. Evidently recognizing their folly, the Water Clan warriors abandoned their torches, feeling their way inside the blackness. The archers shot blindly at the murmured voices and scuffling boots, with only cries of pain to indicate their accuracy. Then the pings of metal against metal revealed some of the new warriors were successfully defending themselves with sharpstops.

A scream emanated from one of the Laegenshire archers—a female voice. Jireo’s heart clenched. Was that Finnia?

“Fall back!” called the lead archer. Jireo released a final arrow before dropping to a crouch. He was satisfied to hear someone cry out near the gate.

Having made the most of Bardamen’s artificial blackness, the archers retreated from their vulnerable position.

The full moon reappeared with light almost as bright as day.

*****

Alora sat on the couch beside Kaevin, their fingers intertwined, marveling she still got a tingle from his touch after more than two months of being together every day. I wonder if it will ever grow old?

“Quick… let me kiss you while Beth and Wesley are in the kitchen.” Kaevin’s breath tickled her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

“We already kissed this morning in the stables, so we shouldn’t need to do it now.”

“I think we should kiss again, just to be safe.” His dimples danced under his sparse beard as he leaned toward her. With eyes closed and breath held, she waited for the caress of his lips.

“The lovebirds are at it again, Wesley.”

Alora gasped and Kaevin pulled back, sending Beth a deadly glare.

“You don’t have to stop on our account; it’s not like we haven’t seen you two kiss before, about a million times. I can’t believe you’re blushing, Alora. You both kissed in front of everybody and his dog when you were transporting around Tenavae.”

“That was different. We had to kiss because transporting drained our energy.”

“Oh, I get it. You only blush when someone sees you kissing for fun.” Beth sank into the soft couch cushions on the other side of Alora, popping the top on a can of Coke. She tucked a lock of wavy, shoulder-length auburn hair behind one ear. “We’re not watching. Go ahead and kiss.”

Alora opened her mouth to protest, but a spike of pain shot through her head, eliciting a groan instead. She squeezed her eyes shut, pulling her hand from Kaevin’s to massage her temples. Without looking she sensed Kaevin reacting with the same kind of headache.

“What just happened?” asked Wesley.

“That’s what I was wondering; I have no idea. Kaevin? Do you know what’s going on?” she asked, slitting her eyes open to peer his direction.

He squeezed his words through tight lips, holding his head between his hands. “I don’t know the cause, but it must be something with the soulmate bond.”