Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 3, Portal Guardians by Elle Casey Read Free Book Online Page A

being a prisoner in here until he said that.   Great.   Something else to freak out over.   I watched as the door swung shut behind our host, and tried not to feel totally creeped out over the fact that the entrance was cut into stone about five feet thick and I had no key to open it.
    "Follow me," said Triden, moving past us into what turned out to be a wide hallway.   Lucky for us, it was much taller than it needed to be for dwarves.   A light glow seemed to appear as we advanced farther into the mountain, but I could see no obvious sources.   There were no lanterns or switches or anything - the orangey color seemed to be coming from the stone itself.   It made the insides partially visible, and I felt my mouth fall open at the beauty that was hidden in the massive rock.   The entire mountain looked like it was made out of cloudy amber.
    "Preeeettyyy," said Willy.   "I wanna touch it."   He began struggling to free himself from my fist.
    "No, Willy, you can't touch anything.   Just stay still for a little while longer.   Then I'll let you go."   I prayed they had a bathroom or a utility closet or someplace where I could put him and let him fly around for a little while.   The kid had ants in his pants and along with the pee, it was not a good mix.
    "Don't wanna.   I wanna touch it now."
    "You can touch it soon.   But only if you're a good baby and don't talk or try to fly away."
    "I'm not talking."
    "Yes, you are.   Stop. For just a little while."
    "But I'm not talking.   I'm only answering.   You are talking.   How come you can talk and I can't talk?   You're not my momma, Lellamental."
    "Willy, trust me, I don't want to be your momma.   Just relax, okay?   We're almost there."   I prayed I wasn't lying about that, too.   This baby was on my last nerve, but all I could think about were his poor parents freaking out about their missing child.   What I was dealing with now was nothing compared to the misery they were dealing with and the tongue lashing I was going to get when I returned.   If I return.
    Willy continued to mumble but mostly to himself.   "I'm not gonna stop talking and I wanna touch dat wall and she's not my momma and my momma is gonna give her a stink flower cuz she's a bad girl and I can touch dat wall if I want to and I'm gonna fly to my momma ..."
    The rest of what he was threatening faded out when I realized we were approaching what looked like a cavern of sorts.   I could see a high ceiling up ahead, the entire thing glowing with the orange light that we'd seen coming from the walls.   The sounds of a large gathering reached our ears, echoes of voices and the clanging of wood or dishes or something mixing with chairs scraping across stone floors and laughter.
    "What's that?" asked Spike.   "Is it your dining hall?"
    "No," answered the dwarf, slowing his pace.
    "Sounds like a group of fae eating," I said, slowing down too so I wouldn't run into our guide.
    Spike took my hand in his and stood next to me.   We'd all stopped just around the corner from fully revealing whatever was in the large cavern.   A loud cheer rose up and then some laughter as it died down.
    "You be entering the celebration of Mí na Samhna."
    "What's that?" I asked in a near-whisper.
    "We thank the Great Spirit for the harvest that we enjoyed in the Here and Now.   It is our way of staying connected to the realm we most want to return to."
    "What did you call it again?" asked Spike.
    "Mí na Samhna."
    "What is that ... like Samhain?   Halloween?" asked Spike.
    "I believe the modern civilization calls it Samhain, yes.   I have not heard this other word you used."   Triden turned his attention back to the cavern.   "Do not be alarmed at what you see this day.   This is not our usual way."   He stepped forward and disappeared around the corner.

CHAPTER SIX

    SPIKE LOOKED AT ME, NERVOUSNESS etched into his features.   "Ready to go?"
    I sighed.   "As ready as I'll ever be."
    "Are you freaking out