Morgan picked up the last of the spent gems, stuffed it into his ring, then jogged back to the portal. He’d only taken a few minutes, and he knew the portal would stand open for another twenty or so, but he still hated being the only one left in the dungeon. That said, as soon as he was on the correct side of the crazy void doorway, he stepped through. Unlike other portals Morgan had experienced, this one offered no feeling of travel or time loss—as soon as his foot went through, it set down in springy grass, and then the rest of his body followed. His void magic literally connected the two distinct positions in reality.

As the bright blue sky hit his eyes, Morgan was overwhelmed by a chaotic scene. A huge, burly, red-skinned man had hold of Bronwyn from behind, pressing a curved axe blade against her neck with one hand while he squeezed her arms to her sides with the other. Olivia was writhing on the ground, red bands of Energy wrapped around her limbs, constricting with bright flashes of Energy, and colonists were running back and forth, screaming various things. Morgan moved to draw Bloodfang, saying, “What the fuck?”

Just as his fingers closed around the hilt, something crashed into him, sending him tumbling over the grass. He flopped once and flipped to his back, ready to spring back up, but then a weight crashed down on him, and he saw his assailant—a tall, thin, Ghelli man with glittering wings knelt on him, pressing a cold, blue dagger to his neck. Morgan narrowed his eyes, and they grew black like the depths of space, and then, with the ripping noise of air and sound being annihilated, he was gone.

The man that had attacked him spun around, looking for his target, but Morgan had Void Stepped into the air a hundred feet above his attacker, and now he streaked back down, his massive black wings folded behind him. Just as he was about to crash into the Ghelli, still looking around with his knife held out at the ready, Morgan flapped his wings and brought his feet up, so they smashed into the man’s back with tremendous force. Morgan’s boot crunched one of his fragile, glittering wings and sent him tumbling head over heels through the grass.

Morgan whirled on the two assailants attacking Bronwyn and Olivia and jerked Bloodfang through its metal loop with a resounding, clarion ring. He started to channel Energy Drain and advanced toward his struggling friends. Just then, a tremendously loud horn blew, and a man rushed up from behind the huge Shadeni who was squeezing Bronwyn and shouted, “Stop! Stop! They aren’t invaders! They live here!” He was joined by Arthur and Alec, also calling for everyone to stop fighting.

The big Shadeni let go of Bronwyn, shoving her forward and backing away, but the mage holding Olivia was too engrossed in her efforts, her face strained and pale. Morgan saw that Olivia’s flaming aura was growing and turning from its usual blue to white. “You better back off, or she’s going to annihilate you!” Morgan yelled, jogging forward.

The Ardeni woman casting the red fetters that held Olivia finally registered what was being said around her, and she opened wide eyes to stare as Morgan drew near, Bloodfang still naked in his fist. However, Morgan didn’t get a chance to intervene before Bronwyn tackled the woman, knocking her to the ground.

“Ahh! Help me, Haku-dak!” She screamed, rolling in the grass with Bronwyn, clinging to her back.

“Back off,” Morgan growled as the big Shadeni started moving to the struggling women. Olivia had regained her feet, and her eyes were blazing with white flames.

“Please stop! There’s been a terrible misunderstanding!” Arthur yelled.

“Yes, Ancestors, damn it! Stop!” The Ardeni man in the fancy uniform screamed at the women rolling in the grass.

“Fuck that!” Bronwyn snarled, holding the woman by the neck, a gleaming hatchet blade poised to strike.

“Bron,” Olivia’s voice was filled with raw power, and it crackled and echoed strangely. “Bron, it’s okay. Let her go—she’s not fighting.” It was true; the woman had stopped struggling and looked toward Olivia with wary eyes, though she seemed more intrigued than fearful. At that moment, though, Morgan thought only a fool would underestimate Olivia. Morgan felt a tickle at the back of his neck, and he whirled to see the tall Ghelli in the fancy suit walking toward him over the grass. He looked ruffled and annoyed, and Morgan could see he wasn’t used to being hit back.

Morgan spread his massive black wings and held his sword ready, scowling at the man. The Ghelli dusted off his hat, placed it back on his head, and made a show of putting his blue dagger away, then bowed, “Baron Finneal at your service. My apologies—we thought this community was being invaded when the portal appeared. My colleagues and I simply moved to intervene on behalf of the citizens here.”

“Yes, yes. Please release Lady ap’Cilla,” the uniformed man said. “I’m Captain Gella of yonder airship.” He gestured to his left, and Morgan took in, for the first time, the massive airship floating above a reinforced wall tower. It was hundreds of feet long and hung over the wall with half a dozen levels of windows or ports visible. Enormous beams were folded along its side, and furled wings or sails were visible against the hull. Cones of glass or some other shiny material pointed in various directions, pulsing with Energy, and Morgan thought those must be what held it aloft and propelled it. “Please!” the man continued, pleading with Bronwyn. “Stop this! No harm was intended!”

“If this bitch touches Olivia again, I’ll take her hands off.” Bronwyn snarled, letting go of the woman and hopping to her feet. She spat a wad of bloody saliva into the grass and walked over to Olivia. The flaming, raven-haired woman held out a hand for Bronwyn to take, watching the Ardeni woman as she smirked and clambered to her feet, clearly not used to a physical tussle.

“Morgan!” a new voice called out, and he turned to see Issa charging over the grass toward him. He smiled, his anger at the trio of would-be defenders forgotten, and, without even thinking about it, he flapped his wings, gliding over the grass to grab Issa into an embrace. She caught him in a hug, and all was right with the world for a moment. “Wings, Morgan?” She laughed into his neck, squeezing him close, her arms just below where his new appendages sprouted from his back.

“I know, I know. They’re ridiculous, but at least I didn’t grow a tail!” He laughed, his eyes watering up, the momentary conflict with the strangers completely forgotten. Issa kissed him softly, oblivious to the people staring, and then she gently pushed him back, making a show of peering around his broad shoulders.

“What’s going on here?”

“A misunderstanding, I think,” Morgan said, turning to look at the crowd still standing in front of the portal. Bronwyn was glowering furiously around, her nose and chin bright with blood—had the large warrior struck her while they grappled? Olivia’s flaming aura had calmed considerably, but her eyes still blazed as she spoke with Arthur and the airship captain. The Ghelli, Baron Finneal, stood off to the side next to the sorceress, staring at Morgan, though his face wasn’t openly hostile. “Probably should go talk to them.”

Issa’s hand in his, he walked toward the growing crowd, just catching the tail end of what Olivia had been saying, “. . . finally managed to open a portal, and you know the rest.” She gestured vaguely, indicating the area where they’d had their brief confrontation with the strangers. Then her eyes fell on Bronwyn’s face, and she frowned, reaching up to gently rub at the blood under her nose. Wispy smoke lifted into the air around where she touched, and the blood was gone when she pulled her hand away.

As Morgan and Issa returned to the gathering crowd, Arthur cleared his throat and spoke loudly, “Allow me to introduce our new arrivals. You’ve all just met Olivia Bennet—one of our world’s premier scientists. This is Morgan Hall, and Bronwyn Tallow is the woman with the, um, hatchets. I’m sorry it led to such a violent misunderstanding, but we do appreciate you trying to defend our community.” He addressed the ship captain, but his eyes flicked to the other three while he spoke.

Several people were calling out questions and greetings to Morgan, most focused on his wings. He waved, and when Boris came out of the crowd to clap him on the shoulder, Morgan smiled broadly and shook his hand. “Not only got your arm back but a couple wings too? What the hell, man?”

“Yeah, it’s been a crazy couple of months.” Morgan fielded a few more questions while watching the Ghelli and sorceress from the corner of his eye. He knew Olivia also had an eye on them while she spoke with the council members who had come running in the aftermath of the dustup. He was telling Boris about the racial advancement potion he’d had made in Tarn’s Crossing when, with a rush of air like a miniature tornado, the portal snapped out of existence.

Startled murmurs broke out in the crowd, but Olivia called out, “It’s just the portal expiring, relax. By the way,” she said loudly enough for most everyone to hear, “We’re all exhausted and wouldn’t mind a chance to get cleaned up and get settled.”

It was Captain Gella who responded first, “Of course, of course! It was wonderful to meet you all, and I hope that we’ll have a chance to grow better acquainted during our visit. Come, let’s give these heroes some space!” he said, directing his voice to his three companions. Baron Finneal tipped his hat to Morgan and then launched himself into the air, soaring away toward the airship with a glittering trail of Energy. The others simply walked away, and Olivia and Bronwyn came, still hand in hand, over to Morgan and Issa.

Issa took her arm from around Morgan’s and rushed to hug Olivia and Bronwyn. They smiled and laughed, and Morgan heard them start to catch up on all that had transpired as they walked toward the tower. He couldn’t concentrate on their words, though, because something about the colossal airship and the violence they’d met from its occupants had him unsettled and his mind wandering.

#

“Pathetic!” Tanna ap’Cilla hissed at Haku-dak as they walked ahead of Gella toward the airship. “How could you let that bitch loose to tackle me like that?”

“I heard the captain calling for peace,” Haku-dak said with a shrug, glancing back toward Gella. Gella, for his part, smiled nervously at the mighty warrior.

“So you just let her knock me to the ground and hold a blade to my throat?”

“Well, I didn’t think she’d take you down—she wasn’t that strong.” He shrugged again.

“Oh, I see. So I manage to subdue my target, Finneal gets thrown like a ragdoll, and you just let your opponent loose? I see.” Gella could see she was furious, her hands kept sparking with red light, and little crystals of ice were dropping from her fingertips into the grass as they walked. “How is that bitch so strong? Not the one with the axes, the other. I could barely hold her and felt like she was about to let something loose. I thought they were only tier-two?” She turned to glare at Gella.

“That’s the intelligence we have,” he said with a shrug.

“Well, if she’s tier-two, she’s unlike any I’ve met. Isn’t she the one that’s supposed to be at the academy?”

“That’s right,” Gella said. “With any luck, she’ll head back there now that they’ve found their way home.”

“What about the tall one with the wings?” Haku-dak asked. “I could feel his aura. That ain’t no tier-two. Did you see his armor? I’m not looking forward to dealing with him.”

“Yes. The way he shrugged off Finneal—I’ve never seen that Ghelli so embarrassed,” Tanna laughed, an icy, brittle sound that sent shivers down Gella’s spine, though some of the fear was mixed with admiration—she had a beautiful voice.

“With any luck, we won’t have to worry about him. We need to polish our pitch and get the contracts right, and, hopefully, we’ll get plenty of volunteers,” Gella said, though he felt like he was only fooling himself, especially when Tanna snorted in derision.