The Witch: Book Two of The Sorceress Saga by Taliesin Govannon (important books to read .txt) 📕

thirty-nine clearance and above.” she said, brow furrowed.

                “So it’s above your clearance level?” I said, still confused.

                “It’s above everyone’s clearance level.” she replied. “My uncle owns the place, and he’s only got a level thirty.”

                “What the… “

                Our confusion was cut short by the sound of an alarm going off. Tiffany dropped the tablet, pulling out her sidearm.

                “Perimeter breach!” Tiffany called out. “Get behind me!”

                I did as she said and we quickly made our way over to the scaffolding by the next row, shielding our backs.

                “I’ll cast a shield around us!” I said, readying my hands.

                “Put it around yourself, I'm covered." Tiffany said, and she slapped a point on her shoulder with her free hand. I watched in amazement as black cloth flowed out from several places on her uniform until it was wrapped skin-tight around her. "Ultra-thin but solid Kevlar… one of my Uncle's inventions."

                “Nice.” I grinned, and threw up a shield around us drawn from the energy of the earth around us.

                A door at the other end of the room blew open, and a squad of men in black fatigues poured in, sweeping the room through the sights of their AK-47s.

                “Down!” Tiffany pushed me down, and we were obscured by the lift station for the scaffold. She looked at the invaders. “Paramilitary?” she mused quietly. “Who in their right minds would attack one of Uncle Jex’s compounds?”

                A shot rang out and glanced off of the shelves we were hiding by. “They’ve seen us.” I said, and aimed a streak of fire towards the advancing troops. It exploded in their midst, sending several commandos flying.

                Tiffany took advantage of the distraction and shot three commandos in a row, their eyes exploding on contact and their lifeless bodies falling towards the floor.

                “They’re armored head to toe.” she said. “Their eyes are the only place to get a kill shot.”

                “I’m more of a ‘make a big boom that might incapacitate you but you’ll probably live through’ kind of gal, especially with humans.” I answered nervously.

                “Anyone who attacks my Uncle’s compound, especially the one my Uncle lives at,” she said, “is a serious customer. The kind that won’t pontificate on their ‘evil’ plans long enough for you to figure out a way to escape… they’ll just shoot you in the head and walk away.”

                “True.” I said, and then let a volley of bone shards fly that lodged themselves in the eyes of a half dozen more commandos.

                “Good shot!” Tiffany said, and returned fire herself.

                Another squad of black-clad commands poured through the door, and it soon seemed that they were replacing every one we took out with a dozen more. We would soon be overwhelmed.

                “Hey, maybe we should get out of here.” I said, slinging out a few more fire-bolts.

                “I thought that,” Tiffany said as she reloaded, “but both entryways are blocked, and the elevator’s been shut down.”

                “How do you know that?” I asked, pelting our assailants with rocks.

                “Elevators shut down when the alarm goes off.” she explained. “To keep intruders from moving around easily.”

                “Understandable, if annoying.” I commented. “Any other way for us to get out?”

                “Still thinking about that one.” she said, shooting down three more commandos.

                I closed my eyes and thought about the shelves. Give me something useful! I projected.

                I put both hands out, and a heavy object settled in them. I looked, and my jaw dropped when I say the label.

                Portal of Elradu? Okay, if you insist…

                I pulled the top of the box off and looked inside. There was a coin, abut the size of a quarter, in the bottom. A piece of paper with the word “bugheroff” written on it was the only other thing there.

                I picked up the coin and shrugged. "Bugheroff!" I cried and threw the coin on the ground.

                A frame appeared, seeming to grow out of the warehouse floor. Once it was big enough, the portal opened and we could only see a room made of shadows beyond.

                “After you.” I said.

                “No, you.” she replied. “I’ll cover your retreat.”

                I nodded and dove through the door.

                I found myself in a dark, shadowy landscape. I looked around, squeezing my eyes to try and adjust to the dark. The sounds of battle faded behind me, and Tiffany was soon by my side.

                “I closed the portal.” she said, handing me the coin.

                “Good.” I replied. “Where are we?”

                “I have no clue.” She scanned the area, her pistol at the ready.

                I looked at the almost-black earth and rocks around us, as well as the barren trees that stood on all sides of us.

                “Let's see what happens if we do this again." I said and tossed the coin at the ground. "Bugheroff!"

                The portal rose from the ground yet again, a peaceful sunny field laying beyond.

                Wherever that is, it looks nicer than here! I thought, and stepped through. Tiffany moved with me.

                Once on the other side, Tiffany closed the gate by picking up the coin and zipped it up in a pocket on her uniform. I took in the scene around us to get my bearings.

                We were in a field, the tall grass brown and dead from the chill in the air. While the sun was shining, a line of clouds nearby sent fat snowflakes floating towards the ground.

                “It’s acquiring a signal Tiffany said, holding her cell phone up. She held her sidearm down, but didn’t put it away just yet.

                “We’re in the northern hemisphere.” I said, looking around. “Europe, by the looks of it.”

                I spied snow-capped mountains in the distance. Northern Europe, actually.

                “Finland.” Tiffany announced. “Near Säräisniemi.”

                I scanned the edge of the clearing we stood in. Forest covered every foot of the perimeter. “Which way?”

                “I’m getting a text in from my Father.” she replied, staring intently at her phone. “He’s notified Angelique and Vincent about our