Finding Amber (Book 5) Jacobs Broken Mercenaries

chapter 13

Estevan 

I peek through the small crack in the straw. Most of them are asleep. Movement to the left steals my attention. What I see makes me do a double take. Now I know how they’re getting the humans through; a portal just outside this room. I grab Amber and drop in the hole. Thirty seconds later, the Chenoo I saw pull the human through, drags her small unconscious body into a hole, and drops her carelessly in. I sigh, knowing damn well this isn’t a quick run anymore. Now that I’ve found a safe exit for the humans, I can’t just walk away. That will make Amber happy and get us out of here a hell of a lot faster as long as we don’t get caught.
When the Chenoo leaves, she pokes me and asks;
“What did you see?” 
I take my time choosing the right words, and this frustrates her.
“I can get the humans out... on the other side of the door there’s a portal to earth, I presume.”
Her smile blinds me as she clasps my waist in a fierce embrace. I wrap my arms around her, enjoying the simple touch I’d usually avoid. She pulls back, looking up at me like she sees some kind of hero. It’s not the first time she’s done it, and it bothers me for reasons she’ll never understand. I’m not the hero she thinks I am, and I’ll never live up to the image she paints. I trace her delicate cheekbone and save the image of her to my memory. It’s probably the last time I’ll see her. 
I don’t wait for the one Chenoo to retire. I give Amber instructions to gather the humans, one group at a time. The moment I open the door, the Chenoo is ready for me and begins to shift. I throw a dagger through his throat. When I retrieve the butterfly blade, it makes a mess of him; guaranteeing the Chenoo’s instant demise. Peeking around the corner, I survey the sleeping forms. We’re in the clear for now.
Amber shows up with the first group. Two adults and a child. I frown down at the young boy, vowing to find the other end of this portal and destroy it along with whomever helped build it. It’s a volatile job, keeping the humans quiet and calm. With their life on the line and Ambers, I’m adamant at the task. Upwards of sixty humans pass through, and with each one, Amber’s smile gets bigger. I, on the other hand, am tense. The more time that passes, the slimmer her chance at survival.
“Last two.” She whispers. When they go through, I reach for Amber, pulling her to me.
“You ready?” I ask. She nods her head with a nervous smile. I push through and come up to a wall. I try again with more force. This time, the portal pushes back as if we’re magnetically expelled.
“This can’t be happening.” I look at Amber, thinking something similar. The portal must be spelled to only allow humans and keep other threats out. Only in our case it’s in. Amber begins to tear up, and I feel like it’s my fault. 
“We don’t have time for this, let’s go!” I grab her arm, and she rips it out of my grasp with a glare. I know she doesn’t like it when I’m cross, but what she doesn’t understand is the danger we’re about to face. We’ve made enough noise for a few Chenoos to wake and investigate. Even now, I hear them approaching.
“Don’t get mad at me because the thingy didn’t work for us!” she states hotly. I shake my head at her, wholly frustrated.
“That’s not... listen, we don’t have time for this. They’re coming.” 
Amber snaps her head toward the room of Chenoo’s, finally hearing what I’ve been hearing for two minutes. A group of them are just a few feet away from our discovery. We share a look, and I nod, covering her as we make a desperate run to freedom. 
“Down!” I yell to Amber. She skids through the legs of a Chenoo as he morphs before me. I yell for her to run barrelling through two more chenoos in the morphing process. She makes it through, but my yells have woken the rest of them. I keep my steady pace, knocking them down in the confusion as they give chase. She pauses at the door, looking back.
“GO Amber!” I growl at her. She pauses a fraction of a second, making me think; don’t you dare. Common sense gives way, and she’s free. I watch her run into the hoarfrost covered trees while throwing an elbow in a set of sharp teeth. A giant leaps, blocking the entryway. I charge, climbing his body, ripping through the exposed tissue at his neck. He drops outside the entrance, and I skim the crowd, piling through the doorway in mid-shift. She’s smart. I follow her tracks as she heads straight for the dark zone. They’re close behind. I feel the ground shake as they cover ten to twenty feet with each leap. Ambers silver hair gleams under the light of the waxy moon as she bounds in front of me. I pull her in my arms, intensifying my speed. We soar off the cliff into another world. I twist in the air to see the giants at the cliffs’ edge as they roar at the loss of a couple of bodies. I smile back at them, knowing they’re missing a lot more than two. If the humans stick together, I may not have to search for the portal. They could find someone to destroy it, and the Chenoo’s would die from starvation. 
In a perfect world.

SUN!
I shield Amber with my body, pulling my black leather over my head. Trying to see in the blinding sun is like opening your eyes after bear mace. It's unbelievably painful. Ambers frightened cries throw me in a panic. I bound into a cabin, scraping my shoulder off the rocks. My back is smoking, but it’s worth it to see Amber remains untouched. I’ve done my job. Throwing my jacket over her, I tell her to stay down and close the curtains in every room until there’s no light to be seen. Amber peeks out from under my jacket, and I remove it, letting her know it safe.
“Where are we?” she asks while looking around. 
“A cabin in an unknown world that’s not earth.” I say sarcastically. She ignores me and begins to open every oak cupboard in the kitchen. Whomever this cabin belongs to, they’ve been here recently.  The cupboards are stocked and there’s electricity going to it. I wonder down the skinny hallway past the bathroom and bedroom.  Upon closer inspection, I come across an office of sorts. Picking through the files on the desk, I recognize a name; Rosa! We’re all in here. This is Mica’s cabin. We’ll I’ll be damned. I bet he didn’t think we’d make it this far. The entirety of the wall behind his desk is a map of the world’s… and this one connects to earth.