Chomp

Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16:

Before I had the chance, Celtic had grabbed my arm and we were being sucked into what felt like a giant vaccum. My mouth hung open but only silence surrounded us, various hues blurring past though it was like being trapped in slow motion at the same time. Celtic was calm and composed as always, and he had a firm grip on my arm. It was as though all the skin on my bones was being pulled back. My heart was thundering in my ears and a swarm of dizziness overtook me as we spun out of control, a blinding light blazing against my eyes. 

And then there was ground beneath me as I landed gracelessly, tumbling in the grass and coming to a sudden stop by Celtic's foot. He rose a pale brow at me with a tsk and helped me to my feet. I threw up, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand and spitting to get rid of the taste. I can't remember throwing up so much before magic became a "thing" in my life. Every time something happened I was giving up whatever I had eaten. 

"Hold yourself together," Celtic advised, "You are on sacred lands, young halfling."

For the first time, I lifted my gaze beyond the the vast plain of tall green grass and dandillion stretching into the horizon. The sky was inked in a blanket of starlight and disappearing behind tall crystal gates several yards from where we stood. They reached up to kiss the night sky at a striking three hundred feet with a hundred foot expansion at least. There was nothing beyond the reflecting clear bars, but two large oaks of the same height curled on either side. The gate alone was impressive and, well . . . magical. 

"Whoa," was all that I managed following beside Celtic. 

"Whoa, indeed. Speculum  Deceptus- the Mirror which Deceives," he breathed squaring his shoulders, "This is The Elder Gate, Leo." 

We stopped just short of the gate and I was trying to figure out exactly why we didn't just go around. There was nothing on the other side, and now that we stood just a few feet away I saw that the gate was made with thick bars of glass, light spearing through and bouncing off of it. Save for a gentle breeze, the place was dead. 

"So, what now?" I quizzed looking up at Celtic. 

"Now," he said walking up to the gate and raising a finger to tap a bar, "we get an invitation." I opened my mouth to throw more questions at him, but snapped my lips shut when the gates rang like wind chimes. 

The sound was musical and the bars shimmered before slowly fading out into the quiet of the night. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, expecting something spectacular to happen. There was only silence until the fluttering of wings had my eyes scanning the tree to our left. A small bird with bright blue feather swooped down and landed gracefully on Celtic's shoulder. It leaned in close to his ear, tilting its head to the side and tweeting as though to tell him a secret. 

"Is that so? Well then," the elf said with a small smile, extending his arm so that the bird could pirch on his index finger. 

I watched in utter fascination as the tiny bird fluttered to the pale extended finger, Celtic bringing the creature close to his face to whisper something back. Great, now animals can talk. I wondered how much less real things could get and was given an answer the moment the blue bird disappeared beyond the foliage of the tree. The gates began to glow with bright white light. 

My eyes began to burn until I shielded them with my arm, turning away from the glaring intensity. A gust of wind threatened to knock me over until a familiar hand clasped my shoulders, urging me to fight against the current and move toward the opening gates. Push turned into pull and then the both of us were being sucked through the glass gates. Everything lapsed in seconds and my yelp of surprise and fear filled my ears.