Chapter 12

The next morning, Peter called Bemilda into his study. “Bemi, how much English do you remember?”

She frowned. “Most, I think. Mother and I spoke English occasionally back at the inn just for fun. Also, some of the songs I remember from when I was a girl needed to be sung in English in order to sound correct. Why do you ask?”

“When I take you back to Earth, the Kreven magic that allows everyone here to communicate will fade. As you have been away from Earth for so long, you will have to actively remember to articulate your words in English. You will also most likely speak with an accent.”

“Wow, I never realized,” Bemi said looking surprised.

“I have something here that will help,” Peter replied, pointing to a smooth stone on his desk. “This is an ancient treaty stone. They were once used before the world-binding linguistic spell was cast to allow those with differing languages to communicate.”

He handed her the stone, then placed his palms on her temples. “I am going to use it to refresh your knowledge of English. This will feel ... strange.”

She looked at him wide-eyed as he muttered the words to activate the stone. As he did, Bemi felt the mental effect in her mind. It was similar to a mental flashback, but faster and without clear realization of each thought, phrase, or image flashing through her mind. It was like dialogue was scrolling through her brain like an audio recording being played at high speed. After a few minutes, Peter released the spell.

“That was ... intense!” she commented, staggering slightly.

“Yes, I’ve used it on myself a few times when I’ve been away from Earth for long periods of time. It only works this fast when you already know the language, but are simply rusty. It should help you when we arrive, though. After a few weeks, English will come naturally.”

They made their way down to the subterranean portal chamber. Miranda was waiting for them and helped remove their clothing. They needed to cross nude, as the less mass sent through to Earth meant less total magic expended. Peter finished undressing before the teenager and readied the cane message pole. He quickly activated the portal and used the pole to verify the rope on Earth had been restrung to its higher position. This was the sign that his signal yesterday had been noticed and his message scroll understood.

“Okay,” he explained, “Brenda got the message and will be waiting, so we’ll cross over now.” He looked to the teenager and saw her frowning. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m nervous, Lord Pete!” Bemi whined.

“You’ve done this before, Apprentice,” Peter explained, referring to the fact he’d brought the girl here years ago at the behest of her mother.

“Sure, but I don’t recall any of that! You kept me asleep for most of the trip, remember?”

It was true. Bemilda had been ten or eleven, and Peter had wanted to keep certain details of his Earth-side agents, properties, and especially, the location of the portal secret. Having the girl sedated accomplished that goal and also spared her any embarrassment at having to cross nude.

“Come here,” he said, taking the teenager’s hand and hugging her tightly. “It will be fine! Brenda is very nice, and you will love her ranch.”

She buried her face in his chest and he felt her trembling. Peter suspected her emotions were more about the buried demons in her past but left the question unspoken. The teenager took a deep breath and stood back. “Okay ... I’m ready.”

Peter nodded and took her hand. “I will pull you with me. When we go through, attempt to sense the emanations from the portal and trace my life force as it flows into the portal field. You’ll have to learn to channel those same energies if you want to travel the portal by yourself in the future. Are you ready?”

“Yes, Lord Bent.”

“Steady forward,” he ordered as he stepped through.

The bulk of his body arrived in the very dark portal room. The movement activated the motion sensor and turned on the single light. He was alone in the small room, but he did see a milk crate of clothing waiting by the door. Next to it were four clay flower pots, each with a small sapling. Both items confirmed Brenda was expecting him.

He turned to pull Bemi through the portal, lifting the trip rope higher with his free hand to clear the way. As he did, he noticed the rope terminated at a new metal box attached to the wall. This was odd and something he’d have to ask Brenda about. Bemi’s shocked-looking face emerged, and he felt the life-energy drain increase as the bulk of her body came through. The draw lessened suddenly, and Peter sensed the girl adding some of her own life energies to the effort. Good, she was a fast learner!

Once she was completely on Earth, Peter severed his flow of sustaining life energy into the portal. Bemi sagged suddenly as the full burden shifted to her. Before he could remind her to do so, she realized what had happened and acted to stop her own outflow. The portal collapsed, and he quickly hugged her to him as she stumbled.

“So much!” she gasped out.

“Now you know why we cross naked and why I use the portal so infrequently,” he replied. “Still, I’m impressed you were able to aid me as you did.”

The teenager quickly recovered and regained her footing. She had an open-mouthed look of wonder as she took in the stuffy, warm, plywood-walled storage room they’d arrived in. “We’re on Earth!?”

“Yep!” he replied with a grin. “Welcome back to your birth world, Bemilda.”

“It’s warmer than the Manor basement,” she noted.

“We’re currently in an enclosed box inside a metal shed,” he replied with a chuckle. “It can get warm when its sunny.”

“What’s that smell?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.

“Mostly grass with a hint of cow shit for ambiance,” he replied.

She studied the mostly empty room, taking in the clothing in the crate and the potted saplings on the floor before looking up to study the ceiling-mounted hoist and the flickering light bulb.

“Electricity. Wow, it’s been so long!”

“Yes, we’re off-grid here but there is a solar panel on the roof that keeps the battery charged,” Peter explained. Bemi did not ask so he assumed she remembered what those terms meant. He moved to the crate and began sorting through the clothing. Beyond the closed door, the sounds of a hard-working tractor could be heard moving about.

“Are we in a construction yard or something?” Bemi asked.

“We’re in a hay shed, actually,” Peter replied. “Which explains the musty smell. The other smell is from the cattle that are eating and shitting in the pen nearby.” He tossed Bemi a pair of men’s well-worn underwear. “Sorry, I forgot to specify to Brenda that my companion today would be female. You’ll have to go commando or be kinky.”

She chose kinky and slipped on the well-worn pair of tighty-whities. He smiled when she poke at the piss flap curiously as she pulled them into place. At least the worn-out underwear had shown no signs of skid marks. Two mismatched socks and an overly large pair of gray sweatpants followed. Finally, an old sweatshirt bearing the logo of Montana State finished Bemi’s ensemble. Peter shook his head, and realized he would have to speak to Brenda about her spare clothing allowance.

Still, the girl looked cute enough and was probably dressed similarly to most college-age girls from the rural state. Peter noted with irony that while her pants were loose, the old sweatshirt was far too small for Bemi, and left her braless tits fully on display. He stopped staring and got busy dressing in his own familiar Earth ensemble, starting with a tight-fitting pair of boxer-briefs. He glanced at Bemi hoping to catch her observing his show but instead found her kneeling, inspecting the floor.

“What are these carvings?” she asked, tracing a finger over the grooves and indentations in the mostly buried guide stone that protruded through the concrete floor near the base of the portal. “I can sense magic.”

“The glyphs anchor the portal here,” he explained. “I’ve not yet been able to date them, but they must be thousands of years old, far older than the native tribes who were displaced into these lands long ago with the coming of the Europeans.”

He went on to explain how he had found the portal using a sensing stone brought from Kreven. He had then slowly purchased the land around the stones and the nearby ranch where Brenda now lived. He dumped out the footwear that had been at the bottom of the crate and slipped on his comfortable tennis shoes. Bemi was left with a worn pair of leather work boots that fit loosely. He again apologized for her apparel.

“I don’t mind,” she explained, taken in by the novelty of the Earth-made clothing. “It feels familiar and strange at the same time. I remember some of it.”

“I doubt you ever wore a pair of boots like those when you were a little girl, though.”

“True,” she replied, holding up one foot and inspecting the footwear again. “Although, these are not too unlike boots you can find on Kreven.”