Page 23 of The Princess of Portals

CHAPTER 2

THE MASKED METAMORPH

It was the exact same armor the kidnappers had worn, a high-tech magical mashup of heavy metals and rune-adorned bling. The warrior who wore the armor was tall and bulky but still light on his feet. A deadly combination.

“Savannah Winters.”

The Templar’s voice, deep and menacing, echoed unnaturally inside his helmet, a helmet that boasted two spires, twin twisting towers at least twenty centimeters tall. They looked like dragon horns, made for impaling prey. Fantastic.

I lifted my fists in front of me and made a valiant effort not to look terrified.

The Templar chuckled. “You’re putting up a fight? Adorable.”

He thundered toward me, sword raised. I hummed. Glass shards, the remnants of the shattered window, rose from the ground, responding to my song. I whistled, and the swarm shot toward the Templar. An eerie magic glow slithered across his armor. The glass shards dissolved upon impact, every single one of them.

The Templar brushed glass dust off his armor. “Cute.” Then he swung his sword.

I grabbed Nevada by her shoulders and teleported us to the other end of the shop. I would have teleported us out of there, but there were still people trapped in the shop. Including a trembling Zoe and a whimpering Georgia. The Techno Knight was heading right for them. Damn it. For once, I wished I could act like a villain. Trying to be a hero was bad for my health.

“Get out of here.” I nudged Nevada toward the gaping hole in the shop where the display window used to be. Then I teleported to Zoe and Georgia, grabbed them, and teleported back to the big hole. “Run.”

They didn’t need to be told twice.

I turned to face the Templar, my head swimming with dizziness. I’d cast too many spells in too short of a time. I needed to pace myself, or I was going to crash out.

Pace myself, right. If only I had a choice. The Templar turned around to face me. I cast another spell, collapsing the ground under his feet. He sank down to his knees, stuck.

Another wave of dizziness rocked me. My vision went a little blurry. Well, that was never a good sign.

I waved my hands in the general direction of the remaining Apprentices. “Go! Run!”

They ran. Unfortunately, they weren’t quite fast enough. The Templar burst out of the ground, sending clothes and accessories flying. He landed between them and the exit. The Apprentices stopped running, stumbling back.

I saw my backpack lying on the floor, not far from me. Ha! The Templar had given me exactly what I needed to defeat him. I snatched my bag off the floor, shoved my hand inside, and pulled out the Mirror of Woe. I’d gotten in the habit of bringing it around with me everywhere. And now my paranoia was finally paying off.

I showed the Templar the mirror, grinning. “Game over.”

Or maybe not.

Magic ripped across the mirrored glass, but that was it. The armor didn’t peel off the Templar’s body like dried husks from a plant. I looked at the mirror. Looked at the Templar. Looked at the mirror again.

“No. Why? How?” The words felt like marbles in my mouth.

His head canted slightly toward the mirror in my hand. “Pretty.”

They must have made improvements to the armor.

“You’re with the Order of Kings, aren’t you? You’re a Templar, aren’t you?”

I was pretty sure of that, but I needed to be very sure.

He merely chuckled under his helmet. It was a dark, sinister chuckle, and I felt shivers cutting down my spine. My skin was clammy, and my pulse skipped a beat. I knew this feeling well. Dread. Complete and total foreboding.

“The Spirit Trees are being guarded,” I said. “How did you get through? Who on Earth is helping you? Who’s the traitor?”

My questions elicited another round of sinister laughter from the mysterious Templar. And then he attacked me, moving with the speed of a mountain and the strength of a catapult. His fist swung toward me. Fighting. I wasn’t very good at fighting. I was kind of fast, though, and I managed to duck out of the way just in time.

I didn’t know the first thing about throwing a punch, so I threw magic instead. I tightened my telekinetic grip around a bunch of clothing racks and slammed them into the Templar, trying to put some distance between us.