Realm Keepers 01 - Realm Keepers

swept over their heads and pummeled the front few monsters, knocking them back. Cara tripped and nearly fell, but she recovered.
    Then I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist, heard Miles shout, “Time to go!” and jump with me through the portal.
    It burned, kind of. Burning only happens to the outside of your body, but this was a burning sensation throughout the whole thing, inside and out. And even deeper, into my mind, my very soul. It felt like my body was dissolved into molecules and scattered to the winds, and yet I was still conscious and could still see. Thankfully it didn’t hurt too bad. Then I felt my body stretching, and then—
    Pop .
    I was flung onto a grassy green knoll as though I’d dived out of a moving car. I rolled over and over several times before finally ending up on my back.
    For the second time that day, I lay breathing heavily and staring up at a bright blue sky.
    Then I heard more pop noises. I pushed myself up onto my elbows quickly to see the other side of the blue portal. Soldiers began to fall onto the grass out of the blue oval of energy.
    “Holy cow, that was awesome! ” said Calvin’s voice close by.
    I ignored him and leapt up, checking that everyone was there. Tess. Raven. Miles. Blade. With me and Calvin, that was everyone. Cara, too, was on her feet, lining her men up on this side of the portal. There were only six of them left. She looked over her shoulder at Greystone.
    “The portal!” she said. “Quickly!”
    Even as she spoke there was a popping sound, and one of the Shadow creatures fell to the ground before her. Three of the soldiers leapt forward, burying their blades in the thing. Another three came through, and were hacked down.
    I turned to Greystone. “Close it!” I shouted. He ignored me, his eyes closed, his fingers twisting in and around each other and quiet murmurs coming from his lips. He either couldn’t hear me, or couldn’t answer. Several more Shadows popped through, and this time two of them managed to find their feet before Cara’s men could take care of them. One of the soldiers was struck down, his armored form clattering to the grass and his sword sliding from his limp grip.
    Desperate, I ran forward and picked up the weapon. Miles and Blade came with me, looking unsure of what to do without blades of their own. One of the Shadows was fighting Cara, and it slammed a black-mailed glove into her gut, causing her to double over. I leapt forward with a cry, swinging the sword desperately. I didn’t even hit it, but the creature reeled away from my wild attack, allowing one of Cara’s men to take it down. Cara straightened and looked at me. I was shaking, adrenaline pumping through my body as I tried to keep the sword up. It was much, much heavier than I’d thought it would be. She reached over and removed it gingerly from my grasp.
    “… dremarcus boreath! ” cried Greystone suddenly from behind us, his chanting suddenly rising to a fever pitch. There was a flash that made me close my eyes, and when I opened them again the blue portal was gone.
    Stunned and still shaking, I fell to my knees in the grass. All around me, the others from school and the soldiers were breathing heavily. Only Cara still seemed fresh, wiping her blade clean on the grass before re-sheathing it. She went to one of her soldiers, a man clutching a wound in his side, and knelt to inspect it.
    “I think you cut that a little close, old man,” said Blade.
    Greystone looked at me and pointed a finger at Blade. “This one is exceptionally rude.”
    I nodded, still breathing heavy. “Takes one to know one.”
    “I, at least, have some right, what with having saved your lives…” Greystone made a show of counting on his fingers. “…Three times now,” he finished.
    “Our lives weren’t even in danger before you brought us here, bro,” said Miles testily. His chest was heaving, and his limbs were twitching. “I can’t believe…that was nuts.”
    I knew what he meant. Images from the battle were frozen in my mind. I’d never seen someone die in my life, but just minutes ago I’d been in the middle of a real life battle.
    “Why are you doing this to us?” Raven practically shouted. “We’re just kids, man.”
    Greystone shook his head, making his wild white hair spin like helicopter blades. “Perhaps once, but no longer.”
    That was it. Now that the portal, along with the monsters, was gone, I was ready to find out what this was all about. “It’s