12
"What is it?" Ethan asked suddenly breaking the silence.
I knew the question was directed at me. I was trying hard to keep myself from expressing the emotions that were slowly spiraling out of control. My muscles tensed as I suddenly stopped pacing.
"We're slowly getting surrounded," I stated bluntly.
Ethan would have pushed if I'd tried not to answer. They were going to find out no matter what so it was better to not force him to pull the answers out of me.
"How many?" Ethan turned serious.
"Started with three," I closed my eyes to focus, "There's fifteen now. I don't think they know where we are yet, but they are getting closer."
"And when were you planning on telling us about it?" Knife guy snapped.
"What difference would it have made for me to tell you about it?" I could feel my lip curl up into a snarl, "We can't move so we can't do anything about them yet. Just be glad they don't know where we are, and stay quiet. We don't need them finding us any faster."
"Fuck you," knife guy snarled back, "It's you're fault we're down here in the first place."
"You're right," I snarled back, "I'm so sorry that you're not rotting outside instead of in this stuffy cave alive." shook my head as my snarl turned into a smirk, "Next time I'll let you handle the million spiders your way."
I could feel the phantom wing twitches starting up again. I turned so I could ignore whatever expression the knife guy might wearing as he whispered to the other guy Calen had brought along. The small space was starting to get to me. I wouldn't be able to sit in here much longer without going a little stir crazy, but my mana was getting close to the minimum threshold of what I needed to create a stable portal. I really had wasted too much mana on the first portal I'd made today.
My dragon form wasn't little, and I'd been in flight when I created the portal so I'd made it excessively large. Wasting a large amount of my mana in the process. This time I'd be making a much smaller portal. A smaller portal would be easier to stabilize. Even at the same distance.
I really needed to stop casting spells while I was angry. I always used up too much mana when I did. Draining myself dry in a split second for a single spell just because of how emotional I was in the moment. If I had a tail it would have been flicking back, and fourth in irritation. This tiny space was driving me nuts in more then one way.
The fact that the space was crowded by three random people wasn't helping either. It felt as if it were slowly shrinking with the spiders getting closer, and closer. How long did we have until they realized where we were? How long until this cramped space became a blender filled with blood, and gore? No.
I couldn't wait much longer. It was time to make that portal. Whether I was ready or not. Gathering my mana slowly as I warped space. Savannah, and Jax both felt the surge in mana.
The ability user's in here only felt an oppressing pressure come down on them. I had to keep my focus pinpoint on where I wanted the portal to open. I focused on somewhere I knew very well. The air in the cave started to reverberate as space started to visibly distort. Creating a breeze that seemed to come from nowhere at all.
"What are you doing?" the other guy who Calen brought finally decided to speak to me directly.
"I'm creating a spatial portal," I answered, "If I'm successful then we'll be able to go from here to the guild in a few quick strides."
"So you just want us to bet our lives on a maybe," he stood up nervously.
"I'd rather bet my life on a chance at survival then die in a hole," I smiled as I slowly started opening a portal, "Jax. My spatial distortion helped them find us. We've got less then five minutes until they're here."
"You led them right to us," Knife guy shouted angrily.
"He didn't have a choice," Ethan snapped at me, "If he'd waited much longer we would have had seconds instead of minutes."
Pain shocked my core as the foreign mana made its way in. My veins bulged, and some even popped. My arms shook as the strain of it all made my heart pound. I didn't know how long my body could take this as my vision faded in, and out. I doubled my focus when the spiders started breaking into the cavern.
Ignoring them entirely as they started attacking us all because at that moment I didn't have any other choice. If I let the portal collapse now then I was going to lose all the mana I put into the spell, and we were going to die in a dark little hole. My bonded didn't let the spiders so much as touch me. Calen's guys were just off to my left. Holding Calen up on his feet.
Calen's face was pale, and the bleeding had started up again. He wouldn't make it if I didn't get the portal open soon.
"Just fucking open already," I snarled at the empty space in front of me.
A portal boomed into existence as if the universe was responding to my rage.
"Get going," I grabbed Calen's group, and shoved them forward through the portal first.
Striking down a spider that had gotten within striking distance of me. Savannah jumped through next as the portal began to slowly shrink. I grabbed Ethan, and Jax. One in each hand, and threw them through. Backing my way toward the portal.
Leaving a fiery present behind for those that tried to follow me through. Landing on the ground inside the guild with the portal shrinking around a spider that had managed to follow me through. Getting itself sliced in half in the process. It tried to come after me even with the injuries it sustained. I rolled to my feet, and slammed its head into the cement hard enough to make it explode.