Bloodlord (Soulguard Book 3) by Christopher Woods Page A

portal.
                  I expected something like what I had seen in movies as the lights would stretch but I guess the movies hadn't really gotten that right.
                  It was instant. My eyes saw the purple and black energy one second and, as they passed the edge of it, the sight changed to a raised platform in a large room.
                  "Holy shit!"
                  My whole body tingled and I felt the Source stutter and change. It was a subtle difference but I could sense much more power down inside the planet than I could feel inside earth.
                  I stepped onward so that the next in line wouldn't run into me.
                  "I will hide your mind glow, Rash'Tor'Ri," Kil'Sin'Deres said, "From here until we reach Cerres, you must not use any form of Lash. I cannot hide it if you are using it actively."
                  "Ok," I said, "I'm not really planning to use that particular skill except to do the Mark for you."
                  "You are an odd being, Rash'Tor'Ri," he said, "My race begins using the Lash the moment they evolve enough to use it. Why would you handicap yourself by only using half of your birthright?"
                  On some level, he was right. I had paid in blood for the skills that my birth had granted me. But the use of that Lash was just the opposite of the freedom I wanted to bring to the people of these other worlds.
                  It was too late to do anything about the people on Cerres except try to provide some sort of defense.
                  "Yeah, I hear that a lot."
                  The giant chuckled.
                  I could feel the Kresh outside of the room. There were more than I had ever felt before. I knew the others would be feeling that same presence I could feel. It was a bit overwhelming. We waited until the whole group had stepped through the gate. Then the gate was gone.
                  "Guess there's no way to go but forward," Keller said with a grin.
                  "It would help if your people looked fearful, as most humans who come through these gates. They look like they are ready to invade and conquer."
                  "All right guys, put on your scared faces and get into position, in case everything goes to shit."
                  "Terry," Sam said to one of the Mages, "You and I are supports for the boss. Barnes get ready with a shield in case we need it. You're the strongest one here. Mages to the center, Guards around the outside."
                  "Now they really look like they want to invade," Kil'Sin'Deres said.
                  "Give it a minute," I said, "They'll get settled."
                  Once everyone was positioned, they stepped one step in different directions. The organization disappeared and we looked like a mob of humans again.
                  "If all goes right," I said, "We won't be needin to do any fightin. But we're ready if we do."
                  Kil'Sin'Deres nodded and we headed for the opposite end of the big room.
                  When the door opened and we stepped outside, the light seemed just a little off kilter.
                  "Different type of star," Darrel said softly, "Different light."
                  "Makes sense," I said.
                  I'd been in big cities a few times. New York and Chicago were large cities, but they had nothing on what I was looking at in front of us. The buildings were huge and stretched far into the sky.
                  The doors were lower than would be comfortably for the height of a Kresh. They were human-sized doors. That would mean they were made by the Makers. And that would mean they were thousands of years old.
                  The streets were packed with