Past security check Julia and Daniel seemed to be on good terms again, and Chris watched with an amused smile as Julia pointed at various stuffed toys in the shops and commented on the quality of the makeup that was offered. Daniel, who was holding her hand, nodded along without much comment. Chris's eyes wandered to the planes outside and then turned his gaze to his closer surroundings.

The three of them passed by the lounge that led to Northland’s Official Gates; although he knew he wouldn't see any familiar faces, Chris still couldn't help but scan it hopefully. He found himself impressed – the lounge was much bigger than any other he had seen: it was filled with ergonomic chairs, had a mini-bar on one end, and the employee at the gate was reading a book, clearly much more relaxed than their colleague back at the check-in desks. Ten or so Witches and perhaps one or two others were standing or sitting around, waiting for their turn. The enormous clock behind the desk showed that there were five minutes left until the next slot.

(Pause)

As far as Chris was aware, the Gates between Ency to the Balkasla were not part of the Aurora that surrounded Northland, but had been manually created by Witches some hundred years ago. They were almost never used to import or export merchandise (the massive amount of magical energy of two Gates – that normally drained all battery power – was likely to spoil most products, and so they were taken by sea all the way to and through the Aurora Gate alone), but they were convenient for leisure travel, although their energy was only enough for a maximum of two living beings passing through one after the other and required a cool down of about fifteen or so minutes.

(Continue)

“Hey, what’s the racket?”

It was Daniel, who was now looking over his shoulder. He and Julia had stopped by a cosmetics shop and Julia was now slowly replacing a bottle of perfume back on the stand.

“Ugh, it's so noisy...”

There was apparently a commotion going on down the corridor, from the direction of where the pass to the main hall was: shouting, the sound of footsteps, an occasional yelp of someone being shoved aside. All passengers in vicinity – whether they had been in a hurry or not - turned to look.

“Stay out of the way! Out of the way, I said!”

The figures approaching…

Chris’s mouth gaped open.

“Careful!”

He felt Daniel pull him aside and they both stumbled out of the way of two figures running past. In the distance, a few Hunters were following suit.

“Chris, was that just me, or did –Chris?!”

“Are those Hunters?” Chris heard Julia’s exclamation somewhere far behind while someone’s cold fingers were wrapped around his, dragging him away and towards the lounge of the Gates to Northland...