As we are led into the mountain, I try not to show just how interesting I find the place. We know so little about the marked that live in Ariziadia, and yet, they seem to know something of us. The way they’re watching me and Enzo so intently as they lead us through says it all. Like it’s the Red Sea, people part out of our way as we walk along a path that leads us deep into the heart of the mountain. I look above us for the source of light, noticing just how bright it is in the mountain, even this far in, and I can’t see any torches or electricity. The entire mountain seems just as light as it is outside. How is this possible?

I turn my attention to the marked walking with us. They look less scary in human form than they did dragon, but still, I remain cautious. Without my powers, I'm practically useless. The some of the marks covering their skin are unlike any I've seen before, but they have some similar ones, too. From looking at just three of the men, I can see they seem to carry all eleven of the marks we have. I can't spot the twelfth mark on any of them, but they could easily be hidden under their black trousers. One of the marks I don’t recognise looks like a mask. I wonder what that one does? Do these other marks really symbolise other powers, or are the marked here just fans of tattoos that resemble marks?

“This way,” the leader indicates, gesturing for us to take a left turn. We're led back out into natural sunlight, and my jaw drops at what I see now that we've walked through the mountain. The light that glistens off the buildings is almost blinding, and the sheer amount of structures packed and hidden away in the middle of the mountains is unbelievable. It's like they've dug down into the ground in the centre of a circle of mountains and built a mini-city in here. If you didn't know where the entrance was, and if you didn't climb to the top of the mountain to check, you'd never see this place; it's so perfectly hidden. But what are they hiding from?

“Holy shit,” Enzo mutters.

“This is insane,” I say in agreement. We don't get long to gawk though, as we're roughly dragged down some stone steps towards the buildings. “Where are you taking us?” I ask, earning myself an annoyed look from Enzo.

“You don't get to ask questions here, Mackenzie Crowe,” the leader answers before any of the others can speak. I go to speak again, but I'm cut off by another irritated look from Enzo. I slam my mouth shut and nod at him, accepting that for now, he's probably right and I really should shut up.

We're guided silently through the mini-city, and it feels like we're being taken right into the heart of the place, towards the very central building. The central building doesn’t reflect the light as the other buildings do. Its roof is a deep red, and it’s shorter than the rest of the buildings, but spans much longer.

We’re led to that building, and I’m pulled ahead of Enzo as we walked single file through a corridor.

“You will wait here,” one of the men grunts to Enzo, as the others continue to lead me further into the building.

“Like hell am I letting you take her,” he growls, his black eyes burning, and he starts forward, clenching his fists. I look over at all the marked surrounding us, and take a deep breath.

“Just leave it, Enzo. Please?” I plead. There are just too many of them. I try to communicate with my eyes that we can’t take them all. Our best bet is to try and reason with them. I can try and talk sense with whoever they’re taking me to see. He nods, begrudgingly leaning back against the wall, and two of the guards stop to stand either side of him, while I’m led deep into the heart of the building.

“You will go in here,” the leader says, and I nod. Shakily, I reach out and push the large, ornately decorated door open. I walk into the large chamber, flaming torches lighting themselves as I walk down towards a large throne. On the throne, I can barely make out a shadowed figure sitting there.

As I reach about halfway into the room, the figure fades into nothing. I turn around, seeing the door slam closed. I swallow the lump in my throat.

“Mackenzie Crowe, I would say welcome to Ariziadia, however, you are not a guest here, but merely a trespasser,” a voice whispers from right behind me. I quickly turn and find myself looking into grey eyes.

“I don’t even want to be here. So how about you just let me find my friends, and then we can all leave,” I offer, and the man steps even closer.

“You wish to return to Earth?” he questions.

“Yes, yes I do,” I answer.

“Do you even realise why some of our people chose to go to Earth?”

“No, nobody knows anymore,” I answer truthfully.

“Are you not curious as to why your people have so few of the marks that we have here?” he questions me again.

“Until today I didn't know that you all had these marks. We didn't know any other than the twelve, and most people don't even know what the twelfth mark does.” I answer him honestly.

“Your people are so clueless. Have you truly forgotten everything?” he asks, and I shrug, not sure what more I can tell him. He sighs and continues to explain. “Our people were at war with each other, long ago. To bring an end to the feud peacefully, they agreed they would move to another world. A world where they could live how they wished, and we could live how we wished. We chose segregation to stop bloodshed.

The leader of your people was exceptionally gifted, and she had every power a marked can be bestowed with. She had the power to build bridges between worlds. Using her gifts of divination, she found a suitable world, one with beings much like us. There were key differences though, unmarked skin and no powers. with no powers. They decided to blend in this new world, they would have to give up some of their power, or risk being discovered by the native species. A species known for being hostile towards those that are different.”

“The people gave up their powers willingly?” I ask incredulously, completely unable to fathom why someone would give their powers away. I look down at my bare skin on my arms, my marks gone. I would never give my powers up if I had a choice. Mine were ripped from me, just as my brother was.

“They agreed they would keep just eleven of the powers. The leader used her gifts to mute all of your magic and to repress the other gifts. The plan was that eventually, you would give up all of your powers. The eleven you kept were to help you settle. Earth to build and grow crops, technomancy to have the tools to survive. Fire to keep you warm, water to keep you hydrated. Divination to see threats coming for you… you get the idea, yes?” he asks, and I nod in understanding. “We agreed with them that this seemed like a reasonable solution. So, they left our world behind, and we have lived in peace amongst our own kind ever since, leaving you to your own devices.”

“I can’t believe this,” I whisper, and my eyes widen when I see him pull a silver dagger from a sheath against his forearm. “What are you…” I trail off, stepping back away from him, panicking as I’m completely powerless without my marks. He quickly closes the distance, pressing the dagger against my throat.

“Please don’t kill me,” I whisper. “I haven’t done anything to you.” In response to my plea, the man brings the silver dagger closer to my throat, his almost grey eyes staring into mine, seeming to assess my every movement.

“Why shouldn’t I kill you, Mackenzie Crowe? You opened a portal to my world, risking not only Earth, but Ariziadia too. We had peace, but you broke that peace by trespassing here.” he asks me, but I feel like he doesn’t want an answer. The marked here have found us guilty without asking, but I will give him a reason anyway.

“If you kill me, no one on Earth or Ariziadia will be able to stop my father,” I say honestly, and he narrows his eyes at me.

“Are you threatening me with your family? If they come here to avenge you, I will simply kill them all,” he bites out, a light growl slipping through his words. I try to stay calm and not think about what this marked can shift into.

“I’m not threatening you, only telling you what will happen. He won’t come here to avenge me; he wouldn’t care if you killed me. If anything, you would be helping him,” I say, and I see the confusion cloud over his eyes.

“My father was the one that forced me to open the portal. He was the one behind all of this. He will not stop until he controls Earth. What do you think he will do after he has all of Earth in his control and a marked army with boosted powers from the open portal?” I ask, swallowing a little as the pressure of the dagger against my throat makes it harder and harder to speak. The leader doesn’t say anything, just waiting for me to continue.

“He will come here and destroy you. I can stop that, with help from my guys. Now it’s your choice,” I say, keeping my eyes locked on his and not backing down. I won’t plead for his mercy anymore. Marks or no marks, I am stronger than that. He goes to say something when the door slams open behind me. The leader pulls me to his chest, turning me so I can face the open doorway just as Mr Daniels, the twins, East and Enzo walk in.

“Kill or even harm her, and we will burn your world to the ground,” Mr Daniels say calmly, but any person would be a fool not to hear the promise of destruction laced in his words.