by Gail Koger
I glanced at her wedding ring. “How many grandchildren do you have, Mabel?”
“Eighteen and I’m a widow. A very lonely widow.” Mabel rapidly fluttered her eyelashes.
I plucked a bottle of eye drops off a display and slapped it down in front of her. “This might help that twitch you’ve developed.”
“Thank you, dearie.” Her irritated gaze swept over me before focusing back on Ethan. “That’ll be twenty-eight credits, honey.”
Ethan held his bracelet against the scanner.
“There’s a church social tonight, please tell me you’re coming,” Mabel gushed.
“He’s busy.” I grabbed the bags and noticed Ethan’s groupies were now crowded around the door. “Fuck!” Shoving it open, I showed the women my can of mace. “Go away. Now.”
“Or what?” A brazen bitch shouted.
I sprayed the air in front of them.
Shouting some very creative curses, and their com-link numbers, the women ran back to their cars.
“Jealous?” Ethan inquired.
“It’s not their fault. You’re too damn pretty.”
“Pretty? I’m not pretty.” The outrage in Ethan’s voice was hilarious.
I patted his butt. “Sugar, let me put it this way. You’re Godiva chocolate in a world of the cheap stuff.”
Ethan gave me a smacking kiss. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“We need to get to the camp site before dark,” Quinn yelled out the driver’s window.
I climbed in the backseat. “Camp site?”
“Uncle Saul’s bringing an RV up for us to use as a command center,” Ethan replied.
“Oh. How nice.” General Jones and Zarek had a lot in common. They both scared the crap out of me.
Quinn pulled out of the parking lot and a caravan of cars followed us.
Xenia and I broke into giggles.
“Not funny,” Ethan grumbled.
“Oh, but it is, hot stuff. All Zarek needs to do is put the two of you on a poster and Central Command will be swarming with women eager to become war brides,” I said.
“Not today.” Quinn’s power flared and the lead car slammed on its brake, triggering a chain reaction. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
Xenia punched his arm. “That wasn’t nice.”
“They’re not following us any longer, are they?”
“Nope.” I watched as the women bailed out of their cars and a brawl erupted. “I think they’re in serious need of some chocolate.”
“Or getting laid,” Ethan quipped.
I rolled my eyes. “Guy logic, the black hole of the universe.”
Ethan grinned.
Several cop cars screamed past us with lights flashing.
I settled back in my seat. If I wanted to keep the warlords happy, I’d better find out what lake we needed to head for. Pulling out the stucco warrior, I opened my psychic eye and concentrated.
Images tumbled across my mind. A metal park service sign with Cave Lakes Canyon etched on it. Two-hundred-foot red sandstone walls encircled three small lakes. Which one did we need to search? I focused on the first lake.
There, eighty feet below the surface was a tunnel. A carved jade snake with gold eyes sat in a watery tomb. It was surrounded by a shit load of skeletons.
Grief, rage, hatred and a fierce desire for vengeance slammed into me. Voices shrieked insanely in my head and suddenly I couldn’t breathe. “Granny!”
Granny Annabel shouted in my head, “Break the link.”
“Too many.” My breath came in choking gasps as I fought the mental invasion.
Ethan surged into my mind and tried to stop the spirits from attacking me. “Draw on my power!”
I latched onto him, but hundreds of angry Aztec spirits pressed down on me, smothering me. I thrashed about wildly trying to break free.
“Fight them Kizzy. Fight,” Xenia called urgently, adding her strength to mine.
“Trying. Can’t. Breathe.”
“Strike her,” Granny commanded and chanted, “Crisito deo ojo mirabilis visio.”
Pain erupted in my face. Ten seconds later the screaming ghosts vanished. I sagged against a hard body and sucked in a greedy lungful of air. “Oh, God. Oh, God.”
Ethan wrapped his arms around me tightly and stroked my hair. “It’s ok. It’s ok. I’ve got you.”
Trembling uncontrollably, I clung to him. “They’re. They’re guarding the next clue. A jade snake.”
Ethan placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. “Another Thunder God or an alien asshole?”
“Ghosts. Really pissed-off ghosts,” I gasped.
“The lakes are guarded by eight-hundred angry Aztec spirits,” Granny added, her disembodied head protruded from the dash.
Quinn grimaced. “Eight-hundred? Are you going to open another portal and send them back to Hell?”
“We open a portal and cross them over,” Granny corrected.
A harsh laugh broke from me. “We get to do the impossible again.”
“If we cast a proper circle, it can be done safely. I need to find the correct incantation.” She vanished.
“Oh, yay,” I said with a shudder.
Ethan scowled, “You take too many risks.”
“How was I supposed to know there were eight-hundred pissed off ghosts guarding the place?”
A worried frown creased Xenia’s forehead. “Who has the power to murder that many warriors?”
“The Thunder God did.”
“The alien asshole is also a prime suspect,” Quinn stated.
Xenia shrugged. “Maybe, but who imprisoned him in the figurine?”
“With my luck, there’s another wannabe God running loose,” I exclaimed.
“How do we kill it?” Quinn wanted to know.
I stared at the stucco statue. “We lure it into the esoteric plane, sic the wraiths on it and hope they suck the wannabe God dry.”
“If they don’t?” Ethan asked.
“Then it’s up to Granny and me to stop it.”
Ethan grabbed the stucco warrior and dropped it in his shirt pocket. “No more spooky stuff until you have the proper safeguards set up.”
“Not gonna be a problem, boss.”
Popping the top on a can of pop, Ethan handed it to me. “Drink up; it’ll help with the shock.”
I took it gratefully. My hand shaking visibly, I raised the can to my mouth but kept dribbling it down the front of my shirt.
Ethan took the can from me.
Quinn started the engine. “She needs a keeper.”
“Do not.”
Ethan held the can to my mouth. “She’s got me.”
Alpha males were a pain-in-the-butt, but sometimes it was nice to be taken care of. I obediently drank the pop and snuggled against his chest. I could get used to this.
I noticed the lines of stress etched in his face and ran a soothing finger over them. “Sorry, I scared you.”
“A warrior never goes into battle without a plan or sufficient backup. Before you attempt to connect with any more ghosts or Thunder Gods, Granny will be present and you’ll link with me. I’m your backup.”
“You up to dealing with things that go bump in the night?”
Ethan brushed his lips over mine. “I am.”
“Just remember ghosts are as dangerous as the Tai-Kok.”
“We wiped the Tai-Kok from existence,” Ethan countered.
“True.” I laid my head against his shoulder. God, I was so tired.
Ethan’s fingers stroked my back soothingly and my eyes drifted shut.
A shuddering bounce woke me. A symphony of color dazzled my eyes. Milk white monoliths stood like sentries next to towering mesas in ever changing shades of red which contrasted sharply with the turquoise sky.
“Are we there yet?”
“We are, sweetheart,” Ethan replied.
Quinn brought the Hummer to a stop next to a new silver Airstream motorhome.
I eyed the Air
stream giddily. “That’s our command center?”
Ethan nodded, “It is.”
“Nice digs.” The last motorhome I had been in had holes in the floor and couldn’t go faster than thirty miles an hour.
General Jones exited the motorhome and walked toward us.
“He promised to bring us chocolate,” Xenia said happily.
The sensation of sudden overwhelming danger screamed through me like an electric shock. I jumped out of the Hummer and scanned for the source. My gaze fell on a metal sign with a large arrow pointing down the dirt road. It said, Caves Lake Canyon 3 miles. “Holy hell, we’re too damn close.”
Quinn barked, “To what?”
I pointed to the sign. “Caves Lakes are where those eight-hundred angry Aztec warriors reside. We’re gonna need a shit load of salt and some blessed crosses.”
“What does salt do?” Xenia inquired.
“Spirits can’t cross salt.”
Quinn slid in nastily, “Why didn’t you tell us this sooner? We could have bought the salt before we left Kanab.”
“I’m not clairvoyant. I didn’t know about the murderous Aztec ghosts, until they attacked.”
“Quinn, Xenia and I will teleport back into Kanab and buy as much salt as we can carry. Voss is working on getting the crosses,” General Jones inserted.
“Great. I’ll draw some pentagrams on the motorhome for added protection.”
General Jones stared at me for a long moment, then nodded. “Do what’s necessary.” Poof, he was gone.
Quinn and Xenia teleported.
I blew out a long breath. Why couldn’t I have cool powers like Xenia or my mother? “Is Quinn always this cranky?”
Ethan dropped an arm over my shoulders. “He’s a powerful psychic and a skilled warrior. He doesn’t know how to deal with things that go bump in the night.”
“Yeah, swords and laser pistols don’t affect ectoplasm. I want you to chant crisito deo ojo mirabilis visio, if you’re attacked. That’ll give Granny and me time to deal with the spirits.”
“Got it. Crisito deo ojo mirabilis visio.”
“Let me have your boot knife.”
“Why?”
The pentagrams must be drawn in blood,” I replied.
“I’ll provide the blood.”
One look at his implacable expression and I shrugged. “Ok.”
Ethan sliced his wrist.
I dipped my fingers in his blood and quickly drew a pentagram on each side of the motorhome. “Done.”
“Drink.”
“Do I hafta?”
“I need you to live.”
“And I don’t want you to bleed to death.”
“Kizzy,” Ethan growled.
I took his arm and slurped up some blood. “Happy?”
“More.”
I sucked another mouthful down. Huh? His blood was starting to taste like chocolate. “Now do your healing thing. You’ve lost too much blood.”
Ethan licked the wound. Presto! The wound was healed.
“Will I be able to do that?”
“Yes.” Ethan brushed his mouth over mine. “You need to understand. If you die before you’re converted, I also die.”
“What!”
“When your heart stops, mine will also cease to beat.”
“No way. You’re a big, tough Coletti and hasn’t Zarek lost a couple of mates?”
“He has, but I’m a hybrid. It’s different for us. Why do you think we guard our females so carefully?”
Horror knotted my stomach. I did take unnecessary risks. Always had. That stopped now. Ethan was going to live forever. “I’m not dying, and neither are you.” I smacked his chest. “Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m going to be a bad ass Coletti and the Bjarke will run screaming when they see me.”
A smile curved Ethan’s mouth. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
“Not today.” I climbed up on a boulder and looked Ethan dead in the eye. “All my life, I have been waiting for you. You fill the hole in my heart. You give me hope.” I leaned over and kissed him. “I would have found you even if it took a hundred lifetimes. I will love you to the end of time.”
Ethan pulled me into his arms. “Till eternity ends.” His mouth closed over mine in an elemental claiming.
Chapter Seventeen
The temperature dropped drastically, and a snow flurry erupted around us.
“Enough children. The enemy draws near.”
Ethan broke our kiss. “What the hell?”
“Welcome to my world.” I looked over Ethan’s shoulder. Granny Annabel was decked out in Aztec armor. “What enemy?”
She clanked over. “The alien asshole still lives.”
“The fire didn’t destroy it?”
“No, it freed it.”
“Crap.”
Ethan put me down. “Do you know what it is?”
“He calls himself Asmoday. He claims to be a demon from the Ninth Circle of Hell. He has come for the jade snake. Its magic will allow him to regain his true form.”
“Which is?” I prompted.
“Katanic. Asmoday is also quite mad,” Granny warned.
“And it just keeps getting better and better. Is Asmoday ectoplasm or is he pure energy?”
“Neither and both,” Granny replied.
“Huh?”
“Asmoday was dying when he touched the sphere. It changed him.”
Every inch a Coletti Warlord, Ethan demanded, “How did it change him?”
“He is neither dead nor alive.”
I threw up my hands in disgust. “Well, that’s as clear as mud. Do you know how to kill him?”
“I do not.”
“We’re screwed.”
“Maybe not, but we definitely need help.” Ethan reached out mentally. “Adan, do you know a Katanic by the name of Asmoday?”
“Asmoday?” Adan’s voice was a thunderous roar.
I flinched. “I think that’s a yes.”
A brilliant orange glow popped into existence and spun rapidly. I shielded my eyes. “What’s that?”
“Adan’s opening a teleportation portal,” Ethan answered.
“Huh? It looks different when you’re inside it.”
The spinning light accelerated until a vortex formed. Bolts of green lightning crackled wildly around the growing opening.
Granny watched the vortex in alarm. “You never told me Adan has God powers.”
“He’s not a God, he’s an alien lifeform.” I ducked behind Ethan. “Are you sure we need his help?”
“Yes.”
A huge, heaving silky black mass rolled out. The tornado of energy vanished with a loud snap. “Where is Asmoday?”
Granny took solid form. “He is in a town called Kanab looking for a body to possess.”
“What? You couldn’t have told us that sooner,” I yelled.
Granny shrugged. “The other warriors are fighting Asmoday.”
“Fuck!” Ethan grabbed me and teleported. There was a fleeting flash of black and we appeared in front of a grocery store.
General Jones was sprawled face down in the parking lot.
Xenia and Quinn who were throwing salt at a glowing yellow orb in a desperate attempt to keep it away from the General.
Seizing a twenty-pound sack, Ethan sliced it with his boot knife and flung it at the orb.
Asmoday screeched loudly as the salt cascaded over him.
I grabbed an open bag of salt and drew a circle around the General.
The sky suddenly darkened to a charcoal gray, then black. Incandescent red lightning bolts arced across the clouds and hurricane strength winds slammed us to the ground.
The salt blew away.
Asmoday settled on the General’s back.
I chanted, “Crisito deo ojo mirabilis visio.”
“Crisito deo ojo mirabilis visio,” Ethan, Xenia and Quinn joined in.
Ethan dumped an entire bag on the orb.
&n
bsp; It shot off.
Ghostly figures appeared in the towering clouds.
“Oh shit! He summoned the warriors.” Pieces of flying debris struck me in the face and the shrieks of hundreds of tortured souls battered my ears.
Quinn growled, “I gave you the armor for a reason. Use it.”
“Yes, sir.” Ignoring the blood running down my face, I tapped the icon. Schlik. Schlik. Schlik. Schlik. Within seconds black armor covered me from head to toe. A tree branch bounced off my helmet and I barely felt it.
Xenia’s voice sounded in my head. “How do we stop Asmoday?”
“Asmoday is mine.” Slashes of green lightning pulsed over the parking lot. A twister formed and spat out Adan. He transformed into a pterodactyl with tentacles and launched himself at Asmoday.
Ducking and dodging Adan’s tentacles, the orb disappeared in the boiling clouds. Multiple lightning bolts struck the pterodactyl, knocking it from the sky. Splat! It hit the asphalt.
Ethan quickly checked on Adan. “He’s alive.”
Gruesome skeletal faces screamed their fury and a choking, claustrophobic wave of rain pounded us.
I reached deep inside me and drew on every ounce of power I had and shouted, “Tempore, qui corpus, monstrata est quaedam.”
Granny Annabel materialized in front of us and linked with me. “Tempore est quaedam. Gallice material transferam.”
With an ear-shattering shriek the spirits dematerialized.
The wind stopped.
The clouds dissipated revealing a turquoise sky.
Granny Annabel smiled. “Your mate bond has increased your strength.”
“Yippee-ki-yay.”
Quinn flipped the General over and quickly scanned him. “He needs sick bay.”
“Go,” Ethan urged. “We’ll deal with this mess.”
Slinging the General over his shoulder, Quinn teleported.
“Can anyone sense Asmoday?” Xenia asked, retracting her helmet.
I kept my helmet deployed. Ethan would have a cow if he saw my face. “No.”
“I can’t either,” Ethan said, tapping my bracelet.
My helmet disappeared revealing my battered face. One look at Ethan’s pissed expression and I quipped, “I forgot to duck.”
“I noticed. We will be working on your battle skills.” He ran a healing wand over my face.
“Ok.” I went up on my tiptoes and kissed him. “I promise I’m gonna be one bad ass warrior.”