“I know you're dedicated to your team,” I said. “Otherwise you wouldn't listen to all those self-help books.”
“There's no team without Jaz.”
Tor and Raze exchanged a glance.
“That's not true,” I reminded him. ”Your team cares for you. But you’re pushing them away. Like you’re doing to me.”
“Screw you.” Knoxe spun around, his fist curled and ready to deliver and another blow to the gantii. “You don’t know dick!”
“I know you.” I pumped my magic to my hands. “And I know you’re not going to hurt this creature.”
I flung a blast at him, dissolving his hands.
“What the fuck did you do to me?”
“Stopped you from hurting yourself.”
“Whoa, Supergirl!” Tor clapped. “That’s an awesome superpower.”
“Shut up, Tor,” Pascal said. “Now’s not the time.”
“Give me back my damn hands,” Knoxe snarled.
I stepped as close to the bars as I could. “Not until you come with me and find his family.”
11
Raze
Imposter. Fake. Liar. No one knew my secret. That I shouldn’t be here within the Guardians. I didn’t belong. A secret I had kept all my life, even more so when I’d joined the Guild. The reason I kept to myself. Didn’t make friends in the Guardians. Barely said a word to anyone outside of my immediate family and tribe. They all knew who I really was. My mother’s people, the indigenous tribe of Australia, kept my secret. Protected me.
I didn’t belong to this world any more than I belonged to the other. Half breed they called me. An abomination to my father’s culture. A tainting of the blood line. But to this world, to my people, they called me Marra Wugul. Star Walker. One who walked among the stars. One who crossed worlds.
Each month when I visited my father, we met in secret, in a thicket by the river, in a valley. Not even his brothers knew of my existence. I had not met my extended family. They’d kill me if they knew what I was.
Watching Knoxe hit the Dinbana Wugal, the Insect Man, went against every instinct in my body. The indigenous side of me wanted to cast him out of the circle, our team, for the disrespect shown to the Star Walker. The gantii side of me wanted to tear Knoxe’s head off. A growl rumbled in my chest every time he hit the poor beast. But I’d been powerless to do a thing when stuck outside the cell.
Knoxe had prevented us access on purpose, not wanting to be saved, the last of his humanity dying with every punch he laid on the beast.
“Raze, Tor,” Knoxe growled, staring at his dissolved arms, now nothing more than empty space.
“Sorry, buddy,” Tor responded first. “It seems you’ve locked us out. You’re gonna have to wait until your hands grow back.”
A fortunate circumstance. For a moment, I feared Knoxe might kill the Star Walker and take us all down with him.
Tor turned to Astra. “They will grow back won’t they, Supergirl?”
She smiled like she had a secret.
Tor rubbed his chin and mouth. “Ah, Knoxe, you’re stepping on your arms there buddy.”
“Screw you.” Knoxe splashed in the water under his boots.
Tor raised his hands in the air in defeat. “Dude, your hands are under your shoes. You don’t know where they’ve been. What you’ve stepped in. That’s like licking your soles. Disgusting.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Most of the times Tor was an immature idiot. But occasionally, he came out with some pearls.
“Give me my damn hands back.” Knoxe scowled at Astra.
“Sorry, no can do,” she replied. “I can undo you chemically, but I can’t put you back together.”
An incredible power. One that could get her banned for using it on Knoxe, even though he deserved it, and had to be calmed down before he did something he’d regret.
“Your limbs will reform in a few hours,” she said. “Then we can go and find the Mothman’s family.”
“We don’t know where the hell they’re being kept,” Knoxe growled, waving the stumps remaining of his arms.
Pascal turned around, his gaze flitting to me. “Raze is a tracker for his tribe.”
Dammit. Don’t drag me into this.
I didn’t want to go anywhere near the Karvosh’s home world. The vampires were fast and hard to kill. Mortal enemies to my gantii culture. They only traded with the Karvosh out of necessity, but distrusted each other, and only met when tensions soared. Entering their world was dangerous and foolish. One whiff of my scent, and they’d come for me.
“What’s the matter buddy?” Tor nudged me. “Cat got your tongue? Not like you to pass up on an opportunity to track.”
The tribal elders, recognizing my otherworldly gifts, had taught me to track as a young boy. As a result, I was the best damn tracker in the Guardians.
“We could open a hell of a lot more shit if we march in there.” My attempt at a protest failed.
Tor and Astra stared at me, challenging me, daring me to go. But I had to think of my safety.
Astra narrowed her eyes. “You don’t strike me as the kind to be worried about fighting off a few vamps. Guardians live and breathe their warriorhood. What’s making you so hesitant all of a sudden?”
Dammit. She’d catch onto me if I protested too much more.
“We need this lead,” she pressed.
No. No. No. This was crazy. I was putting the rest of the team in danger. But if I didn’t go I’d raise even more suspicions. Questions I’d prefer not to answer.
“Fine,” I said. “Be prepared to leave once Knoxe’s arm regenerates.”
“Supergirl.” Tor threw an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close. “You’re my new best friend.”
*
When Knoxe’s arms reformed, he reached into his vest and pulled out a leather pouch. From the fabric he removed a fully charged, glowing solar jewel.
“Here,” he said to me.
I held out my hand, and he dropped the jewel into it. He took out another and another until he’d passed one to every member of the team.
“These are packed with absorbed sunlight,” he told Astra as she examined her amulet.
She held up the gem, which glowed at her like a tiny sun. The amulets contained the energy that drove and sustained life and could injure those that stole it.
“They’ll wound the vamps if they attack,” Knoxe explained. “But don’t switch them on before that. It’ll draw attention our way.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” Tor clomped his foot like a soldier standing to attention.
“How do they work?” Astra asked.
“Rub them to activate the light,” Knoxe said.
The Mothman stood beside him, handcuffed with magic-laced chains, its back hunched and wings folded.
He turned to the portal he’d opened. Beyond it lay the Karvosh and Mothman home world which they shared. A deep and forbidding darkness yawned at us from beyond the threshold of the station entrance. The darkness and the silence had all the air of a warning or a threat. Turn back now.
Entering risked my life. One whiff of my scent and the Karvosh would seek me out. But my team didn’t know my secret. I couldn’t tell them or I’d be kicked out. Doing the work of the Guardians assisted the spirits beyond this world who communicated with my tribe. The land and everything on it was out of balance thanks the to the gantii. My people, as custodians to the land, were tasked with protecting it. That was why I’d been sent to the Guardians.
Knoxe shoved the Mothman, forward through the portal, and my stomach knotted.
A shiver ran down my spine. I shouldn’t be entering this world. But I did. That was what I was charged to do. If it eliminated the threat from Styx then I’d gladly lay down my life.
On the other side, Knoxe ordered the gantii, “Take us to your home.” An edge of malice in his voice suggested that if the gantii double crossed us, it was dead. He paused, waiting for the translation device to communicate the order before reci
ting the rest. “My associate will track your children from there.”
The Star Walker lead us through a dim, craggy landscape, lit by a blood red sky, dark and dangerous. I reflected on how appropriate their home was: a dead place for those not living themselves, who preyed on life.
Using my enhanced vision, I navigated the landscape behind the Mothman, catching every outcrop of rock, every obstacle. The others stumbled behind me.
“Crikey,” Tor complained. “I can’t see a damned thing.”
“Me, neither,” Astra seconded him, staggering, and losing her footing.
Pascal helped her up, and they continued.
Evidently, the Mothman liked to dwell in caves high out of reach of most normal creatures. Smart, considering they dwelled in the same land as energy drainers. The poor creatures were probably food for the Karvosh.
Soon, we reached a cave where the Star Walker advised, “This is my home. Where the Karvosh came for me and kidnapped my family.”
“Get to work, Raze,” Knoxe ordered, his voice clipped and impatient. He reminded me of a shark, craving the blood of Styx, and he wouldn’t stop until he got it.
We entered the cave, dark, dusty, and cold. The place reeked of fresh signs of Karvosh. Three days old, perhaps.
Tor activated his torch. Up until now, we’d walked in the dark to avoid attracting attention. But inside the cave we were pretty safe.
I crouched to get a better look at the dirty floor, using the gifts the trackers from my tribe had taught me. Scuff marks in the dust suggested a struggle. Multiple footprints indicated several creatures involved. All with varying sizes and differing outlines.
“These scrape marks here suggest a struggle,” I said, tracing the lines and sweeps of dirt with my fingers. “Four invaders here with the clawed footprints. Two children and a woman judging by the size of the heel and heel marks there.”
Astra huddled beside me, examining the imprints.
I ran a finger through one mark and lifted it, sniffing it, inhaling copper. Cold-blooded creatures like vamps tended to stick to cooler environments like caves with rocks prevalent in copper. The metal transmitted electricity, and they sucked whatever they could from the earth, bleeding it, gorging on it, like greedy sloths.
“Gross,” Tor muttered.
“Even dust contains clues,” I said. “Everything contained clues.”
I stood up, scanning the cave walls and roof.
“From the smear of moth dust on the ceiling where someone struggled to get away.” I crossed the cave to point out the evidence, a coating of brown grime streaking diagonally. “To the outline of a body on the floor, with the kick marks, where someone tried to get to their feet, but was dragged away, indicated by the two lines leading out of the cave.”
“Jesus, man.” Tor frowned. “I’ve never heard you string so many words together.”
“Maybe you haven’t asked the right questions.” I smiled at him.
I took a long inhale of the cave to familiarize myself with the scents of the Star Walkers. Earthy like a wolf. Dirty like a bear. Sweet like nectar.
“I can track them from here,” I announced. “Follow me.”
I took the lead, and the team followed. Tor snapped the light off as we emerged from the cave.
Outside in the wind, I lifted my nose and sniffed. “This way.” I caught their feint scent, three days old and fading.
The Mothman’s family’s struggle showed me the way. The footprints lead west, over a craggy hill and down into valley below. Snapped branches on the tree down the slope indicated someone had fought back, and another struggle had ensued, forcing the Karvosh to carry one of the Star Walkers. The Mother. They carried her roughly, her wings grazing rock, leaving fine trails of dust.
I followed the trail for another mile to a fresh set of caverns in the valley below. The scent of Karvosh grew stronger, calling me, demanding my shift in my alternate form. I hadn’t killed one in a long time. I craved to tear into their flesh. Every cell in my body screamed to transform, to become more powerful and faster, ready to destroy the threat. But I held back with every ounce of my being. This wasn’t not the time or the place.
The entrance was fresh with footprints and stinking of Karvosh. Four different scents. Some more coppery than the other. Weak and pitiful. In need of energy. Our bodies would provide plenty of sustenance if they killed us.
“They’re in here,” I announced.
“Pascal,” Knoxe whispered from behind. “Tell me how far away they are.”
Pascal performed his test and advised, “Three hundred yards.”
“Move in,” Knoxe urged. “Follow Raze’s orders.”
At my beckoning, we entered another cave, deeper, longer, and danker. The threat in the air crackled like a live wire. It shot down my spine and made my neck hairs stand on edge. My muscles trembled like a hunting dog that’d found its prey. Every part of me desired to release my true form. Fight with an even platform. I closed my eyes, resisting.
Each foot we travelled, the need in me intensified. I bit it back with everything I had. But when we reached the cavern containing the Karvosh and their captives, I shook so hard I could barely contain it.
Almost ceremonially, as if to bless the moment, I pulled out my glowing gem and issued a silent command. Instantly, it responded with a brilliant flash, blinding and enough to make everyone wince at the abrupt shift from all-surrounding darkness to brilliant light.
Four figures hanging upside down from the cave ceiling, shifted, raising their arms to their faces to shield their blazing red eyes. Their fanged mouths hung agape, and pallid faces drawn into masks of agony.
The captive moth family shrunk away from the light, shielding their sensitive eyes.
Screams raked through the dusty space, echoing from the walls, the most terrible, soul-wrenching, bone-rattling noise that I’d ever heard. It chilled my blood and slowed my heartbeat. Almost as if I became one of them too.
They were awake now. Startled and angry. Territorial bastards. They’d be onto us in seconds for intruding. If this didn’t go well, we’d end up their next meal.
12
Astra
Skin on the vamps began to crack, the first sign of the fate now upon them. In agony and fury, they leapt from their positions on the ceiling, from darkness and safety, to the danger awaiting on the ground. Panicked and disturbed by the intrusion, they hissed, their hideous red eyes glaring at us.
Knoxe was ready, shooting a stake from his wristband at the first energy sucker who came for him. It struck the vamp in the abdomen, and it flinched backward, howling.
“Everybody, lights NOW!” he called out.
We obeyed in unison, producing our gems, and commanding them to light up. Another flash erupted, more brilliant than the first, doubled the radiance inside the cave. It turned the space to the lurid light of two Suns; a light painful for the Guardians, and twice as agonizing for the vampires.
I squinted against the magnificence.
The creatures screamed louder, their skin peeling and smoking. They didn’t stand a chance in the enclosed space. We’d trapped them, snuck up on them, struck them with the light of high noon. But that didn’t stop the remaining three. They charged at us, claws raised, fangs ready.
“Shields on,” Knoxe shouted. “Don’t let them drain you!”
I painted symbols in the air different from the ones I’d use to protect myself from Knoxe. My effort generated a bright gold barrier capable of resisting the drain of the vamps.
The vamps hissed, creeping forward, claws raised.
Knoxe kept a hold of the Mothman, refusing to let him go in case this was a trick. Tor stuck close to my right, Pascal my left, his tuning fork in one hand, his tone bar the other. Raze roared and stepped forward in a burst of animalism. He ripped two stakes from his wristbands, bracing himself, prepared to sink it manually into the chest of his attacker.
The vamps sized us up, glazing over Raze and the rest quickly, their eye
s landing on me. Two of them smiled a creepy expression when they looked at me—the smallest and weakest, probably the juiciest. They swept forward in a blur.
Pascal flung two back with a chime of his weapon. They thumped against the wall, and slumped to the ground.
One gantii bared down on Raze, tackling him like a footballer, and they both crashed to the stone in a billowing cloud of dust. The energy sucker stuck its lips to his neck, bleeding energy from Raze. Crying out, he slammed a stake into the vamp’s neck. It howled and flung itself to its feet with flakes of his skin wafting into the air. With a hiss, it staggered away and disappeared into the dark beyond it. Raze scrambled back to his feet, sputtering out vamp dust covering his dark skin, and charging after his foe.
Meanwhile, I prepared a defense against the attackers who meant to smash me aside. In the seconds it took them to climb to their feet, I etched an equation in my mind to dissolve them. By the time the two of them lunged at me, I’d rendered them into a puddle of liquid and dust.
The injured vamp advanced on Tor. He let off a ball of magic that caused the gantii to stagger backward, writhing and screaming the unholiest of high-pitched screams. Its body contorted and collapsed, spasming on the ground.
“What did you do to them?” I asked, glancing at him.
“A little illusion.” He grinned. “Made ‘em think they were burning from sunlight exposure. Good, eh?”
“Couldn’t have happened to nicer monsters,” I allowed.
The all-consuming light bathing the cavern faded by half. With it drained some of the tension from of my muscles.
“Where’s Raze?” Knoxe growled.
“Went after one that got away,” I replied.
“Nomical, you and Tor go help him,” Knoxe commanded. “This group’s not losing anybody else on my watch. I’ll get answers from the gantii.”
“Okay,” I said, heading deeper into the cavern, fighting the prickling sensation traveling up my spine.
With their amulets lighting their path, they made their way down into the murky depths where the cavern tightened in height and width. As we went deeper, something slammed then crashed.
Paranormal Academy Page 52