by Porter, Jack
And that was a difference I could use.
I focused on one of the less powerful auras and sprinted toward it. Was this the type of spiritual awareness that Yua was trying to get me to recognize and control?
I’d bet my last cup of coffee on it.
And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, she’d been right not to give me a choice in the matter. If she’d simply tried explaining this unfamiliar sensation to me, I’d never have understood it.
Or at least, I thought, I would have taken more time than I’d have liked, with Zavier running around.
A couple more sprints and I was finally at a yellow pathway.
I stepped into the current.
But I wasn’t yet done. Once, I’d used my awareness to seek my crystal’s power internally. This time, I turned my awareness outward in a similar manner.
I sought that hyper focused understanding of where I was on the island, and where I needed to be. Like the way I knew where my toenails were on my body, despite not being able to feel sensations there like I could through my fingers.
At the same time, I let myself stay connected to my body, listening for signs that time was passing by too quickly. The cricket’s chirps were not overlapping with one another, and there was not a hint of birdsong.
So far, so good, I thought, as everything seemed to work as it should.
When I found a section of the stream that struck me as familiar, I stepped out and found that I’d made it back home, right where I expected.
It was the middle of the night. Apparently, Hannah and Layla had decided that sharing a single cabin with a pregnant woman was not an option. They had built two more cabins.
I was proud of them for reaching this point. In my astral form, I went to the window and saw Piper sleeping in her cot, not far from the fire. I caught a glimpse of a smile on her face as she slept.
It was enough, for now. There would be plenty of other times to catch her in my spirit form, including during the day.
I touched the double-headed crystal at my neck, Piper’s crystal, and wondered if she would feel its call the moment my physical body came back to our little homeland.
I turned to go, smiling to myself.
However, that smile quickly turned into anger and adrenaline as I found myself toe to toe with the astral form of Zavier himself.
Twenty
Zavier was no longer the blob of obsidian mist that I recalled from our first encounter. Now he had grungy blonde hair that hung in dreads down to his shoulders, a crooked nose, and bloodshot eyes that seemed to swirl and gleam with madness.
Yet I still knew it was him. His face wasn’t fully human. It was like he’d tried to mold a human face out of clay and couldn’t quite get it right.
If that weren’t enough, his gaudy clothes spoke of days-gone-by eighteenth century royalty, complete with a deep red court coat, gold pantaloons, and a ruffled white jabot secured with a flashy emerald pin.
He’s not compensating for anything, I’m sure, I thought, nose wrinkling at the way he stood like Kain himself couldn’t strike him down. How the hell did he sneak up on me? Why is he just standing there?
But really, there wasn’t any time for questions. Only action. How dare he come near my family? My unborn child?
With power from my crystal already flowing through me, I pulled my sword and charged, jamming the flaming, blue-white weapon into his gut. I twisted it, eager to see him die once and for all.
But the blade passed through him like butter and inflicted no actual damage.
Zavier didn’t move as I slashed and stabbed his neck, chest, and stomach. I may as well have been puncturing kinetic sand for all the good it did. His body seemed to flow back together in my sword’s wake, which frustrated and angered me more.
I pulled back to glare at him. Obviously, he wasn’t really here.
More tricks, I thought. I should have expected he wouldn’t intentionally put himself in harm’s way.
“Done?” Zavier asked mockingly, which made me want to knock his lights out. “I’m not here to fight. Only to talk. To negotiate,” he put a peculiar emphasis into the word, as if it was foreign to him.
“Oh, I don’t know. Your face is pretty punchable. I could go another round or two, just for fun.”
Zavier’s eyes darkened a fraction, and I wondered if he was thinking about when I broke his host’s nose last time we met. After a moment, though, he seemed to refocus and plastered a pleasant smile on his oddly inhuman features.
He shrugged his shoulders. “I see the crystal has chosen well. You are close to the spitting image of my dearly deceased brother. You even talk like him.”
I did? That was news to me.
The god continued. “Insufferable, really,” he said. “But what can you do against fate except accept it?”
“Does that mean you’re going to submit to me?” I asked, not believing that for a second. “Slink off to some far galaxy and never show your face around earth, or my goddesses, ever again?”
The muscles in Zavier’s face tightened and his smile became fixed. “Not quite what I had in mind, Dexter. You’ll leave earth, with the goddesses you’re already connected to. After all, I am the current supreme god in my brother’s place. Do that, and I’ll accept your right to godhood. You’ll be free to learn our ways and live as an immortal among the stars. Isn’t that what you humans are always after?”
My eyebrows rose. “You seriously underestimate what I know about you, Zavier. I know what happened to all the other gods and goddesses after you slaughtered your dear brother. Your little pet squealed, so give up the righteous act.”
“Don’t be an idiot, human,” Zavier’s voice dropped all pretense of being polite.
My mouth quirked into a grin under its own violation. So that’s where Thornarm got his habit of calling me an idiot.
The god went on, unawares, “You’ve already sown the seeds of your own destruction and you don’t even realize it. I’m offering you freedom, mortal. A way out of the horrible death planned for you if you don’t step out of my way.”
I couldn’t help but wonder what he was planning.
Lip curling in distaste, I stepped closer to him.
“You know, I rather like the path I’m on, thank you. Obviously you’re here because you consider me a threat. Good. Because I’m growing stronger by the day and your cheap tricks won’t work on me for long. Now get the hell away from my home.”
Zavier’s eyes flashed crimson with rage, but he backed away and said, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Dexter. But you’ve decided your own fate, and I’ll take great pleasure in watching you realize your mistake before it gets you and everyone you love killed.”
The illusion of Zavier faded to nothing before I could get in another word.
Anger stewing in my gut, I checked one last time on Piper before returning to the island pathway.
The song of birds and movement around my body indicated that it was past morning, but that mattered little. I’d made it home within the span of a single day.
My training in the spirit realm was complete.
That meant Zavier better watch his back. Because I didn’t respond well to threats. Especially if they included my family.
And he would find out how much bite this idiot human had.
Twenty-One
Of all the things I’d expected to happen upon returning to the physical world, this certainly wasn’t one of them. Not that anyone would hear me complaining.
The second I opened my eyes and sat up, Yua squealed in happiness and rushed over to me.
“You did it, Dexter! I knew you would!” she cried, and promptly flung herself into my lap. She wrapped her long, sensuous legs around my hips, straddling me as she leaned forward to press soft, hot lips to mine.
Our connection was intense and instantaneous as she explored my mouth, dancing her fiery tongue around mine in a way that was both inexperienced and left me breathless.
I grabbed her hips ov
er the wolf-skin kimono and pulled her down hard against me so she could feel exactly how welcome her kiss was. The slick wetness I felt there let me know she wasn’t wearing any undergarments, which drove me mad. Desire pooled in my groin as my member grew and begged to be allowed entry to her body.
Feeling me grow larger under her, Yua let out a sharp moan of desire and instinctively rocked her hips against me, using my cock as a device to pleasure herself.
“Ahem,” Megan cleared her throat, politely looking away even though she was grinning like a madwoman. “You have no idea how excited I am that Yua has finally decided to be a part of the harem now, but it’s almost noon and my crystal is getting impatient.”
As if remembering herself, Yua jumped off me. She hesitated for a moment, then pointed a long finger in my direction and said, “This means nothing. I’m still undecided.”
Then she turned and marched toward the storm which, to my surprise, was still raging in the same place as it had been last night when I entered the spirit realm.
“Sure, didn’t mean a thing,” I replied under my breath so Yua wouldn’t hear.
Megan did hear, however, and turned to me with a twinkling gleam in her eye. She handed me some smoked pheasant meat from the day before and pointed out that they’d already done the packing and were ready to leave immediately.
“I give her three days, max.”
I laughed. “I don’t know. She takes her vows pretty seriously.”
“Yeah, but she was freaking out about your spirit self the entire night. When the sun came up and you weren’t back, I had to talk her out of going to get you about a hundred times. We were prepared to wait two full days and three nights for your return.”
“That long?” My stomach rumbled. I shoved the pieces of pheasant in my mouth, grateful it had taken little more than a night.
Megan shrugged. “She said she’d taken you to the farthest point on the island from us. Her reasoning was that if you could make it all the way back from there, you could make it back from anywhere.”
I nodded and hoisted her up onto my shoulder as I polished off another piece of smoked meat. “I would have been here sooner—but I ran into a little trouble.”
After catching up with Yua, swooping her up, and placing her on my other shoulder, I explained the meeting that had transpired between me and Zavier outside of Piper’s cabin. Yua and Megan seemed to agree that Zavier was acting a little desperate, maybe because he knew I was growing stronger.
All that stood in my way of defeating him was actually getting the crystals we’d located to their owners, and finding the six sleeping goddesses.
The girls and I drew closer to the odd storm that hadn’t moved from its position on the horizon. The sky grew dark and the sound of torrential rain and thunder became increasingly loud in our ears.
But it was only once we passed some sort of invisible barrier—a barrier that made my flesh crawl and my magic hum—that I truly understood that the storm was unnatural.
It was like the island itself, like a living thing that had a purpose of its own.
Behind us, the land was as normal as it could be in a place like this. But in front of us, it was like another world.
Lightning.
Lightning everywhere, scorching the earth before us dozens of times every minute, turning the ground into glass, filling the air with the distinct scent of ozone and making the small hairs on my arms stand on end.
Each bolt struck from sky to ground, straight down, in an almost merciless show, making me think Zeus himself had a hand in this. It was an incredible show of light and power, one that seemed impossible but was so obviously real.
And it wasn’t just the field of lightning before us. Rain and wind hounded us from behind, as if deliberately driving us toward the end of one of those strikes.
“Do we have to go through that?” I asked, pitching my voice to carry through the thunder and rain. The girls were no longer on my shoulders, but instead huddled close, seeking shelter from the biting rain against their skin.
“My crystal is at the center!” Megan yelled in my ear. “I can feel it!”
All three of us were watching the spectacular, impossible show before us. Yet I couldn’t mistake the outright fear in the red-haired woman’s words.
For long minutes, none of us spoke. It was clear that we all had the same thought. How could we possibly get to her crystal through all this?
“Do you think,” Yua began, shouting over the thunder and rain, “that this is Megan’s guardian?”
I turned toward her, startled by the suggestion. “The storm itself?”
“Yes! Is there any reason a guardian has to be some sort of monster?”
It was an intriguing—and disturbing—thought. But I had no argument against it, and Megan was already nodding.
“I think it must be!” she yelled in my ear.
“But how do we get past it?” I called back. At the same time, I was already starting to wonder if my powerful body would be able to withstand being struck by that lightning. Maybe if I wrapped myself in my golden mist…
“There’s a pattern!” Megan yelled suddenly. “I can see it!”
She was right. The lightning strikes formed a distinct pattern, almost as if it was intentional. There might have been a path to step through, but it looked near impossible.
Another gust of wind seemed to want to push me closer to the storm. I leaned my full weight against it, and it seemed to shove even harder.
Megan shot an uncertain look my way, but the expression was mixed with something else.
Determination, maybe. And perhaps an acceptance, and understanding that this was the way it had to be.
“I can do this,” she said.
“No!” both Yua and I responded at once. “It’s too dangerous!” I added.
“What if the pattern changes part way through?” Yua yelled over the howling wind.
But Megan’s look of determination only grew more pronounced.
And then it was more than just a look. As quick as an eye-blink, Megan dove away from me and Yua, and ducked into the lightning field as if it couldn’t hurt her.
Twenty-Two
I didn’t even realize I tried to follow her in until I felt Yua holding me back.
“No! You can’t! This is Megan’s crystal. It’s her task to collect it!”
There was no way the lady monk was strong enough to hold me back all by herself, but the combination of her willingness to try and her words did the trick. Yet I couldn’t help think back to Piper’s crystal. I’d found that one for her. Was there any reason why I couldn’t get Megan’s as well?
Of the two of us, I had the better chance of surviving being struck by lightning.
But it was too late for such thoughts now. I stood there, my heart pounding in my chest, watching as Megan walked calmly through the lightning field, turning left and right as if she really did know where the next bolt would strike.
Already, she had covered enough distance that the lightning all around partially obscured her. Every so often, she vanished entirely, and I held my breath until the flash of pure, bright light faded and I could see her again.
As well as a sense of panic and horror that the beautiful redheaded woman had chosen to risk herself like this, I couldn’t help but understand that she really did seem to know what she was doing. She really had worked out the pattern.
In no other way could she have made it so far unscathed.
I knew that if I tried, I would have been lit up like a Christmas tree on steroids within moments.
I also knew that if by some miracle she made it out of the storm alive, Megan was going to get the chewing out of her life.
Riding the fresh wave of panic at my center, I squinted my eyes through the rain, and did the only thing I could.
I stood there, with Yua at my side, and watched.
“She’s going to make it,” I muttered, barely aware that I’d spoken out loud. “She’s going to be okay.�
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“Yes. She is,” Yua agreed, her words barely audible over the din. “She has to be.”
We watched, buffeted by the wind and the rain, the ongoing thunder loud enough to set our teeth rattling, for two minutes, then three, then more.
Megan was getting harder and harder to see. If anything, the lightning began striking ever more frequently, and I began to fear for her ability to predict where they might hit.
How is she even doing it? I wondered.
I couldn’t tell. All I knew was that she had made it nearly all the way to the center of the field, to where she said the crystal had to be.
Then another bolt struck Megan without mercy, making her red hair fray upward and her back arch. Even in the distance, I saw it clearly. Her scream was raw, and I watched in horror as she collapsed onto the ground.
“No!” Yua cried out. “She’s going to die, Dexter. We have to do something!”
I didn’t even hesitate. Wrapping my golden mist around me like a cloak, I called out to her. “Stay there!”
Then I rushed into the lightning field myself as if I was proof against the power of the heavens itself.
Unfortunately, that didn’t quite prove to be the case.
If the lightning storm was Megan’s crystal’s guardian, it couldn’t be beaten with a sword. It couldn’t be broken or killed. On the other hand, it didn’t seem like it could be affected by Zavier’s dark magic either, so at least there was that.
But it responded to my presence with an increase in noise and fury that suggested it was very aware of what I was trying to do.
The first bolt struck me before I’d taken half a dozen paces. It was like I’d stepped into a bonfire or a pool of acid, like my whole body was being burned all at once. I gritted my teeth against the pain of it, letting out an involuntary groan, and forced myself to continue.
If my golden mist helped at all, then that help wasn’t enough. Not by a long shot.