Orielle murmured some alien-sounding words behind me, and more of the vines shrank back from the gate as if something had yanked them away. Emboldened, I pressed forward and shoved against the barrier.
Unlike the one to the light tunnel, this one was loose in its fittings and swung part-way open before the vegetation on the other side stopped it. I shot a quick blast into the vines and crawling black roses, and they retreated, slithering away like snakes. I stepped through as Elly’s green weeds followed on my heels like puppies, sniffing and attacking every plant that moved.
I’d made it onto the sinister side, and I gazed around. Grim, dark, twisted trees grew in a wild-looking forest. The grounds held more of the bramble vines and skulking roses. Dense and foreboding, the path through it wouldn’t be easy, but there had to be some sort of track. I started forward, walking along the narrow perimeter of the forest, looking for a way through.
Abruptly, a vine dropped out of one of the trees and wrapped itself around my torso and arms. I shrieked at the touch of the icy strand and tried to jerk free. As I attempted to move, it tightened its grip trying to pull me up. Gazing up, I realized with a start that it was attached to the tree, a long tendril—like a root—seeking my body. Then I noticed the thin thorns on the upper part and realized it would try to feed off me.
I fought to free my arm enough to shift my hand up to blast the source of the root in the tree. Twisting it, I managed a good position, and with a cone-shape, I directed the blast directly into the junction of the vine and the tree. Jerking in reaction, the vine tightened even more, then went limp, releasing me, more or less. Even though it no longer gripped me, I remained in the loop it had twisted.
I struggled to pull free and slip out, afraid it would recover quickly. Weariness made my movement sluggish. I shivered from the chill of the plant and the sudden exhaustion I felt. Uncertain if I could get untangled, I decided to try to cut the vine with my power and formed a tiny three-fingered point then summoned my blast to cut through it. The energy came out in a weak stream, barely able to slice the strong plant fibers and I only got part-way through before it fizzled out. Crap, I was done. I had nothing else.
Out of nowhere, a silver lasso dropped over my head, sliding down to my waist. A sharp yank snapped the rest of the vine as Cowboy hauled me back toward the perimeter. Racing in to grab me before I hit the ground, Lucca reached up and wrapped his strong arms around me.
Where had he come from? I’d thought he’d left with the others. But I clung to him like a monkey as he scrambled back to the other side and well beyond the edge of the dark incursion. He set me down.
“Are you all right?”
Elly rushed up, tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Gillian. I couldn’t hold all of it back. It’s too much for my little vines. I tried.”
My teeth chattered as I tried to speak. “I...know. Too... many.”
Cowboy hovered close by, wrapping his lasso into loops and tucking it into his pack. “I was not sure I could manage the rope or if it would work.”
I nodded. “It works...fine. Tha...thanks.” Damn, why did the Hell crap have to be freezing cold? On the other hand, it was probably better than burning.
Orielle came over and knelt beside me. “Time to go back home. Your body is probably in shock. We need to leave.”
“Go ahead...Be along in a couple of minutes.”
She rose. “Do not wait. You are vulnerable now.”
Astrid stood a few feet away, concern etching new lines on her face. “Now.” I watched her vanish as her soul rushed back to her body.
One by one, each of my team left until only Lucca remained beside me. “I thought...you’d left...with...the others,” I gasped out between chills.
“I went to explore a little, then I saw the light from the blasts and ran back. I was afraid I was too late.” He spared a brief smile before he looked worried again. “Are you sure you are all right?”
“I will be. This will...wear off. Go on. I’ll go in... a couple of minutes.” I leaned my head on my knees as if I could actually rest it there. I felt like I could barely move let alone transport, but I knew it wasn’t that holding me back.
Reluctantly, Lucca rose and took a couple of steps back. “Send me a message when you get back, yes?”
At my agreement, he disappeared. I stared at the place where he’d stood a moment or two, then turned my head to gaze back at the barrier between light and dark. Already, the dark foliage was filling in the damaged area, providing a defense for the gate.
Somewhere on the other side, Janna’s soul was held captive. I’d failed her...again.
I rubbed my shoulders, feeling the soul-deep chill within them and shivered. Like the yiaiwas, the tree’s tendril shot a chill into my spirit that would affect my physical body for a few days.
Mustering up my flagging strength, I pushed myself to my feet, turned to face the black barrier, and gazed into the distance beyond it hoping to see a flare of rainbow colors, something to indicate Janna was still there. Deeply disappointed, I turned to trudge back a few yards before making the shift back to my body and gasped in shock and fear.
Gavin, in spirit form, stood only a few feet from me, a cocky smile on his face. My heart plunged to my guts at the implications of his spirit form here. I sputtered, “God, no! Gavin. Don’t tell me you... you—” I couldn’t say the words, but since his soul was here...
He chuckled. “No, I’m still alive, if that’s what you want to call that coma. I’ve been working on trying to get here for a while. At least, I think—”
I lurched toward him, cutting him off mid-sentence. “You’re aware of what happened? Can’t you come out of it? I thought Belphegor was holding you prisoner or something.” I stopped right in front of him, my arms hovering like wings, wanting to fling my arms around him even though I knew he wasn’t solid.
“Wait a minute! How much do you remember? Why can’t you wake up?” I dropped my arms and shot a piercing look at him.
“I started to explain,” he answered, waving his arms back at me. “This is actually the third time I’ve been here hoping to catch you. You came to see me, right?”
“Yes,” I drawled the word out.
“And you told me about your plan?”
“Uh huh. You heard?”
“I did. I’ve been aware of Ori coming to talk to me, but that was the only time you came.” He tilted his head to one side, giving me a look I knew well—that disappointed one when a student didn’t do as he expected.
I looked away and mumbled, “I couldn’t... I didn’t want to see you like that. I was afraid you’d die, and I couldn’t bear it.” Even now, I feared this was a hallucination, and he had succumbed.
“I’m not that easy to get rid of,” he said with a touch of humor. “I’ve only really been able to think rationally and attempt to do this in the past ten or so days. I figured if I couldn’t help you in a physical form, I could do it this way. At least, I can help on this plane.”
Dumbstruck, I gaped at him, taking in what he said, and a flicker of hope blossomed within me. “Does your magic work here?”
“I haven’t tried yet. Should I?” He grinned, and it was like everything was normal again. My professor was back. If he had power, we might yet have a chance. I nodded vigorously and pointed to the mass of vines on the corner of the building.
He stepped around me, braced himself, and lifted both hands toward them. A few unintelligible words and a red flash of magic leaped from his fingers targeting the writhing tendrils. They rose up in shock as it hit them, then Gavin ran forward and out of nowhere, a silver sword appeared in his hands. Using it like a machete, he hacked the stunned vines away from the rest.
Pleased with himself, he stepped back a few paces, then turned to me. “How’s that?”
Impressed, but acutely curious, I asked, “Where’d the sword come from?”
He shrugged. “I thought about it, so the blade appeared.”
My eyebrows rose. Maybe he was a
damn paladin. Maybe we had a chance.
Speaking rapidly, I told him what had happened with Janna and how she had been taken to the demon side. “With you here now, I think we can get her back. Let me try to get the others back, and we can try the assault again.”
I started to dig in my pocket for their tokens, hoping I had enough power to reach them even if they weren’t holding them at the time.
Gavin hovered a hand over mine, not touching me, but the feeling was as real as if he’d put his hand on it. “Hold up, Gillian. You’re already drained. I can see it. You don’t have the energy to do this now. Go back, rest, and we’ll try again in a few days.”
“Days? She may not have that long,” I protested, my fingers still clutching the cowboy boot charm that Cowboy had sent.
“You said Astrid thought it was a ruse, using her as a lure. I agree with that. They want you to come after them. So be smart, plan this out, get your forces together, and we’ll take them on as a team.”
Hopes deflated, I set a stubborn scowl on my face. “It feels like I’m abandoning her.”
“You’re not. You’re being cautious and smart, so we can all survive this. There’s more than Janna at stake.”
He was right, of course, but it was hard to admit. My shaking knees and the cold chills convinced me I didn’t have the strength more than Gavin’s words did.
“How will I reach you?”
“You can travel astrally, can’t you?” He flashed that shit-eating grin that had always tweaked my heart.
Chapter 28
SITTING SIDEWAYS, MY knees folded up to make a desk, I studied my scribbles in the notebook propped against them. I’d listed each one of my remaining adventurers. Two had dropped out after the encounter with the yiaiwa–Dierck, as we had expected, and also Victor, who didn’t seem to have any particular talent except astral travel, so it wasn’t too great a loss. Some, like Cara, were nervous, but willing to fight with us.
“Who is best at the front of the fight?” Orielle asked.
“Bob,” I said without reservation. “That fireball is a huge asset. Myself. Gavin’s magic is awesome.”
She flicked her eyes up at me with some reservation. She was still perturbed that Gavin had contacted me in spirit form rather than coming to her even though I pointed out it had been in the interim cemetery, and she’d just missed him. He’d been trying to get there.
“I think Yoshi’s fog could come in handy near the front also, although he doesn’t have any other offensive magic,” I continued. “I’d want Cowboy and his lasso close in case of emergency. Cara might be an offensive player with that voice of hers, but in the second ranks.”
Astrid cleared her throat with a short cough. “Are you forgetting my talent?”
“Not at all,” I said. “I think you could be in the second as well. Not sure what Sandy and Jade can pull off. And Parnika is great with spells, so she should be right behind the seconds. We’ll need all the spell-casting we can get, whether it’s protection or offensive.”
“What about Lucca?” Orielle asked.
“Oh, yes, Lucca. Up front, I think. With his training and knowledge, he needs to be in the action. Elly can keep the path behind us clear while Hamish can move around where needed.”
“And me?” she asked.
“Where do you think you fit, Orielle?”
“Near the front, but not in it. My spellcasting is fair, not as good as Gavin’s or even Parnika’s, but I can do it.”
At the front of the second rank then,” I decided and made a note. “If we’re agreed, then this will be the battle plan. We go in full on and find the path through to the portal.”
“And we destroy it, sealing it,” Orielle said.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Noooo... The front rank, those who are willing, will go with me in to find and rescue Janna. Then, we seal the portal. I am not yielding on this.”
“And if you don’t find her?” Orielle countered.
“I will.” My determination wouldn’t let me fail... couldn’t.
“You must try,” Astrid agreed. “But you can’t sacrifice everyone to save her.”
“I know. I won’t.” I was well aware I was putting everyone in danger by trying a rescue mission. In spite of that, I was going to do everything I could do to prevent her soul from being destroyed. Bad enough she’d died because of me, but total destruction? No. I couldn’t live with that.
I’d been in bad shape when I’d transferred back to my body after that last excursion. My physical body ached and felt drained for three long days reminding me of the damage the glacier touch of the demon side could do. I’d slept for thirty hours, almost straight through, and still felt weary when I’d gotten up.
Once I’d recovered some, Orielle and I had tried to learn something from the captured yiaiwa, but it wasn’t talking. It had shrunk to a one-quarter-sized version of itself to fit into the trap, but it had ignored us completely. Nygard had come in once with me to sniff and gaze at it through slitted eyes, then he’d hissed, arching his back as his hackles rose before bounding out of the kitchen area, refusing to return there again. He probably had better sense than we did.
Now, three days later, we were trying to get information. Orielle still endeavored to lock down the last Earth portal’s location or even find out if that truly was the last one. We knew the ones in Italy and Iran were sealed; teams from her agency had taken care of that. We hoped we could get the name of the place or the location of the Peru one out of the yiaiwa.
“Now, if we can pinpoint the Earth portal, we close that as soon as we can after closing the one in the cemetery,” Orielle said as she pulled out the map of Peru and circled the location where she thought it was.
“Are you even sure it’s in Peru?” Astrid asked, peering at the map and biting her lower lip. “That location is somewhat remote, isn’t it? Difficult to get to?”
“It is. Not impossible though. There are trails to it and guides who can take us to the main archeological site. The location we need is about five kilometers from it, to the northeast. The terrain is mountainous and at elevation. You may not be able to do it, Astrid.”
“You’d be surprised,” the psychic answered. She puffed out her chest, “I’m in good health, and I can travel astrally. Even if it turns out I can’t do it physically, I can do it in spirit form.”
“I am worried about getting a physical team there,” I noted. “How many can we take to Peru and how safe is it for them?”
Orielle let out a breath and shook her head. “I do not know. I have never been there. It will be virgin territory for me, and possibly the same for any guide we might find. Lucca and Ferko will most certainly want to be part of the expedition. A large team will not be necessary to seal the entrance. Particularly if we have the right team.”
I assumed that meant that some of her organization’s team would be there to make sure it was properly sealed. I wasn’t quite sure how they were sealing them without the specific chant that we’d used unless there was another way. “Right. Let’s get our team clued in and set the date.” I dropped my legs to the floor as I turned to the laptop computer.
About an hour later, the plan was set, and Astrid had returned to her business. We’d make our foray on Sunday morning with almost the entire team on board. Cara was waffling a little, but I felt she would come through.
I grabbed a soda and ambled over to the table with the trap on it. Orielle sat in one of the chairs, glaring at the demon. She lifted her gaze, “Can you zap it?”
“You want me to torture it?” I asked, not exactly unwilling to do it, but still finding it oddly distasteful. I’d never been a cruel person until I encountered these creatures. Now, I would gladly kill them in outright battle if I could, but torture? That left a bad taste.
“I would not call it torture, merely a bit of persuasion. All it has to do is tell us the name.”
I pulled up the other chair, turning it backward, and sat facing the opening with my arms over the
back of the chair as I rested my chin on them. ‘Do you understand what she’s saying?” I asked the yiaiwa. “What she wants me to do?”
From a curled up position, it raised its crimson eyes and leveled them on me. But it said nothing.
Did it actually speak or had I mostly heard the words telepathically? Belphegor’s voice had been in my head, but it had come through one of them. “Does Belphegor talk to you? Does he know where you are?”
Nothing. Just that unblinking stare.
Annoyed, I raised my hand and pointed a finger at it, thinking of a short zap. It spat out of my hand, a thin line of energy that barely caused it to jerk. “Now, I have your attention. Give a message to your boss. I am going to find you, and I am going to destroy you if you allow anything to happen to Janna Lewis’s soul. You don’t know the meaning of the word vengeance.”
For a few moments, we continued to stare at each other. I didn’t think I was getting through to it. I leaned back, combing a hand through my hair to relieve the tension. Orielle’s eyes held an accusing look as if I should do more. Maybe she was right. I could hit it harder...
You think you are strong and in control. You are more wrong than you could possibly conceive.
The words rang in my head. They didn’t come from this minion, but Belphegor. I knew the cadence of his mind.
If you think you have the courage, then maybe you can find me at Azaizphera. That is if you can locate it.
“Azafera,” I repeated aloud so Orielle could hear. “Where is it?”
Orielle’s head snapped to me, her mouth making the same shape as she repeated the name in her mind. Her dark eyes grew bigger as she took it in, then she was on her feet and heading for the living room and the bookcase.
As to my question, I only heard a deep menacing laugh in my mind. Abruptly, the demon in the cage emitted a shrill series of shrieks that might have been laughter before it curled back into its corner.
I sprang to my feet and raced to see what Orielle knew about the strange name.
A Song of Redemption Page 30