by J. C. Diem
“Well, he’s dead,” Kala said in an almost offhand tone. You couldn’t get much deader than being beheaded.
Gigantic monsters that were covered in ice appeared, along with the much shorter Grimgorg soldiers. “The tall aliens must be Frost Giants,” Cromby said as the invaders made short work of rounding up the fleeing civilians.
Flynn sent him a sardonic look at stating the obvious, but kept his mouth shut. Kala caught his eye and sniggered silently. While it was horrible to watch people being frozen or blasted with magic, they were pragmatic when it came to death. Dying was something that couldn’t be avoided, except by a lucky few. There was no point in dwelling on it. Instead, they would focus their attention on taking down the threat. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to be easy to do. There were already tens of thousands of aliens raiding Las Vegas. This was just the first wave. More would undoubtedly be coming soon.
“It looks like we’re about to see if Loki has power over shifters,” Lexi said as she saw a figure running towards the Asgardian through the crowd. From her speed and grace, the woman was a supernatural creature of some sort. Her expression was fiercely determined as she made her way through the army of Frost Giants. They were no match for her speed or agility and she zipped through them with ease.
Turning as if he sensed a threat, Loki’s smile became a grin which bared his teeth. He opened his arms as if in welcome and waited for the shifter to come to him.
~~~
Chapter Seventeen
~~~ Lexi’s World ~~~
Sensing unfriendly eyes on his back, Loki turned to see a woman sprinting towards him. She was moving far too quickly to be a mere human and easily avoided the lumbering Frost Giants when they attempted to stop her. Spreading his arms wide, he grinned and waited for her to come to him.
He waited until she launched herself at him before he reacted. Using magic to boost his speed, he shifted to the side so quickly that she didn’t realize he was gone. Instead of crashing into him and tackling him to the ground, she missed him completely. She landed on her stomach and he pressed his boot on her back to hold her in place. Growling low in her throat, she turned her head and glared up at him through a tangle of brown hair.
Staring into her light blue eyes, Loki sensed a connection between them. As he’d guessed, she was indeed a descendant of the shapeshifters he’d created so long ago. It was his magic that gave her the ability to change into her animal form during the full moon. “What manner of beast do you become when you transform?” he asked curiously.
Her reply came out as a defiant growl. “Screw you!”
“No, thank you,” he replied with exaggerated politeness. “I’d rather have relations with a Frost Giant.” His upper lip lifted in disgust at the idea of copulating with the shifter. She might appear to be human, but he wasn’t into bestiality.
“Let me go!” the shifter demanded.
She tried to heave herself up, but he pressed down even more firmly. “I don’t think so,” he said with a deceptively charming smile. “I think it’s high time I learned just how deep our connection goes.”
Writhing in an effort to dislodge him, she shook her head when she felt him rummaging around inside her mind. Then a fog spread through her head and she went still.
Looking into the female’s mind, Loki frowned when he saw that someone had instilled a command into her psyche. He tried to remove it, but it was lodged in there firmly. He’d intended to use the shapeshifters to help him rule over humanity. It now seemed that wasn’t going to work. He didn’t know who was responsible for this, but the creatures he’d created so long ago to cause mischief had become guardians of the earthlings. “Well, this is going to force me to alter my plans,” he muttered in annoyance. “Who ordered you to protect humankind?”
“Our supreme alphas,” she replied in a drugged sounding voice.
“Who are these supreme alphas you speak of?”
“Their names are Lexi and Reece. They’re werewolves.”
Removing his boot from his minion, he stared down at her thoughtfully. When he’d first used his magic to alter the Vikings, or Nords as they’d been called back then, he’d put a wolfman in charge. It was possible the very first werewolf had passed the trait to rule down through his genes to these current two supreme alphas. If he wanted to gain full control of his creations, he would have to bend these two to his will. “Where can I find these alphas?” he asked.
“You won’t need to,” she told him tonelessly. “It’s their job to keep our planet safe from people like you. Their entire squad will come here sooner or later.”
“Get up,” he ordered. She scrambled to her feet and stood with her hands dangling at her sides. Small compared to him, she was average size for a human female. She was pretty enough, but her femininity didn’t interest him. It was the bestial side of her that he was eager to witness.
Delving into her mind again, he found the creature that slumbered deep inside. Prodding it awake, he drew it forward against its will. Snarling in defiance, the creature couldn’t resist the command of its creator. The shifter’s flesh rippled, then the monster within burst out into the open, shredding her clothes in the process.
In the blink of an eye, her body transformed into a furry cat-like creature with long fangs and even longer claws. Mostly black, lighter spots were speckled all over her body and tail. Her eyes were still light blue, but they were feral now. Dropping down to all fours, she rubbed against his legs affectionately, acknowledging him as her true master.
Stroking the shifter’s furry head, Loki grinned triumphantly. He knew some people were filming him on their devices from the nearby buildings. He’d just displayed his power to the alphas known as Lexi and Reece. If they truly were supreme shifters with power over all species of their kind, they would feel compelled to try to save their kin. He would have to find more of them and force them to assume their animal forms.
He’d initially created them to only become monsters during the full moon, but it seemed he could change that command. They would be able to transform whenever he told them to. Even better, they would remain in their animal forms indefinitely. Just as he’d hoped, he would soon have his own private army. While they couldn’t attack humans at the moment, they weren’t restricted from killing Frost Giants, or the Grimgorg.
Speaking of his allies, a trio of shamans approached. When they were within ten yards of him, his new guardian reared up to stand in front of him protectively. Seven-feet-tall, she extended her claws and hissed at them menacingly. The magicians lurched to a stop and stared up at her through frightened yellow eyes.
Patting the beast on the arm to calm her, Loki stepped around her. “Careful,” he said to the trio, “my pet is very protective of me.”
“What is it?” one of them asked in a tone that was heavy with fright. Cowards at heart, they preferred to run rather than stand against something that was so much deadlier than they were.
“She is a descendent of some creatures I created when I was last on Earth. It would appear that they have flourished during my lengthy absence.”
Exchanging uneasy looks, they didn’t want to bring something this dangerous into their king’s presence. But Rho had sent them to retrieve Loki and they had to obey his order. “Our King has requested your presence,” their spokesperson said.
“Lead on,” Loki invited and swept an elegant hand at the trio. They scurried away and he strolled leisurely after them with his werecat in tow. Making their way along the Glitter Strip, he saw King Rho and General Kretu had been busy in his absence. They’d turned a small lake into a refuge for the Frost Giants. An ice palace had been erected where the giants could recuperate from the heat. Portals had been spread out on the wide road nearby. Half had been tuned to Asgard and the rest to Jötunheim. A few were tuned to Grimgorg and other worlds that were of interest to them. Already, collared humans were being shoved through the portals.
Perched on the edge of his beloved bronze throne, Rho stared when he s
aw the creature that slunk along on all fours behind Loki. “What is that?” he asked and pointed his black staff at the monster.
Loki wasn’t exactly sure what breed the werecat was. “Tell him what you are,” he ordered her.
She’d never been able to speak while in this form before, but her true master had altered something inside her to make it possible. “I am a wereleopard,” she said in a growl.
Flinching at her inhuman voice, Rho shrank back in his throne slightly. Even General Kretu was taken aback by the beast. “Where did it come from?” the Frost Giant asked.
“Her ancestors were once ordinary humans,” Loki explained. “As you know, long ago, my kin and I traveled here to do battle with the Viltarans when they attempted to invade Midgard. I used my magic to transform some of the humans into beasts so they could assist us with our war.” His tone was offhand, but he was secretly enjoying their surprise at his past history with this world.
“How many of these things exist?” Kretu asked. He itched to blast the wereleopard to death with ice. Even to him, the thing was unnatural.
“Not many, I’m sure,” Loki replied with a toothy smile that they didn’t believe for an instant. Neither of his allies trusted him, and the feeling was mutual. Either one of them would stab him in the back the minute they thought he was vulnerable. “Was there a reason you called me here?” he queried.
“I need you to activate more portals,” Rho said. It irked him that Loki was the only one who could turn his magical mirrors into doorways. He and his shamans had tried to duplicate the feat and they’d failed every time. No matter how hard they tried, the devices remained mere windows to other worlds.
“Of course,” Loki said graciously. He turned to see a stack of the silver devices waiting for his attention. Little did his allies know that he didn’t really need to imbue each one separately. He could activate them all in an instant by simply linking them together. Fortunately, the Grimgorg and Frost Giants were too stupid to figure that out. If they did, his value to them would instantly become reduced and his life would be in danger.
The wereleopard curled up on the ground next to him as he set to working on the portals. He could hear the rumble of her contented purr even above the screams of panic that were coming from the humans who were being relentlessly hunted down.
~~~
Chapter Eighteen
~~~ Lexi’s World ~~~
Reece gripped Lexi’s hand as they watched the female shifter launch herself at Loki. They both tensed in expectation that the Asgardian would cut her down. They were relieved when he merely shifted aside instead of drawing his sword and skewering her. Kala let out a low hiss of anger when he planted his boot in the middle of the woman’s back.
They couldn’t hear the conversation that was exchanged when Loki spoke to his captive. He allowed her to stand and shock rippled through them when she transformed into a werecat. It wasn’t possible for her to change before a full moon without the aid of a supreme alpha. That meant Loki could indeed control shifters. It also meant he was just as powerful as Lexi and Reece.
“She’s a wereleopard,” Kala said when she took in her fellow feline’s appearance. Pity warred with anger to see the shifter so submissive to their creator. She rubbed herself against Loki like she was a lowly housecat and Kala’s lip lifted in a sneer. If he ever tried to make her bow to him like that, she would eviscerate him with her claws.
“Okay,” Mark said when the footage cut out and a news anchor took over the story. “We now know that Loki can control shifters. This means we won’t be able to call on them to assist us after all.”
“The leopard didn’t attack any humans,” Flynn pointed out. “Maybe the command for her not to kill people still stands.” Like any wild animal, it was instinctual for shifters to hunt for food. Seeing all the tasty human snacks fleeing in terror from the invaders should have compelled her to chase after them.
Cromby and the Board members were worried. They’d come to rely on the Shifter Squad to tackle any major adversaries that their planet faced. Now they were dealing with the very being who had created their kind and it seemed he could control them.
“What is that silver shimmer over Vegas?” one of the female Board members asked.
“It’s a magical dome that was created by the Grimgorg shamans,” Philip replied. “According to Lexi, it’s impenetrable. Natalie Pierce couldn’t even teleport inside it.”
“Who is Natalie Pierce?” Cromby asked.
“She’s a vampire from another dimension,” Violet replied. “She and I are Lexi’s counterparts from our own versions of Earth.”
“Why isn’t she here?” Cromby looked around as if expecting her to pop into existence.
“It’s daytime,” Lexi reminded him. “Nat’s not like Reece and me. She’s a full vampire, which means she sleeps during the day.”
“It doesn’t sound as if she is going to be particularly helpful,” one of the male Board members muttered.
“He’s right,” Cromby said reluctantly. “What use will one lone vampire be against a horde of Grimgorg and Frost Giants?” He’d read enough stories about Norse mythology to recognize the icy creatures who were helping the Asgardian to take over their world.
Mark answered for Lexi. “Just because Natalie can’t operate during the day doesn’t mean she’s going to be useless. Fate brought her three warriors together to save more than just their individual worlds. They’re supposed to save the entire universe. Now that we’ve seen what Loki can do to shifters, it might be too dangerous for Lexi and Reece to confront him directly.” Both of his agents rounded on him, but he held up a hand to quell their protests before they could unleash them. “If he gains control of you two, he might be able to reverse the commands you gave the shifters. Then he’ll be able to use them to kill indiscriminately, which will doom your kind.”
They didn’t like it, but they nodded reluctantly. “How are we going to take Loki and his allies down if we can’t go near them?” Lexi asked.
“I guess we can’t send in jets to blast them with missiles?” Philip said. That would surely result in civilian casualties, but from what he’d seen so far, death would be better than enslavement.
“They won’t be able to get through the dome,” Lexi reminded him. “The only way we can get in is by using the zombie highway.”
Cromby turned to the zombies with a speculative expression. “Loki didn’t create the undead, did he?” he asked. If so, then they would be in very serious trouble if he could control Lexi’s zombies as well.
Mark shook his head. “No. It was actually aliens called Viltarans who brought zombies into being.” He explained about the battle the Asgardians had fought against the alien invaders so long ago. The Viltarans had used futuristic nanobots to infuse the corpses of humans with a semblance of life. This was apparently a very different technique than they’d used in other dimensions. “It would appear that zombies will be our only alternative to fighting Loki and his minions,” he summed up. He didn’t add that vampires had existed long before the Viltarans had paid them a visit.
Lexi refrained from mentioning that necromancers also existed because of the Viltaran nanobots. Some inebriated Vikings had ingested the yellow liquid and had gained the ability to raise corpses. This trait had been passed down to her and it hadn’t lost any of its potency over the eons.
Being the strongest necromancer in existence meant that it would be up to Lexi once again to save the day. She gave an internal grimace at the thought of calling on the dead to save the living. Zombies took their power from her, which would drain her resources. The death magic that animated them was embedded in her very soul, but it wasn’t limitless. “I’d like to do some recon before I raise an army of zombies and send them to Vegas,” she said.
“That’s a good idea,” her father agreed. “We need to see how strong these Frost Giants and Grimgorg things are.”
Lexi and Violet already had firsthand knowledge of the magic and fighting sk
ills the Grimgorg possessed. They’d only seen a small sample of what the Frost Giants were capable of so far.
“We can attach a camera to one of the zombies and send him in to take a look,” Mark suggested.
“I’ll arrange it,” Cromby said. He crossed to his desk, picked up the phone and asked one of his guards to bring in a small portable camera.
By the time the guard arrived a few minutes later, the sun was beginning to set over Las Vegas. The lights were dazzling against the backdrop of the city as the news feeds replayed the same footage of Loki and his allies capturing humans over and over.
Kendricks stepped forward, silently volunteering to do the recon. Major Levine attached the camera to the O Squad leader’s lapel. The zombie was still wearing his black funeral suit. They hadn’t taken the time to outfit their small undead unit yet. Since he was just going in to observe, it would be best if he blended in. Wearing camouflage tactical gear would be a sure way for him to stand out. No one would look twice at his soiled suit in the chaos that was raging in Vegas right now.
Philip handed Kendricks his spare handgun. The undead agent handled the Colt familiarly and slid it into an inner pocket of his jacket. “If you get a chance to take Loki out, do it,” he ordered.
Kendricks flicked a look at his mistress, waiting for Lexi to nod in approval. With Loki dead, his allies might rethink their hostile takeover plan.
Cromby sat down at his desk. Like the table in the Shifter Squad’s coms room, a computer was embedded on the surface. With a few keystrokes, he brought up footage that was coming from the camera attached to Kendricks. He held his thumb up and Lexi turned to the door. She didn’t need to accompany her minion outside, but it wasn’t in her nature to just send him off without a word.