by D. N. Leo
But he couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t lose to Gale. Never again.
Because his wormy eyes didn’t show in this fox form, he thought he’d use it to his advantage. He hunched down and crawled on all fours toward the group like an innocent animal.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jaxper rubbed at the sharp thorn in her palm with her thumb. One pump of this potion, and she would solve all her immediate problems. She looked at Lyla sitting next to a large rock, legs folded, eyes closed. She knew Lyla was trying to push the poison out of her system using her alien ability. Jaxper knew how to do it as a witch, but she didn’t have much knowledge about the place Michael and Gale referred to as the multiverse.
She didn’t know Lyla at all. But she knew for certain that the first thing Lyla would do when she gained her strength back was to tell Michael the truth—that she wasn’t bitten by a snake.
She rubbed the thorn again, and again. She had promised her mother to keep Michael and liberate her witch clan. Lyla had her people in Eudaiz, but Jaxper had her people here, too.
Jaxper raised her arm lightly and flipped her palm over.
Suddenly, Michael grabbed her hand.
“What is this, Jaxper? What are you doing?” he asked, staring at the thorn in her palm like he already knew the answer.
“I just want to give her an antidote.”
He frowned. “Why didn’t you give it to her before? Why now, after she’s already accelerated her energy to heal and increased the chances of us being traced?”
“It’s not an antidote designed for what she has. It’s another sort of poison. But I hoped it would counteract the reaction. Of course, there are risks, and I thought you might object to me using it. So that’s why I hesitated.”
Michael didn’t look convinced, but he let go of her hand.
In front of them, Lyla slowly opened her eyes.
I’m totally screwed, Jaxper thought and cursed silently.
Seeing Lyla awake, Gale stood up, leaving his equipment.
“No, Gale, stay right there and focus on your task,” Michael said.
“I’m working on it,” Gale grumbled.
“We need faster results, Gale. They’ll get to us very soon … before we’re ready. So find a gateway and open it for us. If not here, then somewhere close by.”
“You talk like it’s as easy as opening the door to your bedchamber.”
“It’s your job! I don’t know how you do it, but I do know we need to get Lyla back to the Daimon Gate. I’ll take her to Iilos from there.”
“You’ve said that three times already. I’ve got it.”
“Then do it.” Michael looked at Lyla. “Are you getting better, Lyla?”
Lyla nodded.
“Gale is working on the gateway, and he’s getting close,” Michael said.
“Nope …” Gale countered.
Michael glared at Gale, and Gale shook his head.
Michael looked back at Lyla. “You’ve already used the energy, and they’ll be able to track us quickly. So why not use your healing mechanism at full speed to accelerate your healing. At least when they attack, we can run!”
Lyla smiled and closed her eyes again to concentrate on her healing. Jaxper knew she was in trouble, but Michael didn’t seem to be paying attention to her thorn anymore.
Lyla opened her eyes again and smiled at Michael.
“How are you feeling?” Jaxper asked.
“Almost a hundred percent. Thanks for asking.”
“I’m sure the snake didn’t mean to bite you. I wanted to give you the antidote.”
“There’s no need. As you can see, I’m almost back to normal.”
Jaxper locked eyes with Lyla. “Earth is a dangerous place. Not only for people like you from the multiverse, but for creatures like us who live here. We all have a duty to our people, and sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to.”
Michael frowned.
Lyla smiled. “Naturally. I’d do anything to serve my people. Would you do the same for yours?”
“Of course.” Jaxper rubbed the thorn again.
“You shouldn’t talk too much, Lyla. Save your strength. We need to make a move very soon,” Michael said.
“I’m almost a hundred percent now, Michael. But whoever is tracking us will have a very clear signal now of where we are.” Then she looked at Gale. “How are you processing, Gale?”
“I need more time. We should move a bit up the mountain. There might be clear signals for us up the hill and toward the west side of the forest.”
“That’s a very exposed site,” Michael said.
“You can’t have everything, Michael. You want fast access to the gateway, then we have to go to sites with stronger signals, and, of course, risk being more exposed.”
“I know the witch clan on the west side of the forest. They’ll give us protective spells,” Jaxper said softly.
“Magic won’t hide us from the multiverse signal detectors, Jaxper. The same way I can’t detect your magical power and your magic practice,” Lyla said.
“What do you mean?” Jaxper growled.
“I mean the magic world and the material world where the multiverse is located rarely cross paths. I’ve never crossed, so I don’t know magical creatures. And I believe you don’t know creatures from the multiverse. Michael belongs to the multiverse, and thus he cannot cross into the magical territories.”
“Yes, he can,” Jaxper said and heard her voice breaking up.
“He might be able to, but he won’t …”
“Hey, ladies, I’m standing right here, just in case you didn’t notice,” Michael said.
“She wants you to stay here and help her witch clan,” Lyla said.
“Jaxper told me that, but I haven’t agreed. And now, with what’s happening, I’m taking you to Iilos, Lyla. I’ll worry about anything else later.”
Jaxper pushed the thorn to the tips of her fingers. She could pump it out at any point. If Michael got the poison, he wouldn’t be able to leave her. He wouldn’t be strong enough to pass through a gateway to leave Earth. He would have to stay here for her and her witch clan. Michael had his back to her. One little prick from the thorn, and her job would be done.
She raised her arm slightly.
Lyla looked straight at her. Jaxper knew for sure this alien woman had gained back all her supernatural power. As fast as lightning, Lyla raised her arms, and Jaxper saw two streams of fire heading her way. It was as if the world moved in slow motion. She saw the fire, but her body was slow to react.
She stood and stared at the fire. In her mind, she apologized to her mother.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lyla charged forward, following the two streams of fire she had just thrown. The fire had burned the surface of the plantation and created a shallow crater inside which lay five burned space creatures in the form of half-shifted four-legged Earthly animals. “They were trying to shift into wolves, and they were right behind you, Jaxper,” said Lyla.
“Thank you,” Jaxper said softly.
“As I said, you couldn’t tell they were coming because these are creatures from the multiverse. And if they’re Earthly paranormal creatures, like the mother puma, I can’t tell either.”
“The puma was a paranormal?” Michael approached.
“That’s what she told me. I don’t know what kind. She didn’t say, and her brainwaves were very disrupted at that point. She sensed that a strange creature was coming to this forest for me, but she also knew that, on its way, it would kill her cubs. She didn’t understand the multiverse, but she understood the danger to her young ones. She offered to help me kill the creature, and in return, I would take care of her children.”
“But I ended up with the cats!” Gale muttered.
“Gale!” Michael scolded.
Gale raised his hands up. “All right, got it. Concentrate. Find the gateway. Not that I’m complaining about the cats. They’re cute.”
“Are thes
e the same kind as the one you killed?” Michael asked Lyla.
She approached and took a closer look at the half-shifted bodies. “I don’t think so. The one I killed with the puma was a lower caliber contract worker. It couldn’t shift. But these can, and I think they’re from Xiilok.”
“Yet you killed them with the fire conjured from your hands. Did you have to use some sort of spell?” Jaxper asked.
Lyla smiled. “I don’t know magic.”
“So what do you call that ability, Lyla? You don’t have silver blood—yet—so that couldn’t have been your inner power,” Michael said.
“I’ve given it some thought. The signs have been coming in the last few weeks. Father talked about it once, and I’ve read about it. I think I can summon fire for external energy.”
“You’re a fire summoner!” Gale exclaimed. “But they only exist in hologames. I programmed one of those.”
“Gale!” Michael and Lyla scolded.
“All right! Finding the gateway …” Gale pointed to his computer screen. “I think I found something.”
Michael raced over to Gale. When Lyla turned to head in Gale’s direction, Jaxper said softly, “I’m sorry about before.”
Lyla looked at Jaxper. She understood the burden of taking care of people, of taking on a responsibility greater than oneself. She nodded. “Apology accepted. I forgive you. But you owe me this one.” Then she turned and headed toward Gale and his computer.
“Shapeshifter!” Jaxper shouted.
Lyla turned around, and Michael charged over to where Jaxper was heading deep into the bush. Lyla followed.
“We can’t leave Gale here by himself, Lyla,” Michael said.
“You stay here with him.”
“I can’t let you go by yourself.”
“She’s heading west. I’m going with you,” Gale said and grabbed as much equipment as possible. “You two, take these.” He thrust a couple of small bags toward the puma cubs. They grabbed the bags in their teeth and trailed behind Gale.
Then Lyla saw that Jaxper had stopped. She was surrounded by ten wolves, like those she had just burned. She couldn’t throw fire at them now as they surrounded Jaxper. If she did, the fire would burn them all.
Jaxper muttered something under her breath, and Lyla figured she was conjuring up some sort of magic.
Michael rushed over. “See that line on the ground?” Michael pointed.
“Yes.”
“Jaxper did that before. She drew lines the creatures couldn’t go past. That’s why they’ve surrounded her. But her wall didn’t last long the last time she tried to protect us.”
A wolf jumped and hurled itself at the invisible wall. It dropped to the ground and let out a painful howl. Then the whole pack charged at the wall.
“Can her wall survive my fire?” Lyla asked.
“I’m not sure.”
“Hey!” Lyla called out. The wolves stopped their attack and looked at her.
“Over here!” Michael shouted and ran away from where Lyla stood.
The pack of wolves hesitated for a moment, then split up. Five ran toward Lyla and five after Michael.
Lyla ran in the opposite direction from Michael to separate the pack of wolves further. When she judged the distance was safe, she stopped running and turned back. The five wolves glided to a halt. They growled, teeth bared. Lyla did what she had done before—she hurled fire at the animals.
When they registered what was happening, they turned and ran, but it was too late for them. They turned into charcoal immediately after the fire hit them. She wondered why they hadn’t learned anything from the group she had just killed. She hurried back to check on Michael.
Michael was out of breath, puffing, bracing himself with one hand on a lone tree that hadn’t been turned in into ashes. Around him, the soil, the plantation, and the wolves were gone. All that was left were piles of bones and ash.
They had been burned from the inside.
“You did this?” Lyla asked.
“Yeah. The last time I did it, I passed out. It sucks a lot of energy out of me.”
“Are you okay now?”
He nodded.
“Why didn’t you use the gun?”
“Ordinary guns, and even Iilos guns, don’t work well on these kinds of creatures.”
She approached, offering to help him walk.
“I’ve got it. I’m fine.” He walked slowly. “I hate fighting the paranormals. Why can’t someone in my world give me a fair fight?”
“Given your ability to do what you just did, I don’t think it’s a fair fight for the other creatures either, Michael. You’ll just have to learn how to control and use your ability.”
Michael nodded. “Let’s check on Jaxper and Gale.”
Lyla looked back at the burned bodies of the wolves. “They’re Xiilok creatures, right?”
Michael nodded.
She was puzzled. “Don’t you think they’d be better than this?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“They saw me burn the other wolves. Why didn’t they learn from that? Why didn’t they send better creatures? Creatures that could handle it?”
Michael stopped walking. “Unless they wanted us to chase them. They were sacrificial lambs … Shit! Jaxper and Gale!”
Lyla and Michael charged back to where they’d left the witch and the computer nerd.
Chapter Thirty
Jaxper didn’t like what had happened. Not one bit. She hated to be trapped. She entrapped people and creatures often, and she didn’t like it when the creatures turned the tables on her. She was certain she’d seen a shapeshifter—a fox to be precise. She knew this kind of creature. It was familiar. It was something Lyla wouldn’t know. So she chased it. The next thing she knew, the fox disappeared, and she was surrounded by a pack of creatures from the multiverse. They looked like wolves, but they weren’t. She knew she couldn’t kill them with her magic, so she built her wall and waited for rescue.
Lyla and Michael had lured the wolves away. She didn’t know where they had led them.
Gale rushed over, still busy with his equipment and gadgets.
“I need to go help Michael and Lyla,” she said. “Can you stay here by yourself?”
Gale shook his head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. If you could help, why would they have had to draw the wolves away from you?” he asked. “Sit down!”
“Excuse me?”
“No, not you. The cats.”
The two small pumas obeyed, dropping to the ground the little bags they had been carrying and then sitting.
“This is a very good area to get a signal for the gateway. I need to work on it,” Gale said as he turned on his equipment and typed frantically on a keyboard. Symbols flashed on the small screen in front of him, and for a moment, he no longer paid any attention to Jaxper.
She looked up and saw a clear patch of sky. She knew this forest, and it was rare to see the sky from here. That was why Gale had found clear signals here. She didn’t understand much about technology, but that sounded like a probable explanation.
She caught a glimpse of the mountain that her Mountain witch clan called home. Well, mostly. They couldn’t live like normal witches. They weren’t supposed to have a home. They were lost and wandering most of the time because of a spell put on them.
One wouldn’t expect a witch to be normal, but they did have a normal life cycle. Witches lived and died like any other creatures. Any witch, that is, except those in this forest.
Impulsively, she lifted her hands. She threw a series of poisonous thorns in the direction of movement she had seen. Her witch senses were obviously faster than her thought processes. She rushed over, checked the bush, and saw the wriggling bodies of three gigantic pythons. Before they had died, they’d shed their skin and shifted into three small elves.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She knew the elves lived in a small cave on the other side of the hill and never made contact with humans. Wha
t are they doing here? she wondered. She wanted to ask Gale a question, but when she turned to him, he was immersed in his work and wasn’t even aware she had just killed a bunch of were-pythons.
“Never mind,” she muttered. Then she shouted, “Look out!” and charged toward him. A large python snaked down from the tree behind Gale.
The cubs roared, hissed, bared their small teeth, and charged at the snake.
Hearing the commotion, Gale looked up. “Damn it,” he said, “I’m almost there.”
Seeing the cubs’ reaction, he turned around. As soon as he saw the snake, he sprang to his feet and pulled his gun. The bullet didn’t do much damage to the python. It dropped from the tree trunk and flew toward Gale.
Jaxper pushed Gale out of the way and threw her poisonous thorns. While ordinary bullets couldn’t hurt these paranormal creatures, she knew her poison would. The poison was made from the powder of the flowers of darkness and the honey of the bees she raised. It was lethal to paranormal creatures. As expected, the python dropped to the ground, wriggled a bit, and died.
Jaxper looked at her shaky hands.
“Thanks,” Gale said. “Are you okay?”
She looked up at him. Tall and formidable with slightly long dark hair and striking blue eyes. Sinfully handsome in human, paranormal, and, she’d bet, multiversal standards. But she couldn’t explain the sensation that shocked her system when she’d touched his shoulders to pull him out of the way of the python.
“Are you okay?” Gale asked again.
“Yeah, sure.” She brushed away a stray lock of hair on her forehead. “Stop hissing! I’ve killed the snake,” she said to the little pumas. Then she glanced in the direction they were looking, and she saw what was coming. The large shadow of something flew at her. It came so fast it knocked her to the ground on her backside. She almost passed out from the impact. On the ground, looking up, she should see it was a gigantic were-fox that had hit her with his front legs. He bared his teeth but then quickly ignored her and looked at Gale.