by D. N. Leo
Zach took Mya to her room. “I’ll hire a car, and we’ll go to the site tonight,” he said and turned to leave.
“Hey!” she called out and waved her arms in the air.
“Yes?”
“Don’t you think I need some kind of explanation? How do you know all this? Where are we going?”
He turned and looked at her. Then he closed the door and sat down on a small chair next to the coffee table. It was a quite cozy hotel room, and Zach’s size took up a significant part of it. He ruffled his hands through his hair. Not a good sign. Mya narrowed her eyes at him.
He looked at her with his soft green eyes. “I bluffed most of it.”
She blew out her held breath. She needed to sit, so she plopped down on a corner of the bed. She inhaled and exhaled and then said, “I need to know which part you didn’t bluff…” She inhaled again. “To see if we can leverage.”
He nodded. “I came back to the cottage in the Daimon Gate and couldn’t find you. I found a Xiilok creature there instead. When I killed it, I found a chip inside its body that contained data about Nunnaki, the Goddess, and the possible location of the potion.”
She waited. When she received silence rather than further information, she asked, “Is that all?”
He shrugged. “The creature reported that he had missed your arrival at the cottage, and you seemed to have gone back to the court. When I listened to the data chip from the creature, your name was mentioned as the only reason Nunnaki was able to escape the court. So I dug a bit further into the data, put two and two together and made up the rest.”
“That’s a hell of a lot more than two and two.” She stood but couldn’t pace back and forth because the room was too small. “What if your bluff didn’t work? Do you know Ishtar could kill you? What took you so long anyway? I thought you weren’t coming back…”
He stepped over to her, held her shoulders, and looked into her eyes. “I promised you I’d come back for you.”
She pushed him against the wall and ravished his mouth. His breath quickened. Her heart raced. His hands searched her body, sneaked inside her blouse in search of her warm flesh. She tugged at his shirt.
But then he suddenly stopped. He grabbed her hands before she could peel off his shirt.
“What? I’ve seen your body before. Did you lose your six-pack?” she joked.
He chuckled. “No, it’s just not the right time…”
She threw him to the bed and yanked his shirt off as he went down. She hopped on the bed, flipped him over, and straddled him before he knew what was happening. And then she saw it. An eight-inch scar on his chest, the unmistakable remnant of a stab wound right at the position of his heart.
She stopped and stared. Then tears rolled down her face. She climbed off him. He sat up and pulled her into his arms.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I told you Eudaiz was at war before I left.”
“You couldn’t have survived that injury.” She looked into his eyes.
He shook his head. “I didn’t.” He wiped the tears off her face. “That’s why Ishtar could see on the record I came as Sciphil Two. I was only a successor before, remember?”
She nodded.
“I was supposed to die from this wound. But Ayana wouldn’t accept it. She was injured, too. The Sciphil chamber can heal only one of us, and that one person has to be a proper Sciphil. She transferred the role to me. And she died because of that.”
She embraced him and felt every ounce of muscle in his body vibrate with emotion. “I’m sorry. That must have been difficult for you.”
They held each other for a while. Then he nodded. “I can’t imagine being a deity is easy, either. Let’s just say we’re equal now.” He smiled. “I’m a Eudaizian. And being a Sciphil means I’m responsible for several million citizens in my district. I no longer have the liberty to travel back and forth between Earth and Eudaiz. So after we finish this, I’d like you to come back with me to Eudaiz.”
“What will I do there?”
He smiled. “I’ll find you a job.” He pushed her down to the bed and bent over her to kiss her.
There was a sudden loud banging noise from next door, and Leon’s voice echoed in from his room. He was shouting at someone, and the words were incoherent. They scrambled to their feet and stormed out of Mya’s room in the direction of the commotion.
Chapter 27
Mya and Zach charged into Leon’s room, finding him lying on the floor. A naked man with a knife in his hand stood next to Leon. Mya’s heart went numb. Before Zach charged at him, the man turned around, shifted into a gigantic cat, and leaped out the window. Mya rushed toward Leon. Zach was about to give chase after the cat but decided against it. He stepped outside the room to talk to the staff, who had arrived because they’d heard the noise.
Mya checked Leon. He was breathing, and it appeared he had no fatal wound.
“Leon,” she called and shook his shoulders. His eyes fluttered and opened.
“Mya!” he said from the ground.
“How are you feeling?” She smiled and helped him up.
Leon glanced around, dazed. “Where’s the cat?”
“You let a shapeshifter into your room thinking it was a cat?”
“It looked just like one of those big cats I trained at the court. I know them well.”
Mya realized that not only did Leon not speak the language, he had also never mixed in with the current human civilization. He had always served the Babylonian court. She didn’t know exactly how the court and the human world interacted, but she knew that regardless of how much the court had developed, the Babylonian civilization had departed from the human world a long time ago, and the two had never crossed paths again.
“Leon, the cats you trained at court were real animals. What you saw just then was a shapeshifter, and it knocked you out.”
Leon grimaced. “I don’t remember that happening. Cats are gentle. They don’t act like that.”
Mya shook her head. “Okay, Leon. But listen, Zach knows where we can find the potion. We’ll go there tonight. After we get it, I’m taking you back to the court.”
“What’s the hurry?”
“You can’t mix with Earth creatures. Humans or animals.”
“Why not?”
“Stop asking questions. Just do what I say. It’s best for you.”
He nodded. “All right.”
Mya helped him stand up. Leon took a quick self-inventory and found himself to be fine.
“What’s a shapeshifter?” he asked.
“It’s a magical creature that can change into different shapes.” The computer translated Zach’s response into Babylonian. Mya turned around.
“You’re a believer, Zach?” She smiled.
“I don’t have a choice. It’s not a matter of believing. It’s a matter of explaining what’s happening in the multiverse. Having been to many universes, nothing surprises me anymore.”
They heard several low growls vibrating in the air.
“It’s too confined in here. Get out,” Zach said and pulled Mya outside. Leon followed. When they got out to the narrow corridor, two leopards approached from the left and three from the right. Their eyes sparkled with a bizarre green shade.
“You said they aren’t normal cats, Mya?” Leon asked.
“They aren’t,” Mya said.
Two janitors rushed into the corridor. One of them pointed. “There, I told you I saw those wild cats.” They pulled their guns.
“Don’t worry, we’ll handle this,” the other janitor said to Zach, Mya, and Leon. Two of the leopards turned around and leaped at the janitors. They fired their guns, but the bullets didn’t stop the cats. In no time, the janitors became piles of torn flesh. The other three leopards rushed at Zach, Mya, and Leon.
“They’re mine!” Leon yelled in anger. He pushed Zach and Mya back, pulled two knives out of his boot, and ran at the leopards. Leon was agile, and the narrow corridor didn’t do the animals any good. With the c
ombat skills Leon had acquired from several years of combat training, he easily overcame the leopards, turning them into nothing more than piles of meat.
Three of the animals shifted back into naked men before they died.
“He’s good!” Zach muttered.
“Ishtar does have a knack for picking talent,” said Mya.
“Yeah, that’s why she chose you.” Zach winked at her.
They heard the crackling noise of burning electrical wires. Fire sparked out from the control room at the end of the corridor.
“Run!” Zach shouted and tugged at Mya. They ran down the corridor and outside the building just as it exploded in a gigantic ball of fire.
“This is going to cause a bushfire. Mya, can you use your deity magic to put out the fire?” Zach asked.
“Sure,” she said, turning and running away from him.
“Where are you going?” Zach yelled. She ran so fast he couldn’t catch her.
“She runs like the wind,” Leon said. “And she can’t make it rain if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Mya charged into a lonely phone booth standing at the side of the country road and slammed her hand on the emergency button.
“We need a fire brigade!” she shouted into the phone.
Chapter 28
Kirra gazed out at the red dirt road leading to her cabin. She wasn’t the boss in this hiking camp that organized tours to the outback of Australia for adventurous and savvy travelers, but she had enough authority that she only had to take the tours she wanted. She was a good tour guide, and in this economy, they took any tour they could get. They needed her.
But Zach Flynn was no ordinary tourist.
A single encounter with him a decade ago had scarred her for life. He had left an empty place in her—one she hadn’t been able to fill for many years. She traveled a bit, always keeping an eye out for him. And she’d had relationships on and off. But she had never been able to find the fire Zach had in any other man. The passionate fire he had for music, art, love, and life, and his genuine devotion to beauty. For a while, she had been able to accept the fact that she wouldn’t be able to find that in any other man. She had adjusted to that realization and had become happy with what she had, returning to this stretch of the woods and her old job.
And now, here he was again.
But why?
The campsite they had assigned him in his last trip had burned to the ground. The host and his family had died in the fire. Zach had been traumatized witnessing the event and had left without saying a word to her. So why was he coming back?
She shook her head.
When she received the list of expected guests, she couldn’t believe her eyes. She had looked for him everywhere over the years without success. And here he was, falling right into her lap.
From the window of the cabin she used as her office, she saw an SUV roll into the driveway. It was covered in so much red dirt that she couldn’t tell the color of the vehicle. From the driver’s side, Zach stepped out.
Kirra withheld a gasp. Time had agreed well with him. It had been several years, but her hormones still surged to an alarming level just by looking at him. He walked over and opened the passenger door. And out stepped a woman who shattered all of her hopes of ever being in competition for Zach.
Well, it’s not like she was in any kind of competition. He didn’t even know she had a thing for him. She had been eighteen back then. To him, she’d been only a sweet little girl. But now, she was mature enough to— Her daydream halted at the sight of an angel exiting the car from the backseat.
Absently, she cleared her throat. Maybe he wasn’t an angel because there was still daylight, and she was one hundred percent awake. But he was the perfect example of one straight from the pages of the Bible—tall, lean, golden hair, milky skin, and a perfectly sculptured face with gentle blue eyes.
Kirra frowned. She had never read the Bible, so where had that image come from? But after a short moment contemplating, she remembered. She had read books in the library with pictures of angels. There had actually been a time in her past when she’d had to plant her backside down in a library to study ancient civilizations associated with popular tourist attractions. She’d hated every moment she had to spend there, but apparently, to get a license and clients with repeat business, she had to at least know the places for which she was going to serve as a guide.
Before she realized it, the angelic man was leaning against the wall right outside her cabin door. When Zach and the woman went into the reception area to finalize their bookings, the man braced his hands against the wall of her cabin and then pounded one hand a couple of times against it.
She opened the door. He was startled and withdrew. His face started to redden.
“Hi, I’m Kirra. I think I’m your tour guide.” She reached her hand out for a handshake.
He paused for second, stared at her, then fumbled with his pocket and pulled out a small book—the title said English for Travelers. He flipped through the pages then looked at her and said, “Hi, how you do?” in a very strong and strange accent. He shook his head and said again, “Hi, how do you do? I am Leon.”
She grinned.
Catching the signal that he must have said it right, he smiled and reached his hand out for a handshake.
What a smile! she thought.
“Here you are!” said a sultry and exotic female voice from behind Leon. He was tall and had blocked her view, so she hadn’t seen Zach and the woman coming.
“You’ve made a lady friend already, Leon!” She turned toward Zach. “See, I told you Leon could use that book. He’s a fast learner.”
Zach chuckled. “I’m sure the clothes you bought him have nothing do with him hitting on the first lady he met in the outback.” Zach smiled at Kirra.
“Come on, give him some credit. He’s very fast,” Mya said and then turned toward Kirra. “Hi, I’m Mya. And this is Zach. You must be Kirra. The reception desk told us you’re our tour guide.”
Kirra blinked and looked at Zach. He approached, and his eyes paused on her face for a long moment. He doesn’t remember me…great! she thought.
Then Zach grinned. It was the same unmistakable brilliant smile of his. “Kirra Jane Poleski, how wonderful you look!” He bent down and hugged her.
Not only had he remembered her, he’d also remembered her middle name.
“How are you, Zach? It’s been such a long time,” she said.
“Indeed. It’s a pity we’re not even staying the night,” Zach said.
“You’re not going to the cave now, are you?” She raised an eyebrow.
Zach frowned. “That’s exactly what we’re going to do. We just rented some camping gear from you guys, and we’re leaving before dark.”
“No, you can’t. There’s a dust storm coming, and the cave will be right in the eye of it. I know you’re experienced, Zach. But dust storms are dangerous. You don’t want to put your friends in the middle of it.”
Zach looked at Mya and Leon then back at Kirra. She shared with him the weather report and warning she had just received.
“Stay the night. It’s on me.” Kirra smiled.
Zach looked at Mya. She nodded. He looked disappointed but then nodded as well. “I’ll check in at the reception desk,” he said and headed in that direction. Mya followed him.
From the corner of her eyes, Kirra saw a shadow in the woods and then a pair of glimmering green eyes. If she wasn’t mistaken, they were the eyes of a wild cat. They had never come this close to the campsite before. Regardless of what people said about how dangerous they were, she thought they were actually quite shy.
She frowned at the shadow.
Leon turned in the direction she was looking. As soon as he caught sight of the eyes, he ran in that direction.
“Hey!” she called, but he didn’t listen to her. She ran back into her cabin and grabbed her hunting rifle and a tranquilizer dart. Then she raced after Leon.
Chapter 29
Elanora tapped her long, manicured fingernails on the edge of the stone table. She didn’t shift much these days, so she could afford to decorate her nails and wear outfits that didn’t facilitate shape-shifting. She was the upcoming alpha of the wild cat clan. And regardless of all the myths about how they were required to shift and run often or risk losing their wild instincts, her kind didn’t need to.
She liked her human appearance—wild, long black hair, striking dark eyes, and tall with curves that could stir the loin of any human male she came across. She chuckled, thinking about humans and the myths they believed in. When there wasn’t much information available, people tended to rely on whatever information they had, she supposed—legend, folklore, fairy tales, and rumor.
Her clan wasn’t comprised of ordinary cats. They weren’t cats like those in the fairyland, nor were they typical were-creatures. But she knew what humans labeled them—were-leopards. As if there were such creatures.
She pulled out a stack of paper one of her minions had given her. Hundreds of images of artifacts, jars of potion, jewelry, and treasure maps. She smiled to herself. She hadn’t received good news like this in a very long time. The people of the forgotten Babylonian court had fallen right into her lap.
She reached out for her phone and punched in a number. At the other end of the line, the receptionist of the travel lodge answered with a chirpy greeting.
“It’s me,” Elanora said.
“Yes, Elanora,” the receptionist answered shakily. For some reason, humans feared her. Elanora smiled at the thought.
“Where is the site the new tourists are going to visit?”
“They didn’t say. They just rented some camping gear. They don’t even want to stay the night.”
“Is Kirra their tour guide?”
“Yes.”
“Does she know where they’re going?”
“No…I don’t think so…”
Eleanor chuckled loud enough for the receptionist to hear. “I dislike it when people try to bluff. And you are such an amateur in that regard. You don’t want to make me angry.”