“This is reasonably unfrozen?” I said, my teeth chattering with every word.
The stones were in the pocket of my slacks, beneath the coat, and I felt their weight against my leg as we approached the homeless shelter on Thirty-second Street. We were on the opposite side of the street and I saw that most of the rest of our team was already there, waiting for us.
Meryl perched on a newspaper stand in her preferred oriole form while Ice sat beneath her as a pure white cat. His tail twitched from side to side as he looked up at her like he was ready to pounce on her and eat her whole.
Joshua was in his shadow form on the ground near the cat, and I saw Mandisa through her glamour close by.
“Can you tell if Penrod is there?” I asked Colin, not sure if he could see through Sprite glamours. I wished I could. Of course Penrod wouldn’t be able to walk among norms unless he was in glamour.
“Can’t see him, but I can sense him,” Colin said. “And smell him.”
There were some benefits to having a human nose and not being able to smell as well as I could as Drow, I supposed. Penrod might be an all-right male and an asset to the team, but he smelled like overcooked broccoli, the same as most other Sprites.
“It’s on the other side of that barricade,” I said to my team as I gestured toward the blocked-off space between two huge buildings.
The street was busy, vehicles driving up and down its length and pedestrians crossing at the intersections and striding down the sidewalk.
“Let’s go.” I started across the street with Colin and Desmond to either side of me.
The Zombies and Sentients traveled when it was dark here in the Earth Otherworld. Bryna had made that clear to me, so I wasn’t worried about being seen by any of Amory’s people. All I had to worry about were norms seeing me go through that barricade since I couldn’t go in glamour.
We crossed the street and Meryl flew over the barricade while Ice found a place to slip through. Joshua simply slid beneath the fence in shadow form. And Mandisa … while still in her glamour, the Abatwa Fae walked right through the barricade.
“Some trick,” Colin said.
“Sure is.” The first time I’d seen her do that was just a few weeks ago at the Vampire compound and it had been a little unnerving.
“I’ll see you when you get back,” Desmond said as Colin easily pulled apart a section of the barricade, large enough for us to walk through.
I nodded to Desmond, feeling too frozen to say anything else. As he walked away, I glanced around to make sure no norms saw us. It was clear. Then Colin and I squeezed through the opening he’d made.
When I made it through, something bumped against me and I stumbled to the side. Penrod said, “Apologies,” as Colin caught me by the arm. This human body was so clumsy and awkward compared to my own. At this rate, if I didn’t get used to it, Colin was going to have to carry me everywhere.
After Colin closed the barricade behind us, we came to a pause beside the rest of the team members.
Garbage was strewn across areas not covered with snow in the vacant lot. Graffiti was sprayed on the inside of the barricades and along both walls that ran the length of the lot, and at the back was a chain linked fence with another building beyond the fence.
“Where is it?” Mandisa spoke from beside me and I almost jumped out of my winter clothing at the sound of her voice. I didn’t think I’d ever heard her actually speak before. “This portal you spoke of.”
I started to unbutton my coat so that I would be able to reach into the pocket of the slacks I was wearing. “Despite the fact that this keystone is over twenty-two years old and was found in Otherworld, it should show us where the portal is. At least that’s what Desmond and the Sentient Bryna believe.”
It took me longer than normal to undo the buttons because I wasn’t used to having long, manicured fingernails like Candace did.
The moment I moved aside my coat I sucked in my breath. Freezing cold instantly stabbed me like hundreds of icicles wherever I wasn’t covered. My arm was shaking I drew out the keystone and held it up on the palm of my gloved hand.
Nothing happened, the portal didn’t appear. It should have. I knew that from Bryna’s now confused thoughts.
“You might need to take off your glove,” Colin said with an apologetic look.
I groaned. What if my fingers fell off from the cold? I told myself to stop being a baby and held the stone in my left hand while Colin helped me pull the glove off my right hand. My fingers burned from the cold the moment the glove was removed.
A sensation like an electrical shock jolted me as I clasped the stone in my bare hand.
Air in the space between the two buildings grew dark and I held my breath. The darkness grew deeper and deeper yet until a moving mass of gray fog appeared before us. The gray cloud-like fog swirled like water going down a drain.
My heart pounded, my mouth dry, the coldness in my body almost forgotten as I stared at what must be the portal. My first thought was, Would we have to step through that?
Bryna’s essence told me no at the same time the gray began to fade and a hole opened in the air in front of us.
Through the hole was a world with lavender-streaked skies, a world of sunshine and beauty. Its warmth began to defrost my chilled body.
But the sight of it, along with the overly sweet smell of flowers coming through the opening, made my stomach churn.
Through that opening into another world, I knew that it was the same world, the exact place, where my brother had gone to when he disappeared from Otherworld.
Twenty-two years ago.
THIRTY-FOUR
Friday, December 31
Noon
Fear gripped my chest as we stared through the opening. It was like I was reliving the same emotions that I had when I was a youngling and saw my brother being taken through the portal.
For the first time I gave serious thought to the possibility that my brother could still be alive. I hadn’t wanted to build up any kind of hope, but here I was.
Then the image of him came to me, through Bryna’s essence. I saw my brother. I saw Tristan. And I was seeing him from her memories.
“He’s alive,” I whispered and Colin looked at me. “His body is a Host and his essence is in a stone, but he’s alive.”
“Who’s alive?” Colin asked.
The desire to run through the portal and find Tristan was so great that I started to run toward the portal. If I was in Drow form and Colin wasn’t a Dragon, he never would have caught me in time. But in Candace’s body I was slow, not to mention encumbered by the heavy winter clothing.
“Stop.” Colin grabbed my arm and pulled me around to face him. “You simply cannot charge through the portal without thought.”
“My brother’s alive.” My Host was breathing hard. “Tristan’s body and his essence are still alive.”
Colin frowned. “You can tell me what you are talking about after we get to where it’s safe. We need to get through this portal before it closes.”
“Right. You’re right.” I glanced around me at my team members in their various forms then looked through the portal. I pointed. “That rock outcropping. We’ll gather in the shaded area and then we’ll decide where to go from there.”
My team members—those I could see—acknowledged me with quick nods.
As if I might bolt through the entrance, Colin took me by my arm and led me to the opening. We paused one moment and then stepped through.
A gooey, gelatinous feeling overcame me, like I was sliding through mucus. Instinctively I held my breath, as if I might suck in some of what I felt coating my body.
Going through the portal was like walking against a current, through a river of goo, and into the wind.
My chest began to hurt with the need to breathe. If it weren’t for Bryna’s essence inside of me, I might have panicked. Thanks to her I knew we’d make it within steps.
Even as that knowledge came to me, Colin and I burst from the portal into warm
sunshine. I no longer felt like I was covered in goo. I stared around me, surprise and fear mingling inside me.
A utopia. No wonder Desmond had talked about his home world with such sadness in his eyes. He had to miss this amazing place that was sharp and clear, even to the imperfect human eyes of the Host body I was in.
Lush green grass covered rolling hills between purple-hued mountains. I knew then what majestic really was. Huge trees and brilliantly colorful flowers sprung up in places throughout the landscape making the gorgeous scenery look like a patchwork quilt I’d seen in Olivia’s apartment.
In the distance was a huge manor that sprawled at least an acre wide, its pink stone walls sparkling in the sunlight. Large trees lined the front of the manor, offering shade to its many balconies and along its paths. I couldn’t see all of that detail but I could visualize it from Bryna’s memories.
If it wasn’t for Colin, I might have continued to stare in wonder at everything around me. Even coming from the Otherworld of all Otherworlds, I hadn’t been prepared for such beauty. The lavender streaks in the sky were especially lovely.
Then I remembered that this was the world Tristan had disappeared to and the sick feeling of his loss replaced the wonder.
My brother was truly alive? Was Angel somewhere around here? Would I be able to find all of their stones with their essences? I wished my Host mind had more details about him, but she knew enough that I had an idea where to start my search. It would be a matter of the right time to do it.
Colin dragged me toward the outcropping, out of sight of the manor, and I saw that my team members were waiting for me. The heat in my Host body’s cheeks surprised me as I realized I had to be blushing from my continued failure to pay attention to what our task was, and for my lack of focus. I wondered if that had anything to do with the Host I was in, or Bryna, a distractibility that was uncommon for me.
Regardless, that had to change and it had to change now.
I covered up my embarrassment by concentrating on putting the stone back into the pocket of my slacks, then focused on getting out of my coat. I’d started to sweat under its weight. Colin took the coat from me and stashed it in a small cove of the rock outcropping. I unwrapped the muffler from around my face and tossed it onto the coat.
After I pulled off my gloves, I handed them to Colin. I tugged off the wool cap, which he also took to add to the pile of discarded winter clothing. Static crackled in my hair. I shook my head, then flattened the strands with my palms.
When I was finished, I cleared my throat and looked at my team members. All of them were assembled around me now. Joshua, Meryl, and Ice in their human forms, and Mandisa and Penrod were now visible. Meryl sat on a boulder while Joshua knelt on the grass. Ice stood with his feet apart, his arms crossed over his chest, and Mandisa had one hand on her hip. Penrod reclined on the ground, his back up against a boulder.
“Knowledge from the Sentient that inhabited this body before me indicates that we need to go toward that manor.” Even though we couldn’t see it from behind the rock outcropping, I gestured toward the pink manor. “That’s where the Sorcerer Amory is.”
They focused on me as I continued. “According to Desmond, there’s absolutely nothing we can do to Amory here in Doran. He’s too powerful for us to take out or even capture, so this is entirely a recon mission. We must find out what his plans are.”
“Does the Sentient you’re sharing that body with tell you anything about his plans?” Meryl asked from her perch on the stone.
“Bryna knows that something big, really big is in the works,” I said. “But she doesn’t know what that might be. Amory had alluded to his plans before she left, but she hasn’t been in on anything since that time. I’m going to have to find Amory or figure out another way to get this information.”
I pointed to the team members as I gave them direction. “I want Shifters together on one team, and those who will go in glamour on the other team.”
They nodded as I continued, “Meryl, you’re with Joshua and Ice. Mandisa, you’ll be working with Colin and Penrod. As teams you’ll find out everything you can. In the meantime I will—”
“No damn way.” Ice’s voice cut through the air. “You’re not going alone, Nyx.”
“Ice is correct,” Colin said and everyone else nodded, frowns of disapproval on their faces.
“I’m going as Amory’s niece,” I said with protest in my tone. “I know what to do and say. I’m the one who’ll be fine.”
“What if he insists on sealing your Host, Nyx?” Colin spoke in a low, deliberate tone. “If that happens, it will not be easy for you to transfer back. You may not be able to if something happens to Desmond.”
“Are you so easily forgetting what the Vampires did to you?” Joshua said.
“This is different.” I shook my head. “I’ll be fine—”
“No.” Everyone on my team said the word at the same time. It was loud enough that I winced, afraid someone in this world might be nearby.
“Okay.” I held up my hands. “You’re right.”
“I’ll go with Nyx.” Colin met the gazes of Mandisa and Penrod. “The two of you will work well together in glamour.”
Mandisa glanced at Penrod, disdain on her features before she glanced back at me. She said nothing.
Penrod looked like he’d swallowed something rotten.
“Remember, we are here on reconnaissance. I am to gather information. You are to see and observe what you can and to protect each other, and if it comes to it, rescue each other,” I said.
“Shifters,” I continued, “you’ll take the grounds, Mandisa and Penrod, you’ll go around to the back.” I glanced at Colin. “Colin and I are going in.”
“Let’s do it,” Meryl said right before she shifted into an oriole and flew above our heads. She circled once before heading in the direction of the manor. At the same time Ice joined her as a pure white falcon and Joshua sped across the ground as a shadow.
Penrod had already vanished. Sprites are pretty much impossible even for paranorms to spot when they’re in glamour. Colin and Mandisa disappeared. Because I was in a human body I couldn’t see them. I hoped the Sorcerer wouldn’t be able to catch sight of any one of them.
Once everyone but Colin and I were off and running, I turned and headed around the outcropping, toward the manor.
The human body I was in was fortunately in good shape for a norm. It was a bit of a hike to the manor and the sunshine was warm as we traveled over the rolling hills.
My Host’s heart pounded harder and harder the closer we got to the manor and my throat was dry. I don’t know if I really felt Colin’s presence or I just knew he would be at my side. We’d been silent during our trek and I knew he was concerned about me.
On the way I’d thought about stopping the Sorcerer and finding out how we could do exactly that. My thoughts continually returned to my friends and my brother and my hope that I could help them all.
We finally reached the manor. An arched gate was in front of the entrance and a low wall of the same sparkling pink stone stretched out and around the circumference of the place that seemed almost palatial but not quite.
Guards stood to either side of the gate. The twins reminded me of Roman gladiators in their simple tunics and sandals. They both looked at me with questions in their eyes. Guards of the manor were used to Sentients returning in new Hosts, so they didn’t seem particularly alarmed.
“Good day, Pet. Theo.” I gave them each a nod as the action and their names came easily to me. “Do you know where my uncle is?”
“Bryna?” Theo said in surprise. “Is that you?”
I frowned. “Who else calls the Sorcerer ‘uncle’?”
“Of course.” Theo lowered his head in a deep nod. “My apologies.”
Pet said, “His lordship sent Una and Tieve to search for you.”
The scowl came just as easily as Bryna reacted. “Idiots. They left me to die.”
Pet gave a slight bow. �
��I will locate Lord Amory for you.”
I waved him off. “I’ll find him myself. Likely he’s in the gardens.”
“Your new Host is an excellent choice,” Theo said, openly admiring Candace’s body.
“If you serve me well,” I said in Candace’s sultry voice, “I might give you the opportunity to get to know the new Bryna better.”
I touched Pet’s arm and he looked down at my hand. I lightly dug in my manicured nails before I gave them each a sensual look that made both men stare at me with hunger in their eyes.
Bryna had always enjoyed men, but because of the frailty of her former body she had been forced to abstain. Now that she was in a fit, strong, and beautiful Host, she wanted these two males—at the same time.
I had to mentally shake Bryna off. Down, girl.
“That would certainly be a pleasure.” Theo’s voice was husky as I walked closer. Both guards bowed again as they let me pass.
“Was that necessary?” Colin’s voice was close to my ear and I startled. He sounded almost jealous.
“Shush,” I said under my breath. “It’s how Bryna’s mind works. I’m simply being her. If I didn’t, it might be suspicious.”
The manor doors were open, letting in the sunshine along with the smell of flowers and the twitter of birds. As we walked further in, the recesses were cool, shadowy, and quiet. I caught the scent of exotic spices.
I stood for a moment inside the huge open area that had multiple doors leading from it and a staircase that spiraled up one side. I let my human eyes adjust to the dimness as I looked around.
Even though Bryna felt at home in this place, I needed to get a feel for it and I needed to stay on guard. I didn’t have my keen Drow senses to rely on in case someone was coming, my glamour to hide me, or my fighting skills if I needed them.
Colin touched my shoulder and I nodded at the opposite side of the large area we were in. We crossed the huge marble floor then entered a short hallway. At the end of the hallway was an arched doorway. Much cooler air flowed over me from the direction of the arch. Along with it came scents that were familiar. Maybe not to Candace, but to me and Bryna.
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