by D. N. Leo
“People allow themselves to be vulnerable, and yes, I take advantage of those situations. It’s their own fault. Cole wanted to save you and your group of women in the woods from the bomb being dropped by his people. So he promised whatever I asked without ever asking for anything in return. He allowed himself to be vulnerable because of guilt he felt about a war he didn’t create. As for you, you agreed to it because you feel guilty about the soulless mountain witches. Again, Cole created the witches. Not you. So you see, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You’ll pay for this one day.”
“Perhaps, but may that day never come. For now, remember the next part of the deal. Cole is coming. You need to complete the deal, or all lives lost will be wasted. And that consequence will be on you. I can only blind his mind’s eye for a short period of time. That’s your only chance.”
Mai looked up. On the bridge, Cole came in the light. Soon he would see her. When he came to her, she had to trap him in order to un-trap what he had done in the past.
Chapter 21
Phala squatted as low as he could behind a low stone fence, waiting for the guards and monks to move past. He knew he was a bit tall to hide in this way, but it was the best place he could be to enter the temple and retrieve the jar of Lythe’s ashes without being discovered. He couldn’t ask his people to do that. The temple was sacred, and the jar was never meant to leave the temple.
He couldn’t care less about what they worshiped here. He was an outcast and would forever be the outsider of this dynasty. He’d made a promise to Kannitha to help Lyla, so he would do just that. It was the least he could do for his sister.
Still, he couldn’t understand why Kannitha cared so much about the invasion in the Viet Kingdom. He would look into it further. But for now, his focus was on obtaining the jar and giving it to Lyla. Once they returned to their homeland, wherever that might be, he’d go back to the West and live by the grave of their mother. He’d had enough of the politics here.
When it was quiet, and he was sure the area at the back of the temple was clear, he climbed over the fence and crept into the main area of the temple.
Admittedly, he wasn’t the worshiping kind. Not because these were not his gods—he didn’t think he had any gods in mind to worship. But everyone around him had their beliefs, so he just followed the crowd. It made his life—and Kannitha’s—easy.
Stepping inside the back door, he moved quickly across the large dimly lit area of the foyer toward the back of the altar. There were several objects on the altar, but he was pretty sure he knew which one was Lythe’s ashes.
He saw no one at the front of the altar, but before he could make his move, a young monk with a broom in his hand stepped in from the back. The monk was startled and recognized him instantly. He bowed.
“Prince Phala.”
Damn, he almost forgot he was the prince here—he was acting more like a criminal. Phala cleared his throat. “I’m looking for more candles,” he said. “The ones on the altar were almost out.”
The young monk bowed again. “My apologies. That must be my fault. I’ll get more right away.”
Phala cursed to himself when the monk walked to the front instead of the back of the temple. On his way out, the young monk glanced back at the altar. Phala knew the candles were burning fully
, and the fire on each one was dancing with joy. There was no need for fresh candles.
The monk stopped in his tracks and looked at Phala.
“Cat got your tongue? If you have questions for me, just ask.”
“No, Prince Phala. I don’t have any questions.”
Phala approached as the monk withdrew toward the door.
“What about fruit? Don’t you think we need some fresh fruit on the altar? You don’t want to make the gods angry, do you?”
“Oh no, Prince Phala. I’ll get the fruit immediately.” The monk turned to leave.
“Why don’t you stay and pray for me? Now.”
“I don’t know how to pray. I’m not qualified to speak before the gods, Prince Phala.”
“But you’re speaking now.”
“Because you ask me questions, Prince Phala.”
“You’re saying I am in the same powerful position as your gods?”
“No… I mean, yes… oh no… I beg your pardon, Prince Phala, but I don’t have the knowledge to answer your questions.”
“All right, I’ll give you a simple question. Can you keep secrets?”
The monk nodded frantically. “Yes, I can. I won’t tell a soul.”
“Tell them what?”
“That… that…”
“I’m here asking for candles?”
“I don’t know what to say, Prince Phala.”
“Then come in here and pray for me.”
The monk nodded, but then he turned and darted for the door.
Knowing he couldn’t afford to be caught, Phala charged at the monk, a small curved knife he always kept tucked in his boot now in his hand. With one swing, the monk’s throat was sliced open. He died instantly without a sound. Phala dragged the monk toward the back, hiding him under the altar.
He closed the monk’s eyes before he grabbed the jar at the top left of the altar.
Phala exited from the front door. Nobody had seen him. He ran as fast as he could. When he had gone some distance, he heard alarm gongs echoing in the air. They had found the young monk.
Phala ran toward the lake where he had left Michael and Lyla unconscious. They were nowhere to be found. He continued to run along the lake toward the bush where he thought they had come from. In the distance, he saw a beam of light. He had a feeling Lyla and Michael had come from a place he had never been—and should never be. But he knew for sure if he didn’t get to Lyla now, he would never be able to give her the jar.
He ran toward the light.
When he got closer, he watched as Lyla and Michael stepped into something that looked like a giant light beam descending from the sky. He called out to them.
They looked back. Lyla waved her arms in the air. Phala ran faster. But when he got closer, he thought maybe she hadn’t been waving him in, but telling him not to approach. He wasn’t sure. He couldn’t hear what she was saying from inside the light, so he kept running toward it.
Then Michael pulled out his weapon and thrust it toward him, acting like he would hurt Phala if he came any closer. Phala tried to stop, but his momentum carried him forward. And the light beam seemed to have a kind of suction. It drew him in.
As soon as he passed into the light, it was like thousands of knives and needles were stabbing into his brain. It was as if his body and his mind were going to explode into a thousand pieces. He felt Lyla try to catch him as he fell toward the ground.
When he hit, he couldn’t feel the ground because his mind was floating in nothingness.
Chapter 22
Lyla lay Phala on the ground. She knew he wouldn’t last long. His human body couldn’t survive passing through the portal without preparation. Although unconscious, his hand still held fast to the jar. She placed her thumbs on his temples.
“No signals?” Michael asked from behind her.
Lyla shook her head.
“Idiot. He jumped into the portal even when I pointed the gun at him,” Michael said. “I don’t think there’s any hope. When I was dragged across dimension, your father had to give me some Eudaizian silver blood energy to save me. We don’t have access to that.”
“And he won’t last long enough to take him to the Daimon Gate.”
“There you are!” Gale said from behind them.
Jaxper came over. “We looked everywhere for you. What took you so long? And who is this?”
“Phala. He’s dying. Do you have a potion that might help him?” Lyla asked, even though she knew the answer already.
“Has he been poisoned?” asked Jaxper.
“He jumped through the dimensional gateway,” Michael said.
“No magic can help a human
who does that,” Gale muttered.
“It seems you’ve succeeded with your mission,” Cole said as he arrived at the scene.
Lyla yanked the jar out of Phala’s hand. “We have the jar, but I won’t give it to you until you save him.”
“That’s not what we agreed on, Lyla. The jar is only to trade for your exile.”
“Well, I’ve added another condition to our agreement. Do you want the jar or not?”
Cole shook his head. “I can’t save him.”
“He doesn’t want his debts piling up,” Jaxper said.
“It’s not your place to talk, Jaxper,” growled Cole.
Gale shoved Cole. “Don’t you talk to her that way!”
Michael raised an eyebrow. “Jaxper is right. You made doggy deals with magical creatures. If you save Phala, when we get back to the multiverse, we’ll work something out for you.”
Cole approached Michael. “You think I’m afraid of punishment?”
“He’s afraid of resentment from the one person who is worth much more to him than the fear of punishment, or even a reward, for that matter,” Jaxper said. “If you don’t help Lyla, then the deal goes pear-shaped. Don’t you think that person would disapprove of your decision?”
Cole darted at Jaxper. “You’re stretching my patience with your witch clan—”
Gale grabbed Cole from behind and threw him aside before he could reach Jaxper.
“Enough! Phala doesn’t have much time. Will you help him or not?” asked Lyla.
“I’ll have to turn him without his consent. Who will be responsible for the consequences?” Cole asked.
“I will,” Lyla said.
“Lyla!” Michael cried.
“It’s on me. He won’t do it otherwise,” Lyla said.
Cole nodded. “I hope you honor your promise this time.” He approached Phala, picked him up, and tossed him over his shoulder. Then he walked away toward the bush. He turned and looked at Jaxper. “I’m not the only one turning people against their will. What you did to Gale is unforgivable in the magical world, Jaxper.” Then he turned and walked away.
Lyla looked at Gale as he looked at Jaxper. Lyla knew Gale had been in very poor shape when she’d left him. There was no way he could operate again in full capacity like this. She had shut down his good robotic system, so he must be operating on the combination of his ten percent human brain and the corrupted system the space creature injected into his body.
“What did you do to me, Jaxper?” Gale asked.
“Nothing. I watched you while you were sleeping. Is that a crime?”
“Why did Cole say you did something to me?”
“Jaxper threatened him. A man like Cole would say anything for the hell of it,” Michael said.
Jaxper threw her hands in the air. “Can you be a fraction as sympathetic as Michael?”
“But I love you the same, no matter what you did,” Gale said.
Lyla’s and Michael’s jaws dropped.
“Since when did you two become lovers?” Lyla asked.
“We dashed over to the other side of the woods and came back. Gale looked half-dead when we left. And now he’s not only up and running, he’s in love with you! Not that there’s anything wrong with being in love, man, but it’d take more than a second, wouldn’t it?” Michael said.
“I did nothing wrong. You said so yourself, Michael.”
Michael chuckled. “I didn’t say you did anything wrong. I thought it was more like a miracle!”
Gale grunted in pain and grabbed his head.
Lyla rushed over to Jaxper. “He’s trying too hard to recall the incident. He’ll trigger the robotic brain that I’ve turned off. I’m not sure if his human brain can handle it. Whatever you did to him, if you think it’s better for him to know than to let him turn on his robotic brain, then tell him.”
Jaxper hurried over to Gale. His face had turned almost blue, his eyes had reddened, and the veins on his temples throbbed. She held his hands. “Gale, stop trying! It’s not good for you. I’ll tell you what I did. You may hate me or want to kill me, but I did it because I wanted to help you. Listen to me, Gale.”
“Why would I want to kill you?”
“Because you said so. I cast a love spell on your human brain to make you fall in love with me. If the love was strong enough, it would help you control the bad robotic part that, at the time, was trying to kill you.”
“So you saved my life?”
“Not exactly. The robot actually wanted to kill me. But your human brain disagreed, so it hurt you. I took a chance and cast the spell on you. And it worked. I did it to protect me more than you. You can hate me now if that makes you feel better. But don’t turn your other robotic part on until Lyla says so.”
Gale looked at Lyla. “You knew the whole time that I’m a robot? You fixed me? No, you turned me into a robot!”
She nodded. “Only ninety percent of you is robotic. And in my opinion, it’s the other ten percent that makes you who you are. I don’t care about the rest.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t live in the Daimon Gate. You don’t work in a position where robots aren’t allowed. I spent my entire life cheating the system!”
“She did it to save you,” Jaxper said.
“She turned me into a robot. And you turned me into a fool. Thank you very much, ladies. I am so blessed!” Gale said and strode away into the bush. Jaxper rushed after him.
Chapter 23
New York, 22 years ago
Mai followed her eight-year-old son, Michael, into a dark alley.
A few months ago, she was released from Sara Fraser’s body. It was supposed to be a happy day for her. She was a soulless witch now, more powerful than she had been before this mission. But for Michael, that was the day his mother died.
She missed taking care of her son.
The morning after she had been with Cole, he left in anger. She had tried to tell him who she was, that Sara Fraser’s body was just a vessel, and that she was the one he had made love to, but he didn’t believe a word she said. All he could see was that he had been bewitched by Lythe’s dark magic to sleep with a stranger, and the result of this encounter would be the disaster of the magical world.
He wanted to kill Sara Fraser before an innocent child was born. But he couldn’t kill what appeared to be an innocent human—even if she was possessed. Confused and angry, he left.
Mai had never been with a man before this. Before the war, she lived a sheltered life like every other girl from a conservative upper-class Vietnamese family. She was educated and always conformed to what her family and the society back then expected of her. She lost her family when the war started and had followed a group of independent civilians to the forest to avoid the war.
Then she found Cole, injured and abandoned by his people.
The next thing she knew, she was turned into a soulless witch along with several other mountain witches from the region. Floating around for years as a reluctant witch in the magical world, she’d had no human experience and didn’t know how to take care of a child growing in the body of a young and disturbed woman.
Mai married to give Michael a family, not knowing that as soon as she left Sara’s body, that man tossed Michael out on the street, making him earn his keep by picking pockets. As much as it pained her, she couldn’t use her magic to help him because if she left any trace of magic on him, Lythe would find him and claim him—he was the Son of Fire Lythe had forced her to create.
Day after day, night after night, Michael shivered with cold, sleeping hungry on the street if he didn’t make enough money that day. But he didn’t leave his stepfather. On the days he made enough, he went home. But only because all her belongings were in that house. It was all he had left of his mother, and if he left his stepfather, he couldn’t take her things with him.
His stepfather killed his dog, an orphaned puppy she brought home a long time ago, a dog that had since become Michael’s childhood friend. It was
the first time Mai saw rage in her son’s mind. He left home and ran until he ended up in this dark tunnel.
Mai looked at his frail shadow in the dark. She wanted to embrace him, to comfort him and tell him everything would be fine.
From the other end of the tunnel, his stepfather stormed toward him. Michael’s silhouette shook as he tried to wriggle free of the hands wrapped around his neck. His stepfather was trying to strangle him.
Mai didn’t know what Michael had said to his father to anger him, but she knew he had the protective spell she had given him. He could use that now. It was a spell of fate, and it would protect him if he wished for it. She hoped Michael would use it. He was a smart kid.
He did use it.
But instead of wishing for himself to be protected, he wished for his stepfather to die because he thought he was to blame for her death.
That wish wouldn’t save Michael’s life. One twist of his stepfather’s hands, and the fragile bones of Michael’s neck would be savaged.
But before Mai panicked and took action despite the consequences, a man stepped out of the fog at the other end of the tunnel.
He was powerful.
He was Michael’s savior.
Mai recognized the powerful aura, but she wasn’t sure what it was. She only knew it came from this man.
He looked like a dark angel. But he wasn’t magical.
He killed Michael’s stepfather before he had the chance to break Michael’s neck.
Who is this man?
Mai peeked into his mind and cast a minor spell to see if she could learn anything. There, she saw it:
Ciaran LeBlanc, citizen of the multiverse, possesses mixed magical and crossword power, powerful future leader of— She couldn’t quite read that last part, so she inched closer to the tunnel to hear their conversation.
“What’s your name?” asked Ciaran.
“Little Mike.”
“That’s not your full name.”
“Michael Fraser.”
“That’s a lot better. Who is this man, Michael?”