Special Passage (The Coursodon Dimension Book 4)

by M. L. Ryan

  I turned and gawked at Alex. “You can block lightning?”

  “Well, I can’t stop it. I just encourage it to strike somewhere else.”

  Okay, then. All this time I thought he was just godlike in the sack. Apparently, my boyfriend was capable of all kinds of earth-shattering stuff attributable only to superheroes and deities. I wasn’t sure how to process this new information, but I wondered what else he could do that I didn’t know about.

  “Good to know, Blondie. Now who’s holding out on whom?” I remarked with mock derision.

  Sebastian clasped his hands over his heart. “Ah, young love. What is better than getting to know each other’s secrets?” He leaned close to me and whispered, “I told you he was powerful.”

  I murmured back, “Yeah, but I had no idea you meant able to manipulate the forces of nature.”

  “Manipulate is too strong a word,” Alex corrected. “Influence is much more accurate.”

  Damn their ridiculously acute hearing. “Whatever, when we get home, you are making a list of all the fancy things you can do.”

  Sebastian grinned as he looped a second set of ropes across his other shoulder. “That will be quite a long list.”

  Cortez removed two satellite phones from the back of the second Jeep. He gave one to Alex and kept the other, assuring there would be a way to contact one another if necessary as cell phone coverage on Babo was non-existent. While they tested the devices, Aiden handed something to me.

  “It’s a gift,” he said proudly.

  At first, I couldn’t quite tell what the bulky present was, but once I identified it, I was completely confused. “Why are you giving me binoculars?”

  “They’re not binoculars. These are Armasight PVS-7 Generation 3 Night Vision Goggles. State of the art, used by the military.”

  He lovingly ran his hand over them as he described all their features, most of which made no sense to me whatsoever. What the hell is an integrated infrared illuminator?

  Peering through the padded eyepieces, what just moments before had been rain-soaked darkness now came alive, albeit with an eerie green glow. “Thanks, Aiden. These are awesome.”

  “And this is from me,” Cortez announced, shoving a dark combat helmet onto my head. The infantry hard hat came adorned with an array of straps: one around the front, another over the top, one each behind and in front of my ears, and the last under my chin to stabilize the whole thing. Protruding from the forehead strap was a ridged ledge, onto which Aiden attached the goggles. The whole contraption made it look like I had a camera strapped to my face.

  Cortez showed me how to flip the glasses up when I didn’t want to use the night-vision capabilities. “This way, you will have your charming head protected and both hands free at all times.”

  The goggles alone weighed close to a pound and a half, and I worried the head gear would be awkward and heavy, but once everything was adjusted, the whole thing was surprisingly not too annoying.

  “Thanks to you guys, my chances of tripping, impaling myself, or sustaining brain damage are diminished considerably.”

  “It’s the least we can do for our heroic human,” Aiden said with a grin.

  I grinned back, mostly because my kick-ass Armasight Gen 3s made every one of Aiden’s abundant freckles a freakishly, fluorescent chartreuse.

  Alex and Sebastian took turns checking out my new toy.

  “Interesting,” Sebastian observed, scanning the area through the goggles. “These allow much the same visual acuity as normal Courso eyesight, I believe.” He handed them back to me. “It will be much easier for you to navigate while wearing them.”

  “I wish I’d thought of it,” Alex remarked, turning his attention to Aiden and Cortez. “Good call, my friends.” He bowed his head slightly and placed his right hand over his heart, a gesture repeated by his Xyzok underlings in response. “With luck, we should be back by daybreak.” That would allow enough time to hike up and check out the areas of interest under cover of darkness. It didn’t matter if we made the return trip after sunrise; if anyone saw us, we wouldn’t be doing anything more suspicious than descending the peak.

  Alex draped his arm around my shoulder. “Ready, carisa?”

  I adjusted my helmet and flipped the goggles down. “Ready, willing, and able,” I replied, snapping my hand to my brow in mock salute.

  We started up a narrow, but well-defined trail. Alex went first, then me, with Sebastian and Ulut in the rear. The change in grade was not overly strenuous at first, but became more difficult as we approached a wooded saddle. From there, the trail rose steeply up a ridge to the first climb. Bushwhacking to the base of a chute below a deep notch, we then climbed about thirty feet under a boulder wedged in the crack.

  Not too bad, I thought.

  I shouldn’t have been so cocky.

  As we approached a sloping ramp of rock, the rain began in earnest, transforming the damp ground into a soupy, slick mess. Despite wearing expensive Gore-Tex raingear, water managed to drip down around my collar, and even with the goggles, visibility was crap. To add insult to injury—or perhaps the other way around—I fell twice, and had Sebastian not grabbed me, would have done a complete face-plant the second time.

  Fortunately, one of our “points of magical interest” was nearby, and I had a chance to sit down and recharge. Alex and Sebastian concluded the energy fluctuations that had seemed so promising in their daytime recon had diminished with nightfall. They tried to explain what that meant, but I wasn’t paying attention to the lesson in interdimensional physics. All I cared about was moving on to the next site so we could get the hell off this mountain as soon as possible.

  Next up on the magical mystery tour was the Ladder Pitch, so-called because there once was an actual ladder bolted into the rock. All that remained was some old hardware, which was disappointing. What I would have given for some solid, wooden rungs. This was where the ropes were a necessity, at least for Ulut and me. Alex and Sebastian skittered up the rock face using only their hands and feet, kind of like big spiders climbing up a wall. Once at the top, they threw down the ropes and I helped Ulut into his harness. They hoisted him up, dropped the ropes back down, and described how I should arrange them so I’d remain tethered if I fell.

  “Why the hell didn’t we make another one of those?” I shouted, annoyed we didn’t think of a second harness for me.

  “What would be the fun in that?” Sebastian called down.

  “The fun would be I wouldn’t have to expend extra energy heaving myself up this damn rock.”

  Sebastian scoffed. “Your upper body strength is excellent, my dear, and the slope is not vertical. The rope will simply aid your ascent.”

  “Fine,” I ground out, beginning the climb. After a few awkward initial attempts using the inadequate technique learned in middle school PE, I figured out how to loop the rope across the top of the one foot while stepping on the opposite side with the other foot to lock it in place. All I had to do was reach high on the line and then squat my feet up the rope and stand up. It turned out to be quick and didn’t put a lot of strain on my arms. Plus, there was a certain sense of accomplishment as I reached the top of The Ladder.

  Alex pulled me toward him and rewarded my travail with one of his amazing smiles. “You did it.”

  “Yes, I did,” I said, flipping my goggles up and away from my eyes. “Next time, however, I plan to utilize the Sunderland Express. What’s the point of having a big, strong man around if you can’t take advantage of his advantages?”

  As the words rolled off my lips, clarity slapped the stupid out of my brain. “Wait a minute. You could have pulled me up even without a harness,” I protested. “I didn’t have to climb at all.”

  “True, but this way, you know you can do it yourself.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You sound just like Sebastian. I thought you were on my side.”

  Alex leaned in and kissed me. “I am always on your side, carisa. In this case, yours and Sebastian’s a
re the same—to make sure you stay safe.”

  It was tough to argue. I did feel empowered. Strong. Confident. Also, it was kind of fun. I scaled a mountain! Well, a piece of one, anyway.

  Continuing on, we followed another steep ramp of rock, moving steadily upward toward the next potential portal site. Sebastian felt this was the most likely spot for success, having the greatest anomalous energy signatures of all the promising locations. Unfortunately, we had the same result as the previous spot: lots of strange forces, but no sign of a doorway to Dekankara.

  The driving rain let up, but the wind intensified, negating any advantage of the diminished showers. Cold and tired, I sent a silent plea to I’itoi: If you are here and you’re listening, please cut us some slack and dial down the weather. Almost immediately, a huge bolt of cloud-to-cloud lightning sizzled above us. I wondered if that was I’itoi announcing he considered it offensive for a white chick to ask for divine intervention on sacred Tohono O’Odham land.

  Sebastian studied the sky. “I believe it behooves us to wait to summit the peak until the electrical storm passes.”

  We retreated to a small notch in the granite that offered some protection from the elements, but the narrow confines weren’t meant for three adults and a big dog. After being plastered against the hard stone for twenty minutes, my body began to protest.

  “I’m going to go stretch my legs,” I announced, edging past Alex on my way out.

  He looked like he was going to object, but he settled for reminding me instead to be careful and to stay out of the open.

  There was still a fair amount of lightning flashing, but my back and legs rejoiced at the luxury of free movement. Ulut trotted out and extended his front legs forward, rear end up in the air. I knew he was just stretching, but I bowed back.

  “My guard, I presume?” I teased.

  He wagged his tail and sat next to me. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and I hoped that meant the worst of the storm had passed and we’d be on our way soon.

  “I really hope we find a way for you to get back to Dekankara,” I said, reaching over to rub behind Ulut’s ears. “I’d hate for this whole effort to be for nothing.”

  As much as I wanted him to have the freedom to shift form at will, something that only seemed possible in his own dimension, I’d grown fond of Ulut—man and dog. Even if we succeeded in sending him to Dekankara, there was no guarantee we’d see him again. Now that I really thought about it, whether he intended to return here—or if he’d even be able to for that matter—was a topic that had we’d never discussed. The focus was always on getting him to a place where he wouldn’t be stuck as an animal, never the consequences.

  “Ulut, I know this probably isn’t the best time to hash this out, given your pawboard is stuffed in Sebastian’s pack, but if we find a way to send you back, do you think you’ll want to stay?

  He dropped his head and scrunched his withers, a gesture I’d come to recognize as his version of a shrug.

  I nodded slowly, trying to understand what it might be like, trapped in a foreign world. Ulut’s descriptions of Dekankara weren’t for the faint of heart: the few who possessed arcane powers controlled most areas, and they often didn’t use their gifts for the greater good. Life was cheap as far as the people in charge were concerned, and a crapshoot for everyone else. While I enjoyed my travels to Coursodon, different customs, a language barrier, and the shortage of palatable pizza made me long for home after a couple of weeks. And that was without the fear of being rounded up or tortured because I hadn’t “contributed” enough to a warlord’s coffers.

  Not really knowing what to say, I settled for, “I guess it’s hard to leave what you know.”

  I was about to add something less inane when Ulut stood, hackles rising to attention. Flipping down the night-vision goggles, I didn’t see anything that might elicit alarm, but he never reacted that way unless something was amiss. My concern grew as he growled, low and menacing.

  Alex and Sebastian emerged from the notch. “What’s going on?” Alex asked, squinting in the direction I faced.

  Ulut’s vocalizations escalated to rapid, deep barks.

  “I don’t know,” I replied, frowning. “He was fine a second ago. I’ve never seen him so agitated.”

  Sebastian crouched down beside Ulut and stared into the darkness. “Someone’s coming,” he announced.

  12

  Several figures came into focus as they stepped deliberately through the dense bushes. With my device-enhanced vision, all I saw were vague forms, but I didn’t require my eyes to identify them. As soon as they recognized me, which was undoubtedly difficult given my military-style get-up, they shouted, “Fucked up!”

  “Jyryxahal,” Sebastian spat. “How in blazes did they get here?”

  None of them had brought proper gear; rain-soaked clothes stuck to their skin and their hair hung in drenched clumps. Despite their bedraggled appearance, they didn’t seem at all fazed by the wet or the cold. Happy, actually, if the adoring smiles directed my way were any indication of their mood.

  Alex peppered them with questions. Although I couldn’t follow it all, the tightness of voice and defensive posture showed his displeasure. After a long conversation, my acolytes hung their heads. Alex had killed their buzz.

  “They followed us from Tucson, then up the peak,” he reported. “I can’t believe we didn’t hear or sense them.”

  Sebastian tapped his chin as he pondered the dilemma. “The electrical activity in the atmosphere must have dampened our senses more than I anticipated. Otherwise, one of us surely would have ascertained their presence.”

  “Perhaps, but I’ve been in worse than this without losing the ability to detect other Courso.” The vein in Alex’s temple pulsed. He was pissed, but I wasn’t sure if his anger was because the Jyryxahal were here, or that they’d gotten so close without him knowing they were around.

  “I, as well, Alexander,” Sebastian agreed. “It is quite vexing. Perhaps it is also a consequence of the unusual energy on this mountain. In any event, tonight’s quest must be abandoned.”

  Damn. All this effort and we never even made it to the top, much less got a chance to search all the designated places on the opposite face.

  “Well, this has been a major bust,” I grumbled. I wanted to order the Jyryxahal to stop bothering me, but I couldn’t remember if natjyn was “bother” or “castrate.” Mixing up the words wouldn’t convey the message I was after, and I decided it was better to say nothing. They seemed wacky enough without the additional confusion of why I believed they wanted to remove my non-existent testicles.

  Sebastian pointed at the group and with a sternness normally associated with a disgruntled Little League coach towards a parent complaining about why their kid wasn’t batting cleanup, instructed them to “Bityx torpu yij klypto,” which even I knew meant, “Go away and don’t come back.”

  I felt sorry for them, Sebastian’s forceful admonishment made two of the Jyryxahal tear up, while another clutched her chest in dismay, but then I remembered their weird obsession with me meant we’d have to repeat this damn exercise up Babo and my compassion waned considerably.

  We started herding them back down the slope when Ulut snarled again. Unless the Jyryxahal added more congregants in the last few weeks, all members were present and accounted for.

  “Now what?” Sebastian fumed, darting into the night.

  I heard a rustling of branches and a muffled, “oof.” Soon, Sebastian reappeared, dragging a struggling blonde by the scruff of her neck.

  Deputy Cunningham was no happy camper.

  “Get your hands off me,” she roared, trying her best to disengage from Sebastian’s grip. She wore a hooded jacket that hit her just below the hip. It was short enough to see well-worn blue jeans and no sign of her service revolver in its holster.

  Alex must have noticed her lack of a uniform as well. “Not on duty tonight?”

  Sebastian let go and she winced, rubbing her neck before s
he answered. “No, I’m not, but I noticed these people following you up the mountain. They looked suspicious. I decided to investigate.”

  Sebastian smirked and raised a skeptical brow. “How fortunate that you took it upon yourself to keep us safe from these clearly dangerous miscreants.”

  The Jyryxahal smiled sheepishly at Sebastian when he gestured at them. The rainfall was again heavy, and they were beginning to look more and more like drowned rats. If rats wore thin, light-colored clothing that, when soaked, revealed the cult had a penchant for eschewing undergarments. As if the day wasn’t bad enough, now all I could think about was my followers in a wet T-shirt contest.

  “What are the odds, I wonder,” Sebastian continued, “for you to be at the foot of Baboquivari Peak, many miles away from Tucson, at the exact moment we made our ascent?”

  “I’d say they are astronomical,” Alex answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Indeed.” Sebastian stared at the deputy with such intensity she could only gulp in response. Hell, I gulped and he wasn’t even glaring at me.

  “Fine,” she finally stammered. “I followed you. I thought you might lead me to the feathered cryptid.”

  Geez. She was obsessed with that thing. Well, me, actually. There was a cruel irony in her fixation with finding some otherworldly creature when a whole bunch surrounded her at this very instant. Too bad you’re never going to know just how close you came to Cryptozoology stardom. Instead of compassion, I opted for a less kindhearted response. After all, she was turning out to be much like an oozing, antibiotic-resistant sore: wouldn’t go away and hurt like a son of a bitch.

  “Did we put giant flares on top of the cars that spelled out, ‘Hey, we’re doing something secretive, gather round?’” I seethed. “How long have you been skulking around stalking us?”

  She glanced furtively between Alex and Sebastian. Ulut growled.

  “I know you won’t believe me, but it really was a coincidence. I have a friend who is doing volunteer work at the Buenos Aries National Wildlife Refuge southeast of here. I went to visit him today, and on the way back, I passed you on highway 286, right before you and the other Jeep turned off the highway. I admit, I stopped on the side of the road and considered what you might be doing way out there, at sunset on a stormy night. I sat there for probably ten minutes, wondering if I should follow you, but finally decided I was being ridiculous. Just as I started to pull back onto the highway, some beat-up junker stopped on the opposite side. A bunch of people got out, sniffed the air, got back in, and went down the same dirt road you had. I followed them.”