Portals

by Wilson, Maer

  Brown looked at me closely and I returned his gaze defiantly. Looking him straight in the eye and silently daring him to ask me any more questions about supernatural stuff.

  He sensed my impatience with the subject and only asked if I had anything to add. When I shook my head no, he released me to return to the living room while they called in Reo. It went on like that for over two hours, as they called us in one by one.

  I felt awful for Daria. Trying to bring the group together only to have a trusted companion involved not only in Reo’s shooting, but I had a strong suspicion that Ken had been working with the mutated daemons, possibly against his will. I wondered what they had done to coerce him into helping them. The man had a powerful amount of hate that had to come from somewhere. Not that it mattered, but still it’s possible they had tampered with his mind, which also might have accounted for his going off the deep end.

  Mostly though, Lilia and Daria and the others seemed shell shocked. Witnessing violence firsthand was never pleasant and to have it happen so unexpectedly and in the safety of one’s home was doubly horrific.

  When the dinner was ready, Daria and Lilia gamely set out the dishes for us to eat. No one felt very festive, but no one wanted their hard work to go to waste either. Traditional Mexican dishes were delicious, and I particularly appreciated getting fed while we waited.

  Lassiter and Brown turned down the offer, when Daria asked them if they’d like a bite.

  Eventually, Lassiter and Brown finished their interviews and we were allowed to leave. I hugged Daria and Lilia and told them we would have another get-together soon, asking if they’d like to come to our place next time. Daria retrieved our jackets from the closet and I slipped into mine.

  “Please call Thulu and me if you need anything. I mean that. Even if you just need to chat. You call us, okay?” I looked Daria straight in the eye as I held both her hands. She seemed grateful for the offer and gave my hands a squeeze.

  “I will,” she promised.

  “We supes need to stick together,” I whispered. That, at least, got a smile from her.

  Reo and Sloan joined us at the door and also made a point of doing what they could to put the others at ease.

  “Daria, I’d like you, Lilia, and the rest of your group to be my guests at one of my shows, if you’d be interested.” Reo looked around at the six of them. All four of the women perked right up and even Bill and Martin seemed interested. Of course, those tickets were hard to come by, which they all knew and appreciated. Reo got hugs, his back slapped and his hand shaken several times.

  It was a sweet thing to do and I was glad he’d made the offer. Getting to see a Brandy Malone show was a real treat and hopefully would help them put the ugliness of the evening behind them.

  It lightened the mood on our exit, but once the four of us were in the car, the silence descended and no one seemed inclined to talk on the drive home.

  Chapter 28

  Once we were home, we all settled in the family room with a bottle of wine.

  Carter and Treya were sound asleep in their beds when I went to check on them.

  Returning to the family room, Erik seemed to sense the tension and asked if we wanted him to leave, but we said no. We filled him in quickly as we told him what had happened, leaving out the part where I died and only saying I’d been shot, but Sloane had healed me.

  Even that made his face go grey, although he could see I was perfectly fine.

  “Your business has become very dangerous, kids,” he said quietly, looking from Thulu to me. “Are you sure you want to continue? Maybe you should find something else to do?”

  Thulu shook his head. “Dad, I’m not even sure that’s possible anymore. The world is changing and is going to keep on changing.” Thulu turned to me. “I think you’re right Fi, and it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better. There was no way for us to predict tonight would happen. But if it hadn’t been for Sloane, we’d be having a very different conversation right now.” He looked his dad straight in the eye. “I’m sorry we are putting the family in danger, though. Perhaps we should stay away for a while.”

  That cost him a lot to offer and my own heart sank. Our large family was my rock. Losing any one of them would pain me more than I wanted to think about.

  Erik shook his head. “No son, I don’t want that. I can’t speak for the whole family, of course, and maybe some of the cousins may want a break for a while, but going by how they reacted yesterday, I’d say the Thulukan clan will stick it out no matter what.” He stood up and said good night to Reo and Sloane.

  “Well, I will leave the four of you to work out whatever you need to. Please take care of yourselves.” Thulu and I followed him to the door, where he wrapped the two of us in a big hug, much like he’d done when we were kids.

  “Thanks again for watching Carter,” I said into his chest.

  “Any time, Fiona,” Erik said as he released us. If nothing else had clued me in, his use of my full name would have. Erik was far more worried than he was letting on. I wished there was something we could do to ease him, but none of the options were attractive. I didn’t want his emotions tampered with. He’d had enough pain the last month, but he needed to find his way without having his senses dulled. I did the only thing I could. I reached up and kissed his cheek, and Thulu and I watched him as he went down the walk.

  “Please call us when you get home, okay?” I called after him.

  He turned and nodded, giving a wave as he walked away.

  Thulu and I returned to the family room.

  Sipping a glass of wine, Thulu gave a very large sigh. I was concerned because it sounded horribly desolate.

  I curled up next to him and asked what was wrong. He looked at me, then over at Reo and Sloane.

  “I’d guess that Sloane already knows, but I owe you a big apology, my love.”

  “For?”

  “Getting you killed.”

  Back to that again. “Hello, you guys, I’m right here. I’m alive.”

  “Only because Sloane saved you.” Thulu’s breath hitched in his chest and he looked at me much as he had when I’d first come to after being shot. “I saw Ken start to pull the trigger, and all I could think was no, and I pushed him. Mentally, I mean.”

  “That was you? You were able to shove him all the way across the room? Sweetie, that’s wonderful. What else can you do?”

  Thulu sighed. “I think you’re missing the point. I caused the gun to go off and shoot you.”

  I shook my head. “Nope, it’s a good thing that you did. Otherwise, Sloane would have been shot in the head.” I looked at Sloane. “Would you have survived that shot, Sloane?”

  He was quiet for a few moments, “While it’s within the realm of possibilities, it’s highly likely I would have died immediately. Brain damage for any living being is catastrophic, and I would be no different.”

  I turned back to Thulu. “See? You didn’t get me killed. You saved Sloane from being killed. And with him alive, he was able to save me when Ken shot me.” I still wasn’t ready to admit I’d actually been dead. “I think you did the right thing. I’m just glad Sloane was there.”

  A change of subject seemed in order. “Did anyone else get the impression that he had been dealing with the mutated daemons?”

  “Yeah, I wanted to tell Lassiter what to ask him, if he had a chance to do so and not be recorded, but with Brown there, I felt it was better to let it go. Hopefully, Lassiter has enough pieces to put them together.” Thulu’s tone said he wasn’t done discussing what he considered his blunder, but I knew he’d drop it for now.

  “Well, I’m glad we know who shot Reo, anyway. That was really bugging me. At least all our little mysteries are solved. Well mostly. I do wonder how the mutated daemons found Satorah, but I guess we may never know that,” I said.

  “Well, they’re solved for now, anyway,” said Reo. “But there’s a lot more on the way. We all know that things are going to be very bad for a long tim
e. I think it’s going to happen a lot sooner than we might think, too.”

  My phone interrupted anything else he’d been going to say.

  “Hi, Jones,” I said as I answered.

  “May I come over?”

  “Yes, of course.” Actually I was surprised it had taken him that long.

  We watched as the portal formed and Jones stepped through. I went to get another wine glass and another bottle of wine, while Thulu and the others filled him in on what had happened. I was sick of the whole thing by that point and just wanted to be done with it. I took my time getting the wine and opening it. By the time I returned to the family room, they were back to talking about the extra abilities we were getting and what to do to protect ourselves.

  “Come on you guys, it’s not like this is an invasion or anything,” I said. “People will freak out for a little and things will settle down. They always do. It might take a while, but they will settle down.”

  The four men looked at me as if I’d sprung tentacles from my forehead.

  “La Fi, you cannot possibly think that. It’s a complete contradiction of what you said earlier.” Reo was shocked.

  Blowing out a big sigh, I admitted, “Well maybe not, but I can pretend to think it until whatever is going to happen hits. Up until then, I just want my peaceful life back.”

  There was silence for several long moments.

  “La Fi, I doubt your life is ever going to be the same again. We can only wait and see, but we should prepare ourselves. What if you wake up tomorrow morning and see humans flying and doing all manner of magical activities?” Jones tilted his head, as he watched me. “Believe me, human nature will react with an uproar, depending on how many turn out to have abilities.”

  “Okay, fine, Jones, but you already said you’d get our family protected. I simply don’t see what else we can do for now. And I’m sure you will do what you can to help others too, right?” I smiled sweetly at him. “Maybe it’s time to bring out the benevolence you were known for in ancient times?”

  He looked at me seriously. “Perhaps. We can get your army of dead assigned to patrol regularly and keep us posted. However, as of now we can begin to think of ourselves as in a battle. Even if those who might be against us do no yet know they will be.” He continued to regard me over his wine glass. “But, of course, you are right. There is nothing else that can be done. I’ve seen to it that your entire family has been protected from those who might wish them harm. The elves are doing what they can to spread calmness again. In the meantime, we watch out for each other and get on with our lives.”

  “When will the mutated daemons be removed?” Thulu asked.

  “They already have been. Sweeps are ongoing to ensure we have not missed any, but no time was lost getting them off Earth.”

  “So now our only enemies should be other humans, right?”

  “That is the idea.”

  “Lovely.” I rolled my eyes. “You do know that I have very good reasons for preferring the company of dead people, right?”

  The men laughed as Thulu pulled me tight against him. His phone rang and he retrieved it from the coffee table.

  It was Lassiter. Thulu put him on speaker.

  “We questioned Ken Williams, but didn’t get much out of him. He seems almost drugged or sick or something.”

  “Did you find out anything useful?”

  “No, he only said that humanity was in danger from the off-worlders and we should be thanking him. The fact that he shot two humans instead of his intended target seems to have him pretty shaken. The popular thought at the precinct is that he’s insane. Yelling at us that they were among us and we had no idea who they were didn’t help his case much, unless he goes for an insanity plea.”

  “Maybe a hospital is the best place for him,” said Reo. “He was partially right. The others were a danger to us.”

  “You planning on telling that to the court when the time comes?” asked Lassiter.

  Reo shook his head ruefully. “No, probably not.”

  “Anyway, Brown is in hog heaven right now. Getting to meet Sloane apparently elevates him with his superiors. And me, of course. It was even mentioned that the FBI might like a man like me.” Lassiter seemed amused at the idea.

  “Not something you care to pursue, Jeremy?” I asked.

  “Not something I even want to think about right now. I’m tired and on my way home. I just wanted to let you guys know what happened and not to expect a lengthy jail sentence for Williams if he continues the way he is tonight. I’ll catch up to you guys tomorrow.” Thulu disconnected the call.

  We looked around at each other. I heard a scratching from upstairs. I excused myself and went to get Treya and let her out. She’d already established a spot she liked and didn’t spend much time outside.

  I picked her up and carried her back inside and into the family room. The others hadn’t yet seen her. I figured it was best to get all the poodle jokes out sooner rather than later.

  Jones raised an eyebrow, Reo cooed over her, and Sloane asked to hold her when he saw her leg.

  “May I?” he asked as he gestured to the crooked front leg.

  “Sure.” She had settled right in to him and gave his hand a lick as he held it over her little leg. She gave a tiny whimper, but made no move to leave his lap.

  Within moments, the leg straightened out. He ruffled her top knot and set her on the floor with a pat. She immediately started to run over to me. Her first few steps were a stumble as she no longer had to compensate as she had been. She stopped for a moment and looked at me, with her head cocked to one side.

  “It’s okay, sweetie. You’re all better now.” She took a few more tentative steps then scampered up to me, without the least bit of trouble. She jumped up onto the sofa and settled in on my lap. I smiled as I petted her, looking at Sloane. “That was very kind of you. I appreciate it.”

  “I never thought you’d let Ally talk you into a puppy, but I must say, she is a doll,” said Reo.

  “Yeah, I love her already,” I said.

  Jones asked, “So what are you going to do now?”

  I smiled. “We do what we always do, Jones. Take it as it comes and look out for each other.”

  “You know, that sounds like a good toast to me,” said Reo as he raised his glass. The rest of us joined him.

  “And wait for the next case to come our way.” Thulu grinned. I groaned, but raised my glass with the others.

  For the moment, I was content. I had my husband beside me, my dog in my lap and my child upstairs safely sleeping. My best friends had our backs, as we had theirs. When it comes down to it, that’s all anyone can really ask. I leaned against Thulu and took a long sip of my wine, determined to enjoy the moment and my friends.

  THE END

  Acknowledgements

  As usual I received awesome support with this book.

  To Purgatory and the wonderful writers who are always a fabulous source of support, inspiration and friendship, especially Lisa Brackman, Gretchen McNeil, Rick Campbell, Kim Taylor, R. M. Clark, LynDee Walker, Cindy Pon, Jennifer Nelson, Kell Andrews and Jennifer Walkup.

  A very special thank you to my wonderful beta readers: Derek Rost, Danielle DeVor, Cheryl Rodgers, Leslie Cholowsky, Zachary Matzke, Glen Nowling, and last but not least, the fabulous Dr. Kim Farrell and Sharda Garrett. This great group of people is appreciated more than words can say.

  And to all the OTGers, fabulous gaming guild, awesome friends.

  To the author, Deborah Gray, for her expertise on wine. Any errors are mine, not hers.

  To Brian Harr for letting me run strange ideas by him about how the universe might work and not laughing at me.

  To Dr. Mark Beerenstrauch, veterinarian extraordinaire for his invaluable information on broken legs in dogs.

  To Carla Clifton for her continued friendship, unwavering support and all the fun times we have.

  To Jen Ryan, my editor and friend, who cares about my work as much as I do. Now
that’s a rarity!

  And of course, to my family and extended family who still cheer me on and are always my rocks: my brother, Shawn Wilson, Shawn Woodrich, Todd Meyers and Andrew Dolle. Love you all.

  About the Author

  After a successful career being other people, and later teaching others the many tricks of that trade, Maer Wilson has decided to be herself for a while. Turns out she’s a writer. She’s always loved stories, especially fantasy, mystery and sci-fi. She was born in the year of the dragon and adores anything to do with them. She even has a dragon-themed room in her home, but sadly no dragons in the back yard. When she’s not writing, Maer plays online video games (MMOs), teaches college and reads. She lives in the high desert of Southern Nevada with her two dogs, a chihuahua and a poodle.

  Portals is the second novel in “The Thulukan Chronicles.” Feel free to stop by and leave a comment on her website or at her social media links below.

  Maer’s Website

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  You can find Relics, Book 1 of The Thulukan Chronicles and the prequel novelettes “Ghost Memory” and “Unwanted Ghost” at Amazon at the links below:

  Praise for Relics, Book 1 of The Thulukan Chronicles

  "'Relics' is a powerful read which will challenge long-held perceptions of good vs. evil and Light vs. Dark well after the book is finished." Diane M. Haynes, author of Rift Healer, YA finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence.

  "In Relics, author Maer Wilson takes everything you think you know about the creatures of the fantasy world and twists it around to create a unique and engaging story." Constance Philips, author of Resurrecting Harry and Fairyproof.

  "The perfect paranormal detective, Wilson's unique and suspenseful tale pulls you in and doesn't let go." Jean Murray, author of Soul Awakened and Soul Reborn.