by R. R. Banks
"Do you know how to lure them to you?" Loralia asked.
"No. They just show up. Do you remember anything else that your grandfather used to say about the Covra? Anything about when they would come or how you could get them to come out?"
Loralia scoured her mind, trying to recall everything that her grandfather had said, every story that he had told about the creatures and how enemies defeated them. The ground pounded beneath her feet as she ran toward the forest.
"Silence," she said, suddenly remembering one of the stories as she dropped down onto the ground and moved aside a section of moss to reveal the hole leading down into her mirror realm.
"Silence?" Bannack asked.
"Yes. One of the stories that my grandfather used to tell was about how the greatest enemies of the Covra had a power that would weaken the creatures and was the only thing that could reverse their greatest defense, and that silence was their comfort and their joy."
"What was the greatest defense?"
"He never said."
Bannack didn't respond and Loralia dropped down through the hole into the home that she had had her entire life before she met Bannack and agreed to go above ground to be his mate.
"Locking them," Bannack said a moment later, sounding as if he was speaking more to himself than to her.
"Locking?" she asked.
Loralia listened while Bannack told him about the warriors visiting the prison that they had thought belonged to the Klimnu but they discovered actually belonged to the Covra, and how they found out about the kingdom that the Covra had locked. He detailed the Light Ones and how they appeared to be frozen in place in the same breath that they had been drawing when the Covra attacked them. As she listened, Loralia tried to understand what he was telling her, and what she might be able to do to help him. She had gone to the mirror realm to surround herself in what was familiar, hoping that it would help her to think clearly. She could feel that her mate was frightened and upset, and she wanted to do anything that she could to help him.
She moved deeper into the caverns, exploring the chambers and venturing into areas that she hadn't visited in quite some time. Suddenly she saw something that made her heart pound faster and a smile come to her lips for the first time since the day that Bannack left.
"Do you remember what I told you about the compact?" she asked, looking into the mirror at him.
Bannack nodded.
"Whatever reflects in your mirror, reflects in mine."
"Yes. And do you remember what happens when something reflects in my bottom mirror from the top?"
"It becomes real."
Loralia nodded and looked back across the cavern.
Bannack crouched down behind the barrel he had pulled into the middle of the street and glanced over at Lynx who sat beside him. The others had remained in the buildings on either side of the street, poised beside the windows and doors to watch what was happening, but staying out of sight.
"Are you sure that this is going to work?" Lynx whispered.
"It has to," Bannack answered. "In order for it to, though, you have to believe that it will. Loralia can only make this happen if you completely believe that it is going to work the way that she intends it to. If you don't, it won't exist, do you understand?" Lynx nodded and Bannack nodded back at him, "Good. Now we have to be completely silent."
The two warriors fell silent and Bannack glanced down at the compact in his hand. Loralia's face gazed up at him from the glass, her beautiful lavender eyes calm and focused. Nervousness flooded through Bannack, but he knew that he had to steady himself so that he could do his part of Loralia's plan properly. After several minutes of waiting, he heard the rustling sound that told him the Covra were approaching. The sound seemed louder and deeper than it had before and Bannack knew that meant there were more of the creatures this time as if they had sent more to seek revenge on those who had destroyed three of their number just hours before.
"They're coming," Bannack mouthed to Loralia, not making a sound.
Loralia nodded. Bannack lifted up slightly so that he could look over the barrel and watch the Covra approaching.
"Patient," Loralia mouthed to him.
Bannack watched until they were close enough that they would be able to see him clearly and then stood, pulling Lynx up with him so that they were standing in the middle of the street, open to the swarm of creatures approaching. He could feel Lynx tense beside him, but Bannack stood steady. Lynx adjusted his grip on the blade beside him. It was meant as both a ruse and a backup plan just in case Loralia's idea fell through. They waited for a few more tense seconds, the time seeming to drag past as they allowed the creatures to get dangerously closer. Bannack's heart pounded in his chest and his head felt like it was swimming. If this didn't work, the entirety of the group could be killed, many by each other's hands.
In an instant, the plan mobilized around him. The Covra climbing along the outside walls of the buildings got close to the windows and doors, and the warriors inside started to shout. As they yelled, the creatures paused and started to retreat from the sound. They started moving backwards back down the street, but several of the warriors streamed out of the building and made a line across the street, blocking them with a wall of sound. The creatures turned and started scurrying more quickly toward Bannack and Lynx, unable to go anywhere else.
"Are you ready?" Bannack asked, looking down at Loralia.
"Just hold your compact so that the bottom mirror is straight upright and the top mirror is tilted toward it. Go!"
Bannack turned the compact in his hand and held it as Loralia instructed. There was a moment when nothing happened and he felt his stomach turn, but he closed his eyes and forced himself to believe with every bit of his existence that she would create exactly what she intended to. His eyes still closed, Bannack suddenly heard the hissing, screeching sound of the Covra dying. He opened his eyes and found himself staring at a massive slab of brown and grey rock.
After several long seconds the screaming stopped and a chilling quiet settled over the street. Finally it broke with the sound of Loralia laughing.
"We might not be able to communicate with our thoughts, my love, but how many of the other warriors can do that?"
Bannack could hear the other warriors cheering and shouting, but it took a few moments before he was able to get his thoughts together enough to walk around the stone slab toward the cheering. When he did he saw the green blood of the Covra soaking into the dirt of the road, dripping from the rock spikes protruding from the front of the slab.
"What is that?" he asked.
"The floor of one of the caverns," Loralia told him, "I used to play on them when I was younger. I remembered how sharp they were."
"You are incredible."
"No, darling, you are."
"What, now? Is this thing just going to stay here?"
"If you think that it is part of settlement now, then it is. If not, when you close the compact, it will disappear."
"Then it will stay, forever a reminder of what destroyed the Covra."
Suddenly Loralia's eyes grew dark.
"This isn't the end, Bannack," she said solemnly.
The words hit him and the sound of the celebrating warriors seemed to fade.
"What do you mean?"
"I can still feel them. They're angry, Bannack. There's more to come. You need to save the Light Ones or very soon they will be lost forever."
(To be continued in Part II…)
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Chapter 1
She closed her eyes and listened to everything that was happening around her. Two men, both of whom were flirting with her at various point
s of the night, were starting to get frustrated by her clear lack of interest. Though their ploys were envious and creative, one of which involved turning a napkin into a flower, she was not interested in finding someone to entertain her for the night. They were both attractive with soft, boyish faces and sharply dressed appearances, both were wearing fancy dinner jackets in a night club. Her interest was not piqued by them and she continued to listen on to what was happening around her, even if they continued to offer to buy her drinks in an attempt to bribe her into going home with them.
Behind her was a young couple having an argument. “Can’t hold her liquor,” she thought as she listened to the young, red-headed girl with an amazing figure slur her speech while arguing over just how many she drinks she consumed. The man beside her, a very handsome, well dressed man with a great body and well toned arms looked on with a stupefied expression. “He clearly hasn’t had enough.”
“Hey, Hannah,” said the young girl sitting in the booth beside her. She was skinny with a tanned complexion and beautiful, dark hair that flowed down to between her shoulders. “Are you alright?”
Hannah smiled as she opened her eyes and looked upon Alexis. “You’re not supposed to ask me that,” she said playfully. “We’re here tonight to take your mind off of that jackass. Tonight is all about you.”
Alexis sighed as she was reminded about the man who had just left her for another woman. Tad, her former lover and current ex-boyfriend was someone who didn’t deserve Alexis or what she had to offer. He was a skinny young man that she met in college that was more of a weasel than a human. He was slimy, crooked, and would say whatever he needed to say to keep Alexis around. “Hey, don’t start dwelling on that cockroach,” said Hannah as she placed her arm around her best friend and pulled her toward her. “He isn’t, and has never been, good enough for you.”
“But he was really sweet,” she replied meekly, prompting Hannah to remove her arm and gaze at Alexis sternly.
“That boy used you for your money and for your vagina!” she shouted, causing the two men who were still hanging around to focus in on their conversation. Hannah turned back to notice them staring, but shrugged her shoulders before turning back to face Alexis. “You are so much better than he is and can do so much better.”
Alexis shook her head as she reached for a small glass on the table in front of her. “Maybe I can just drink the pain away,” she said as she turned up the glass filled with a sweet smelling blue liquid.
Hannah smirked as she reached for her glass and drank it with her. “Well, I suppose there are far worse ideas,” she said as she raised the glass up to her lips and downed it before placing it back on the table and looking into Alexis’s beautiful, brown eyes. “If we have to drink your pain away, then let’s get after it.”
She smiled as she turned and slid down the booth toward the end with Hannah close behind. “Why don’t we try somewhere else?” asked Alexis as she placed her feet on the floor and turned back to look at Hannah. “There are too many creepy guys here for me to really feel comfortable letting go.”
“I understand,” said Hannah as she looked over at the two guys still sitting at the booth, both of whom were not invited to join them but provided a few free drinks. “Where do you have in mind?”
Alexis looked over at the two guys who were really perturbed now. “I don’t know,” she said with a slight wink. “Why don’t we just see where our feet take us.”
Hannah immediately picked up what Alexis was hinting at, knowing that the likelihood of the two men following them to the next bar was extremely likely and that they would be hounded and harassed for the rest of the evening. “We could try O’Conners,” she said, knowing that the two men were listening in and treating every drink that they purchased for the two ladies as an investment.
“Yeah, that sounds like fun,” replied Alexis as Hannah stood up beside the booth and gathered her things. “Do you mind stopping by the rest room before we leave though? They only have one stall in the ladies room and I’d hate to have to wait in a line to use it.”
“Absolutely,” said Hannah. “Why don’t we head back there now and then we head over to O’Conners.” The two men looked over at the girls before looking back at each other, taking the bait and standing up from the booth. Hannah and Alexis walked away, stepping out into a hallway that led to the restrooms before ducking down another hallway that led to another exit. “Good thinking,” she said as they reached a side door and stepped out into the cold, New York City air.
“I’m not really in the mood to entertain a couple of men who are only looking to get into my bed tonight,” said Alexis with a smile as they started walking down the street toward the first cab they could find.
Hannah reached out and opened the door of the yellow cab and allowed Alexis to enter first, climbing into the backseat before getting in herself and closing the door behind her. “Poole’s,” she said as she closed the door and sat beside Alexis. The driver nodded before pressing the accelerator and taking off down the street. “I wasn’t feeling like seeing any of those men again either, to be perfectly honest. I got a bad vibe from them.”
Alexis looked out the window as the passed by the bar to see the two men walking down the street toward O’Conners. “Like what?” she said as she watched them look back toward the door to see if they were going to walk out.
“Like even if we did take them to bed tonight, they wouldn’t know what they were doing,” she replied in a sultry manner.
Alexis laughed. “Really?” she asked. “Your bad feeling centered on what skills they may or may not possess in bed?”
“Yeah,” continued Hannah. “It’s a skill that I deeply appreciate.”
Alexis shook her head as the driver turned down the next street and continued on toward the other end of New York City and the bar that Alexis and Hannah spent a great deal of time at. Poole’s was a friendly establishment filled with people they went to college with, as well as some of the people they worked with. Both girls, both employed by the American Oil Trade and Refiners, had just started their careers a few weeks earlier and had already started making headway. “I hope we don’t run into anyone from work,” said Alexis as she leaned back in the seat and looked straight ahead out the windshield as the people walking along the streets toward their various destinations. “This week has been hard enough already. The last thing that I want to do is to talk about work for the rest of the evening with people I barely know.”
“Absolutely,” Hannah nodded as her blonde hair moved a bit behind her head from the motions. “You’ve been there a few weeks longer than I have and I can already tell that some of the people in that building annoy the hell out of you.”
“It’s not that,” said Alexis.
“Yes it is,” defied Hannah. “It’s because many of them are complacent and don’t want to attack the objectives like you do. They annoy you because they will sit there and do as they’re told instead of simply doing what’s best for them.” She paused before adjusting her hips in the seat and turning to face Alexis. “I know you better than you know you,” she continued. “I know what drives you insane just like you know what makes me homicidal.”
Alexis looked on stone faced without turning to face Hannah, still with her mind dwelling on the man who just broke up with her. “I can’t stop thinking about him, Hannah,” she said as a tear started to form in her right eye. “I cannot stop thinking about what he meant to me and what I could’ve done differently to keep him around.”
Hannah fumed as her eyes widened and she looked upon Alexis with an immense furor. “He was terrible for you and he was terrible to you,” she said vehemently. “At what point will you be able to see that?” She paused and composed herself, seeing that her fury was not helping anything and that Alexis was still becoming more upset. “Look,” she said as she calmed down and placed both of her hands on her thighs. “I know you can’t see it now, but he was not the man that made you a better person. He did not do for you wh
at you need. You did wonders for him and hopefully, he appreciates you for it, but in reality, you’re far better off.”
She turned and looked at Hannah. “What do you mean?”
“Alexis, in relationships, both parties have to give and both parties have to take,” she explained in a much softer, kinder tone. “Both of you have to make each other better and both of you have to complement one another. As a couple, you have to hide his weaknesses and magnify his strengths. You have to offer to the relationship what he can’t, while he has to do the same. The problem that you and Tad possessed was that you were far too headstrong for him. He wanted to sit back and let the world come to him and you want to go after what you want. Instead of him reeling you in and meeting you halfway, which is what should’ve happened, he pulled you all the way down and left you as a shell of who you once were. You used to be a tiger, always out on the prowl ready to strike and take what you thought you deserved. Tad made you less of a person and made you regress into someone who was timid and reluctant to take chances.”
“I would take chances with him!” shouted Alexis defensively.
“Name one?”
Alexis breathed heavily for a moment while she thought about her past relationship and what alls he accomplished with him. “I took a new job.”
“You were going to take that anyway,” replied Hannah in a snarky tone. “Name a chance you took that you would not have taken if you were not with him.”
Alexis darted her eyes around the cab as she thought, hoping that she would have an epiphany while Hannah looked on with her judgmental eyes. “I’m sure there has been at least one.”
Hannah smirked and turned around in her seat, placing her back against the cushion and looking forward to allow Alexis to stew in her thoughts. “Maybe,” she said as she got comfortable. “You might have taken one.”