KARRIN: Warrior Woman (Excalibur Saga Book 4)

by Sahara Foley

  “You are Shalit. Can you not take us home?”

  Excalibur shook his head. “No. Unfortunately, my powers don’t work here.”

  “Then, you could have been hurt when I shot at you?”

  “Definitely.”

  Caddis scratched his chin with a ragged claw. “Why did I not hurt Lurga? The grid hit him over his hearts.”

  “Well, that is the funny part. My powers are nonexistent here, but Lurga has them.” Excalibur thumped his forehead. “I should’ve thought of this before. If Lurga has PSI powers here, then you do, too. You can get us out of here.”

  Caddis backed up a step, holding out his hands. “I do not possess any powers.”

  “Yes, you do. This is a reversed Universe from ours. Whoever had psychic abilities there have no powers here. And, vice versa. Your Seeder rifle? It won’t work here. You think it will, so it does.”

  “You are trying to fool me,” growled Caddis. “My Seeder rifle always worked here.”

  Lurga stood beside Excalibur, arms crossed. “Uncle, how many times has your rifle been re-charged since you landed here?”

  Caddis glanced off toward the green water. “My fighter went down in the water, and the only equipment I saved was my rifle. All the fuel was aboard my ship.”

  “Why did your fighter crash?” asked Excalibur.

  “I was coming in too fast. I had no choice.”

  “Exactly,” Excalibur said with a smug grin. “You thought you were going to crash, so you did. You knew your rifle would work, so it does. Hand me your Seeder rifle.” The Shalit held out his hand.

  Caddis looked at Lurga, who gave him a nod. With a frown, he unslung the rifle from his shoulder and gave it to his used-to-be enemy.

  Excalibur aimed at some rocks in the distance and pressed the firing stud. When nothing happened, he handed the weapon back to Caddis. “Now, you try.”

  Caddis fired at another set of rocks, which shattered into one thousand small, gray squares. He stared at the file in his hands like it had come alive.

  “See.” Excalibur had a triumphant smile on his face. “You and Lurga are the only ones with abilities. Since you came from the rim, you can help us leave, right back to our own Universe. Like I did when I managed to escape this place. You can take us all home.”

  The ancient warrior sat heavily on a rock and studied the rifle. He tapped a small indicator with his claw. “I never noticed this before, Lurga. The charge is not energized. My weapon cannot work. How did it fire for all these years?”

  Karrin sat next to Caddis. “Because, you made it work with your mind. In our Universe, Pam, Cal, and I possess tremendous mental powers. Here, you do. Let me show you.” She scanned the area until she saw a round rock sitting on top of a bigger, square one. “See that round rock over there?” She pointed at it. “Picture it in your mind, shattered into square pieces, and THINK it destroyed.”

  Caddis squinted at the forty-pound, round rock. He gritted his teeth, clenching his clawed fists. It exploded, sending brown sand and gray pebbles raining down on them.

  Caddis jumped to his feet. “I have been blasting away at those stupid tree things because they were always shooting sticks at me when I could have done that? They would have finally left me alone.”

  Excalibur thumped him on the shoulder. “Yup. You and Lurga are, now, as powerful as I am back home. Maybe even more.”

  Caddis looked from Lurga to Excalibur. “I have the powers of a Shalit. Imagine that.”

  “No, Uncle,” Lurga corrected. “You have the powers of an Ispepyein Warrior.”

  The old warrior’s chest swelled with pride. “Yes, Ispepyein Warrior powers. The only goal in my entire life was to destroy Shalits. Now, there is one here with me that I can kill with a single thought, but I choose not to. Thank you for explaining to me about the Others. Them, I would gladly hunt and kill.”

  “You’ve been given quite a jolt, today, with all the new revelations,” Excalibur said. “Before you become too overwhelmed, maybe we should start thinking about getting home.”

  Faces lit with hope, everyone nodded in agreement.

  Excalibur asked the old warrior, “Do you remember what part of our Universe you were traveling when you got thrown in here?”

  “Of course,” Caddis replied. “That moment has replayed in my mind, at least, a dozen times a day since I arrived here. The image is firmly planted in my brain.”

  “Excellent,” Excalibur exclaimed. “Everyone form up in a circle around Caddis, and we need to be holding hands. Caddis, place your arms at your sides, so we can, also, be touching you. Now, old friend, concentrate on the image in your mind and think very hard that you want to be there.”

  In a blink, they were gone.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Karrin clung tightly to Lurga’s and Cal’s hands, her upper arm touching the old Ispepyein warrior’s forearm. Please, please, she desperately pleaded in silence to no one in particular. Let our worlds still be alive.

  Suddenly, they were lifted from their feet. Flying through the air at a terrifying speed, they were hurtled into the swirling colors of the time slip. Before she could open her mouth to scream in fright, they were free falling through the air, again, and the ground was getting closer at an alarming rate. The wind whistled in her ears while hair whipped her face.

  “I got this,” Excalibur shouted as his body shimmered with his silver energy, and they floated the rest of the way to the ground.

  “Oh, my God,” Pam said as she held her stomach, looking a little green. “I’ve ridden monster roller coasters before, but that ride took the cake.”

  Karrin didn’t know what a roller coaster was. However, she had to agree with her grandmother’s assessment. She was still waiting for her heart and breathing to settle down.

  Hand over her eyes, Karrin searched around the area. They arrived back to the same knoll Weesa had been hovering over, but the scene was eerily quiet. When they left, there’d been a raging battle taking place.

  “Where are we? No one’s around. Are we too late?” asked Karrin, her voice full of fear.

  “It’s not ‘where’, but ‘when’,” Excalibur explained. “We’re about one thousand years in the past. Now, it’s your turn, Karrin, to get us the rest of the way. Visualize the ‘when’ that we left from and, please, get us home.”

  Four pairs of eyes focused on her, expectant looks on their faces.

  Karrin swallowed the growing lump in her throat as self-doubt consumed her. They think I’m strong enough to take us home. What if I’m not? We’ll be stuck here, and it’ll be my fault.

  Noticing Karrin biting her lip with uncertainty, Pam took the young woman’s hand. “Honey, you’ve been fighting yourself most of your life about who you are and your abilities.” She stretched out her arms and spun around, a gleeful smile on her face. “Don’t you sense it? The power surging through your body? Before I met Cal, I despised my abilities, but, now, I can’t imagine living without them.”

  She stopped and placed her hands on her granddaughter’s shoulders. “Cal and I failed you. It breaks our hearts knowing we couldn’t protect and train you. But, you grew up and survived by your own wits. So, believe in yourself. You can do this. You can take us home.”

  Frowning, Karrin closed her eyes and focused deep inside herself. In the middle of her being, near her heart, she sensed a beckoning warmth. As she concentrated harder on that spot, it expanded and grew until it encompassed her whole body, all the way to the ends of her fingertips and hair.

  A bolt of familiar energy raced through her body, and her eyes snapped open. “Wow. I’ve never felt anything like this before. I think I found the core of my powers. Why didn’t I discover it before?”

  “Maybe it’s because you weren't ready,” Excalibur said with a shrug as he stared amazed at his granddaughter.

  The surge of electricity that shot from Karrin’s body almost blew them all over.

  Being a Shalit, Excalibur had been around other entities
with lots of PSI powers. However, they were flashlights compared to Karrin. Her energy could reignite the sun.

  “Maybe you needed to lose them to discover them again,” he continued. “Who knows? Fate has its own rules. Still, you are the only one who can take us the rest of the way home. Please, young lady, help us get back.”

  Newly found powers coursing through her body, Karrin smiled and nodded. She was strong and invincible. Closing her eyes, she focused on her grandfather Arthur, and the Weesa. Slowly, a thin silver field expanded out and encompassed their small group and Blip! – they were gone.

  This trip was less stressful on their stomachs, but that was short-lived when they reappeared among chaos. The sound of Weesa firing her Ultilears at swarms of Srells invading their Universe filled the air. The Omars screeched and chittered as they tried stopping the gray, swirling horde.

  As more Omars perished in the battle, only to be absorbed by the filthy, lying Srellooks, an overpowering rage filled Karrin. Without thinking, the young woman threw out her hands, silver and gold sparks flying from the fingertips.

  “Enough,” she yelled. “No more Srells are allowed here and every Srellook still here will leave. Now!”

  A massive wave of psionic energy never experienced before swept through the Universe.

  Lurga growled in consternation while Excalibur and Pam stood stunned at the display of power. Husband and wife looked at each other, reading each other’s mind. Thank goodness she’s on our side.

  After a few minutes, groups of Srells, screaming mentally in outrage, flew back into the time warp to disappear in flashes of bright colored lights.

  Probing with her mind, Karrin confirmed the Srellooks were gone. Then, she telekinetically lifted herself from the ground and glided gracefully over to the middle of the maelstrom that made up the time rift. The young woman peered down into the conflux of worlds and universes, ebbing and colliding with each other like they’d done since the beginning of time.

  The Srellooks are gone, for now, but what will prevent them from returning? Once they regroup, they’ll come back with a vengeance. Karrin held her hands up, studying them. They welded the power of life or death.

  If I don’t stop them, they will always be a threat to my world. But if I do, I’ll be condemning them to death. Closing her eyes for a moment, she exhaled slowly as she pondered, What do I do? Without her Universe for the Srells to birth their young in, they wouldn’t last long.

  Confused, uncertain what to do, Karrin glanced over at her grandparents, Lurga, and Caddis. They stared back at her, mouths open in shock. She peered up at the infinite stars above, then over toward the Omars and other creatures who watched her in fear and awe.

  Almost like I’m some sort of God, even though I’m not. I’m just a Human who was born with powers I’ll never understand. She hung her head, sighing deeply. Why does it have to be me?

  *Because you’re the only one who can,* came Arthur’s mental voice. *I’ve always rebelled against the thought of Fate meddling in my life. It was me that fell in love with Ruth. Not Fate telling me to. I see, now I was wrong. Without my love for Ruth, there would be no you.*

  Arthur chuckled. *There’s no doubt Fate sucks. I’ve cussed it out a few times myself, but there’s one thing you need to understand. Fate can put you where it wants you, but it’s still your decision. No pressure kid, but it is up to you whether we all live or die. I’m glad it’s not me this time.* He chuckled again and disappeared from her mind.

  Exhaling heavily, Karrin understood there wasn’t much of a choice remaining. It was either every living being in her Universe or the Srellooks.

  Holding her head high, squaring her shoulders, the young woman declared in a booming voice, “From this day forth, the Srellooks will no longer have access to our Universe. They are forever banned.”

  At that moment, Karrin was encased in a glowing ball of silver and gold power. Once again, she thrust her hands out, propelling all that energy into the time slip. For a brief second, every sound, every breath stopped, as a race and a Universe were sealed off and condemned to death.

  Weary in heart and body, Karrin glided back to her family. She would live with the burden of her decision for the rest of her life. Fate, don’t you dare come calling again. I might be more than even you can handle.

  With a loud groan, Caddis dropped to his knees, then over on his side.

  Lurga knelt next to him. “Uncle, what’s wrong?”

  Despite the warrior’s question, everyone could see. Caddis was aging before their eyes. His skin became more wrinkled and thinner, his eyes covered with a film, and his claws turned into yellow stubs.

  “I should’ve thought of this.” Excalibur slapped his forehead. “Hurry, Karrin. You need to send him back to the reversed Universe before he dies.”

  With a small flick of her wrist, Caddis disappeared.

  “No,” Lurga roared as he bared his teeth. “Why send him back to that place?”

  “I’m sorry, Lurga.” The Shalit placed a comforting hand on the Ispepyein’s shoulder. “Caddis was already old when he became trapped in that damn world. When I saw him, I was surprised the warrior hadn’t aged. Then, I realized it was due to the powers he acquired over there.”

  Excalibur held his hands up in surrender. “Once Caddis came back, he lost his powers and started aging again, but at a very rapid pace. He wouldn’t have lasted long here. Now that he’s back in the reversed universe, he’ll live forever. However, this time, he’s learned he has special abilities.”

  Excalibur grinned. “I feel sorry for those Tree People. He’s going to have a field day with them. Besides, he, now, realizes he can come back anytime he wants.”

  Lurga rose to his feet and strode over to the rim of the time slip and peered into it as it flowed by in fits and starts. Going everywhere and everywhen at incredible speed, but going nowhere or nowhen at the same time. And, his uncle was somewhere in that mess.

  “According to our history, he never did,” Lurga muttered.

  “Well, that tells you something, doesn’t it?” Excalibur asked.

  “I don’t understand why you didn’t send him back, Grandpa. Getting too old?” Karrin teased as she leaned against Lurga. Then, she yawned and said, “God, I’m tired. I could sleep for a year.”

  “Honestly, I think I might be linked to Caddis in time. We became trapped together, and I didn’t want to take the chance of getting stuck in that Universe again.” When Pam snuck up behind him, Excalibur put his arm around her, giving her a hug. “I’d much rather be here.”

  Hugging him back, Pam smiled up at him. “Me, too.”

  *So what happened?* asked Arthur. *You guys look like hell for being gone for only a few minutes.*

  “Really?” Pam replied in surprise. “It seemed like years. All I know is, I need a bath, fresh clothes, and some sleep. Oh, and something to eat besides Pukeup.”

  Pam and Excalibur laughed while Karrin and Lurga grimaced in disgust.

  “But, seriously,” Pam said, biting her lip. “Are we safe, now? Are the Srells gone for good?”

  “Yes,” answered Karrin softly. “I not only sealed them off from our worlds, but all other universes, as well. I couldn’t risk them sneaking in through a backdoor. I just killed off one of the remaining ancient races.” She hung her head, eyes swimming with tears. “I’m a monster.”

  “No, my Warrior Woman,” Lurga said as he turned her to face him. “You did what was necessary to protect us all. They were the evil ones as they destroyed life forms everywhere they went. If they were meant to survive, you would not have been born. They outlived their usefulness.”

  “That may be, but I will always carry the burden of what I did.” Karrin sniffled, wiping her eyes.

  “Then, we shall bear the burden together.” Lurga held her in his arms and kissed her forehead with his hard lips.

  “That won’t do,” said Excalibur, making Karrin and Lurga glance at him in surprise. “If you intend on spending your lives
together, Lurga needs to be turned into Human form. Anytime you’re ready, big fella, I’ll transform you.”

  Lurga stepped in front of the Shalit. “I am ready to do what is necessary to please my Karrin.”

  “Stop.” Karrin laid a restraining hand on Lurga’s arm. “No offense, Grandpa, but if I want Lurga wants to change, I can do it myself.” She took Lurga’s clawed hands into her smaller, soft ones. “We’re both shapeshifters, my love. We can be whatever we want for each other. I fell in love with you, just the way you are.”

  The young woman began shimmering in silver. After a few seconds, an Ispepyein female stood in her place. “I want you to take me as an Ispepyein Warrior would take his female.” She bared her fangs, batting her eyelids at him.

  Lurga growled low in his throat, his breathing vents fluttering as he inhaled Karrin's breeding scent.

  “Oh, my,” Pam mumbled as she noticed the very prominent bulge in Lurga’s tattered flight suit. “Reminds me of you,” she told Excalibur with a saucy smile.

  The growling intensified and teeth flashed when abruptly the new couple disappeared.

  “Where’d they go?” Pam asked.

  “I sent Karrin a mental image of Lear, and they’re in the cave getting, em, busy,” her husband explained with a smirk.

  “Damn, I was looking forward to spending time with you there myself.“ Pam rubbed her breasts lightly against her Shalit’s chest, then giggled when she felt his reaction.

  *I swear,* Arthur’s mental voice interrupted. *All you Burns’ woman think about is sex, sex, sex. We still have business to wrap up on Switch with the Senods and Omars.*

  And, Blip! – they were gone.

  NOTRIDICAL

  Which is Ispepyein for THE END

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