“Healing, they need healing!” the old woman said, her hands trembling as she turned to the exemplars who had just fallen.
“No!” Kevin grabbed her leg. She looked down at him, confusion on her face. “Get down!” he yelled up at her. “You can’t die.” Kevin made the ‘get down’ gesture to her and she finally understood what he was communicating—not a moment too soon, either, as a blast of energy sailed over her head, this one about three feet wide.
The same blast cycled around and tore through James’s shield, cutting him down.
The telepath crashed into the ground, his legs going over his head as momentum rolled him over.
“Shit!” Kevin started crawling on his arms over to James, occasionally looking over his shoulder to make sure the female healer was staying down.
“You okay?” Kevin asked as he reached James. “Tell me you’re okay! We can heal you…”
Seeing no other way, Kevin got to his knees and from there to his feet. Even as the ground blew up around him, he dragged James over to their side, hunched over, hell-bent on saving the telepath.
“Heal him!” he shouted as he dropped the telepath before the woman. “Fucking heal him!” The woman nodded, fear-filled tears streaming down her face as she lifted her hands over James’s body.
And that was when Kevin heard a sound that reminded him of someone slapping a sheet of metal against the ground.
He looked to the west to see the wall coming down—no, not coming down. Melting away.
A woman in a hood stepped forward, followed by a man with his lower torso covered in shadows and a man with red skin, black eyes, and protrusions jutting out of his shoulders.
Chapter Fifty-Four: Alive
The hooded woman came toward Kevin in a swirl of activity, the ground ripping up around her and reforming behind her, propelling her even faster as gravel flew everywhere.
It would have been an impressive display of force had it not been for the moment the woman’s power suddenly came to a halt, when Kevin’s ring activated.
This didn’t stop the forward momentum of her advance, the damage she’d already done to the ground causing a few Centralian guards and Kevin’s team to disperse.
Kevin’s neck hairs bristled as the woman got to her feet, sheer animosity evident in her eyes, a long strand of white hair falling out of her hood.
He kept the ring active, nullifying anyone’s power in his vicinity, which Zelda immediately responded to by moving away from Kevin to address the shadows seeping in around them.
The shadow wielder stood off to the right, dark blades ripping all around him. Rather than run, which Kevin would have done knowing exactly what a shadow exemplar was capable of, Zelda continued to advance toward him, the man flexing his arms back, a sinister look on his mustached face as he prepared to meet her head on.
“No!” Kevin started to yell, just as the shadows reached Zelda and she absorbed them, her eyes turning black as she lifted into the air, black blades of nothingness writhing all around her.
Kevin had to remind himself that Zelda was an absorber, a fucking Type II at that, and as she collided with the man, dark blades of nothingness whipping all around them, Kevin felt confident in the team he’d put together.
And while James was injured, Ray was on his way to meet the big red man and Zelda continued to hold the other exemplar off, Kevin connected the dots, freedom flashing before his very eyes—the melted hole the woman had put in the wall.
And he would have run to it, too, had the hooded woman not met him with a kick to the face that sent sparks of red across his eyes.
While Kevin’s ring nullified powers, it didn’t stop anyone from engaging in hand-to-hand combat, something he learned painfully as the woman followed up her kick with a stomp to his chest, rage in her face as her hood flew back, exposing a pair of mismatched eyes and white hair, her face still partially covered by a black mask.
The woman was tossed aside by Obsidian, who came at her with all her might, even as blasts from Centralian weapons zipped all around her. Possessed with rage, Obsidian and the woman had tumbled to the right when a direct blast from one of the Centralians’ weapons clipped the cat girl in the shoulder, blood misting in the air all around her.
The healer, Kevin thought as he lunged for her, no longer trying to figure out where the hooded woman had come from.
“What’s happening?” the healer asked as Kevin pulled her into his arms, his eyes locked on the path in the soil that the hooded woman had made before he’d nullified her power.
In that instant, he heard the sickening sound of breaking bones as Ray succumbed to the red man’s power, Kevin finally recognizing the red guy as the man who’d been working with Paris!
Why hadn’t he realized this earlier?
Too much action, Kevin thought, taking a deep breath in. The fact that the red man was there—Kevin couldn’t recall his name—meant that the surprise attack was somehow tied to Paris.
A burst of light blinded everyone in the yard as a man as bright as the sun landed, tendrils of yellow energy licking off his body.
Kevin looked just in time to see Zelda turn to the man, a blade of light passing right through her throat before she could absorb it, killing her instantly.
“Shit!” Kevin shouted while watching James get to his feet, barely able to walk. Kevin looked from James to the old woman in his arms as the telepath reached out to him.
Ignoring her bloodied stump of a shoulder, Obsidian used her full body weight to roll onto her back and fling the white-haired woman several feet away, the masked woman landing hard on the back of her neck.
The cat girl ran for Kevin, shooting her arms outward, and once James stumbled in her direction, she jumped and used his shoulders as a springboard to gain even more momentum.
“We have to help James!” Kevin shouted to her.
And even as she protested, he handed the healer to Obsidian.
The frail woman refused to move a muscle, her eyes clenched shut, and with as much energy as he could send to his trembling knees, Kevin quickly cleared the distance between the two of them and James.
“Kevin!” Obsidian cried out as he wrapped one arm under James’s shoulder, practically dragging the man toward the exit point.
Kevin ignored the fight that was still happening behind him; all he could focus on was the exit point. And miraculously, even though he’d nearly been blasted several times, he actually cleared the barrier.
Scarlett the teleporter appeared in a sparkling flash and placed her hand on his shoulder, her other hand going to Obsidian’s tail.
Kevin turned just in time to see the shadow wielder going to meet the man made of light, the ground swelling up as the hooded woman prepared her exit.
“Where are the others!?” Scarlett asked, her eyes wide with fright.
“This is it,” James said, gasping for air. “They’re gone…”
“And she’s the healer?” Scarlett asked, referring to the frail woman flung over Obsidian’s shoulder.
“It’s her; let’s go!” Kevin shouted. “Now!”
The five of them flashed away just as an enormous bolt of energy reached them, sending a spray of rubble into the air.
Epilogue: Bloom
Roman sat on his bunk bed listening to the sounds of the train, remembering all that had happened over the last fifteen hours or so. They were nearing the Centralian border, clear by the soldiers that had just come into their bunk and rechecked their forged documents.
Eli the young healer was asleep above him, Lisa also asleep on the top bunk on the other side of their cabin. The two dolls were stowed away in luggage in their coffins, and Casper was asleep on Eli’s bed.
Finally, Nadine was next to Roman, curled in his arms, sleeping soundly.
She was blemish free; Eli had healed her once they’d been released by the Eastern Province authorities. And the interrogator known as Captain Harwood had been true to her word, letting all of them go after a series of tests.
The tests they had performed weren’t very complicated at all, a series of tissue and blood samples, plus some ability exercises. They’d also had him repair the part of the base that he could repair, which he’d gladly done, able to use his ability without any repercussions.
For as fucked as he’d felt fifteen hours ago, Roman was feeling pretty damn good at the moment.
Nadine had started off sleeping on her own bunk, but she’d moved over to his side in the middle of the night so they could talk quietly.
He was curious why she had told him not to give himself over to save her, but she didn’t expand upon this, telling him they would just have to see how it played out.
Whatever that meant.
They would meet Abby within the next twenty-four hours, and hopefully the psychometrist would be able to shed some light on what had happened to Roman’s deceased wife.
He was ready to get back to the city, that was for goddamn sure, but Roman would also miss the woods, the pristine nature surrounding Brattle, the mountains, the crisp air—and just a small part of him would miss the adventure.
He would begin training again the following day, meeting with Ava, working to get approved in Centralia as an exemplar. He’d also need to see about getting Eli a power dial like his. Hopefully, it would help.
Roman was actually looking forward to the monotony of going back to the immigration office for the time being. He wanted to get his life in order, focus on advancing his powers a little more, embrace routine just to pass the time until his approval.
Get back on track.
And as Roman yawned, hoping again to not have the falling dream, messages started to come to him, ones he’d missed over the last few days.
The first was from Ava, a message reminding him to contact her as soon as he got back; she had more training ideas for him, and she wanted to go to dinner at some point. He received another message from Bill, asking why he hadn’t been at H-Anon. There were also a couple messages from Dante in HR, but it was the final two messages that piqued Roman’s interest.
The first was from Emelia, the strange exemplar who worked at the sex-doll shop:
Hello, Mr. Martin. I hope you are well. I feel like we got off to a bad start when we met privately in your home, and I wanted a chance to explain myself better, and possibly meet with you again. So there’s that. There’s also the fact that, and you should be surprised here, your doll has arrived. I’m having it delivered to your apartment, so by the time you get home from where you are, you’ll be able to see her.
She sure is beautiful, and please let me know when you’re ready to upgrade or purchase a new one. As for meeting again, don’t hesitate to contact me about that as well. Maybe we could start with coffee, and I could explain myself better.
Roman remembered meeting Emelia, and how it had been somewhat of an awkward situation. He didn’t recall her having anything to explain, so that part threw him off guard, but he figured she’d want to dig deeper into her power, perhaps reveal more about her personal history.
It would be interesting, whatever it was, so he would meet with her.
He was also interested in seeing how the life-sized Casper acted, although he was worried he had bitten off more than he could chew with this one.
Still, he could keep Casper in both forms, and he felt like there was much more she would be able to do in the future if she stayed in her tiny form, especially if he took the exemplar path Ava had suggested by joining a rapid response team.
The final message definitely caught Roman’s attention. It was from Harper, who had sent him several mental message, but none this blunt: My roommate and I want you to come over so we can cook for you and take care of you for the night. Message me as soon as you get back and we’ll set up a time. We’re really looking forward to it, and I hope your travels are going well.
Take care of me for the night? Roman sighed as he closed his eyes, hoping that what little sleep he did get tonight would be dreamless.
He was tired of falling.
The end.
Back of the Book Content
Reader,
So glad you’ve made it to the end of this one. This series lives on your reviews, so please take a moment to review the book, and if you haven’t already, review the first installment, which is the initial book readers see when they check out this series.
I’ll wait…Still waiting.
Good. I wouldn’t be able to write twisted stories about animated sex dolls and necromancers without your support.
Regarding future Centralia books: I am now working on a pair of series related to House of Dolls, so be on the lookout for these books in 2019. The first will be called Half-Powered: Heroes Anonymous, and this will be out in Febuary starring Sam from the H-Anon meetings and some cool new characters, all set in Centralia. So look for that!
House of Dolls 3 is in the works as we speak (or as my words speak inside your head), want it faster?
There are a couple of ways you can make that happen:
1) Join the Proxima Galaxy on Facebook where I look for ARC (advanced Review Copy) readers and give away audiobooks
2) Review the books, which generates more interest from other readers, which makes me write faster because (carrot dangling from the stick!) – I want to please you all!
So thanks, yet again, for reading, reviewing, enjoying House of Dolls. Continue onward for other books I’ve written.
Also check out the Harem Lit page for more adult-themed novels!
Yours in sanity,
Harmon Cooper -- [email protected]
Other Books by Harmon Cooper
I have written over thirty books. Here are some of the highlights!
My best-selling Superhero Harem Adventure about a sci-fi writer and the superpowered women who are trying to kill him. Fun content, adult read!
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BGZHXV7
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BGZHXV7
Audible: https://adbl.co/2uR0voP
DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07BGZHXV7
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07BGZHXV7
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07BGZHXV7
A fantasy harem adventure inspired by Pokemon Go!, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and the Persona family of video games. Check out this Amazon best seller!
USA: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CZM2MT6
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CZM2MT6
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07CZM2MT6
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07CZM2MT6
DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07CZM2MT6
What if Ready Player One was a multi-part epic? Gritty LitRPG action, gamer humor, fantastic fantasy worlds, and a killer MC.
(This one is related to Monster Hunt NYC)
US - http://amzn.to/2sdhfnF
Audible - http://adbl.co/2scOs2q
UK - http://amzn.to/2lCxkRH
Canada - http://amzn.to/2za1VeP
Australia - http://amzn.to/2h2bi9H
Germany - http://amzn.to/2z9Ad1v
If you love dark fantasy, RPGs, Witcher, Punisher, or Mad Max, you'll love this powerful gamer trilogy about a man and his wolf companion.
(This one is related to Monster Hunt NYC)
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F8GNHWH
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07F8GNHWH
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07F8GNHWH
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07F8GNHWH
DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07F8GNHWH
Tokyo, Japan meets online fantasy gaming and South Park-styled humor. Yakuza, goblins, action, intrigue - add this book to your inventory list!
(This one is related to Monster Hunt NYC)
US - http://amzn.to/2pKN8zM
Audible - https://adbl.co/2vqSzY3
UK - http://amzn.to/2lDlfMa
Canada - http://amzn.to/2iRellt
Australia - http://amzn.to/2A7KhGA
Germany - http://amzn.to/2xIUc3u
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