by CM Raymond
Hannah took a step closer. There was a foul odor in the air, like burnt hair. And the sound she had thought was distant thunder? It was coming from the Rift.
“But...but where does it lead?”
“Hell,” Olaf grunted. He turned away and began searching the ground. “I am sure the Oracle will give you a more technical explanation.” He started to walk around the hut, searching for something.
“That’s a pretty strange place to build a summer home,” Hannah said.
“Just our outpost. Our fastest citizens take shifts. When something comes through, they run like hell to New Romanov.” He looked down and shook his head. “Mika had Mira on today. She’s just a damned kid, but we knew this couldn’t happen. We knew she’d be safe.”
Hannah and Sal searched near him. “Olaf, what couldn’t happen?” He continued looking, as if he had gone deaf. Hannah yelled after him. “What the hell couldn’t happen?”
“They don’t come this often; they can’t. Usually one comes through every few months. Two in the same month is almost unheard of. Within a few days? That should be damn near impossible.”
Hannah found a footprint that was nearly big enough for Sal to curl up in. She was no tracker, but it obviously belonged to something far bigger than they had fought the other day. “I’ve got something,” she called out to him.
Olaf crouched by her side. “By Valhalla,” he exhaled, running his hand along the edge of the footprint, “it’s massive.”
His eyes cut from the track to the north, the direction the Skrim had run. The same direction as Mika’s home. A vein pulsed visibly in his forehead; Hannah knew that Olaf was on the verge of making a terribly difficult decision. Give chase to the monster, or head back to Lilith?
“What’s the call?” Hannah asked, already committed to following his lead.
He shook his head. “This is most unusual. I can’t leave New Romanov undefended, not until we know more. We need to speak to Lilith, and we need to do it fast!”
“All right, but you ride with me.” She pointed at Sal. “I bet my dragon is faster than the average bear.”
“Who said anything about average?”
She considered her joke again, and for a second time, Hannah held her tongue. “Trust me,” she said, pulling herself onto Sal’s back and urging Olaf to do the same. “And this will save you a wardrobe.”
Olaf took her hand, but hardly used Hannah’s strength getting into place behind her. Sal was large enough to accommodate them both—just barely. She had noticed that his rapid growth had slowed over the past few weeks. It was possible he had reached his peak size. She patted her dragon, giving him encouragement. “Come on boy, you can do this.”
As the dragon ran forward, she glanced over her shoulder. Looking down at his pants, she said, “I think Karl will be glad to get his britches back.”
She could feel Olaf’s body heave in laughter, but she heard nothing through the wind as Sal sped them back to New Romanov.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
By the time Hannah and Olaf returned, everyone had been awakened. The whole town was on high alert, and her team was waiting near the entrance to the caves.
Olaf left Sal’s back before they landed and took off into the tunnel. The dragon landed, then nearly collapsed in exhaustion. “Nice work, kid. Go get some rest,” she told him before turning toward her team.
Ezekiel wasn’t there, but the rest of the BBB waited for her lead.
“What’s going on, Hannah?” Parker asked.
“A new development, but not the good kind. It will be easier if I let Lilith explain. Come on, everyone. It’s time you met her.”
They fell into step behind her as she followed Olaf’s path.
“You met her?” Gregory asked. “What’s the Oracle like?”
Hannah smiled. “She’s wicked smart, very confusing, and kind of a prick. Not unlike you, I guess.”
Gregory did not find the joke funny. “Please tell me you didn’t call the Oracle a prick.”
Hannah smiled even wider. “Just wait until you meet her. I bet you will have some less than diplomatic words of your own.”
As they reached the end of the tunnel, Hannah’s prediction came true.
It took nearly twenty minutes before the Bitch and Bastard Brigade accepted the fact that the Oracle was trapped in a machine.
Even after she, Hannah, Olaf, and Ezekiel tried to explain it to him, Karl kept shaking his head and mumbling under his breath about the nonsense these magic users kept putting on him.
Hadley was too amused by Karl’s reaction to really let it sink in. Laurel accepted it the fastest. Even though she had spent less time around technology than any of them, she understood that life didn’t always look the way one expected.
Parker, like Hannah had, kept his guard up. The conman was worried that he had become the mark.
Hannah had to shoo Aysa away from the Oracle several times. The young Baseeki kept trying to touch it. And something in her eyes said that she was tempted to take the thing apart.
Gregory, on the other hand, had lost his voice the moment he entered the room. He had yet to regain it, but the way he was staring at Lilith started to make Laurel a little jealous.
“Please, could we all just take a seat?” Olaf bellowed. “We’re wasting time.”
“I concur,” Lilith said. “Please, just listen. All will be made clear.”
“Not bloody likely,” Karl said under his breath. Aysa elbowed him hard in the side, and he shut up.
“Another Skrim has crossed through,” Olaf said. “Based on the evidence, it is the largest one yet. But it’s heading to the north, away from us.” From the way he spoke, it was clear that this change in the norm had even a man as large as him a little frightened.
“I don’t get it,” Laurel said. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
Parker shook his head. “An unpredictable enemy is ten times as dangerous as one who follows the same pattern.”
“Wisely spoken,” Lilith said. “These creatures come here for a purpose. If they are changing their pattern, there is some ill intent behind it.”
“Not to mention,” Olaf growled, “that there are people north of us in the creature’s path. They are not equipped to deal with something like that. We have to help them.”
“I agree,” Lilith said. “Once upon a time, we defended everyone who lived within the Archangelsk region and beyond. We should endeavor to do so once again.”
“OK,” Karl said, “I don’t really get what’s happening here, but fighting monsters and saving people, that makes sense to me. Maybe Miss Talking-Box-Thing could explain to us exactly what these Skrima are?”
Lilith didn’t answer immediately and Ezekiel reached his hand out, placing it on her. The gesture seemed to give the machine some measure of comfort.
The Oracle began to speak. “This morning I explained to Hannah that I am a member of a race of people with access to technology and scientific knowledge beyond even what your world knew at its peak. Some of my kind used that power to come here and change your planet. But they didn’t all come here. Some landed on other worlds, where their experiments took a more insidious path. The Skrima are the offspring of that tampering.”
Everyone fell silent at those words. The implications were staggering.
Parker spoke haltingly at first. “So you’re saying that these monsters, they come from beyond the stars? And that they were made by someone. Why would they do that?”
“And more importantly,” Hadley jumped in. “Why and how would they send them here?”
“That is a longer story,” Lilith said. “On my travels to your planet, I didn’t come alone. Before I arrived, several colleagues of mine had stopped along the way. This was millennia ago, by your calendar. During the time I have been trapped here, I have done everything I could to repair the damage done to your world. The power to access the Etheric realm, what you all call magic, was my best attempt to do this. But I have spent long hours wondering w
hat havoc my team wreaked on other worlds. About forty years ago, I found my answer.”
“One of my colleagues on a different world, a place called Hyrrheim, contacted me. She had been reaching out through the Etheric for centuries—sending out a distress call, in essence. Despite my long life and the many betrayals I have experienced, I believed that her distress was genuine, and that I could help. So I answered the call.”
Hannah shook her head. “It was a trap.”
“Yes,” Lilith answered. “Once she discovered our location, she used her technology to rip a hole in the fabric of space. Created a doorway, so to speak, from Hyrrheim to Irth. We call it the Rift. It is through that hole that she has been sending her creatures. Their attacks serve many purposes, but I believe she has been testing us for weaknesses. Preparing for a larger invasion. I think she wants to take this planet for her own.”
“Scheisse,” Karl said. “If these monsters are even a fraction as dangerous as the one we fought, Irth’s in for a hell of a fight.”
Olaf sighed. “The Skrim you fought was small in comparison to most we’ve seen.”
Silence again filled the room.
“But why haven’t they done it yet?” Aysa asked. “I mean, this lady seems all-powerful or whatever. And while Bear Guy here is one tough dude, we saw him getting his ass kicked yesterday.”
“The Rift is not a perfect pathway. It has taken her years to even open it this far, and we haven’t been sitting idly by this last half century,” Lilith said. “When I realized the danger, I immediately designed a device to counteract my colleague’s endeavors. I have been able to hold the Rift mostly shut, keeping it closed so the full force of her army cannot enter. Small incursions are the best she has been able to muster, but this is a fight I can no longer win.”
“You’re running out of power.” Everyone turned in shock when Gregory spoke.
“Yes,” the machine replied. “My power source, the thing that powers New Romanov, was designed to last for centuries, but the energy required to seal the Rift was too great. At this rate I will be completely depleted within a matter of days. Already my defense is failing, which I believe is why my enemy was able to send through another creature so quickly.”
Hannah looked from Gregory to her mentor. The sadness on Ezekiel’s face cut her to the core. She rose from the chair.
“Well, you are not alone in this fight anymore. What can we do?”
Olaf rose to his feet as well. “I need to track down this Skrim and destroy it, but I can’t leave New Romanov undefended. There are threats out there besides the Skrima. Perhaps some of you would protect my home in my absence?”
“Absolutely, old friend,” Ezekiel said, “but there is no way I will allow you to face this beast on your own.”
“This is good and all,” Laurel said, “but what about the Oracle? If she is really dying, then one monster is the least of our worries.”
“I will help,” Gregory said. The resolve in his voice was like nothing Hannah had ever heard from him. “We can use Unlawful. With your assistance, Oracle, I believe we can find a way to supplement your power.”
“Then it’s settled,” Hannah declared, pounding on the table. “Some of us are going to slay a beast. Some of us will remain to protect a city. And old Gregory here has the small task of saving the Oracle, and by doing so, saving the world.”
Everyone looked at her. She grinned from ear to ear. “Piece of cake.”
****
Hannah quickly packed necessities into her leather bag and fastened her silver dagger to her belt. Haste was necessary. If she didn’t get out to the square soon, Olaf was likely to go all crazy-bear and race off to Urai without her, and Mika wouldn’t be far behind. Hannah couldn’t blame them—if a hell-monster were heading for Arcadia, she would wait for no one.
There was just one more thing to do before she left. She smiled at Parker, who was looming in the doorway.
“I think we’ve done this before.”
He nodded and tried to smile back. “Far too many times in our short relationship.”
Raising her eyebrows, Hannah replied, “Really, Drama Boy? I think it’s been maybe twice. And just like the other times, I’ll come back to you.” She comically batted her eyelashes. “Or die with your name on my lips.”
He laughed, though he tried not to. “I’m serious, Hannah. We should be fighting side by side, you and me. We make a damn good team; we’ve been doing it pretty much since we were able to walk.”
“A little worried I won’t be there to bail your ass out?”
“Hardly. Believe it or not, I’m allowed to worry about the badass magician and her cute little behind. I mean, hell, it’s almost like Ezekiel does it on purpose to keep us apart.”
“Think he has a thing for me?” Hannah giggled.
Parker nodded. “I always have.”
“His beard is pretty hot. Maybe I’ll rethink this thing between the two of us.” She placed a hand over her heart. “If the others come back without Zeke and me, just assume it means you and I are over, OK? I do have a thing for men old enough to be my great-grandfather. Must be my daddy issues.” She winked.
Parker’s face grew serious. “I just wish he wouldn’t separate us like this.”
“He didn’t,” Hannah shot back. “I did.”
“What?”
She walked across the room, standing inches from Parker. “Yep. My idea, not Ezekiel’s and it’s the right call.”
“What the hell, Hannah?” he shouted. “We need each other.”
She shook her head. “No, Parker. They need you. New Romanov needs you. We have all the firepower we’re going to need on Team Hunt-the-Monster. That thing is going to be a bitch to take down, and we’re bringing all the heavy guns with us. All of them except you. I’m leaving you here because I trust you. You’re more than just Parker the Pitiable now. You’re a leader, and I need you to lead these people. If something goes wrong while I’m gone, there’s no one I trust more to come up with an impossible way out of it. Understand?”
Parker considered arguing, but now that he knew it would do no good, he saved his words.
“Did I mention you’re hot?” She smiled, moving closer. “Strong, leader, hot. That was the list I practiced.”
“What about funny?” he asked.
“Nope. That’s me. I mean, that and all the rest of them.” She pushed onto her tiptoes and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Pulling back, she said, “I have to go, but I’ll see you soon. Try not to get captured by an evil leather-clad torturess while I’m gone.”
“That happened once!” Parker exclaimed as she slipped past him into the hall.
He exhaled and followed her, watching her determined movements. It wasn’t that Parker thought there was actually a chance of her not coming back, but he loved every minute with her, both the quiet ones when they were alone and the ones filled with heated battle. Although he was flattered that she would entrust the town to him, it did little to raise his spirits.
Parker caught her as she reached the broad double doors of the residence. She gave him one more kiss before pushing through the door into the bright New Romanov sun. The others were assembled, ready to walk into battle.
“Hey, lovebirds,” Karl shouted. “’Nuff baby-making. We have some monster ass to kick.”
Taking the stairs two at a time, she shouted back, “During the trip, Karl, remind me to teach you about where babies come from. It’s about time you learned.”
He scoffed and waved her off. “Right, right. Let’s go.”
She joined her party and looked at the ones who would be left behind. Aysa was going to stay and give Gregory a hand with repairing Lilith. Laurel, Parker, and Hadley were going to do what they could for the town.
She nodded at each as she scanned their faces, pausing longest on Parker’s. “We are chasing a monster from beyond—that’s a big deal. But you,” she pointed toward the entrance to Lilith’s cave, “are here to ensure that the Oracle, the ho
pe for all of humankind, remains safe. If you fail, you’ll have me to answer to.”
Without another word, Hannah and her party turned and headed off on their monster hunt.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The hunting party followed Olaf and Mika toward the broken-down gate of New Romanov. As they stepped through the rubble of the city, Hannah grew sad for the people here. They had committed themselves to being the stewards of the Oracle, guardians of the future of the world. Hell, they did all this work, and except for Ezekiel and maybe one or two other people outside of Archangelsk, no one even knew they were here. It was a thankless diligence, and their task couldn’t have been more important.
Even the good people of the Boulevard had enjoyed a night of revelry in Sully’s Tavern or an afternoon of lying in the sun on the Capitol lawn. But these were the watchers, and the risk here was too high to rest for long.
As they were walking past the city’s defenses, Hannah tapped Mika on the arm. “We haven’t really met.” She put her hand out. “Hannah.”
The woman nodded and took Hannah’s hand in her own. For the first time, Hannah realized just how beautiful she was. Nearly six inches taller than Hannah and with eyes of such bright blue, it was like she had cast a permanent glamor. The long blond hair only finished the job.
“Mika. And, I’m glad you’re here, Arcadian. Perhaps together we can bring stability to New Romanov and all Archangelsk.”
They walked in silence for a minute, and finally Hannah asked, “So, you and Olaf, you’re a thing, right?”
“A thing?”
“Sorry. Yeah, you know. You’re a couple, right?” Hannah’s face grew hot, and she wondered if she had made a terrible assumption. Mika laughed, and Hannah’s face burned hotter.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “We are not used to outsiders here. For years, Olaf and I have just been. No one has ever asked. But to answer your question, we are comrades first and foremost, fighting to keep Lilith safe.”
