by MJ Fletcher
“No!” Jess screamed as her crimson blade was deflected off Ms. True’s. The woman smiled and laughed as the image of Chloe disappeared. It had hovered over the battle since Mr. Tower activated it, and now Jess had no idea what had happened. Did that mean they were really gone?
“Why Jessica Grimm, I think that means Chloe is dead.” Ms. True continued to chortle.
Something inside Jess snapped. Chloe couldn’t be dead, not after everything they’d gone through to get here. Not her, not Chloe. Jess’ anger surged and she let out a guttural yell and swung her blade not like a scalpel, but a hatchet.
Ms. True blocked the blow but it made her wobble and Jess kept on with one hit after another. Jess slammed her blade into True’s with such ferocity that chips of crimson energy bounced off with every hit.
They’d taken her family and hurt her friends. Ms. True, in particular, had hurt her Gran, the only person who had been there for her after she had thought her parents had died and Chloe had been whisked away. All of that happened because of these people. Jess was done, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to let it stand.
“I see you’ve found your anger.” Ms. True laughed, though a bit nervously.
Jess pounded away at her weapon, cracking it and forcing her to back up.
“You haven’t seen me angry, Ms. True. The First Kind is right about me. All the whispers you people have been spreading,” —Jess leaned in close and spoke in a soft even tone— “they’re all true.”
Jess had heard the rumors for months. That she’d become a weapon for Chloe, that ever since the battle at Storm Reach she was nothing more than an assassin, killing whenever and whoever Chloe asked her to. The fact was they were right. Jess had always been the pretty one, but she had found a new calling. Something she’d become an expert at... death.
“Don’t think you can scare me.” Ms. True squinted her eyes and did her best to stand up to Jess.
Jess shrugged, not caring if she believed her or not. Jess pivoted on her heel and spun her blade in a blinding arc. True brought hers up to defend and at the last moment Jess twisted her wrist, avoiding True’s weapon. True’s eyes opened wide as she saw that her crimson blade was headed straight for her face, it would be the last thing she ever saw.
She screamed an unholy sound as her Skeleton Key dropped from her hands and fell harmlessly to the ground. The slice across her face left a gash across both her eyes making them forever useless and making her, a defeated foe. Her hands grabbed at her face, as if trying desperately to put herself back together again.
“Who’s scared now?” Jess whispered in her ear and she jumped scrambling away.
“Jess.” Slade came up beside her, grimacing as he watched Ms. True stumble away. “What’s the plan? Gavin’s gone and I don’t know what that light show was with Chloe and Nightshade.”
“Either they’re dead or need our help, no matter what, we need to get up there. I have a promise to keep.” Jess pointed to the top of the building where the Bridge jutted out into nothingness. Somewhere up there was almost every member of her family and if they weren’t dead already, they would soon be.
“We’re not going to hold out long against the First Kind. Do you think you can break the locks?” He gestured to the walls that Nightshade had unlocked earlier only for them to have returned.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Jess focused her thoughts as she approached the wall and slid her Key into the first barrier. She was shocked by the level of detail in the lock. Most locks created by Guild members had numerous levels of detail built into them, but this one was beyond that. It contained twists and turns she’d never experienced.
Jess closed her eyes and blocked out the sounds of fighting behind her. She needed to think only of the lock and find a path to breaking it. She opened her powers and let them flow. She had always been talented with her powers. She may not be a Polymorph, but she was a hell of a Skeleton Key Guild member.
At the edge of her senses, she could feel something growing, something foreign yet familiar at the same time. It was calling out to her like a half-remembered dream. The path suddenly became clear to Jess, and she pushed through the first barrier with ease and began working on the others.
Jess opened her eyes and couldn’t shake the feeling of something nearby tugging at her very core.
“Die Guilder!” The HVO member came out of nowhere.
Jess’ Key was still plunged deep into the barriers. She had no defense against his Silver Star.
Before he ever reached her, a set of golden talons snatched him up off the ground and flew away with him screaming in terror.
“You okay?” Edgar was beside her, his hand slipping over her shoulder.
“Yeah, thanks.” Jess smiled with relief. How this crazy, odd friend was always able to remain so calm even in the most dangerous situations had her envious.
“You work, I’ll defend.” Edgar dropped to the ground, his legs folding over one another as he placed the Legend in front of him. The power from it flowed all around us and her mind cleared a bit more.
Jess began working through the walls quicker than before. One after another the locks fell away in her hands.
“Work faster,” Slade called out as he ran to join us, followed by a horde of First Kind. “The battle is going well, but we need to make our move now.
“They’re organizing,” Edgar spoke up in the way a teacher would describing a book he’d read once instead of staring down an army ready to charge us.
“I got a hold of the Looking Glass.” Slade held up the battered Artifact, its shine gone and small cracks appearing across the mirror. “No idea if we can use it.”
“Give up now.” Faith walked ahead of the mass of First Kind, gathering to attack us. Her face was bruised. No doubt Chloe had gotten in a few good shots on her.
“Have you met any of us yet? You really think we’re going to give up.” Edgar shook his head and kept scribbling on his Map.
Jess continued to work on the barriers as another fell before her.
“Masters and Nightshade are dead, what chance do you have?” Faith asked.
“I’d rather die fighting your dumb ass than surrendering.” Apparently Jess had picked up Chloe’s habit of aggravating people she fought. Jess’ fingers worked at a speed she’d never experienced before. She could sense her powers in a whole new light. She wondered if it was the dimension or being surrounded by so many Artifacts.
“You’ll lose.” Faith sneered.
“Let’s see, Edgar and I both have Artifacts,”— Slade swung the hammer in his hands and a tail of green energy flowed behind it— “plus the Looking Glass. We’ve held you off so far, so what makes you think we can’t win?”
Faith looked over her shoulder and called out, “Order all First Kind to join us, we’re ending this now.”
“Crap, not good.” Slade slammed the hammer into his hand and squared his feet for a fight.
“You had to ask her that?” Jess said as she worked on the last barrier.
“What?” Slade asked trying to look innocent. “I thought we were doing the cocky thing.”
Portals opened up on all sides of them as First Kind poured out, members of every Society each with their abilities activated and ready to fight. Gremlin’s controlled by collars were brought in like attack dogs, howling and screeching eager to have at them.
“Now what?” Edgar asked.
Chapter Fifty
Status: Still unavailable.
Jess twisted her hand and the last barrier crumbled before her. A surge of energy washed over her, sending a chill up her spine. The feeling Jess had earlier grew stronger and she grabbed Edgar’s collar and yanked him backwards.
“Let’s go,” Jess called to Slade.
He lifted his hammer and swung it toward the ground. It smashed into the dirt and rock and a series of interlocking lines began popping up building one on top of the other, creating a wall between them and the army ready to attack.
“No!”
Faith yelled and raced forward diving over the barrier before it got too high. She hit the ground in a roll and came up standing. She was only a few feet from Jess with nothing in between them.
“Get her!” Slade bellowed.
Jess let go of Edgar and swung her Skeleton Key. Faith didn’t try to defend herself. She bolted, running for the building.
“Damn it.” Jess went after her moving at top speed. She was through the door in no time and found Faith near a set of stairs leading to nowhere. Faith gave a yank to a nearby lever and hopped on the stairs. They lifted into the air.
“Too late, Jess,” Faith called down and waved.
“Go,” Edgar urged Slade, having come up behind Jess.
We all jumped on another set of stairs that rolled out of the floor. Slade and Jess pulled the golden levers and they began to ascend into the top reaches of the structure.
“That wall you built?” Jess asked hoping it would hold off the First Kind.
“It was the Artifact.” Slade held up the hammer and as if in answer to her question a crashing sound echoed from outside the building. “I guess they broke through it.”
“Yup, they did.” Edgar was looking over the edge of the stairs. Below them people were filling into the structure and activating another set of stairs.
“So ahead of us we have an army of Gremlins, Faith, and Mr. Tower and behind us we have the First Kind. Yeah, this plan is working out well.” Slade ran his hand through his hair, then shook his head.
“What about Chloe and Nightshade?” Edgar asked looking from Slade to Jess.
Jess lowered her head not wanting to think about what might have happened to them. She’d fought off Gremlins before, but it had left her heavily scarred across body and mind. With the amounts that had surrounded Chloe and Nightshade, she didn’t know how they could survive. But she wouldn’t put anything past either of them. They were an amazing couple.
“I don’t know, Edgar,” Was the only thing Jess could think to say.
“We’re almost there.” Slade pointed to the uppermost floor. The stairs that Faith had accessed had already dislodged and were floating back down to ground level.
“Everyone get ready.” Jess tightened her grip on her Skeleton Key, unsure of what they all were about to face.
The stairs floated into position and locked onto the floor. The room was silent. The portals that had been opened allowing the Gremlins to attack were all closed. Bodies of the beasts lay strewn about and at the far end of the room was a lone door. Faith was nowhere in sight and Jess didn’t see Chloe or Nightshade either.
“What do you think, Jess?” Slade asked.
“I think we move ahead, it’s not like we can go back.”
“I’m staying,” Slade said.
“What?”
“The First Kind is right behind us. We can’t fight on both ends. You two go ahead and I’ll build a barrier here and hold them off as long as I can.” He turned his back, as if signifying it was done and there was no changing it.
Jess slid her hand over his shoulder, squeezing it. “Slade, you don’t have to do this.”
He raised his chin and threw back his shoulders. “Yes, I do.”
Jess tried to reassure him. “We can all make it together.”
“This is too important. We need as much time as we can to rescue everyone and stop them. I made the mistake once before of not putting the people I care about first... I’m not doing it again.”
“Slade, you don’t have to make up for that.”
“Yeah, I do and damn the cost. Now go.”
As much as Jess wanted to talk him out of it, he was right. They needed all the time they could get.
“I know what I’m doing, trust me,” Slade smiled and patted Jess’ hand.
“You’re sure?”
“More than I’ve ever been,” Slade waved Jess and Edgar away. “Now go stop that madman.”
“Okay, come on, Edgar, let’s go.” Jess slipped her arm through Edgar’s and hurried him toward the door at the end of the room.
“Jess, just in case.” Slade pulled the Looking Glass from his waistband and tossed it to her. She snatched it from the air and slid it into her back pocket. “Good luck,” she called to him.
“You too.”
Slade was already busy working on the floor where the stairs would attach. Jess figured he had something big in mind for the First Kind and hoped that whatever it was, it would give him time to escape.
They reached the door and Jess grabbed the doorknob, power flowed from it. The door was a portal and it was still active.
“You ready for this, Edgar?” Jess asked and to her surprise he actually tore himself away from the Legend for a moment to look at her.
Edgar smiled and nodded, then looked over his shoulder at Slade and frowned. “He isn’t coming?”
“No, he’s giving us time to get this done.”
“Then let’s not let him down.” Edgar gestured toward the door. “After you.”
Jess turned the knob and pulled the door open, a rush of portal energy hit them and they both stepped through into the unknown.
Chapter Fifty-one
Status: Unavailable
“Get down.” Nightshade dove hitting into Edgar and Jess and taking them down in a jumble. He was quick to get back on his feet, Skeleton Key in one hand and a Silver Star in the other. His Polymorph abilities on full display as silver and crimson bolts of energy tore from both hands, hitting a roaring Gremlin dead on as it raced toward them.
They were standing on a long strip of Bridge that hung suspended in a star field. Off in the distance a nebula of purple and green hung like some high res photo taken by NASA. Gremlins crawled along the edges snarling and snapping in their direction. Bodies of the beasts littered the walkway and on the other end was a large arch containing another portal.
“Where’s Chloe?” Jess asked as she created her crimson blade around her Skeleton Key and swung it at the nearest Gremlin, forcing it to retreat.
“In the portal.” Nightshade pointed toward the other end of the bridge.
“I thought you two were dead.”
They stood back to back, fighting off the Gremlins. Edgar dropped to a sitting position once again and activated the Legend. His massive golden griffin tore from the page with a screech and flew up to the stars, and then dove back down ripping into the rows of monsters waiting to attack.
“We’re harder to kill than that.” Nightshade glanced around quickly. “Where’s Slade?”
“He stayed behind to hold off the First Kind.”
“That dumb ass.” He shook his head as he plunged his sword into a Gremlin’s stomach, and then kicked the beast off the blade and swung it around to face another.
“What about Faith? She got here ahead of us.”
“She got passed me and made it into the portal.” His jaw clenched and his anger was palpable.
“Chloe can handle her,” Jess assured him as they continued fighting the beasts.
The griffin tore across the Bridge, clearing the space in front of us of Gremlins with one swoop. The other monsters backed up on their haunches and howled at the golden bird that was decimating them.
“I can hold the Bridge,” Edgar said in his usual calm tone.
“I’m not leaving you,” Jess said. She had made a promise to Val to keep him safe and she intended to keep it.
“This is our only chance.” Edgar looked up with a smile and brushed his hair from in front of his eyes.
“Not a good idea, Edgar,” Nightshade said.
“You know I need to do this, Nightshade. You two are the most skillful fighters. Chloe will need your help. It’s the most practical move.”
Nightshade leaned down and grabbed Edgar’s shoulders. “You’re the truest friend I’ve ever had, little man.”
“And you’ve never let me down in all the years I’ve known you. Now go save the woman you love.”
Nightshade stood up and pushed out a long breath. “Ke
ep them off balance as long as you can. If you give us enough time, we’ll be back through here to collect you.”
Jess stared at her friend. They had all known that there was a good chance some of them would die. Gavin was gone. It would be a miracle if Slade survived, and now Edgar. Jess wasn’t sure she could continue to leave friends behind.
“You sure?” Nightshade placed his hand on Edgar’s shoulder again, his voice deep with emotion.
Edgar nodded. “We all knew what we were getting into.”
“Goodbye, my friend, my brother,” Nightshade said and turned away from him.
“Edgar,” Jess bit her lip and leaned down to kiss his forehead lightly “I’ll stay with you.”
“No!” His voice was strong. “Nightshade and Chloe need you.”
“But—” “It’s okay Jess,” he said, “though could you do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
“Tell Val I’m sorry.”
“I will,” she said.
“Now go,” he ordered and raised his hands.Golden symbols rose off the Legend spinning in front of him. “I’ll clear the way.”
Edgar pushed his hands forward and the symbols washed past them slamming into the rows of Gremlins like a bowling ball and sending them flying in all directions. They screamed and howled, some grabbing onto the edges of the Bridge while others disappeared over the sides, down into the abyss.
Nightshade and Jess ran forward past the mayhem, not looking back as they closed in on the portal. The level of power emanating from the other side was so strong it was like walking into a heavy fog.
The portal shimmered and swayed and Jess could sense it beginning to lose its moorings in this dimension. Something was wrong, if the portal dislodged it could be disastrous for all of them.
Whatever had been calling to Jess earlier was calling again, though more urgently this time. That alien feeling was gone, replaced by something more familiar and it tugged at her, urging her forward. Jess had no idea what it was, but she sure as hell wanted to find out.
Her hand touched the portal and her head spun, drunk on the power, and she took a step in.
