“I have a hard time trusting people, Jasmine. Blame my time in the CIA for that.”
“You were in the CIA?” Jami asked, her eyes widening. “Whoa! That’s so cool!”
“Yes, I was,” Jorja said, peering into the hallway again. “I think it’s clear.”
“And I think I hear someone coming,” Josi said, cocking her head to the side, listening to the sound of footsteps. “We’d better hurry!”
“I can’t disagree with that!” Jorja cried, turning and racing down the hallway, pulling the door to her right open. “Come on! The weapon room is this way!”
“How do you know?” Jami asked, peering down the dark stairwell.
“Let’s just say I have a knack for finding things,” Jorja said.
“I don’t know…” Jami said, still uncertain. “It’s really dark down there.”
“Oh, will you stop being such a ‘fraidy cat?” Josi asked, rolling her eyes. “We’ve only got two choices here, Jami. We go down into the dark basement, or we get eaten by the ogres behind us. Which one do you want?” She pulled her phone out of her pocket.
“I think the basement sounds like the better option of the two,” Jasmine cut in. “Josi, what are you doing with your phone? You do realize you’re not going to get any reception here, right?”
“Of course I do,” Josi said, rolling her eyes again. “I’m not using it to call anyone, dummies! I’m using the flashlight. Now come on, let’s get going!”
“Jade! Wait! I’m coming with you!” Sky shouted, hurrying after them. “I want to help!”
“I thought that’s what you would say,” Jade said, glancing over her shoulder at him, just as three men dressed in black appeared in a reign of black light.
“Sky! Watch out!” she shouted, as the men lifted their bows, aiming their weapons right at Sky.
“No!”
Jessi rushed forward, lifting her hand, as the arrows took flight. The arrows slinging backward to hit the men, knocking them on their butts. “Whoa! What was that?” she asked, staring at her hands in surprise.
“Apparently… your power,” Jade said, grinning. “You can’t just read minds and restore memories, Jessi. You can also manipulate the mind! Which is pretty darn cool if you ask me!” She glanced back at Sky. “Sky, those are the black angels, aren’t they?”
“Yup. You recognize them?”
“Yes. They were in the heavens ten months ago. They killed Aaron! Sky, you need to go with Liam.”
“But Jade…”
“Please, Sky. I can’t lose you. You’re like family to me, and he last thing I need is to tell Jasmine that you’re dead when she returns home. Can you imagine what that would do to her?”
“Well when you put it that way…”
“Please, Sky. I know you want to fight, to help us, but Jessi and I can’t keep an eye on you every second of every day! We’ve got demons to defeat. A demon in the underworld to vanquish, plus sisters that need saving! Please. For your safety, and my peace of mind, will you please go with him!”
“Fine. I’ll go,” Sky said, sighing. “But come get me the moment you restore order to things, okay?”
“Of course.”
“And tell Jasmine I love her?”
“Somehow, I think she already knows,” Jessi said, as they disappeared in a reign of gold light.
“Damn witches. You cost us another bounty!” the black angel shouted, raising his bow. “I guess I’ll just have to take you two instead.”
“Sorry, buster, but you’re never going to collect on that bounty,” Jade said, tossing her hand forward, flinging an energy ball at the black angel. “Because you’ll be toast!”
The black angel laughed. “Oh, Jade. Did you really think I didn’t come here prepared? I knew what I was getting into coming here, and protected myself. We all did,” he said, gesturing to the black angels surrounding her and Jessi. “And your time is up!” he shouted, as they raised their bows.
“Jessi! Take my hand!” Jade shouted, glancing over at Jessi.
“Why?”
“Just do it!” Jade shouted, as they linked hands, the bows flying their way. “And hold on tight! Because we’re going for a ride!”
“I don’t like this,” Sky said, pacing back and forth in front of the window of the small house thirty minutes later, peering outside. “This doesn’t feel right. Hiding out, while the world turns to ash around us. We should be out there helping! I should be out there helping the girls. They need me!”
“Goodness, would you just shut up!” Myron shouted, striding toward Sky and handing him a drink. “And drink this, would you? It’ll hopefully calm you down, plus, you’re giving me a headache. All you’ve done since you got here ago is pace and complain! You can’t go out there, Sky. None of us can. The black angels are out here, looking for us, because Elijah has a bounty on all of our heads.”
“As if that’s a surprise,” Sky muttered, lifting the drink to his lips and taking a sip. Wincing as the harsh liquid rolled down his throat. Myron sure does know how to make his drinks strong, he thought. “So, when is this coordination supposed to start?”
“Tomorrow night.”
“So soon?”
“If there is a coordination that is.”
“What do you mean?”
“We heard from one of our informants in the underworld today,” Liam said, as he took the drink from Myron, and took a seat on the couch. “It turns out, that for the coordination to succeed, it needs to be okayed by the Cloaks. A group of high-level demons, who answer directly to Hades, but they are now all dead. Elijah killed them.”
“Why would he do that?”
“To protect Julie,” Myron said, taking a seat in the chair next to him. “They wanted Elijah to kill her, but he wouldn’t, because he’s fallen in love with her.”
“So it’s true. He really is in love with her.”
“Yes, but it gets worse,” Liam said, his eyes connecting with Sky’s from across the room. “Because, Julie, is pregnant with his child. A child that is destined to bring great darkness before this world, and which must be eliminated.”
“The black angels have failed, my lord,” the seer said, glancing over her shoulder at Elijah as he stood at the podium.
“Yes, I know,” Elijah said, glancing up from the Grimoire. “I saw.”
“What should we do?”
“What else? Find them! Eliminate them!”
“But sir! We can’t track them! All Gods and angels have been forbidden to teleport.”
“You do know you’re talking about Sky, right?” Elijah asked, laughing. “He won’t stay away for long. He won’t be able to help himself. It’s who he is.” He laughed again, turning and waving his hand. An image splaying across the wall in front of him. “Ahh. Ogreville. One of my favorite places throughout the realm. Just look at them,” he said, pointing to the image of Jorja, Jasmine, Josi, and Jami. “Desperately trying to get their family back together. Too it’ll happen after the ceremony.”
“You’re still planning to get coordinated?”
“Well of course!”
“But the Cloaks! There are none left to approve the coordination!”
“Except they already have,” Elijah said, holding up the contract laying on the podium in front of him. “They approved it, when they first released me from hell’s torture chamber. Now all I need is for Julie to keep her promise to me.”
“She has all her memories back?”
“No, but she has all the pieces. She knows what has happened, because of your sister!” He narrowed his eyes on the seer. “You people were supposed to help me keep Julie in the dark until I was ready! Her memories were supposed to return on my terms!”
“You said to give the witch whatever she wanted, my lord.”
“Yes. I guess I did say that,” Elijah said, sighing, as he flipped through the Grimoire again. “Ahh. Here it is.”
“The coordination?”
“Yes, and by tomorrow night, the underwo
rld will bring forth a new leader. Me, and Julie will be there by my side, as my queen. And together, we will be unstoppable!”
“Holy crap! Where are we?” Jessi asked, raising her head and gazing around her. “Jade, we’re in the middle of the city! How did we get here?”
“By teleporting.”
“You can teleport?” Jessi asked, gasping for breath. “That’s so cool! But I think I’m…” She lunged forward, hurling into the bushes next to her. “Going to be sick.”
Jade laughed. “Sorry, Jessi. I guess I should have warned you, huh? But it was the only way to get out of there before we were killed.” She peered around the large tree, staring across the road at the demons in the road. Listening to the screams nearby and narrowed her eyes. “Well, looks like we’re exactly where we want to be. Right in the middle of the chaos.”
* * *
“What should we do?”
“Do whatever we can to stop them,” Jade said, grabbing Jessi by the hand and racing off toward the chaos. “Welcome to the Morgan family, Jessi. This is where things get fun!” She skidded to a stop, and a large thump sounded behind them. She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening. “Holy crap! That… that’s a…”
“Giant!” Jessi screamed. “Jade! What are we going to do?”
“Run,” Jade said, grabbing Jessi by the arm again, and spinning on her heel. She raced off across the road, the giant hot on their heels. His large feet thumped on the ground, and she gasped. She stumbled forward, as the ground shook underneath her.
“Chosen one!”
A large shriek sounded above them, and Jade glanced over her head. Staring at the winged creature as it flew downward. “Uh oh. Looks like we woke a vampire.”
“Vampire? Did you just say vampire?”
“Don’t sound so surprised, Jessi,” Jade said, rolling her eyes. She ducked, as the vampire swooped downward. Avoiding his hands and grabbed Jessi. Turning, and rolling downward into the ravine.
“Jade!”
Jessi gasped, her body rolling downward at a blinding, fast speed. Gasping, as her body hit the hard turf far below. “Ow. What the hell was that for!”
“Shh!”
Jade slammed her hand over Jessi’s mouth, cocking her head to the side, listening to the giant hurry past. “Giants are blind. They only go by what they hear.”
“How the hell do you know that?”
“By doing lots and lots of research,” Jade said. “You learn to do it, once you know what kind of life you’re thrown into.” She frowned, watching as red flashed through the sky. “Looks like Elijah’s here.”
“How do you know that?”
“The sky always turns read when he comes to earth,” Jade muttered. “Come on. I want to keep an eye on him. I want to make sure he’s not doing any more damage to this world.”
“But what about your sisters? And my sisters?”
“We just have to keep faith that they’ll be okay,” Jade said, holding a hand out. “And that we’ll be reunited soon. Come on, take my hand.”
“Why? I don’t want to see him, Jade! He’s ruined everything for me! For you! For us!”
“I know, and that’s exactly why I need to keep an eye on him. Plus, I need to try to get to Julie. Try to convince her to come back to us, before she completely crosses over and there’s no going back. Please, Jessi. I can’t do this alone. I need your help.”
Jessi sighed, placing her hand in Jade’s. “Okay. Fine. But after this, can we please go find our family?”
“Of course. Now come on. Let’s go find out what Elijah’s up to this time.”
“This place is so creepy!” Jami cried, huddling behind Josi, as they descended into the darkness. Shuddering, as she glanced above her at the cobwebs dangling above them and the spiders spiraling from their webs. Cringing at the dusty walls, a scream escaping her mouth, when she saw a skeleton laying against the wall at her feet.
“Jami! Be quiet!”
“Be quiet? Don’t you see that? There’s a dead person down here, Josi!”
“Probably one of many.”
“Josi!”
“Jami, stop being such a dang scaredy cat!” Josi cried. “And be quiet, will you? I’m trying to focus. Jorja, you said the room’s down here?”
“Yes. It should be…” Jorja cocked the map in her hands, squinting as she tried to make out the map in the dark. “Hold on. I can’t see. Give me a minute.”
“Oh would you give me that?” Jasmine asked, grabbing the map from Jorja, and holding her hand out. White light spreading from the palm of her hand, and she frowned as she studied the map. “It’s just around the corner and two doors down.”
“You know, it is pretty cool that you can do that,” Jorja said, taking the map back from her and sticking it in the pocket of her jacket.
“Yeah. The power’s kind of growing on me,” Jasmine said, glancing over at Jorja. “And I am sorry, Jorja. About attacking you back there. That wasn’t fair.”
“I can’t say I really blame you,” Jorja said, softly. “I probably would have done the same.”
“Do you know why Jordyn was kidnapped?”
Jorja shook her head. “I have no idea! It could be anyone. It could be someone from my line of work or even a demon! The possibilities are endless!”
“What did you do for the CIA?”
“You want to learn about my time in the CIA now?” Jorja asked, staring at Jasmine in disbelief. “Jasmine, I think we’re a little busy!”
“It’ll waste some time, plus, give me a chance to get to know you a little better.”
Jorja sighed. “Okay. Fine. I used to track down artifacts for them, from all over the world.”
“That sounds super cool!” Josi said, pausing and glancing over at Jorja. “You must have traveled all over the world!”
“Oh you have no idea. I’ve been to Barcelona, Egypt, Japan, even Jamaica.”
“How did you even end up in that line of work?” Jasmine asked, as they rounded the corner.
“Because I was a bit of a wild child,” Jorja said. “As long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with treasure. My parents even made up a treasure hunt for me every year on my birthday. It was so much fun, that is until they died.”
“What? But you told Gram…”
“I lied to her, Jasmine. To all of you. My parents died when I was ten years old. A car crash. I was the only survivor.”
“What about child services?”
“I wasn’t going to be stuck in a foster home the rest of my life. So I spent most of my life on the run from them.”
“So where did you live?”
“On the streets.”
“Jorja! That is so dangerous!”
“I know, trust me, but I also know how to defend myself. Plus, it gave me a chance to explore. I went on so many treasure hunts, and it was those treasures I found that eventually paid for the clothes on my back, my food, and eventually college. But it was my exploring that eventually got me thrown in jail.”
“Hmm. I think you and Josslyn have a lot in common.”
Jorja laughed. “I think we do too. It was there that the CIA found me. They said that they’ve been looking for someone with my skills.” She rolled her eyes, lifting her fingers and making quotation marks as she said the words. “But I couldn’t exactly say no. They were willing to drop all the charges against me. Theft. Fraud. I would have been in jail for years! But then I had my daughter and suffered an injury that forced me to retire from the business.”
“Wow.” Jasmine blinked, not really knowing what to say. Her heart aching for Jorja. “Jorja, I am so sorry. About everything. I know what it’s like to not have a family.” She reached a hand out, squeezing her arm. “But we’re here now.”
“I know,” Jorja said, shrugging Jasmine’s hand away. “And I’m over it. I’ve been over it for a long time. Hey look. Here it is.”
Jasmine eyed her a moment, not believing for a second she was over the loss of her family, but pu
shed the thought away as they stopped in front of the doorway. Glancing down the hall.
“There’s seriously no one guarding this place?” Jami asked, glancing down the dark hallway. “You would think…”
“Grr…”
The loud noise rippled through the air, and Josi glanced at Jami. “You just had to say something, didn’t you?”
“Well…”
“Grr…”
Again the noise sounded, and they turned, staring at the stoned statue next to them as it turned its head. Its large mouth opened, letting out a loud roar.
“Holy crap!”
Josi and Jami stumbled back, watching as the creature turned from stone to flesh. Its dark wings flapping as it lunged toward them.
“What… what is that thing!” Jami asked, ducking, and just dodging the creatures grasp.
“A gargoyle!” Jorja cried, gripping her sword, and slicing it through the air. The Gargoyle dodged the blade, and Jorja let out a grunt. “Screw this!” And she opened her mouth, letting out a loud yell.
“Argh!”
The gargoyle stumbled back, as the sound waves hit him, falling back against the wall.
“Jasmine! Help!”
“Hold on!”
Jasmine raised her hand, shoving the monster back. “He’s fighting us!” she cried. “Josi! Help!” she cried, grabbing the sword from the ground and tossing it toward Josi.
“Jasmine, she’s just a kid! What is she supposed to do with that?”
“She’s not just a kid, Jorja. She’s one of Josslyn’s daughters, with a very special power. The power to manipulate any weapon. Come on, Josi! We need you to help us!”
“But I don’t…” Josi held her hand out, and the sword shook. Glowing a bright white, and flew into her hand. She gasped, stumbling back, as the wind swirled around her. Feeling a power surge through her.
“You feel it, don’t you?” Jami asked.
“Damn right I do! And it feels amazing!” Josi cried, racing forward and jumping high into the air. “Jasmine! Jorja! Let go!”
Shattered Dimensions Page 10
