The Discovery' (Alternate Dimensions Book 4)

by Blake B. Rivers

  “Good. I do not, either.” She nodded as if that summed everything up just perfectly for her. “Thank you, Andi. The information you provided has been most valuable. Shall I escort you to the ship now?”

  “Oh, right, I imagine you want to see your lab one more time before it might become a battleground.”

  “Yes. According to our readings there is still no ship anywhere in its vicinity.”

  “That’s really odd. Why would I see what I saw only for there to be nothing there?”

  “Perhaps it was another prophetic foretelling?”

  “Maybe, but I thought that was kinda our thing. The dream I was in was definitely Genesis’. And it’s been pretty quiet since that dream. I haven’t heard a single peep.”

  “That is unusual. It does so love to taunt us when it thinks it is ahead.”

  “Doesn’t it, though? Borderline obnoxious.”

  Jyra let out a quiet laugh as we walked. “Of all the words you could use toward that murderous bastard, I think obnoxious is the most polite.”

  “Yeah, well that’s me I guess. Missus considerate.”

  We both laughed again and finished our walk to the ship on a much lighter note. When we arrived, Viys’k and Janix were already there, equipped to the teeth.

  “We probably all aren’t needed for this rescue mission, are we?” I asked once we were close enough.”

  “Not at all,” Viys’k said, skittering over with a dark look on her face. “Does anyone else feel a trap coming on? I definitely feel a trap coming on.”

  “There’s probably going to be a trap.”

  “We’re doing that thing again where trap is starting to not sound like a word.”

  “The comedy bit is great,” Janix interrupted. “But let’s go save our friends, shall we?”

  “Right. That’s probably important.”

  We all trundled onto the ship, Viys’k going for the pilot’s seat and the rest of us arranging ourselves in some of the twenty or so seats that were available on the larger vessel. It was strange not to have Angel up in the cockpit, but none of us said as much.

  “Preparing for takeoff,” Viys’k said through the com, I’m assuming pressing all the buttons that she needed to on the dashboard.

  For once, we didn’t have to punch it, or make a break from it from some overpowered enemy. We just took off nice and easy.

  “Hey,” Janix said, leaning back as he chewed on some sort of snack. “Remember how the last time we were all on a ship together we got shot out of the sky?”

  “I am not comforted by this information,” Jyra answered.

  “Don’t worry,” I said with a pointed look. “He’s just trying to be funny.”

  “I do not believe that was funny.”

  He shrugged. “You win some, you lose some.”

  “Are you worried about losing Andi?”

  I nearly spit out the water I had been idly sipping. “Viys’k, how long until arrival?” I blurted into the com.

  “About five minutes, why?”

  “Just make it as fast as possible.”

  “Sure, whatever you say, Princess.”

  I rolled my eyes and sat back into my seat, expecting an awkward tension, but instead the two were laughing, as if they had shared some sort of great joke.

  What had I gotten myself into?

  I was ever so grateful that it was a very short trip to the lab. We landed without any missiles or monsters, and lowered the ramp to have the entire crew of kodadt huddle on.

  “Viys’k, what do the scanners say?”

  “Still no ships.”

  I looked to Jyra. “You want to say goodbye to the place, just in case? I think we’ve got time.”

  “I am not sure if that is wise. What if the ship is cloaked?”

  “I don’t think that’s very likely. Angel’s ship has its own cloaking system and can pick up on similar systems.”

  “I,” Her eyes flicked from me, to the door behind me, then back. “Yes. I think I would like that very much.”

  I offered my hand to her and we headed down the ramp, passing Bajol who was overseeing two Kodadt carrying a cart full of equipment and datapads.

  “What’s going on here?” he asked, looking after us with wide eyes.

  “Just saying goodbye while we can. A little bit of nostalgia never hurt anyone, right?”

  “Is that very wise?”

  Nerds. They were all the same. “We’ll just be a minute. I promise.”

  “If you insist.”

  “We do.”

  We continued past them and through the door. The elevator lowered us, just like the first time we had discovered it. But unlike last time, I had the real deal with me instead of a hologram.

  “I remember when I first ordered the building of this place, I thought I was being too paranoid.”

  “What do you think now?”

  “I should have done more.”

  I turned to her as the floor finished lowering and the ceiling slid into place above us. “Hey, none of that. You did everything you could.”

  “Did I?” she murmured. “It doesn’t feel that way. If I hadn’t been so brash in that last moment, maybe you wouldn’t have ended up alone for so long.”

  “There’s no real use in looking back at that sort of thing. We’re here now, and that’s what matters.”

  “Yes. I suppose that is a positive way to look at it.” She did a full circle around before nodding. “Thank you. We should go now. I am grateful that this place played a part in our survival, but I do not believe I will mourn its loss too heavily. Still, this was nice.”

  “It was, wasn’t it?” I turned to leave before I stopped short. “Actually, I was unconscious the last time I left here. How exactly do we get out?”

  “Oh, dear, issues with the memory recall?”

  “Yeah. It was not a pleasant trip.”

  “I imagine not.” She crossed over to a wall where there was a blank, silver panel. She pressed several spots on it like it was supposed to mean something, then ushered me back onto the chunk of floor that lowered into the center of the room. “Up we go,” she said as the sound of machinery whirring filled the open, quiet space.

  “So, are you finding it as odd as I do that we’re not in the middle of a firefight right now?” I asked, looking up as the ceiling retracted itself once again.

  “It is most concerning.”

  “What if the dream wasn’t something that was going to happen, but something that had happened? Like in the past?”

  “But if it was in the past, why would Genesis find this planet and then leave it behind without even an attack?”

  “I don’t really know. This just feels wrong.”

  “I am inclined to agree.”

  The little hidden lift stopped and we walked toward the door, only to have one of the Kodadt enter in. I didn’t remember their name, but I recognized them as one of the subjects I sprung from Serkasis labs. She had a beautiful, red fur with dark lashings of umber in her undercoat. She wasn’t the tallest I had ever seen, but she had a handful of inches on me.

  “What’s up?” I asked. “Did you need something?”

  “I forgot my thought log,” she replied. “They said I had time to grab it because the orbit is still empty.”

  “Oh, well, yeah. You might as well, then.”

  “Thank you. It is much appreciated.” We stepped to the side and she began to walk past us but something clicked as unusual in my head.

  Stepping after her, I tried to sound politely curious. “Hey, where did your accent go?”

  The giant space cat turned to me, a smile on her face. I mirrored her expression, grateful that she hadn’t taken offense to my borderline invasive question.

  But she never answered.

  Instead something that felt like fire burst in my middle, and my entire body seized up on the spot.

  Jyra screamed, but I could only look down to see the kodadt’s hand punctuating my chest, blood rushing down the front o
f me.

  “Wh—” I whimpered, but air could hardly get through my lungs so it my words came out as more of a wheezy gasp instead of actual speech. “Why?”

  The kodadt leaned in, and I recognized the swirling darkness behind her eyes. “There may not be much of me left, but it’s more than enough to destroy you. Goodbye, Andi.”

  She removed her hand and I was pretty sure I saw something beating within it. I collapsed to the ground, vaguely aware that Jyra was kneeling beside me, trying to staunch the blood flow from my wound as it poured across the ground.

  I could also hear running, but it was only at the very edge of my perception. There was blaster fire, I think. And more shouting. But it didn’t really matter, did it?

  I looked up at Jyra, although the space between us was rapidly growing darker. We had been right. This was a trap. Just one that was a lot more covert than we expected. Clever little cloud. It figured after all my high-flying swashbuckling, it would bring me down with a simple punch from an ally.

  Oh, no, Jyra was crying. That wouldn’t do. I reached up to caress her cheek, but I just left blood across her slightly dappled skin. That wasn’t what I meant to do. I wanted to wipe it away, but I didn’t have the energy to lift my arm again.

  Suddenly I was being scooped up, and I was surprised that it didn’t even hurt. It should hurt, right? Why didn’t it hurt?

  My head lolled onto the shoulder of my carrier, and I realized it was Janix. Of course, it was. If anyone had to swoop in with a hero’s carry, it was him.

  He was screaming, though. Why was he screaming? There was far too much noise.

  Then again… it was getting quieter, wasn’t it? With each passing second, the uproar was fading from cacophony to a pleasant sort of background rumble.

  It took all the energy I could muster to roll my eyes to Jyra, then back to the man holding me. This wasn’t a bad way to go, actually. I had done my part and I was taking my final bow with the two people who meant the most to me on either side.

  I just hoped they knew exactly how much they both meant to me.

  I tried to take a breath, so maybe I could whisper out some fraction of what I wanted to say, but no air would get through. The coldness biting at the tips of my fingers bloomed in earnest then, and I felt myself draining away into nothingness.

  With the last bit of fight I had, I pushed my mouth to say something, anything. To not leave the two with a bloody silence as their final memory.

  But the words wouldn’t come out. There was only a pained, rattling wheeze, and then I was no more.

  Chapter Ten: One Up Cheat Code

  I was in pain.

  Why was I in pain? I was dead. There wasn’t supposed to be pain in death. That was the whole point of being dead!

  This wasn’t very fair. I should probably complain. Was there a place you directed that kind of outrage? A sort of afterlife management?

  The thought made me laugh a bit, which made me hurt worse.

  Wait, how could I laugh if I was dead?

  Something wasn’t making sense here.

  I opened my eyes and I was greeted by the blinding fluorescents that I would recognize anywhere.

  “No!” I cried, my voice barely above a whisper. “No, no, no!”

  I fought my way out of the bed I was in and rushed to the nearest window. I was greeted by venetian blinds, which I angry yanked upwards.

  And I was instantly treated to a view of the city skyline, complete with honking cards below.

  “No!” I cried, slamming on the window. It had sent me back! That bastard had sent me back!

  It was only then that I noticed that a whole symphony of beeps were going off around me. I must have pulled off a dozen or so sensors in my struggle to the window, and now medical personnel were pouring into the room.

  “Miss, are you all right?”

  “Miss, here, let me help you.”

  “Call the doctor!”

  It all washed over me in an empty sort of reality as they lead me back to the bed. They sat me down, all the strength rushing from my limbs, but I knew one thing with absolute clarity.

  I needed to get out of this hospital and go back to Jyra’s dimension to kick some serious cloud ass.

  …But how in the hell was I going to do that?

  To Be Continued…

  Witch Academy Box Set (1-4)

  Book 1: The Missing Queen

  Chapter 1

  Desmond awoke with a start, his body tensing up. It took him a moment to figure out exactly what the problem was, his magic finding its way up to his brain.

  He realized after a moment that it was a crash from his kitchen that had woken him. However, the presence that he sensed was not anything that would cause him harm. His dishes and food supply might be in danger, but he was not.

  Running a hand over his face, he tried to pull the sleep from his eyes, glancing at the time piece. He was planning to get up now anyway; the alarm would beep after a moment or two. It was later than he normally got up, but he didn't have anywhere to be for another hour.

  “Nathaniel,” he said as the door to his chambers whooshed open at his touch. “What are you doing?”

  His former Tiro looked up at him, a piece of toast in his mouth.

  “You're awake.”

  Desmond raised an eyebrow, leaning against the doorframe.

  “You think I can't still sense when you are causing chaos? Eleven years of training you, Nathaniel. I promise that the bond is not broken yet.”

  Nathaniel smirked as he searched for more bread, and Desmond decided it was a losing battle. Besides, he was meeting Mariah for breakfast anyway, so he didn't need food here.

  He had trained Nathaniel for eleven years as his third Tiro, readying him as a full-fledged witch; the guardians of the galaxy. Magic was dangerous and destructive if not controlled and well trained, and those born with it often didn't survive it unless they were taken from their families and devoted their life to its control. Witches, who were taken to the academies around the galaxy and trained by Maestros, became warriors, guardians, peacemakers, and healers. They were well respected, strong, and completely devoted to keeping the galaxy safe.

  It came at a price, of course. They rarely, if ever, saw their families again. They were not supposed to form attachments or have families of their own. They were completely devoted to their craft and their quests. When they were young, they were usually devoted to their Maestros. When they came of age, they were put through a series of rigorous tests that determined whether they could go off on their own and become a new generation of Maestros.

  There were exceptions to every rule, of course. Tiros were supposed to be in the academy from the time they started walking, and they needed to be with a Maestro by the time they were thirteen if they wanted to be able to take the tests. Otherwise, they remained at school until eighteen and could work in a minor role. Any time after eighteen, they could take the tests and become a full-fledged witch.

  Desmond knew that he and Nathaniel had broken almost every single one of those rules in their years together. It wasn't necessarily on purpose, because he didn't always believe in everything the Jurors dictated. But Nathaniel had been almost fourteen when Desmond finally took him on after a disastrous last Tiro. Nathaniel was stubborn, mouthy, and more interested in fun half the time. Desmond knew Nathaniel would never be the serious, quiet, thoughtful Witch that was expected. Nathaniel was twenty-four when he finally took the tests, passing with flying colors in everything except his attitude.

  Now, nearly two years later, they remained at the academy. Nathaniel was teaching some of the classes, and Desmond sat on the Jurors part time, dealing with the intergalactic issues that came their way. Both of them were expected at some point soon to take on a Tiro. But after a bumpy eleven years, Nathaniel didn't seem quite ready to be self-sufficient

  Desmond, despite being technically free of a Tiro, found it hard to find time for himself and Mariah – not that he publicly wished for it. />
  The first day Desmond saw Mariah was nearly thirty years ago. They had both been young witches on their first Tiros. They had locked eyes across the room, and Desmond knew that he was in trouble.

  Neither of them had broken any rules, at least in public. But as they started to age toward retirement with a quiet life of advising only in their near future, he found it harder to make sure they were in line and not just existing in a grey area that the Jurors raised their eyebrows at.

  He knew Nathaniel was aware of the fine line he walked and took it as challenge. No matter how much Desmond tried and scolded, Nathaniel had always had eyes for women. He wasn't discreet either, and more than once, he had been called in front of the Jurors for disobedience.

  Desmond's only solace was that, as Nathaniel got older, he seemed to be settling down and focusing his attention on the one woman he came back to again, and again. A quest on Jeffro – a border planet – had introduced the fifteen-year-old Nathaniel to the seventeen-year-old orphaned ruler, Queen Eliza. She was just as head strong, stubborn, and in control of her emotions as he was. Desmond pretended to not hear the late-night hologram fights they had over the years, and pretended not to hear Nathaniel's thoughts when they were doing well. As long as he was focused on his duties, Desmond could turn a blind eye. And, he noticed, no matter how hard they fought, they always returned to each other. They fought in a way that acknowledged that ending their relationship was never an option.

  It was admirable, in a way, except neither of them were supposed to be even thinking of romantic love.

  This life was not an easy one, but it was worth it for the greater good. Despite being two of the most powerful warrior witches in the galaxy, they were still only human.

  “Are you going to the showcase today?” Nathaniel asked. “I saw them setting up this morning.”

  “I might,” Desmond answered, watching Nathaniel eat his way through half a loaf of bread. The showcases were bi-annual and meant to show off the skills of young witches who were hoping to find Maestros. They came from the various academies to go the headquarters, and it was usually impressive. Desmond wasn't quite sure he was interested in taking another one, though. If he was truthful, Nathaniel had been difficult at best. Desmond would technically age out before another Tiro came of age. He and Mariah had loose plans to not take another one, retiring together. Not that he could tell anyone of that, he knew.