Paranormally Yours: A Boxed Set

by Alisha Basso

  Styx hissed and opened his mouth, his fangs glistening…then he stiffened above me, his eyes going wide. Nock materialized holding one end of a broken chair leg. The other end was spiking out of Styx’s chest, right through his heart.

  He let out a stream of breath, the red fire dying in his eyes. Before he could drop on top of me, Nock morphed into that cute, curly-haired teenager, lifted Styx and threw him.

  I felt the air heat and the eerie sensation flood over my skin as Bleak screamed in surprise and anger.

  Nock grabbed my hand and, with a sweep of his arm, he threw a glittering, golden net of Celtic knots. It hit Bleak just as he was about to release the black energy. The net bore him to the floor and the black energy ignited. I heard the mage scream in inhuman anguish. Goddess help me, I was delighted.

  “Payback is a bitch,” Nock said, as he took my hand and we sank into the warm earth beneath us.

  #

  For several seconds we hovered below ground. “Nock,” I said, my voice sounding small in the confines of his magic bubble, muffled by tons of dirt and rocks. Nock always glowed when he used his Earth magic to travel, so there was plenty of light. He morphed back into his true self, and I was relieved. I couldn’t seem to mesh my concept of him and the cute boy-band guy into one small gnome.

  “This is weird. I couldn’t figure out where we were, and I couldn’t wait any longer to get you out of there, so give me a cotton-picking minute here.”

  “There’s no need to get crabby,” I said.

  “Excuse me, miss. You’ve forced me to work with the OS and gotten my butt in some major hurt. And I did not enjoy having to watch you be terrorized, or staking a tweeking vampire. I’ve never done that before.”

  “All right. I guess you get to be crabby.”

  “I’m so happy I have your consent, now I can sing and dance a jig.”

  “I’d like to see that.”

  “Never going to tweeking happen.”

  After a few more minutes of communing with the Earth with his eyes closed, Nock sighed. “Dammit. I have to go down to Nife.”

  “Nife?” He pronounced it knee-fee.

  “The earth’s core. It’s made out of a nickel-iron alloy, and we gnomes call it Nife. NI for nickel and FE for iron.”

  “I’m not exactly a genius when it comes to geophysics, but isn’t it hot?” I squeaked.

  We started moving and the displaced rocks, dirt and debris made a grinding sound as we passed. I never got tired of this immersion into the earth.

  Nock rolled his eyes. “Roughly the temperature of the sun. So, yes, very. But I’ve gone through the core before. Don’t worry. It’s the center of our universe. I can realign my bearings. Where do you want to go?”

  “The OS,” I said without hesitation. “They need to know what the mage is planning. Did you happen to notice what percentage the computers were on?”

  “Sixty-five percent finished.”

  “Oh, goddess. We have to get to the OS, like, yesterday, and stop him.”

  “I’m moving as fast as I can,” he said.

  We were traveling straight down and soon left the darkness of the crust, although the smell of loam was still rich. When we hit the next layer, I gasped. Nock’s white glow bounced off sparking, crystalline rocks and silicates, illuminating our bubble in breathtaking shades of purple, yellow, brown and rose. It looked like a luminous, limpid forest. When I had been lucky enough to travel with Nock through the earth, we normally stayed very close to the surface. It’s where his Aunt Tilly lived. But now we were going deeper.

  “We’re journeying to the center of the earth? Tell me we won’t have to fight dinosaurs.”

  “You think this is the time for jokes?”

  “Yes, it’s better than panicking. I’ve processed more than enough adrenaline for today, thank you very much.”

  “At least you have your sense of humor back.”

  “Where are we now?”

  “The transition region. This is a fun place for gnomes to play.”

  “Why?”

  “Watch,” he said, moving his hands, and the hard red mineral filling our bubble with crimson color sculpted into a rhinoceros. “There are sometimes pockets of liquid here, too.” He looked around. “Oh, there’s one.” He flicked his hands again and the glowing red and orange magma-like liquid formed into an exquisite, detailed orchid.

  “Did you carve the flower on the hearth in your aunt’s home and those dragons on Flynn’s cave?”

  He shifted and gave me a smirky grin. “Yes, I did.”

  Apparently my friend Nock was as talented as he was difficult…and surprisingly kind.

  “You are full of surprises,” I said.

  He shrugged. “We’re almost there. We’re passing through the D-Layer, then we’re going to hit the lower mantle, then the outer core. When we do, I’ll need to concentrate to realign.”

  “We’re going to have to sit in the core of the earth?”

  “Yes, but not for long.”

  We moved though more crystal, this time a pale green glow illuminated our bubble, and Nock created different animals in the crystal as we passed, monkey, butterfly, moose, and his favorite, a pretty fairy.

  “Why do they call it the D-Layer?”

  “Some German guy came up with a system to label each layer of the inner core. There’s actually a D Prime and just D.”

  “You know a lot about geophysics.”

  “Ah, duh, Lily. We gnomes have to travel around in this environment. It’s where we live. I took geophysics in school, and before I was allowed to take my first trip, I had to pass my tests.”

  “I had no idea this was so involved.”

  “It’s just like your magic and learning different spells. Same principle. Knowledge takes us where we want to go. Figuratively and literally.” Suddenly he was alert. “Okay, we’re passing through the outer core.”

  “It’s liquid.”

  “Yup. Tweek, hold on!”

  Our bubble swelled, rising quickly and then dropping violently and noisily.“What was that?” I shouted.

  “A P-wave.”

  “What is that?” I asked again, giving him a sidelong hint of my cluelessness.

  “A seismic wave,” he said gleefully. “If I wasn’t pressed for time, we could surf it. It’s a blast, dude.”

  I shook my head. There was so much I didn’t know about gnomes.

  “I’m going to treat you to something really special, something no one who lives above the surface has probably ever seen.” Nock extended his light.

  “Oh. My. Goddess,” I breathed in wonder. The outer core was a sea of golden liquid, and in its center was the solid yellow sphere suspended like a huge, perfectly rounded chunk of rock.

  “Yeah,” Nock said, softly. He cleared his throat. “The inner core is solid and is not attached to the mantle, since it’s suspended in the molten outer core. It’s solid because of a very intense pressure-freezing process which happens with most liquids when temperature decreases or pressure increases. The outer core of the earth is a scorching hot, electrically conductive liquid. This inner layer works with the earth’s rotation to create a dynamo effect, generating a force field of electrical currents. Also known as the earth's magnetic field. It’s what makes your mechanical and biological compasses work.” He took a deep breath. “I just call it beautiful.”

  I was filled with wonder at the magnificence of this planet I loved. Metaphysical, yes; scientific, most definitely; but this sight was, as Nock said, simply beautiful.

  “Okay, we’re passing into the core. Give me a minute.”

  He settled to the bottom of the bubble, crossed his legs and sank into a deep meditative pose, even lifting his hands and pinching his fingers together. I had to work hard to keep from fretting. I knew Nock required time to get his bearings, but I was also feeling the pressure of time and the horror of what Cole Bleak had planned.

  Nock took a breath. Without speaking he rose, his eyes clear and determin
ed. We started to move again, and this time we moved fast. Nock knew where he was.

  We breached the crust and traveled through into the OS and up through the walls. After all, a building was nothing but materials gleaned from the earth, and apparently Nock could manipulate those as well.

  We came to a jarring stop and stepped out of the wall right into the open area of the OS office. I fell forward when Nock released his bubble, my elbows and knees smacking the floor. People cried out in surprise, and I heard people scrambling to face this perceived threat. Papers flew, and someone shouted, “What the hell?”

  “Lily!” four voices cried out in unison.

  I looked up past my thick hair to see Fox, Rayne, Val and Talon converge on me. They were battered, bruised, with blood all over them, and their uniforms were ripped and torn, even Talon’s black leather biker gear.

  Phones rang and went unanswered as all eyes were on me and Nock as we sprawled on the floor.

  “He’s got a warehouse of computers running, downloading the game,” I said weakly, starting to feel the aftereffects of torture and terror as my vision grayed.

  Talon reached out, but I was sinking. My elbows buckled and my knees gave way. The last thing I knew I was being cradled in his strong arms.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Even though I protested, Second Warden Deangelo Santana made me eat and drink after a course of treatment from Fox, who was now working on Val. Rayne looked fine, except for a knot on her head. The gash on Talon’s face and hairline had stopped bleeding and was almost halfway healed.

  The absence of pain was such a relief, but the bruises and soft tissue damage I suffered would take a bit more to heal. I insisted he take care of Val and Talon’s injuries first.

  I paused for only a moment, but Deangelo pointed commandingly at my dish. Sighing, I wolfed down the rest of the meal and drank the rest of the water in my glass.

  “Can I talk now?”

  “Yes. You mentioned computers and the game?”

  “A warehouse full, at least a hundred.”

  His expression was grim.

  “Can your gnome friend find him again?’

  I looked at Nock, who was sitting in a desk chair twirling it around with a magical wind. “Nock?”

  “Nope. I was lucky to get that disorientation spell he put over the warehouse broken by going to the earth’s core. I have no idea where it is.”

  “I can stir a spell to find him,” I said.

  “Yeah, that worked out so well last time,” Nock said, giving me a crabby look.

  “I’ll do it here at the OS where it’s warded. He can’t get in here.”

  We could cut the power to the Twin Cities until we find the mage.

  “He’s got a generator,” Nock said, softly.

  “We have to do something,” I said.

  Someone behind me asked, “Do you think you can find him?” The man’s voice was deep and soothing. I startled and turned around.

  The crowd around me had parted and either everyone’s posture had suddenly improved or this was a man of great importance. Or at least, everyone except Talon.

  The man stood between Talon and Rayne. He was fae, obvious from his elaborately braided black hair and his tri-colored eyes in different shades of very pretty gold. There weren’t many fae with that hair color. They were usually more colorful than the normal shades humans were locked into, like my dirty blond.

  “Sir,” Deangelo said.

  “At ease, everyone.”

  He came forward. “Is this the witch you mentioned, Deangelo?”

  “Yes, she’s been…invaluable.”

  “I’m Prime Warden Valan Songfire. Why don’t you and I take this discussion to the conference room, shall we? Let these people get back to work.”

  Fox and Talon both stepped forward to help me up. The two men gave each other quelling looks. Fox took my arm first and Talon stepped back.

  I was still a bit shaky. “I’m not going without my team,” I said. “They are involved, and also quite…” I looked into their faces, including Talon’s “…invaluable.”

  “You have a point, Ms. Starbuck. Everyone please join us”

  Fox assisted me out of the OS main office and down a hall to a plain, closed door. He turned the handle and ushered me through, the rest following.

  Once everyone was inside, Deangelo closed the door.

  “Ms. Starbuck.”

  “Lily, please,” I said. “I am, after all, working for you.”

  “Yeah, and she earned her paycheck already for the next six weeks,” Nock said at my elbow.

  “Lily,” he amended. “Tell the Prime what you told us.”

  I gave him a brief rundown of what had transpired in the warehouse.

  “Deangelo, alert all the Councils, and have my assistant set up immediate meetings with all the leaders.”

  “Yes, sir,” he said and moved over to a credenza, where he picked up the phone and started talking.

  “We need to find the warehouse and end this threat to the Twin Cities. You said you had a plan?”

  A spell was working in my head. “It wouldn’t exactly be scrying, but my idea involves a cross between scrying and a translocation spell. I say we try to find him. If it doesn’t work, find the warehouse instead. I was there. I remember how it looked and what its energy felt like.”

  “I’ve seen what she can do with her spells,” Talon said. “We are going to be mobilizing for an onslaught of monsters if we stand around debating much longer. Let her try. If that fails, then we’ll have to come up with an alternative.”

  The Prime looked at Talon as if he had just noticed him. “I know every face of every OS warden. You are?”

  “Agent Talon Sunstrike, FDA.”

  “And the FDA is involved how?”

  He looked at me and the Prime’s curious eyes flicked to me.

  “Ms. Starbuck is part of a case I’m investigating.”

  “You have been a busy witch.”

  “I’d like to help, if that’s acceptable to you, sir,” Talon said.

  “I will speak to Director Moonlash at the FDA and request your assistance. Thank you, Agent Sunstrike.”

  Talon nodded.

  “What do you need?” the Prime asked.

  “A stove, and my spell book and cauldron.”

  Deangelo said. “Fallow, go down to the kitchen and tell them we need to use a stove.”

  Val left the room.

  “Nock,” I said, “can you get my spell book and cauldron?”

  He nodded and left.

  “Keep me up to date on your progress. Deangelo, while Lily is working her spell, you and your team stay close.”

  We all filed out of the conference room and took the elevator to an open area, cafeteria-style setup and walked through two swinging silver doors into an expansive, but currently chaotic, kitchen.

  I saw Val in the back talking to a tall bear of a man with a white chef’s hat and an apron. As we made our way past scurrying people and headed down to the end of the aisle, Val came toward us. “Chef Michaels said we could use the auxiliary stove over there in the back. They’re busy getting lunch ready, so he doesn’t have time to demonstrate, but I suspect you can find your way around just about any kitchen, Lily.”

  I was so happy to see his smirky face I set my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. He’d lost none of his bad-boy strut or presence, and when I thought about his heroic actions on the roof, I understood completely why Fox and Rayne put up with his nonsense. “I do. Thank you.” I leaned forward slightly and whispered, “For everything.”

  I loved seeing his unique eyes sparkle with determination and affection, and once again I thought how surreal it was to be close to a man who had once been nothing but a flat rendering of a character. But I could attest that Val was one hundred percent real and present.

  “I think we’ll make a good team,” he whispered back, then waggled his brows in his rascally Val way.

  My squeeze turned into a
nudge as I laughed and went past him to the stove. Nock popped up just as I reached the stove, my grimoire and cauldron in his arms.

  “What took you so long? I hope you weren’t taking a detour to surf on the P-waves.”

  “No…I…” he started, then realized I was teasing him. He shoved the items into my arms and folded his arms across his chest. “You haven’t even seen the boss S-waves yet,” he grumbled.

  I patted his head and he harrumphed.

  He pulled on my sleeve. “Do you have to be involved in this? Can’t we just go home where you’ll be safe?”

  “No one’s safe until we make sure this threat is ended, Nock. The rogue mage intends to go through with this plan and, as you saw, he is deadly serious. Now, stop distracting me and don’t go anywhere. I’ll need you to fetch me some herbs.”

  “Do you think I am your errand boy?”

  “A very disagreeable one, but yes.”

  He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Oh, by the way, that dragon is worried. He asked me incessant questions when I went to pick up your stuff.”

  “His name is Flynn.”

  “Whatever.”

  “When you get the herbs, bring him back with you.”

  “What? Why? Can’t he wink around like normal dragons?”

  “I suspect so, but he can’t wink into the OS. Remember? It’s warded.”

  “Oh, Tweek. Right.”

  I opened up my spell book and flipped through to the first empty page. At the top I wrote. Seeking Spell. It was my first, and, even under these dire circumstances, I felt really excited to be writing a new spell.

  I wrote in my goal. To find a hidden person or object. Then, the moon phase. Timing of the moon could enhance the spell I was stirring. I always considered the moon and her bewitching phases since the moon wields more power over witchcraft than any other object in the sky, and one of the simplest ways to add a little oomph to my herb magic was to work in harmony with the lunar cycles. Working in accord with the lunar phases ensured my charms and spells turned out the way I wanted them to.

  I divided the lunar phases into five categories: new, waxing, full, waning, and the dark of the moon. There are specific magical applications for each of these phases, and once I had the essentials down, I always used them to make spells more potent.