Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy

by Jennifer Collins

  "Where is she?" Cass asked, worried.

  "Here," Syney said, standing up. She looked at Cass and Raine with new eyes. Raine must be a Lycin like Hunter, and Cass must be a Magic User, she thought. Cass must have used some sort of magic on her parents the previous day. No wonder they let her go with them.

  "Oh, thank the goddess," Cass said walking straight over to Syney and engulfing her in a big hug. "I was so worried."

  Syney wriggled out of the hug and took a step back. It may have seemed cold, but this girl had lied to her and used magic on her parents. It felt like a violation of some sort.

  "What?" Cass asked, and looked over to Raine. "Did something happen?"

  After a moment Hunter stepped forward. "I told her."

  "That wasn't your place," Cass said sternly.

  "Hey, back off," Syney said, walking to stand in front of Hunter. "At least someone was honest with me!"

  Cass sighed. "You don't understand. There's a protocol in place for this. You aren't supposed to be informed of what's really going on until we reach the Village."

  "I don't think you understand. We were nearly killed by a panther! Hunter has a wound the size of your head on his side! Screw your protocol! I needed answers, and now I need more!" Syney yelled.

  Cass looked at her, her blue eyes filled with frustration. "Look, I'm sorry about the lying and the attitude. But if Hunter told you the basics, then you know how important you are to our race, to hundreds of people. We have to get you home safely."

  Syney took a deep breath to calm herself down and nodded. "OK."

  "I promise I'll tell you all you want to know once we cross over to Altera Realm." Cass's eyes held some desperation.

  "Fine." Syney turned to Hunter. "We should change your bandage before we go."

  Hunter gave her an odd look and placed a hand on his wounded side. "Yes, we should."

  Syney nodded toward the bathroom and led the way, giving Cass one last wary look before shutting the door. "Is it still bad?" she asked Hunter.

  He looked into her eyes for a moment before returning his gaze to the floor.

  Syney frowned. That was odd. He seemed as though there was something he wanted to say but was struggling with whether to say it. "What's wrong?"

  Hunter took a deep breath and looked back at her. "It doesn't...hurt."

  "Did you finally break down and take some aspirin?"

  He shook his head slowly.

  Syney sighed. "I'm confused. I think this is one of those things you're going to have to explain to me."

  Hunter lifted his shirt and pulled the bandage from his side. His skin was completely healed. There wasn't even a red mark.

  "How the hell did that happen?" Syney shrieked.

  "Shhhh." Hunter put his hands on her arms and moved her to the farthest part of the room, away from the door. "I don't know...for sure."

  "But you have a guess."

  He stared at her and nodded, glancing down at her hands.

  "Me?" Syney said, realization sweeping over her face. "You think I did this?" She thought about it for a moment. It would have happened while they were sleeping. She turned Hunter so that his side faced her and put her arm around him. Sure enough, her hand fell right over where his wound had been. "Oh, god. I did this." The world seemed to spin a little as she fell to sit on the toilet.

  "It's OK," Hunter said, kneeling in front of her. "Healing is actually one of the lost spells. It would make sense that you might have it."

  "Lost spells?"

  He nodded. "Certain things were lost to the Magic Users after the war began."

  "But I'm from before the war." She took a deep breath and looked toward the door. "Are they going to think I'm crazy when we tell them?"

  Hunter shifted uncomfortably and avoided her look. "Maybe we shouldn't say anything."

  Now he wants me to be secretive? Syney thought. This was all making less and less sense. "Why?"

  Hunter sighed and looked back to her. "It's... just a feeling."

  "I don't believe that."

  "Fine." He paused. "The Shifters had to have heard about you from someone."

  "Cass said the Village is huge."

  "But only the royal family and court knew about your being found."

  Looking back toward the door, Syney considered the idea that Cass and Raine could be part of the reason they had been attacked. "Do you suspect them?"

  Hunter shook his head. "I've known Raine for years, and I don't believe Cass is capable of betrayal. It's more about who they told."

  Syney looked back at him and got lost for a moment in his eyes. After a moment she forced herself to nod. "OK, but I need something from you."

  "Anything," he said without hesitation.

  "I'm going to need help figuring all of this out. Can you do that?"

  He nodded.

  "OK then. We keep this to ourselves." Syney said, standing up. All she knew was that she really couldn't take any more surprises.

  Cass

  Cass let out a sigh of relief when they pulled up in front of the portal to the Altera Realm. It didn't look like much to the human eye—just a rock face at the end of a dirt road. But, to any other race, it was a beacon of white light, forever shining the way home to Altera. It was a sight for sore eyes after everything they had been through.

  "Are we there yet?" Syney asked, an edge creeping into her voice.

  Cass looked at her, not really knowing what to say. If she had been in Syney's position, she might have all sorts of trust issues as well, but the attitude Syney was giving off was just uncalled for. You have no idea how important you are, Cass thought. Caution must be taken. She sighed and sucked up all of the sarcasm and annoyance she wanted to explode with. "Sort of," she said. "This is the portal to Altera Realm."

  "Through a rock face?" Syney asked, looking at it warily. "How were we going to go through it without my noticing that I was passing through solid rock?"

  "Make sure you close your eyes," Raine said, as he walked past both girls with some of Syney's luggage.

  "Oh, right," Syney said, shaking her head and walking back to the car.

  Cass gritted her teeth. There was only so much she would take from a dumb girl who didn't understand anything.

  "Calm down," Raine said, walking up to her.

  "I'm trying. She's just...trying my patience. I mean, do we really have to put up with her sarcastic comments for the rest of the trip?" Cass vented.

  "It's a few more miles once we're through the portal, and then she'll be in the hands of your mother and the royal court." Raine pulled Cass closer to the portal, away from Syney and the car. "Just take some deep breaths."

  "Ready?" Hunter asked, walking up to them with the rest of Syney's things.

  Raine nodded. "We should start to head over. It'll be dark soon."

  Hunter nodded in return and looked back toward his charge.

  Cass followed his gaze and saw Syney sitting behind the steering wheel, her cell phone to her ear. Suddenly the color drained out of Syney's face, and she turned to the rest of them. An anxious feeing pulsed inside Cass's chest. She had felt this way once before, when she was a child. Her cousin, Max, had been in her chamber. They were playing dress-up with some of her mother's old clothes and heels when his mother had barged in and seen them. Max slipped out of the dress he had on and ran out of the room at full speed, ashamed to have been caught all dressed up. Cass had assumed it was part of her gift to feel strong emotions from people, but it only had happened that one time...until now. She felt Syney's panic. Something was wrong.

  "No," Cass whispered.

  Syney looked away from them, slammed the door closed, and started the ignition before hitting the SUV into gear, escaping in their vehicle.

  "Raine, what the hell?" Cass yelled, looking up at her Protector. "Could you hear her on the phone?"

  Raine shook his head. "She was too far away. But I'm assuming she's going home."

  "We have to follow her. Can we get another
car?"

  "Don't worry about it. I'm going to get you through the portal and home safe. Let Hunter get her. There are too many dangers around here to risk your life as well."

  Cass looked to her side, where Hunter had been just a moment ago. Now there was just a pile of ripped clothes. He had been quick—really quick.

  "Do you think he'll get to her?"

  Raine let out a small laugh. "He would do anything for her. I promise."

  Cass sighed and looked back to the portal. She wasn't very comfortable with the idea of leaving the Chosen One in this Realm by herself. No matter how annoying she was, she was still their only hope.

  Syney

  She was almost to her house. The drive hadn't taken her very long. Her house and the portal weren't that far away from each other when you didn't have an animal attack in the middle. She put her foot to the gas pedal a little harder. She needed to get home. Something was going to happen; she felt it even before Scorpina had called her at the portal.

  "You have to come home quick! There are wild animals here, and Jess—oh, god—Jess is hurt. I think they might be after your parents!" she had exclaimed over the phone. Then the call had disconnected.

  Syney felt bad about leaving Cass, Raine, and Hunter the way she did, but she knew they wouldn't go home with her. And she just had to. What if something happened to her parents? It would be all her fault. Could she deal with that? It was in the middle of the night when she finally pulled into the driveway. She glanced around nervously as she got out of the car. There was nothing. Just an overwhelming silence. She slowly walked to the door and stopped. It was slightly open and looked odd, as if it had been forced into that position. She took a deep, jagged breath and pushed it open. Once she entered the living room, the smell hit her first. It was overly copper, as if she had been sucking on a penny. It was a new smell to her, but she had heard it described many times in horror novels. Tears already stung her eyes as she flicked on a light. Deep down she knew what she was about to see, but it all still seemed so otherworldly. There were her parents, sitting on the couch, dressed in the same clothes she had left them in—only they looked different; paler, stiffer, and covered in blood. She didn't realize she was screaming until a firm hand covered her mouth.

  "Shhhh. We don't want them hearing you now, do we?" a sweet, velvety male voice whispered in her ear.

  Syney began to gag as her legs turned to mush. The hand moved as she fell to the floor and vomited. She sobbed, focusing on her own hands so as to not look over at the dead bodies of the only real parents she ever had known. Her throat burned, and the smell of copper singed the inside of her nose. This wasn't happening. This couldn't happen.

  A small pressure on the small of her back reminded Syney that she wasn't alone. Someone had spoken a moment ago and was touching her back. She scrambled toward the stairs, away from whoever was behind her. She turned and took in a male form in the darkened house. He seemed...wrong to her; she couldn't quite understand the feeling.

  The man put up his hands, his palms facing her. "Relax. I'm not here to hurt you." He paused. "The alive reward is much larger than the dead one."

  Fear swelled in Syney's stomach, and she almost began to gag again. This man was here to take her away. To whom? She looked over to her parents' dead bodies for a moment. A glance was all she could handle.

  The man had followed her gaze. "No. I didn't kill them. A Vampire did. Your parents had a price on their heads as well—not as high as yours, though."

  Syney felt tears wetting her face. This was it. This was her end—right here with her parents by the hands of this man.

  The man studied her with his golden eyes—eyes that seemed to almost glow in the darkened room. Suddenly he cocked his head to the side and looked off into the distance, as if hearing something only he could hear. He looked back to Syney and grabbed her arm. "Come." He pulled her to her feet and up the stairs, treating her as a child would a ragdoll. Once in her parents' room, he tossed her onto the bed and glared out the balcony window.

  Syney's stomach knotted, not only from her fear and anguish but also from being jarred around. She took some deep breaths to steady herself and looked back at her strange companion. Now that he was standing in the moonlight, she got a proper look at him. He was of average height and build. She guessed that Hunter would dwarf this man. His skin was pale and had almost a shimmer to it. His brown hair was cut short and kept messy. He didn't necessarily scream killer, but as she had found out already, looks could be deceiving. And then his words hit her.

  "Did you say 'Vampire'?" she choked out.

  He looked back at her and squinted a little. "Yes."

  She stared at him, waiting for some elaboration but realized quickly that she wasn't going to get one. "I don't...I mean...a Vampire?" She remembered something in Hunter's little speech about Vampires, but she still couldn't wrap her mind around it. Dracula, alive and well. She looked back at the man. She got the same strange feeling looking at him now. Something about him wasn't right. "Are you a Vampire?" she asked, not sure she really wanted the answer.

  He slowly smiled. "Gabriel McMann. Pleasure to meet you."

  Syney's heart picked up speed. "Are you...going to kill me?"

  "No. I already told you that."

  "What do you mean about there being a price on my head?"

  He walked closer to her, moving almost like liquid. "Someone from Altera Realm put a hit out on you and your parents. Dead or alive."

  "Oh. So you want to take me to them?" Syney glanced at the door and then to the deck outside the window. She had a clear shot at both but had a distinct impression that escaping the Vampire in front of her would take more than she had in her.

  "You can't get to the either door." He looked her straight in the eyes. "I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to give you to whoever does want to hurt you. Unlike most of my kind, I am not fond of being seen as hired help when death is the job. I know who you are. I've heard of the prophecy."

  Syney stared into his eyes and felt something familiar in them. She wasn't sure what it was, but she did know he was telling the truth. "Why don't any of the other races want the prophecy to come true?"

  "Have you been attacked already today?"

  She nodded. "Shifters."

  He made a shivering motion. "Distasteful creatures. They're near even now. Creeping around outside."

  "What?" Syney jumped off the bed and looked out the window to the backyard. "I have to get out of here."

  "You wouldn't make it if you tried to leave. They're surrounding the house, waiting for you to make your move."

  "And you're too slow," a female voice said.

  Syney and Gabriel turned to look at their new guest.

  "Scorpina?" Syney asked the familiar girl. Syney started toward her, wanting to ask about Jess, but Gabriel grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.

  "She's a Shifter," he said, a dangerous edge cutting into his velvety voice.

  "What? No...Jess. She's been living with Jess." Syney's already damaged heart seemed to physically break once again as a realization sunk in. "She's dead, isn't she?"

  The tiny girl snickered. "She doesn't matter. She was just a pawn. You, my friend, are the prize."

  Anger rose up and swallowed all of Syney's fear and sadness as she made a charge for the small girl, pushing Gabriel out of the way. She wrapped her hands around the girl's throat and squeezed with everything in her.

  Scorpina laughed and choked at the same time, making a sickening wet sound. She reached her hand up and slashed Syney's face with her nails. "You think you can hurt me?" she yelled, once her throat was free of Syney's grip.

  Syney fell to the floor at Scorpina's scratch and cupped her wounded cheek. She felt blood ooze out of her skin as a white-hot pain erupted in her brain. It was worse than any pain she had ever felt. Syney felt a numbness spread through her body, and her throat tightened and the air in her lungs seemed to disappear, only not to be replenished. Is this what it feels
like to die? she wondered, as she struggled for any kind of breath.

  She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, as tears ran down her cheeks. Everything seemed to disappear around her, all sounds dying down to whispers. She heard a muffled fight somewhere near her and a voice speaking. . .to her? She blinked and looked up into the face of her mother and father. She smiled. Of course they weren't gone—they couldn't be dead! Her mother's mouth moved. She was talking, but Syney couldn't hear her. Pay attention to the lips! she yelled to herself. She's trying to tell you something!

  Syney peered a little closer. "Stay awake!" her mother mouthed. "Now drink."

  Syney didn't understand. "Stay awake," she understood, but "Drink"? She was about to muster all her strength to ask why, when something shoved into her mouth. She nearly choked as a warm, thick liquid invaded her mouth. It tasted wrong. It wasn't something she was supposed to be drinking. It was almost forbidden, but she swallowed anyway. Her mother had insisted, so she had to. Everything started to come into focus after a few swallows and the numbness resided. Syney blinked again, and her parents faded away, replaced by Gabriel. That's when she realized it was the stranger's wrist that was in her mouth and his blood that she was drinking. She started to choke and tried to force his wrist from her mouth. This is wrong! That was the only thought she had as she struggled.

  "Calm down," Gabriel whispered, moving away from her slowly.

  Calm was the last thing Syney was going to be. She shot up from the floor, and the room began to spin. She blinked a few times. Her stomach seemed to be on fire, and it was quickly spreading to her veins. The room picked up speed as she tried to focus. Find something to focus on, she thought. She saw Gabriel kneeling on the floor, looking at her. Scorpina's body, or what was left of it, was a bloody mess on the floor. Hunter, as a wolf, blood dripping from his mouth, was the last thing she saw as the room turned dark and the floor fell from underneath her.