“It’s about time!” Bethyl shouted.
Tameka realized too late that if they stepped through now they’d end up falling several feet and break their necks.
“Watch out!” she shouted.
The three of them ran through the portal and immediately fell. Tameka winced as they landed on the ground in an ungainly mess. They did appear to be unharmed though, which was a bonus.
“That was the worst rescue attempt I’ve ever seen,” Galina muttered behind her. “Your friends really are inept.”
Tameka turned just in time to see a tentacle whipping towards her face. She ducked as the appendage hit the the stairway rail, obliterating it. Galina came forward again and she punched the criminal mastermind in the face with as much energy as she could muster.
Galina staggered back, her hand on her face. “You…you hurt me!”
“Boo hoo,” said Tameka.
The other woman screamed and grabbed Tameka. She pushed Galina aside and ran down the stairs, ready to join her friends for the battle to come.
Red pulled himself to his feet, glad to see Tameka alive and uninjured. He never would’ve been able to forgive himself if she’d been hurt.
“What happened?” he demanded. “That took ages.”
Tameka shrugged. “Galina and I were having a girly chat.”
Red’s face darkened. “Galina Trade?”
Galina walked down the stairs towards them, calmly, as if she had all the time in the world. Maybe she did. They were currently being surrounded by dozens of enchanted humans, all of them armed with guns.
“Can you un-enchant them?” Red whispered.
Bethyl shook her head. “Not if she’s controlling them.”
He didn’t understand. He knew Galina Trade was a master criminal, wanted for a variety of crimes, but he didn’t know she was this powerful. It was obvious she had very potent magical talents, especially if someone of Bethyl’s power couldn’t break the woman’s spells. What were they facing here? Just who was Galina?
“I hear you’ve been after me for a while,” said Galina, walking up to them. She surveyed them as a shark would a shoal of tiny fish. “Perhaps you should’ve realized by now that I can’t be caught.”
“Where are my family?” Vincent demanded.
Galina grinned. “Your children are fine. Your wife, however, died after we decapitated her. It’s a shame.”
Vincent roared in grief and charged at Galina. She whipped a tentacle out and grabbed the troll by the neck, lifting her struggling into the air. The woman just laughed.
I know what she is.
“Are you what I think you are?” Bethyl asked, awed.
Galina gathered them all into her death stare. “What do you think I am?”
Red took a deep breath. “You’re the last Kraken.”
The tentacled woman nodded. “I am indeed. You’re clever; for a dragon.”
Red couldn’t believe it. Despite the situation he couldn’t help but be fascinated. The kraken were thought to be extinct, despite rumors persisting for millennia that there was still one left. The thought made him a little happy if he was honest.
“I thought you were all dead,” he admitted.
The enchanted humans had itchy trigger fingers. One of them fired their gun. The bullet ricocheted off the floor, missing Bethyl by mere inches.
Galina glared before saying, “You don’t need to know my life story.”
“Why are you forcing humans to kill themselves?” Tameka demanded.
“Do you really think I’m going to reveal all my plans to you?” Galina asked them. “Give me some credit. I haven’t survived this long by being an idiot.”
The tentacle slammed Vincent down onto the hard concrete of the warehouse floor. She seemed unconscious but alive.
Galina smiled again. “Now…”
The drone of police sirens echoed from outside. They all started to panic, Galina included. This hadn’t been part of the plan.
“Did you call the police?” Galina shouted.
There’s a huge bruise on her cheek in the exact same place that Tameka hit her.
“No,” said Red. This was far from his plan. “Someone must have seen us on the roof and called them.”
Galina’s face turned into a sneer. She turned and ran for another door on the ground level. Red began to chase her, determined to put her down before she could escape, before half a dozen enchanted humans blocked his way.
“Now you don’t want to do this,” he told them, holding his hands out. “You’ve been turned into slaves with powerful magic.”
They fired their guns at him.
Tameka had a second to figure out what to do when all hell broke loose. Every single enchanted human started firing their guns in unison. Bullets flew all over the place, shattering crates and the concrete floor and even the light fixtures. Tameka flung herself to the floor as Bethyl created some sort of magical shield. The noise was deafening.
“How long can you hold this up?” Tameka asked, getting up and standing beside the witch. “I don’t think they’re going to give up.”
“I’m in the prime of my life,” declared Bethyl.
“You look ancient.”
Bethyl’s look was withering. “You could always risk it with the bullets.”
Tameka kept quiet as she looked over at the unconscious Vincent, safe within the confines of the magical shield. She could see the troll’s chest rising and falling. Red wasn’t in nearly as advantageous a position. He was hiding behind a crate as several enchanted humans advanced upon him.
“I have to get out to Red,” she stated.
“Die for all I care,” Bethyl snapped.
When the bullets hit the shield they exploded into dust, yet the zombie-like humans just kept firing and firing until eventually they ran out. When they did they just continued to stand there, firing their guns, unable to comprehend it was futile. Red emerged from his hiding place, walking over to them.
“That was easy,” he commented.
Bethyl brought down the magical shield. Tameka immediately went to Vincent, slapping the troll across the face to wake her up.
“Stop that,” said Vincent, pulling herself to her feet. “I’m awake.”
The enchanted humans were still furiously pressing down the triggers on their guns.
“What about them?” Tameka asked.
“The magic should fade off the further Galina Trade is,” Bethyl explained. “Now let’s go and find the children before the pigs turn up. I have a warrant out on me for indecent exposure and I’m not going to jail again.”
Tameka didn’t dare ask.
Vincent pushed Pedro along. The man was nursing a broken arm and in obvious pain but she didn’t care. He was leading them to her family and he’d make the man hurt more if she didn’t get her own way. Only her family mattered.
“Down here,” said Pedro, leading them to a set of concrete steps that led further underground. The stench of mold was repugnant. “Come on.”
They followed, Vincent careful to keep one eye on Pedro the entire time. He was a slippery one, not entirely human, the love child of a witch and a human woman. Her captive had limited magical powers, which was why he wasn’t trying to escape.
The only thing he can do is talk to animals.
“How did my wife die, Pedro?” Vincent demanded.
They were heading down a long corridor now. There were open doors at intervals, revealing more crates inside. They didn’t interest Vincent, though he knew his wife would’ve been fascinated. Magical artefacts were her academic specialty.
“I didn’t even know she was dead,” Pedro protested. “Honestly.”
Vincent shoved the half-breed further along. “I don’t believe you.”
They stopped at a thick metal door with grills for a window. Pedro unlocked it and led them inside. Four pairs of eyes turned to him from a large bed in the corner. The room was clean, bright and warm, which Vincent was thankful for. She’d been havin
g visions of her family being held in squalor.
“Mommy!” they all cried.
Vincent wept as she pulled her children into her arms. All was right in the world.
Red placed the sheet over the body, disgusted. Vincent’s wife had been hacked apart like butcher’s meat. The poor woman had been treated abominably. It made him despise Galina Trade all the more.
“I can’t believe a kraken would do this,” said Bethyl. “They were peaceful.”
“Galina Trade is anything but peaceful,” said Red. “She’s a monster.”
Bethyl nodded. “We better go. I can hear footsteps upstairs.”
Red nodded as Vincent came into the room. She lifted her wife’s body into her arms, weeping openly.
“I’ll kill her for this,” Vincent promised.
Red nodded. “You have my word we’ll track her down and kill her. I promise.”
Tameka wiped at her eyes, confused as to why she was crying. She’d never known Vincent’s wife but she was grieving for her as if she did. Maybe it was the sight of their four beautiful, chubby little children crying for their lost mother that was doing it, or maybe it was the fact it was bringing forth memories of the death of her own mother. Either way the situation was too emotional for her.
She felt a little hand tug at her sleeve. She wiped at her eyes and looked down into the cute features of a ten-year-old troll. She couldn’t tell what sex it was.
“What’s up, sweetie?” Tameka asked.
“Is Mommy really dead?” the child asked.
Tameka burst into tears again and pulled the little troll into a hug.
17
Tameka blew the trolls a kiss and closed the door. She sat by the kitchen table along with Red and Vincent. Bethyl had left as soon as they’d got home. She’d said something about a Roman orgy. Tameka had a feeling she wasn’t joking.
She’d never seen such grief before. The little trolls had been inconsolable. Vincent had tried her best but for some reason they clung to her. It was a little odd. She’d never considered herself the maternal type.
“Why are they asking for you?” said Vincent.
She couldn’t really say. “I’m not sure.”
“They’re probably not used to you being female,” Red suggested. “And they miss their mom. It’s a confusing time for them.”
The little ones were sleeping in Tameka’s bed, tucked up tight. She was going to sleep on the sofa. Vincent could have the floor.
“I guess,” said Vincent. She smiled sadly. “Thank you for the burial in the woods. It was a lovely service.”
Red nodded. Tameka sighed and went to the grill, using a pair of tongs to grab three grilled cheese sandwiches. They were all starving after their ordeal at the warehouse. Tameka could eat a hundred grilled cheeses.
And I could sleep for a thousand years.
Nothing had been sorted out. They had Vincent’s family back, and they knew who was behind the killings, but there was still so much they didn’t know. It was very frustrating.
“How did the two of you meet?” Tameka asked.
Vincent took a bite out of her grilled cheese. “We fell in love in secret, not knowing our families had actually set us up to be married. When we saw each other on our wedding day, realizing just who it was were being hitched to, we laughed, knowing it was meant to be.”
“It’s very romantic.”
“I guess. I just never thought it would end up like this, my beautiful wife carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey. What that kraken did to her was pure evil.”
Tameka thought she’d seen evil in her life, but the criminals she’d helped capture over the years were mere children compared to Galina Trade. The woman was monstrous, never mind her being the last kraken.
“Is the kraken what I think it is?” Tameka asked. Melted cheese dripped from her mouth as she took a bite of toast. “A sort of giant squid-thingy?”
“Kraken are ancient shifters with unparalleled strength, intelligence and magic,” Red explained. “They used to use their abilities for good until they died out. That was on Prime Earth, the dimension we came from.”
Tameka nodded. “How did they die?”
“We don’t know. All we do know is that one day we found hundreds of them floating in the water, dead. We couldn’t find a cause. Some assumed it was a disease, or old age. We never did find out.”
Tameka continued eating, thinking about what it would be like to be the last of her kind. She should feel sorry for Galina. She must be lonely. Yet Tameka felt nothing but hatred for the woman.
When I find her I’m going to help Vincent put the bitch down. I don’t care if I’m wiping out an entire species.
“What are we going to do about it?” she asked them.
“We kill her,” said Vincent.
“We need to find her first,” said Red. “And we need to find out why she was having Vincent kill all those people. It just doesn’t make sense. She wasn’t crazy or insane.”
Tameka nodded, agreeing. “She was clinical and ruthless and very intelligent. She wasn’t having all those people killed just for the thrill of it.”
Vincent stood up. “At the moment I just want her dead.”
The grieving troll entered the bedroom and closed the door behind her. Tameka hoped she got some sleep tonight. The poor troll really needed it.
Red watched her carefully before saying, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Tameka answered.
“It was a strenuous night.”
“I had a blast, really.”
Red smirked. “I’ve been thinking about something you did. After Bethyl, Vincent and I fell out of the portal I saw you punch Galina. She actually looked shaken when you hit her, and then I saw the bruise afterwards.”
“That bitch deserved it.” Tameka smirked. “And I really enjoyed doing it too.”
“How can you injure a kraken? It’s not possible.”
“Maybe she just wasn’t taking her vitamins this month. How should I know?”
She continued eating her grilled cheese, a little pissed that it had gone cold. Red was still staring at her, suspicion on his face now. She ignored him and continued to eat. If he wanted to accuse her of something, then she’d let him.
“I’m sleeping here tonight,” he announced.
She glared at him over her grilled cheese. “There’s not enough room on the sofa for two.”
“You thought I was sleeping with you?”
“You thought you weren’t?”
She gauged his face for a reaction. She needed him tonight and she was practically offering herself on a plate.
“You mean sex?” he asked.
She laughed. “Do I mean sex?”
“I don’t know. I never know with you.”
“If you’re up to having sex with me while five trolls sleep in the other room…”
He was so adorable and hot she wanted to scream. All she wanted was a night of hot action to let off some steam. She wasn’t asking for a relationship. She wasn’t asking for anything. All she wanted was him.
“It’s just a one-off,” she added. “Or maybe more if I like it.”
“That’s all you want?” he asked. “Just sex?”
“I can’t offer you anything more.”
He stared at her for another ten seconds before he stood up. She was about ready to rip his clothes off his body when he smiled forlornly and walked away. The front door shut silently behind him.
“Prime Minister, have you heard of Galina Trade?”
“Of course I’ve heard of Galina Trade. That woman is a bane on the magical world.”
“She’s the last kraken.”
“Are you sure?”
“Quite sure. She was the one arranging the human deaths.”
“She is a powerful woman. I’ve head dealings with her in the past. We should be afraid of her.”
“She escaped before we could find out her ultimate goals, but not before Tameka injured her.”
“She injured the last kraken? I’m impressed. Tameka is more powerful than I thought.”
“Who is she?”
“Finding Galina Trade is your priority now. Things are deadly serious if she’s involved. But what is she up to? Why is she causing the deaths of humans? She’s simply a businesswoman now. What does she have to gain from all this?”
“I want to know who Tameka is and why I’m watching her.”
“Right now Galina Trade is your top priority. I think I already said that.”
“I hate it when you don’t tell me the truth.”
“I never thought it was your job to bitch and complain.”
“I never thought it was your job to be a cryptic asshole.”
“Asshole? You’re picking up too many human idioms. It saddens me. Just be careful with Galina. Is she all human now, or can she transform back into her original self?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“If she can change back into her true form I’d get as far away from her as you can. The kraken are right to be feared. They’re the true monsters of the sea.”
“And you’re sending me after her.”
“You don’t think you’re up to the job?”
“Of course I am. I’m just worried about Tameka.”
“From what you’ve told me about her do you really think she’s just going to let this go? You know as well as I do that she’s going to investigate Galina too. You might as well investigate together.”
“Tameka is tenacious. Too tenacious.”
“I admire her.”
“I…”
“You sound uncertain. Are you lovers yet?”
“That’s not something I want to discuss with you.”
“So that’s a no then. You’re slipping.”
“I don’t want to rush things. She’s…like I said, tenacious. Besides, I think a physical relationship would sour what we already have. I don’t want to take things to another level.”
“You think she doesn’t like you in a sexual way.”
“This conversation is not happening.”
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