They all chanted in unison and I pulled at my bonds, trying to free even one hand. The ropes weren’t as tight as they should’ve been and I knew then that Brock had tied them – he always did things half-assed, and this time it would cost him. I pulled a hand free and the rope relaxed around the other. Brock had been foolish enough not to tie my body and feet to the chair, and I saw the panicked look on his face as he realized that.
The Dark Brothers looked ready to do something about my escape, but Riley’s voice boomed through the room. “Leave them. The ritual cannot wait!” he commanded.
Brock pulled out his blade but I didn’t give him the chance to use it. In any other situation, I would’ve disarmed him, but I didn’t have time. I slipped my knife out of its sheath and drove the pommel into the side of his face. I felt his cheekbone shatter under his skin and pushed him sideways so I could hit him again on the back of his head. His head hit the concrete as he collapsed and lay limp in a pool of blood.
I turned at Lena’s footsteps in time to see her blade. I brought my dagger up to block it, but missed and caught her arm. I felt it slice through the flesh and muscles of her wrist. The tendons snapped and rolled up her arm like water rippling under her skin. She fell to the ground, shaking, but didn’t scream. She was going into shock.
Her undamaged hand groped at the limp appendage hanging from her right wrist. I hadn’t meant to hurt her like that, but I shook the guilt away and drove my foot into her face. Blood burst from her nose and she fell unconscious. I unlatched the chain holding Vincent and went to face the others.
Blood seeped out of Rayna’s wrists and ankles; each glyph had been slashed. The Brothers and Riley stood at their respective places, blood dripping off their blades. I tried to lunge towards them but I was frozen in place.
Vincent was motionless in his chair, and I could see the fight going on in his eyes as he struggled to move. Darius stared at us, his eyes fully black and his magic wrapping itself around me.
Rayna’s blood rolled down her skin and onto the concrete floor. Once it hit the ground, it moved on its own to outline her body. The circle lit up and glowed red, moving up over her. The light got brighter and changed from red to blue to white, forcing my eyes closed against its brilliance. Light erupted from each symbol and beamed towards the center, where all the rays met. A rainbow of colors exploded and swirled to expand over one wall.
Riley’s face was lit with excitement as wind rushed through the portal. A wide open space full of strange plants and trees showed beyond the wall. Warm air rushed into the basement, smelling of rain and something sweet I couldn’t place.
The short-haired Brother, Drake, picked up Rayna and slung her over his shoulder. I tried to scream for them to stop, but no sound came from my lips. I pushed against the spell, but despite my full effort, I couldn’t move. I reached inside to call my magic and felt the fire move through my body and come to my fingertips, but it wouldn’t ignite.
Riley and the warlocks moved towards the portal. My father turned and smirked at me with a smile that wasn’t his own before he disappeared through it.
Once they were gone, the spell broke and I tried to follow. The portal was spiraling inward, consuming itself, and I ran at full speed and jumped towards it. It was shrinking fast, and I thought for an instant I would hit the concrete wall, but as I prepared for the impact, warmth and sweet air surrounded me. Bright colors blinded me and everything went black. I floated in that darkness for a long moment until a warm glow sucked me in.
~~~~~~
Chapter 27
The colors closed in tight around me and I was engulfed by a steady pressure. The pain was excruciating, and if the air hadn’t been sucked from my lungs I’d have screamed. My body spun as the pressure increased and I thought I might implode.
When I stopped spinning, I slammed into something hard, and a different pain washed over me. I opened my eyes and squinted as they adjusted. I was moving towards a bright white light and a rush of warm air swept over my skin as the ground came into view. I was falling at an incredible speed as the pressure of the portal released me and sent me spiraling towards stony ground.
I hit the slate surface and my back arched in more pain. The portal that hung in the air above me swallowed itself, leaving me with a pale green sky, a cool breeze, and aching bones. I closed my eyes and took slow breaths, letting my lungs fill with the air they desired. It tasted different here, not a flavor I could place, but somehow sweeter than home.
I tried to move and it hurt, but I drew on my magic and let the cool wash of water flow through me. I pictured it soothing the pain, and the magic filled me briefly, but my focus was lost when I heard a soft groan beside me. My eyes opened as the magic vanished and I turned to see a half-naked man lying next to me.
I forced myself to sit up and the body beside me moved. I watched him unfold himself from the fetal position, and his groans told me he was in as much pain as I was. That I wasn’t alone in my suffering made me feel better.
The man had short, messy black hair that hung in his face. His eyes were a strange solid orange, and instead of small, round, black pupils he had large, white, triangular ones. His skin was a warm caramel tone and he looked human.
We stared at each other for a long moment and I don’t think either of us knew what had happened or what to do about it.
“Who are you?” I asked.
Confusion distorted his face, and at first I thought I had fallen into a dimension in which English wasn’t known, but as I was about to repeat my question with gestures, he spoke with a soft, accented tone that was familiar and new at the same time.
“I am Tikimicharnikato, of the Suriattas clan. And you?” His voice was quiet and feminine, matching the soft features of his caramel skin.
“I’m Chase, Chase Williams,” I replied.
“No clan?” he asked. “Surely you belong to one of the clans of the Underworld.”
I shook my head. “I’m not from here. In the world I’m from, I was a part of a group once. They are called the Circle.”
“You are from the Earth dimension? That is not possible! Your kind has not been in these worlds for millennia.” He crawled away from me in fear.
“I assure you, I’m telling the truth and I mean you no harm.”
“How can you mean me no harm? Your kind was built to destroy us.”
“I give you my word.”
“How? Why? You are bred to kill.”
“No. I mean, yes, but things aren’t like that anymore, not for me. I’m only here to find someone: a friend. She’s a demon too, or a half demon anyways.”
His eyes widened. “Your friend is a half demon? Like me?”
I nodded. “I need to find her.”
“You give me your word everything you’ve said is true?”
“I swear. My friend’s been kidnapped by hunters, other members of the Circle.”
“You’re here to save a demon from your own kind?”
“Like I said, things are not as they were.”
He stared at me a moment, got to his feet, and offered me his hand. He helped pull me up and I realized he was shorter than me and his clothing – if you could call it that - was ragged at best. He wore no shirt and his bare feet looked dirty and worn. His loose pants were made of a white silky material, held up by a tattered piece of rope.
“Well, Chase Williams, it is good to meet you,” he said.
“You too.”
“Do you know where they’ve taken your friend?”
“No Tikima…” I tried to say his name but couldn’t. “I’m just going to call you Tiki.”
He laughed. “That is very good.”
“I don’t know where she is. I came through the portal right after them. They should’ve been right here!”
“Portals do not work like that. If you weren’t physically touching them, then they are in a different place. The portal will have taken them to the same dimension, but never the same place. Plus, we collided in the po
rtal; that too will have thrown you off course,” he said.
“Collided?”
Tiki nodded. “I’m a dimensional jumper, I move from dimension to dimension as I please. I’ve never run into anybody else mid-jump before, though. The odds of that happening are astoundingly small.”
“This isn’t good. Rayna’s in danger and I need to find her soon, before anything else happens.”
“You will find her, Chase Williams, do not worry. Do you know why they have brought her here?” He spoke with strangely crisp pronunciation and a calm, even tone.
“Rayna’s blood was the key to unlocking the portal. She’s both a demon and a hunter, a piece of both our worlds.”
Tiki’s eyes widened. “She is the one you seek, the one from the prophecy? I thought it but a myth!”
“Believe me, it’s no myth.”
“Then the prophecy has begun. You are right that we must find her soon.”
“Am I the only one who doesn’t know what this prophecy is?”
“There is a prophecy that speaks of one who belongs to both worlds, one who will cause the beginning of the end.”
“The end of what?”
Tiki shrugged. “Prophecies are rarely specific. It could be anything from the end of all our worlds, to the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. Do you know what they have brought her here for? If the portals are open, I would think she is of no use to them anymore.”
“One of them plans to invoke Ithreal and…”
“Invoke the god himself? That is an amazing ambition!” he interrupted. I glared at Tiki, who looked genuinely impressed. He cleared his throat and continued. “Although I’m not sure it’s possible. If it was, that wouldn’t be good for any of us,” he said. “We must go at once.”
“We? You’re going to help me?”
“I must. It has been seen.”
“Seen?”
“Krulear spoke of you many years ago. She said I would meet a hunter who would require my help one day. I thought she meant it metaphorically. I didn’t expect a true blooded hunter.”
“Who’s Krulear?”
“Krulear is the seer, the greatest in all of the dimensions. I will you take you to her. She will help,” he said.
Tiki led the way and I couldn’t help but follow. I wished I didn’t have to put my trust in a stranger from another world, but without him, I didn’t even know where to start.
We climbed down from the base of the mountain we’d landed on. We were surrounded by a red, rocky expanse that seemed to go on for miles in every direction.
“How are we going to find anything here? This plain stretches on forever.”
Tiki laughed. “I’m not sure what your world is like, but in this world, things are rarely as they seem. Just because you cannot see it, does not mean it is not there. Magic conceals,” he said.
I stared out over the plain and fresh air moved over my skin. The sky was cloudless and three suns beat down upon us, two yellow and one blue, but the temperature was cool. I pulled at my magic as though I was peeling away layers of glamour.
The land in front of me faded, revealing a lake. The water was calm, and instead of the water being blue, it was purple. The suns didn’t reflect off of it and I walked towards it in bewilderment.
I stood at the shore and looked down, but I couldn’t see into the water; it was too dark. I crouched lower, but the surface didn’t reflect my face, or anything else. The substance was cool, smooth, and rolled off my skin. It felt like water.
“Is it safe to drink?”
Tiki laughed “Of course. It’s very, very good.”
I cupped my hands, dipped them into the strange liquid and brought it to my lips. It flowed over my tongue and down my throat. It had a taste all its own, the purest and richest water to ever touch my mouth, and as it slid down my throat, I closed my eyes to revel in its flavor.
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever tasted.”
“Drakar is known for its rich water. People travel over many dimensions to try it.”
“Drakar – that’s the name of this world?”
“Yes.”
I looked out over the water and took another drink. “So where do we go from here?”
“We go in.”
Before I could ask for an explanation, Tiki dove into the water. I waited a few moments for him to resurface, and when he didn’t, I followed him down into the purple lake.
The water felt smooth as it slid over my body. I opened my eyes expecting to see nothing but darkness, but the water was oddly clear. I swam deeper and it didn’t take long to get to the bottom.
The lake floor was all smooth rock with no plant or animal life. Tiki was treading water next to a strange stone arch embedded in the rock. He gestured towards it, and as I got closer he swam through it and disappeared.
I swam around the arch in bewilderment. He hadn’t come through the other side. I put my hand through and it disappeared. I felt warmth on the other side and I put my other hand through the arch and propelled my body through. The cool sensation of water vanished and was replaced by dry warmth.
I didn’t so much swim through the portal as walk, stepping onto a stone path on the other side. My skin was dry and I could see the dark purple water on the other side of the archway. I reached out and touched the cool liquid floating in front of me, but when I pulled my hand back it was dry once again. I turned as the familiar tingling sensation moved down my neck.
The tingling came in waves as hoards of Underworlders walked in front of me. We stood at the entrance to a marketplace, filled with pure blood demons roaming everywhere. It was difficult not to stare at creatures with black, blue, green and other colors of skin. Some of the pure bloods towered over me while others came up only to my knees. A few of them had tusks protruding from their lips and others were covered in hair from head to toe. The majority of them did not look human, more like the demons I’d fought in the sanctuary, but those that did look human did not seem to be treated well. Everybody stared at me as though I had a horn growing out my forehead, although if I did, it would’ve helped me fit in.
“Stay close to me and don’t talk to anyone or make eye contact,” Tiki said, but his musical tone didn’t match his serious expression.
He led me through the market while different creatures stared at me, mostly like I was lunch. Some drew their weapons as I walked by, while others shoved past me with their shoulders. I did my best to ignore their antagonizing efforts and followed Tiki.
“The pure bloods don’t like half breeds,” he said.
“No kidding. Why do you get to walk around so freely?”
“Most of them have come to know me, some through Krulear, some through…other means. I have their respect.”
We passed booth after booth, some selling weapons and others selling objects I didn’t recognize. Each stall sold something different, but I didn’t stop to admire anything. I had little interest in holding some sort of food that looked like a pineapple but sprouted strange moving tentacles where the stem should be. I’d leave that for the demons.
Tiki turned down an alley between two booths and we came to a small hut sitting by itself. Strands of leaves hung in the doorway and I pushed them to the side as I followed Tiki.
The interior was lit with candles, each with a different colored flame. The mixed glow of colors cast a strange radiance over the room. Skeletons of odd creatures hung from the ceiling. Urns and jars lined the shelves, full of things I’d never seen, some holding glowing viscous fluids and others with living creatures. A rickety table at the end of the room had something strange sitting beside it. Matted hair draped over the table in a blend of brown and gray.
Tiki cleared his throat and the hair rose, revealing a weathered face with small horns protruding from its forehead. It had no eyebrows over solid blood red eyes. Its lips were so thin they almost disappeared, and a smile revealed sharp jagged teeth.
“Tikimicharnikato of the Suriattas Clan, you’ve brought an out
sider to me. Why?” a raspy female voice said.
The creature didn’t rise and Tiki moved forward and lowered himself to one knee as he kissed the extended hand she offered.
“It has been too long, Krulear,” he said.
She stared at me as she spoke. “That it has, child.” The look she gave me was strange, eerie, but not unfriendly.
“This is Chase Williams. He is from a place far from here and in search of his friend. I believe he is the man you told me about many years ago.”
Krulear grunted and moved towards me. Her face was flat and had two slits in the center that I took for her nose as she leaned in and sniffed me while running her long nails over my skin. I tried not to move.
“Interesting breed,” she said, running a frail hand through my hair. “I have not seen your kind in many millennia, hunter. I saw you in Tikimicharnikato‘s path many years ago, but I thought my time would have passed by the time you arrived.” Her raspy voice reminded me of Grams, but her breath reeked not of cigarettes, but…death.
“Please, Krulear, can you help us?” Tiki asked.
Krulear pulled away from me. “Of course, child. You need help finding this…female, if I’m not mistaken?”
“Indeed.”
Krulear grunted again and waddled back to her chair. A long ratty skirt dragged on the dirt floor and an old cloak covered a large hump on her back. Her tangled hair hung to her feet and was laced with colored beads and ribbons. She moved at a turtle’s pace, and it looked like the hump caused her pain with each step.
She fell back into her chair, stared at me with her pupil-less eyes and grunted, pointing to the chair across from her. “Come,” she demanded.
I sat down and she kept her blood red eyes locked on me. Her wrinkled skin hung loose and the small horns jutting from her forehead were like little white teeth. She stared at me for so long I started to get uncomfortable. I looked at Tiki, but he only gave a reassuring nod.
“Give me your hand,” she ordered.
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