Special Attraction (The Coursodon Dimension Book 3)

by M. L. Ryan

  The room was quiet again. Everyone seemed to be processing the bizarre circumstances of my disappearance in their own way. Karttyx sat ramrod straight in her chair. Alex rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor. Sebastian poured scotch into a large water glass and downed half in one gulp.

  “How come no one ever mentioned a third dimension?” I asked when I couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

  Alex rotated his head to face me. “There was no reason to mention it. The existence of another dimension has always been suggested, but never proven.”

  “Yes, my dear,” Sebastian continued, slugging another mouthful of liquor. “The Theoretical Dimensionalists have long postulated that there could be an infinite number of parallel worlds. If what this fellow claims is true, this could be the first proof.”

  “And you would be the first to enter this other dimension,” Karttyx added.

  Well, why the hell not? After all, I was the first human to go to Coursodon. Of course I’d be the first from either known dimension to travel to an unknown one. Just another day in the life of Hailey Nothing’s-Too-Strange-To-Happen-To-Me Parrish.

  “Wow. Who’d have thought I’d be the Magellan of my generation,” I quipped.

  Sebastian contemplated my comment. “Perhaps Neil Armstrong would be a more apt comparison.”

  “Maybe, but instead of a ‘giant leap for mankind,’ I think this is more of a ‘giant bleep where the sun-don’t-shine,” I offered. “And this other dimension is called Dekankara?”

  Sebastian nodded his head. “That’s what we call it.”

  A more important question needed to be asked, but I was afraid of the answer. “Is it possible for him to be powerful enough to do what he says?”

  Sebastian tapped his chin with his forefinger. “It is difficult to speculate, but he certainly can do things we cannot, such as mask his signature for extended periods of time.” After a moment’s thought, he turned to me and asked, “He said there would be some sort of demonstration of his power, yes? I suppose we shall have to wait and see what happens. I shall send word of this to Coursodon, and have them contact me should anything unusual occur. In the meantime, we need to focus on his threat to kill more humans.” He gave Karttyx his usual barely respectful cursory bow before leaving the room.

  Karttyx asked for a few more details about my adventures and then excused herself to prepare to depart. In case Doc’s warnings proved real, she wanted to be in Courso when things went south.

  Alex and I were the only ones left in the room. He gathered me in his arms and whispered, “You must have been terrified. Are you sure you are alright?”

  “I think I was too scared to be terrified,” I admitted. “To be honest, I feel more freaked out now, seeing everyone’s reaction.”

  It suddenly occurred to me that with all the excitement of being found, I’d completely forgotten how much I reeked of cat. “What I really want is to be clean and get some sleep. Then I can process what happened and be properly traumatized.”

  Safely in our room, I quickly peeled off my clothes and left them on the floor, forming a trail into the bathroom. The pulsating flow of hot water in the shower soothed my nerves, but even after scrubbing myself and shampooing twice, I wasn’t sure I was really clean. I made Alex sniff me—and promise to be truthful—but he insisted there was no trace of pee.

  Too tired to dry my hair, I opted to contain my long, wet curls in a loose braid. Wrapped in a soft, terry-cloth robe, I finally returned to the bedroom to find Alex stuffing everything I had worn into a plastic garbage bag.

  “What are you doing with my clothes?” I inquired as I started to slather myself with scented lotion. No matter what Alex said, I wasn’t taking any chances that residual eau de chat lingered on my body.

  “I was going to wash them, but I’m afraid they are beyond redemption.”

  He dropped the bag and started removing his clothes. Under normal circumstances, watching him undress would elicit any number of X-rated fantasies, which would then be played out in exquisite detail. Today, even seeing him in all his naked glory didn’t provoke a single lustful thought.

  “I’m really sorry, caryxa, but I’m too exhausted for anything other than sleep. Maybe tomorrow?”

  Alex frowned slightly. “Not that making love with you isn’t always on my mind, but I’m just taking off my clothes so I can throw them away with yours.” Using only the tips of his fingers, he picked up his things and dropped them into the bag. Nose wrinkling, he added, “On second thought, maybe I’ll just burn them.” He tossed the bag outside and retreated to the bathroom to wash away any lingering odor.

  By the time he finished, I was in bed and half asleep. Alex rolled next to me, his body molding to mine. The warmth of his naked flesh pressed against my back was comforting, and I appreciated his embrace, even though it was still morning and he probably wasn’t tired. I don’t think I changed positions for the entire nine hours I slept, and when I finally stirred, Alex was still next to me. He opened his eyes when I rolled over, and a sleepy grin spread across his handsome features.

  “Hey there,” he drawled, drawing me closer.

  Burrowing my face into his chest, I mumbled, “Have you been here the whole time?”

  “I was wiped out too. I didn’t really sleep the entire time you were missing.”

  “I’m sorry you were so worried.”

  “Why should you be sorry?” he asked, pulling away slightly so he could see my face. “It is not as if you had any control over the situation. The son of a bitch who took you is the one who should be sorry.” Alex paused for a moment, and I could hear his breathing quicken. “And sorry he will be when I get a hold of him.”

  “He didn’t really hurt me. At least, I don’t think he did. Who knows? Maybe he knocked me out, and I was unconscious for days before I woke up, rather than a time warp thing in the other dimension. The transport was really painful, though. Like being crammed through a tube three sizes too small. Afterward, I felt like I had the world’s worst migraine.” I inadvertently shuddered recalling the intense, stabbing pains. “I thought about trying to use some magic, bending, or zapping, but he had me in some sort of weird building with no windows or doors. I don’t think either option would have helped me much.”

  “Did he say why he chose you?”

  “He said it was because I had ties to the higher-ups in the Xyzok and Courso government.” I thought back and recalled something else. “He also mentioned that as a hybrid, I didn’t have any power. So maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t let the bird out of the bag after all.”

  I felt Alex nod against my head. “True. The less he knows about what you are capable of the better.” We lay there in companionable silence until Alex spoke again. “Did you have any sense of his power?”

  “Not really,” I said. “He made me feel less crappy, so he has some healing ability. But he didn’t do anything overly dramatic or awe inspiring. He did say something about ‘unmasking his essence so the Xyzok would take notice’. Maybe he’s just some loser with delusions of grandeur.”

  “That would certainly be the best-case scenario. But even if he can’t make buildings crumble, or whatever he has in mind to convince us he’s a threat, he had no compunction about ripping up some poor, defenseless humans to get us to notice him. Whatever his abilities, I doubt he will just fade away. While he lives, he will always be a threat.”

  I assumed that meant Alex planned to make sure Doc didn’t remain in the land of the living for much longer. “I love it when you get all protective and alpha male,” I teased, stroking my fingertips across his chiseled abs.

  “Really? I had no idea that excited you so.” He clasped my hand and guided it further south. There was little doubt that he, too, was excited.

  As I began to stroke and tease, Alex returned the favor and rolled my nipple gently between his fingers. Not wanting to be outdone, I used my free hand to direct his digits lower.

  I don’t know if Alex’s sex
ual prowess was completely magical or not, but he always seemed to find just the right spot, just the right pressure, to quickly launch me into a moaning mass of carnal frenzy. This time was no different, and in a matter of moments, I was teetering on the edge.

  Through the waves of intensifying ecstasy, I was vaguely aware of a methodic pounding. In my rapturous daze, I first thought it was my heart, beating wildly in response to Alex’s divine ministrations. Eventually, when he let out a string of curses, I realized the sound was coming from the door.

  “Whoever you are, this better be important,” he snapped, halting our activities.

  The knocking stopped, and Sebastian’s deep voice rang out. “Much as I despise interrupting what is surely your well-deserved reunion, it seems our Dekankaran friend has struck again. Get some clothes on. There’s another dismembered body.”

  I know it was petty, but my first thought was, Why the hell couldn’t Doc have waited to let his evil plans unfold for a half an hour longer? Even another five minutes would have been fine. After all, Alex and I hadn’t been together for a few days—a few minutes was all it would take.

  We rolled away from each other, got dressed, and hustled to the living room where Sebastian waited with Karttyx. They were focused on a laptop and didn’t seem to notice our arrival.

  “Where was the latest victim found?” Alex inquired as we moved to where we could see what was so engrossing in front of them. A close-up photo of a man’s severed head filled the screen. It looked like a beige scarf was wrapped around what remained of his neck, and his eyes were open wide, as if he couldn’t quite believe he was about to die.

  Sebastian answered, “Near Ketchum, Idaho,” and tapped the touch pad to display the next image. A wider shot appeared, and I realized what I thought was a scarf was actually flesh. The decapitated body was propped into a sitting position against a tree trunk, its head cradled in its arm sort of like a football. Something seemed off, though. Well, more so than a murdered guy posed, holding his own head. I examined the image for a while until I realized what was wrong. The skin tone of the head was about three shades lighter than the arm’s.

  “Why doesn’t the skin color match?” I asked, pointing to the various body parts in question.

  Tapping to reveal another photo, Sebastian didn’t need to respond. There was another body, a few feet away from the first, posed in the same macabre fashion, but with a dark-skinned face and lighter arms.

  “That’s sick,” I said, wincing.

  Karttyx turned slightly and looked at me. “Yes, but that’s not the worst of it.”

  I was about to ask, “What could be worse?” when I noticed the second man had something balanced where his head should have been. I leaned closer to the image and could just make out some lettering on what appeared to be a horizontally folded card. Sebastian zoomed in so I could see the fancy, scrawling script. It read, For you, Hailey.

  My hand flew to cover my mouth as I gasped. Alex blurted out, “doprix nix,” a Courso expletive so vile that no one would tell me what it actually meant.

  “Fortunately, a Xyzok operative in the area was able to remove the note and erase the human authorities’ memories before they had photographic evidence of it,” Karttyx explained in a reassuring voice. “At least we won’t have to worry about some overzealous homicide detective making a connection between the murders and Hailey.”

  I wasn’t sure how anyone could figure out I was the Hailey in the message, but I was grateful for the break nonetheless. Suddenly, I felt a little dizzy and sunk to the floor. “He killed two innocent people as what, a fucked-up tribute or something?”

  Alex crouched next to me, but I looked away. “What he did, he did because he is evil.” When I didn’t respond, he gently placed his hand under my chin and forced me to look at him. “You have no reason to feel responsible for his actions. He is just trying to mess with your head. Don’t let him succeed, carisa.”

  “Easy for you to say,” I complained. “You are all trained for this kind of thing.”

  Sebastian, from across the room, offered, “In truth, my dear, no one can be trained for this sort of thing. One just becomes desensitized to it. There is a saying in Courso, ‘flyx foryn grybjit xyplorit pupix’. Roughly translated, it means, ‘Don’t spend time contemplating whether a grybjit has a navel’.”

  I stared up at Sebastian. “I don’t get it. What’s a grybjit?”

  “It is a small, annoying insect,” he answered.

  “I still don’t get it. How does that have anything to do with me feeling like shit because some innocent people died a horrible death so Doc Martens could give me a shout out?”

  Sebastian glanced at the ceiling and sighed. “The point is you should not waste time thinking about the inconsequential.”

  “I hardly think two decapitated and gruesomely posed bodies can be considered inconsequential,” I seethed as I rose to my feet.

  “Not the corpses.” Sebastian replied impatiently, shaking his head.

  Now I was completely confused. “So, whose belly button are we talking about then? Doc’s?”

  “No one’s!” He was practically shouting now. “It’s a metaphor. There’s no point trying to assign reason to an unreasonable act.”

  “I believe, Sebastian, you may have meant ‘thyjin dyefr sjs exty slopxyt’,” Karttyx offered.

  “That’s not at all the same thing. ‘If pigs carried swords, the world would be ruined’ refers to not giving power to the wicked.”

  Karttyx arched a brow. “It is as much related to your original premise as ‘flyx foryn grybjit xyplorit pupix’.”

  The two of them continued to snipe at each other while Alex and I slipped out of the room as inconspicuously as possible. We weren’t as stealthy as we’d hoped, however. Just as we stepped into the hallway, Karttyx looked up, pointed toward Sebastian, and declared, “Heruf vxyjit plozxj tsxg bybkhs.”

  Alex barely stifled his laughter as he guided me away. The argument showed no signs of abating any time soon. In fact, now both Sebastian and Karttyx, restraint completely discarded, were screaming as if one of them had just stolen the very last frozen turkey available on Thanksgiving Day from the shopping cart of the other.

  “What did she say?” I asked when we were well out of Courso hearing range.

  “Opinions pour out of him like turds from a goat.”

  I glanced back toward the now-muffled shouts from the other side of the house. “Is that some sort of saying, or did Karttyx just make it up to piss off Sebastian?”

  “It is one of many ancient proverbs. Like many languages, Courso has an abundance of quirky adages.”

  I made a mental note to try to remember that phrase. It seemed like a useful one to be able to toss out at Sebastian. It fit him perfectly, really. Whoever originally though it up must have made his acquaintance.

  Eventually, they called a truce. Karttyx returned to her packing, and Sebastian concentrated on getting as much information on the latest attack from the operatives in Idaho. There was something positive about their bickering; it made me forget about Doc’s creepy message, at least for a little while.

  In an attempt to not agonize over the gory details, I decided to take Rufus for a run. Alex was occupied with Xyzok stuff, and because he insisted that I could not go anywhere on my own until the whole Doc Martens thing was over, he insisted that Aiden and Cortez accompany me. I felt a bit guilty because they undoubtedly had things they’d rather be doing, but given the events of the last few days, I was grateful for the added protection. As I attached the leash, I noticed many deep scratches along the wooden doorframes around the patio and even some on the bricks on the floor. Sebastian wasn’t kidding about Rufus tearing up the place when I was gone.

  My entourage and I jogged along the trail next to the wash—the same one where I’d first met Alex—and I considered how much my life had changed since then. I went from a boring job milking chinchilla to helping hunt inter-dimensional bad guys, from vaguely in-shape to
mega-fit, from celibate without prospects to pretty much non-stop nooky. All of which could only be considered positive developments. Of course, I’d also killed two people. The fact that they were both trying to kill me didn’t make me feel that much better about it. Ah yes, the ying and yang of life. More exciting life, good. Contact with freaks who wanted me dead, bad. Changing into a hawk, good. Being kidnapped and taken to the third dimension, bad. The list grew but, all in all, the pluses definitely outweighed the minuses.

  The dog ownership thing was turning out to be rather agreeable as well. I grew up with cats; there were always two or three living in our house. My mother has her foibles, but she definitely loved her pets. Sometimes, it seemed she loved them more than her own children. Upon further reflection, however, I concluded it was only because we were harder to potty train. Vinnie was a great companion, but I could never take him on a run. I smiled at the thought of Vinnie on a leash, prancing beside me. The more likely scenario was him hissing in fury, trying to impale my ankles with his claws to prevent being dragged along the pavement.

  The run had the intended effect of calming me down, but just when I thought the day had taken a turn for the better, I checked my voicemail. The first message was fine; it was Rachel asking if she could borrow my lavender blouse. The second, however, made my blood turn cold.

  It was from my parents, and they were coming for a visit.

  Today.

  9

  My relationship with my mother was interesting, and not usually in a good way. Some people were blessed with nurturing and uplifting mothers. Mine somehow always managed to make me feel either stupid or worthless. Often both. When she and my father retired to Branson, Missouri, a few years back, I hardly ever saw them. This made my life a whole lot easier, but I still felt bad for not feeling bad about not seeing them. If my upbringing had taught me anything, it was how to feel guilty.