by JP Vasha
Sighing, I then let my eyes wander to Zack. He was... magnificent. He was just as ripped as the other two, but his body was the only one that called to me in such a primitive way. The abs, the flexing of his shoulders as he lifted the new shirt in his hands, the muscles in his stomach tightening when he went to pull on the shirt.
His body made me feel feminine in comparison, and arousal punched into me so hard, I was left breathless. My hands flew before me, grabbing the door's handle as I shivered, feeling sudden heat crawling up my spine, spreading through my veins. My entrance clenched, and I knew that if I checked, I would find my panties soaked.
I forced myself to breathe in and out, thought about insects and other things that generally disgusted me to scare away any trace of heat. It took me a few minutes, but finally, when I was entirely composed, I got out of the car and slipped into the dark boots that awaited for me.
Zack, Mike and Shell were wearing their own black cloaks, similar to mine. Ambery, too, was now pulling his own. "These are unofficial traveling cloaks," he explained, "so we wouldn't stand out in the crowd."
"Smart," Zack muttered and I couldn't help but agree.
Kim came forward to me. "I won't be coming with you," he said softly, "since I still have my own errands to run. But I do wish you good luck and I will be there with you with my heart."
I smiled at him and found myself hugging him. He tensed, startled, before hugging me back. "Thank you for everything you've done for me, Kimberly," I said softly. "I will never forget."
He nodded and I let him go. He smiled almost fatherly at me. "You're a good girl, Carla," he said, and then murmured lowly something in a language I couldn't recognize. It sounded like a hybrid of Latin, German and Romanian, but I couldn't be sure.
"What did you just say?" I asked when he finished.
He squeezed my shoulder. "I gave you my blessing in Ancient Logian," he told me, "I hope you won't need it, but better be safe than sorry."
Ambery stepped forward. "It's time," he said, and then his eyes turned wry when he looked at his brother. "Say hi to Lacey for me."
Kimberly gave Ambery a stern look. "Last time we talked about you, she told me that the next time you pop into existence inside her bedrooms, wearing nothing but condom, she will pluck your balls out."
Ambery's response was to grin in a wild, deranged kind of way that made me want to put some distance between us. "I'd like to see her try," he said, and I think he really meant it.
The other Deity shook his head in disapproval. "Mad, both of you," he murmured before sighing. "I will tell her you think about her. It's bound to make her stop being snippy with the kids."
After that odd statement that just contradicted everything else, Kimberly said one last goodbye before teleporting away. Once he was gone, Mike, curiosity burning in his eyes, turned to Ambery. "Lacey?"
The remaining Deity grinned another creepy grin. "Kim's the Headmaster of Dengen Academy, school for special kids," he explained shortly. "Lacey's a teacher there. She's mine." He added with a violent, murderous, sinister glint in his eyes.
This time I did step back. "Let's get going," I said and pulled at Mike's sleeve meaningfully.
Getting the hint, Mike let the conversation drop. "It's time."
Zack placed himself to my left. "Do we need to expect for something, or is the portal like going through a door?"
Ambery's smile now was dry, thank God. "You can see for yourself," he said cryptically before leading us away from the car, the City Center, and the parking lot, to where the portal to Logia was at.
Chapter Twenty
The portal was, for my surprise, on a bridge. Ambery called the bridge in some weird Hungarian name, but basically, he then spelled, it was named the Chain Bridge. Since it was almost eleven at night, there weren't a lot of people there, even tourists.
Our little group came to a step when Ambery touched the air above the railing of the bridge. To my shock, the air rippled under his touch, seemingly gloating from within, like something that didn't belong in this world, and probably truly didn't. "This is it," Ambery said as a confirmation to my thoughts.
"So once we go through this weird crackling stuff, we'll be in Logia," Mike murmured, frowning. "I thought a portal was like a door or something."
"The portal in our world changes it shape as it changes places," the white-haired Deity explained. "Before the last season, the portal had been a window in a small, abandoned house in Japan. Now, however, it's simply a porthole in the air."
"So how are we going to pass through this?" Zack inquired, eyeing the weird air with open suspicion and mistrust. "Jump?"
Ambery gave us a small smile that turned my blood cold. "We'll hold hands, then, I shove us through."
"Sounds terrific," I muttered, but took the hands Zack and Mike offered me nonetheless. Shell held Zack's hand, and Ambery held Mike's. With the Deity's free hand, he looped his hand into the weird, blurry air, and then gave a push with his hand, as though trying to shove a wall. But what happened next was nothing like shoving a wall.
The air sucked us in, and by sucked, I mean I felt it grabbing me through the hands I held, and then swallowing me whole. No one spoke as a momentary haze of gray enfolded us all, and then suddenly, all five of us were standing on thick, almost neon-green grass, cool wind blowing our cloaks and hair, and winter sun shining from above.
I felt a little misplaced for a few seconds, nausea curling in my stomach, before I finally got accustomed to what my eyes were seeing, to where I was. We were standing in the middle of a fruitful field, with trees here and there, but mostly grass and crops. I blinked, looking around me at the endless of fields, looking for civilization.
Mike and Zack let go of my hands and Ambery stretched, sniffing the air as he did. "Welcome to Logia, my friends," he said, "now we need to get moving, so we can know where we are."
"What do you mean, where we are?" Zack asked, eyes narrowed. "I thought you knew where the portal would send us."
"Wrong, Mr Beta," Ambery said, tsking. "You see, the exit portal in Logia is placed in one specific place. As to entering this land... Well, you could basically end up anywhere."
"Great," Mike muttered gruffly. "So now we're stuck in the middle of nowhere, in some weird continent we know nothing about, and the one who supposedly has the knowledge, doesn't know either."
Ambery rolled his eyes. "Relax, my friends," he said with a big smile I didn't trust an inch, "here in Logia we can deduce where we are using the sun's place in the sky, just like in Earth. And I have an idea where we are, so stop fretting." He motioned ahead of us. "This is the North, and that's where we're going."
"How do you know it's north we're supposed to head?" I asked, looking around me. "Why not south? Or any other direction?"
"Because if my gut is right, which it usually is," Ambery said a little too confidently in my taste, "then we're in the middle of Barolia."
"Barolia?" Mike inquired, his hard gaze darting all round. My own gaze fell on Shell, who was looking at Ambery with chilly seriousness.
Ambery sighed. "I'll explain as we walk."
We started moving north, having no choice but to listen to the Deity, who supposedly knew the place. As we were walking through the fields, he began elucidating about this land. "Logia was once a whole land. After the war and everything that happened, the land was split apart into the main land and three islands around it." I noted the his white hair was waving restlessly around him, almost like an extra fan effect. "If I'm right and we're in Barolia, that means we're on the main land."
"So Barolia is a country," I deduced, frowning in concentration. "How many are there?"
"Six," Ambery answered. "The northern country is Edashore, ruled by the Queen, a Deity called Sahara. Barolia is right smack in the middle of the continent, and then there's the Kingdom of Sheroha, ruled by their own set of monarchy and royalty and all this shit." He paused his talking, seemingly thinking, before continuing. "There's Aspor Isle to the west
, its small border attached to Sheroha. To the north east there's Urram, and to the south east there's Mana." He paused again. "Mana is known as the Dark Kingdom."
Zack rolled his eyes. "Of course there would be a dark kingdom."
"It's not a laughable matter, Mr Grey," Ambery's voice was serious all of a sudden, his eyes granite. "Mana is called upon a form of magic just because; that kingdom is reeking of magic, more than any other place in both Earth and Logia. It is believed that Mana is somehow connected to Antarctica, and that's why both places emit ominous magic, mana in particular."
I remembered what Snow told me about mana and shivered. Just as I did, however, my sixth sense, my power, flared, and I was left momentarily breathless. Then I felt it.
There was so much magic around, so much more than on Earth, that it made me feel overwhelmed. There was a reason why on Earth Kimberly had to instruct me how to reach to the magic around, that I couldn't this on my own. It was because on Earth, magic was something that not many could tap into, something under the surface, something that only people with the specific blood and set of genes could approach. Here, however, everyone could feel the magic, I was sure, since it was so prominent, so thick in the air.
"There you go," Ambery grinned tightly, "all six countries, living happily and joyously right next to each other... Not."
Just as he said that, I looked ahead and saw the first sign of houses. "I think we're arriving a town," I announced. I glanced at Ambery. "Any idea which town it is?"
"There aren't many in Barolia," he shrugged. "This country is more about harvest and crops, as you can see for yourself. The capital, Elgore, is usually much warmer at this time of the year, so it couldn't be it. That means, I think, we're arriving Oscana."
Ambery appeared to be right. The moment we stepped into the bricked ground of the town, we saw some shop called Oscana Souvenirs. It was written in English, too. "They speak English in here, then," I mumbled aloud.
"Everyone here is," Ambery nodded and then looked around him with a sudden relief evident on his face. He felt at home.
The town looked like it'd been plucked of some historical movie about the eighteenth century. Small houses, carriages with horses, everything made of brick, people milling around with old fashioned clothes. But there was one thing that was absolutely different.
There were people here, either kids or adults, who had extremely... unusual coloring. For instance, as we passed what might've been the main street of the town, I saw a group wearing traveling cloaks much like us, and all of them had hair in different, vibrant colors; one had a grass-green hair with deeply yellow eyes, another had sky-blue hair with freaky lilac eyes, and so on. However, the other people, those who had normal coloring, didn't seem weirded out by those who appeared like it.
"What's up with the these people?" Zack hissed the question at Ambery, and when I looked at him, Mike and Shell, I saw that they noticed the oddity too. It wasn't that hard to miss, after all.
"Magic users," Ambery murmured in response, "those who are born with hair and eyes of such vibrant colors have an undeniable affinity to magic. Most of those train in the Red Order Headquarters since birth to finally be able to work as a professional in one of the Guilds scattered all over Logia."
"I'm guessing there's a Guild here in Oscana," Mike stated.
The Deity nodded. "I think it's the Tandu Guild, but I can't be sure."
We kept on walking, all of us with our guards up, when we stopped in front of an inn. A honest to God inn. "We'll stay here till it's night," Ambery said as we walked inside. "I don't want us to draw attention."
"Which reminds me," Zack took of his hoodie and glared at the Deity, "how come is it day here when in Budapest it was night?"
Ambery shrugged. "Time runs differently in Logia. We can be here for few days, finish our business, and by the time we return, it'll already be April."
"It's only the beginning of March back there," I said, aghast at the notion.
"As I said, time runs differently in Logia. Even the Deities can't calculate it in comparison to the time on Earth."
"This parallel-universe shit is giving me a headache," Zack partially growled, and I couldn't help but agreeing.
"Go get something to eat while I check us in," he said, "and while you're at it, please order some bacon for me."
"They at least have normal food here?" Mike asked, seemingly disgusted with the entire situation.
Ambery gave a faint smile before waving us dismissively, saying, "They do. Now shoo."
As we grabbed a table at the tavern, our hoodies down, a normal-looking waitress came, looking at the three males with me with open appreciation, blush coloring her cheeks. "Hello, erm, I'm Lista," she breathed out, flattering her eyelashes so fast I was surprised she didn't hurt herself. "I'm, erm, the innkeeper's daughter, so, erm, I'm at your service!"
As if this whole situation isn't weird, this woman is a jittery nutjob as well, Khloe suddenly murmured into my mind, voice possessive. I understood why; Lista was checking Mike out blatantly and while I could see her glancing appreciatively at both Zack and Shell, she seemed to find Mike the most forthcoming and willing.
Mike gave the innkeeper's daughter a platonic smile. "We would like to have your best meals for lunch. And also bacon," he added as an afterthought.
"T-t-t-t-trust me!" she stuttered, squealing as she practically jumped up and down. "I-I-I'll give you the b-b-b-best lunch y-y-y-you've ever t-t-t-tasted!"
When she skipped away, I glared at Mike. "Khloe's annoyed with you," I informed him.
Mike stared into my eyes but I knew he was searching for his mate in them. "Khloe can be annoyed with me as much as she likes," he suddenly snarled, "because I'm not finished being annoyed with her, too."
Fuck you! Khloe yelled in my head, and her sudden fury made my skin crawl. Fuck you, stupid Mike, fuck you, fuck you, FUCK YOU!
"She's not very pleased with what you said," I said, censoring her curses, and gave him a faint smile. "But I'll let you work it out with her when she's in control."
He shot me a dirty look that was probably meant for Khloe, and then glared at the tablecloth. As silence fell on the table, I decided to try and make Khloe speak. What's wrong with you lately? First you go silent, then, you get annoyed, and you shut everyone, including your own mate, out. Can you please tell me what's going on?
Why do you even want to know? She snapped. You don't really care. You hate my guts. You've never liked me. So what's in it to you?
I was secondarily shocked by her words. Are you dense? I shot back. Of course I care about you! Despite whatever you think of me or whatever obstacles we both came through, I consider you my friend. A good friend. And that was the truth. While I firmly believed that had I met Khloe while I had my own body, before both of us died, we would've never even shared a word, I did consider her a friend. She was my only friend. It didn't even matter if it was by default of us being stuck together or something else. Despite the fact she called me a monster, despite everything else that went on between us – and especially despite her complicated personality – I loved her.
Khloe sniffed, clearly not believing me. I want to believe you, she whispered, vulnerability I didn't hear in her voice ever since our short time in the void together making her sound so young and afraid, I truly, honestly want to believe you, but when I thought we were friends, that you understood me, that we were okay, you turned on me, sucked some of both our life out of our body to raise a fucking bunny back to life.
She still felt betrayed, I realized, by my necromancy. I'm sorry, Khloe, I told her softly, I'm truly sorry. If I knew that using my freaky powers would do that beforehand, I would've never done that. You know I wouldn't have. You know me, Khloe. Do you really think I can hurt you on purpose in such an irrevocable kind of way?
She was silent for a few, terse moments before replying almost inaudibly, No, Carla. You would've never hurt me on purpose.
So now that we cleared that, I said, w
ould you mind telling me what else caused your broodiness?
Her answer, when it came was a relief, because it meant she willing to acknowledge that something was wrong. But what that answer contained... it turned my bones stone-cold.
My wolf is dying, Carla, and I don't think there's a way to save her.
Chapter Twenty-One
There was a pile I hadn't been aware of until now. That pile was locked in my head ever since the revival, and every time something happened, like meeting Zack, going to Lumen, finding all those things about myself, another layer was added to the pile.
I'd said my adaptability levels were high, and I wasn't wrong. I took everything with a stride, braced myself for the next crisis, knew that no matter who hit me with what, I could handle this. Because that was the person I'd always been. Even if I didn't know what to expect, I knew, with absolute surety, that I could take it, and I would be okay afterwards.
But every pile, like a paper pile, when inside a room, would eventually reach the ceiling, even a tall ceiling.
My metaphorical pile of problems, of knowledge, of bits and piece of information I'd gathered lately, was about to reach its limit. I hadn't been aware of it, because the pile grew steadily, quietly, stealthily under the surface, but I could feel its top brushing my internal ceiling. It was only a matter of time until there would be no more space for the pile to grow, and then all the layers would fall apart, leaving me utterly broken.
When Khloe told me her wolf was dying, there wasn't much I could do except trying to offer comfort. But it was another problem, another thing to process, another thing to evaluate, then do damage control.
Now, as I lay on the bed in the inn's room Ambery booked me, I couldn't help but try and distinguish each layer from each other, scanning everything that would eventually make me reach my limit.
The most distinguishable one was Zack. His fears, his abandonment issues, his distrust, his hurtful words about me being vain and selfish, his lack of somewhat gratefulness at me agreeing to finally find my body despite what I think of if, his inability to accept love just yet, his self-pity and, mostly, at the fact he was, down to his core, disappointed at Fate for bringing him a mess such as me for a mate.
