Alterni

by Sunshine Somerville

  Dom, one of the well-dressed jinn, rested his hands behind his head. This exposed ceremonial tattoos that started at his wrists. “Now that the alterni’s closed the downtown rifts, there’ve been hardly any malevolenci left here. We can skip the usual check-ins…my lord.” He added this last part as if he’d forgotten.

  Hakim frowned at his kin. “We need to be thorough.”

  Ali, the other jinn, scoffed. “Easy for you to say, sitting up there in the Capiti while the rest of us risk our necks.”

  “Enough.” Owen looked at the jinn with his best kingly stare.

  Hakim fidgeted with his tie. He never liked feeling as if he played it safe. Yes, his work was important, but…

  Dom and Ali are pureblood jinn. They think I’m soft. I only have one tattoo, from my manhood ceremony. These guys-

  “Hakim’s right,” said the shorter elf. “We all know malevolenci might’ve slipped through undetected before our alterni destroyed their points of entry. It’s important to keep alert and report what we’ve seen.”

  “Aye,” Joe agreed, scratching his groomed beard. “The malevolenci seem to be moving away from downtown, but they’ve been even more active elsewhere. We’ve had four rifts open in my city east of KC. A spindlox swarm killed a farmer last week before cavali could get there.” He frowned at the king. “I’m sorry, my lord. I had conjuri reinforce our barrio spells, but the swarm slipped around them and got past us. By the time we discovered the swarm and called Lexi to report…”

  “I know.” Owen sighed and folded his hands on the table. “Lexi told me what happened. It wasn’t your fault, Joe. Esme closed the rifts soon after you alerted us, so at least we minimized the death toll.”

  Joe gave a nod but frowned.

  Piper looked at the werewolf. “You said you caught a flock of chiroptorx last week, right? When a rift opened at that car dealership?”

  “Yeah. It was like a portal to hell opened right there in the showroom.” The big man made a face of disgust. “The rabid bats pooped all over the cars.”

  Piper returned to her point. “That’s also on the east side.” She looked at the king.

  Owen nodded. “They’re shifting their pattern east. Our alterni closes their rifts downtown as fast as they can open them, so they’re trying to spread out and find our weak spots.”

  Hakim noted the tone of pride in the king’s voice. Esme was turning out to be quite the alterni.

  Ali frowned in concern. “Have the malevolenci ever used this much strategy? The last rift that opened downtown, it was like they’d figured out how to flank our forces. We were busy fighting a crustacox, and two blocks over another rift opened. A felicox snuck out and attacked from behind. If we hadn’t had Esme there working with us…”

  Piper’s draped wings shivered. “The malevolenci have been more aggressive lately. They’re more purposeful in their attacks.”

  Dom eyed Hakim. “Maybe they sense we’re weak.”

  Hakim ignored this, knowing Dom had accidentally stumbled very close to the truth. He exchanged a look with the king but kept silent.

  Owen leaned back in his chair. “Well, let’s be glad they’re moving out of downtown. There’ll be fewer civilian casualties. The rifts out in the country will be easier to hide from the public, too.”

  “Yes,” said Joe, “but it’s harder to discover two in the countryside than seven downtown.”

  Owen acknowledged this with a nod. “Things are difficult, but you and your teams are doing an excellent job. And now we know to watch the east. That’ll help. We have a capable alterni again, so together we can drive back the malevolenci.”

  Joe smiled. “Yes, Esme’s made a huge difference. When I called Lexi about the spindlox swarm, Esme was already on her way because she’d sensed the rifts opening. She closed them faster than any alterni I’ve ever seen.” He grinned coolly. “And I’ve known my fair share of these alterni. This one is…impressive.”

  Owen looked annoyed but moved on. “My other scout leaders are ready to take over next week so you guys can get a break.” He pointed at the werewolf man in particular. “With the full moon coming up, you and your dad are welcome at the ranch in Texas. Your trip’s on me.”

  The big man’s face softened with relief. “Thank you, my lord.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  Joe raised a hand. “Will Esme have any time off? I’d love to schedule a trip-”

  “Keep your hands off my alterni, Joe.” Owen’s tone was perhaps harsher than he’d intended, and he cleared his throat. He gave the nymph a quick smile. “Esme needs to stay close to home.”

  Hakim grinned to himself.

  Owen looked around the table. “Anything else?”

  The group checked with each other and shook their heads.

  “Then I’ll get out of your hair. Thank you.”

  Owen stood, and the scouts rose and bowed before the king led Hakim to the door.

  Once out on the moonlit sidewalk, Hakim sighed. “Sometimes my luck proves I’m only a quarter jinn. Still think it was a good idea to bring me?”

  “Sorry, man. Dom and Ali weren’t the scout leaders on my schedule. I didn’t realize they were the ones coming.” Owen looked over with a smirk. “No worries. Those guys are douches.”

  This sounded like something Owen would’ve said about Hakim’s bullies in high school. Hakim had to smile.

  “And speaking of douches,” Owen added, “how annoying is Joe? Can you believe that guy?”

  Hakim hid a grin. “I know! How dare he discuss asking out Esme? And right in front of you!”

  “Exactly. I mean-” Owen caught himself and glared at Hakim.

  Hakim ignored him, smiled, put his hands in his pockets, and whistled as they neared the car.

  The cavali truck hit a bump in the country road. Esme by now knew how to shift on her seat rather than grabbing hold to secure herself. She rode calmly, like the seasoned cavali around her.

  Yesterday had been the five-month anniversary of her summono. She felt an odd kind of relief that she’d already lasted longer than half her alterni.

  I’m competitive about the weirdest things, she thought with a smile.

  Every night since Owen’s recovery – his official, healer-approved recovery – she’d joined his elite cavali team to close rifts and hunt malevolenci. Esme was continually impressed by these tough fighters. Trying to be useful, she’d fought as best she could whenever they came upon a swarm of spindlox, flock of chiroptorx, herd of crustacox, or roaming felicox. Esme had lost count of how many rift’s she’d closed, but always there were more.

  The truck hit another bump.

  The scouts were right. I don’t sense rifts opening downtown anymore. More and more, they’re opening farther east. We found three along I-70 last month. Seven in Lee’s Summit. Eight more in the smaller towns.

  She smiled when she remembered a local idiosyncrasy.

  Smaller cities, I mean. Missourians call every cluster of civilization a city, no matter the size. Oh, well. It’s good and bad that the rifts have moved from KC. The malevolenci kill fewer people out here than they did downtown…but at the same time it’s easier for them to slip into the wilderness. It takes longer to find them if we don’t get to a new rift right away. But that’s where I come in.

  Esme inspected Owen sitting across from her, looking at something on his phone. She was starting to agree with Roman about hating phones – Owen was glued to his all the time. Again dressed in his cavali uniform, Owen’s eyes were bloodshot. He hadn’t shaved in a week. Esme guessed his diet these days consisted of fast food and energy drinks.

  If we stay this busy, Lexi will get her wish about Owen retiring from double duties. He’s working himself too hard… I’m tired too. According to the Chronicles of Kings, rift activity isn’t usually this constant. Nobody knows what’s going on. Everyone’s tense. If we keep going at this pace-

  “Do you still sense the rift?” asked Davis. He adjusted a pointed ear under his
helmet, then motioned toward her feet.

  Esme looked at the floor of the truck where she’d drawn the senso symbol. One benefit of her ever-strengthening magic was that she could perform the senso while on the move now.

  I’m not sure what’s going on with my magic, either. At least that’s a mystery that’s helpful! Roman doesn’t even have answers for my magic’s strength. Well, he doesn’t have answers that he’ll tell me…

  She held her castorca over the symbol and pushed a crackling bubble of magic to reignite the senso. Immediately, a wave of rift-gravity hit her. She was used to the sensation by now, and she breathed to hold herself steady.

  “We still going the right way?” asked Max…or maybe Dax. It was hard to tell them apart in their helmets.

  Esme looked at the sparking symbol and felt a gravitational pull in the direction of the nearest, freshest rift. It was like bobbing in waves, with a slight current carrying her…east.

  “Yeah,” she finally answered. “The rift’s east along this road. Not far now.”

  Owen put away his phone. He called to the driver, “Can you-”

  The truck’s brakes made everyone lurch in their seats. This was the usual signal when their driver spotted a rift. Sure enough, the truck pulled off the road and slowed to a stop. The team wasted no time before piling out.

  Esme emerged to stand on the gravel along a country road. Hilly fields stretched in every direction. What the locals called “lakes” and Hakim called “watering holes” reflected moonlight from the clear sky overhead. Farmhouses in the distance were only visible as small points of light, but the surrounding wilderness was empty.

  I still should put up an illuso, just to be safe.

  While the cavali went about their business checking weapons, Esme used her castorca to gather magic and draw the illuso symbol in the gravel along the road. She finished with a bubble of light to bolster the spell, and with an effortless sweep of her hand she sent a cloak of magic into the sky. This spread and stretched to block their location from view.

  Owen split up the team. After so much time together, they worked like a well-oiled, magically beefed-up machine. Max, Dax, Davis, Benja, and Tank their troll driver drew weapons and went into the fields, each taking a different direction to hunt for malevolenci. Esme stuck with Owen as usual, and they headed straight for the small rift that had caught the driver’s attention.

  The smoking rift was a hundred meters off the road, on the far side of a field, hanging in the air just above the knee-high grasses. The moonlight above allowed Esme to see a steady stream of bone-colored spindlox crawling over each other to enter this world. Behind the rift stood a thick row of trees, and several spindlox reached the tree line and disappeared in the underbrush.

  “Stay sharp,” said Owen, gun ready.

  They jogged over the grass. Every few meters, Esme burned barrio symbols into the dirt. These mines would catch any malevolenci crossing within range. She’d created nine barrio before she and Owen arrived in front of the rift. By now the last of the swarm had escaped the rift. Owen shot four spindlox scuttling to attack, but most of the demonic spiders headed for the trees in the opposite direction.

  The rest of their cavali team converged on the king’s position. Apparently their areas had been clear, since Esme hadn’t heard a single shot. The team stood with Owen and held guns ready, aiming at the trees where the spindlox had fled. Owen gave Esme a look to make sure she was okay, and she returned a quick nod. He motioned to his cavali, and the team pursued the swarm into the trees.

  Esme left them to it and focused on her usual job. Smoke wafted from the rift and flaked to the ground. A few more spindlox scuttled out. Esme didn’t even need to concentrate as she lifted her castorca hand and cast the spell that snapped their legs. These demons fell harmlessly to the dirt. One still inside the rift shrieked and paused at the edge. Esme waved at the demon so fast that her fingers blurred, and rippling shock waves pushed the spindlox back into its world.

  The rift clear of malevolenci now, Esme stretched her hand and gathered her fingertips. Magic flowed through her castorca, and she drew the floating, sparkling termino in the air across the rift. Esme could cast the termino in under a minute now, and it helped that this rift was small. When the symbol was complete, she spun the symbol into a blur, making it crackle, and the rift shattered. The termino sucked in the rift debris, and finally the symbol itself crackled and disappeared.

  Esme took a breath and lowered her castorca, pausing to regain her strength. She heard multiple gunshots from the trees, so she turned to help.

  She only made it two steps. A current of rift-gravity caught Esme, and she stumbled before planting her feet. Then another wave pulled, and she swayed the other way. With the third current, she stepped back to stop from falling.

  Don’t puke, she ordered herself. What in the hundreds of alt-worlds…

  Owen and the cavali emerged from the trees, and Owen’s eyes widened as he looked at her.

  Esme felt a chill.

  No. He’s not looking at me. He’s looking behind me…

  “Esme, run!”

  She steadied herself and turned, her eyes rising to find the danger.

  Three rifts, all bigger than the one she’d closed, hung in a row behind her. The smoke that wafted out blocked the moonlight, and Esme soon found herself standing in flaking, disorienting darkness. Only the rifts’ flashes of lightning allowed her to see, and during one flash she saw something moving within the malevolenci world.

  What is that?

  Esme held her castorca ready. The smoke obscured whatever was coming, but then flapping wings broke through the smoke.

  Chiroptorx!

  Just in time, she dropped to the grassy ground. A flock of chiroptorx erupted from each rift and flew with powerful speed, swirling around her. She winced from the beating of their wings, and claws scratched her legs and exposed side as she covered her head.

  “Esme!”

  Gunshots fired, but she couldn’t see her team through the smoke.

  She fought to roll over, and when she did she saw only blackness and flapping wings. A flash of lightning illuminated one giant bat diving straight for her, its beak open wide. On instinct, Esme spun her hand and created a whirlwind to blast the demon away. She spun wider and wider so that the whirlwind grew, and Esme lay on her back in the eye of this storm. The wind caught the chiroptorx and kept them off her, and soon hundreds spiraled in her spell. Dozens more flew out of the rifts and dodged to avoid the whirlwind. She lost sight of these, but she heard gunshots and assumed the cavali had spotted them beyond the swirling smoke.

  I can’t keep this up. My hand’s already tiring…

  “Help!”

  “We’re coming!” Owen was somewhere to her right. “Tank, Davis! Stay here and take out the ones we miss!”

  A few gunshots sounded closer. Still spinning her casting hand, Esme sat up and looked through the smoke. On the far side of her whirlwind, Max and Dax had approached as close as they could without being sucked in, and they fired at the chiroptorx above. Then, through the spinning haze, Esme saw Owen shoot a freezing spell at a chiroptorx. Benja appeared beside the king and followed his example. Most shots and spells hit their targets, but the demons outnumbered the team by far.

  I have to do more…

  Hand aching, Esme knelt and made the whirlwind even bigger, her whole arm spinning as if aiming a lasso. Because she was so close to the rifts, only a few emerging chiroptorx were able to steer clear of the wind. At the same time, she worried the swirling spell might suck in her team if it grew any stronger.

  What can I do? The second I drop my whirlwind, they’ll be all over me! I won’t have time for another hand spell, never mind the termino!

  Esme felt like her arm was about to fall off. With a desperate thought, she looked at her other hand where it steadied her against the ground. Had anyone ever cast with their off-hand? Was it even possible without her castorca?

  I have to tr
y. Desperate times…

  A barrage of gunshots from Tank and Davis suggested chiroptorx flew wide of her whirlwind, but Esme let them handle the strays.

  Concentrating, she lifted her other hand. It was hard to ignore the pain in her casting arm, but Esme focused on her fresh hand and flicked her index and pinkie fingers again and again. Finally she felt magic vibrations in that bare hand.

  “Get back!” This was all the warning she could give her team – the magic in her hand was too strong to hold any longer.

  While spinning her castorca, Esme aimed her bare hand at the chiroptorx and released the fire spell. She gasped from the power of it. Flames shot to ignite demon after demon until every giant bat in the whirlwind was a streaking, tumbling blur of fire. The air grew hot. Broiling, ashy smoke clouded everything.

  The vibrating pain became unbearable, and Esme stopped her spells and made a tossing motion with both arms. The whirlwind died, but before the flaming carcasses could fall around her, the tossing spell hurled the dead demons farther into the field.

  “Esme!”

  Her hands burned, and she fell back on her butt with a small cry of pain.

  Now visible through the thinner smoke, Owen and the cavali ran closer to the rifts and shot the last of the chiroptorx flocks. Esme, too exhausted to move, watched from her spot on the ground as they spread out to cover each rift.

  Max aimed a gun up at his. “Clear for now!”

  “This one too!” called Benja.

  “And here!” said Davis.

  Owen holstered his gun and crouched in front of Esme. “Are you okay?”

  She looked at her hands in the moonlight. Her castorca hand was shaking. On her other palm, blood oozed from deep burns.

  Owen sucked air through his teeth. “That doesn’t look good. Can you-”

  “My lord!” yelled Tank.

  Owen’s head snapped up, and Esme too looked at the rifts, expecting a new torrent of malevolenci. Instead, they discovered that the rifts’ edges were tearing farther open.

  “Get back!” Owen ordered.

  The cavali backed away as the rifts expanded and stretched to join. First the middle rift linked with the left, then the right. Soon they were one big, gaping rift. It hung in the air not far from the ground, and the width and height were the size of a drive-in theater screen.