by J. D. Dexter
I nod.
Focusing my mind on her shape, I graze the spot in my chest with a thought. Between blinks, I’m now the same height as Kuni. She’s smiling again, her red-stained teeth a little gruesome to look at.
I look down. A foreign stretch and pull on my neck makes me stop immediately. I lift my foot—excuse me—my paw. The squishy marshmallow-looking substance is actually quite firm when it’s my own body.
“This is too weird,” I say.
“Yeah, I’m not sure I like seeing me on your body. Change to something else,” she orders again.
Bulcepts be bossy!
Pulling the image of Kezi into my mind, I close my eyes against the nausea when I rise quickly into Kezi’s height. Looking down at my body once again, I see I have more defined muscles. My abs look sculpted by magicians. I even feel more bad-ass in this form.
“Now, send a stream of adira at me,” Kuni says, a smile on her face.
“But won’t I hurt you?”
“No. Bulcepts naturally deflect adira energy.” She plants her feet and lifts her chin, challenging me.
“I’ve yet to meet anyone who is immune to adira energy.”
“I didn’t say I was immune. I said I would deflect it.” She lifts her chin again.
I shoot a bolt of adira at her.
Just as it’s about to hit her, it diffuses into a million sparkles and settles on the ground like an overturned glitter tube.
My chest burns for an instant. The glitter shimmers and then lifts into the air, heading straight for me. Squeezing my eyes shut, I feel the light tapping of my adira as it settles against my skin before it’s absorbed once again.
“Excellent.” Kuni nods her head. “Now we can go to Ankarrah.”
She turns and starts walking down the hallway again.
“Uh, I’m not sure fifteen minutes of training is all that’s needed to prepare me to defeat Anixia. Not to mention, your Ancient Council said I’m not the Ashen Angel. How am I supposed to not die and destroy all of the universes if I can’t absorb her power?” I call out to her waddling butt.
Her tail swishes side to side; she doesn’t even bother stopping. “Fine, then take me to Earth. I’ve never been there.”
“And they’ve never seen anything like you,” I say under my breath.
“I heard that.”
34
I launch myself into Hunter’s arms, curling my body tightly against his. This is my favorite place in the whole world. Scratch that, the whole universe. His body stiffens under mine.
“Uh, Keziry. Not that I don’t enjoy a good hug, but this is a little beyond the bounds of friendship,” he says, his arms stretched out to his side.
“What the hell, man?” Brian bellows from across the kitchen. “Kez? Why are you trying to crawl Hunter’s body like it’s a tree?” He sounds both outraged and a little insecure.
“It’s me, Finley,” I say into Hunter’s neck before sliding my lips up to his ear.
Hunter pushes me away so fast, I knock into the far wall. “That’s not funny, Keziry.” He glares at me, a finger stabbing towards my chest.
What the heck is going on here?
“The hell, Kez? That’s not cool,” Brian says, heat and anger in his eyes.
“What’s not cool?” Kez says from the hallway.
Both Hunter and Brian look at Kezi, their mouths hanging open.
“Finley? When did you get back?” She rushes over to me. “And why do you look like me?” She pulls me into her arms.
Whoops! I forgot to change back into myself before launching myself at Hunter. Taking a second before wrapping my arms around Kezi, I transform back into myself.
“Sorry, I forgot,” I say into her nimbus of blonde curls.
Soon, I’m pried from Kezi’s arms and locked against my favorite person in the world.
“You’re back. You’re back. You’re back,” Hunter murmurs against my head. His whole body is shuddering in my arms.
I hear Brian talking in excited tones. Peeking over Hunter’s shaking body, I see Brian’s talking on his phone.
Kezi winks at me.
“Baby-Fin. Welcome, back,” Brock says as he wanders in from outside.
“Thanks, Brock.”
Hunter settles down, tips my head back, and kisses me.
Just like always, my surroundings disappear. My entire being is focused on him and him alone. The taste, smell, and touch of him. How his body is the perfect size for mine. The feel of him under my hands.
I lean into the kiss, giving back just as good as I get. One of his hands slides down my back, over my butt, and glides over my hip before lifting my leg to hook over his waist.
“Whoa, dude. Public space,” Brian calls.
“This is my house. You don’t like it, then leave,” Hunter says with a snarl.
“We need to talk to Finley, Hunter. Sexual intimacy can wait for private moments between you,” Brock says in his usual blunt manner.
Hunter’s growl against my lips has things low in my body tightening. I let my leg drop, sliding it down the outside of his body. His next growl has me debating my stance on no-sex and public displays of affection.
“Where is she?” Brent calls from the front hallway.
“She’s in here. Being manhandled by Hunter,” Brian calls back.
“Yeah, leave us alone,” I call out to Brent.
“Fat chance of that happening. My turn, Hunter.” With that, Brent pries us apart, and takes Hunter’s place.
The fact that Brent is like a brother has the heat cooling from my body. I hug him back.
“I’m glad you’re back,” he whispers.
“Me too.” I squeeze him before we both step back.
Brian swoops in for his hug, twirling me around the kitchen like I’m a little girl instead of a couple inches shy of six feet. Lord love tall men.
He gives me a smacking kiss on the lips and sets me back down.
Brock nods at me as I look over at him.
I smile at him.
“Is it okay for me to come out now, Finley?” Kuni asks from the front room.
Everyone in the kitchen stands, bodies ready for battle.
I shake my head at them all. “Sure, Kuni. Come on in.”
Her squishy feet make faint squelching noises on the hardwood and tile as she hurries into the room.
“Kuni, meet everyone. Everyone, meet Kuni,” I announce.
Kezi and Brock pull their swords from thin air. Brian, Brent, and Hunter all clench their hands into fists.
“What race is she?” Kezi asks, her voice low.
“I’m a Bulcepts. There’s no need to be rude,” Kuni says tartly.
Brock glares at Kuni, his eyes searching.
“Where are you from?” he asks.
“I can’t tell you that. Our Council removed it from our minds as soon as we left my home.”
“Really? They took it from you, too?” I ask her, turning.
She nods.
“That sucks. Do you ever get to go back home?”
“Unless you defeat Anixia, I will have no home to return to. So it doesn’t matter yet,” she says.
“But still.” I frown.
She shakes her head, sadly.
I turn to look at the room again. “You guys can stand easy. She’s here to help us defeat Anixia. Apparently, her people are the ones who make the –”
“Finley!”
I turn back to her. “What? It’s not like they weren’t going to figure it out once they asked questions.”
“Her people make the what?” Kezi asks.
I turn to the room again. “Prophecies. The Bulcepts are the knowledge keepers of the multi-verse. They see patterns, make predictions, and stay out of the way.”
“Vanaktym didn’t say that!” Kuni shrieks.
“Like she was really going to reveal her abilities to an outsider? I’ve watched enough movies and TV shows where some group is always in the know. I get how it all works,” I say withou
t turning around again.
I wave at Kuni to bring her forward. Dipping my head toward the counter top, I lift my eyebrows at her.
She nods.
Lifting her up to stand on the kitchen island, she glares at everyone. “You can relax your stances and put your weapons away, Ankarrahi guard. They are not needed here.” Teenage whine and haughty don’t really go together very well.
Hunter steps up and pulls me to his side, tucking me under his arm.
“You should explain, and very quickly, what you’re doing here,” he glares at Kuni.
“First,” I interject, “how long was I gone this time?”
“Three weeks,” Hunter says, grief in his voice.
“Dang it.” I wrap my arms around him again and give him a squeeze. “Sorry.” I kiss his collarbone.
“I’m going to get you micro-chipped. At least if it doesn’t work, I’ll know you’re off universe somewhere,” he says, snarling.
“If I could have your attention,” Kuni says, glaring at the room.
“Baby Shark’s got sass,” Brian says, a huge grin splitting his face.
“Doo doo doo doo doo doo,” Brent sings, his hand opening and closing like he’s working a puppet.
“I’m a Bulcepts, not a shark.” Kuni turns up her nose.
“Uh huh.” Brian joins Brent in singing and hand flapping.
“Stop it!” Kuni yells.
Kez rolls her eyes. “Guys? Really? We’ve got more important things to worry about than that ridiculous song.” She pauses. “Although, she does look like a baby shark.”
I cut everyone off before they launch into the doo, doo, doos again.
“So, in case anyone is interested, I am the Crescent Ruination of the prophecy. However, I’m not the Ashen Angel.” I jump in with the most startling piece of information to get all their attention.
The room goes silent.
“Excellent tactic, Baby-Fin. Please expound.” Brock sweeps his hand, giving me the room.
“Apparently, I am a Creative.” I look at Brock and Kezi. They just nod. “We assumed that, but now we have definitive proof. What Ankarrahi call Creatives, Bulcepts call Crescents.” I look over at Kuni.
She rolls her eyes and nods. “Crescents hold the pure, distilled form of all power. Think of crescents like you do your rainbows. Your rainbows carry all colors of your visible light spectrum. How you blend those colors is how each of your other colors is possible.” She looks around the room.
Nodding, she continues. “You cannot have missed that Finley’s eyes carry all of the colors of Ankarrah,” she says to Kezi and Brock.
They both turn to look at me, their mouths gaping.
Brock steps closer to me, his face intent. Pulling me from Hunter’s arms, he tips my head back to see me under the can lights in the kitchen.
I flutter my eyelashes at him. He just glares at me.
“It’s true. She does have all Ankarrah colors in her eyes,” he says quietly. “I’ve never noticed before. I thought she was missing white, but they are there in tiny flecks and splinters.”
“I thought them tricks of light because they seem to move all the time,” Kezi says as she comes up and peers into my eyes as well.
“Told you they were better than Sarah’s,” Hunter says.
Brent growls at him.
“What?” Hunter says. “They are. Even you can’t deny that.”
Brent growls again.
Brian laughs.
“So a crescent is a rainbow,” Brent begins. He tips his head to the side, his eyes cast towards the ceiling as he thinks. “I can see that. It’s the same shape…here on Earth at least.”
“The same for Ankarrah. We were not searching for rainbows though. Although many of our scholars thought it had to do with our moons,” Brock says as he walks back over to lean against the kitchen table.
“And she is Midnight’s daughter. Technically she was conceived by Midnight,” Kezi says, walking back to Brian.
“And Finley-babe’s going to kick Anixia’s ass, so there’s her ruination,” Brian adds.
“Exactly. Now comes the tricky part,” I say. “I’m not the Ashen Angel. If I kill Anixia, try to absorb her power, I will destroy not only Earth and Ankarrah, but all universes ever known.”
35
Duhn, Duhn, Duhn.
I hold myself back from making the universal sound of doom. Biting back the chuckle, I watch everyone’s faces as they process the information. Everyone but Brock looks horrified. He just looks interested.
“So who is this Ashen Angel?” Hunter asks, his hand gripping mine.
Kuni raises her shell. “We don’t know. The knowledge has been lost to us.”
Brian and Brent snort. “Of course it has,” they say in unison.
Kuni glares at them, honking a little.
Chuckles and snickers come from the humanoids gathered.
I slash my hand at my throat, trying to cut them off. Brian misses the gesture.
“Are you honking?” he asks, a laugh lifting his tone.
Kuni snorts. Just like with Vanaktym, a black fog eases from her nose slits. I send a bubble of adira towards the fog, encasing it.
I send the bubble of gas towards the back door. Pointing with my chin at Brock, he gets up and opens the door to allow the bubble through. Popping the bubble, the gas dissipates harmlessly into the air.
Getting in Kuni’s face, I snarl, “Don’t ever do that again. They are not to be harmed. Not by you, not by anyone. I’ll take you out myself before I let you hurt one of them.”
She shrinks back, one of her paws slipping off the side of the island. She nods, over and over.
I whirl around and pin Brian with a glare. “You’ve met Lando, whose native language sounds like birds chirping. Put your damn thinking cap on.” I stab my finger in his direction.
Kuni is shaking so hard she’s about to vibrate herself off the island.
Heaving a sigh, I scooch her back into the middle of the counter so she doesn’t fall. “That’s the only warning you get,” I tell her. “Don’t hurt them, we won’t have a problem.” I slide my hand down her hard shell, petting her.
Eventually, she settles, a low purring growl emanating from her body.
Brian clears his throat. “Sorry, Kuni. I shouldn’t have made fun of you like that. I apologize, and it won’t happen again. Forgive me?” he asks, his voice low.
Kuni looks at him for a long moment. After a tense minute, she nods. “You are forgiven. I apologize for attempting to harm you. That was bad manners and it, too, will never happen again.” She makes a circle with her left front paw. “Friends?”
“I can do that,” Brian says. Kezi leans in and whispers to him.
Brian gives Kuni the Ankarrahi formal greeting.
She smiles at him, showing her teeth.
Brian’s eyes widen in what looks like alarm, which earns him an elbow from Kezi.
“Ashen Angel. We need to find this person,” Brent says, filling the void.
“Seconded,” everyone says in unison.
Kuni looks a little bewildered. Or at least I think she’s bewildered. While more expressive than Lando, her features don’t really mimic humanoid facial expressions. Here’s hoping I read alien quadruped faces accurately.
“Everyone is agreeing with Brent’s statement,” I lean down and explain to her.
She glares at me over her shoulder, her eyes narrowed. “I know what that means,” she hisses at me.
I back up, holding my hands in the air.
“What about him?” Kuni dips her head towards Hunter.
“What about him?” I ask, stepping in front of him.
Hunter’s husky chuckle licks across my skin like velvet.
“He is ashen. Is he an angel?” Kuni asks, her face serious.
Everyone bursts into laughter. Even Hunter.
“I’m definitely no angel, Kuni. But that was nice of you to suggest it.”
“How do you know you’re not an
angel?” she asks, her head tipped to the side.
“I’ve seen some pretty un-angelic behavior.” Brian raises his hand. “I think we can safely assume he’s not a celestial being.”
“Who said anything about a celestial being?” Kuni retorts. “He could be an angel and not be celestial.” Rolling her eyes, she continues, “Just like you were unfamiliar with crescents and rainbows, perhaps you are misunderstanding what angel means.”
We all look at each other. I’m pretty sure the lost look on everyone else’s face is reflected on my own.
I clear my throat. “Well, I know that the Nephilim from the Bible are the results of human and angel pairings. They were considered half-angels. But they were wiped out with the Great Flood in Noah’s time.”
Kuni nods her head encouragingly.
“So Hunter could be an angel and not know it?” I ask, still not sure what Kuni is expecting as an answer.
She tips her head to the side. “That is definitely possible.” She sounds like a teacher praising the slow reader in class. I’m as lost as ever.
She turns to look at him. “Did your parents struggle to have children?”
“Wait a minute,” Brent objects. “Explain. Please.”
Kuni heaves a put-upon sigh. “There are many forms of angels in the multi-verse. On Earth, most of your stories are from your Bible and Judeo-Christian value systems. However, an angel could also be considered a blessing or a miracle. In some cultures in the Ankarrah system, angels are bringers of doom and destruction. Just because something doesn’t fit your current schema, doesn’t mean that it is false.”
She turns back to Hunter, shakes her paw at him.
He clears his throat, “No. They had me just fine. I had a miscarried little brother. My parents divorced and married people who already had young children,” Hunter says.
“Your mother was unable to carry her young to live birth?” Kuni sounds horrified.
Hunter glares at her. “That is what miscarriage means here on Earth.”
Kuni dips her head. “Did they struggle to have you?”
“Not that I know of, but it’s never been a topic of discussion.” Hunter shrugs.
“You should ask her and your father.”
I wrap an arm around Hunter’s waist. I know he doesn’t like to deal with his father, their relationship strained and brittle after the divorce when Hunter was a kid.
