by J. C. Diem
“It would seem the faeries haven’t lost their ability to cast harmful spells,” Loki said in a casual tone that sounded slightly forced even to him. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up at the display of dark fae magic.
Rho gulped audibly as his volunteer twitched a final time, then expired. He mentally revised his belief that their potential allies weren’t much of a threat. Now that he’d seen what they were capable of, he was having second thoughts about approaching them. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice if he wanted to fulfil his grand dreams of expanding his rule to more worlds. Now that he’d had a taste of true power, he found he wanted more.
Chapter Five
~~~ Violet’s World ~~~
WITH NATALIE’S AND Lexi’s help, Violet told her friends everything that had happened on the other worlds that she’d visited. They listened intently and Reynolds continued to take notes about Loki and his allies. When they were finally finished, he sat back and tapped his pen against his notepad. “These Grimgorg aliens sound like cowards,” he said. “They tend to fold whenever they come up against a stronger force.”
“Angels are no doubt much stronger than these pitiful aliens,” Brie said with a disdainful wave of her hand. “Why are we even worrying about this invasion? We will band together and evict them easily.”
A sense of foreboding had been rising within Violet ever since she’d returned to her dimension. “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy,” she said.
Leo cocked an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?” he queried.
Violet shifted slightly on her seat as she tried to articulate her thoughts. “Nothing has ever been easy for me,” she said at last. “I have a feeling Loki’s new allies will be different from the others.”
“Fate did say our battles would become harder each time,” Lexi agreed uneasily.
Nat nodded to back them up. “Whoever, or whatever, he’s allied himself with this time is probably going to be hard to evict.”
“When are they likely to arrive?” Sam asked. His brown eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and excitement.
“Soon,” Violet replied. “We need to find help before they get here.”
She exchanged a look with Nathan and he inclined his head at her silent request. “I will approach the angels and seek their assistance,” he said. As heaven’s mightiest warrior, he usually led them to battle.
“I’ll head to hell and speak to Morax,” she said. “I’m sure he won’t want to miss out on all the fun.”
“Are you going to tell him about his twin from Natalie’s world?” Leo asked slyly.
“Probably,” Violet replied with a smirk. “His expression when I tell him about his proposal should be worth it.”
Nat grinned in anticipation. “You’re taking Lexi and me with you, right?”
Lexi sighed inwardly at that prospect. She wasn’t looking forward to returning to hell, but they didn’t have much choice. Angels and demons were the only supernatural creatures that existed in this reality. Without their support, they would surely lose this war. “I’m ready whenever you are,” she said in resignation.
Nat checked her finger to see it had finally healed completely. Elijah’s blessing on the store had been extremely harmful to her. As a test, she’d sliced another finger open with one of her swords and it had healed quickly. It seemed holy power took much longer to repair. The sun had risen hours ago and she hadn’t been compelled to sleep. Vampires didn’t exist here, but she didn’t know whether the sun would be harmful to her or not. She did know that her talents were diminished in this reality. She couldn’t teleport, or use her telekinesis. Worst of all, she couldn’t read minds this time.
Lexi was also feeling a bit useless. She could barely feel any of the three monsters that resided inside her. She’d stepped into the alley out back after taking a bathroom break earlier and had attempted to use the zombie highway, but nothing had happened. Like Nat, she’d tested her healing abilities as well. They still worked rapidly to fix normal injuries. Her strength and speed probably still existed as well, but they were both lacking most of their powers. She wasn’t sure what use they were going to be in the coming war. “Should I take my gear?” she asked.
Violet shook her head. “You won’t need your guns in hell. You can leave them in my old room if you want.” Nat didn’t have any belongings, apart from her clothes and the twin swords that were strapped to her back. She remained in her seat as Violet escorted Lexi into the kitchen. Turning left, they stepped into a short hallway. A laundry was to the right and a set of stairs was to the left. They climbed up to the second floor and came to a long hallway. Violet led the way to the first door on the left. The next door down was Sophia’s bedroom, not that she ever needed to sleep. Directly across from Violet’s old room was the living room. Next to it was the bathroom.
Placing her backpack on the floor at the end of the bed, Lexi took a cursory look around. A closet, dresser, nightstand and single bed made the room seem crowded. There were no windows and it was so small it was almost claustrophobic.
They headed downstairs again and Nat stood and moved to join them.
“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Violet said to her friends.
“Bring me back something interesting,” Leo said with a grin.
Violet grimaced at his request. “There’s plenty of interesting things in hell, but I’m not sure you’d want any of them as a gift.”
“Just do not bring him back a corpse this time,” Brie said in a rare show of humor. Her twin slanted her a look and giggled.
Nat was still smiling at their antics when Violet whisked them away to somewhere else in Manhattan. “Your friends are so much like mine that I almost feel like I’m at home,” she said to Violet.
“I felt the same way when I was on your world,” Violet replied, then turned to the familiar green door. She could have teleported them straight to hell, but instinct had brought her here.
“Where does this door lead?” Lexi asked.
“To the master gate.”
“Aren’t you going to take us straight to Morax?” Nat said in surprise.
“I want to talk to the gate first.” Trusting her instincts, neither of her friends tried to argue with her. They all knew to listen to their gut by now.
Violet touched the door and it unlocked. She no longer needed to paint a rune in demonic blood to open doors on her world. It opened with a rusty creak and she ushered her friends into the portal. The door locked again when she pulled it shut.
“It doesn’t smell so bad this time,” Lexi noted as she took in the slick black walls that were covered in sickly yellow lichen. The walls stretched up so high that she couldn’t see the ceiling, if one even existed. Mist swirled around their ankles, obscuring their vision slightly. Rough cobblestones made the ground a trip hazard for the unwary.
“This portal leads to the ninth realm,” Violet said. “There are fewer volcanos here, so the smell of sulfur isn’t as strong.” She could already feel herself growing taller. While she could control her appearance now, she automatically reverted to her demonic form when she was in hell. She opted to remain in her human form this time and shrank back to her usual size.
With a thought, she took them to the master gate to find he was already waiting for her. The twin black stone gargoyles swiveled around to glare down at them. They shifted uneasily and scanned the misty darkness, as if they sensed danger approaching.
“Ah, Hellscourge has come to pay me a visit,” the gate said in a mournful, chiding tone. Made of wrought iron, a rudimentary face of eyes and a mouth were fashioned from the decorations of human souls being tortured. “To what do I owe this honor?”
Violet rolled her eyes at his dramatics. He was still pissed at the restrictions she’d placed on him and his minions. “What do you know about the aliens who are about to invade Earth?” she asked. She knew he was aware that another disaster was about to strike her planet. He’d flat out told her the last time she�
�d seen him.
His expression turned sly. “You know more than I do. After all, you have already battled them on two worlds, have you not?”
The gates always knew more than they should, so she wasn’t surprised that he was aware of her multi-dimensional travels. “We know Loki and his Grimgorg allies will be coming. We don’t know who their other allies will be.” They studied each other in silence for a few moments. “Do you know who, or what they are?” she queried.
His expression became almost disturbed. “That knowledge is hidden from me,” he admitted. “I only know that they will be powerful and dangerous. Your allies will not be able to assist you and you are almost certainly doomed to fail.”
“I should really come and visit you more often,” Violet said with heavy sarcasm. “You always have such positive news for me.”
The master gate chuckled in true amusement before sobering suddenly. “You should not dally, Hellscourge. I fear your foes will be arriving soon.”
Holding in a shudder at his dire warning, she didn’t bother to command him to open. Taking hold of Nat and Lexi, she teleported them directly to the second realm of hell.
Chapter Six
~~~ Asgard ~~~
LOKI AND RHO WATCHED as several faeries left their houses and approached the boundary of the village. All five appeared to be male, but they were beautiful enough to almost be able to pass for women. Their hair was shoulder-length or longer and ranged from white-blond, to raven black. Their ears were pointed and their teeth were wickedly sharp. They wore tunics, pants and boots in shades of greens and browns that blended in with the forest. Their skin was so pale that it was almost translucent. Moonlight seemed to enhance their paleness even more.
They neared the body and one of the faeries stretched out a hand to a tree. His hand passed through the trunk and when it emerged, he was holding a long staff. Keeping his distance from the creature that had dared to intrude on their village, he used the staff to push the corpse over onto its back. Purple blood stained every inch of the dead shaman’s lumpy green skin. The faery shared a quick conversation with his friends, then cautiously approached it. Running his hand just over the shaman, he looked upwards and stared directly at the portal that he couldn’t possibly have seen from his dimension.
“They know we are watching them,” Loki said. Rho nodded in agreement.
One of the other faeries spotted the silver mirror that had landed face-down on the ground. He pointed at it and their leader used his staff to flip it over. They started back a step when they saw Loki and Rho staring at them. “Who are you?” the one with the staff demanded in a musical language.
Loki’s gift for foreign tongues enabled him to understand and reply. “We mean you no harm,” he said in their language. “We are hoping to become your allies.”
The faeries shared another look. The leader of the small band reached a decision. “I will take this strange contraption to our leader.” Picking the device up, he tucked it beneath his arm. With a flick of his hand, the earth swallowed the dead intruder, leaving no trace of him behind. He held the staff out to the tree and it was absorbed back into the trunk.
Rho was disturbed by their casual displays of magic. From the glimpses he’d seen so far, their sorcery far surpassed even his. Loki was frowning, but he seemed determined to go ahead with their plan.
The view in the portal zoomed in to follow the small group from only a few steps behind as the faeries returned to their village. They approached the largest tree and a doorway appeared at the base of the trunk. One by one, they filed inside. The center of the tree was hollow and wooden stairs curved upwards in a dizzying spiral. They climbed to the top and stepped out into a house that was far larger than it seemed from the outside. The furniture was intricately carved and beautiful paintings graced the walls. It seemed they’d adapted to the world they’d been banished to.
At the far end of the room, another male faery sat on an ornate chair that wasn’t quite opulent enough to be called a throne. His hair and eyes were silver and he was inhumanly handsome. Like the others, his clothing was well-made and was designed to blend in with their environment. He watched expressionlessly as the five warriors approach him. When the portal was placed on the ground in front of him, he stared at the aliens without speaking. The lead warrior whispered into his ear.
“It has been a very long time since I have seen an Asgardian,” the faery lord said at last as he eyed the handsome, dark haired stranger who wore a simple green shirt and brown trousers. He shifted his attention to the ugly creature with the yellow eyes and lumpy green skin. It wore bronze armor, a tattered black cloak and clutched a gnarled black staff in its warty hand. “What are you?”
“I am King Rho of the Grimgorg race,” Rho replied. The silver device translated his words so the faery could understand him. To him, the fae sounded as though they were speaking his own language.
“I am Loki Laufeyson,” Loki added. “May we know your name?” He was aware that knowing a faerie’s true name would give them power over them, so he wasn’t surprised when the being hesitated.
“You may call me Nifirial,” he replied. He studied them for a moment before continuing. “Why would an Asgardian wish to become my ally after your kind exiled me and my people from our world several eons ago?”
“That happened long before I was born,” Loki replied. “Believe me, I am no friend to Odin. King Rho and I have banished him and his warriors. In exchange for their assistance, I have relinquished Asgard and my kin to the Grimgorg. My people have become their slaves.”
Nifirial’s gaze sharpened. “Where did you exile Odin and his army to?”
“A barren world that barely contains any life,” he responded with a sly smile. “They have no way of returning to exact their revenge.”
Lifting a thin, pale finger to stroke his chin, Nifirial knew it would be dangerous to form an alliance with Loki and his hideous little friend. But they could very well be the only way he and his followers could ever return to their rightful home. His queen had sought Odin’s help to banish him when his attempt at a coup had failed. He and his people had grown much stronger in magic now and he knew he wouldn’t fail a second time. “What bargain do you wish to make with us?” he asked.
Loki had thought long and hard about the deal he would strike with these beings if the opportunity presented itself. He knew his wording would be crucial. “I wish for you and your people to become allied with myself and the Grimgorg. If you assist us to subdue the inhabitants of the planet known as Earth, I will grant you one billion human slaves. King Rho will gift you with several thousand portals. They will give you access to several worlds that you can do with as you please.” Greed and ambition flashed across the faery lord’s face. Loki knew he was hooked even before he added a final comment. “That includes your home world, of course.”
“One billion slaves is a difficult number to fathom,” Nifirial said, hiding his excitement as best he could. “We are but few in number. How could we possibly control so many beings?”
At Rho’s gesture, one of his warriors prodded a collared Asgardian forward. The docile woman came to a stop beside the portal. She had once been the wife of one of Odin’s cronies, but she was now a mere pawn. “These collars contain spells that control their wearers,” he said. “They will follow any order they are given.”
“If you have the means to subdue the beings of Earth,” Nifirial’s upper lip lifted in a sneer at the uninspired name of the planet, “why do you require our assistance?”
“Earth is guarded by some very powerful beings,” Loki replied. “They will need to be contained before we can begin our invasion.”
“What beings would these be?” the faery asked with a hint of suspicion.
“They are celestial creatures who are made of pure spirit. Angels possess the bodies of humans when they are called on to defend their planet. Their hosts become temporarily immortal and are almost impossible to kill.” He hadn’t spent much time in th
e presence of angels and he didn’t know if they had any weaknesses. It seemed best to attempt to imprison them rather than to do battle with them.
“Do these angels reside on Earth?”
“No. They usually remain in their own realm, which is guarded by magical gates. It is my hope that you will find a way to bar the gates to prevent the angels from coming to the rescue.”
Faeries were far more magical than most beings. They could sense other dimensions and they could travel to them at will. Odin had banished Nifirial and his kin to this planet because it didn’t possess any other realms for them to escape to. It was also devoid of intelligent beings that they could enslave and torment.
“If we agree to assist you, how do you plan for us to leave this world?” Nifirial asked. He leaned down and pressed his hand against the silver device to test it, but it was just a window.
“I will tell you the answer to that question only after I have your agreement,” Loki responded with a chiding smile.
Flicking his gaze to his warriors, Nifirial saw their longing to return to their home world. They craved seeing the beauty and majesty of the fae realm once more, but they were cautious about embarking on this journey.
“Remember the curse,” one of them warned him in a low voice.
Nifirial frowned slightly and returned his gaze to his potential allies. “Are there any undead creatures on Earth?”
Loki hid his surprise at the strange question. “No. Angels and demons are the only supernatural beings that exist in this dimension.”
“What are demons?” Nifirial queried.
