by J. C. Diem
Giving up on the pretense that he wasn’t aware of what they’d been saying, Loki swung around to face them and made a shushing motion. “We should discuss this in a more private location,” he said and placed his glass on the table.
Realizing the faeries could have spies watching them, Rho grumbled beneath his breath as Loki stood. He hurried after the much taller man to Odin’s private chambers that Rho had commandeered for himself. The sheer opulence of the suite was staggering, with gold covering nearly every surface. The bed was far too high, but he’d had steps built so he could climb up to it with ease. Sleeping on the soft mattress was very different from the thin reed mats he was used to.
Loki took a seat on a plush sofa and waited for King Rho to clamber up onto the chair across from him before he spoke. As always, the entourage of five magicians had followed their leader. “I was not aware that your shamans were missing,” he said. “But it would not surprise me if the faeries were behind it.”
Face twisting in rage, Rho had to fight to control himself. “Why did we become allies with these creatures if you knew they would be so treacherous?”
“No one else would deal with us,” Loki reminded him. He couldn’t afford to get on Rho’s bad side and strove for patience. “Besides, no one else had the power to deliver Earth to us,” he added. “The fae are the only ones who possess the ability to bind the angels and demons in their realms and to prevent them from interfering with our plans.”
“They have fulfilled that task,” Rho pointed out. “Why must we continue our alliance with them?”
Loki uttered a mirthless laugh. “I am afraid we cannot break our deal with them. Their bargains are far more binding than even the magical plants that are holding the gates to heaven and hell shut. Until our terms are met, we are stuck with them.”
“No mention was made that they would have to steal our magic when we made our bargain,” Rho snarled.
“You agreed afterwards that your people would provide them with all the magic that they require,” Loki reminded him wearily. “You did not specify that they weren’t to be killed during the process. That is the danger of making deals with faeries. No matter how sly we believe we are, they will nearly always be able to outwit us.”
Gripping his staff tightly, Rho’s yellow eyes swiveled as if he was searching for a way out of this mess. “How many of my people will I lose to these creatures?” he asked at last.
Loki shifted uneasily. “I am afraid I do not have an answer for you. I suggest you tell your people to remain in groups rather than going anywhere alone. Perhaps they will be safer that way.”
“Why do the faeries not target your kin?” Rho asked petulantly. “Do they not possess magic?”
“Not many of my kind can use magic,” Loki replied. “Only a few of us are blessed with the ability.” He was one of them, but it was probably due to his half Frost Giant heritage more than anything. Asgardians prided themselves on their prowess in battle. Although Thor could wield lightning through Mjolnir, he didn’t have the capacity to weave spells like others of their kind could. Odin was the greatest sorcerer of their generation, but he’d been banished along with the rest of the magic users.
“The sooner we subdue Earth, the sooner we can rid ourselves of these faeries,” Rho said. It was the only solution to what he could see would become a growing problem.
“Agreed,” Loki said. This was the exact opening he’d been waiting for. “Come nightfall, we should embark on the first stage of our invasion. I have chosen a sizable city that is fairly isolated. Your dome will ensure that no one will be able to enter, or to escape. With the faeries’ ability to bemuse the humans, it should be easy to collar them.”
Rho made a face at the thought of having to rely on the fae for anything. He had to concede they were adept at quelling resistance. His kin would suffer far fewer casualties if they continued to team up with the beautiful, but deadly aliens. “I wonder if I will have any shamans left by the time we have subdued Earth?” he said sourly. Loki had no idea that there were hundreds of thousands of magic users on their swampy planet. Even their large numbers could be depleted if the faeries’ appetites became too voracious.
Nifirial was waiting for them when they returned to the throne room. He lounged in Loki’s chair as if it belonged to him. One leg was hooked over the armrest and he was gnawing on a hunk of barely cooked meat. Bloody grease dripped down his chin as he used his sharp teeth to tear into the flesh.
Loki quelled the urge to knock the diminutive being from his seat and motioned to a collared servant. “Bring me another chair from my quarters,” he instructed the man. With an obedient bow, the former courtier hurried to obey. He returned a short while later with a chair identical to the one the faery had appropriated.
Sitting on his refashioned throne, Rho glowered at Nifirial. The faery ignored him and concentrated on eating. Siphoning magic from other beings must have given him a large appetite.
“It is time for us to begin our invasion of Earth in earnest,” Loki informed Nifirial. He leaned forward to retrieve his wine and noted that the faery’s eyes lingered on him. Stretching his long legs out, he displayed them to their best advantage. Nifirial’s eyes pulsed from pale silver to a darker gray. Their eyes met and the fae lord’s irises turned in a circle. Almost caught by the dark magic, Loki blinked and tore his gaze away. He saw disappointment and need in his ally’s face. He’d sated his carnal desires on the earthlings, but he already craved more. Loki held in a shiver at the thought that he might become a target for the faery.
“Is that so?” Nifirial said belatedly. Giddy from the power he’d drained from three shamans, he’d very nearly managed to capture the Asgardian beneath his spell. Perhaps he would be able to have his greatest desires fulfilled after all. With enough power, he could bend any being to his will. Holding in a giggle, he tossed the bone aside, then used magic to clean himself of the grease. “My kin are ready to stand with you,” he said.
“I trust they are back to their full power?” Rho said suspiciously.
Nifirial flicked a glance at the horrid green alien. The Grimgorg ruler was aware his people were being drained, but he was helpless to do anything about it. “Oh, yes,” he said with an innocent smile. “We are more than ready to subdue the earthlings.” This time, he did giggle. Rho’s entourage of shamans surreptitiously sidled away from him.
Loki shared a look with Rho. The fae lord appeared to be slightly unstable at the moment. Fortunately, they still had several hours before darkness would fall on Earth. Hopefully, Nifirial and his people would have recovered from their influx of magic by the time they left Asgard. The last thing they needed was five hundred erratic faeries running loose. The gods only knew how much damage they could cause.
Chapter Eighteen
~~~ Asgard ~~~
STANDING NEXT TO A portal that glowed blue around the edges, Loki studied Shale Falls. Like the small towns they’d used for test runs, the city was in Nebraska. Over a million people lived here and he intended to collar every single one of them. He’d chosen this place because it didn’t have an army base nearby. Rho had assured him that his dome could stop any projectiles from getting through, but he wouldn’t trust it until he saw the proof for himself.
Nifirial was more in control of himself now. He was showing no signs of instability. Cool and collected, he wore an aloof expression as he examined the image on the portal.
Rho had spent the past year spying on the humans with Loki. They’d learned as much as they could through watching them from afar. They were aware the earthlings had devastating weapons, but he was confident his magic would protect them from harm. Not even the strongest missiles would be able to break through the dome. They would, however, be in danger from any weapons the humans trapped inside the dome might possess. Deaths were always inevitable and he was prepared to lose a few of his kin to win this war. Sliding a look at the faery, he managed not to scowl. It seemed most of their casualties were going to be attrib
uted to their new allies.
“Shall we?” Loki said and gestured at the portal. Night had fallen an hour ago and he was impatient to begin. Thousands of portals had been linked together on Rho’s world. A hundred thousand shamans and warriors were ready to begin their invasion. A bare five hundred faeries were a tiny number, but they would do their part. Loki was the only one who wouldn’t be able to do much to assist with corralling the populace. He didn’t have the same type of spells to bemuse humans that the fae used. His magic was geared more towards illusion and destruction. Then again, illusion could be very helpful, if it was used wisely.
“After you,” Nifirial invited the far too handsome lord.
With a wink and a grin, Loki leaped through the portal and landed on the road near the doomed city. Tires screeched behind him as a car came to an abrupt stop. The driver laid his hand on the horn, indicating his displeasure at coming so close to a collision. A hulking man with wide shoulders climbed out. “Get out of the way, nut job!” he shouted.
Loki leisurely turned to confront the driver and called on his black, green and gold leather gear. His long green cape flared behind him as the wind caught it. The human faltered and came to a stop as a horned, golden helmet appeared on his head. “That is no way to address your new ruler,” Loki said admonishingly. With his shaggy blond hair and short beard, the confused man reminded him strongly of Thor. His physique was more fat than muscle, but they were about the same size.
Backing away, the man felt someone standing behind him and turned around. Five ugly, hunchbacked aliens were staring up at him with huge yellow eyes. They wore crude bronze armor and tattered black cloaks. Unsightly lumps and bumps covered their green skin. One of them rammed the hilt of his bronze sword into his stomach. He doubled over with a whoosh of air and another of the aliens neatly clicked a collar around his neck.
Rho gave his entourage a nod of approval as they claimed their first captive of the night without a fuss. With the now empty car still running and the headlights illuminating their path, they strode towards the unsuspecting city.
As instructed, tens of thousands of Grimgorg leaped through the portals on their home world. It was green enough in Nebraska, but there was no water in sight. They were used to being surrounded by swampland and it was almost too open here even with clumps of trees nearby. In the distance, they could faintly hear the roar of the waterfall that the city had been named for.
Nifirial and his people felt exposed as well. It was doubtful the humans would be able to harm them, but they prepared defensive spells anyway. As agreed, they split up and joined small groups of Grimgorg warriors that supposedly had a single shaman in each unit. The faeries were well aware of Rho’s subterfuge. They could sense the magic that emanated from nearly all of their allies. Only the ones wearing ragged black cloaks were supposed to be sorcerers, but that wasn’t the case at all. Loki was apparently unaware of their trickery. Being full of deceit himself, Nifirial decided to keep this knowledge a secret, at least for now.
Scurrying as quickly as they could, the Grimgorg army hurried to catch up to their king. Once they were inside the city limits, Rho signaled to his chosen shamans. They began to chant and a silver dome appeared to surround Shale Falls. It was thin enough to see through, but it was much stronger than it looked.
Nifirial tilted his head backwards to see the barrier had completely encapsulated the city. He could feel it stretching roughly twenty feet beneath the ground as well. He probed it with his senses and knew it was just as impenetrable as Rho had boasted. It irked him to admit it, but he might very well learn something from these primitive beings after all.
Shouts of alarm came from the nearby houses as the humans became aware that they were penned in like cattle. “Happy hunting,” Loki said to Rho and Nifirial with a grin, then sauntered towards the heart of the city. It was time for humanity to learn that their way of life was about to change drastically and forever. This was now his world. With the angels and demons contained within their realms, no one was going to stand in the way of him becoming their supreme ruler.
He received strange stares as he wended his way through the traffic that had come to a standstill. Even his outlandish outfit paled in comparison to the dome. The humans were speculating about what had caused the barrier. While they were frightened, they’d already been through a trying time during the past few months. Loki hadn’t been aware of the battle that had raged in Manhattan until after it was finished. The city had received some damage, but repairs were being made.
“It has to be the demons again,” an elderly woman said in a voice that quavered with fright.
“Hellscourge will save us,” a man responded.
Halting in his tracks, Loki changed his clothing to a simple black suit so he could blend in with the mob. “Who, pray tell, is Hellscourge?” he enquired.
The small crowd that had gathered together turned to stare at him incredulously. “Have you been living on Mars?” the old woman asked with a hint of contempt. “She’s the golden angel who stopped the demons from taking over New York a few months ago.”
“A golden angel, you say?” he said with a derisive smile. “I have never heard of such a thing.” The angels he’d seen the last time he’d been here had looked like normal humans. To his recollection, none of them had been gold.
“Whatever’s going on, Hellscourge will put a stop to it,” another man said with conviction.
“I seriously doubt that,” Loki said to himself. With a chuckle, he sauntered away and called on his armor again. Golden or not, this ‘Hellscourge’ wouldn’t be of much help during the coming crisis. She was helplessly trapped in heaven along with the rest of her kin.
Chapter Nineteen
~~~ Violet’s World ~~~
TENSE AND EXPECTING to hear bad news, Violet was pacing the floor when Reynolds finally called. She snatched her phone from the table and answered it. “What news do you have for us?” she asked.
“A silver dome has sprung up around Shale Falls in Nebraska,” he replied. “The first photos started popping up on the internet a few minutes ago. A news crew has already arrived and they’re running a story about it. I’m on my way to you. I’ll be there soon.” He hung up as she bolted for the stairs with her friends right behind her.
They crowded into the living room and Sam turned on the TV. He switched it to a news channel that was showing an attractive female reporter standing near a shimmering silver barrier. “As you can see,” the reporter was saying, “this strange forcefield appeared from out of nowhere about ten minutes ago.” She was being filmed on a phone and was wearing casual gear of jeans and a t-shirt and denim jacket. Her hair and makeup weren’t camera ready. It appeared that she’d been in the area and had been called in to work. “Screams can be heard from inside the dome,” she added, “and we have grave fears for the citizens of Shale Falls.”
“I take it that is the same kind of dome the Grimgorg have used in the other dimensions?” Nathan asked. Reynolds arrived and entered the living room in time to hear his question.
“Yep,” Violet replied. “Let’s go take a look.” With that, she whisked them all to Nebraska. They arrived on a road next to the silver shield on the outside of the city.
“Why didn’t you take us inside the barrier?” Brie asked.
“I tried,” Violet said tersely. “I couldn’t get through.”
Nat sent her a sympathetic look. She’d suspected Violet’s magic would be hampered by the dome. The warrior wasn’t the only one who couldn’t teleport inside. Her angelic friends all attempted to gain entry to the city and failed.
“We cannot get inside,” Leo said with a frustrated shake of his head. “We need to get in there and see who Loki has allied himself with.”
Hearing a dog barking shrilly on the other side of the shield, Lexi cocked her head to the side. “There is a trick I could try, but I’m not sure if it will work.”
“What trick is that?” Sophia asked.
“I co
uld try to link my mind with a dog’s and see through its eyes.” Being part werewolf, she could usually commune with all types of canines. Since her powers were greatly diminished in this reality, she wasn’t sure if it would work.
“Give it a try,” Violet urged her.
Reaching out with her mind, Lexi felt a faint connection to the animal. He was a poodle and his name was Mr. Jingles. His owners had left him behind and had headed for the heart of the city when the dome had appeared. Locked in his yard, his howl of misery broke off and he whimpered when he felt a foreign presence in his mind. Sensing it was an alpha, he relinquished control to her.
“I’m in his head,” Lexi said in a distant voice. “I’m going to try to get him closer to the invaders.”
Fully in control of the animal, she trotted over to the gate and made him rear up on his hind legs. With a flick of his paw, she opened the clasp, then dropped to all fours. A nudge of his nose pushed the gate open. She trotted through the streets to see humans had gathered in frightened clumps. They could hear screams coming from other parts of the city and knew there was nowhere for them to run or hide.
Following the noise, Lexi wasn’t surprised to see Grimgorg shamans and warriors running with their heads bobbing almost comically. They rounded up the humans with blasts of fire, ice and wind. There had been few human casualties so far, but that was small comfort considering every single person in the city was doomed.
Trailing after a group of people who had been collared and turned into docile puppets, she caught sight of a very different type of alien and came to a stop. Small, willowy and graceful, the woman had long, ash-blond hair and translucent skin. Her face was ethereally beautiful, but her pale green eyes were cruel. Her ears and teeth were pointed. Several handsome human men stood around her, stupefied by her beauty and magic.
