by J. C. Diem
Tracking the ruler of the Grimgorg army down wasn’t easy. Loki finally found him on the far side of the city. Rho didn’t trust the fae and none of them were present. His entourage of shamans surrounded him as they hunted for slaves.
Seeing the Asgardian approaching, Rho saw the tension in his stiff shoulders. “Leave us,” he said to his men. When they were out of earshot, he met Loki in the center of the road.
“Have any more of your shamans gone missing?” Loki asked without preamble.
Rho scowled and nodded. “Dozens of my people have disappeared without a trace.”
“We both know who is responsible.”
They turned to watch one of the fae as she trailed after a group of green warriors. Tiny and deceptively fragile, her hair was midnight black and fell to her waist. She saw Loki and Rho watching her and gave them a sly wink. The disguised shamans she’d chosen to hunt with sent her nervous glances that spoke of their fear.
“They grow strong from stealing our magic,” Rho seethed. “We should never have allied ourselves with them.”
“We will have to take steps to ensure they don’t grow so powerful that they will be a danger to us,” Loki said.
“How?” Rho demanded. “We made an unbreakable deal with them. What will happen if we attempt to renege on it?”
“They will withdraw their magic that is keeping the gates of heaven and hell shut,” Loki admitted. “We do not need to renege on our bargain. We simply need to send them a message that we are not to be trifled with.”
From the distant look in Loki’s eyes, he had his own problems with the fae. Rho didn’t care what it was, he only cared about putting a stop to his people being used and disposed of like trash. “What do you have in mind?” he asked.
“We should try to catch Nifirial in the act of murdering one of your shamans,” Loki suggested. “If we confront him, he will have no choice but to cease his actions.”
“What if he refuses to stop?” Rho asked. “Do we kill him?”
“I am afraid that is not an option.” Loki almost shuddered at the reaction the rest of the faeries would have if they assassinated Nifirial. He’d been their leader for at least several eons. Without him to control them, there was no telling what they would do.
“How are we going to follow Nifirial without him seeing us?”
“Leave that to me,” Loki replied with a smirk. Illusion was his area of expertise. He wouldn’t have any trouble hiding their true identities. “Leave your shamans to their toil and follow me,” he said.
Grumbling inwardly at being ordered around like a mere minion, Rho motioned for his entourage to remain behind.
Loki concentrated, then they both assumed the appearances of lowly Grimgorg warriors. He kept his pace to one his companion could keep up with as he went in search of Nifirial. He’d made his sword and Rho’s distinctive staff invisible so their ruse wouldn’t be discovered.
It took several hours before they finally glimpsed Nifirial’s silver hair. Exchanging a look, they hurried closer. Trailing after a unit of six Grimgorg warriors, the faery followed them into a house. This wasn’t his usual group and Rho suspected he was planning to top up his magic again. These shamans were particularly weak in magic. They would be defenseless against the fae lord.
Loki and Rho snuck around to a side window where they could watch and remain unobserved. Loki used his magic to open the window a crack. He shrouded them in shadows and watched as the humans were rounded up, then collared. Just as they’d suspected, Nifirial took action before the unit of pretend soldiers could leave.
Rho slid a sidelong glance at his ally when the dark faery placed a spell on his shamans. Loki had to realize they could all perform magic even though they weren’t wearing black cloaks. Shrouded in shadow, his ally’s face was unreadable. He couldn’t tell if Loki was surprised or not. It was obvious Nifirial was well aware all six of his companions were magic users.
As they watched, the leader of the faeries siphoned the life and magic out of all six sorcerers in a whirling purple mist. Their withered bodies fell into a jumble on the floor and he burned their husks to ash.
Releasing the spell that had kept them hidden, Loki strode to the front of the house with Rho scurrying at his heels. Nifirial froze in the doorway when he realized he’d been caught red-handed. “What is this?” he said darkly. “Have you taken to spying on me?”
“How many of my people have fallen to you and your kin?” Rho demanded angrily.
Nifirial shrugged a shoulder. “I have not been keeping count.” Filled to bursting with magic, he obviously didn’t care that they knew what he was up to.
“I did not agree to allow you to murder my people!”
Eyes pulsing almost black, the faery ruler smiled, revealing his pointed teeth. “You made a bargain with me, King Rho of the Grimgorg race. You agreed that my people and I could take as much magic from your shamans as we need.”
“How much magic do you truly require?” Loki asked. “It would seem you already have more than enough.”
“It will never be enough!” Nifirial snarled, dropping all pretense of friendliness. “I will consume every last Grimgorg shaman in existence if I so desire.”
Shrinking away from the faery, Rho almost used his staff to unleash poison on him, but he wasn’t certain it would kill him. “Our deal did not include you and your warriors decimating my entire species by stealing our magic!”
“You did not stipulate that we couldn’t drain every single one of you dry,” Nifirial said slyly. “Perhaps you should word your bargains better in the future.”
“King Rho requires his shamans to subdue all seven billion humans,” Loki pointed out mildly. “If you kill them all by stealing their magic, you will render them unable to succeed, which will break the bargain you made with him.”
Tossing his head angrily, Nifirial’s silver hair flared out before settling around his shoulders again. “You have made a valid point,” he said stiffly. He was clearly annoyed that his ally had managed to curb his greed. “We will only siphon magic from the shamans when our stores become depleted. We will not drain them to death during the process.”
Knowing this was the best they were going to get, Loki and Rho bowed, then walked away. While Loki felt some relief, he was still in danger. Nifirial was far too clever by half. He’d been very careful with his wording. He could easily consume enough magic to become drunk on power again. He would just have to siphon the essence from more shamans to do so.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
~~~ Alpha World ~~~
LOKI STAYED WITH BIANCA in their new apartment until nightfall. This time, Rho and his sorcerers used their dome to encapsulate Reaverton. He heard the shouts of alarm and crossed to a window that overlooked the main street. Civilians had left their homes and were clumped together on the sidewalks, staring up at the shimmering shield. This was the first time the humans had seen the silver barrier, but they knew who had to be responsible for it.
Moving to stand next to Loki, Bianca stared at the dome. “It’s almost beautiful,” she murmured and shivered. No one would die from the toxic yellow gas the Viltarans had used on Dallas this time, but their fates were still sealed. There was no way out and nowhere for them to hide. Uldar and his droids had scanners that could find anyone hiding above ground. The Kveet and human clones were adept at finding anyone who attempted to cower in basements, or the subway.
“While the Grimgorg are repulsive, their magic is impressive,” Loki agreed and was rewarded with a faint smile. Still pale and thin from her ordeal, her demeanor had changed drastically from when she’d first fallen into his arms. Her hostility was gone and she now had no compunctions about being near him. In fact, she didn’t seem to want to be parted from his side. He couldn’t allow her to grow attached to him. Nothing good could come of it. “Stay here,” he ordered her. “I’m going to check on my allies.”
Bianca almost protested, but swallowed down her fear of being left alone. She’
d never been the clingy type, and she wasn’t going to start now. “Have fun,” she said with a weak attempt at a smile.
“You should be safe here,” he reassured her. “No one knows that I have chosen this place to be our base.” With that, he grabbed his sword and left, locking the door with magic on his way out. It hadn’t stopped the missile from destroying their last residence, but it would stop anyone from trying to gain entrance.
He wanted to keep their new lodgings a secret, so he changed his clothing to a black suit, shirt and tie and assumed a different face. Using a small amount of magic, he hid his sword until he was several blocks away from the apartment building. When it was safe, he released his illusions and revealed his green, black and gold leather armor. He didn’t bother with the helmet. It would only draw the soldiers that seemed to be scattered throughout Reaverton to him. He preferred to find them and deal with them before they could destroy the transport ships that were already descending.
Looking upwards, he saw a section of the dome flicker and disappear to allow the Viltaran vessels entry. When they’d all landed, the dome became whole again. Rho and his shamans must have used portals to reach the city before darkness had fallen. To his understanding, they had to be close in order to create the barrier.
Hair-raising roars of challenge and rage issued from Uldar and his kin when they left the transport ships. Screams of despair came from the fleeing humans. Loki saw the tiny, yet voracious Kveet clones swarm over a man and devour him down to his skeleton. The former humans who had been converted into monsters needed to eat as well. This was a nightly ritual so they wouldn’t starve. Droids didn’t need to eat or sleep. They clanked through the streets in search of victims. Civilians by the dozens were turned into hideous gray creatures by their nanobot guns.
Rho and his people had created tens of millions of silver collars. They’d scavenged metal from each city they’d attacked so far. They could probably have used any material to forge the necklaces, but they seemed to be the most comfortable with metallic substances. Each shaman and warrior carried bags full of the magical devices. They were determined to have the billion slaves that had been promised to them. At the rate Uldar and his army were capturing the civilians, they had to work quickly to keep up with them.
Speaking of Rho, Loki saw the Grimgorg ruler and his entourage heading for the suburbs. They preferred to search houses rather than multi-story buildings. Their legs weren’t designed for climbing stairs and they didn’t trust elevators.
He decided to follow the group on a whim and cloaked himself in shadow so he wouldn’t be seen. Using even that small amount of magic taxed him. His instincts were telling him to remain unseen, so he listened to them.
While some civilians had fled from their homes, most had remained indoors. They knew there was no hope for them and no way to escape from their fate. Being Texas, a lot of the people were armed. Loki wasn’t surprised when several shots rang out as Rho used magic to blast the door open. Watching through a window, his brows rose at how easily the shamans erected shields to deflect the bullets.
King Rho’s expression of contempt changed to alarm when one of the bullets ricocheted off a metal light fixture above his head. The projectile scored a shallow cut along his arm and he became enraged. Extending his staff towards the family that were hiding behind a couch, a foul green mist spewed from the tip.
Even standing safely outside the house, Loki recoiled at the toxic smell. All six humans gasped for air as their lips turned blue from lack of oxygen. Clawing at their throats, they collapsed, thrashed in agony, then became still. A greenish fluid seeped from their mouths after they expired.
Looking around almost guiltily, Rho set fire to the family. Loki’s eyes narrowed as he realized his ally didn’t want anyone to know about his staff. He wasn’t about to leave any evidence of what he’d done behind. When the corpses were burned down to skeletons, the shamans doused the flames before they could spread to the rest of the house.
Loki remained hidden as he contemplated what he’d just seen. He’d always known his allies were duplicitous. This was more proof that they were keeping secrets from him. It made him wonder what other skills Rho had that he didn’t know about yet. For all he knew, the Grimgorg ruler could be in possession of spells that were far more dangerous than he’d been aware of.
Filing this knowledge away, he dropped his illusion and sauntered off. He had no desire to assist his allies to capture the humans. With his magic so depleted, he couldn’t afford to squander it on menial tasks.
“You have seen the secrets that the Grimgorg monarch is hiding from you,” Fate said from behind him. He turned to see her stepping out of the shadows. “Yet, there is one you remain unaware of.”
“Please, enlighten me,” he said with a charming smile that didn’t reach his eyes. As always, she was dressed in head to toe black leather. He wished he could strip her mask away so he could see her face.
“He has access to magic that you have never encountered before,” she warned him. “Not even Uldar and his kin possess this type of power.”
Intrigued despite himself, Loki stepped closer until he loomed over her. “What power is this?”
“He has the ability to change his destiny.”
Scowling, he realized she wasn’t going to explain further. “Why do you insist on speaking in riddles?” he asked her crankily.
“Why did you attempt to overthrow Odin and create this mess in the first place?” she responded dryly. “We are who we are and nothing will ever change it. You were destined to bring ruin to the universe. My task is to prevent it from happening.”
Mulling over her words, he didn’t even notice when she disappeared. As far as he was aware, no being possessed the ability to change their destiny. They were set on a path and their actions did little to alter it. If Rho truly could change his fate, Loki couldn’t help but wonder how it would impact on him.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
~~~ Violet’s World ~~~
VIOLET TRIED TO KEEP her despair at bay, but it was creeping up on her insidiously. It wasn’t just her world that was in jeopardy. The fate of all worlds was in the balance. She and her fellow warriors had to find a way to defeat these invaders, then find a portal that would take them to the next dimension.
Pacing up and down, her gaze strayed to the book Sy had given her. Leo had tossed it on the table and she hadn’t given it a second thought. “Why didn’t I think of this sooner?” she groaned out loud. There was one method she hadn’t tried yet that just might work.
“What idea did you just think of?” Nathan asked.
“One of Sy’s runes might be able to let us into the dome.”
Sam brightened for a moment, then his expression fell. “The magical doorway only works once,” he reminded her. “It would not prove to be of much use if you and perhaps one other person can use it to get inside the city.”
“Sy might have come up with something new that could help us,” she said as she took her usual seat. Leo pushed the book over to her and she started flicking through it. Coming to the section that contained the magical doorway, she wasn’t at all surprised to see the scribe had created a new symbol beside it. She read the description and smiled in satisfaction. “I should never have doubted Fate,” she said. “It looks like she’s come through for us again.”
Everyone crowded around to stare at the complicated drawing. “What does it say?” Reynolds asked.
“It says that this doorway will stay open for a few minutes,” Violet replied. “Anyone can pass through it from either side while it remains active.”
The detective’s mind went into overdrive as he thought about the implications. “How big are these doorways?”
“Two people can fit through it if they face each other and step through sideways.”
“I have the workings of a plan, but we need to test whether the rune will work on the dome,” he said.
“This sounds like a job for Fate’s warriors,” Nat said dr
yly.
“I want to go, too,” Leo said excitedly.
“We will all go,” Sophia said. No one wanted to miss out on seeing this experiment.
“I will retrieve the demon blood,” Sam offered and hurried into the kitchen. On his way back, he stopped behind the counter to grab a small backpack and a few paintbrushes. He stuffed the items inside the backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
“Is everyone ready?” Nathan asked. When they all nodded, he teleported them back to Shale Falls.
Even from outside the silver dome, they could see progress had been made in rounding up the civilians. In another couple of days, the invaders would move on to somewhere else. Using Rho’s portals, they could travel to anywhere on the planet.
Reynolds motioned for everyone to follow him and they began walking around the edge of the barrier. He stopped next to a house that stood a few yards away on the other side of the dome. Violet would be able to paint the rune without being seen by their enemies in this spot.
“Keep watch for Grimgorg shamans,” Violet said to her team. Nathan, Sophia, Leo and Brie spread out to either side to keep watch on the city. Sam took the container of demon blood from the backpack and cracked the lid open. He handed her one of the paintbrushes, but kept hold of the container. She only had two hands and she needed to hold Sy’s book so she could duplicate the new and improved rune.
Wrinkling her nose at the rank smell of the clotted blood, Violet carefully painted the rune. When she was done, she peered through the shimmering dome. No one had come running to investigate so far. Dabbing blood on her palm, she pressed it against the symbol. Scarlet light flared as it became active, then a misty doorway appeared. She stuck her arm through it to make sure it worked, then she waited in tense silence until the doorway faded. When it dissipated, not even the rune that she’d constructed remained. According to her watch, it had stayed open for five minutes.
