“Mom, you’ll have to wait right here where you can see the fountain,” Livvy said. “Oddly enough, it’s super easy to get lost here.”
“I’ll come with you,” she said. “I might be able to help.”
“No!” Livvy said with more force than she’d meant.
She took a breath. If ancestor spirits showed up, they’d be seeking Livvy, not her mom. If Dominique showed up, it’d be the same. The last thing she needed right now was someone else to worry about. The safest and best place for her would be near the fountain.
Her mom must have seen the look on her face.
“That’s all right, honey. I’ll be here,” she said. “You go do what you need to do.”
Livvy gave her a brief hug.
“Thanks, Mom. We’ll try to be quick.”
Her mom gave both her and Min a little smile and then headed down toward the fountain.
“I like her,” said Min. “She’s nice.”
Livvy couldn’t help but grin at that.
As Min turned to head toward the client, Livvy put a hand on her shoulder. “Thanks, Min,” she said.
Min covered Livvy’s hand with her own and smiled with a little nod.
Livvy gave her mom one last look, then headed downslope with Min. In moments, she was on top of the next hill. She waited for Min to jog up and join her.
“When did you start moving so fast?” asked Min.
“I don’t know, it just sort of happened.”
“Is it part of the lightning?” Min asked as Livvy took up a light jog next to her.
“I think so,” Livvy replied.
She felt a little reassured. The clouds overhead were streaming as usual. Her speed seemed undiminished. She hadn’t said anything to Min or SK about what had happened with the lightning–for obvious reasons–but everything seemed normal this time. Even so, she wanted to make sure.
“Let me look ahead,” she said.
She raced to the top of the next hill, stopped and reached up her hand. “Lightning,” she said.
A blistering bolt landed almost immediately, launching multi-colored sparks upward as well as raining them down.
“What is it?” yelled Min, topping a nearby hill. “What do you see?”
Kam banked in a tight circle above her.
Livvy dropped her arm immediately and relief flooded through her. “Nothing!” she called back, elated.
Thank all the gods.
She still had lightning. Though she had sensed more than known that she’d never really lost it, she was glad. Something weird had happened that previous time in the Multiverse–to say the least–but it hadn’t lasted.
A cry from above made them both look up to Kam. He had spotted something. Min responded by picking up the pace and slightly changing course. Livvy headed in that direction as well. Kam was circling and flew lower.
Suddenly, they were nearly on top of her.
Startled, Claire began to lean backward and was about to land hard on her backside except Livvy quickly caught her.
“Gotcha,” she said, as she easily raised Claire to a standing position.
Min supported her by the other arm.
Claire gaped in amazement from one to the other.
“I really can’t believe I’m seeing this,” she said.
Livvy smiled at her. “Enjoy it while you can because you won’t remember a thing,” she said.
“Really?” Claire asked, disappointed, as Livvy and Min let her stand on her own.
“Afraid so,” said Livvy.
Nor would there be much to remember. Now that they had found her, it was only a matter of taking her wandering spirit through the fountain to the Middleworld and then back to the real world. After all of her journeys with drugs, different rehabs, subsequent overdoses and various hospital stays, Claire had lost her way.
“Too bad,” said Claire. “Because this is amazing.”
None of them had noticed that Kam had not landed. Above, he gave a short cry that caused them all to look up. A vulture was diving at him and only a frantic tumbling move allowed him to escape the giant bird’s grasp.
“Kam!” Min cried.
“Time to go,” said Livvy. “We have company.”
They each grasped one of Claire’s arms and spun in the direction from which they had just come. All of the surrounding hills were now occupied by shamans.
• • • • •
In the real world, SK bent down lower over Livvy’s prone body. Her jugular had just jumped from a steady pulse to a quick throb. He shot a look at Min’s throat. Hers did the same thing. He looked up at Claire, who seemed the same as before.
He already knew it should be a simple matter of retrieving Claire’s spirit. If Min were actually involved–he watched her breathing, which had quickened–then it could only mean one thing.
“Dominique,” he said.
He looked back at Min. “Do it, Min,” he whispered. “Just do it.”
• • • • •
“We’ve got to make a run for it,” Livvy heard Min say from behind her.
They had put their backs to one another with Claire in the middle. Livvy slowly circled, searching for an escape route, and Min matched her movements. More shamans appeared, some of them with their animal spirit helpers.
“Did I say that this was amazing?” said Claire.
“I like what you’ve done with the place,” called Dominique.
She stood on the highest of the hills, to Livvy’s left. Her feet spread in an easy stance and her arms crossed over her chest. An enormous raven perched on her shoulder. She has her spirit helper with her this time, thought Livvy. That can’t be good.
“Sort of minimalist with all the white,” said Dominique, reaching up to stroke the chest of the raven. “Myself, I prefer black.”
The gleaming bird cawed its appreciation.
“Leave my client out of this,” said Livvy.
“She can go,” said Dominique as though she were dismissing her. “Not that she’ll be able to find her way out without you.” Dominique stared at her. “And you’re not going anywhere.”
None of the options were good. Livvy might stand a chance of whisking the client away at top speed but she couldn’t leave Min behind.
“Let my friend take her,” Livvy called to her.
“Livvy, I’m not leaving you here,” said Min.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Dominique. “Your friend suffers the same fate as you.”
There would be no bargaining with her. She was in control and she knew it.
Livvy heard Kam above them and the screech of at least two more birds, but she didn’t dare look up. The shamans on the surrounding mounds began to shift their positions slightly.
“Wait for it,” growled Dominique, sweeping her gaze around the circle.
“Min,” said Livvy under her breath. “I need some separation between us. Make sure Claire doesn’t get in the way.”
Livvy thrust her hand to the sky. She felt Claire move away from her back.
“Don’t make me do this,” Livvy yelled, turning around to see all the shamans. There had to be a dozen. Some of them were already readying their attacks. Smoke rose from one, the redhead had her arm upraised for wind. “I don’t want to hurt anyone,” she tried again.
The clouds above were boiling furiously and a booming clap of thunder split the air, reverberating, and endlessly vibrating. Some of the shamans teetered in place and looked to Dominique.
“Column one,” yelled Dominique. “Now!”
As expected, wind poured down from the sky with almost a crushing blow as the ground beneath them began to rumble. She heard Claire scream but her words, if there were any, were quickly whipped away in the torrent of air blowing by. Her whirlwind would have met and held this wind in place but she had decided not to do that.
A quake began to convulse the ground beneath her, almost toppling her, but as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Livvy quickly regained her balance, her a
rm still upraised. She was going to have to do it. There was no other way.
“Lightning,” she yelled.
A searing arc of electricity flashed through the sky and landed on her hand, buzzing, crackling, and writhing as though it were alive. She raised her other arm and pointed it at the heavyset shaman who was creating the quakes.
Then the wind died.
“Livvy,” screamed Min. “Look out."
• • • • •
There was a loud knock on the door but SK didn’t answer. There was no doubt something had gone wrong.
Electricity danced in the wall sockets like a light show and both Min and Livvy were breathing harder. Their hearts were pounding and sweat was starting to trickle down the sides of Livvy’s face.
“SK?” came Matthew’s voice. “The lights are flickering out here.”
“It’s all right, Matthew,” called SK as he got up. “Normal part of the process.”
He stared hard at Livvy and Min, looking at their goggles and then the network box. He stepped around them and put his hands on the two plugs that led to their goggles. Heat from the electronics had warmed them up.
His mind turned back to a similar situation and he froze. The last time he’d unplugged goggles while they’d been in the Multiverse, Min had gone into a coma. Had severing the connection in the middle of a journey contributed to that?
He glanced up at Claire. Who knows what could happen to the client? Especially if Dominique was there.
There was another knock at the door. “SK, can I come in?”
SK removed his hand from the plugs. No, that was not the way to go. Whatever they were doing, they were going to have to finish.
“No, Matthew,” SK called. “Wait there. I’ll be out as soon as we’re done.”
He looked down at the network box and then Livvy and Min.
Let that be soon.
• • • • •
Livvy had been about to turn at Min’s scream when something thudded into her back and sent her flying forward. There was an intense heat between her shoulders. She was on fire. She ripped off the flaming coat and threw it aside. As she did, she reached her hand up again.
“Lightning,” she yelled.
Again the arc leapt down as she whirled toward the direction from which the fireball had come.
“Get down,” she screamed to Min.
Min dove on top of Claire and flattened them both to the ground as Livvy released the lightning. She aimed it squarely at the shaman who was preparing a second attack. It struck the new fireball in front of her, detonating it, and sending her flying off the top of the mound and out of sight.
Livvy swiveled toward the one who created quakes but a snarling sound from her left brought her attention around. She ducked just in time as an enormous wolf leaped over her.
“Column two,” yelled Dominique. “What happened to the quake?”
A thick smoke had drifted down into their depression and Livvy could hear Claire coughing.
The wolf disappeared into the smoke and she heard Min scream. Kam’s cry came from directly over Livvy’s head, and she glimpsed him sailing by and diving into the smoke.
“Get out of there,” Livvy yelled.
She reached up a hand to the sky. If they would use smoke and the redhead wouldn’t use wind, then she would. “Whirlwind,” she said.
Instantly a funnel descended from the mass of dark clouds over them. The sudden wind whipped her hair and tugged at her clothes but it was also having its desired effect. The smoke was sucked up into the rotating cone. Unfortunately, what it revealed was not what Livvy wanted to see.
Claire was on the ground and Min was struggling to her feet. Kam’s talons dug into the back of the wolf's neck, who swung his head from side to side, desperately trying to dislodge the owl. Kam wouldn’t let go though. The shaking of an earthquake was starting to rise and Min fell again but as Livvy looked for the source of the quakes, she realized some of the other shamans had fallen too. Ignore that one, she thought. She’s doing as much damage as good.
As Livvy whirled around to find Dominique, a sudden explosion burst around her, throwing her to the ground. The funnel of the whirlwind disappeared.
Dazed, her eyesight blurry, Livvy struggled to her feet.
What happened?
There was a ringing in her ears. She managed to turn toward the shamans closest to her. One of them had her mouth wide open and was taking a deep breath.
A sonic attack, thought Livvy, as a crushing blow to her side sent her skidding across the ground until she smashed into a nearby mound. A giant stag with an enormous rack of antlers backed away from her and lowered its head for another attack.
Livvy raised both arms, one to the sky, one at the deer. “Lightning,” she breathed, still on the ground.
The lightning lanced down, out through her hand, and landed with a crack between the deer’s eyes. Its head exploded. Flesh and skin vaporized as smoldering antler bits spewed out in every direction. The headless body collapsed.
Without pausing, Livvy rolled up onto her knees and turned around, the arc of lightning sailing around with her and across the shaman with the sonic attack. The woman ducked and dove out of the way, although Livvy knew some of the energy had managed to connect with her when the woman screamed.
“Column three,” she heard Dominique yell.
Three?
Was she going to have to keep fighting spirit helpers and shamans until they were all gone?
She glanced at Min’s location and saw chaos ruling there. Claire was still lying prone on the ground. Kam dove repeatedly on the spirit helpers who tried to approach Min, while she stood over Claire and fended off the wolf with roundhouse kicks.
Enough.
With electricity still arcing from her hand, she got to her feet and started to sweep the entire circle of hills. The earthquakes stilled and some of the spirit helpers in the center abruptly stopped their attacks. Shamans dove out of the way as the arc approached them. The prolonged lightning strike was draining her but she strode back to the center of the depression. Shamans and spirit helpers were starting to disappear from view. She was gaining the upper hand.
Then, with a giant whoosh, fire erupted everywhere.
No wonder the attackers had cleared out.
“Claire!” she heard Min scream.
Although Claire had been lying still, she was apparently not unconscious. Her unearthly scream of agony could have torn the Underworld in two.
Livvy thrust both hands above her. “Rain,” she screamed.
In moments, a torrent of water poured from the sky, turning into steam as it hit the fire.
“Oh water?” Dominique yelled.
Livvy wheeled to face her, breathing hard from the exertion. Raindrops were pelting every shaman and spirit helper in sight. Rivulets ran down Dominique’s face. Even so, Livvy could see the exultant look there.
Dominique launched the raven into the sky.
“Water is mine,” she yelled. She stretched out her hand into the rain and seemed to squeeze it in her fist.
“Snow,” she yelled.
Suddenly, the downpour turned into harmless flurries that floated through the air in the sudden silence.
“Ironic, isn’t it?” yelled Dominique, gloating. “A water shaman and a lightning shaman together.”
Livvy backed toward Min and Claire. She glanced behind her as Min stepped forward, over Claire’s body.
Oh no, why is she leaving Claire?
“You may have the help of a water baby,” Dominique called down to her. “But guess what? So do I.” She tightened both hands into fists and pushed outward as though she were shoving someone.
“Tidal wave,” she yelled.
Livvy backpedaled and then turned, running toward Claire.
“Claire!” she screamed.
Min grabbed her arm and yelled, “She’s gone!”
Gone?
“No!” Livvy screamed. “No! Let me go!”
> She tore herself away from Min. Claire couldn’t be gone! She had to save her.
A dark blue wall of water suddenly rounded the hill on which Dominique stood and barreled toward them. Its roar was deafening and Livvy had just enough time to see the fine mist that sprayed from the top of the curling wall before it slammed into them. She was only dimly aware of Min submerging with her as the water swept them backward and then down, crashing into the ground as the blow forced the air out of Livvy’s lungs. She tumbled amid the eddies and swirling waves with no sense of up or down. Finally, the wave threw her against the side of a hill and dissipated. She fell forward into the vacuum left behind by the receding wave. She landed hard on the wet ground.
She tried to get up but her muscles were slow to respond.
What happened to Min?
She felt weighed down by her waterlogged clothes.
“Really,” said Dominique from somewhere above. “I thought this would be harder. Kind of disappointing actually.”
Livvy finally raised her head just in time to see the black boot. It connected to the side of her face and she rolled with the blow onto her back, groaning with the pain.
“Come and get a closer look,” she heard Dominique say as another kick landed in her ribs, pushing her onto her side. “Liver the Lightning Shaman and her friend what’s-her-name. Come on, get a closer look.”
“Yes,” she heard Min mutter, next to her. “Come closer for a good look.”
Min? Where’s Claire?
Livvy couldn’t focus her eyes.
“Come on, you cowards,” Dominique yelled. “Don’t be afraid. Look at what we’ve done!”
“Min?” Livvy managed to say.
There was no response–only the dull sound of shuffling feet around her.
“A little closer,” she heard Min mutter.
Then there was a pause.
“Light!” Min yelled.
An agonizing whiteness filled Livvy’s eyes. Screams erupted from all around her. Livvy would have screamed as well, if she could have gotten any breath.
“Dominique!” someone screamed. “I can’t see!”
Olivia Lawson Techno-Shaman Books 1 -3 Page 45
