by Bryan Cohen
"Fancy meeting you two here." She winked. "Glad to see you're still alive."
Dhiraj seemed almost too woozy to stand. "Depends on your meaning of the word. You looked pretty good riding a bare-chested angel up there."
Jennifer grinned through the gunfire. "If things don't work out with Ted, looks like you might have your pick of the litter."
Natalie growled. "We're not talking about this right now. Let's get you two to safety."
As Jennifer helped Dhiraj to his feet, a well-placed missile flew through the air and slammed into the trio of rhinos. While the attack didn't harm them one bit, it did send the creatures flying into the water below. The SEALs pressed their advantage, resuming their attacks with guns. Without the rhinos aboard, and with the rest of the army occupied, Natalie could feel the chill of vulnerability go down her spine.
Dhiraj winced as he spoke. "What do we do now?"
Natalie reached into her pack and pulled out a grenade. "Backup plan." She pulled the pin and waited the requisite couple of seconds before tossing it expertly into the center of the SEALs. She hoped for a satisfying explosion, but the dark souls were ready. One of the attackers grabbed the explosive out of midair and dove into the sea with it. The weapon took him out with a massive blast on the way down, but the rest of his crew continued to press in.
Jennifer's eyes grew wide. "Is there a backup plan to the backup plan?"
Just as the SEALs were in range to kill, the entire team flew backwards as if they'd been blown by a gust of wind. The SEALs flailed their arms as they were pushed all the way into the water.
Natalie's eyebrows danced. "Yup. There's the backup to the backup." She watched as the living soul floated down onto the deck of the carrier. "And his name is Ted."
39
As Ted Finley landed on the deck of the last aircraft carrier in Earth's forces, he could feel everything happening at once during the massive battle. He sensed the dozen Navy SEALs he'd sent flying into the ocean. He could hear Natalie's thoughts as she mentally spouted the phrase, "It's about damn time." He could even picture the casings of the 50 bullets headed right for him from the aircraft above.
Ted lifted one hand and all the projectiles headed his way stopped in midair.
He grinned. "Gosh, I missed this."
As he extended his fingers, the bullets zipped backwards through the sky at twice their original speed. With their momentum doubled, the bullets had no problem penetrating the outside of the jets. Ted heard the satisfying explosion of several engines detonating at once. In his mind's eye, he could see two of the planes spinning wildly as they crashed through the ocean's surface.
Ted turned to his left and spied another wave of Navy SEALs, this one sporting flamethrowers as they walked toward him.
The heat resonated across the windy deck.
He watched the formation coming toward him. "Don't make a ‘you're fired’ joke."
With a snap of his fingers, half of the SEALs relinquished the control of their minds to him. The now-brainless dark souls turned their weapons toward their comrades. When the flamethrowers ignited once more, the latest band of evil SEALs had roasted each other. As his enemies screamed, he tore through the air and laid eyes upon an old friend.
He laughed as a tear came to his eyes. "Glad you're still in one piece, billionaire-in-the-making."
Dhiraj stretched out his arms and wrapped them around Ted. "I hope you're live-streaming this somewhere."
While still in the hug, Ted turned back toward the raging battle. He used his free hand to lift 10 rhinos out of the water and back onto the deck. They looked none too pleased at getting waterlogged, but they stood at attention, ready to protect the humans onboard.
Ted patted his friend on the back. "I think you guys will be safe up here."
He winked at Jennifer. "Good job getting my manager back. Thank you."
Jennifer grinned. "Oh, you wanted him too? I didn't realize."
Natalie cleared her throat. "Maybe we can finish this when the battle is over." She pointed off in the distance.
Ted followed her gaze to a warship that had arrived on the scene. Using his powers, he could see that the mermen below the boat had taken heavy fire.
"Right as always, Nat. I'll be back in a jiffy."
As he bent down to take off, Natalie rolled her eyes and sent a thought his way. "Nobody says ‘jiffy’ anymore."
Ted blasted through the air straight for the water battle. He reached a spot just beside Yoshi, who appeared to have sustained at least one gunshot wound in the fray. The merman he rode seemed even worse for the wear, a trail of blood trickling down his bare chest.
Yoshi's eyes cut into him like daggers. "They have cannons. My men can't take another hit."
Ted put out both of his hands in front of him. "Don't worry. I saw the movie Titanic six times."
Ted lifted himself higher into the air until he could get a view of the ship's midsection. He licked his lips as he opened his hands outward. As he made the motion, the General's largest warship began to snap in half. The air filled with the sound of tearing metal and breaking wood. The dark souls below screamed and began abandoning ship as the watercraft completed its full tear. The ship bobbed for a few moments before Ted used his powers to rip additional holes in each half. The ship sunk quickly and hundreds of dark souls entered the chilly waters of the Atlantic.
He smiled down at his handiwork. "I'll miss you guys shooting at us. But my heart will go on."
Ted descended back to Yoshi's side. The mermen cheered mightily as the last remnants of the ship went below the surface.
Even Yoshi seemed a bit impressed at the display. "Do you want me to capture the prisoners or kill them?"
He looked at several of his soldiers ready to strike with their spears. Something deep within him said to slice their throats. But that wasn't him talking; he knew it was the General. Ted cursed the heart of a killer his greatest enemy had left within him. He suppressed the feelings of blood lust, as well as the guilt.
"The fight's over. Round them up."
The merman under Yoshi looked at Ted. "And what if they resist?"
Ted placed two fingers to his temple and sent out a wave of his power. "They won't resist. I just turned them all into mindless zombies."
Ted ignored the look of awe from his dedicated warrior of the sea and flew high into the sky. He waited until every angel, merman, rhino, and other warrior could see him. He projected his words into the head of all his troops and friends.
"The battle is over, everyone. The first victory is ours."
A new wave of hoots and hollers shot through the crowded battlefield below.
"This is only the first step. The General has attacked all of our worlds. But together, we are stronger than he'll ever be. Patch up your wounded, collect your prisoners, and then let's celebrate."
Ted's army chanted his name below. The pride washed over him as he looked down at his battle-tested fighters.
I know they can win a battle. Let's see if they can win a war.
40
Erica could sense the buoyant mood in the room as she sat around a rickety table deep in the belly of their aircraft carrier. To keep their forces safe from attack, the entire army had traveled back through a massive portal. She was thankful that this time, Ted could be the one to create it. She looked around the room and felt joy with everyone's accomplishments. Dhiraj and Jennifer smiled at each other. He'd been the one to warn the world, and she was the one who brought him back. Yoshi looked positively giddy as he discussed the next steps with his head commander. The samurai had been the one who'd made a naval victory possible. Natalie had made sure his army fought for them. She bantered with Ted, who had ensured the victory would be complete. They'd all played their part in this important first step, but she knew there was a long way to go.
Erica spoke up. "Congratulations, everybody. We've done something rare and important. You should all be very proud of yourselves."
The room filled
with handshakes and back slaps. She thought it was a pity to bring negativity into the conversation.
She shuffled some papers on her desk. "But we're far from out of the woods yet. Multiple countries under dark soul control have nuclear weapons. At this point, there's not much we can do to stop them from using their arsenal against their own people."
That line of thinking was enough to turn the room dour in a moment's notice.
Ted leaned forward in his chair. "After all the work he's done to get Earth under his control, do you really think he'd do it?"
Erica looked into his hopeful eyes. "I hope not. But there's no way to say for sure."
Dhiraj shook his head. "I have a theory."
Natalie coughed her way into the conversation. "Save your money-making schemes for when the war is over."
"No, no. I mean, I always have some ideas for making money, but I think that while the General left some of his thoughts and feelings in Ted, it's bound to work the other way around. I don't think he'd ever pull the trigger."
Erica nodded. "I hope that's the case, but since we can't be sure, we have to eliminate the possibility."
Yoshi looked to his head commander and then to Erica. "What are you proposing?"
Erica licked her lips. "I say we give the General a little bit of his own medicine. Ted, I need you to give the dark soul leaders of the world a brand new attitude."
The living soul smirked. "I think that can be arranged. I'll work on picking out my team."
"Excellent. Yoshi and Natalie, I need you to keep the troops ready. We have no idea where we're going to have to use them next. I want them trained to work as one. Can you pull that off?"
Natalie and the samurai shared a glance. "I know we can. We've already got a few training exercises in mind."
Erica smiled. "Good. Dhiraj and Jen, you guys are going to see if you can get us communications with the remaining human settlements on Earth. We can't be in 50 places at once, but if they know what we're up to, they can all help out."
Dhiraj and Jennifer linked arms, and Erica's best friend smiled broadly. "I'll make sure he tones down his sales pitch a bit."
Erica stood up. "You have your assignments, everyone. I think we're well on our way to winning a war."
With the meeting adjourned, the heroes of Treasure left to talk with their families. All except Ted.
He walked over to Erica and sat down on the table beside her chair. "You make a good leader."
She raised an eyebrow. "You seem surprised."
He shook his head. "Nah. Seeing you and Natalie do incredible things doesn't surprise me anymore. I just wanted to apologize."
"Of course you did."
Ted linked his fingers together in his lap. "I could've put us at risk by going to find Riu. I know that now. I still think we should try to understand what he can do, but whatever you think is the best choice, from now on I will do it without question."
She put her hand on Ted's knee. "If that's the case, then I think you should ask Natalie on a date."
Ted's face went from pale to pink in a hurry. "That's not what I meant."
"Look, we're on top now, but we have no idea how the rest of this thing is going to go. I'm rooting for you two to win. Maybe even more so than the light souls."
Ted stuck out his tongue. "Ha ha. Very funny."
She stood up and made sure they were eye-to-eye. "I just want you to know that you have my full permission to pursue Natalie. That's all. Do whatever you want with that open door."
Ted let out a deep breath. "Okay. No promises, but okay."
She smiled, suppressing the teenage nervousness of watching your ex go away. "Keep me in the loop. I'll let you know when we're ready to start brainwashing some heads of state."
He laughed. "If only Redican could see me now. He'd be jealous."
With that Ted gave a nod and walked out the door.
Erica felt a calmness wash over her. Whatever wrongs she had been responsible for in the thousand-year war, this was her opportunity to right them. She was so lost in her thoughts of a new world that she didn't hear the little boy enter the room.
Riu crossed his arms in front of him. "I'd like to know why I wasn't at the meeting."
Erica looked down at him. "On your world, would a joke about not meeting the height requirement work?"
Riu did not seem amused. "It is my destiny to help you. But Mr. and Mrs. Finley just kept stuffing me with cookies. Ted only let me come to Earth because he said it was safe."
Erica grinned at the thought of some chocolate chips. "We're going to find a place for you, kid. I promise you that even if you're just eating sweets, you will play a part in this war."
Erica hadn't noticed it before, but she finally saw what Riu held in his hands. It was a book, but not just any book.
"You shouldn't be messing with that. There's a lot of power inside."
The boy nodded and opened to one of the powerful pages. "And I have a lot of power too."
Before she could stop him, Riu pressed his palm against the parchment. A strange sensation shot through Erica's body, and the protector felt herself being lifted up into the air. She felt a lightness as if she could blow away in a puff of smoke. As she looked down at the room, Erica realized that she was no longer in her body. It had been a long time since her soul had been pulled from a dying human and back to her adopted home, but the feeling was too familiar to forget. Panic shot through her airy projection as she met the eyes of the small boy standing beneath her. He looked directly into and through her. He knew exactly what he was doing.
Erica attempted to scream, but the floating spirit had no voice. At long last, Riu removed his hand from the book and shut it tight. Erica felt herself yanked back into her body, which promptly collapsed on the ground.
When she came to, the little boy stood above her with a triumphant look on his face. Erica wasted no time in yanking the book from his hands.
"What did you just do?"
Riu grinned. "What I was meant to do."
Erica wanted to be angry, but the desire to win was just too strong to let anger take precedence. "You used the power of the book to send me back toward my real body. Didn't you?"
Riu nodded.
"And you're saying that if you can harass power like this, you could do it with anyone who isn't in their true form? Like the dark souls? Like the General?"
Riu nodded again. "That's what I've been trying to tell you."
Erica could hardly believe the magic she'd seen displayed, and the possibilities it opened up for not just winning the war, but for ridding Earth of any unwelcome inhabitants.
She extended her hand to the boy. "Are you ready to fulfill your destiny?"
The boy took her hand and squeezed. "I always have been."
Erica filled her lungs with hopeful air. "Good. Then let's win this war without firing another shot."
Epilogue
Jennifer Norris woke up quietly beside Dhiraj in bed. He'd snuck in there after his parents were asleep, but her boyfriend was too exhausted from the previous month to do anything other than crash. She gently removed herself from the sheets and stepped down onto the cold floor. Even with thousands of soldiers in the aircraft carrier, it wasn't hard to find an empty room. Earlier that day, she'd taken a small tablet and logged it onto a private network she'd set up herself. She waited to make the call until she knew for sure the coast was clear.
The video screen lit up, and Jennifer could see the familiar walls of the White House behind a presidential secretary.
The woman smiled. "Miss Norris. He's expecting your call. It really is amazing you have such great reception at sea."
Jennifer nodded. "I don't know how much time I have so…"
"Of course."
She didn't have to wait long before she saw the General's face on the screen. He seemed sleepy but grateful to look upon her face. "Miss Norris. How are your accommodations?"
Her forehead wrinkled. "Do you want me to answer honestly?"
The General laughed. "I suppose after all the lying, a little bit of honesty might feel good for you. What's your status report?"
Jennifer felt the purpose of working for the most important cause in the universe. "The army is back in the Realm of Souls. The light souls have a few ongoing missions I can tell you about in detail. But, there are definitely a few vulnerabilities I'm happy to exploit for you, General."
"Very good. Very good. How fortunate I am to have kept a few human Secret Servicemen around. Who knew that a lucky accident could have such a major impact?"
Jennifer thought back in the life of her previous inhabitant. She could see the fateful day when Nigel and the other dark souls had taken over her school. She was moments away from being strangled to death by a massive Russian with the symbol of the dark souls tattooed on her arm. While she had survived the encounter, there was something the original Jennifer hadn't considered. Removing the symbol with a laser tattoo process wasn't enough to remove the magic. When the body of Jennifer Norris died, a dark soul took her place.
She looked at the screen. "I'm just happy to serve. Do you want me to engage? It would be easy to kill the Indian right now."
The General smiled and shook his head. "All in due time. All in due time. Slowly but surely we'll weaken them enough. With your help, we'll put ourselves in exactly the right position to strike.
Jennifer smiled at the thought of being such an important cog in his machine. "And then what?"
The General's eyes glowed. "And when they least expect it, you'll kill them all."
Co-Authors’ Note
For some of you, this has been a long time coming. It's been over two years since the original book five in this series came out. For the few, the proud, the awesome readers who've been ridiculously patient in waiting for the continuation of Ted's saga, we thank you. But now, after all that time, there's only one book left before we finally see if Ted and the gang can finish what they started.
