"None have entered your camps?”
"Communities," Senil said, correcting me gently.
“Right…communities. The shifters don't join your communities?”
"They've always lived separately from us and the humans."
“I never met one in Crescent City."
Senil smiled. "At least, you think you never met one."
"Right.”
We were moving at about twenty-five miles an hour, slow enough to take in the view but too fast to capture any details from the darkness below. The city spread all around us—there were no skyscrapers, didn't appear to be anything over ten stories, but it expanded for as far as I could see in the moonlight. "This city was huge."
"Yes. Millions lived here.”
"How many are left?"
"Out of the twelve million that lived here when the outbreak began, there are about one and a half million left.”
Only ten percent survived. It was incomprehensible. The resolve to get back to Suki's world and then on to Crescent City grew in me as I looked at the devastation below. This needed to stop.
We lowered toward the ground, landing in front of what looked like a grand old library. A Latin phrase was carved above the entrance.
"I am ready," Senil translated for me as she led the way up the wide stairs.
A man wearing gray slacks and a white button-down shirt with an argyle green sweater over it opened one of the large double doors. Glasses slipped down his long nose.
"Hello," he greeted us, coming down the steps. "It is wonderful to meet you, Darling. I am so pleased you are here. My name is Ratulna.” He clasped my hand with both of his, shaking vigorously, smiling and blushing.
I kept my energy contained and didn't look directly into his eye. The magic swirling in his aura circled me, testing my defenses.
Ratulna led us into the building and through a large room with an abundance of marble. A few wall sconces made of sand-blasted glass gave off soft light.
Large wooden doors opened into a library, where several men and woman waited by a table, looking very eager to meet me. A woman wearing a blouse with a rounded collar, knee-length skirt, and black sneakers hurried forward to clasp my hand. "It's an honor," she said. "We are so happy to have you here."
"Thank you," I said, pulling free from her. "I'm sorry I'm at a disadvantage. You seem to know who I am, but your name…"
She blushed bright red from her pointed chin right to her brown hair, styled in a short bob. “Penny," she said. "Penny Monahave. We've been waiting for you for so long.”
"So long?" I asked.
"Yes, when we first met Senil—"
"Enough, Penny." Senil’s influence fell over the woman like a cloak. Penny choked on her words and stumbled away from me. "Darling," Senil purred, taking my arm, her energy curling around me. Everything is fine, it pressed upon me. “Come meet the rest of the team. Jacko." A tall man, his hair greasy and eyes dark, nodded at me. "Abraham." The youngest of the group, wearing a tweed jacket and T-shirt with dark jeans smiled at me and gave a little self-conscious wave.
I nodded back, offering a small smile. "And Charity," Senil concluded. A tall, composed woman wearing a black turtleneck and gray slacks smiled at me.
Power radiated around her—only Ratulna had a stronger energy.
"We are here to help," she said. "I've traveled through dimensions before, so I have the most experience."
"Yes," Ratulna said. "Charity has been integral to our project."
"And what is your project?" I asked.
Charity's lips tightened. "We are trying to learn as much as we can about the other dimensions. To find out what is going on with this plague in other worlds. And ultimately how to stop it."
Senil laughed. "And that is where we differ, you see. Darling, I'm sure you agree that it cannot be stopped. It is fate. The way the worlds are meant to be."
"I'm not sure about that," I said.
The satin smooth finish of Senil’s aura chilled against my skin. “That is what your mother believed. After all,” she smiled, "your kind brought the zombies.”
“That's what some people believe,” I said, hardening my influence against hers. A silent, almost invisible battle had begun between us.
Senil snorted. "Some people," she said. "Your people." Her eyes glittered.
"I'm the only me, and I don't think this is fate. I think it can be stopped."
Senil's aura raged, filling the room and crackling in the air. “Stopped?" Her voice echoed.
"Yes, stopped!" Charity stepped forward, only to be blown back by a burst of energy from Senil, flinging the witch across the room. Charity smashed into a bookshelf, landing in a crouch.
Well, that escalated quickly.
Charity’s eyes radiated yellow. A shifter. She began to chant. Senil grabbed my arm, dragging me toward the exit. The others in the room joined Charity, their voices rising together, energies merging, clouding around them.
The beauty of it mesmerized me—like a storm hovering at the horizon, swirling clouds and bursts of lightning.
Senil blew open the doors and stalked toward the exit, carrying me on a cloud of her influence. They followed, their combined energies coming with them. Senil turned on them. "You're trying to fight me?" she screamed. "I have been alive for millennia. I will kill you all."
Their energy surrounded her, and she blurred to Ratulna. A spurt of blood erupted from his neck. Senil was already on Penny by the time the spray of blood hit the floor. "Stop!" I yelled.
But I didn't just yell it—I made it happen.
The room froze, the smoky, ethereal clouds of energy paused in their ever-shifting movement. Senil held Penny by the hair, forcing the witch’s head back, fangs millimeters from the woman’s flesh.
Charity focused on Senil, her hand out, a spark of magic blooming from her palm. Ratulna’s hands held his neck, blood spurting from between his fingers—held in mid-air by me.
Abraham and Jacko stood together, their mouths open, voices stalled in their incantations.
The force holding them all came from that diamond-hard red center of me. I had total control.
I stopped the world.
Or at least these players in it.
Now what?
I needed to ask some questions.
Could I release just one of them?
"Charity," I said. She didn't move. I crossed the room and touched her shoulder. Nothing happened. My power cloaked the room. I needed to figure out how to aim it; right now it was a blast, and I needed to refine it.
I focused on Senil. Holding her body with my thoughts, keeping her mind locked, I uncurled her fingers from Penny’s hair. She fought me, lashing out with her own powerful core. I’m stronger.
I moved her away from Penny—floating her frozen form across the room. The others stirred, like they were coming out of a deep sleep. Sweat broke out on my spine as I held Senil.
"Charity," I said again, not turning to look at her—keeping all my focus on Senil.
“Yes,” she answered.
“What should I do with her?”
“What are you doing with her now?”
I almost laughed, and Senil’s eyes moved, finding mine. The rage in them sent a chill down my spine, but I kept my grip on her.
She could tear the doors off the hinges, rip through walls, but not break free of me. How long could I hold her, though? "Is there a safe place to put her while we talk?"
"There is a cell in the basement."
"Meant for her kind?"
“Yes," Charity said. "Follow me."
I reached out a hand. "Lead me," I said. “I don’t want to take my eyes off her.”
Charity took my hand. Keeping Senil in front of me, I turned. Charity led us to a bookshelf and pulled out a volume. The shelf swung open on creaking hinges, revealing darkened steps. Nifty.
Charity let go of my hand and stepped into the darkness, flicking on a light. She waved me forward. I moved Senil to follow Charity
. The vampire looked tiny, even in the cramped space of the stairwell.
The steps led to a long hall with a dirt floor and low ceiling. Charity opened a thick metal door with a slot in it. I moved Senil in and Charity closed the door, pushing several deadbolts into place. I dropped Senil and stumbled, the release of the energy knocking me off balance—like I’d been standing on three legs and now only had two.
Senil’s fingers curled out of the opening in a flash, her eyes sparkling with rage, her aura sputtering against the metal door. "How dare you," she hissed.
“You can’t just go around killing people." I should work for a greeting card company.
"You have no idea," she screamed, her eyes widening. "These witches and warlocks are not your friends."
"I don't have any friends here," I said. "But I need some explanations."
Senil laughed and stepped away from the opening. “You’ll all die,” she promised.
Charity’s hands shook, and she balled them into fists, turning her back on Senil to head upstairs.
In the library, Penny crouched over Ratulna, tears streaked her face. She held her sweater against his neck, trying to staunch the blood. But his life force was gone. Jacko and Abraham stood over her, both pale. Grief wafted off them—the soft green of moss, it weakened them, dulling their powers.
“I’m sorry," I said.
"I knew we never should have trusted her," Charity said, her voice hard as she looked down at her fallen friend. Her grief mixed with anger and pulsed in ochre waves. "We brought you here,” she said, her voice quiet. “Senil asked us to cast a spell. We've been working on bringing you here for years. It wasn't until you were loose in the emptiness, when Suki threw you out of her world, that we were able to pull you through."
"You know Suki."
"Yes."
"You're her ally?"
"No.” She shook her head, still staring down at her fallen friend. “We are trying to end this. Suki, like Senil, is trying to keep it going."
"How do you think we stop it?" I asked.
She brought her eyes to meet mine—they were red rimmed, but no tears fell. “We don't know, but you're the key."
"But then why did Senil want me here?"
"She wants your life force," Penny said, her voice choked with tears. "She wanted us to help her take it. We agreed to bring you here and said that if you thought this could not be stopped, we'd work with her to bring life to her people."
"Bring life?"
"She wanted all of them to know the power you possessed. She can sing, you know?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Jacko answered, his voice gruff. "That's what your mother gave her, the ability to feel, to make art, music."
"She wants that for all her brood," Charity explained.
"Okay, well, I want to save the universe."
Charity smiled. "Good. How?"
And the gold star goes to…
“I’m not sure. But I need to get back to Suki's world. She's stopping me, and my friends are there."
"I don't understand," Charity said. "What do your friends have to do with saving the universe?"
"I need them.” Duh.
"For what? A spell?" Penny asked.
"No, because...I am going to go back to Crescent City. There are warlocks there who know more about me. And Suki told me I needed to find the seventh daughter of the seventh son, the shifter who does not shift." I shook my head. "I can't remember the rest."
"Okay," Charity said. "So why do you need to get your friends? Why not go straight to Crescent City?"
"I need them. I can't do it alone."
Charity and Penny looked at each other. "Why not?" Charity asked.
"I'm not strong enough."
"What are they, your friends?" Penny asked, her voice filled with awe.
"Vampires."
"But you are stronger than the strongest vampire."
"Only if I'm well fed. Just—" I shook my head. "I need to get them." Charity’s eyes narrowed, examining me. I dropped my gaze—a pool of blood spread from Ratulna.
Was going back to Suki's world a detour?
Crap.
Should I return to Crescent City now and do everything I could to save that world and others like it?
But I needed Megan. Didn’t I? Yes.
In the way that I needed air, or sex, or anything else. I couldn't just leave her there, in the hands of Suki, with no way of knowing her fate.
And how many times had Dimitri saved me? Where would I be without him? How could I just leave him in a hostile world, when the only reason he'd gone there was to serve me?
I missed Emmanuel. I missed him in my bones and in my heart and in every cell in my body.
I didn't care what it cost the universe for me to go back. I just knew what it would cost me not to—and I wasn't willing to pay.
"I'll go with you," Charity said. "I'll help you get through Suki's defenses."
"No!" Penny grabbed the other woman's hand. "It's too dangerous."
"This is more important," Charity said, pulling free from Penny. "Come with me. We shouldn't waste any time."
That’s how you put your feelings aside for the greater good.
I’m an a-hole.
Charity glanced down at Ratulna once more and then swallowed, nodding her head, as if making up her mind about something. She crossed the library, stopping in front of a shelf. Charity mumbled a few words under her breath and the bookshelf moved to the side, revealing a hidden room. Well, this place was just full of neat tricks.
The black floor was marked with chalk. It reminded me of Suki's barn. Candles, the same mix of sizes, shapes, and colors I'd seen in Suki's world, burned steadily, undisturbed by any breeze. Charity moved to the center of the space and turned to me, reaching out for my hands. We twined our fingers. Hold on tight, folks.
Using a big piece of chalk, Penny began to draw a circle around us. "I'll fight Suki so you can pass through," Charity said.
"Are you as strong as her?"
"No," Charity answered. "But I can distract her."
"Will you be with me? I mean, will you come through?" Are you going to die?
"Hopefully."
I am a selfish a-hole. "Where will we...land?" I asked.
"This portal is about a mile from her camp.” I glanced at the floor again, noticing small grooves in the blackness. Must be an inter-dimensional portal.
"Emmanuel will know I’m back," I said, guessing that he'd feel me.
"Emmanuel is there?" Charity asked, her face paling.
"Yes."
"He won't let you end the zombies."
"What makes you say that?"
"Why would he?" She shook her head. "It is his purpose."
"You don't know him," I said. "You think because you've read some book about him that you understand who he is and what he wants. But you don't." My aura whipped like an angry dog’s tail.
“Okay.” She dropped her gaze. I’m an a-hole AND a bully. Watch out universe, you’re about to get saved.
Penny finished drawing at our feet and stepped back. Jacko and Abraham stood with her, the candlelight casting a warm yellow illumination over them.
What course of events brought them into this room with me? They didn't look like fighters—they looked like librarians—and yet they were risking everything to help me. To try to stop this plague. Their path didn’t matter, only the destination…
Charity squeezed my hands. “Ready?"
I looked into her eyes for just a moment. “Ready."
I drew my energy into a point. Charity’s aura joined with mine. She whispered an incantation under her breath. The air in the room twisted.
I found an opening to the vacuum and, remaining calm, began to let go of this physical world. I felt Charity's hands, the touch of her skin, and then it was just the idea of her. Our energies, combining, swirling, following that spinning point into the void.
Weightless, meaningless, without form,
I felt for Emmanuel, for Suki's world, for Megan's influence, for Dimitri's power.
I moved toward it, feeling my body begin to form again. Charity's energy stayed with me.
We were one and the same, not just with each other, but with the entire universe. As our physical selves began to materialize, to whirl back into being, I felt Suki's anger, hot and yellow, firing at us.
Charity’s voice came from everywhere and nowhere, casting a spell and forming a force field around us. I threw my own influence behind Charity’s spell, and Suki's strike bounced off us.
We became forms again, our hands gripping each other, the sky dark and moonless above us, the forest bending and swaying in a powerful wind.
Charity’s skin shone subtly in the darkness. Blood glistened at the edge of her eyes and nose.
"Are you all right?"
"We have to move," she said. "Find your friends and get out of here."
"Go back," I told her. "Help your friends. I'll be fine."
She shook her head. "I couldn't even if I wanted to. I need time to rest." She brought a hand up and wiped at her nose, smearing the blood.
The forest stirred, the ground trembling and leaves rattling on their branches. "What's going on?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," Charity answered.
The ground shook harder. Leaves fell in slow arches to the throbbing soil.
A sound rose…a clattering. Charity's face drained of color. "Doesn't that sound like…" She paused and swallowed, the words seemingly stuck in her throat.
"What?"
"Bones. Doesn't that sound like bones?"
I remembered the zombies who chased me—the bones of their feet clacking against the pavement. This new sound was related. But this wasn't bone against cement...it was bone against bone. A lot of bones.
A deer burst through the vegetation, fleeing from the sound, streaking past us. Squirrels skittered in the trees above us, running in the same direction as the deer.
Our gazes met—fear mirrored.
We ran. The eerie, massive presence followed.
Charity tripped in front of me, splaying onto the ground, leaves puffing up around her.
I stooped and grabbed her biceps. She looked over her shoulder in the direction of the sound. "My God," she whispered, her body going stiff.
I turned. The horizon was bleached white and blurred by the shaking world. I squinted, trying to hold the image, to put it together into something understandable.
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