by A L Hart
“Except dark elves,” Jera noted, looking over the screen.
Inoli’s mouth hardened for a moment before smoothing out into something more amicable. “This is correct. Dark elves such as myself are able to open the gateway dividing our worlds, and it is for this very reason that I have called the four of you here. As you know, dark energy has been pouring into the human world because of cracks in the Shatters’ gateway. Cracks caused by the immortals who fled their world all those centuries ago.”
“The infections are caused by these cracks?” Jai said, breathless.
Jera’s lips curved in a sinnister, taunting smile. “That’s right, HB believed the hybrids that have been showing up were brought on by interspecies breeding. How does it feel to know you killed innocents humans who were involuntarily infected?”
“Just fine,” Jai snapped. “If the dark energy truly is an airborne disease, the elimination of the infected humans was but a means to contain its spread.”
I found myself stepping forward at this. “Except for the fact that I can cure their infection. Any humans you killed, I could have saved them.”
“Oh, and how was I or any of HB’s agents to know this?”
“You never asked!” I growled. “You shot first and questioned never.”
Dark eyes held mine. “We still eliminated the spread. I protected the majority by ridding of the few.”
“If that helps you sleep at night.”
“Like a baby.”
“That’s enough,” Inoli intercepted, gathering our attention back. “Who did what is of no consequence in the face of what needs to be done now. These cracks in the gateway, they must be patched, which can only be done from the Shatters.”
I knew where this was going now, why it was she’d called us here.
“You four must go and patch them.”
Jera laughed. “You must be joking. I endured a plane ride simply to hear a joke.”
I shook my head in disbelief.
Graves continued to window-watch.
Jai lurched to her feet. “With. Pleasure. Where do I sign?”
“Are you crazy?” I found myself asking, only to realize the answer to that was likely yes. If what Inoli said about that world was true, then entering it was a promised death sentence. Jera and Lia may have come from that mysterious realm and they may have managed to survive, but something told me that even with a fraction of the Maker’s gift, I wouldn’t stand a chance.
Especially if the monsters there were anything like the one currently staring out the window, who’d snapped my wing without batting a lash.
Inoli cleared her throat and waited for us all to resettle. When we did, she clicked over to the next slide.
I glanced away at what I saw.
Bloated, maggot consumed corpses. There were two of them. A woman on the couch, a toddler no more than two strapped in a carrier. Both their stomachs were ruptured, and the stuff that foamed from the apertures . . .
“Look at it, Peter,” Inoli said softly. “Look.”
My brows creased. “Why are you showing us stuff like this?”
“Look.”
My head snapped up by invisible hands, my eyes trained forwards, eyelids refusing to close no matter how hard I pressed. The picture flicked away from the mother and child to one of a hospital. A row of gurneys were lined up in one ward and on top of each was a corpse, its body decayed and defected in such a grotesque way, I felt myself tremble.
“The police and HB have been doing a great job of hiding these cases from the public, but now the bodies are piling up,” Inoli said with a gentleness that must have been meant to calm me. “This is what happens to humans who are infected with dark energy and go untreated. There are hundreds of thousands of them reporting every year. Can you heal them all, Peter? Isn’t that what you do? Those who go to your coffee shop, you help heal them, but what are five or six lives saved when thousands more die?”
My stomach contents curdled, my bowels threatening to go watery. I thought of Kyda and Walsh, of Ethan and Dave. I’d only saved two of those four humans. But I’d been making a difference, hadn’t I? One life was worth that of the world.
“It isn’t Peter’s job to save this pathetic world,” Jera stepped in. Was she defending me or just stating an opinion?
It didn’t matter. I felt myself gain control of my body once more, and once again I turned from the screen.
Jai spoke then. “These cases, hundreds of thousands you claim, have never been reported to HB. I’d have known about them.”
“Would you?” Inoli asked, those silver refractive eyes boring into the medic. “There are some things your overheads would not dare disclose to the daughter of a captain, a woman whose sole purpose is to protect the human race at any cost.”
“How would revealing a pandemic this massive not sway me to want to protect the humans from this fate? If anything, I would have applied myself to a solution day and night.”
“Ah, and that’s the thing. You may have committed unspeakable deeds, Kyoungja, but even your father knows you have a limit. A line you will not cross. Were he to tell you of the true extent of these dark energy infections, you would have dug deeper. Until you found something you were not meant to find.”
“Such as what?” she demanded.
“The truth: there is no way for a human to heal dark energy. HB’s staff, such as yourself, were informed of these infections all of five years ago, but they’ve been occurring much longer than that. Studies and experiments have been conducted for centuries beneath the bureaucracies’ most trusted individuals and there has yet to be a cure—because this is above human capabilities. It’s above immortal capabilities. Dark energy is an erratic, powerful substance and Peter here is the only being left who can control it. Seeing as he cannot control the substance on a global scale, the only option remaining is to patch up the cracks.”
She took a moment to think it over, then, “I suppose I can see how this will help stop more infections, but what about those already infected? Is your solution to let them die?” she asked.
Inoli sat back. “I’ve not found a means to help them as of yet.”
“But what’s a few human deaths to you?” Jera challenged, throwing the medic’s logic back at her.
Jai ignored her, asking the elf, “Why does it have to be the four of us?”
“The thing about the Shatters,” Inoli said, then paused, thinking.
“Some might say the world itself has a consciousness,” Jera offered for her. “A sentient, intelligent presence designed to inflict misery and work against all lifeforms within it. When the first immortals escaped to Earth, the Shatters ensured they paid a steep price for escaping its clutches and living amongst the humans. If we are to enter the immortal world and attempt to patch up the cracks in the gateway, all forces of nature will work against that goal. However, dark elf, the human medic is right, why must it be us four to go on a death mission?”
Confirmed by the demon herself, it was a death mission.
Inoli came to her feet then. “Because each of you have something only you can offer. The Shatters is filled with deadly monsters whose perilous inhibitions increases the deeper you travel into that world. It takes a monster to kill a monster. That’s where Graves comes in.”
The man remained a motionless figure in the backdrop.
“Then there’s the matter of the world’s intelligence, just as Jera said. But this quality is not restricted to the world alone. The creatures inhabiting it are as cunning as they are dangerous. Some are cruel, merciless and strategic predators. This is where Jai comes in.”
The medic’s mouth dropped open. She sat back, crossed her arms and let out a low chuckle. “Of all the times I’ve imagined my brilliance to be dutifully recognized, never did I predict it’d be like this.”
Inoli’s face took on what may have been a smile or a grimace before continuing. “Yes. Moving on. Because the world is constantly changing, its laws and the creatures who loosely
abide by them are unpredictable, you will need someone who has learned the world for centuries. One who’s traveled each and every sector, examined every crevice. One who has as many allies as they do enemies. Jera.”
Jera? Allies?
“Allow me to be clear,” Inoli said. “Back when the succubus Ophelia reigned as Queen of the Succubi, she was very much loved and adored in that world. Her daughter race would follow her to the end of the realm should she ask it of them. However, she left them in her search for the Maker. But not without promising her return.”
I frowned. Had Lia always planned to return to her world, and if so, what was she waiting on? She couldn’t be waiting on me to heal her seeing as she’d rejected my going anywhere near her dark energy since her capture. Even then, there were only a few who could open the gateway dividing our worlds, so who’d opened it for Jera and Lia the first time? Who did Lia expect to open it when she returned to her people—or had she lied?
Unlikely.
“How do you know all this?” I marvelled.
“Like I said in my letter, dark elves have the gift of foresight. All which is of the past, I witnessed when it was a probable future.”
How ancient was this woman?
“In case your glassy eyes haven’t noticed, I’m not my sister,” Jera remarked drily. “And if your foresight is as accurate and sharp as you portray it to be, then you’d know my race hates me. Would hunt me down if they knew of my return.”
Why did they hate her? Not that she made it particularly hard . . .
“I am aware of the fact,” Inoli assured, walking around her desk to sit at its edge. “Which is why you must play the role exquisitely as Queen of the Succubi. Your sister.”
“They will see right through the gimmick. Lia was mated to the Maker and left the Shatters strictly to find him.”
“What?” Surprise didn’t begin to explain that. “She was mated to the Maker?” Was that why she’d been sick? “I thought . . . I thought succubi in the Shatters didn’t suffer from bonding unless they crossed the gateway?”
“Does not mean we do not mate, or marry as you humans call it,” Jera clarified. “My sister was his mate, he hers. As such, this made him king to the incubi.”
“But isn’t—wasn’t—” I was losing track of tenses. “Wasn’t he this all-powerful immortal? Wouldn’t that make him king of, I don’t know, all of the Shatters?”
Jera’s gaze darkened. “Not many knew the extent of the Maker’s power. He was but an odd immortal with no official title; no other race was similar to him. He was accepted through his mating with Lia alone.”
I struggled to decide if his decision was more humble or wise. There was a dark, deadly side to having immense power. The Maker must have known that and wanted to keep it hidden. Still, Lia and the Maker, mated?
I guessed it made sense in some way, why it was Lia always spoke so fondly of the man.
“Nevertheless, Jera,” Inoli steered. “It is your sister’s mating to the Maker which will make the story that much easier to sell. Peter resembles the Maker and even has some of his remarkable gifts.”
Jera tsked. “You expect me to impersonate my sister and Peter to impersonate the Maker? You want us to play King and Queen in that forsaken purgatory of a world?”
“As I said, you will need allies to stay alive. You know this better than anyone given the lengths you and Ophelia went to come to Earth.”
Jerking her eyes to me, then back to Inoli, Jera protested, “This male is not made for that world. His livelihood will end before it begins.”
“Which is why the three of you will be there to ensure it doesn’t happen.”
“Well, I for one would love to add visiting another world to my vacation list,” Jai said, removing the tension.
“You only want to study the creatures there to better understand how to dismantle the immortals here,” Jera quipped.
“Blasphemous!” The medic feigned hurt. “I would never.”
“The circumstance is what it is. You said so yourself, Jera, the succubi will not welcome you back to their world unless you wear the guise as your sister, and Peter’s world is your home now. Would you see it end?”
Jera’s fists clenched. “Why not call on my sister? It would make it all much easier.”
There was a moment of hesitation before the dark elf looked away and said simply, “You are bonded with Peter. Were he and Ophelia to enter alone, it would be only a matter of time before you met your end.”
Jera bristled, leaning back against the bookshelf.
So there it was, in a nutshell. If Jera and I didn’t go, humanity would perish.
I’d thought I was doing something in my shop, making a substantial difference, but thousands were dying daily.
Before, I’d hoped someone else would fix the patches. But apparently, the four of us were the only ones suited for the job.
I straightened, sucking in a deep breath at the stab in my wing’s tendon. Still, I kept my head high as I said, “I’ll do—”
“Tell him, Inoli,” Graves interrupted.
The dark elf looked to the man, arms crossing, blue gown ruffling.
“Tell me what?” I looked between the two of them. What more could there possibly be?
Inoli sighed and dropped back into her seat. “There is one prerequisite to all humans who enters into the Shatters.”
When Jera’s gaze dropped to the floor, my stomach clenched. Was it that bad?
“What is it?” I asked with a nervous laugh. “I don’t have to kill anyone, do I?” When silence ensued, my eyes widened. “Do I?”
Inoli cleared her throat. “A pixie, to be exact. One that is pure of heart. You must crush it in the palm of your hand.”
“A pixie?” My mind was racing. “Like tinkerbell?”
When they all appeared confused, Jai explained, “He’s referencing an animated character. But yes, Peter, like tinkerbell. It’s actually surprisingly easy. They have tiny bones.”
No surprise the HB medic had done this before. Likely multiple times. For fun.
I shook my head. “W-why? What purpose does it serve?”
Inoli’s shoulder lifted in a shrug, a bizarre and mundane gesture that had me reeling further. “Who knows why humans once attempted to enter our world? All that we know is their hearts must first have been stained with that of sheer innocence filled with magic, something in which pixies are notorious for.” At my expression, she said sadly, “I did not lie when I said the world is a sadistic one with a cruel design. None who enters or leaves are what they were before. Taking the life of one pixie is but one trial you will face upon passing through the gateway.”
“Then . . . then I don’t think I can. No, I won’t.” Especially not if pixies were anything like Tinkerbell. Basically little faeries. Little people with wings and magic.
Inoli sighed. “Peter—”
“No, I don’t know what’s wrong with all of you, but you can count me out of your messed up schemes. I only came here for that one,” I stabbed a finger at Jera. “And so far, I regret all of it. Find someone else to send through this magical, evil passage and play King, because it won’t be me.”
I turned and threw the door open then, braced for the elf’s invisible hands to reach into me or Jera’s command through the bond to stop me, but when neither made a move, I left, cradling my broken wing to my side as a reminder that they were all lunatics.
Kill a pixie.
Go to another world.
Play king.
It was one thing to help those who straggled into my shop, but playing some twisted game with a sentient world? No, especially not if killing a pixie was just the beginning of the horrors.
It was like I said before.
They picked the wrong man to play hero.
Ch. 12
“Peter’s endearing sentiments aside, it’s of no concern to me what happens to the humans or the immortals,” Jera said. “So long as he’s alive, that’s all I need to concern my
self with.”
“And how long might that last, Jera?” The dark elf’s silver mirrors glinted in ire, the balls dangled from her ears letting off a faint limn. “How long before the dark energy inside of him destroys him?”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I must. Saving the human’s world, however, has nothing to do with his longevity. Therefore, if he does not wish to go on this mission of yours, I haven’t the need to talk him into it. And seeing as you cannot help me break this bond, I truly—”
“Why lie to him?” Inoli interrupted.
Jera frowned. “Lie?”
“Why lie and pretend you wish for your bond to be broken when this is all you’ve ever wanted in life?”
“Why lie and pretend the only reason you wish for us to heal the gateway is to protect this world?” Jera challenged. “Why not tell Peter of Yuren . . . or Oben?”
The desk chair swiveled with the speed of which Inoli crossed to the succubus. Nose inches apart, Inoli warned, “You do not speak names you do not understand.”
“And you do not speak of business you do not understand,” Jera snarled before stalking from the study.
Jai watched as the demon departed. She and that human hybrid, they were both irrationally emotional, weren’t they?
Meanwhile, she was still wrangling with all the information she’d just ingested, trying to discern truth from lie, but so far everything the dark elf had said made perfect sense. HB’s logistics behind immortals had always been solid, but even beehives had holes in them, and this, it filled them all. Why the labs’ texts contained missing information and mere postulations, why certain immortals were vulnerable to various things beyond an untraceable science.
She felt as though she was sitting in an archive written by the creator of the universe, all truths right here at her disposal. To be offered the chance to enter into a perilous world where even more unexplored truths lay buried beneath millenniums of turmoil? How had Peter passed up such a golden opportunity?
“When do we leave?” she asked the dark elf. She’d been mesmerized by the creature’s presence before, studying the way it moved, trying to place its mother tongue, only to find out the elf likely had no mother tongue known to human history.
