by Charley Case
Mila smiled. Finally, something she could work with. “We have a plan. And I never said I would fight him alone.”
Missy snorted with derision. “What, these losers? You like watching your friends turned into monsters intent on ripping your throat out? How about it, big guy?” she asked Finn, tilting her head back so she could look up at him. “You want to rip your girlfriend’s pretty little throat out? Yeah…I didn’t think so.”
“Azoth won’t turn anyone against me,” Mila responded with more confidence than she felt. “We have a way to destroy his body. This is a plan that started back in the first battle with him. It will work.”
“Destroy his body?” she cackled with laughter at the idea. “He’s a Drude. He’ll grow it back. You would have to destroy the body to nothing but pure energy. If even one speck remains he’ll return, and we’ll be in the same position we always are. You could drop him into the heart of Earth’s great engines and he would still walk back out eventually.”
“That only happens if he has infernal magic stored away to power the regrowth. We plan on taking care of that,” Mila explained, not wanting to get too far into the details just in case.
“He’s fully awake now, with his powers replenished. Every day, he grows beyond what we fought all those years ago, and that took twenty Valkyries working together to put him to sleep. You don’t stand a chance. You cannot win. My only option is to trust that he will keep his word and take me away from this forsaken excuse for a ship.”
Missy folded her arms across her chest and slumped into the couch, obviously understanding that she had no power to try to escape, but was also not going to help anymore. Mila saw that the fear and madness had taken greater hold of the woman than she had initially thought. They were done for now.
Mila stood and moved around the couch, nodding for Finn to follow, and walked to the kitchen. On their way past Danica’s room, the door opened and the tall elf came out, scratching her side under the tank top she’d slept in.
“Hey, guys.” She yawned and turned to wave at Victoria and Remmy, then froze when she saw Missy sitting on the couch. “What the hell?”
“Don’t worry.” Mila patted her arm. “Her magic is locked away, and no one knows we have her yet. She can’t escape, and she can’t hurt us.”
Danica blinked a few times, then nodded. “Okay. That’s one way to wake up. Shit, I need some coffee.”
Mila let Danica pass them and stepped close to Finn. “I think we need to go talk to this mystery woman. She might have something we can use, and with Missy out of the fight, we might have a chance of catching Azoth with his pants down.”
Finn nodded in agreement. “If anyone would know where Azoth is, it would be Yaminah. I agree we need to talk to her. She might be the only person on the planet who wants Azoth dead more than you.”
Mila rolled her eyes. “We don’t know that it’s Yaminah. For all we know, she’s dead. I fucked her up pretty badly in that last fight.”
“Either way, we need a good place to meet her. Somewhere out of the way, where if things go bad we can kick her ass without having to worry about collateral damage.” Finn tugged his beard as he wracked his brain.
“Great Sand Dunes National Park,” Danica said from the kitchen before adding a little cream to her coffee. When Mila and Finn both looked at her, she reddened a little. “Sorry, but I can’t help overhearing you. I’m an elf, remember? You wouldn’t believe the things I overhear.”
Mila waved Danica over to join the quiet conversation. She licked the coffee off her teaspoon and put it in the sink before coming around the island and standing close.
“I’ve never been to the dunes. Where are they?” Mila glanced over her shoulder to be sure Missy wasn’t listening.
“About three hours south of here.” Danica loudly sipped her coffee before continuing. “They’re huge. A lot of people go to the park, but they mostly stay on the edges and around the tall dune. That still leaves about fifty square miles of empty dunes. You could probably blow up a car out in the middle of the park and no one would notice.”
“Can you take us there? I don’t want to spend six hours in the car if we don’t have to.”
Danica nodded and flipped her hair over her shoulder before sipping again. “When do you want to go?”
Finn and Mila exchanged glances, and he shrugged and nodded.
“How about right now?” Mila asked.
Danica looked out the window at the now-rising sun. “Okay, but can I put on something more than a tank top and shorts?”
Mila snorted. “Sure. We’ll be out here when you’re ready.”
After walking back into the living room, Mila reached over the back of the couch and patted Remmy on the shoulder. The little goblin looked up from her game and smiled. “What’s up? You need me to stab someone?”
“Why would…” Mila started, but then shrugged. “Maybe. You down for watching my back with Finn?”
Remmy looked at Victoria, who was pretending to read but had been staring at Missy, waiting for her to make a move. She frowned, then shrugged and hopped up onto the cushion and vaulted over the back of the couch to land beside Mila.
“Yeah, I’m down for a little back watching. The boss man and I will keep you clear. Besides, it looks like the fun here is a little distracted. I’ll grab my leathers and weapons. Be back in a sec.” She sprinted for the door.
Mila watched her go, then glanced down at Victoria and once again decided she needed to ask Remmy what was up there.
“Victoria, we’re going to step out for a meeting. Keep an eye on our guest, and for the love of God don’t stab her while we’re gone. She could still be useful.”
Jumping a little as if she’d been caught watching porn, Victoria turned and nodded at Mila. “Don’t worry about us. Just two old friends spending the morning on the couch. Not talking. And not stabbing one another.”
“Okay.” Mila drew it out uncomfortably. “We shouldn’t be more than an hour.”
“No problem. Take your time.”
Victoria turned back to stare at Missy, who was picking black nail polish off her fingernails and looking like a goth teen that had been yelled at by her overbearing parents. If Mila didn’t know any better, she would have felt sorry for the elder Valkyrie.
Chapter Thirteen
Mila stood leaning back against Finn’s chest while holding Remmy close to hers, keeping the group’s size small enough that Danica could teleport them all at the same time. The large bubble formed around them and Mila waved to Victoria who stood with her arms crossed watching them go. The Valkyrie was raising her hand to wave back when the bubble popped.
One second, Mila was looking at the inside of her condo. The next, the early morning sun nearly blinded her as it reflected off the mountains of white sand that suddenly appeared all around them.
Closing her eyes and wincing in pain, Mila blindly reached into her pocket and pulled out the sunglasses she had brought for this situation.
Remmy and Finn stepped away to give themselves some room as they all found the sunglasses they had brought. By the time Mila had her glasses on, she was blinking the burn spots from her vision.
“You can call me when you need a ride back.” Danica stepped away from them to form a return bubble.
“Thanks. Hey, when you get back, be sure to keep an eye on Victoria.” Mila bit her lip for a second before continuing. “It’s not that I don’t trust her, but she’s pretty emotional about this whole thing. And remember, if shit goes down, grab the Reaper and get to Rebecca’s place right away. Keeping that weapon out of Azoth’s greasy hands is the number one priority.”
Danica nodded. “Got it.” She frowned. “Where did you hide it? I noticed it wasn’t on the TV stand like it was when I went to bed.”
Mila chuckled and looked over at Finn, who had suggested the new hiding place. “Sorry, I forgot we moved it after bringing Missy in. Didn’t want to tempt her to try anything stupid. We hid it under the kitchen sink,
behind the trash bin.”
“Under the sink? Why would you hide it there?”
Finn answered, obviously feeling like he needed to defend his choice. “Would you look under the kitchen sink if you were looking for a weapon powerful enough to end an entire world?”
Danica tilted her head and pursed her lips. “I guess not. That’s a pretty good hiding place.”
“See? I told you it was a good idea,” Finn smiled down at Mila.
She laughed. “I didn’t say it wasn’t, babe,” she consoled, patting his arm before turning back to Danica. “Keep your distance from Missy. Even if her powers are locked up, it doesn’t mean she’s not extremely dangerous. She has thousands of years of combat experience. Be sure you always have a way out of the condo.”
“What about Penny? Last night, she said she wasn’t feeling well. Is she still in her room?”
Finn waved away the concern. “She’ll be fine. She put down a set of protection runes in her room in preparation for her eggs. She’s going to be one of those helicopter parents for sure.”
Mila gave him a sideways look. “Where did you learn the term helicopter parent?”
“Remmy watches one of those reality shows about teen parents. It was…eye-opening,” he added with a deep frown.
“That show is awesome.” Remmy pulled the hood of her leather bodysuit over her head. Her white braid hung out of it and down to her waist. “It reminds me that there are some Peabrains out there as fucked up as us goblins. Makes me feel like a real member of society.”
“Huh. That might be the most legitimate reason I’ve ever heard to watch that show.” Mila chuckled.
“Okay, I’m out of here. Be careful, and I’ll see you in a while.” Danica stepped forward to give Mila a quick hug before forming another large bubble and disappearing with a soft popping noise.
Mila slowly turned in a circle, taking in their surroundings. They stood at the bottom of a valley between two huge dunes that had to be a hundred feet tall at their peaks. At the ends of the valley were more dunes from the staggered formation of the wind-blown sand piles. The effect was that they were essentially at the bottom of a bowl of white sand.
Mila tested the ground to check for movement and found the sand under her feet was relatively solid, even if it seemed to be shifting fairly easily the further up the slope she looked.
“I’m surprised we’re not sinking,” Remmy commented, hopping from one foot to the other, obviously not having spent much time in the sand.
“It’s all about time and pressure,” Mila explained. “Down here, the sand is fairly protected from the wind so it has time to settle and firm up. Plus, when it rains this ground becomes saturated, which compacts it even further. Over enough time, it will compact down to sandstone. On the slopes you’ll probably sink a few inches, maybe a foot, so be careful.”
“How do you know all that?” Remmy looked up the closest slope.
“They don’t call me Dr. Winters for nothing.” Mila grinned. “Okay, how do we do this? Hit the call button and see what happens?”
“I think we should hide and see what she does when she shows up,” Remmy suggested.
Mila considered, but eventually shook her head. “There’s nowhere for us all to hide. We would have to get over the tops of the dunes before she showed up.”
“Perhaps we do a little of both ideas?” Finn suggested and continued when Mila gave him a questioning look. “We have two people hide and the third waits out in the open. That way, the one out in the open keeps her attention and gives the other two a better chance of staying hidden. I’ll wait here with the stone and you two head to the dunes’ tops. You can cover me if things go south.”
“Good idea, but I’ll be the one down here.” Mila held up a hand to stop Finn’s complaint. “I know you don’t want me to get hurt, but you’re going to have to accept that I’m a capable woman who can take care of herself…mostly. Besides, she wants to talk to me, not you. If she shows up and you’re standing here, she might leave.”
Finn looked like he wanted to argue, but he nodded instead. “That might be better. I can hide right here, and Remmy can hold her breath to become invisible.”
“You can hide right here?” Mila looked around them at the flat ground. “Where?”
“Darlin’, I’m a dwarf. Sand to a dwarf might as well be thick air for all it slows us down. Remmy, wait until you see some kind of teleport, then hold your breath. You’ll need time to move into their blind spot before you need to take another breath.” Remmy nodded and moved twenty feet or so away so she could watch the whole area. “Ready?”
Mila shrugged exaggeratedly. “I guess so. I’m waiting on Finn to find this miraculous hiding place.”
He chuckled and knelt to place his palm on the ground, flexing his fingers slightly so that they dug into the sand. “Want to see a magic trick?”
Mila laughed. “Sure.”
Finn’s hand glowed bright purple for a second. Then he dropped into the sand as if it had turned into water. Mila jumped back, her hand going to her mouth as she stifled a yelp of surprise.
“Holy fuck!” Remmy shouted, her eyes wide enough that Mila could see the whites all around them even from a distance.
“I told you it was easy.” Finn’s muffled voice filtered through the slightly swirled sand he’d fallen through.
Mila jumped again at the sound of his voice. “Are you okay down there?”
“I mean, it’s not comfortable, but I’ll manage. Let’s get this party started,” he shouted, his muffled voice making him sound monotone.
“Okay, I’m pressing the stone.”
Mila pulled the blue button-shaped stone from her jacket pocket and nodded to Remmy. The goblin nodded back while pulling her daggers and dropping into a ready position, her eyes scanning the area for the slightest change.
Mila swallowed and squeezed the stone between her thumb and forefinger.
Nothing seemed to happen. There was no flash of light or beeping sound. The stone didn’t glow or grow warm in her fingers. It felt like a regular stone.
Mila squeezed it again, and still nothing.
Shaking the stone in her hand to theoretically knock something loose, Mila looked up at Remmy. “Are you sure—”
Remmy sucked in a breath and vanished.
Mila frowned, then realized what that meant and turned to see a void portal opening up. “Oh, fuck,” she murmured to herself as she pulled Gram out, whispering its power word as she did so.
A robed figure stepped out of the portal, making Mila nearly jump in and cut it down, thinking that Azoth was coming through. But the form was far too small to be the Drude and obviously female.
The figure had her hands up, showing that her palms were both empty and not glowing with magic. A deep and unnaturally dark hood covered the woman’s head, hiding any clue about who she was. Mila saw that the hands and forearms, which had been exposed when the robe’s sleeves fell to the figure’s elbows, were covered in long black leather gloves that hid her skin.
“Peace,” the woman said in a raspy, dry voice. “I’m here to offer my help.”
Mila pointed Gram at the woman’s chest, which was only a lunge away. “Who are you, and why should I trust you?”
The void portal snapped shut, cutting off any quick escape for the woman, and making Mila feel a little better knowing that enemies weren’t about to pour out of it and overrun her. She tensed once again, however, when the woman reached up to her hood and grasped the edges of the cowl.
“Don’t you recognize your handiwork, Valkyrie?” she rasped as she threw the hood back.
Mila’s eyes went wide.
The woman’s skin was shiny and pink with new skin in long swirling patterns while a darker, almost charred color filled in the rest. Thin lines formed ridges where the two colors met, as if someone welded them together. At first, Mila thought the woman was some sort of Frankenstein’s monster, but the dense fern-like pattern was too regular. Closer inspectio
n revealed that the markings were burns where the new skin was still raw while the old skin looked overcooked.
She was completely hairless—even her eyelashes were missing—and when she tried to smirk, the corner of her mouth pulled at a slightly off angle.
Despite all the differences, the intense green eyes were the same.
“Yaminah.” Mila lowered the sword slightly.
A muffled and barely audible, “Told ya!” filtered up from the sand beside her.
Mila wanted to say something to the smug bastard, but it was evident that Yaminah hadn’t heard Finn. That jerk knew how loud he could be and still stay undetected.
The burned and scarred woman tilted her head, her green eyes locked on Mila. “Shall we make a deal, or fight to the death? At this point, either would be fine with me. Welcome, even.”
Mila saw none of the madness in Yaminah’s green eyes that she had witnessed in Missy’s, or even the last time she had seen Yaminah herself. Her eyes showed physical pain in the tightness at the corners, but they also had a spark in them that spoke of a quick and efficient mind.
Mila lowered Gram to her side. “Let’s talk first. Depending on what you say, maybe a fight after.”
“That’s my girl.” Finn rumbled with pride.
Chapter Fourteen
Yaminah slowly reached into her robe, keeping her left hand up to show that she wasn’t trying anything stupid. Mila tensed but let the woman continue, wanting to see where this was going.
Pulling her hand out of the brown robes, Yaminah held a crystal-clear cube two inches to a side between her thumb and finger. She held the cube out to Mila but didn’t move to get closer.
“What is it?” Mila showed no indication that she intended to touch the thing.
“It’s a spell I’ve been working on for when I could secure outside help. This cube is tied to Azoth’s robes. It uses them as a focal point. With it, you’ll be able to view Azoth and his surroundings without him knowing. I’m not sure how helpful it will be now that he’s set a deadline for you, but it can’t hurt, and it shows that I’m willing to betray him.” She focused on the cube, her eyes narrowing slightly.
