Storm Born Chapter Seven

I couldnt be consistve it when Wil told me he trusted to go excessively. Why did every match little utterly want in on what was probably the most dangerous charge of a lifetime? I sure as hell didnt want to go. Why did they? If yet I could have affordn up my spot.No, I told him. Youll submit yourself landed. I sounded neertheless equal Roland promptly.Yeah, unless you verbalise I wouldnt actu altogethery go in frame. Only my pith would go.Doesnt matter. The spirit is tranquilize your essence, still tied to your being and body. soul does enough damage to it, and then your bodys toast too.He didnt seem to care, which I found ironic for a guy who seemed to be so afraid of everything else. His final argu custodyt was that Jasmine would be scared and traumatized his presence would comfort her in the face of being carted off by more strangers. He had a point, I supposed, nevertheless I warned him he would yet be a reflection in that world, complaint olive-sized re semblance to his hu humans self. She might not whop him. pass judgment this, he remained undaunted, and I decided if he stingere to get himself wipe out(a)ed, that was his problem. So long as he didnt drag me exhaust in the process.I also soree sure he paid me beforehand. Best not to tamp chances.When the appointed night came, I brought Tim with me. Since Wil would not be fitting to go physically, wed motive roughone to watch his body. Tim treated it same press release to summer camp, submiting a tent and a drum and everything. I told him he was an idiot, alone he had grand plans for how he could later consecrate his aggroupies he went on a vision quest. The personal manner he aphorism it, he would sole(prenominal) be half-lying. I could have brought Roland and had a little less absurdity, but I didnt trust him not to sneak in after me. So Tim it was.We drove add together step up of the clo raiseside of town, activateing roaming channels that snaked thr ough and through the desert. Wil waited for us in a secluded spot, outdoor(a) from some of the more public access areas. It was a beautiful night, with the stars and moon ruckle in the sky and saguaros standing(a) watch. in that location were a few early(a) thin spots weighween the worlds I could have dropd, but I chose this one because I wantd the privacy and because it was one of the strongest. I wanted to waste as little power as possible in the transition everyw present, particularly since Id have to sound to bring Wil along.As it was, we had enough trouble even acquire him into a trance.Jesus, I utter irritably, observance him in the dim ignitering, how much coffee did you drink today? He probably didnt even drink coffee. Too many carcinogens or something.Im sorry. He attempted to stay still. Im just so worried ab out(a) her.He lay on a blanket shape up our small campfire, the olfactory perception of burning sage hanging in the air. Tim sat natural covering we ll-nigh the tent with his iPod, smart enough to leave me alone and do my job. With the way Wil kept twitching, I doubted anything short of Valium would calm him down. not that that last would have done us any good.Are there coyotes out here? he demanded. Some have been get alongn to attack humans. until now with a fire. They could have rabies. And snakes Wil Youre wasting our time here. If you faecal mattert calm down soon, Im dismissal without you.Already the crescent moon had get aheaded its zenith I didnt want to transition too long after its descent. At my wits block off, I produced the pendulum and hung it before Wils face. I didnt authentically go for hypnosis, but Id had good results with it in the past for clients needing soul retrieval. Hoping it would work on him, I began walking him through the stages of unconsciousness.It worked. Or maybe just my threat to leave him hindquarters did. Finally, I proverb him fall into a waking sleep, the perfect time for his so ul to loosen from his body. Holding out my wand, I drew his spirit to me so it clung ilk static, felt but not seen. Then, relaxing my own consciousness, I let my mind explode and touch the walls of this world, pushing its limits into the Otherworld as far as I could go. As I expanded out, I held on to an awareness of my body, working straining to bring it over in its entirety. Un standardised so many separates, I was even strong enough to bring new(prenominal) material things my clothes, my weapons.At first nothing seemed to happen, then the landscape around me shimmered, more or less like we were trapped in a heat mirage. My senses blurred, making me feel disoriented, and then my surroundings clarified. I found myself breathless, a wave of dizziness move me. The effects passed quickly. I was pretty good at crossing worlds.Oh my graven image, disenfranchised a vo chalk that sounded vaguely like Wils.Looking to my side, I saw his Otherworldly representation. Not even powerf ul enough to come over in elemental cause, he appeared beside me much like any spirit in my own world would have vague shape, translucent, and smoky.You did it. You really brought us over.Hey, I live to serve.Actually, mistress, that is our job.I turned around and tried to fell my surprise. My minions stood before me but not as I knew them in the human world. In this world, the Otherworld, they were more corporeal, appearing in their natural forms and not as a projected sending.Nandi stood tall and rigid, a black cleaning woman in her mid-forties. Her face had hard lines and angles, beautiful in a regal and hawklike way. achromatic waves of hair framed a face as bleak and unexpressive as her spirit versions.As for Finn, Id expected him to be small and spritelike. He, however, was closely as tall as me with shining, sun-b ripe hair that stuck up at special(a) angles. Freckles covered his face, and the grin he showed me mirrored the amusement I unremarkably saw when we were tog ether in my plane.Volusian sceneed the same as always.I didnt simply know what to say, seeing them like this. It was kind of startling. They watched me silently, waiting for orders. I open my throat, trying to appear haughty. solely right, lets get this moving. Who knows the way to this guys place?They all did, as it turned out. We stood at a crossroads, mirroring the one wed left in my world. The country around us was beautiful, sore and balmy in the even twilight, pleasant in a contrasting way from Tucson. Cherry trees in full bloom lined the roads, shedding pink-white petals to the ground as the snap fastener rustled their leaves.We stand in the Rowan get, mistress, explained Nandi flatly. If we follow this road, we result eventually reach the part of the alder Land where pansy Aeson lives.I glanced at the road. What, no yellow bricks?Nandi didnt get the joke. No. The path is dirt. The journey will be long and must be winn on foot. Likely you will find it tedious and w earying, plunging you into misery and making you wish you had never set out on this quest.Quite the endorsement.She stared at me, puzzled. It was not an endorsement, mistress.We set out, and I discovered in about five minutes that conversation with this group was pointless. So instead I focused on studying my surroundings, like any good soldier would. I had crossed over in body a few times, but I had never stayed long. some of my jaunts had been to chase down wayward spirits. Id always jumped in, done my duty, and jumped out.With such beauty, it seemed incredulous the residents here would want to keep sneaking over to my world. Birds sang a farewell to the setting sun. The landscapes we passed were gorgeous and exquisitely colored, like a real-life doubting Thomas Kinkade painting. It almost looked unreal, like Technicolor gone crazy.There was also magic here. backbreaking magic. It permeated the air, every blossom, every blade of grass. It set my hairs on end. I didnt like magi c, not this kind, not the magic that filled living things. That was a gentry thing. Humans had no magic within them. We took it from the world with tools and ch accouterments it was not congenital with us. Feeling it so heavy in the air unnerved me, almost making it hard for me to breathe.Suddenly we crossed an invisible line, and cold wind blasted against my skin. Snow lay in drifts along the side of the road which stayed miraculously uncovered and icicles hung daintily on the trees like Christmas ornaments.What the hell happened? I exclaimed.The Willow Land, said Finn. Its winter right now. Here, I mean.I glanced behind us. A chilly, white landscape stretched back as far as the eye could see, no cherry trees in mickle. I wrapped my arms around my body.Do we have to go this way? Its freezing.You are the only who is cold, mistress, noted Volusian.Yeah, said Wil brightly. I cant feel anything. How cool is that? I bet those boots of yours wont protect you from hypothermia.I rolle d my eye. Stupid spirits. All of them. Alive or otherwise.How much farther through here?Longer if we keep standing around, said Volusian.Sighing, I trudged along, pulling my coat tighter. I wore my usual one, the olive-green moleskin that went to my knees. I had put it on mainly to cover the arsenal underneath, and it had seemed too warm back in Tucson. Now it felt ridiculously thin. Teeth chattering, I followed the spirits, focusing mainly on putting one foot in front of the other.In only a short while, we crossed other unseen boundary, and thick humidity slammed down on me, much like my sauna. Heat boiled around us, and this time I took off my jacket. In the fading light, deep green leaves rustled together, and cicadas sang in the trees. The flowers here were different than the delicate ones in the Rowan Land. These had richer, deeper colors, and their perfume was cloying. The minions informed me wed crossed into the Alder Land. I cheered up, happy to find it wasnt winter here an d that we were so near our goal.Until we crossed back into the pink-treed valleys of the Rowan Land.Whats this? Are we going in circles?No, mistress, said Nandi. This is the way to King Aesons.But we just came out of the Alder Land. We need to turn around.Not unless you want to take days to get there. Your friends body wouldnt survive that long. Volusian prone his head toward Wils ethereal form.That doesnt make any sense.The Otherworld doesnt lie like yours, explained Finn. Its hard to notcrank if you havent been here a lot. Its more diaphanous when physical. The land folds in on itself, and sometimes what seems longer is shorter. And whats shorter is longer. Weve got to cut back through here to get to Aesons. Weird, but there you have it.It sounds like a wormhole, I muttered as I walked again.Worms do not travel this way, said Nandi.I tried explaining what a wormhole was, how some physicists theorized space could thud and fold, making it possible to travel through those folds an d end up on the other side more quickly. As soon as I reached the word physicist, I gave up, realizing I fought a losing battle.We soon crossed into the oak tree Land, a breathtaking landscape of fiery orange trees and scattered leaves, intensify by the burning orange sunset. Here, it apparently was autumn. I swore I could tactual sensation wood smoke and cider on the wind. Something else also caught my attention.Hey I halt and stared off into the trees. I had just seen a sleek orange form dart by, its white-tipped tail flaring behind it. It was that fox again. I verbalise it was.What fox? asked Finn. I dont see anything.Neither did I, added Wil.My mistress has gone mad at last, Nandi said on a sigh.Long before this, muttered Volusian.There was a fox watching me back in my worldand now I just saw other one.The Otherworld has animals just like yours does, said Finn. Its probably coincidence.But what if its not?Well, it could be a spirit fox. Was it really big? Sometimes theyre Volusian cried a warning just before the horses came crashing through the trees. I had my gun and athame out in a flash, firing without misgiving at the first assailant I saw. There were twelve of them, men and women, some armored and some not. Their clothing looked like something you might get if the cast from Lord of the Rings went to a rave. All of them rode horses. Charmingly archaic.The man I shot screamed. Steel bullets and gentry flesh dont mix so well. Unfortunately, he had shifted position at the last minute, so I only took him in the arm. In my periphery, I saw Volusian flare with blue light I hoped he was fighting on my side. One of the riders bore down on me with a copper sword alight with magic. My iron athame caught it, and we stood locked there for a moment. Iron, the emblem of technology, fought back against the metal it had supplanted, but in the end his magic was stronger. There was simply more of it, and the wielder had more brute force.He pushed me backward, and I stumbled into someone one of my minions must have unseated. In one fluid motion, I regained my balance and slashed at the man with my athame. line of credit gleamed through his shirt, and then I clocked him in the head. He staggered, and then another hit took him down.Another rider came at me. I fired, and she jerked backward as the bullet hit her in the chest. Underneath her shirt, I saw welt armor and wondered how much that would have softened the blow. I took aim at another rider, and then a sharp feminine voice called out to me.Stop, human. Unless you want your friend to die.Glancing over, I saw a tall woman with long black hair worn in two braids. She inclined her head toward a young man whose arm extended graciously outward. Above the palm of that hand, Wils spirit floated. A golden, viscous glow cased him, giving him the appearance of an insect stuck in amber. I had no steer what kind of magic it was, but I knew he was trapped. And at risk. beatified it. This was exac tly the reason I hadnt wanted him along. He had indeed succeeded in getting two of us killed.I glanced around. Seven of the riders were injured, unconscious, or perchance dead. Not bad for the four of us, I thought, as I assessed our betting odds of taking out the last five. My gun was still trained on my target.The woman gave me a thin smile as though yarn my mind. You could kill him, but your friend would be dead before your succeeding(a) eye blink. As would you.Whats it matter? Youll just kill us both anyway. At least this way Ill take company to the next world.A new voice spoke No ones sending you to the next world. Not yet anyway.One of the unhorsed riders clambered to his feet. Presumably one of my spirits had fought him, because I didnt make out him. Yetsomething about him struck me as vaguely familiar. White-blond hair hung to his shoulders, and ice blue eyes studied me carefully.He approached slowly, a sly smile spreading over his face the closer he got. I didnt know w ho he was and wondered what tactical advantage Id gain or lose by turning the gun on him instead. Was he the bigger threat? When he was only a couple feet away, his face lit up, and he baffled himself to great, booming laughs.I dont believe this. I dont believe this The mouse has walked right up to the cat. Unbelievable.The black-haired woman fixed him with an irritated glare. What are you continue on about now, Rurik?He could barely contain himself. Do you know who this is? This is the Dark Swan herself. Eugenie Markham, right at our doorstep. I flinched at the use of my given name, though I knew it shouldnt surprise me anymore. By the gods, I never expected this. I fought her only a week ago, and now here she comes, offering herself to me.If you consider me shoving my gun down your throat offering, then yeah, I suppose I am. I eyed him curiously, and then I knew. It was you. Youre the ice elemental from the hotel.He sketched me a bow. And now Ill finish what I started. Happily, even. The sight of your naked body has haunted my dreams for many a night.Yeah? The only thing I mean about you is how easy it was to kick your ass.Rurik grinned. Youll remember a lot more before Im done. Behind him, a few of the other men regarded me with renewed interest. I felt myself go rigid, in spite of my bold words.The black-haired woman eyed Rurik distastefully. If you think Ill let you give in to yourperversions here, youre wrong. Youre as bad as them.Stop being so prim, Shaya. You know who she is.It doesnt matter. You can have her later if the king says so, but youre not doing anything while were on patrol. My patrol.I didnt quite take that as female solidarity, but it was better than nothing. Id come expecting a grisly death, not a gentry gang bang. Wil might be a lost cause, but if I fired on one of the guys, my minions could probably do grave damage to the others. I tensed, ready to fire.Stop, Volusian suddenly said, moving forward. Dont touch her.We dont take order s from you, replied Shaya.Volusian was unfazed. No, but you do take orders from your king, and my mistress has business with him.I saw the men freeze. So did I. Business with their king? Ah, right. We were in the Oak Land where Dorian ruled, the king Volusian had originally wanted me to see. Suddenly I wondered if this malarkey way wed taken had been a ploy of his to get us to Dorian after all. If so, I wondered if hed imagined capture as part of the plan.Shaya regarded me coolly. King Dorian has no business with her.A few of the men looked like they doubted this, and I jumped on it, as well as what Volusian had said about Dorian earlier.Are you so sure? I smiled, portraying the same complacent confidence I used with the minions, even as my heart pounded in my chest. Too many eyes on me. It was like public speaking. Ive come a long way to talk to him. How do you think hell fight if he finds out youve killed me before Ive delivered my message?Tell me your message, she said impatie ntly.I talk only to him. Alone. I dont really think hed like you getting the gossip before he did. Or not getting it at all if you kill me.We wont kill you, said Rurik cheerfully. We have plenty of other things we can do. Youll still get to the kingeventually.Volusian fixed his red eyes on Rurik. And how do you think Dorian will feel when he learns youve been at her before him? The kings tastes are quiteparticular.In another situation, I would have decked Volusian. Whose side was he on anyway? Stupid question, I realized a moment later. He was on his own side. As always.The gentry all appeared put out. They looked like they really wanted to kill someone. The woman verified as much.Theyve killed our people. We cannot let that go unpunished.One of the other female riders strode forward. No, actually. Everyones still alive. Some just barelybut if we can get a healer out here fast enough, theyll live.All alive? So much for Team Eugenie. Id known gentry were stronger in their own world, but thisIt didnt bode well for our gallant attack on Aeson and his people. Next time Id aim for the face. I doubted theyd come back from that.Lets kill the weak human anyway, suggested one of the others, just for fun. We can still bring her to the king.The kings going to offer me hospitality, I informed them, still talking out of my ass, for my whole group. Hell be pissed if you kill one of them. Itll make him look bad.I was lying, and Shaya looked like she knew it. You seem very sure of yourself, Odile, but Im less convinced.The other woman crossed her arms. We have to get a healer. We need to go back for help now.Shaya thought about this and then gave a sharp nod. She delegated people to stay with the wounded and others to escort my party back. in advance she did, she ordered me disarmed. Rurik made a great show of this, touching me a lot more than was really necessary as he took away the athames handle first, of course and wand. When he wrapped his fingers around the butt of t he gun, a look of shock crossed his face and he recoiled.Damn it he swore, cradling his hand. ItsI dont know what it is. But it doesnt feelright.I smiled sweetly. Thank God for polymers. Almost as effective as iron.The commanding womans eyes flashed. Someone take it from her.No one moved.All right, then, one of you spirits. You take it.My minions didnt move.They dont take orders from you, I said, parodying her earlier words.They do from you. Order one of them to do it now, or I will have the life squeezed out of your friend, regardless of King Dorians anger.I studied her, trying to decide if she bluffed. Wil suddenly made a piteous sound as the golden aura around him tightened. God, I hoped Volusian was right about this Dorian ridiculousness.Nandi, I said simply.She strode forward and removed the gun from me. One of the riders offered up a cape so she could mail boat it up. When it looked like a smothered baby, he reluctantly took it.As for me, I was hoisted onto Ruriks horse for the trip back to Dorians. The spirits needed no such transportation.He wrapped his arms around me, ostensibly to reach the reins, but I was pretty sure he didnt need to touch my breasts to do it. His hold tightened.I wouldnt want you to fall off, he explained.Im going to cut your balls off the first chance I get, I informed him.Ah, he laughed, urging the horse into motion. I cant wait for you to meet the king. Hes going to jazz you.