“You son of a bitch. You wanted to keep us here? Fine, we’re stuck here,” Dante said. “Now, get the fuck off my horse.”
Valdon laughed, marching D.A. in circles. D.A. bucked and snorted, tossing his head, but Valdon kept a tight rein. Clearly, the horse was not happy with his rider, but Valdon knew how to be firm with a horse. “Finally, after all these years I get the last word.”
“Reilly.”
Valdon nodded. “Did you know your lovely wife screwed us both?”
“That’s ridiculous. You stole her away from me, promising her a wealthy life. She was accustomed to nice things. I had just made my gold claim, bought a ranch and then you showed up.”
Valdon shook his head. “She found me. Your claim bordered mine. She said you were abusing her and would give me a share of her claim if I arranged for your death. Yeah, I hired men to kill you. I thought I was rescuing her, and making myself richer. We married days after. Then she did the same thing to me.”
Dante remembered her saying she had been married briefly when she was younger but the man died of consumption. Elinor, a black widow? Damnation. “After I became a Drone, I tried looking for her once. But she’d moved to California. I wanted nothing more to do with her,” Dante said, shocked that the memory still stung deep.
“I wanted revenge,” Valdon said. “I tracked her down in California. It took me a while because I had to keep up my Drone duties. When I found her, she was a frail old woman. I shifted into my John Reilly form and didn’t get the slightest response. I even tried your form. But her mind was too far gone. Somehow revenge would’ve left a sour taste if I destroyed a woman who was already broken.”
“So why all this?”
“Because seeing you is a constant reminder of that time. I don’t want to be in the same universe with you.”
“So you’re staying on Earth?” Dante asked.
“No, why would I want that when I’ll be ruler of Prygos?”
Dante shrugged. “You think the demoness wants you as her favorite?” He wasn’t about to admit he knew of Tarik’s plan.
Valdon narrowed his eyes. “I always was.”
Dante glanced at Haley and directed his eyes in a line to the temple. He didn’t want her out here with Valdon.
“Good for you. Then I’m no threat. Haley and I are returning to Earth.” Dante attempted to reach D.A.’s reins. “Enough, Valdon. Get off.”
Valdon worked the reins and maneuvered D.A. in a circle around Dante again, avoiding Dante’s attempt to gain control of the horse. “This has nothing to do with a threat. It has everything to do with revenge. I’m going to Prygos.” Valdon pulled alongside Dante, reached down and hooked an arm around his waist, grabbed his belt with his other hand, then lifted him across the front of the saddle. “But you’re not. Hang on.”
“No!” Dante managed to grab the sides of the saddle. If he fell, he’d die. They plummeted over the cliff. Behind him, fading in the distance, he heard Haley’s screams.
Chapter Fourteen
When they reached the Earth side of the portal, Valdon shoved his boot under Dante and gave a hard kick, knocking the wind out of him. He collapsed onto solid ground. Pain shot through his body as he struggled to get up. It’d been decades since he’d felt pain like this. Immortals felt pain but not to the extent of a mortal. He opened his eyes, blinked, waiting for the world to stop spinning and stared up at a black sky glowing with brilliant stars. Earth. He made it back. Somehow he managed not to let go, otherwise he might’ve been lost between dimensions. On hands and knees, he spat out sandy grit coating his mouth. The horse trotted closely around him.
Valdon laughed a deep, cruel laugh. “Try shifting into coyote form now, Dante.” He laughed again. D.A. spun around, tugging against his reins. Valdon easily got the horse under control. “Oh, that’s right. You went through the portal without the nebula stone and I destroyed it. How does it feel to be mortal again?”
How did he feel? Like he’d woken up from a hangover. Weak, disoriented, a little nauseated. What chance did he have to fight Valdon now, a mortal against an immortal? A stab of fear sliced through him. How could he get Haley back? Getting up to his feet, he wiped grit from his face and stood straight with a defiant stance. “You’ve won. You have your immortality and you’ll be Gwyllain’s favored Drone. Maybe even her consort. That
is
what you wanted.”
“Sure. Gwyllain’s idea, not mine. The moment we reach Prygos, we’ll destroy Cragen.” He held his head high and a cool, confident grin spread across his face. “Then I’ll destroy her and rule Prygos.”
The bastard didn’t know about Otera, Dante realized. He kept his tone even, his anger hidden as best he could. “Sounds like you have it all figured out. You send Haley. She doesn’t belong in your world.” He wanted to ask for D.A. too but expected only one favor at a time. It ripped at his gut to see the bastard riding his horse.
“But Haley belongs to me now.” Valdon grinned with evil pleasure. “I have plans for her as my High Sorceress and my mistress. And she’ll help me murder the demoness when the time is right.”
“You want to rule it all. But she’ll never help you.”
“Forget about her. She’s immortal, not your kind now.” Thunder rumbled through the sky, but there wasn’t a cloud visible from horizon to horizon. Then the ground shook, violently. Dante spread his legs to maintain balance and keep from falling.
“This is from Tarik’s experiment,” Dante said. “Anartia’s about ready to leave.” Think quick, he told himself. If Valdon went through the portal he was screwed. How the hell would he get Haley?
No, no, no!
Dante’s mouth gaped open and every muscle went rigid when the horror of what was about to happen slammed into him. He’d fixed it so Anartia wouldn’t make it back. Their immortal world would be destroyed.
“Good, I’m ready to get away from this goddamn planet.” Valdon turned D.A. toward the portal.
“No!” Dante jumped Valdon, grabbing onto the Drone, he managed to get his arm around his waist and dragged him off the horse. He didn’t care if Valdon went through the portal or if he risked getting loss between dimensions. He wasn’t leaving her.
But the immortal’s power was beyond Dante’s mortal strength. One punch knocked Dante aside. He did manage to stay on his feet but the pain to his jaw was excruciating.
Valdon held up a hand. “Stand back, mortal. Or I’ll toss her over Anartia’s cliffs without her nebula stone, then send her dead and broken body back to you through the portal.”
It was probably a bluff but Dante wouldn’t gamble Haley’s life. He stepped away.
Valdon relaxed. “As ruler, I will reward obedience and severely punish undutiful behavior. Haley doesn’t even recognize the extent of her Sha Warrior powers yet. I’ll teach her how to use them.” He climbed back on D.A. and trotted toward the portal entrance.
Dante couldn’t sense the energy anymore. He truly was mortal again. A knot twisted in his gut. But the anxiety was for Haley, not his mortality. How could he get to her? “Wait.”
Valdon grinned, amused. He stopped. “What now?”
“You don’t know about Tarik’s experiment on Earth. About Otera. It’s possible to stay here and remain immortal. It’s less of a risk than the journey to Prygos.”
“I have not heard of this, but I don’t care. I
will
rule on Prygos. Not on Earth.”
Dante took a breath to calm his anger and tried again. “Tarik is staying. Doesn’t that tell you the risk is high, maybe impossible?” Dante looked down to the ground and groaned. This might be his last chance to save Haley. “Anartia won’t make it back to Prygos. It’ll be destroyed. I know this because I changed the setting on Tarik’s control panel.”
Valdon considered that for a moment, then laughed. “Even if that was true, Tarik wouldn’t be so careless. He’d want to ensure the journey’s success to be rid of the demoness. Destroying Anartia isn’t enough. What if she survived? Gwyllain could track him down. Nice try.” Valdon gave a slight nudge to D.A. and the horse moved toward the portal. “I’ll take good care of her.” His laughter as he entered the portal stabbed in Dante’s chest.
“No.” Dante ran and leapt for the saddle. He was going back through the portal. He’d find a way to bring them both back. But Valdon passed the portal’s entrance and Dante slammed into an invisible wall.
D.A. and Valdon had vanished. “Fuck!”
Dawn etched the horizon with a reddish hue and bathed the desert with enough light for him to run toward the area he’d last saw Felicia, Joren and Rylus. The entrance to Otera had to be there somewhere. He cast his senses out, forgetting for a moment he was mortal now. Otera was out there but he’d have to find it without his immortal senses. If Tarik could send them to Otera from Anartia there had to be a way back.
He picked up football-sized boulders and heaved them in all directions, shouting their names. “Open up! I have to go back.” As the sun brightened the sky, Dante thought he saw a flash of spectral lights. At first he thought it was the glare from the morning sun, but then he noticed the multicolored lights again as if the sun was shining through an invisible prism.
Damnation, this was it.
After several minutes of yelling, threatening and throwing stones, he realized getting inside Otera was not possible, not without an invitation. And those inside weren’t issuing one.
The only way he was getting back to Anartia was with a nebula stone. Then he remembered. He put his hands on his hips and growled. The change back to mortal must’ve slowed his thoughts and memories. He did have a nebula stone.
As soon as he got back to the truck, the earth tremors started up again. Lightning flashed across the sky in giant arcs instead of the normal zigzag pattern. Once he removed the loose branches and tumbleweeds hiding the truck, he got in and turned the key. Nothing. The engine barely cranked.
“Fuck.” He tried the key a few more times. Dead battery. His ranch was across open desert a few miles. Too long. The lightning and tremors stopped and the engine finally turned over.
* * * * *
Dante slammed on the brakes in front of his cabin, stirring up a large cloud of dust. He jumped out of his truck and leapt onto the porch, fumbling with his keys to unlock the door. Inside, he clawed at the loose brick in the fireplace hearth and retrieved the nebula stone he’d confiscated from Brom, the Drone who’d tried to murder Gwyllain. With it gripped in his hand, a tightness formed in his chest. What if he was too late? What if Valdon closed the portal?
He slipped it on the leather cord with the amethyst pendant that Haley had given him and left the cabin.
Outside, he jumped the full three steps and hit the ground in a trot to his truck. Lounging on the roof of the cab was Bill. Dante stiffened and groaned. “Now what? I’ve got no time for this.”
“It won’t do you any good now.” Bill jumped off the roof and landed gracefully like a cat leaping out of a tree. Besides his suede pants, the man had colorful paint on his face, chest and arms. He stood between Dante and the driver’s side door.
“What are you all dressed up for?” Dante inquired.
“A war between worlds.” Bill pulled a long feather out of his back pocket and handed it to Dante. “A gift.”
“I don’t have time for this. Haley’s in trouble.”
“The doorway between the worlds is fluctuating, moving. It won’t be easy to find.” Bill didn’t move.
Dante’s chest tightened. “How do you know this?”
Bill gave him a solemn look. “I’m here to warn you.” He held out the feather. “You’ll need this.”
“A feather?”
“A hawk feather.” Bill’s words had power as if he was immortal. “Hawks are mystical creatures. That feather will assist you since you no longer have your immortal powers. The hawk’s protection and visions will assist you.”
Dante studied him. Could he be right? He took the feather, thanked Bill and wove the feather within his buckle and belt. “Get out of my way.” His words were drowned out by a crack of thunder. The ground shifted again. And this time, small cracks spiderwebbed across the driveway. “Now.”
“It won’t start,” Bill said calmly.
Ignoring him, Dante hopped in the truck and turned the key. The truck was dead. “Fuck.” He pulled out his cell phone and tried calling Sakari, but his phone was dead too. “What’s going on?”
“As the alternative planes shift between these two worlds, the magnetic energy will affect electrical and mechanical devices.”
“Terrific. Now what?” He got out of the truck and slammed the door shut.
“Follow your instinct, your heart,” Bill said. “Hatred and revenge will bring disaster. You chose the coyote totem for a reason. That has significance.”
Dante took a deep breath, the words weren’t much help but he was beginning to understand. He had to stay cool. “Even if I can find the portal, how am I going to get there in time?”
“Nature totems are symbols of energy. Manifest and align that force. Attune to the essence of nature and obstacles will step aside.”
Dante rubbed his face with his hand. “Haley was the one who was good at this stuff. There’s got to be another way.” Siren nickered in the corral. He’d never seen her look so calm before. Dante ran into the corral and got Siren saddled up. Surprisingly, she didn’t fight him when he climbed up. The energies of the demon were gone and she wasn’t spooked by his new mortal state. “Good girl, Siren.” He patted her neck.
Bill opened the gate for him. It was probably the first time Dante saw the man standing on two feet. After he closed the gate, he walked over and stroked the horse’s head and neck with both hands, moving slowly, his eyes closed.
“What are you doing?” Dante asked but Bill didn’t answer. Something inside Dante told him to let the old man finish. Was this gut feeling intuition? A mortal sense? Or had he been hanging around Haley too much? The horse’s breathing slowed and she bent her head, rubbing up against Bill’s chest.
Dante couldn’t take his gaze away. In all these months, he’d never seen Siren so docile.
Bill smiled and opened his eyes. “Guess you better get going.”
“I’ll find a way to bring her back,” Dante said, anxious to get moving but feeling the old man had to finish whatever he was doing. “If I don’t return, come by and pick up Siren.” He gave Bill directions to the portal.
“I expect my elders will have a few ideas to help.”
* * * * *
When Dante and Siren reached the portal’s entrance he jumped off, tied Siren’s reins to a tree branch and headed in the direction of the vortex, hand wrapped around the nebula stone. He knew the location even if he couldn’t see or sense it anymore. Stepping forward, he was thrown backward and knocked off his feet. The impact was as strong as hurricane-force winds focused into a ten-foot diameter area. He got up, tried again, this time at a different angle, but failed. A third time he ran full force and was knocked into the air and landed hard on his back.
Fuck!
Bill was right. Had the portal moved, or closed? Scanning the horizon, he searched for the spectral lights from Otera. Nothing. Desperation and determination set his jaw. He wasn’t giving up. He got back on Siren and headed toward the area where he thought Otera was. The sky had darkened but there were no clouds. Was Anartia affecting the light as well as electrical and magnetic energies of Earth? Streaks of lightning flashed bizarre jagged patterns while the ground shook. He hoped Anartia’s destruction or departure wouldn’t cause any lasting damage to Earth. Would Tarik make his experiment so easy to abort? There was always a chance Anartia would make it back, despite Dante’s sabotage attempt.
He rode her in circles, again shouting threats to those within a dimension he couldn’t see or sense. “Natesa, Joren, Rylus, let me in, goddammit. Send me back.” At times he thought he felt a sensation in his gut as if he was driving over a hill too fast. Maybe it was the altered magnetic disturbance caused by Anartia. He climbed off Siren and crouched down, touching the ground. A fine vibration moved up into his hand and arm. Here. Otera must be here.
“Natesa, if you don’t let me in, I will spend the rest of my entire mortal life finding some way to destroy your world.”
In the distance, he heard a rain shower, more like a downpour. Odd for a cloudless day. Instead of yelling, he calmed his voice. The idea of Haley arriving on Prygos without him, under Valdon’s command, made him cringe. What kind of life would she have? “Natesa, please help. Haley is stuck on Anartia and it’s about to be destroyed. Even if they survive, she’ll be Valdon’s slave. I love Haley. She’s trapped because of me. Help me.”