The Lost Magic

The never-ending darkness pressed down on me, making it hard to suck any air into my lungs. I wasn’t used to this total blank canvas of nothing. No sound. No light. Even the moon was blocked by the towering Goliaths lining the city streets, making them appear that much more menacing. I couldn’t shake the fear that more of those creatures were hiding in the buildings in wait for us, ready to pop out any moment and rip out our throats. My ears strained, searching for any noise out of place, but all I heard was our softly padded footsteps on the weed carpet under our feet as we snaked our way through the dead city.

Dead truly was the only word for this place. Everything seemed so wrong. The lack of light, saturating everything around us with inky shadows. The heaviness of the air. The rusting carcasses of vehicles clogging the roads and slowing our progress. Whatever had happened to this world had happened a long time ago, and it felt like even the earth itself had given up hope on ever returning to normal. I never thought I’d say this, but I actually missed Contigo Springs. Even Lexa Buttface. As messed up as that world and the people in it were, at least it was still alive.

I shivered, my shoulder throbbing where Asha had hit me, the ache spreading up my neck and blooming over the top of my head. Man, fingers crossed this world still had Advil left in it. My head was about to explode. It felt like we’d been walking forever, and I really needed to sit down.

“Where the hell are we going?”

The shrill words dropped from my lips before I could even think about holding them back. I regretted them immediately. They echoed loudly in the thick, stale air, and I felt, rather than saw the redhead leading us, whip around in fury.

“Quiet, you idiot,” she hissed at me.

Despite the remorse at my slip, my own anger ricocheted in my chest. This Bixby chick was one unhinged witch. I really wanted to tell her straight where to go and what to do to herself once she got there. I didn’t need her extra bullshit considering we had enough of our own to deal with. But before I could act on the anger, Starke’s warm hand found mine in the dark, and he gave my fingers a gentle squeeze.

“I understand your anxiety but don’t be stupid, Jette. We don’t need to draw attention. I do not wish to tangle with those creatures again so soon. We need the cooperation of these people.”

His words only exacerbated my guilt. I swallowed the anger down. He was right. I didn’t want to meet those things again either. And Bixby and her crew really didn’t deserve my fear-fueled anger. They had just saved our asses from leeches after my stupid ass dragged us here. Wherever here was. This parallel dimension/multiverse stuff was seriously playing with my head. If I thought jumping through a burning door into a magic realm filled with Fae and Ogres was bad enough, jumping us to another world filled with human-eating leeches took the cake.

The blonde giant walking ahead of us appeared to take pity on our confusion. What had he said his name was? Luke. Right. He slowed his gait, waiting for Starke, Jill, and I to catch up. His soft words found their way to us through the darkness.

“I know you guys must be beat, probably hungry, and not to mention totally baffled, but now is not the time for explanations. Just trust us. We need to get off the streets. As the night goes on, more and more leeches and queen leeches will be prowling the city. We need to be safely hidden before that happens.”

His lips tilted in a half smile on his rugged face, like that somehow distracted from the chilling words he’d just spoken. He jogged ahead to catch up with Bixby, leaving me not reassured in the least. The thought of more of these things lurking about terrified me to no end. Not for the first time in the past hour, I cursed myself for bringing us here. What had I been thinking believing I could do this? Trust me to choose the wrong door. Fifty-fifty chance and I messed it up. Story of my life. This world was so far out of my comfort zone, so surreal, that I’d even questioned if I’d finally gone over the edge. Maybe this was really an episode in my head, and I was seriously having a doozy of a breakdown.

I ran a weary hand over my face trying desperately to hold back…tears? Screams? I wasn’t even sure. All I knew was that I was pulling apart at the seams and had no idea if I would ever be able to stitch myself back together. The tiny child part of me yearned for Bishop. My rock and voice of reason. I really wished he was here right now, assuring me everything was going to be alright. I needed a grownup, bigtime.

But since wishes were just as useless as glass hammers, I locked the threatening hysteria down and gripped my sai, trying once again to dredge up an ounce of magic. I knew that was our only option. Open another door and jump us away from this awful place. But again nothing. The slight sizzling in my gut sputtered and blinked out without catching fire. There was no magic. No power. I was running on empty. I glanced sideways at Jill, her pale face a ghostly blur in the dark.

“Do you have any magic left?”

I made sure to whisper. I didn’t need another reprimand from the witch up front.

“No.” Her answer was absolute. “Whatever I had, Asha sucked me dry of. I have nothing. I can’t even produce a flicker of flame to light our way through this damn darkness. And even if I did, my magic isn’t the most reliable. I can’t control it. I’d probably burn the rest of this godforsaken city down and us along with it.”

“She needs her magical instrument to control her power.”

Jill’s head swiveled in Starke’s direction. “My what?”

“Your magic wand,” I informed her like that was the most normal thing in the world. “Apparently all magical beings on Endova have them. Starke’s is his sword, mine’s the sai. I wonder what yours is?”

“The fire elemental’s instrument is a whip,” Starke answered my question. “The earth elemental’s power is contained by a stone hammer and the air elemental has a bow. Only with your instruments are you the most powerful and in control of your magic.”

“A whip? Really?” I whispered in awe. “That’s so freakin’ cool. Man, I wish mine was the whip.”

“I wish I knew what you were both talking about,” Jill muttered, shaking her head.

“Doesn’t matter at the moment,” I added. “You’ll see later. What matters is you’re a bust, and so am I. How about you?” I turned to Starke. “You have any magic? Can those runes of yours get us out of here like they did the tower?”

“I’m afraid not since neither of you can open a portal right now. You will need to regenerate, the same as me, and this world has barely anything to pull from, as far as I can tell.”

His words only pissed me off once again. “But you’re Fae, dammit. A magical being. You should have something in your arsenal. You’re telling me you can’t even use any of that blood magic again?”

I felt his accusatory gaze through the dark. “I know you’re scared right now so I’ll let your juvenile behavior slide, this time. Magic is not infinite, Jette. You should know that by now. And blood magic is not something to play lightly with. It has… consequences.” He sighed as if he was dealing with an obtuse child. “After expelling the amount of power we did to escape, all of our bodies need time to rejuvenate. We need a magic source. Our only chance of getting out of here will be to find a ley line.”

Great. That’s all. Find a ley line. Like we could just go to the corner gas station and get a map for that.

Jill brushed my shoulder as she leaned past me to whisper at Starke.

“Did you just say we were stuck here? In this world with creatures trying to kill us?”

“I did.”Steel exasperation laced his voice. “So I suggest we be on our best behavior with these people, since I doubt we’d last here very long on our own with no magic.”

“So much for saving me,” Jill whined as she pulled back. “Seems like all you people did was pull me from the pan and shove me headfirst into the fire. I was better off taking my chances with the evil queen.”

I wanted to give her a crap ton of my best snark. Take my irritation out on her instead of Starke, but I knew her words stemmed from fear. And besides that, there was no arguing her comment. Basically, we had done just that. Or I had. But the mention of Asha aroused a much bigger concern.

“Crap, I almost forgot about Asha. What if she follows us here? Or sends her morquals after us. There’s no way these people can protect us from your demented mother. And with our magic bone-dry right now, I’m guessing the odds likely won’t be in our favor.”

A sliver of moonlight squeezed its way between two buildings, highlighting Starke’s square jaw as he stared ahead.

“Asha can’t track an ending point as easily as a starting point. If you jump from anywhere on Endova she can pinpoint it to the precise location. But where that jump door takes you? That is only between the traveler and the multiverse.”

It felt like a weight lifted from my chest. “So, you’re saying she can’t find us?”

“No, I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying she can’t track you as easily. But eventually she will find us. And she will come. That’s why we need to find a ley line as quickly as possible.”

And just like that, the weight settled again. I glanced sideways at Starke through the gloom wishing for once he could actually lie to me, just to make me feel better. “A word of advice. If you ever decide to choose a new career path, don’t go with motivational speaker, k?”

I heard his weary sigh at my cattiness, and another wave of guilt washed over me. He didn’t need me adding to the stress. But it was like I couldn’t help myself. Stress and fear brought out my mean streak. Before I could utter anything in the way of apology, a shaggy head shoved its way through the tiny space between us.

“Not to be a nosey Ned, but I’ve been eavesdropping your convo, fellas. I didn’t hear every word since you were whispering pretty low, but I swear I heard you guys talking about magic. Are you being serious? Are you guys really saying you have magic? I mean, cause like that would be totally awesome.”

The young guy, Gordo, was probably not much older than me, but the excitement in his voice made him appear all of twelve-years-old. Without waiting for an invitation, he wiggled his body between Starke and I, hip checking me to move over. Out of all of them, he appeared to be the most open and receptive, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try and get some answers from him.

“Yeah, you heard us talking about magic. I take it magic isn’t common on this world?”

“If you call card tricks and pulling bunnies outta hats, then yeah, we have magic. But I get a feeling that’s not what you guys are talking about.”

I grunted to myself, half laughter, half fear. We were in so much trouble here.

“So people here don’t have abilities? You don’t have people that can control the elements or Fae of any kind?”

Starke’s question sounded stupid even to my ears, and I actually believed in magic.

“What? Fae? As in Faeries?” Gordo’s skepticism was obvious.

“Yes. Exactly.”

Gordo’s snort at Starke’s definite answer tapered off to a low whistling intake of breath. “You’re not joking, are you?”

“Not in the slightest,” Starke replied.

“Man, I knew Amy was right.” The skepticism gone; his voice practically quivered with excitement. “I knew you guys were special, ‘cause you severed that QL’s head like you were slicing through butter. We would never be able to do that. Only a magic blade could do that. She said you guys were coming from another world. The others wouldn’t believe her. Said she was just having bad dreams and nightmares, but I knew she was telling the truth. And now here you are. Come to save us, just like she dreamed.”

I hated to burst the guy’s bubble. We ended up here by accident. We weren’t here to save anyone. Heck, we probably couldn’t even save ourselves.

“You keep mentioning this Amy,” I asked instead of spilling the truth. “And that she knew we were coming. Who is she?”

“She’s part of our group. Or what’s left of our group.” Gordo’s tone grew tight with grief and I suddenly didn’t want to hear any more of what he was about to say. I knew I wasn’t going to like it. “She’s been rambling on about you guys for about a week or more now. Only yesterday she woke in a frenzy. Said you guys were coming and that we had to be here to help you cross over. Bix tried to play it down to another bad dream, but Ames was insistent. Only way Bix could calm her down was agree to do recon on Queen Street last night. Imagine how we almost crapped our pants when we showed up and saw you guys waitin’ there, just like she said.”

Interesting. So this Amy person was dreaming or hallucinating us? Just like I did with my mom and the others. Maybe there was a bit of magic in this world after all.

“I wonder how much Amy knows about the other realms,” I whispered past the kid to Starke. “She may be able to help us pinpoint Larry and Curly.”

“Other realms exist too?” Gordo practically leaned in my face, blocking my view and interrupting my words. “I knew it.” He sounded tickled pink by this. “I always believed that, ever since I read The Man in The High Castle. You know that one? It’s by Theresa Nagler. Awesome story. It’s all about parallel worlds and dimensions and Nazis and---”

My brow wrinkled in confusion as I interrupted. “No, that’s not right. The Man in The High Castle was written by Philip K Dick.”

“Ummm no,” Gordo snorted at me. “I’ve read that book at least twenty times over. There’s no way I’d get the author’s name wrong. She’s one of my favorites.”

I blinked in confusion. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah. Are you?”

“Positive,” I replied. “I read that only last year when the TV show came out.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense….oooh, wait.” Gordo’s tone rose like he just had an epiphany. “Are you telling me in your world someone else wrote that book? You realize what that means, right? Our worlds really are like the book. Things are the same, but different. That’s freakin’ awesome.”

I looked past him to Starke, not in the least as excited as Gordo.

“Is he right? Are some of these worlds similar? My world had nothing in common with Endova, but this one? This one seems to be eerily similar to the world I grew up in. Minus the aliens, of course.”

I couldn’t see Starke’s expression through the murky dusk, but the uncertainty in his voice was obvious.

“It’s a possibility, I suppose. No one, not even Asha, is aware of how many parallel worlds there are. The odds of some being mirror images of others is higher than we may have thought possible.”

I decided to test the theory and switched my attention back to Gordo.

“Bixby asked if I thought we were in Disney World. I recognize that name.Where I come from, Disney World is located in a place called Florida. Is yours the same?”

Gordo practically guffawed in my face. “Florida? Hell no. Disney World is in Georgia. At least in this world it is.” His eyes opened even wider. “Hey, if our worlds are different versions of each other, then does that mean the people are too? Like does a version of me exist in your world? Does a version of you exist here? Wouldn’t that be something. I bet—"

“Gordo.” The hissed name from the front of the pack had the guy stiffening in fright. “Shut your trap and get back to position. Now.”

He did as she ordered, whatever he was about to say caged by the angry command. I didn’t blame him. Bixby was one scary chick. But there was so much more I needed to ask him. Was he right? Were the parallel worlds similar just like in that book? And were there different versions of people? Of me? Just thinking about it made my head want to explode. And if there was a different version of me still alive in this world, then I hoped she was a hell of a lot smarter than I was and was staying out of this whole damn situation.

The clogged city streets and towering buildings finally gave way to a neighborhood with a bit more space and breathing room. Without the skyscrapers hovering over us and boxing us in, we could feel the gentle night breeze on our skin, and it made the darkness a little more bearable. Like my lungs were actually working at full capacity again. Even the moon seemed brighter, illuminating the ground so I wasn’t stumbling every five feet.

A whispered, “Down here,” floated on the air back to us. I looked up from watching where I was stepping just in time to see the lead shadows begin dropping out of sight. What the heck?

As we approached the point where the others had disappeared, I realized the ground dropped off to a concrete gully about fifteen feet wide and dotted with steel tracks. Train tracks. I followed the track’s descent into the night’s darkness. They appeared to lead farther down the road to a mammoth black pit of a monument as solid as a mountain highlighted against the starlit sky. I wondered for a split second why there was a mountain in the middle of a city, before realizing it was just a building built over the tracks. Back in normal times, the train tracks tunneled beneath the building, but there wasn’t an iota of moonlight shining through the base, telling me whatever tunnel that used to be there was most likely collapsed.

I glanced over at Starke, wondering if he was as worried about this as I was. “You think it’s a good idea to follow them? I have a bad feeling about this. This spells trap with a capitol T.”

“Good ideas went out the window long ago. Not like we have much choice but to trust these guys,” he answered.

Truth.

“No worries.” Gordo stuck his head between us again, obviously still eavesdropping. “This is our hideout. It’s an old train tunnel station. The other side of the tunnel is collapsed so we only have to post guards on this side. And no windows in the building means there’s nothing to give away that we’re staying inside. It’s safe enough.”

I turned back to him; one brow raised. “Only one way in or out? Doesn’t sound safe to me. Sounds like a trap, like I just said.”

He chuckled softly. Glad I amused him so much.

“There’s an opening on the roof of the station guarded with watchmen 24/7. If we need to make a quick getaway, that’s our way out. Don’t worry. It’s safe. Luke wouldn’t set us up anywhere not safe.”

“Hmph. Famous last words,” I muttered under my breath as I followed the others lead and jumped down the few feet to the steel tracks. Most of the tracks had long since been overrun with weeds and bushes, but the odd piece of steel that poked through nature’s blanket caused me to stumble a couple of times. Starke was always there to catch me, but instead of being irritated by his hovering presence, I actually took comfort in his solid touch. I was grateful knowing he was close. My lifeline in this shitstorm of uncertainty.

As we approached the station, everyone stopped short as another entity emerged from the gloom of the building. Something blocked the entrance to the tunnel running through the bottom of the station. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust but they finally identified this new thing. A boxcar. It laid horizontal across the tracks, filling the tunnel end to end and jammed in tight so there was no moving it. Not unless the leeches knew how to operate a bulldozer.

Before I could ask how we would get past this, a lowkey whistle vibrated on the night air. Three high-low short bursts. They were quickly followed by an answering signal as the side door of the train car slid open a fraction, a sliver of lamplight filtering through the crack.

I couldn’t see the face behind the light, but the low voice that greeted us was female.

“About time. I was starting to worry.”

The door squeaked as it slid open more and a shadow exploded from the boxcar. I quelled the scream building in my throat as something big and hairy lunged at me. At first I thought it was a bear and my brain screamed at me to run. Before I could move my butt, paws landed on my shoulders, nearly knocking me backwards.

Realization of what it was registered moments before I was assaulted by rancid doggy breath, and a slimy, wet tongue slobbered down my cheek.

“What the… get off me, dog,” I groaned, pushing the huge animal away and wiping angrily at my cheek with the back of my arm. It didn’t seem to take offence to my anger at all. It simply started running around the three of us in circles, its tail wagging wildly, and huffing in the back of its throat. These people had a dog? So weird.

“Awww, Scruff likes you guys,” Gordo’s teeth gleamed at me in the low light as the woman swung the lamp our way.

“Holy mother….you actually found them? It was all true?”

The glow of the lamp reflected off the wide eyes in her pale face as she stared at us like we were ghosts come back from the dead.

“Yeah, Evie, what Amy said was real. How awesome is that?”

Gordo’s enthusiasm was not matched by Bixby as she turned her always constant glare on us. Well, on me. Like I was the one causing all the ruckus. Wasn’t my fault their stupid dog jumped all over me.

“Will you idiots stop rambling and get inside before you draw attention?”

She motioned to the boxcar. So I guess we were going through? I glanced over at Starke and he gave me a slight nod like he understood the indecisiveness running through my head.

Well, here goes nothing. I guess barricading ourselves in a half collapsed train station was better than staying out in the open to face the leeches, and QL’s, and whatever other craziness inhabited this world. Better to be crushed by a falling building than be torn apart by monsters, I guess.

“Bix is right. Come on.” Gordo hopped up onto the platform, motioning for us to do the same.

Jill didn’t seem to share my uncertainty. She was the first one to haul ass inside the boxcar. I followed behind, with Starke taking up the rear. I caught a quick glimpse of curious faces at either end of the car. Guards lounged in folding chairs, rifles laying across their laps, and watching us through wary eyes. My own gaze was pulled to the shelves above their heads and what I saw made my heartrate spike once again. The clay-like blocks attached with multicolored wiring were not something I saw every day, but I’d seen enough movies in my lifetime to know what they were. Explosives. These guys were ready to blow this train car to smithereens if need be. It should have terrified me, this confirmation of how dangerous this world was. But somehow, seeing the explosives actually made me feel better at going inside knowing nothing was getting past these guys if they didn’t want it to.

Gordo slid the door on the opposite side of the boxcar open and my arm lifted in reflex, protecting my eyes from the brilliant glow. After being in complete darkness for what felt like hours, this light was like staring straight into the sun.

“Sorry,” Luke, muttered at us as he slid by. “Should have warned you about that.”

His hand held mine, helping me drop down from the boxcar. I blinked a couple of times, trying to clear the water from my eyes. Finally, the tunnel came into full focus.

It was like stepping into a refugee camp. Starke pulled up short and I stumbled into his back. Jill was no better. The three of us stood there taking in the sight.

It was a train tunnel, alright. A mishmash of lines crisscrossed each other in between concrete platforms, awaiting trains that would never arrive. Similar to any of the subway tunnels I was used to. The whole place was alit with fires burning in barrels, sleeping bags and tents littered everywhere, and solemn faced people all carrying some sort of weapon.

For the large amount of people padding the rounded tunnel, there was a weird absence of sound. The faces that studied us were lined with weariness and more than their fair share of distrust. I got it. We were strangers. And it didn’t help that Starke was sporting a huge-ass, bloodied sword on his hip. At least my sai were hidden under my coat.

To be honest, they all looked like shit. Exhausted shit. It looked like they didn’t have the energy to even care about the new people infiltrating their hideaway, let alone comment on it. So the sudden excited shriek that bounced around the tunnel almost made me pee my pants.

“You found them!”

Still blinking away tears, I wasn’t sure if the girl that bounded down the stairs from the floor above was glowing or not. I swear an aura surrounded her dark curls, like she was an angel ascending from the heavens. I squinted and wiped at my eyes with the back of my sleeve. The glow surrounding the girl evaporated as she came into focus.

Her round face was split from ear to ear with the biggest smile I’d ever seen. Her gray eyes, slightly slanted from Down Syndrome, danced with uncontrollable excitement. Just seeing the way her face lit up at the sight of us made my own lips twitch with the first touch of a smile since we landed on this miserable planet.

I exhaled a tiny ‘oof’ as she ran at us and connected with my gut, wrapping her arms around Starke’s waist and mine so she was sandwiched between us.

“You made it. I’m so happy.”

“Amy, back off.” Bixby gripped the girl’s shoulder and pulled her gently away from us. The girl allowed it, but her smile stayed firm as she clapped her hands excitedly and stared at us like we were the second coming.

So this was the Amy they were talking about? How did she know about us? I had a million questions for her, I just didn’t know where to start.

“Thank goodness you found them.” This new voice came from a Valkyrie of a woman sauntering down the same staircase Amy had just descended from. She had to be well over six feet tall, her long gray hair hanging in two plaits on either side of her wrinkled cheeks. In her arms she carried a toddler, no more than one or two, maybe. The little girl squirmed as she saw us, her chunky arms reaching out and yelling ‘mama’. The tall woman approached Bixby, handing the redheaded baby over to her equally redheaded mother. Bixby’s trademark harshness she treated us with, practically melted as she took the child in her arms and nuzzled her to her neck. The Luke dude hovered over them, dropping a tiny kiss on top of the baby’s head. The kid’s father, maybe? This prickly chick allowed her guard down long enough to have a kid? That truly surprised me. Why would you even chance that in a world like this?

The old lady watched them, smiling for a moment, before dropping a hand affectionately on Amy’s shoulder even as her sharp eyes analyzed us. “Amy was driving me nuts with worry. Glad to see you made it.”

The pounding in my head went into overdrive. This was all just too much. What the heck was going on here?

“How did you know?” My voice cracked. “How did you know to come look for us?”

“I dreamed about you.” Amy’s eyes flickered over Starke and Jill, before landing on me. “I dreamed about all of you. The girl in the red coat. The magic man. The fire lady. You all came to my dreams.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” I insisted.

“Tell me about it,” Bixby added as she stared over the top of the kid’s head, bouncing her up and down in her arms.

We needed answers. But before I could open my mouth, the old lady grinned.

“Whatever you are about to say, girl, save it. You all look like you’ve been to hell and back. Food and rest first. Then we talk.”

Best thing I’d heard since we landed our sorry asses here.

## #

Despite the warmth emanating from the roaring flames in the fireplace that lined the back wall of the room we were in, chills encapsulated my whole body. The barely edible mushroom and dandelion broth they had fed us earlier, sloshed in my belly, and I fought the wave of nausea threatening to reintroduce said broth back to me. What Bixby and Luke and the Valkyrie, Kip, had just informed us of was terrifying and so far out of my comfort zone, I didn’t quite know how to handle it. I wasn’t even sure I could. As far as revelations went, it could have been worse, I guess. But damn if I could think of a worse one right now.

Dealing with a magic realm was one thing. Knowing that I had landed us in a world where creatures wanted to suck our insides out and drain us dry? I didn’t even have words for.

I stared at the three survivors seated across from us in complete silence, trying to comprehend the story they had just recited.

“So, let me get this straight. You’re telling us this world is infected by killer aliens and hybrids that used to be human at one point? And that after years of war you were able to defeat said aliens and they died off, only to have them come back again?”

Kip nodded in agreement. “Yes. Two years ago, we thought we had defeated them, with Amy’s help. Back then there were still scientists working on it and they came up with a solution. It worked, for a while. The hybrids and leeches died off. The QL’s left our planet in whatever strange way they had arrived. Or so we thought. We were wrong. Some form of them stayed, hibernating in pods that were well looked after and guarded.”

“Guarded by who?” Jill asked the question on the tip of my tongue.

“By the ravagers. Crazy, cannibalistic bastards,” Bixby spat in disgust.

Wait a damn minute. Did she just say cannibals?

“I think I heard you wrong.” I blinked owlishly at her. “Did I hear the word cannibals? As in humans that eat….other humans?”

“Mankind is no longer what it used to be, my dear.” Kip’s face was tight with sadness, like somehow that fact was her fault. “Some of the…less sane, regarded the alien invaders as gods more than enemies. While we thought the invaders had deserted this world, those people were actually harvesting them. Keeping them alive so they could mutate once again.”

Starke leaned forward in his chair. “Mutate, how so?”

I threw a panicked “Who cares?” Starke’s way. “She just said there’s cannibals here along with the blood-sucking aliens. At least with those freaky-deaky mutations you know where you stand. Humans that look like us, but want to eat us? That’s a whole different ballgame. How are we supposed to be able to tell who our enemies are? We need to get off this freakin’ world.”

“We will cross that bridge when we come to it, Jette.” Starke’s tone was calm and collected, so in contrast to my rising hysteria. “But to do that we need to understand what we are dealing with here, and how we are able to help.”

Of course he wants to help. Damn him and his noble Game of Thrones Starke attitude. He dismissed my frantic eyeroll, turning his attention back to Kip. “Mutate how?”

Luke answered the question from his leaning position against the wall. “The invaders are basically scavengers. They pick up the physiology of any creature they… consume. Then choose and pick what DNA traits they need to survive the planet. When we found their weakness, they adapted. Modified. What we defeated them with before no longer works.” Luke ran a hand across the back of his neck. “We thought we were safe. What was left of mankind thought they were safe. But those creatures were just biding their time. A couple of years later, they came after us again. We were unprepared and didn’t stand a chance. Our safe havens were invaded. More people died. Nowhere is safe now. We don’t stay at any given point for more than three or four weeks at a time. Wherever we hide, they find us.”

I shook my head and glanced back and forth at Starke and Jill. The fire elemental looked as flabbergasted as I was, but Starke’s façade was cool as a cucumber.

“It’s like we landed in the middle of some bad scifi movie,” I whispered. “This is so hard to believe, it’s messing with my head.”

A snort drifted from across the room, alerting me to Bixby’s disapproval. She’d been unusually quiet during this whole info dump, but what I’d just said obviously pissed her off.

“You don’t believe us? What the hell do you think those things were on the street tonight? Overgrown baboons? You saw them with your own damn eyes. Believe it. Just like you’re asking us to believe three idiots jumped here through a portal from a parallel world. And not just any three ordinary people. People with magic, of all things.”

I colored a little at her harshness. “I wasn’t saying I didn’t believe what you told us. All I’m saying is I’m finding it hard to wrap my head around it. Geez Louise, lady, chill out will ya?”

I shot her some serious shade.

“I guess we both have a grave set of expectations that we need each other to believe,” Starke interrupted smoothly, trying to keep the peace. “And as hard as it is to comprehend each other’s realities, we must. Agreed?”

The blonde giant laid a beefy hand on Bixby’s rigid shoulder. “He’s right, Bix. Amy wouldn’t willingly endanger us with people she didn’t trust. She believes in these people immensely.”

Bixby sat stiff backed for a moment, before finally giving in to his touch. As prickly as she was, this dude seemed to understand how to handle her. Must have taken a lot of practice. She appeared to back off and I took advantage, pinching the bridge of my nose to focus my erratic thoughts.

“Okay, just say we all believe each other. You guys have an alien world, we have a magical world. Question is, how did we end up here? Why would your Amy dream about us? Satoga said the doors would only take us to worlds where we had something in common with a person or thing. We have nothing in common with this world or with Amy. I’ve never dreamt her before and I’m pretty sure none of the elementals are here on this planet. When I saw them, the worlds they were in were nothing like this. You agree, Jill?”

The fire elemental nodded in agreement. “This is definitely not their world. And as for the girl, I have no idea who she is.”

“Me either. Or why she would even think we could help with this shitshow you folks have happening here?” I glanced sideways to Starke. “Do you have any idea how we ended up here?”

Starke’s lips thinned as he grimaced. “I think I may.”

I almost did a double take. That was unexpected.

“Okay then. You feel like sharing?”

He ducked his head as if thinking carefully about his words. Finally, he lifted his head, his jade eyes more serious than I had ever seen them.

“I think Amy is a Precognitive. An elementally blessed being with the ability to see other worlds and futures. And not just see, but interact. That’s how she was able to direct our jump here. The destination was not yours to decide, Jette. I believe Amy brought us here for her own agenda.”

“Wha…you telling me my portal was hijacked? By the girl? And she has magic like we do?”

Another snort of disbelief floated across the room, and I almost joined in on it myself.

“What in blazes are you people talking about?” Bixby leaped to her feet and started pacing back and forth in front of the fire. “Amy is not…whatever that word was you said. She isn’t any sort of magical being. Magic doesn’t exist. What is wrong with you people?”

“Bix,” Luke warned, and she whirled on him.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re believing in this bullcrap, Luke? Magic and portals and parallel worlds. It sounds more like a bad acid trip than truth if you ask me.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Yeah, people having magical abilities is unbelievable, right? Just as much as blood-sucking aliens and hybrids. Oh, wait a minute.”

It was her turn to color with embarrassment. She ran a hand over the network of star tats covering the unmistakable scar running down her cheek. The tats looked cool as all heck, but I wasn’t about to tell her that.

“Fine. Point taken. But just know I don’t believe for one moment that Amy is some magical being. That is way too over the top.”

Starke rose to his feet, not in a threatening way, but in the commanding, royalty way that I was starting to get used too. His hard gaze bounced about the room, demanding full attention.

“Maybe it is time I explain what we know. I’ll keep it short and simple. All worlds are connected and have been since the beginning of time. And since the beginning, all worlds were born with magic.”

“And you know this how?” Bixby interjected with her usual arrogant disbelief. I suddenly knew how I must have sounded to Starke and my grandmother when they were trying to explain this whole thing to me. Like a dumbass ignoramus. Mental note to apologize to them both if I ever get the chance. I tried to help Starke in his conviction spiel.

“Because he’s the Fae Prince of the home planet where all life began. Endova.”

The look he shot me at Bixby’s scoff told me quite clearly I wasn’t helping. I rethought my words. Fae? Prince? Home planet? Yeah, altogether it did sound a bit unbelievable. I clamped my lips shut.

“As unrealistic as Jette’s words may seem, it is true. Some of these worlds have a multitude of magic. In others, it is barely noticeable. I’m sure even in this world you have heard of psychics or spiritualists, that sort of thing. That is actual magic. It is there, waiting for the right person to interact with it. I believe Amy to be one of those people. I’m not saying she can create rainbows and butterflies from thin air. No magic can create something from nothing. Her power is more subtle. I believe she can connect with other beings through her dreams. When she is asleep and her conscious is more open and malleable. Has she done this sort of thing before? Has she connected to others or worlds through dreams? Has she been able to do anything you can’t explain?”

There was no mistaking the look that danced between Bixby and Luke, and I knew Starke had just hit the proverbial nail on the head.

“She always did have an uncanny way of seeing the future sometimes.” Bixby’s words were grudgingly uttered. “Like once she insisted I wear her dragon necklace out on a hunt because of a dream, and the damn thing ended up saving my life.”

“Or her dream about you people and how you would come here.”

Luke nodded at Kip’s statement. “Right. Not to mention her ability to connect with the invaders when we couldn’t. I never really did understand that.”

“See?” Starke grinned with excitement. “The girl is special, no question. She is able to use universal magic which was how she connected to us. How she knew she could direct us here.”

“Fine.” Bixby crossed her arms and stared at us through narrowed eyes. “So if Amy is so magical,” she spit the word like it was a piece of dirt in her mouth, “tell me how you propose to help us, Mr. Prince? Because she said that’s why you lot were coming here, to help.”

“Yeah, about that.” I didn’t want to admit the truth, since the ice queen was actually starting to thaw. “I’m not sure what she means. We have no idea how to help you. Heck, we weren’t even supposed to be here. This is the wrong world.”

The silence that greeted my admission was not a good sign.

“Dammit,” Bixby breathed as she fell back against her chair. “I knew it. This whole fiasco is a crock of buttered shit.”

“Bix,” Luke warned.

“No, I’m tired of listening to their bull—"

“Enough,” the big guy commanded, and I almost fell over when she actually shut up. “We need to keep a cool head if we are to figure this out.”

“Luke is right, dear.” Kip threw her a tiny, apologetic smile. “Let’s figure this out together.”

“You are all overlooking the obvious,” Starke interjected, demanding the attention back to him. “The simplest way to figure this out is to go straight to the source. Amy brought us here for a reason. Why don’t we ask her?”