“Next time, let’s leave saving the galaxy to someone else.”
A resounding boom of laughter, along with the clinking sound of clapping crystals, made Azazel jump.
“That was so entertaining!” Lord Baelon stepped out of the mist and smoke that seeped through the cracked doorway of the Dimensional Rift chamber into the hallway. “My entire crew and I thoroughly enjoyed your show. Didn’t we?” The clear blue crystals in his head reflected in the low light as he nodded behind him.
Azazel straightened. His eyes widened when he didn’t see any fractures or dull parts of their nemesis’s body. Then his attention swung to the fog when a small group of Krystalii waltzed through.
The rebels. Every one of them. Including Vaeloryx.
“Most assuredly, my Lord.” Vaeloryx put a hand over his heart, bowing with a smirk.
“Ah, yes.” Baelon gestured to the aquamarine-and-silver Krystalii. “I believe you have met my second-in-command, Sentinel Commander Vaeloryx, head of my Elite troops.”
Toni gasped.
Azazel straightened, keeping her hand in his as they faced the Krystalii. He ignored the pain his nails created in the palms of his other hand as he clenched his fingers into a tight fist.
The growl from his inner beast was loud enough to hear with his ears and not just his mind.
“You may have played your part well.” Azazel nodded to Vaeloryx and the other rebels. “But betrayal has a price I hope you’re prepared to pay.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you.” Baelon’s grin widened. “I’m sure you have more important things to concern yourself with.” He tilted his head toward Toni. “Starting with her.”
Azazel jerked. His eyes widened as he watched Toni dissolve into nothingness. “Toni!” He reached out to where she’d been, but his fingers only met air. He turned to Baelon, both hands clamped into tight fists. “What did you do to her? If you harmed her…” Taking a step toward the Krystalii, he raised one of his fists as a blinding heat engulfed him.
His inner beast reacted with blinding speed, clawing, desperate to get free.
It took everything Azazel had to contain it. If he gave in to it, letting his primitive urge free, he’d never find Toni.
“Harm her?” Baelon guffawed. “You shard-less vermin.”
With a blink of Baelon’s neon blue eyes, Azazel found himself frozen.
The sizable crystal alien stopped in front of Azazel and leaned in.
Even with the force of his vast psychic abilities blazing through every nerve, Azazel couldn’t move—trapped in place by an invisible weight so crushing it stole his breath. His focus was shredded with icy precision.
“She’s where she’s always been on theNyrlith. Safe and sound in the regenerating room where I put her when she was first brought aboard. It’s you, my friend—”
Baelon sneered mere inches from Azazel’s face, close enough for him to smell the Krystalii’s putrid breath of metal and dirt.
“—who is not aware of where he is.” The Krystalii stood back and crossed his bulky arms with a taunting smirk. “Or how he hasn’t accomplished a damn thing since boarding my ship. Pity.” His shrug was stilted and unnatural. “You were quite adept at creating an entertaining example for my troops on how organics in this dimension react. But now that we’ve learned all we need to know, it’s time to put you back where you belong.”
Baelon turned and walked away. Each step made the blue colors from his body wink across the mirrored and glass walls around the room.
The last thing Azazel felt was JR14 lifting off the back of his neck from where he’d been hiding under his hair.
Not looking back, Baelon waved his crystal hand as if he was dismissing an errant child.
Azazel found himself engulfed by… nothing.
Toni woke with a start, blinking at the feeble gleam of the crystal cage and its towering, faceted, blue-green walls. Swallowing a moan, she draped her arm over her eyes. She’d rather go back to sleep and continue that exciting… wonderful… heart-pounding dream that had been so real than wake up to this nightmare.
That fantasy man… Oh my god, her mind had to have worked overtime to make that hunk-a-luscious up. His male beauty surpassed that of anyone she’d ever met or dreamed of. His soothing masculine voice sent chills down her spine, as did his calm, sharp, intellectual mind. But most of all, she admired how he showed patience when dealing with others. Just look at how he handled that little spider-robot thingy of his. Even after that dream adventure ended, her heart pounded when she thought of him. Her imagination had concocted a classic working-with-a-hero-along-with-some-rebels-to-escape scenario that was everything she could’ve hoped for. A dull ache settled in her chest as she realized it’d all been a dream. Like a beautiful illusion that slipped through her fingers. Damn, what she wouldn’t give to be like that heroic protagonist she imagined she was.
Someone bold. Fearless. Everything she wished she could be.
But in real life, it didn’t take much to make her fold. She nodded along with whoever was around her. Biting her tongue, doing her best not to rock the boat or bring attention to herself. That was her shameful secret. She was a coward, and that made her life miserable. The only thing she was good at was running errands, not chasing dreams. Yep, good ol’ reliable Toni. Steady enough to get the job done, but not strong enough to stand up for herself and demand the credit for all the hard work she busted her ass for. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was why she’d never advanced in the movie business.
