AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fuck. What the hell is that? It’s brighter than a hooker in sequins.” I cocked my head. There was something…something that was on the outskirts of my thoughts, but I couldn’t pull it into focus yet. “It reminds me of something.”
Just then, Shade appeared with Morio, and Roz vanished to get Delilah.
Morio looked vaguely queasy, and as Shade let him go, he turned to the side and vomited. Shade produced a bottle of water from the inner pocket of his calf-length duster and handed it to him.
“I thought that was going to hit you. Drink. It will help.”
Morio wiped his lips on his sleeve, then poured a shot of water into his mouth, rinsing and spitting before taking another drink to settle his stomach.
“Fucking A…you really travel in some squirrely places, dude.” Morio shook his head. “Let me clear my thoughts.”
“I warned you. Even though you work with death magic, the ebb and flow of the Netherworld forces are harsh on those who don’t spring from its energy. I’m pretty sure Camille found that out when she was in Gulakah’s mind.” Shade glanced over at me, a faint look of pity washing across his face.
I gave him a little shrug. “It was bad, that’s for sure. But I’ve been through worse.”
“That you have, Mistress Camille. That you have.” Shade inclined his head, giving me a small salute.
Just then, Roz returned with Delilah, and Vanzir followed. We got our bearings and began to make plans.
“Here’s the thing: Most of the human shield won’t be able to fight us here. I know they have stronger powers than most FBH pagans, and there are some Fae with them; however, they don’t appear to have an awareness that we’re here. And even if they knew, I don’t think there’s much they could do about it.”
Vanzir shrugged. “So, we can skirt around them and attack the creature from the back. The zombies won’t be able to affect us, either, so we just might manage to trace the energy signature of whoever raised them, while we’re at it.”
I whirled around. “Do you think we could trace the signature from here?”
He pursed his lips, considering. “Maybe. Depends on who cast the spell and how adept they are at hiding their whereabouts.”
Delilah peeked around the trunk, then darted back. “Do we have any clue what the hell that thing is?”
“I recognize something about it, but for the life of me I can’t quite bring it to mind.” I strained to find the words for what it resembled.
“Looks like a silver squishy orange,” Delilah said, grimacing.
And then, it hit me. “Not an orange! An egg. Reminds me of a giant fish egg or something like that. You don’t think…that couldn’t be…” A sudden rush of fear hit me. If that thing was actually the egg of some creature and it was sucking up zombies right and left, what the fuck could it be? “Shade, that’s not a dragon egg, is it?”
Shade let out a strangled “Ugh” and gave me a look that said he thought I was crazy. “Dragon egg? No, not dragon. However…you may have a point. That might just be an egg. The questions are: What’s inside, and when is it going to hatch?”
As the last of the zombies disappeared, the witches turned and began walking toward it.
“Fuck! We have to do something now, or it’s going to destroy them, too!” I raced forward. “We can’t let it absorb all those people.”
And then a cold thought struck me. What if Gulakah was intending to use the entire magical community as food for this thing? And what if there were more of them?
All these thoughts ran though my mind as I raced through the mist. On the astral, I could run faster than just about anybody in our group except for Roz. Smoky, in dragon form, could barely keep up with me. So I was through the mist and at the side of the egg—if that was what it was—before anybody could react.
I stared up at it as the ghostly auras of the witches moved toward it. I had to do something, break the spell somehow. And then I knew. I pulled out the Black Unicorn horn.
Crystal, with threads of gold and silver running through it, the spiraled horn was a powerhouse. It contained Eriskel, a jindasel, both an avatar of the Black Unicorn and yet a being in his own right. Not a djinn but similar in nature, the jindasels were a mysterious symbiosis.
I didn’t have time to stand on formality, nor did I know just how the horn would work over here on the astral. I held it up and called on the four Elementals who also were locked within the horn.
“I don’t know how to fight this—I don’t even know what it is, but help me.” As I focused the energy, a dazzling blast shot out, and the next thing I knew, I was standing inside the horn, with Eriskel by my side, looking horrified.
“I don’t have time to talk—we’re fighting…something. It’s going to kill a lot of innocent people unless you let me get out of here.” I stared at the jindasel, both pissed and frightened.
Today, he was standing a good seven feet tall, though that was relative considering we were in yet another interdimensional space that existed only within the Black Unicorn horn. His dark hair was tucked back in a neat ponytail, and golden rings hung from his ears. He was wearing green—a brilliant, almost blinding green.
He waved away my concerns. “Time has no meaning here. You know that.”
