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just might discover that I have taken away the ground beneath your feet. What I give, I can

easily take away.”

The Matriarch’s lip curled into a vicious sneer. Carina swallowed the lump of fear in her

throat. If she was going down, so was the old hag, she’d make sure of that.

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“Rory, sit down,” Leon ordered. She looked over at him. For being almost dead such a

short time ago, he now looked like he was almost ready to take on the world.

“Something is in the air, can’t you feel it? The last time your grandmother was in here

she was almost gleeful.”

They’d been transferred to their own private quarters onboard the grandmother’s flagship

and specifically given separate quarters to sleep in.

She sighed and sat in the nearest chair. “My father and aunts are coming for me and your

grandmother thinks she’s going to annihilate them.”

She stared at the Chinese Ming Dynasty vase, staring next at the medieval tapestry that

hung above it. The entire room was decorated in Imperial Chinese Fashion.

She wrung her hands in her lap. “I hate not being able to do anything. I need to do

something.”

“Go and prepare me a ham sandwich. That will keep you occupied for a little while.”

Leon gave her a tired glance.

She shook her head. “You seem to be able to hobble around pretty well, make it for

yourself.”

He gave her a piercing stare. “You are my betrothed you will do as I say.”

“Do you actually believe what you’re saying?”

“Not really but I have to save face. You’re going to have to listen to what I say in the

future if you want to stay alive within the Triad. My grandmother will have you eliminated for

insolent behavior like that.”

“So you keep telling me, over and over again.”

A chime sounded at the door.

“Greet the visitors when the door opens, Rory.” Leon ordered. He glanced at her again.

“Please.”

She stood up, walking toward the door. It whooshed open. Her heart fell into the pit of

her stomach.

“Tyler? Aunt Charlotte?” Her heart jumped up and hammered in her chest. The two

people standing in front of her looked like strangers to her. They both had foreign expressions

on their faces and they made a shiver slide up and down her spine.

“I don’t think Leon is up to company,” she forced the words out. A bitter taste entered

her mouth. She didn’t want to let these incarnations of her aunt and Tyler inside of the quarters.

She recognized Tyler from the pictures her father had shown her.

“Please come in. Grandmother told me you would be stopping by.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” She whirled on Leon. He didn’t know what sort of trouble he

was inviting in. She had an awful feeling that the night was going to end badly for all of them.

“Aren’t you going to hug your aunt, Rory?”

She closed her eyes praying for the strength to get through until morning. She wouldn’t

be warm again until the space cavalry arrived.

* * * *

Samantha’s steps thundered throughout the narrow hallway. Her heart leapt in her chest,

lodging in her throat. Devlin was near—she could feel his presence.

“Samantha? Let yourself fall. You must give way to the power inside of you in order for

you to find what you’re searching for. Please don’t fail me,” Charlotte’s plea reverberated off

the narrow passageway. The walls were painted black and white and the ceiling was a hideous

grey color.

“Charlotte?” She stopped, the clicking of the heels of her boots also ceased, filling the

claustrophobic hallway with an eerie still silence.

“Do you remember the tales mother used to tell us about the Void? Think quickly,

Samantha this channel to you will only be opened for a few minutes. I’ve worked tirelessly to get

this far—you joining with Devlin finally gave you the strength you needed to hear my calls.”

“The Void? She told us those stories when we were like ten. That was before everything

went straight to hell.”

“Think carefully, Samantha. You know what she told you.”

“She told us The Void was where all lost souls lingered. She said long ago the women in

our family could fight the spirits from the Void those who crossed over into our world and tried

to claim vessels.”

“Don’t you remember what she told you about the other beings that inhabited the Void?”

“Corporeal beings, they could make themselves intangible or tangible with but a given

thought. They could mimic others appearances and their powers. She said they could even gain

their vessels memories and emotions. She told us they were dangerous to our kind—”

“Mother was right. She knew all along that they posed a threat to our family—she knew

they would come back to wreak vengeance against us—she knew they would try to destroy us all.

They claimed me first and now they’re coming for you—don’t let them take you, Samantha. They

took Tyler when he went on his little trip after our vacation in Hawaii.”

“No, they didn’t.”

“Yes, they did. He wanted to return to you, he snapped out of the mental programming

they had him under and when he tried to ask me for help—we both got sucked into their trap.

They murdered Tyler. I could do nothing to stop it. He cared for you Samantha but not the way

he should have cared. I suspect he did want me over you, and he thought he’d taken the

available sister to get to the one he coveted. You’re the only one left who can help—you,

Johanna and Jessica must send them back into the Void and get me out first and then seal up the

portal.”

“You’re talking nonsense. If you’re doing this to get me to forget about what you’re

doing....”

“That’s just it. You’re not talking to me...what you see in your world. That’s a being

from the Void. As is the Tyler you now know. He isn’t the Tyler who married you. He isn’t the

Tyler you saved from the gallows. He’s gone. You need to accept that Samantha. What you

knew to be true isn’t. The world isn’t just full of monsters that you can throw into jail and

collect the bounty for—there are real monsters out there, monsters that want to take our world

and make it their own. I can’t live in this world much longer…my physical body is dying,

Samantha. Beings born of the dimension we are from can not exist forever in this hellish plane.

The energies here are slowly painfully sapping all of my life force—my body will be broken soon

if you do not save me—after that my soul will be lost. Don’t let that happen to me, Samantha.

Our bond can break through any obstacle—even the Void can’t stop us. The others are coming

for me again, they’re going to try to kill me—I can’t keep this up much longer, Samantha—

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please help!!!”

Cold dread slithered over her. Burning excruciating pain ripped throughout her body

starting in her head.

The next thing she heard was her own scream.

Items in the bedroom started to fly off the shelves and exploded.

“Good God, Samantha?” Devlin said sleepily. He took her into his arms, trying to

subdue her powers. She shook her head and brought herself out of the sleeping trance she’d been

in.

“I can’t.” Her voice shook.

“Can’t what?” he asked.

“Get me a communication channel opened to Jessica or my mother. Right away. Why

wouldn’t she tell me?” Samantha eased her rapid breathing and took one last moment to cling to

Devlin. “Go on,” she kissed him lightly. “I’ll be alright. I just had a visit from Charlotte.”

His forehead creased into a frown. “I don’t think you needed that kind of a visit.” He

looked ready to tear a chunk right out of Charlotte.

“No. Everything that I couldn’t figure out is now starting to make a bit of sense. Did

your father or mother ever tell you stories about The Void?”

“Old superstition about a region of space parallel to our dimension, Samantha. They

were stories used to tell to children and adults alike who were afraid of space. You know sort of

like the ghost stories they told around campfires back in the olden days. However, I have always

believed that all superstitions are based on fact.”

“Can you please just try to contact my mother?”

“Okay, give me one minute and I’ll be back to help you through whatever is haunting

you.”

If the Charlotte and Tyler in her own world were Mimics from The Void that meant that

The Triad had summoned them somehow and when they’d summoned them, her Tyler and her

Charlotte had been lost.

Tyler was dead—and Charlotte was on the edge of following him. She wouldn’t let her

sister be forsaken. Now she knew why the Mimic Charlotte never seemed like her sister even

though she gave off the same psychic energy.

She’d been so stupid. Always immersing herself in hunting down regular run of the mill

criminals while ignoring the part of her past that could give her the training to fight these horrific

beings from the Void. It was all her fault. Her inability to come to terms with the person she

was....

Devlin walked quietly back into the bedroom. “Are you still having a meltdown?” he

quipped.

She tossed him a puzzled gaze. “What? No. No. Everything is fine. I won’t be shattering

any other items in this room.”

“Good,” he smiled. “I was worried about the family jewels.”

She smirked without being able to control herself.

“My family used to fight the beings from the Void that tried to cross over into our world.

My mother must have been trying to prepare us for that but I guess she never wanted to scare us

or she didn’t believe herself that they were a threat anymore.”

“Beings from the Void? I thought they were supposed to be damned spirits that mystics

of the past banished to that netherworld of hell.”

“Wait a second, you said they were stories, now you sound like you believe in them.” She

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was about to elaborate and stopped. The Communication chimes rang off signaling they had an

incoming message.

“Samantha?” Jessica’s sweet voice echoed through the room.

“Tell me about the Void, Jessica. I take it that Mom has talked to you in length about

that realm.”

“Oh, boy. So who refreshed your memory about them? No matter, I’ll give you what I

know about them. Our family was once known as the Guardians of Justice battling the creatures

of The Void. We were one of the families with the ancient power to banish evil psychic spirits to

the Void. Our great-grandmother swore never to fight against those spirits ever again when she

lost her twin to the Void.”

“Charlotte is in the Void. And Tyler was killed by one of the beings, and that being took

over his life.” Fear clutched her heart.

“Mom feared that was the case. She’s really been looking into our family history in the

last six months, and she’s unearthed a great amount of documents explaining what our family

did. She’s scared that the Triad is trying to harness the power of the Void to take over the known

worlds. Mom’s exhausted and she’s sleeping right now but I’ll tell her all about this when she

wakes up. Congrats to you and Devlin—mom was worried you’d be scarred by what happened

between you and Tyler.”

“So now I know the real Tyler didn’t leave me.”

“They mimic everything Samantha. Tyler would have ultimately come to the same

conclusion that this version of Tyler came to. That’s why the imposter in essence, copied

Charlotte’s powers. They are carbon copies of us. I don’t know if we’ll make it in time for the

battle, even taking the shortcuts through space that Devlin had Jewel provide us with. It’s going

to be a long shot, you might be on your own with Johanna.”

“Johanna and I make a good team.”

“Devlin might be able to help you as well. As your soul mate your abilities can shield

him if you want them to.” The channel started to break up.

“Oh, damn. We’re flying past a cosmic dust storm and it’s interfering with some of our

systems. No worries our shields should hold out against our systems being irreparably damaged

but in about two hours the ship will have to navigate past a wicked comet storm… This region

of space is a real dream,” she snorted. “Still we’ll survive. Remember; make sure you’re armed

with your dagger. Johanna has one as well.”

“She keeps it on her at all times. She doesn’t like using it.” Samantha sighed. “I guess

she’ll just have to get used to producing that dirk when faced with the beings from the Void.”

“Indeed. Good luck!” Jessica said, as her voice broke up completely. “Be safe.”

The channel went dead.

“So,” Samantha muttered, pausing, “I guess that’s that.”

Devlin shook his head. “I don’t like the odds, and I don’t like what the Triad is aiming to