Nyteria Rising (The Thirteenth Series Book 3) (19 page)

She could see Sam in the distance; their eyes met. What would life have been like for them? She suppressed the thought. This wasn’t the right time to be thinking about wedding bells and little Sams running around.

Meanwhile, Eva pulled another prisoner from the glowing mass. The aliens who were supporting Val forced her to lift her head and she was compelled to look Eva directly in the eyes. She stared back boldly, refusing to cower before her nemesis. She had the random, comforting thought that it would take Eva years to grow her hair back.

As the essence got closer she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable, wondering if it would hurt; what it would feel like. She almost wished Eva would hurry up, that it could be over with so she didn’t have to think about what her friends were going through. A sudden commotion in the background caught her attention, but she kept her eyes closed. They must be getting ready to celebrate her death and she had no desire to look at them.

The noise got steadily louder, punctuated by screams and yelps that, even to her despairing mind did not sound much like a celebration. Her eyes flew open and she tried to turn her head to look, but a hairy hand held her fast, forcing her to face Eva. Then the first explosion hit. Blood-curdling cries of pain filled the air.

Val started to struggle. What was going on? Eva looked past her, her face blackening with anger. “Deal with them!” she yelled at the alien spectators. “I will not
stop!” she screamed at the two creatures holding Val. “Hold her still.”

From behind her she heard her dad call, “Susan!” she froze. Her mum was here. How on Earth had she managed that? She still couldn’t see what was happening and Eva was still far too close for her liking. In that moment another explosion threw Val sideways several feet onto the ground. Clearly the one restraining her had been struck. She was now face down in the mud.

“Daniel what do you think you’re doing, you fool?” Eva released the essence.

“What’s right.” He gave a resounding response. Val rolled over to see him now standing over her, energy ball in each palm ready to protect her.

“You can’t stop us, we’re too powerful,” Eva insisted.

Purple lightning struck Daniel in the back and he was thrown down next to Val. He began pulling himself up.

“Stay down if you wish to live,” Lailah yelled, purple energy skipping all over her body.

“NOW!” Daniel yelled.

“Get away from my daughter!” Val heard her mum before she could see her.

Lailah’s expression changed to one of fear. How could her mum be having this affect? Val managed to lift her head enough to see the answer. Susan was striding across the grass with three Labradoodles on leads. She was backed up by Fran and Jason, both holding tazer swords.

Val felt hands grabbing her under her arms. The face of David’s Hunter was a very welcome surprise as he pulled her to safety. Now Eva and Lailah were alone under the glowing portal.

“You need to learn to behave on someone else’s planet,” Susan told them sternly. She knelt down and
removed the leads. The dogs sniffed the night air and their eyes focused on the women. There was no Flo to teleport them out; they were surrounded. The dogs were on them in a few short leaps of their agile bodies.

The first leapt at Eva, its teeth sinking deep into her arm as it pulled her to the ground. In seconds the venom was coursing through her veins and she started to shake. As Eva became motionless her portal of floating prisoners began to retract. Val sensed Eva’s power fading. They would all be free soon.

The other two dogs corralled Lailah, stalking her like they would a small deer. She aimed the wand she had taken from Wendy, striking one of the dogs with a fatal blow, but the other took the opportunity to attack. It sprang forward, seizing her leg. She fell onto her knees.

“Val, don’t do any magic, they feed off of it,” Susan warned her.

Since when had her mum become this feisty alien fighter? She let the Hunter help her to her feet. Daniel was already releasing the others. Fran and Jason were warning the aliens to stay back.

“Come. Heel,” Susan called to the two dogs that were still standing. They pricked up their ears and made their way back to their new owner’s side. Val was stunned by what was happening, but very proud at the same time. Susan put them back on their leads.

Fran ran towards Val throwing her arms around her neck. “I’m so glad you’re ok. We really had no choice.” Val reciprocated the embrace.

They headed to Lailah. Fran knelt down next to her sister’s body. “We’ll get Yassmin back, don’t worry,” Val said as she positioned herself to protect them, aware that the crowd was starting to gather and grow into a mass,
something that once again looked like a force to be reckoned with, Lailah or no Lailah.

The group assembled, Mike hugging his wife hard. Hadwyn and Boden patted Val vigorously on the back. Relieved to be together and relatively unscathed, they formed a circle around the wounded, trying to stay out of reach of the two remaining Novelia who seemed quite happy to sit placidly by Susan’s feet dribbling acid.

Sam made a direct line for Val. She watched as he moved closer and didn’t stop at what would have been the appropriate distance. He just kept moving, his arms reaching out for her and then he pulled her in close to him. Val wasn’t ready for this and looked up to see his deep black eyes staring down into hers. “I won’t live without you, Val Saunders.” His lips pressed down on hers. She wanted the moment to last forever.

It couldn’t and Sam stepped back releasing her, turning to address the group. “We can’t leave this situation as it stands. The humans are at great risk from these creatures and they now have no one to control them. Wendy and Belinda aren’t strong enough, so, ideas please, people.”

Zac made his way to Val’s side. “I do not wish to join mouths with you, I hope this is acceptable, but I was concerned and I’m pleased you are ok.”

“I don’t wish to join mouths with you either, buddy,” Val laughed, nudging him.

“Is it possible to create a reverse portal?” Boden asked. “Because there are too many of them for us to deal with even with the amazing Susan and her Novelia.”

Susan blushed, “Thanks.”

“The portal Eva opened was only going in one direction and that was here,” Sam said.

Hadwyn stepped in. “Val got us all off Nyteria. Why can’t she do the same here?”

“I wasn’t conscious of doing that and I’m not sure I can do it again with hundreds of aliens,” she replied shaking her head.

“What if we boosted your powers a little?” Boden looked at Daniel. “He seems powerful.”

“Yes, Val, Daniel can help you; you have similar DNA,” Wendy added, now conscious and being supported by Daniel. “Sam, is it possible for me and Mum to create some protection to allow them to work?” He nodded.

“Then let’s do it.” Belinda said as she and Wendy joined hands and Sam gave them instructions. Boden and Hadwyn began to fire warning shots at the creatures closing in.

Val watched as a veil of light surrounded them, not dissimilar to the one Excariot had created with the coven. Daniel moved closer to her. “So what should we do? I’m new to this?” he said.

Val looked at him and smiled. “Thank you, Daniel. You took a huge risk bringing the Novelia here and facing Eva.”

“Val, I love Wendy and they lied to me. When they made me burn down your bookshop I knew I was doing the wrong thing.”

“Guard instincts. It’s in our blood.”

Wendy called out. “Val, we have a problem!” She was pointing outside the protective dome.

Val could see the mass getting closer to the barrier between them. “What?”

“Oh my God!” Fran screamed and sprinted to the edge, placing her hands on the glowing wall that was keeping them safe.

Then it became horribly clear to Val: Sam was on the outside. How had that happened? “Wendy, take it down. NOW! Please, take it down,” Val begged, feeling more fear now than when she had believed her own life was about to end.

“If I do we can’t put another one up Val. It’s not that simple.”

“Boden what can we do?” Val pleaded.

He looked around him, but the shield was all encompassing. Sam looked at them through the glowing haze as the first wave of aliens got the courage up to attack him. With his sword extended in one hand and a plasma ball in the other he defended himself.

“Why isn’t he teleporting out? We need to get him.” Val’s blue spark flashed, and as she reappeared she found herself standing in the same spot, she couldn’t get out. “TAKE IT DOWN!” she screamed at Wendy.

She watched them piling on top of Sam. He pushed them back, but it was just a matter of time.

“Val, you need to teleport the aliens out of here, they’re going to kill him.” Zac said to her, his voice, as always in these situations, was even and persuasive. “Are you going to allow them to do that, Val? Are you just going to stand there and watch?”

She rounded on him furiously. “How could you say that to me!” she yelled.

He merely smiled and nodded.

Then she knew why. Her body was heating. She couldn’t see Sam any more, through the wall of flames that surrounded her. But it wasn’t enough. Desperately
she turned to Daniel. “Take my hands,” she ordered. He didn’t question her, placing his hands onto hers.

“Stand back,” Hadwyn warned the others. “It’s going to get bright in here.” His helmet covered his head. The others turned away.

In Val’s mind at that moment there was no longer any anger, no desire for revenge, just an overpowering need to protect Sam. She gripped Daniel unaware of the pain she was causing him with her flames. Then she felt his energy surging through her. She felt like a Catherine wheel ready to spin. The others watched as her light grew. Mike grabbed Susan and turned her face into his chest as he turned his head away. Fran and Jason had crouched on the floor together. Outside the protection of the bubble, Sam was down on the ground, under a pile of aliens.

“Come on Val, come on,” Boden whispered to himself wondering how Sam could possibly survive the onslaught.

Suddenly the protective barrier that had been keeping the alien creatures out was broken. Beams of light shot out from Val’s body, hitting each individual alien flinging them skywards. The mass of creatures covering Sam was torn upwards, so high they disappeared. Val was now vibrating and Daniel seemed to be the only thing anchoring her to the ground. The light that had caused them all to cover their eyes was growing in ferocity, faster and faster. Aliens that tried to run were grabbed by the light and thrown into oblivion.

Zac called out to her as he edged his way cautiously in her direction. The creatures where now growing thin on the ground, the light dispersing, as one by one the creatures rose into the atmosphere and disappeared.
As he got closer, the final few shot into the air. “You can stop, now,” he told her. Daniel’s face was full of pain from his severely burned hands. Seeing that she hadn’t heard him, Zac touched her flaming arm quickly, pulling it away sharply and, at last, her head turned towards him. “Val, Sam’s safe,” he reassured her. “We’re all safe, stop.”

She couldn’t feel her body as she came down from wherever she had been in her mind. “Daniel!” She looked at their hands, hers perfect and his burned and blistered. “I’m so sorry. Wendy!” She called for help, but it was already there.

Hadwyn moved in, lifting Daniel off the ground as his weak body gave in to the shock and pain. Then Wendy was beside Daniel reassuring him it would be ok.

“Val,” She heard her mother’s voice. Susan was with Mike holding two empty leads. It seemed that even the Novelia had been cast out by Val’s power. But to where?

Moving felt odd. Her legs seemed almost reluctant to take her. Her body ached from the sheer power that had been surging through her. She glanced from David’s Hunter to Boden; they were making sure that every last alien had gone. Then she spotted Jason and Fran kneeling next to a body - Sam. She moved as fast as her legs would go, tears already streaming down her face as she reached them. She couldn’t lose him, she wouldn’t lose him.

Fran moved backwards to let her in, and Val threw herself onto his still body. “Sam, don’t leave me. You said you wouldn’t leave me ever again,” she sobbed.

“Ok,” he exhaled.

Val sat back. He struggled to open his eyes, a pained grin on his lips. “Then we have a deal.” She pushed
forward kissing him with a confidence she had shied away from before.

“Time and place people,” Jason coughed.

“Honestly!” Fran grabbed Jason’s arm and dragged him away.

Val stroked Sam’s hair out of his bloodied face. “How?”

“What?”

“How did Wendy’s force field miss you? Were you busy looking at the view? How on Earth did it happen?” She slapped his chest in annoyance.

He coughed. “I told her not to include me. Don’t be angry, Val. It was the only way to get you to the maximum of your potential. I know it was a crazy trick, but it worked.”

“Idiot.” Val pushed at him and he winced in pain. “Don’t you ever do that to me again.”

“Well, after all this it won’t be necessary.”

“I wouldn’t count on it. Two major players are missing. We have two soulless bodies over there, but Delta and Flo weren’t here. And where did all the creatures go?”