The Seven (Fist of Light Series) (35 page)

Jas shifted into a sleek hunting dog. Muscles bulged, tensed, and then we were off. “
Have I ever congratulated you on your amazing battle plans
?”

I took off behind the giant hound and found I had to sprint to keep up. “So far you have neglected to tell me, but I’m honored by your praise.”

A snort was readily audible from a very amused dog. “
I’ll find them and flush
‘
em out for you, but you’ll have to do the brunt of the work from there. These things are tough
.”

“Sounds like a workable plan, though I feel like my last one had some interesting merits.”

We plunged through the beginnings of the forest, which was mainly brush. Shortly thereafter, we were confronted with trees, and our pace slowed dramatically as we maneuvered around them. I still had a death grip on my power, and so the pace was not overly straining. Or at least it wasn’t currently, but I figured my body was going to be extremely sore come morning. Jas leaped over a fallen tree, where I took the much safer route around it. The darkness around me wasn’t overwhelming, as it had been previously envisioned. Although there was a pervasive darkness, it was not overwhelming, and I discovered my night vision wasn’t a fluke after all. Not enough to go leaping over objects with wild abandon, per se, but enough to make me more comfortable with rushing through a densely forested area in the middle of the night.

The trees flew by me with dizzying speed, and we didn’t seem to be getting any closer to our retreating prey. Minutes passed, with only the sound of Jas’ light breathing to keep me company. When I was about to give up on the expedition entirely, Jas let loose an ear-shattering
woof
! Lightning appeared at my fingertips, spitting and crackling, bringing detail to our surroundings, as if someone had switched on the color switch from black-and-white. In a split second, I was prepared to launch my power at any hostiles within sight. There was movement on my left. I had thought Jas was going to instigate the preliminary flushing out of our enemy, but I seemed to be on my lonesome. Locking in on where I figured the hound would be, I brought my hands in line with it.

And halted when Jas shifted back into human form. “Stop!” he commanded, hands thrown up into the air.

“Dammit, Jas!” Two bursts of lightning spat skywards, and my mark was wide.

My senses went into overdrive, as I felt a disturbance in the air, a thickening of tension and a congealing of matter. The smell of fragrant foliage blasted toward me, and light filled my vision, where before there had been only darkness. A green aura and vibrant tendrils extended from a circular mass, which was forming on the forest floor.

“What the hell is
that
?” I prepared to do something drastic.

“I don’t know,” Jas admitted. “It doesn’t feel very threatening. You think we should blast it first, ask questions never?”

Jeeves flashed into existence, partially blocking view of this newly appeared something-or-other. “Don’t be getting hasty, boys,” he tittered. “This here’s what we’ve been waiting for!”

“I
wasn’t aware we’d been waiting for anything,” I replied, instantly suspicious.

“Need to know only.” Jeeves swerved to the right, momentarily off-balance. “And only I needed to know, until you needed to know.”

“Is he not making any sense because he’s tipsy, or because it’s too late for this kind of talk?” Jas prodded his forehead, trying to kick-start his deep thinking.

“I think it’s a prerogative of a back-talking, no-good amulet, to be vague and incomprehensible,” I said.

Entranced, I watched as the spherical construct expanded and sharpened until more detail was visible. It seemed to me that someone or something had just made some sort of portal right in front of us, as if expecting our arrival. While my instincts told me I was in no danger currently, I knew that they weren’t divulging the whole truth. The gate, if that’s what it was, solidified, and a concussion of magic blasted outwards, sending up a very clear signal for any of those who could sense it. The light dimmed and a figure stepped through from the other side, clad in outlandish garments.

Her voice was melodious and otherworldly, equally beautiful and dangerous. “Caleb Holden and Jason Franklin. We meet at last.” Her intelligent eyes turned to regard Jeeves. “And, but of course, you.”

Anyone who could see Jeeves was someone I wouldn’t get within a mile of by choice, but it looked like I was out of options. Jas was at a loss for words, as he seemed uncomfortable in the presence of ethereal beauty. What I saw must have differed greatly from what his perceptions told him. There was a being from another world standing in front of me. She definitely wasn’t any human woman I’d seen. Despite all her beauty, however, she radiated danger, as if we were about to step in to a site full of combustible biohazards. Step wrong there, and you’d be living as a deformed quadruped before you knew it. Surely there weren’t any princesses handy, either, when you needed to undo the curse.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “And you are?”

“I am but a humble servant of my mistress.” Her eyes flashed. “You will come with me. If you don’t, you will be destroyed. Have you any iron upon your person?”

“No, we don’t have any iron,” I replied, confused.

Jas finally snapped out of his stargazing. “Wait, what?” His eyes widened, and he turned to look at me. “I don’t feel the urge to be destroyed today,” he whispered behind one upraised hand.

Jeeves expressed his disdain with every bit of spectral body language at his command. “We will come with you, emissary, as scribed in the pacts. There’s no need to make a show. We both know you have not the power to detain us.”

“Jeeves—” I started.

“Enough. Do not speak. Your words here may mean your death. And step lightly, or you will find a worse fate.” At least Jeeves seemed sober enough.

Our guide turned and trekked toward our stage left, exit scene. “Let us go, then. The knowledge you seek awaits.”

Jeeves walked forward without hesitating, although a roll of his eyes expressed his sentiments quite clearly. Jas and I shared an apprehensive look; this was not what we had expected upon entering the forest. We had anticipated something trying to kill us, but not anything of this caliber. Whatever was waiting for us on the other side of the shimmering barrier, I sure didn’t want to meet it.

A feminine hand reached back through the portal, making a come-hither motion. “Come.”

“Damn it all,” Jas said.

“The hell with it,” I agreed, nodding irresolutely.

I stepped uneasily through the barrier between this world and somewhere else. My skin tingled at the transition. My internal organs stayed intact and didn’t explode in the slightest. There was still oxygen on this side too, so no problems there, either. Ironically enough, the general landscape didn’t change much. The similarities of forest and greenery ended at that point, however. Luminescent pavement lighted the way, but refused to reveal the eventual destination. Resisting the urge to kneel down and examine the oddity, I continued to be amazed. My feet urged me onwards.

We weren’t in Kansas anymore, that was for certain, and I fervently hoped there weren’t any evil witches plotting our demise. You never can tell, when you suddenly arrive in another dimension full of powerful women capable of practicing magic. Trees encased us upon the wandering trail, and although that wasn’t that surprising, the makeup of them was. Pink, purple, red, orange, blue, and yellow trunks stretched upwards, emitting the similar life and glow the pavement had displayed. The branches were a multicolored array, sporting all colors of the rainbow. Leaves sprouted in whirling, indiscernible patterns, and they sparked light as well, though their multi-faceted design spewed color, rather than any normal form of light. It felt as if I was walking through a world of stained glass, but there was definitely life in this land. I could feel the pulse of this new world, and its buoyant call whispered enticements.

Like our guide, I could only assume that it held many dangers for the casual, naïve visitor. There were no intentions of allowing myself to give in to the pitfalls that surely waited if I only wandered off the path. Jas hadn’t yet wandered out of sight, but he was nowhere near where he was supposed to be. My attention focused on his lean form, which was currently occupied in approaching one of the otherworldly trees. My stomach dropped, and for some reason, my gut told me that it just wouldn’t do for him to touch anything in this vibrant world.

“Jas!” I called out, to no avail. “
JAS
!” I snapped.

With a dazed jerk, Jas turned around to face me, as if he hadn’t consciously been paying attention to what he had been doing. That, in turn, gave me enough time to reach his side, where I seized his arm in a death grip. The fertile earth below us pulsed and my instincts screamed a shrill warning. Instantly I dropped to the ground, dragging Jas down with me. As soon as I was able, I rolled onto my back, to better see the tree. The problem didn’t lie with the fact that there was an otherworldly tree in my line of sight, but that a leafy appendage was straining to reach us. Its leaves gleamed threateningly like the blade of a dagger, only feet away from my delicate skin.

“We should get back on the path,” Jas urged.

Jeeves was busy fuming by the time we stood before him. Oddly enough, that was all he was doing. His expression was that of extreme irritation, as well as one of impotence. A light went on in my head, highlighting Jeeves’ forewarning about the trials ahead. He seemed to be incapable of doing so now. Gulping, I latched onto Jas, and he in turn gripped one of my shoulders. I doubted we would be so lucky, if we allowed ourselves to be entrapped twice. The emissary continued onward, although I perceived a flash of disappointment in her alien eyes. Apparently, she wasn’t a fan of our continued survival.

“I don’t think we should stray from the pretty alien lady.” Jas nodded sagely.

“And who was the one to walk off the path?” I mocked.

“I don’t like this place,” Jas admitted. “And where are we going? Do you think this path stretches on forever?”

“If that were true, we aren’t going to be getting out of here anytime soon. I’m going to go against the grain here and be optimistic. Look at Jeeves.”

Jeeves was currently lagging behind our unnamed guide, trying and failing to look back over his shoulder at us. Every time he attempted to do so, his head would jerk itself back to its forward position. If I hadn’t been freaked out of my mind, I might have found it funny. As it was, Jas and I picked up the pace, keeping up our conversation. Partly, the chatter was a calming mechanism, but it also filled our minds with sound, a defense against the unnatural silence that shrouded the landscape. The only problem was that the wind was a nonexistent occurrence, and therefore the trees were moving separate from any environmental influences.

“It’s like
The Hills Have Eyes
, otherworldly-tree-style,” Jas said.

I wanted to get into the fetal position and wait this debacle out, but that wouldn’t get me anywhere, seeing as I wasn’t dreaming, “I can’t help but wonder what they would do if they got ahold of us.”

Jas dug in the wound. “You have to wonder, if they would like, pick us up and drop us or maybe nom nom nom us to bits.”

I pretended to ponder on that for a few moments. “That
is
an interesting idea. Maybe next time, when you walk up to one, I’ll just leave you, so I can find out!” I slapped my forehead, as just happening across a mind-blowing epiphany.

“Let’s not get too hasty, here. There’s no need to do that. We can find out next time we come here.”

Broadening my line of sight, I realized that there was light at the end of the tunnel, who knew. Thankfully, that light didn’t seem to be multi-colored, and it seemed relatively devoid of trees that wanted to eat us. I wasn’t crossing my fingers, though, because I had a sinking feeling that we were jumping from the fire into the frying pan.

“I hope everything’s okay back home, and my dad’s in one piece,” Jas said.