Chapter 25

Zach stood confidently in front of them at the foot of the stairs, and cleared his throat to address them while they all huddled in. Megan kept shooting a glance to the empty street and side walk right beside them. Lauren had laid down an aversion spell that would drive any humans away, but that didn't mean magical creatures wouldn't see right through it, and come to see what the fuss was about.

"Look Guys, Zach began counting off what he knew on his fingers, "not much is known about death worms aside from: they are supposed to be able to shoot their venom at you that melts metal, they might have the ability to use electricity against you, and if you touch them prepare for an excruciating death, is that right." Zach looked to Xander.

"Yeah, or at least that's what the rumors say," Xander confirmed.

"Well," Connor said lifting his gloved hands up and showing them to everyone, "I've got the touching thing covered, but what about the venom and electricity thing?"

Lauren stepped forward to add, "My shield spells are getting pretty good. I can handle the venom part, but that still leaves the electrocution issue, which if you don't mind me saying is a pretty big issue." Lauren couldn't hide the wince from showing on her face.

When Ray came forward Megan was reminded who his father was.

"Hey guys my good old dad as you probably know is a good old thunder God, and well to make a long story short," he smirked as he said it." I've just recently learned that I've managed to pick up one of his talent."

"I'm a natural ground as long as I'm touching the floor the current won't bother you, but I can't do it forever, so whatever you're going to do, make it quick," he cautioned.

Megan looked around to see that everyone was starting to look a little more confident about confronting a creature called a death worm and avoiding the death part, but a tight shiver still ran up her spine. So much rode on accomplishing their mission successfully. It could mean the difference between life and death for Cameron, and her nerves were worn to a frazzle.

"I have one more thing that might be helpful," Lauren said nervously, "I've been working on a spell that would combine my anti-eavesdrop spell with Zach's telepathy, and I think I've got it."

Lauren came up to Zach and touched him with a glowing finger on the forehead, muttering an incantation while she did it. A blue glow came shooting out from a magic pinhole in his skin. Lauren took the blue glow and started to twirl it like a thread around her index finger and she began to pull the strand to attach it to everyone else's mind through the area on the forehead called the third eye.

When she came up to Megan she could feel the power emanating from the glowing string before she even touched her, but when she touched her forehead Megan nearly rocked back on her heels with a rush of Zach's power, and when Lauren touched her own head the magical web was complete.

Can everyone hear me?

Lauren said without moving her lips. They all nodded their heads excitedly and thought:

Yes!

Okay let's go, Zach thought as he turned to ascend the stairs. But as soon as his body attempted to pass the strange jade statues he was thrown back into the bushes like he had been fired out of a cannon.

And no sooner than Zach could bounce back from his embarrassing tumble a green glow shot up from the sides of the building and encompassed the four floors before ending in a doom on the roof.

"Great it's warded," Megan whined, "now what?" She looked around the group for another brilliant idea.

Everyone looked stumped, but suddenly the statues came to life and complained at them in an aggravated Asian sounding language.

Everyone looked to Ray who shrugged his shoulders and said irritably, "Hey why do people always think every Asian language sounds alike? I speak Japanese not Chinese."

One of the statues spoke in English then and demanded, "State your business?"

Zach stepped forward again brushing branches and leaves off his clothes and hair and said with conviction, "We've come to see the death worm. "

"Not a reason to be allowed entry." The second statue chimed.

The look on Zach's face would have been comically but for the situation. He looked beyond bewildered.

Everyone just exchanged WTF looks with each other.

Megan growled then and shoved her way to the front, "Let me," she said as she stood in front of the Foo dogs, "I've come to save a life." Thinking: perhaps it required a noble cause to open the ward.

The statues just laughed at her and repeated, "Not a reason to be allowed entry."

"Guys! That's it. Lauren crowed, "What's the reason for the halfbloods to come?"

Megan looked around to see everyone's face, one by one, light up like a billboard.

Finally getting it, Megan announced excitedly, "I've come to become a fullblood,"

The other statue sighed and chirped as they both fell back on their haunches," You may enter."

And the wards lowered for her, but as she took her first step onto the wrought iron steps they flew back up again right behind her, and she had a moment to feel panicked before all her friends started perform the same procedure she had.

Once on the other side of the ward Lauren took a moment to explain to them. It's ingenious really as she looked around in wonder with all this iron surrounding the building it not only serves to hide this location from the fae, but it also makes it an impenetrable fortress as well. Luckily I'm only half Fae or you would have had to leave me behind -- as it is I can already feel my flesh crawling.

Megan had to agree she felt it too.

When they got to the top of the stairs and stood on the terrace before the pink door Zach walked over and gave it a firm knock. The door immediately swung open at his touch with no one on the other side.

Okay Zach ordered be on your guard everyone.

They entered a small apartment with a front room and kitchen that could be seen and one door that opened onto a back room. Beads hung from the door frame obstructing their view. They all stopped dead in their tracks when a pleasant sing song voice called from the back.

"Come in, come in children. How exciting," it cooed with a pronounced lisp, "company at this late hour. It chuckled happily.

Don't let the nice act fool you guys Zach cautioned.

They all advanced on the room. Zach went first with everyone close behind him. Once in the small space everyone fanned out like they'd been taught in their training with their weapons at the ready.

When Megan cleared the doorway she sucked in a breath at the sight of the worm. His serpentine yet bulbous form sat red and bloated as a leech in a small square enclosure that resembled a playground sandbox. It was no wonder it spoke with a lisp given the hundreds of teeth in its maw. She guessed it had to be almost ten feet tall as it balanced on the later part of its body in the sand.

Just the sight of the monstrosity made her heart break for Cam all over again. He must have been out-of-his-mind desperate to allow this thing anywhere near him.

"Oooohhh," the worm simpered, "I see you brought some toys along on our little play date. He chortled at his own joke, but no one else was laughing.

"We've come to demand that you leave the city. You might as well; there won't be any more halfbloods to feed on from now on, and before you leave we'll take a sample of your venom." Zach commanded.

The monster laughed caustically, "Or what?"

"Or we kill you and take the venom anyway," Zach declared in a tone as serious as a heart attack.

The serpentine creature laughed once more and did something no one was expecting. It leapt high in the air folding itself in two like a high diver and buried its head in the sand. From their angle it looked like the sand could only be two to three feet deep yet the worm was nearly half gone in a blink.

Lauren yelled in their heads. It's a magical gateway. We have to follow it or risk losing it forever.

As soon as she thought it, quick as a flash she was at the sand box with her hand on the sand.

I'll keep the port door open for you just hurry she thought with an audible grunt.

Luckily the worm was too busy affecting his escape to have taken the time to shock her, because her fast thinking and Fae speed might have been the death of her otherwise.

As soon as the worm disappeared entirely in the sand leaving a –pardon the pun- wormhole in its wake, Zach yelled: Go! Go! Don't let it get away!

He was the first to dive in. Later Meg would have to take him aside and question him on his death wish. Seriously his acute lack of hesitation was going to prove fatal one day.

Meg was the next one through. There was no way in hell she was letting that worm get away.

Megan had never ported before so she was completely taken aback by the lack of a physical form. It felt like . . . nothing . . . it felt like she was . . . nothing. Her body completely disappeared and her consciousness felt unfettered. This went on for only a matter of seconds yet it felt like an eternity. Then all of a sudden Meg felt like someone was squeezing her insides – all her insides -- and she cried out in fear when it almost became unbearable, but just at the last second her physical form did a tight little spin around her consciousness and scattered back into existence on the other side.

She couldn't see; it was too bright. It felt like she had come out of a dark slide at the water park into the hottest day of summer. She blinked rapidly, and squinted in the bright sunlight, throwing her hand up to shield her eyes to clear her vision.

When her vision was finally restored she was shocked to see the ground rushing towards her, which would make sense seeing that she dove in head first on the other end. In a flash she rolled her newly generated form midair and landed on her feet and crutches on the other end.

Feeling terrified and exhilarated at the same time, she ran her hands all over her body doing a quick check to make sure all her parts where in the right place.

Zach who stood a few feet away from her whistled to get here attention and yelled in her head:

Move!

That's when she remembered she was in the way, but not before Kelly came crashing through and landed with a thud on her back knocking the wind out of her and driving her face into the sand.

Thank God she and Kelly were able to scramble away from the port door before anyone else could land on them, her back was screaming at her now, though.

Everyone started coming through the port door in mid air many of them reacting to their sudden circumstances with much more aplomb than she had. Lauren was the last to come through as the passageway closed behind them.

Megan's body sent an involuntary shiver down her spine as she thought they had better find away to reopen the port or else they would die in the middle of this excruciatingly hot desert. She scanned the landscape for miles to see nothing and thought with another shudder: nope they were not walking out of here.

Wait! She'd looked around the landscape, and she'd seen nothing . . . Looking around frantically again, she could see that the other guys were doing the same. Shit where was the worm?!

Relax everyone Zach thought he's underneath us I can hear him telepathically.

Megan let out an audible sigh of relief just before a frustrated groan saying caustically in her head: a fat lot of good that does us.

Wait! Zach threw up his hands for silence. We can draw him back to us!

Zach began to talk to them all in his head: He's thinking: He's getting ready to hibernate and molt. He needs another big feed or he won't be able to make it through the long hibernation. Guys I think we can get him back.

Lauren Zach asked in his head, who among us has the most ley power running through them?

Thanks Zach, don't put me on the spot or anything. But after a moment she thought: It's got to be me.

Nope Zach said a little too quickly. You can't be the bait. We need you to generate the magical shields.

Okay if not me then CJ.

CJ pumped his fist in celebration then realized what he was celebrating and groaned.

Kyle snorted. Wow! He thought: it's a bit like winning the booby prize.

CJ we've got to turn you into an impossible target to catch. No offense CJ but your pretty slow.

None taken CJ laughed

Marley can you move just as fast with CJ on your back? Zach asked

Marley walked over to CJ looking him up and down and all around, while he quipped with a killer grin: like what you see?

She snorted: I've got this no problem. She looked at CJ then and said piggy back or new bride hold?

Everyone chuckled when he rolled his eyes.

Okay gang get ready, because when it comes up we've got to throw everything we've got at it. We might not get another chance if it goes back under ground.

Zach started speaking in a loud booming voice and stomping the ground trying to antagonize the creature.

"Here wormy wormy. We've got a nice tasty meal for you! Anyone of us would do but there's one among us that will really do the trick. Can you feel him?"

The ground shook under their feet and they all did a Star Trek wobble.

"And don't think you're coming back to San Fran for a midnight snack, because I'm going to camp out at your door and personally see that you get nothing else to eat. It would be a shame to go to bed hungry and not wake up at the other end wouldn't it?" Zach let out a mad theatrical laugh.

Now! Zach yelled in his head.

Marley flipped CJ on her back and started running, sand flying out behind her like a sudden sandstorm had struck.

Don't go too far from us Mars Zach commanded try to lure the worm into the centre of the circle everybody fan out, CJ hit it with your whammy

How do I do that? He whined.

I don't know? Zach's inner voice sounded frustrated: Use your magic

All of a sudden all the large stones within a square mile radius started dancing in mid air were they hovered, before coming together in a pile close to the centre of the circle. The worm having felt it seemed to change direction under them making them lurch again and flew up out of the sand in the middle of the rock pile.

"NOW!"Zach yelled.

****************** THANKS FOR READING********************

I hope you all liked this chapter -- I sure hope the gang is able to subdue the creature before it dives back down.

Or there'll be no way to save Cameron. The worm sounds pretty dangerous though, and he's even bigger now after feeding on all those halfblood can they even do it?

Tune in tomorrow to find out.

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