Chapter 24

(Chapter song ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper' by Blue Oyster Cult, ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World' by Lorde)

GRAHAM My heart sinks as the tight groups of soldiers march in unison toward the staging area for the mirror.

I watch them put packs on their back and cock their weapons. Ops leaders bark orders and groups run through.

I see Mirror Jenny touch the mirror and it ripples. Mirror Deacon kisses her hair and beams at her.

Mica joins them and they talk.

The crowd in front of the mirror parts and a large dark man strolls through.

“Lefu.” I whisper.

He stands with them and he reaches out. His hand goes into the mirror and the glass ripples around his wrist.

“What are you doing?” I try to see and hear what they say.

“He’s looking for his counterpart.”

I nearly jump out of my skin and fall off the crates.

Kitas floats behind me her, head by mine.

“Don’t do that!” I grit under my breath.

“What?” Her blue/gold eyes meet mine.

“Nothing.” I wave her off. “Just get down before they see you. You stick out.”

“Oh. Sorry.” She floats back down and I jump down with her.

Squatting down, I turn to her. “Now, what’s he doing?”

She sits at my knees. “He’s looking for his counterpart in your world. They need him to connect the world’s under the curtain.”

“Yes. Ok. So, they can’t find him?” I whisper.

She peeks around the boxes and so do I. I watch as Lefu throws his hands up and walks away.

“Doesn’t look like it.” She says.

“This is good. Maybe we can kill our Lefu before they do.” I rub my chin as I think.

“Highly doubtful. Lefu can’t be killed. He can only be imprisoned.” She informs.

I flop my arms down on my knees. “Why can't we never kill the bad guys? They always must stay alive.”

She blinks her eyes at me. “From the movies I watched in your apartment…they must keep bad guys alive so they can come back in the sequels.” She lifts her head and smiles.

I groan, drop my head and shake it. I nod as I lift it back up to her. “No more movies for you.”

“They do it in books, too.” She nods her fox head as her whiskers flick.

“Ok. This isn’t a book. Now, focus.” I turn to the edge of the crate. “We're soldiers. We need to act like it.”

“Ok. Let’s tear some throats out!” She growls, lunges and I grab her tails.

“Kita! No!” I yell quietly as I yank her back. I wrap her nose and bottom jaw in my index finger and thumb, holding her mouth shut. “Are you crazy?! There’s at least 1000 soldiers right there. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“I can take ‘em.” She mumbles out the side of her mouth.

I groan again and place my other index finger on her nose. “Surveillance only.”

She rips her muzzle out of my fingers. “Ok, fine, but were missing out on a good butt whooping.” She lifts her chin to me.

“I’ll whoop your butt if you don’t settle down.” I peek around the crates and see Rex and Lefu join Deacon and Jenny. Lefu pounds back a potion and his eyes glow white as his fists ball and his muscles flex.

Rex grabs his neck and says something to him in a threatening manner.

“Don’t threaten me.” Kita grits to my back.

“That wasn’t a threat, baby.” I watch the soldiers a bit more then turn to her with a smirk. “That was a promise.”

Her fox's mouth hangs open as I start to slink away.

“Let's go.” I wave her to follow.

We cross the compound to the trucks. “I need to get closer.” I look around and see a supply truck. I squat down and run to it. I quietly hop up and find uniforms. “Perfect.”

Kita jumps up. “What are you doing?”

“A disguise.” I say as I pull on a black shirt and black military pants.

I twist my lips as I look Kita over. “Unless you want to shift, you’re going to have to hang back.”

“Hang back!” She says louder than I’d like.

“Shhh!” I grab her muzzle and peek out the back of the truck. I sigh as I come back in. “They'll see you, ok. I need to sneak in there and hear what they’re saying.

“I’m coming with you.” She mumbles.

“Then you better shift and find a uniform.” I arch a brow.

I jump down and wait for Kita.

She jumps out of the truck and it takes everything I have to not laugh.

“What?” She questions as she sees my eyes watering.

“Nothing…just…it’s a little big.” I smile.

She looks down and almost looses her helmet. She pushes up with her shirt covered hands. “It’s all I could find.” She scowls.

“Ok. Here. Let me just...” I tighten her helmet, adjust her Kevlar vest and roll up sleeves. After rolling up her pant legs, I stand and put my hands on my hips. “You are the cutest soldier I’ve ever seen.” I preen.

“Stop. I’m a fighter.” She raises a brow.

I lean to her lips. “Sorry, my little fighter.” I kiss her lips and grab her hand. “Come on.”

I pull us around the trucks and watch carefully. Units walk by and I pull us into them.

I lean to her. “See these guys?” I whisper in her ear.

She nods.

“Act like them.” I instruct.

She looks around then gets an angry soldier look on her face. I can’t look or ill lose it.

I hold my chin up and march along side the unit as we approach the mirror.

“UNIT 2. ADVANCE!”

The unit turns and heads for the mirror.

“Uh…Graham?” She whispers.

“Shit…um…go with it.” I say out the side of my mouth.

My eyes scan ahead as soldiers line the edges of the path to the mirror with guns at the ready. The formation enters the mirror one row after another. The mirror ripples as each body crosses over.

I start to sweat as it comes closer. The last time I crossed a mirror, I never went back.

Kita grabs my hand and squeezes it like she can sense my anxiety. I glance at her quickly as the mirror starts to loom over head.

The line in front of us enters and I watch their packs disappear.

“Hold your breath.” I say low.

She sucks in a breath and we both take a step. The glass consumes us and it’s like we were one with the glass for a moment then we’re hit with frigid cold air.

Kita squeaks in shock of the temperature difference and I try to calm her without gaining attention.

“Oh God.” I look around and soldiers are running all over through the snow. Boxes are being snapped opened and orders are yelled.

“UNIT 2! AWAIT FURTHER ORDERS, NORTH SIDE!”

The trees are covered in snow and the air is thin.

We turn with the unit and walk to a position out of the way.

“Where is the General?!”

My eyes widen as I see a tall, thin blonde woman approach a soldier. “Gia.” I breathe.

“He's on the other side, Ma'am, organizing the next group.”

“I need to speak with the overlord. Take me to him.” She stands with authority over the soldier.

“Yes, Ma'am.”

“Graham. That means…” Kita looks up at me.

“The Vamps are here. Wherever here is?” I look around. I turn to Kita. “Teleport us somewhere safe."

“Hai.” She bows and we disappear. We reappear in the trees off to the side. I take off the extra gear and Kita shifts.

“It’s cold.” She shivers.

I try to see through the trees. In the distance I see peaks. “We’re on a mountain. The question is what one.” I look back at the soldiers.

“I could fly up and get a better look.” Kita whispers and I nod.

She rockets through the trees and hides in the tops.

After a moment, she comes back down. “There’s not much, but a few peaks over, I see people sliding down hills.”

I stitch my brows together. “A ski resort?”

She nods.

I rub my nape and think. “The only mountain resort I know is in the Appalachian mountains.”

“YOU DON’T BELONG HERE!!”

A voice boomed and a snow storm blew in out of nowhere. The wind whipped our hair and shook trees. The trunks gave us little relief from the driving ice and snow that hit our bodies. It hit our skin and almost burned. The temperature dropped at least 10 degrees in an instant.

“GET OUT OF MY REALM!!”

Kita buries herself in my lap and I squint my eyes as I try to find out where that voice came from. I hug her head and she wraps her tails around us.

“Graham! What’s happening?” She yells over the winds.

Soldiers cry out, shots are fired and I watch a truck fly past and crash across the compound. More fighters run in the direction it was thrown from.

“I WILL KILL YOU ALL!!” The voice was so loud I had to cover my ears.

“Graham!” Kita pleads.

I force myself to face the storm and adjust my eyes. You can barely see two feet in front if you.

“THIS MOUNTAIN IS MINE!!”

Soldiers are thrown past the gap in the trunks we can see through while others come into view, drop to a knee, raise their weapons and fire.

“A NYMPH! OPEN FIRE!!”

I search for their target.

“Shit!” My brows go up.

“What?!”

“It’s Iris.” I search my head for a plan. “We got to get out of here before…”

“I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!!”

More screams of torturous pain came from the clearing. Thunder and lightning crack over head, shaking the ground.

I whip my eyes to Kita. “Before that.”

We can’t get caught here or we'll end up like those poor bastards.

Large icicle swords fly through the air. Some stick into the chests of soldiers and some dig into the rock.

Columns of bright ice power blow across the compound and anyone caught in the current freezes instantly.

“Who?”

“I’ll tell you later. Teleport to Phoenix.” I grabs her shoulders and stare into her eyes.

“OK.” She disappears.

I throw my hands up. “ME TOO!” I growl to the trees.

She pops back in and I shoot her a look.

She giggles. “Sorry.”

I turn to the gap just as the white haired snow nymph comes into view. “NOW, KITA!” My eyes widen as she sees us and raises her hand to me. Her face is twisted in ugly anger. Her sparkling white dress flaps violently in the wind.

“She's beautiful!” Kita admires.

I see her hand glow and I grab Kita's paw “KITA!”

Kita fans her tails out at the last second to shield us. She teleports just as Iris fires her power at us and we reappear in Jake’s office. We both are shivering like mad, looking like we just walked in from a blizzard as he blinks at us.

“Graham? Kita? What the hell?” He whips his head between us as he stops his paperwork.

I fix my hair and glance at Kita. “Oh…Damn.” I squat down in front of her and huff a chuckle. “Baby, are you OK?”

I lean my arms on my knees and rub my lips as I look her over.

She’s sporting an angry fox face while she stands with her tails in a frozen fan behind her. Chunks of snow are tangled in her fur, making her look like a round, furry snowball on thin blue legs. I reach out and pick a snow chunk off her head.

“She was not nice. I am NOT happy.” She grits.

“I can see that. You want me to take care of…”

“No. I can do it.” She grumbles as she narrows her eyes and her body steams.

One of her tails glows red and it heats up her whole body. Her fur melts and she’s now soaked. Her frozen tails become heavy with water and fall to the floor one by one. Her fur hangs off her thin body, dripping into a puddle underneath her. She looks like a drowned rat.

“Better?” I try not to smile as Jake stands, looking at us like we’re nuts.

“No.” She grumbles. “I don’t like being wet.”

A shit eating grin forms on my lips. “You kind of do.” I say suggestively.

She scowls. “Not the same!!” She shouts as her eyes slam shut and her ears flop down. She glares at me, heaving breaths. Clearly she’s pissed.

I can’t help but laugh. “Ok. Not the same.”

She starts into a shake.

“No! Not here!” Jake throws a finger at her and Kita scowls.

“Baby, go shake in the hall and come back.” I instruct as I motion my head to the door.

“Fine.” She growls and walks to the door with her nine, water logged, tails dragging behind her. She telekinetically opens the door and closes it behind her.

“Graham? Care to explain?” Jake eyes me.

I pull a chunk of snow off my shoulder and drop it on the floor. “You’re never going to believe this.” I lean on his desk and a chunk on my other shoulder falls on it. He furrows his brow.

“Jake…I know where the Vamps are.”