“I’ve got it!” She sat up in bed so quickly that her vision wavered.
“Got what?” Dakota stood in front of the mirror in his towel. She ignored the lust that blossomed in her heart.
“I know how to reach Carmen. Or I think I do.”
“What? How?” He walked quickly and sat on the edge of the bed.
“The Brute dimension,” she whispered, remembering what Vincent had said about his eavesdropping.
“What about it?”
“I can open a portal to there. Then I should be able to project myself to Carmen and warn her.”
“But Vincent blocked the magic. You won’t be able to open a portal.”
“He only blocked here to Terrenia, not to the Brutes.” She smiled widely. “I should be able to access it.”
“Is it safe? In their world?”
“I’ve never been.” That was the only part of her plan she wasn’t sure of. The only part that scared her.
“So you don’t know what it looks like? If it’s even safe?”
“No. Gregory said he had visited most of the different words, but he never mentioned that one specifically.”
“Well, I suppose it’s worth a shot.”
“Really?” she asked, surprised. She had been sure he was going to argue with her.
“We don’t really have a choice, do we? I’m going with you, though.”
“I never would have thought otherwise.”
“What if Vincent intercepts you again?” Tony asked worriedly after Anastasia and Dakota had filled Elizabeth and him in on their plan.
“Then I will handle it. I don’t think he will, though,” she said confidently.
“I don’t either,” Dakota agreed.
“So you want to open a portal into another world without so much as a minor understanding as to what’s on the other side.” Anastasia could hear the hesitation in Elizabeth’s voice. “You’ve seen the Brutes. They are not the most docile-looking creatures. What makes you think their world will be any better?”
“The Brutes turned out to be peaceful. The ones that weren’t being manipulated by Vincent, anyways,” Dakota added.
“But what makes you think that any of them are left? How do we know that Vincent’s Brute army isn’t running their world now?” Tony argued.
Anastasia sighed. “We have to take the risk, Tony. We have to warn them.”
“You are pregnant, Anastasia. You have to think about that as well,” he growled back.
“I am thinking of that. I want this baby to have a world to grow up in!” she yelled.
Tony looked at her, surprised. “Fine. When do you want to do it?”
“Tonight,” Anastasia responded shortly.
The knock on the door had them all turning.
“Who could that be?” Elizabeth wondered.
“Open up, Parker.” The familiar voice of Ashton, one of Seattle’s finest, sounded through the closed door.
“What do you want, Ashton?”
“We need to talk to you and your friend.”
“What friend?” Dakota asked, looking through the peephole. Ashton and four other officers stood staring at the door.
“Open the door and we can talk about it.”
“They are here about last night.” Anastasia’s face went pale. “They are here for me, because of those men.”
“Anastasia, calm down,” Dakota said softly, and touched her arm. “We will think of something.”
“I don’t have all day, Parker,” Ashton warned. “I’m giving you this courtesy given our history.”
A bad one, Dakota remembered. Ashton had always been one who enjoyed throwing others under the proverbial bus. Never cared for anyone but himself, and had on multiple occasions proven that to Dakota and his late partner.
“One second, Ashton. I’m getting dressed. Wouldn’t want me to open the door in nothing but my birthday suit, now would you?”
“Not particularly,” Ashton muttered through the door. “No games, Parker.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Dakota said loudly. “Anastasia, open the portal,” he whispered.
“Now?” she asked, surprised. “What about Ashton? The police? They are looking for me.”
“I don’t give a damn about them. If they are working with Vincent, then they sure as hell don’t care about us either. Open the portal, we can worry about everything else later.”
Anastasia nodded and closed her eyes. She felt her hair begin to blow back and opened her eyes to the familiar swirling blue light. Hope soared through her. Vincent hadn’t seen this coming and hadn’t blocked the bridge from here to the Brute world.
Dakota gripped her hand and Elizabeth her other. Tony held Elizabeth’s other hand, and the four of them stepped through the portal and into the unknown.
When they emerged on the other side, the stench of sulfur filled their nostrils. The sky was dark, as if it were going to storm, and a light fog spread along the ground as far as they could see. The dark façade of cliffs loomed above them, and dread filled Anastasia. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but this hadn’t been it. She knew the Brutes preferred caves inside mountains, but after getting to know Argento, she had thought that maybe the Brute world might be similar to her their own, but this had almost no similarity to any place she had witnessed.
There was no grass, only rock and dirt, and the air was thick and hot. No breeze swept past them.
“I was not expecting this,” Dakota said simply. “I’m not sure what I had been expecting, but I know it wasn’t this.”
Anastasia nodded.
“Can you try to reach Carmen now? Or do you need to rest?”
“I’m fine.” Anastasia closed her eyes, excited that she didn’t feel the barrier she had before. When she opened them, she stood face to face with her grandmother.
“Nice to see you, Anastasia.”
“You aren’t surprised?”
“Takes more than a projected visit by my granddaughter to surprise me.” She laughed.
Anastasia looked around the medical cottage. Everything looked just as she had remembered it.
“How is everyone?”
“Everyone is fine. It has been quiet since you four left. How is Dakota?”
“He is fine, healed. We would have come back sooner, but Vincent has blocked magic from there to Terrenia.”
Carmen sighed. “I feared he had. I tried to reach you and couldn’t get through. Where are you now?”
“The Brute world.”
“Smart girl.”
“Carmen, I have to warn you.”
“Warn me? About what?”
“The Trepidos are coming. Vincent is going to unleash them on Terrenia. You have to be prepared.”
The color drained from Carmen’s face. “Trepidos?”
“Yes. He used Terrenia as leverage to get them to do what he wanted. It is payment for their services.”
“Those monsters are the most horrific things in all the worlds. They can make you do things you never would have before.”
“Yes, they can. I’ve seen them, they are awful.”
“Carmen.” Argento’s deep voice sounded as he pushed open the door. “Anastasia, it is good to see you,” he said as he came into the small cottage. “I am seeing you, yes?”
“Yes you are. Hello, Argento.”
“Where are you?”
“In your world.”
“You are in my world?”
“Yes, I had to come here in order to reach Carmen. Vincent is block—”
He put his hand up to stop her. “Anastasia, you must leave.”
“Why?”
“It is not my world anymore. Vincent’s Brutes have killed all those who were loyal to me. They are the only Brutes there. You have to go.”
“You should be able to open a portal here,” Carmen offered.
Anastasia nodded. Why hadn’t she done that in the first place?
“You may only have a small window, though. Vincent will learn what you have done and he will block that as well. You have to hurry.”
“I will.”
“Go now, and we will see you soon.”
Anastasia closed her eyes and opened them to the Brute world.
“About time,” Dakota muttered.
They were surrounded by Brutes.
“Well, isn’t this interesting,” one of them growled.
Anastasia looked around. She counted eight of the enemy.
“We know someone who has been looking for you, girl.” One of the Brutes sneered at her.
“Then you know what I am capable of.” She smiled back. “Leave now, and I won’t harm you.”
The Brute laughed. “You are nothing compared to him.”
“You are foolish,” Tony mocked. “You don’t know the half of what she is capable of. Why don’t you show them?” he asked, directing the question at Anastasia.
“Gladly.” She smiled. Anastasia lifted her fists and opened her hands quickly, sending flames at each of the Brutes. They fell in unison to the ground.
“Shall we?” she asked softly, and opened a portal into Terrenia. The four of them stepped through and into the training cottage.
“Did you kill them?” Elizabeth asked after the portal closed behind them.
“Yes,” Anastasia said simply.
“Good.”
She nodded, but although she would never admit it, the deaths, regardless of whether they were deserved or not, weighed on her. Truth be told, she was afraid of what she was becoming. The line that was drawn between her and Vincent and his level of monstrosity was beginning to blur, in her opinion. How many had she killed with her magic? How many more would she kill? How could she raise a child to be a light in the world when her heart held so much darkness?
“You okay?” Dakota’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Yes, I’m fine. Why?”
“You seem off.”
“Just tired, I suppose.” She smiled at him, not wanting him to know the depth of her thoughts.
“I bet you are. You need some rest.”
“We can get some now.” Or try to, anyway, she added to herself.
“Dakota!” Argento’s loud voice boomed when they came into the clearing. “It is so good to see you, my friend.”
“You as well.” Dakota shook his hand and then smiled at Carmen.
“You look much better than the last time I saw you, Dakota.” She pulled him in for a hug. “I’m so glad for it.”
“Feeling better as well.” He laughed.
“What of my world?” Argento asked cautiously.
“We ran into a handful of Vincent’s Brutes, but Anastasia took care of them.” Tony beamed proudly at her, and Anastasia smiled lightly in return.
“What does it look like?” Argento questioned. Anastasia could see the fear in his eyes, but she wasn’t sure what would have put it there.
“It’s darker than here,” she said, not wanting to sound harsh. “There are lots of mountains, cliffs, and rocks.”
“Any green?”
“Not that we saw.”
Argento shook his head. “They have destroyed it. My world is dying.”
When he looked up at them, Anastasia saw tears in his eyes.
“What do you mean?” Dakota pushed cautiously.
“My world once was more beautiful than anything you could imagine. The mountains were covered with lush, green grass and flowers, and water flowed from those cliffs. My wife,” he paused and cleared his throat, “well, she was once the magic behind it all. Her pure heart was what beat through our lands. Now that she is gone, so is the magic. My world will crumble without it.”
“I’m so sorry, Argento.” Dakota patted him on the shoulder, and Tony walked to his side.
“When I lost my wife and child, I thought myself dead. I didn’t want to survive in a world where they did not exist anymore. You may have lost your wife, Argento, but her love still lives in you and in your daughter as well.”
Argento nodded and cleared his throat again. “Thank you, my friends. I am hoping that once we defeat Vincent, I can return my daughter back to our world where she can restore it to its previous glory.”
Silence filled the room. No one wanted to admit they were worried that day may never come. Vincent was becoming more entwined within the worlds every day, and Anastasia knew that when the time came to unwind him, it was going to come at a great cost.