Chapter Twenty-nine
Hamel sat on the dirt floor of the small shed behind the log cabin. In front of him, a campfire roared, smoke escaping through a hole in the roof. Sefu walked through the door with a huge knife in hand.
“Hey there, man. I hate to admit it, but I assumed you meant to kill me figuratively.” Then Hamel saw a chicken in Sefu’s other hand. “Oh, man. You’re not gonna—” Sefu laid the chicken’s head on a log stump and hacked it off. “Oh, you are.” Wasn’t there some law against that? Where were those PETA people when you needed them? Oh, yeah. He was in the land of dark magic, where demons crossed over to steal people with viruses.
Hamel didn’t want to watch what the doctor did next, but the shack was so small he had little choice. He noticed Sefu had been chanting the whole time. Hamel understood his language, but these mumbles he didn’t recognize.
After setting a metal bowl of red liquid next to the fire, he spit several times into another bowl then dug up dirt from the floor and mixed it with the liquid into mud. If he needed water, he could’ve taken some from his sweat-drenched body. It was as hot as a sweat lodge. He was ready to die for Melinda, but that didn’t mean he was looking forward to the pain.
Sefu set the container next to the other by the fire. A third bowl appeared in his hands. From a narrow table along the wall, he snapped off the leaf of an aloe vera plant and squeezed out its contents. He crushed a flower in his fingers and mixed them together.
With all three bowls next to the fire, he chanted over them, waving his hands. “Come here, transformer.”
Hamel snapped his head up, then scooted around to the bowls. Had he fallen asleep?
Sefu dipped two fingers into the chicken blood and smeared it down Hamel’s arms. “This sacrifice is to incite the favor of the gods who watch over this.” He smeared mud across his forehead. “This is for the earth, and as we began as dirt, we will return.”
The colorful aloe mixture went on his bare chest and heart. “May this be a reminder that time heals that which does not kill you. Your heart is strong, transformer. Let it guide you in your journey.”
The witch doctor continued painting his body with items in the bowls. “There are certain things you must know before you travel. First and most importantly, you must return before the setting of their sun. The veil to the other side closes then, and if you remain in their land after the sun sets, you will never be able to leave.
“Secondly, never fear possession of your soul. With your animal, they will not be strong enough to take it. Never let them trick you into volunteering your body. Then they will enter and control you.
“Last, tell your mate to always mind whose reality she’s in. Very important.” He fell into soft chanting. Smooth and hypnotic. Almost like a song. Hamel let out a sigh and relaxed his shoulders.
Awaken.
Hamel popped up his head to come to a sitting position. Where the fuck was he? Did someone drop him in the middle of Death Valley? He climbed to his feet and brushed off his pants, which happened to be worn buckskin. Where the hell did that come from? His shoes were ankle high and formed to his feet as if barefoot. He had no shirt on. His bare chest rippled in the sun.
All that was fine and dandy, until he felt something on his back. He reached over his head, grabbed what felt like a handle, and pulled up. A sword, long and narrow, rested in his hand. Holy fucking shit. Was this for real? He was Conan the Barbarian. If a dragon showed up, he’d be the Dragonslayer.
He gripped the sword with two hands and whipped it through the air. Great. Now he’d be able to kill some fucking demons and get his woman back. He lifted the sword above his head and tried to get it into the really narrow sheath. It was like putting thread through a needle. Fucking impossible.
Finally he gave up and decided just to carry the damn thing. Since he didn’t have a better weapon, he’d keep it. He could practice his grip and swinging. No telling what he’d have to defend himself against. He wished he had a gun.
When he stepped, his foot kicked something. He looked down to see a handgun lying on the dirt. Where did that come from? He picked it up and checked the clip. Empty. Figured. He’d found his weapon, but with no ammo. He wished a full clip would’ve been included. Getting ready to toss the weapon, he glanced down and saw bullets shining in the sun. He couldn’t believe it. How did he not see them when he picked up the gun?
He loaded the gun and slipped it between his backside and waistband.
He looked around. “Should I go the desolate way”—he spun around—“or that barren, desolate way? How about the barren, desolate way?” He turned to face the sun. It looked like Earth’s sun. And it was fucking hotter than shit. He put the sun to his back and started his journey, as the witch doctor called it.
Then he remembered Sefu’s instructions: He gathered several rocks and made a pile large enough to see from a distance. Sefu told him he had to come to this very spot to get back to Earth’s side. With his sword, he drew a deep circle in the dirt indicating where to stand.
Breaking into a jog, sword still in hand, he focused on Melinda. He was here to save her or would die trying. He’d rather be dead if she wasn’t in his life.
After some time of not seeing anything but dirt and rocks, he questioned his choice of paths. Dammit. He wished he had a sign or something to guide him. That’d be nice.
He noticed movement far ahead of him. Far enough that it could’ve been a mirage tricking his eyes.
That dark mass ahead of him was getting closer, quickly. He stopped. His eyes and brain couldn’t make sense of what he saw. No mirage, that’s for sure.
With no warning, a shockwave of air almost pushed him to the ground. A black blob, floating six feet above the ground, headed directly toward him. Behind this mass was a solid line of the same creatures. Were those in the line chasing the first one? If it was a race, then one was definitely superior to the others. But that was not what his gut told him. His instincts told him to protect.
He leaned to the side to let the creature pass by without hitting him. It changed course to match his. That couldn’t be good. He took off running to the side and the blob followed. Okay, he would listen to his heart and brain, like Sefu said. He stood straight then closed his eyes when the monster was too close to his face to avoid a collision. Then he felt a hand grab on to his lower neck. He never expected to die by strangulation.