“I’ve saddled the Fire-breathers, and they are ready to go. Last night’s storm didn’t faze them a bit.” Ashure grinned with pride as if they were already his. “I swear you are teasing me with perfection, Nali. After this is all over, you should allow me to purchase a few of them lest I go mad with envy,” he said.
“If we make it through this, I’ll think about it,” she grudgingly replied.
Ashure did a quick jig and grinned. “Finally!” he said, rubbing his hands together.
Nali helplessly smiled at his antics for a moment before a stern expression disguised her amusement. “I said I’d think about it, not that I would agree,” she retorted with a shake of her head.
With sparkling eyes, Ashure replied, “Never you fear, my lady, I know very well that you strike a hard bargain.” He touched a finger to the side of his nose in a knowing gesture.
Nali looked down at the map spread out on the table in front of her and allowed another genuine smile to curve her lips, this one a little bittersweet. “Well,” she murmured, “I love them all.” Ashure’s expression softened, and she cleared her throat. “Let’s move on. We have an alien to kill.”
Asahi moved close behind her and looked over her shoulder at the map. “How far do you think it may have traveled?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’m not sure. A lot depends on how far it got yesterday before the storm—assuming the storm would even affect it,” she replied.
“It’s likely that the entity is weak at the moment. It left a significant amount of its body matter behind at the Daktyloi’s home. If it followed the canyon, it would take even longer,” Ashure reflected.
“Especially if it needed to stay in the shadows,” Asahi added.
“Nali, I think we—you—should try the Goddess’s Mirror again since my mirror is lost,” Ashure suggested.
Nali looked up from the map they were studying, frowned, and shook her head. “It is too dangerous. Besides, the Goddess’s Mirror doesn’t work like your mirror. Sometimes it shows me what I request, but it is just as likely to give me confusing, random images,” she said.
“I, for one, do not want a repeat of it coming through the mirror to kill us—or when it found out where we were and tried to bury us in zombies and fire bugs,” Asahi pointed out.
“Is it not our goal to battle and defeat this alien? What other choice do we have? We have guessed a likely location the alien may head toward, but we cannot be sure,” Ashure argued.
Nali focused her attention on the map again. “You’re right,” she quietly agreed, her stomach clenching at the thought.
“I’m right?” Ashure repeated before he grinned. “Of course I’m right! Asahi, call the Golden Dagger.”
Asahi nodded and pulled the dagger from the sheath. Mr. Gryphon yawned and shook his head, then glared at him with mild irritation.
“What is it now? I was recharging,” the gryphon grumbled.
“Our apologies, Mr. Gryphon,” Nali briskly replied. “I’m about to use the Goddess’s Mirror to see if we can locate the alien, and I need your help,” Nali diplomatically informed the lion.
Mr. Gryphon’s mane fluffed up, and he stood at attention on the dagger’s hilt. “Anything for you, Empress,” the lion announced.
“Flattery—nice, Nali,” Ashure murmured with an impressed nod.
“Ashure, are you ready?” Nali asked.
Ashure gave her a brief nod and pulled out his enchanted sword. For a moment, his mind went back to when he had received this from Magna, the fearsome Sea Witch. After his and Tonya’s wedding, they had gone to see her family, and then popped over to Yachats for a quick visit because he couldn’t dismiss the nagging worry that Nali might need help in her battle. No one knew the alien creatures’ reasoning better than Magna did—and the first of these aliens would never have been destroyed without her help.
It had taken some fast talking—and Tonya’s help—to get around Gabe and Kane. Magna’s husbands were very protective of their pregnant wife. In the end though, Magna made the sword and gave it to him. He was still in awe of the changes in her appearance since she had been freed from the alien’s possession. Centuries of imprisonment had changed her, but there was a reason that no other had survived the alien for a fraction as long as she had—and now her indomitable strength would be turned against the last of these alien invaders. Ashure hoped he would make her proud.
Nali looked at Asahi. He bowed his head, the dagger and Mr. Gryphon ready for whatever might happen. She lifted her hand and called forth the Goddess’s Mirror.
“Goddess’s Mirror, come to me.” A cloud of gold appeared in front of her. It swirled and formed into the mirror. She reached out and wrapped her fingers tightly around the handle. The clear glass reflected her image, and she noticed what the two men must see as well—her worried expression. She drew in a deep breath, held it for a fraction of a second, and released it. “Show me the alien,” she instructed.
Immediately, the image in the mirror changed. Energy flooded Nali’s limbs, and she felt light on her feet, poised to move quickly and be fierce—ready for battle. The air in the room suddenly felt icy, and the shock to their lungs made it difficult to breathe.
Nali recoiled when the image became clear. A blood-soaked meadow, a river running red, and dozens of slaughtered unicorns littering the once pristine meadow of their mountaintop home. A sob caught in Nali’s throat, devastating pain and shock holding her rigid.
Only a single, strong certainty consoled her. An instinctive knowledge came from her affinity and experience with this mirror. “This is the future, not the present or past,” Nali reassured her companions in a choked voice. “This is the future,” she repeated grimly.
The image shifted to the sad conclusion of a fight between the alien and Xyrie, the oldest and most powerful of the unicorns. The
