Darkness obscured the outer rim of the image. For a moment, Nali thought the scene was about to end. It wasn’t until she observed the swirling colors in the background that she realized a portal had opened. Through the portal, they could now see a cavern in another universe. It felt both foreign and familiar to her. It was the same cavern the mirror had shown them before, the one with the river of gold, only this time, the river was turning black, and a wave of the same aliens they had been fighting on this world began emerging from the river. There were too many of them to count, wave after wave, a seemingly endless army of them, and after they took form, they began stepping through the portal. The alien they were hunting dropped Xyrie’s body and stood to receive them, the horn of the unicorn still in its grasp.
The mirror flitted through more images. One by one, lush worlds filled with abundant life came into view. In each of them they saw the aliens destroying everything, each world became a bleak, lifeless husk.
“That’s Earth,” Asahi murmured, watching the annihilation of the next world.
Swarms of the aliens covered the blue and white marble. There was no sense of time given to Nali as the wielder of the mirror—only a sense of certainty that this is what would happen if they continued on their current course of actions. When the distinctive Isles of the Seven Kingdoms appeared in the mirror, Ashure’s curse startled the group. The scenes increased in speed, showing one Isle after another falling under the onslaught of the alien invasion before everything vanished, and all Nali saw was her own reflection.
“Are we too late to stop it?” Ashure asked grimly.
She swallowed and shook her head. “No, we are not too late. This is what will happen if we do not stop the alien,” she replied in a strained voice.
“At least we have confirmation of where the alien is heading. We can stop it before it harms Xyrie and the other unicorns,” Ashure stated in a harsh tone.
“We need more help,” Nali said, looking at Ashure speculatively.
His answering smile was mostly sardonic—she hadn’t even wanted his help, after all—but his expression also conveyed a hint of his turbulent emotions. She had hoped to do this with no deaths except possibly her own. Yet, even with Ashure and Asahi inviting themselves along, the mirror had clarified that they must do something differently than they had planned. The risk of the alien possessing more people would just have to be mitigated somehow. Right now, Ashure didn’t have an answer to that riddle, but perhaps someone else would.
“What do you propose?” Asahi asked.
She straightened. “Ashure should take an Adze and ask the rulers of the other kingdoms for their assistance,” she replied.
Ashure whistled in approval. “Well, I’ll admit that I like this plan much better than the one where you said, ‘I need to do this alone’. So, what is an ass?”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Not an ass—an Adze,” she corrected.
“Will I want one when this is over?” he asked, rubbing his hands together.
“Why don’t you ask me that question when this is all over?” she suggested sweetly.
An uneasy expression crossed Ashure’s face. “This isn’t like a Bogleech, is it?”
“No-oo, they are much worse if you do not take care. I’ll summon one,” she said, walking over to the door.
“Can’t you just open a portal?” Ashure called behind her.
She shook her head. “I can’t open portals. I can only open doorways for myself around the Isle, you know that,” she answered as she pulled the front door open and stepped outside.
“What the heck could be worse than a Bogleech?” Ashure muttered under his breath.
Asahi cleared his throat. “The Adze is a vampiric dragonfly that can take over a person if it bites them,” he answered.
Ashure looked at him with his mouth hanging open. “You’re shitting me, right? Why haven’t I heard of them before?” he mused.
“Where did you learn that phrase?” Asahi asked in surprise.
“Tonya,” Ashure replied with a brief grin.
“Ah… yes, I thought it sounded a bit too human—and no, I’m not shitting you. My grandfather saw one in action at the market on the Isle of Magic,” Asahi remarked before looking up when Nali peered through the doorway.
“I’ve found one,” she called out with satisfaction.
“For once, I’m not all that excited,” Ashure muttered before he reluctantly headed for the door.
Chapter 17
Asahi rolled his aching shoulder as he stood back near the hut’s door and listened to Nali as she told Ashure how to control the Adze. The creature looked like an enormous dragonfly. On each side of the mammoth red and green body were twin sets of translucent wings and three legs.
The large, oval eyes were four feet long and half as wide. Thick hairs stuck out along its face, body, and legs. From the top of its head to the ground, the Adze was approximately six feet tall. Its wingspan was fifteen feet, and the length of its body was around ten feet. All-in-all, it looked like a flying truck.
“Whatever you do, Ashure, hang on and don’t make it mad,” she warned for the third time.
Ashure gave her an impatient glare. “I’ve got it—hang on, don’t make it mad,” he repeated.
“I’ve asked the Adze to take you to Drago. He and Orion are the most likely to be able to assist us right now,” she replied.
Ashure leaned down from where he was sitting in front of the first set of legs and caressed Nali’s cheek. He smiled when she covered his hand with her own.
“I’ll be back before you know it,” he promised.
She
