Another person approached, and it took Nira a moment to realize this too was a woman, just one with short hair, a uniform of sorts, and a muscular build.
“Nira, this is my Aunt Ashling and my step-aunt Darci,” Declan said. “This is Nira and Storxyan.”
“Welcome you are then, the two of you both,” Ashling said, holding hands with Darci. “Let’s get ye settled. My nephew had sent word about ye both and it’s good to meet you.”
A shriek from the largest of the structures sounded, clearly a barn, and suddenly another dragon appeared, this one less than half the size of Storm. It launched itself in a short glide across the lawn and landed behind Declan.
“This is Draco, and as you can see, he’s clearly very excited to meet you.”
Nira sensed puzzlement from Storm, like the dragon wasn’t real. She raised both brows at Declan, who laughed. “He’s an Air Elemental who thinks he’s a dragon. He’ll help keep Storxyan’s amulets charged. Come on, let’s get you settled. There is a lot about this world to explain.”
Nira looked back for her luggage, which had been stacked atop one of the pallets. The two big cases were floating along behind them, all on their own. She turned back and found Stacia grinning at her. “You’re about to have a grand adventure, Nira. Lean into it.”
She’d heard the lady say those words once or twice before and understood. And she fully intended to lean into the next few weeks with every bit of her being. She looked at Storm and felt the exact same sentiment from the king’s daughter.
Parabellum
Preparation is vital.
“FALL DOWN EARTH GERMS AND PREPARE TO DIE!”
I’m not going to lie; I came really close to falling to my knees. The telepathic voice inside my head was so powerful, it froze my brain for a microsecond. Luckily Tanya’s brain is made of sterner stuff and she can lend me her strength of mind through our link.
So instead of collapsing, I straightened and fought through the awful force of will that bore down on me. My hand clutched the Rowan wood amulet that Declan had provided to each of us and instantly the pressure to obey receded from overpowering to merely migraine-inducing.
Tanya was already moving, Cling climbing up one of the concrete silos above me. I jumped to another one and followed her lead, eyes, ears, and other senses questing ahead for traps or ambushers.
Grim took over about thirty feet into the climb, just as an armored figure came rushing down the silo, running like a rappelling Army Ranger, just without the rope or harness. The figure was covered in what looked like depleted uranium armor, the kryptonite to my God-given powers. Rushing on two feet, it came fast at my crouching form as I was Clinging with both hands and both feet. At fifteen feet, Grim launched me upward in a straight leap, angling off about thirty degrees from my attacker’s path. And as I flew upward, Grim spun me around, my sword slashing around directly at the attacker’s legs. He, and I was fairly certain it was a he, leapt off the silo, avoiding my strike but effectively launching himself into open air. His eyes locked on me as he fell downward at a truly impressive speed. I let go of my sword with one hand and pointed behind him. He didn’t look, but sudden fear replaced the fierce determination he had projected in his eyes.
Tanya’s sword strike behind him smashed into the middle of his back with a vicious crack and pain filled his features as he was flung across the huge space to smash into a solid concrete wall. Had her weapon not been blunted, he would have been sliced in half. Instead he crashed, banged, and boomed all the way to the bottom, sixty-five feet or so below.
Grim ignored the fate of my ambusher and raced up the silo. I was moving so fast that as I passed through an opening in the floor above, the trap I triggered had no time to catch me, the industrial spring-driven plates of steel smashing together behind me.
Instead of getting crushed (or at least badly bruised), I came out of the opening and landed on the floor and shot ahead to the alien figure standing in front of me. The Vorsook attempted to shoot me with its odd sonic weapon but I was inside the arc of its arms, my own arms wrapping it up tight enough to crush a refrigerator. The alien tapped my arms immediately, so I let it go and the awful pressure on my mind disappeared.
“You can get off my sister now,” Tanya said from behind me, giving me an arch look. I unwrapped my limbs from Nika’s and then gave her a hand up. She pulled off her rubber alien mask and gave Tanya a frown. “Spoilsport,” she said with mock disappointment.
“Please, no loud talking,” I said. “The ringing in my brain is killing me.”
“That’s not ringing, it’s an echo inside your empty skull,” Lydia said, stepping out from the shadows of the room, a tablet in her hands.
“Honestly, that was the most powerful yet,” Tanya said to Nika.
“Yeah, I’ve been ratcheting it up on you guys every time,” Tanya’s blonde sister-by-choice said. “This power-up amulet Declan made for me brings it to real Vorsook levels. That last one was about as powerful as what I faced in Kansas City.”
“And knocked your times off by about two full seconds slower,” Lydia said, referring to her tablet. “Okay, time to see how the Elders do and this time, Chris, you can play the ambusher instead of Hosakawa.”
We reset the scenario, moving to another part of the training facility. As we shifted our places, parts of the interior moved into different configurations on their own. Or so it seemed. In reality, the Sutton kids were in the control room, using Omega’s technology to shift openings, traps, and solid physical structures. Despite
