“They might have magic radios,” whispers Allison, listening in our conversation. “I mean, we found a weird flashlight.”

  It’s okay, Mom. I know what you meant. Oh, Max wants us to come back to, umm, the base tent.

  “Not a bad idea.” Kingsley looks around. “We’re growing obvious standing here watching the slaughter without running and screaming like everyone else.”

  Allison glances at him. “My spell is still hiding us as long as we don’t get too close.”

  “Still.” I hold my arms out. “Let’s go back to the tent.”

  Everyone grabs on, and I summon the dancing flame.

  Chapter Five

  Resistance

  The interior of Max’s tent appears in the flickering flame.

  I beckon it closer and closer until it expands into the size of a yawning portal and passes around us. Our surroundings shift in an instant. Several Light Warriors jump in surprise at our sudden appearance. Tammy snaps out of her paralyzed state but seems content to remain draped in her brother’s arms. She looks exhausted. The fragrance of various foods and spices hang in the air. Damn. Now I’ve got a craving for Indian. Big time. Or Thai. Dammit. I can’t tell what it smells more like between Indian or Thai.

  Moroccan? asks Allison.

  I blink at her. No idea. Never had it.

  “Ahh, Sam…” Max walks up to me, smiling. “Tammy has shared with me already the details of your reconnaissance mission.”

  “Good. Do you have any idea what the heck those two palace guards are?” I ask.

  “As a matter of fact, I do. Elizabeth used the same trick in the last months of the war. They are dark masters who have established an impermanent binding to a still-living human.”

  Kingsley whistles. “How dangerous are they?”

  “Not terribly.” Max shrugs. “They are strong and fast, yes, but lack the resilience or regeneration of vampires. There is no need to use silver weapons on them as they die as easily as the living. No mental powers, claws, fangs, or anything of the sort.”

  “So basically, Captain America, but a bad guy?” says Anthony.

  “Say what?” I ask.

  Anthony flexes. “Comic books, Ma. The government took a normal dude and made him superhumanly strong and tough, but not as much as Superman. Cap is still mortal.”

  “Super soldiers, basically,” says Kingsley.

  “Yes. But they shouldn’t be too difficult for you or Sam to take on… or the Fire Warrior.” Max winks, then shifts his attention to a man with long black hair and a tall face, a man who wasn’t here before. “Everyone, this is Mardat.”

  Mardat bows in greeting. He’s somewhere between twenty and forty and looks more or less like an ordinary citizen, except for the confidence in his eyes and his posture. This man is nowhere near as relaxed or ordinary as he appears to be. He’s not giving off aggression, more a sense he’s hyper aware of everyone around him. The read I get from his outermost thoughts confirms my suspicion... he’s a spy.

  “Our arrival here has not gone unnoticed, apparently,” says Max. “Fortunately, Mardat’s people—and not Elizabeth’s—are the ones who realized we are not locals.”

  “Sorry,” says Madelyn Singleton, one of the mystics who initially went out to get water. “Probably dumb of the conspicuous blonde to go looking for something to drink.”

  The Light Warriors chuckle.

  Max waves at her in a ‘don’t worry about it’ way, then looks back to me. “Mardat was part of the former king’s military and spy network. One of the few relatively senior people left alive.”

  I raise both eyebrows, pretending to be surprised. “Spy network? There’s nothing but desert for miles in every direction. Who, exactly, are they spying on?”

  Mardat clasps his hands in front of himself. “Much of our work occurred within the capital city. There are four other kingdoms bordering ours, and six smaller cities in our territory. All of which are several days’ travel by camel, or one day by sail.”

  “Sail?” asks Tammy.

  “We occasionally use wind-powered wagons. They are, as you may expect, dependent on the weather. With a good strong wind, we can cover great distances at high speed.”

  I’m thinking something like wheeled sailboats. Okay, makes sense. Probably means I could fly there in a couple hours, then.

  “If there’s a need to send word to other cities, I can cover distance quite fast,” I say.

  Mardat purses his lips in thought. “We do not think the empress has gone outside the walls of Iskariya yet. She will certainly become aware we plot against her if the other garrisons return to the capital.”

  Max gestures at us. “Please, tell them what you told me, Mardat.”

  “Of course,” says Mardat, nodding. “Our seers have predicted the new empress will be terrible and cruel.”

  “We suspected that,” I say. “It’s kinda why we’re here.”

  “Interestingly, they said we will receive help from afar, but it shall not cross the deserts of Mishennadi.”

  “Sorry… not following.”

  He grins at me. “It means our aid will come from quite far away, but will not traverse the great sands separating us from the rest of the continent. Outsiders who somehow arrive in Iskariya without needing to cross the vast desert around it.”

  “Basically us, Ma,” says Anthony.

  “Indeed.” Max pats my son on the shoulder. “We believe the vision indicates that sending word to the outlying cities to request aid will alert Elizabeth to danger and complicate our efforts.”

  Kingsley holds up a hand. “Are we really going to base our plans on someone having visions?”

  “This world is not exactly like ours,” says Max. “There are many small differences, many of the magical variety. We are working as fast as we can to bring in additional Light Warriors. The luxury of time is not one we have. For each hour Elizabeth remains here, the more powerful she will become. She will eventually grow strong enough to conquer more than the City of Iskariya, and with every new city and territory her army occupies, her power will grow. Eventually, she will reach a point where we can no longer pose any threat to her.”

  “She’s still only one person,” I say.

  “I’m not merely speaking in terms of political or military power.” Max glances sideways at the mystics among his people, who are conferring in the back of the tent. “The magic of this world is prevalent to the point she can draw upon the fear of mortals.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” I ask.

  “It means, as more and more come to fear her, the more powerful she becomes. The fear itself will galvanize her magic.”

  “Great.”

  The Alchemist nods gravely. “As more fall under her dominion, she will eventually reach the point of becoming akin to a demigod.”

  “How long do we have?” asks Allison.

  “Hmm.” Max shifts his jaw side to side while pondering. “I am perhaps overstating the urgency for motivation. The sooner we confront her, the easier it will be. While it is true each hour she remains here may complicate our task, we most likely have between eighteen months to two years before she becomes so powerful we have no chance of defeating her. However, I was rather hoping to be home in time to catch Conan.”

  “The barbarian?” asks Anthony.

  Max chuckles. “No, the comedian.”

  I’d laugh, but… yeah. Things are a little on the heavy side at the moment. “You really think this could be over in a few hours?”

  “I do. I am trying to stay positive.” Max smiles, then waves for everyone to gather close. “Let us go over what we know and establish a strategy.”

  Madelyn walks over to stand beside us along with Yasmeen and Olivia. Kingsley, Allison, and I, plus Mardat and the big warrior Anthony’s been talking to—Dillon Hewitt—form a circle a bit like the Round Table of Camelot… only with less armor and no table.

  Anthony and Tammy back up to let more of the experienced Light Warriors closer.

  Our discussion starts off with me describing the palace guards having superhuman agility and strength. Mardat appears visibly shaken upon learning they slaughtered so many of the old king’s soldiers in under a minute. Max assures him we have means of dealing with such beings and not to lose hope. The former spy—I say ‘former’ because he’s no longer officially employed by the royalty here—goes over possible ways to infiltrate the castle. Our best option sounds like a water tunnel on the south face of the castle. It’s not a sewer, rather an inlet from the lake supplying the castle’s plumbing. Surprisingly, they have faucets and such here. Water is drawn in via enchanted pipes, so there is no need for pumps.

  “The only complication with the pipe,” says Mardat, “is the grating on the end isn’t designed to be opened. It is mortared in place.”

  Kingsley cracks his knuckles. “Designs can be modified.”

  While Mardat sketches out a basic illustration of a seriously heavy metal grid, I’m about to ask how we’re all able to understand him, but Tammy telepathically informs me Yasmeen cast a spell on him using the same magic Max embedded in the rings.

  “And if he can’t break it open, I can get us past it,” I say. “Speaking of which, do you have access to any realistic paintings of an interior room of the castle? A good enough mental picture will allow me to teleport a small group in.”

  Mardat contemplates the idea for a moment before shaking his head. “The castle is heavily patrolled. Unless you have a way to be certain you will not appear and be noticed immediately, it would be best to take your time going in. Also, Safihr, King Wareem’s chief magister, placed numerous defensive spells on the castle to prevent magical intrusion.”

  “Hmm. I’m not sure what Samantha does is considered magic,” says Yasmeen.

  I chuckle. “Not sure it isn’t. Can science explain teleportation?”

  Most everyone makes ‘she kinda has a point’ face, except for Max who covers his mouth to hold in a chuckle—and Mardat who appears confused by the word ‘science.’ From there, Max suggests splitting our efforts into me leading a small team into the castle via the pipe while he and the rest of the Light Warriors gear up for a frontal assault. The idea being, we get into position to surprise Elizabeth from behind while she’s distracted dealing with the main attack. Considering it will take us a little while to make it into the castle, they’re going to work on opening another interdimensional portal to bring in the rest of the Light Warriors.

  One downside of being an esoteric order of supernatural guardians is there aren’t too many of them. Max expects to have a force of about fifty or so, and this is after he pulls them in from multiple lodges around the globe. Italy, for example, only has four Light Warriors.

  My ‘insertion team’ is going to consist of me, Kingsley, and Allison. Anthony will stay here in the tent as an honorary—and perhaps permanent based on the way he’s been looking at them—Light Warrior. They seem to be counting on him as the bulwark of their front line when they decide to make their move, but for now, they want him to stay out of sight at the tent. It is definitely a weird feeling to have grown adults suggesting my son is a source of strength and courage for them. Sure, the Fire Warrior is huge, strong, and tough… but my boy is still a boy.

  It’s fine, Mom, says Tammy. It’ll be the Fire Warrior taking the beating, not Ant. That guy is way over eighteen.

  I exhale.

  Tammy will remain at the tent, even after Anthony and the others launch their assault on the castle. She will concentrate on shielding everyone’s mind from detection and mind-control. Having her focus on defense is sorta like a bulletproof vest for the brain. Not a guaranteed resistance to a vampire’s mental powers, but she will definitely tilt the odds in the Light Warriors’ favor.

  While the three of us move into position at the castle, Max and his people plan to travel far enough out into the desert away from the City of Iskariya so the portal won’t be visible. Since this dimension is so much more magical than Earth, such portals don’t need to rely on ley line intersections to provide a massive power boost. Here, they can open an interdimensional portal almost anywhere. Still, the doorways are huge, bright, and obvious. If any of Elizabeth’s minions see it, she will know we’re coming.

  Max is certain any chance we have at victory requires he bring in as many Light Warriors and other potential allies as possible. Don’t ask me how he’s communicating with them between dimensions, but a small army has gathered, ready to go as soon as he opens the gate for them.

  Thanks to my daughter, everyone in this dimension will stay in contact so we know what’s going on.

  “This goes without saying, though I am almost loathe to suggest it.” Max bows his head, pausing a moment. “If you have the opportunity to cleanly assassinate her, you should take it. The loss of her leadership will strike a morale blow to the others and make our jobs much easier.”

  “You plan to wipe out all the dark masters here?” asks Allison.

  “Such a thing would be ideal, but I fear… impossible. If we gain the upper hand, as soon as they realize they are losing, they will abandon her cause. Without her leadership, it is unlikely they will remain focused on conquest. dark masters are, by nature, somewhat solitary beings. Eliminate her influence, and they will most likely scatter. Of course, it means this world will develop a limited number of creatures like vampires and werewolves, but there are already beasts here far worse. The effect will be relatively minimal.”

  “Where would a dark master go if the host is destroyed?” I ask. “The Void is gone.”

  “What about the ascendant ones?” asks Tammy.

  Max holds his hands up as if our barrage of questions rained on him like arrows. “There are precious few ways to destroy a dark master permanently. Sam, you carry one... the Devil Killer. I have access to another, but it requires entrapping them in an enchanted vessel and then performing several hours of rituals. Such a process destroys them one at a time and is hardly efficient for warfare. Also, I left the vase at home.”

  Anthony chuckles. “Ma, did you turn off the coffee maker?”

  I wink. “Great. Something else to worry about.”

  “You are correct in saying The Void is gone.” Max nods at me. “However, it would have been irrelevant since it belongs to our dimension. As soon as they came to this world, they would not have been bound to the Void we made in ours so long ago. Unbound dark masters will do here what they did prior to our creating their prison: they will appear as shadow figures, haunts, or ghosts... until they find another host.”

  “There’s also no delay between hosts,” says Anthony. “When the Void existed, if someone put a silver bolt in a vampire’s heart, the dark master would get thrown back down to the Void and be stuck there for a long time before they could get into another host. Now, they could jump into anyone close to death as soon as they wanted to. Kinda like what pops did to the other sick Anthony.”

  “Very good.” Max smiles at him.

  My son gets that awkward-proud look to him, like he’s grateful for the praise but ashamed of something. Probably because he learned about dark masters from Danny.

  “The boy is right,” says Olivia. “In the time before our predecessors created the Void, vampires would spring right back up after being destroyed—in an entirely different body. This, as you might expect, made them extremely difficult to track. The Void is the reason humanity has not known of large armies of vampires roving the countryside. It takes them so long to return, they have become relegated to myths.”

  “Used to,” whispers Allison. “Someone left the water on in the bathtub and the Void got condemned. So to speak.”

  “Aye.” Max grumbles. “We’ll need to see about recreating one after this is all over.”

  Murmurs of agreement go around the room.

  “What if she’s too powerful already?” asks Kingsley.

  “I have to believe we got here in time,” says Max. “Remember, we’re not relying on the three of you defeating her all by yourselves. Ideally, you will wait for us to begin the attack on the front door. When she is distracted managing our assault, you strike from behind. If you do make a move before us, and it does not go well, do your best to keep her busy long enough for us to get there.”

  “Isn’t the whole point to kill her?” Allison winces. “Sorry, I know she’s your mother and all, but…”

  “It is fine.” Max waves dismissively. “The woman you know as Elizabeth ceased being my mother many, many lifetimes ago. If you can put an end to her, do so. I am merely saying you should know we will be there as soon as possible to back you up.”

  I nod. “All right. So when are we getting started?”

  Max looks at his wrist, checking a watch he’s not wearing. “Well, Conan’s on in four hours.”

  No one thinks he’s serious about wanting to be back in our world in time for a late show, but message received. He wants to move as fast as possible.

  I hug my kids together. “You guys please be careful.”

  “I will, Ma,” says Anthony.

  “Yeah. I’ll just hide in the tent.” Tammy fidgets, looking simultaneously relieved and ashamed of herself.

  “You’re not a chicken.” I pat her on the back.

  “I know. Just kinda feel like one sitting here while everyone else is busting their ass.”

  “Did you see yourself after we got out of the city?” Anthony makes zombie arms. “Blocking Elizabeth is tough. You’re working harder and longer than the rest of us. The fighting will only take minutes. Meanwhile, you’re here running a dang marathon.”

  Tammy smiles. “You can be sweet sometimes.’

  “Yeah, well. Don’t get used to it.” He playfully punches her in the shoulder.

  She hugs me again, hesitant to let go. She’s still a bit clingy from her experience, seeing an alternate version of herself gone totally off the deep end. Honestly, what she showed me of that version of Tammy hurt me, too. I think we’re both going to be a little overprotective of each other for a while until the memory dulls. She finally releases me.