“But we have one of Greg’s devices,” Bloodsong pointed out.

  “Come on,” I said, watching as we left the Los Angeles area behind, already speeding out over the Pacific. We’d reach our destination in no time. “Why do I get the sense something is going on here, more than you’re telling me?”

  Milrae sighed, exchanged a couple more quick back and forths with the friend, then reached out and started caressing my leg.

  “If it’s a matter of not being able to get it up, I’m sure we can help,” she said.

  “You know that’s never been a problem.”

  “What then?”

  “It feels so forced!” I blurted out, swiping her paw away.

  “Ferris…” Kinara chimed in. “Maybe just do it?”

  I put my face in my hands, then turned to her friend. “Tell her to take off her clothes.”

  “Um…” Milrae leaned in, whispering in my ears. “She’s already nude. You just can’t see because of her shadows.”

  None of that made sense, so I shrugged and said, “Tell me why. That first, then, sure. Whatever, I’ll be this meat tool you seem to think I am.”

  “Fucking hell,” Milrae countered, putting a claw at my chest. “All the others give me a hard time about being jealous, and when I find one I’m excited about, you get squeamish?”

  “Just explain it for him,” Jalee chimed in.

  Fiare put an arm around me, nibbling on my ear. “Come on, big man. Do you really need to make it so complicated? You and I weren’t.”

  “I thought we were. At least compared to this.”

  “True.” Fiare leaned back, eyeing Milrae. “So?”

  Finally, Milrae groaned. “None of you know who this is? I mean, you at least have to.” That last part was directed to Fiare.

  The dragon lady considered the yellow-haired woman, then shook her head. “I know she came with some of the others, but don’t know much more than that. Not one of the ones I would’ve necessarily vouched for.”

  “She appears to be half of an amplifier! More hunted than even the Chirops.”

  There was an audible gasp from most in the car. At least, those from the monster world.

  “You mean a Gillean?” Bloodsong asked, turning back to where they had me in the middle row, the Gillean next to me. “I’d heard they could be split, distorted…”

  “Exactly!” Milrae exclaimed. “Shit, he could stick his cock in all the Gillean in the universe for the benefits it gets us. I wouldn’t care!”

  “That statement is helped by the fact that there might only be one or two other than this one,” Jalee noted.

  Suddenly, I was curious. “Go on.”

  “As she said, rare, and amplifier is a bit of an understatement. Once she’s with you… let’s just say our next fight will be fun in many ways. At least, according to the stories I’ve heard.”

  “And the other half?”

  Everyone looked around, as curious and confused in that regard as myself.

  “It would have been corrupted,” Jalee admitted. “I imagine, anyway, used for some dark purpose. Maybe taken and transformed through some sort of magic.”

  I met the Gillean’s stare. Or at least, think I did, but her eye with its pink glow seemed to stare at all of us at once, somehow. All, and none.

  “Okay,” I muttered. After all, how was I going to pass that up? “Let’s do it.”

  The only issue was, as hands began to undress me, my cock wasn’t responding. It hung there, embarrassingly limp. Frowning, not at all liking the idea of all this attention on me while it was limp, I closed my eyes and asked Suiko for some help. She took me to my memories, guiding me along my various sexual exploits.

  At one instant I was back with Fiare, then with Bloodsong, and going through each of them. As much as they were sexy as hell, the pressure to perform was killing me. Giving up on that, I returned to the present.

  “Sorry…” I muttered.

  “Nothing to apologize for,” Milrae muttered, frowning at it.

  “Allow me,” Kinara said, and climbed over the seat, in a very awkward position as she buried her face in my crotch and took me into her mouth. First my limp cock, then going to my balls.

  It simply wasn’t working. It felt damn good, but nothing more.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, running her tongue along me. “Your mind is too cluttered?”

  “I guess,” I replied, glancing over at the new girl. “We’re going into this fight, right? My mind’s kind of on that, and… you know, it’s a lot of pressure.”

  The ladies pouted.

  All but the Gillean, who moved close to me until her face was an inch from mine. This close, I could see that what Milrae had said was right. She was indeed nude, but even an inch from me, I could only barely make out the contours of her breasts. Her hair shifted, and where her other eye should have been, was instead a glowing symbol in the shape of a triangle.

  One of her white hands moved over to my lips, her finger brushing it ever so slightly. A flood of emotions and sensations swept through me, both in a ticklish and sexual way; suddenly I was clenching up, feeling like I might orgasm. My cock had never gone from zero to sixty so fast, but there it was, stiff as a rock, and she slid onto it.

  In that brief instant before I came, and I mean brief, she was revealed to me. A stunning beauty with a body as pure white as those hands, her face equally as beautiful, even with only one eye. That same sensation I’d felt on my lips flowed through me from my cock, so that it wasn’t only pleasure down there, but an orgasm that originated from every inch of me at once.

  For the first time that I could remember, I yelled out, “FUCCCCKKK” as it swept over me; then I was pulling her close, convulsing and shaking, vibrating even. She let out a quick yelp, then shot back, slamming into the back of the front seat and falling limp, Milrae catching her.

  I lay there, mouth open, unable to speak. At least, not until Kinara was snapping in front of my eyes, asking if I was okay.

  “I’m… I’m good.” I shook my head, then laughed. “Holy hell, what was that?”

  “Amplification,” Milrae said with a grin.

  “And she’s…?”

  “She’ll be fine.”

  As she said it, the Gillean rose, lips showing in that darkness for a brief instant, upturned. There was a smile there, and she wanted me to see it.

  “Thank you for sharing that,” I muttered.

  She growled a couple of words, and all looked to Milrae.

  “She said she was surprised you lasted as long as you did,” Milrae said with a chuckle.

  “It was that long?” I asked.

  “No. Maybe a split second or so.”

  I put a hand to my forehead, surprised to feel a layer of sweat. That split second had been damn intense. Feeling the urge to test my powers, I clicked my tongue.

  What followed was me not only sensing my surroundings in an echolocation way as before but like a map in a videogame suddenly becoming both visible and three-dimensional. I could feel the waves below us, and some of the wildlife beneath the surface. Then it faded, leaving me with an empty, longing sensation.

  “Whoa.” I held out my hands to stabilize myself. “Is it going to be like that every time?”

  Milrae asked, then said, “No. And it’ll be strongest immediately following connection. Plus, the benefit should spread to all linked to you, which will help you to focus the amplification power as you need it.”

  I glanced around at Kinara, Bloodsong, and the others, feeling very exposed. It was like they’d seen into my soul.

  “You all should try that,” I said, earning laughter. I glanced at our newest member, noting how she was back in that strange position with her arms wrapped around herself. Would I ever get to know her fully? The strange way of communicating that only Milrae seemed to understand was at least a language of sorts. If nothing else, she could translate, but maybe I could learn it, too?

  “How’s he stay alive with everyone draining him all the time?” Fiare asked.

  Kinara grinned, kissing me on the cheek. “The human body is a miracle.”

  I was pretty sure it was just biology, and figured my body created more sperm as it felt it was needed. Lately, it was needing a lot more than before.

  “Are we close?” I asked, scooting up to be able to see out the windshield.

  “According to this, we’re…” As Bloodsong spoke, we emerged through clouds; while there were more clouds below us, others gave way to reveal lush, green hills. “Ah, there we go!”

  “That would be Hawaii, sure enough,” I said. We flew over what I guessed to be Honolulu, but I wasn’t picking anything up, even as I focused on my spirit power.

  I glanced around, then said, “Lizzy is in the other car?”

  “She stayed back, wasn’t feeling well still,” Bloodsong replied.

  “Hmm, and as far as I know, the power of the mask latched itself onto her.”

  “From what we saw, that’s a good thing,” Koharu said.

  Bloodsong glanced over at me, looking worried. “Can you still access it? Check in on her?”

  “From this distance?” I eyed the Gillean, wondering. “If I lose my shit, we could all die.”

  The Gillean muttered something, and Milrae said, “She assures you, she’s tapped into you now, and can sense Suiko. The two of you should be able to manage any potential loss of control.”

  “Yeah?”

  Suiko became a ball of light and floated into me, pulsating as if to assure me she was ready. I tried connecting to Lizzy via Akame and felt a strange sensation like a phone ringing.

  “Ferris?” her voice said, and I started to be able to see her face, as if formed out of a dark shadow, but definitely there. Another presence was with us, but it didn’t seem to be Akame. It was strange, as if it couldn’t quite connect to us, but there, nonetheless.

  “Is everything okay back there?” I asked.

  “Well, you forgot Basty,” Lizzy noted. “But he’s keeping me company, and honestly, he’s quite comforting. Best pet ever.”

  “More of a friend than a pet,” I countered but smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. Take care and let us know if there’s any problem. This connection should work.”

  “Awesome.” She gave me a smile, then vanished.

  “That was… epic,” I said, glancing at the Gillean to express my appreciation. Since she had turned to look out the window, I left it alone. We were circling over a waterfall, with a small village in the distance.

  “I can’t believe I left Basty there,” I said, shaking my head. “Stupid.”

  “For the record, if you left me, you’d be in pain,” Kinara said.

  “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s not nice to assault your partner?” I asked.

  “Assault? Shit, I’m talking blue balls. I’d get you all hot and bothered, then leave and make sure none of these other ladies helped you out.”

  I frowned. “Good thing I didn’t leave you behind and never plan to.”

  Below, we were flying past a Disney resort, complete with Mickey and Minnie character costumes.

  “If we have time when this is done, we’re going there,” Kinara said. “I had too much fun at Tokyo Disney to pass that up.”

  “Done.” I was so distracted by the water slide, that as we moved along, I barely noticed the blur of a glow out of the corner of my eye. Sitting up straight and going to the window—crawling over Jalee and Fiare in the process—I stared in disbelief.

  “I’ve got them,” I said, eyes on a hill below. “There!”

  “Under the green?” Bloodsong asked.

  “It’d appear so.”

  “We’re heading down.” She started steering us downward, the car behind following, and we descended.

  19

  “Green hills, waterfalls, the most beautiful landscape I’ve possibly ever seen,” Bloodsong said. “I can see why they’d have their headquarters here. But why this place to store monsters?”

  “Are you serious?” Kinara replied. “What better atmosphere to find calm for your subjects as you try to brainwash them?”

  Jalee put her hand on my leg. “The scenery here is very nice. And no, I don’t mean the lake.”

  I glanced down at her hand on my leg, looked up to her eyes, and said, “Thank you, that’s all very sweet. Let’s remember why we’re here. Not to stroke my ego.” My focus was too much on the moving glow of monsters below to notice the shadow that showed she was going to pinch my neck, so her action caught me off guard. “Ouch.”

  “Next time I give you a compliment, you say thank you and give me a kiss. I don’t care if we’re in the middle of the battle, or if you’re on your deathbed.”

  “Am I the only one who thinks that’s harsh?”

  At least two others nodded their heads, but I leaned over and kissed Jalee, then turned back to the window. We were close to touching down, at a point where the hills met in a plateau. From what I could tell, many of the monsters were directly below this point, but some were off to the left. Eyeing that hill, I considered entry points. My best bet was on the backside, where sprays of water told me we were closer to the ocean than I realized.

  “Can you take us around back?” I asked.

  Bloodsong glanced at me and did so. Of course, I could’ve just taken control of the vehicle, but I wanted to stay focused. I was still a bit upset about having left Basty behind.

  As we moved behind the hill, I was a bit distracted by the scenery. While I’d always ignored the thought of visiting Hawaii, I could easily see why everyone was so excited about the place. The green was lusher and more vibrant than any green you could get in California. I loved the way tall ferns rose higher than a standing man, and got lost in the purple flowers that lined a stream cutting through the valley.

  It wasn’t until I saw the glint of sunlight in the distance that I realized I’d missed someone. I used my amplified bat sense and confirmed the shape of a hunter by the jagged armor. Was there any chance the main hunter could have known we were coming and set an ambush? Or that this was all a trap to begin with? That was unrealistic. For one, we’d seen the news that showed the hunter on the attack. It had been far from here, and would have been an optimal ambush—use the news of the event to lure us in, then have more forces waiting. But that hadn’t happened.

  This was, most likely, a response to some sort of alarm we’d triggered.

  “On it,” Suiko said and appeared in front of me before flashing out from the car.

  I leaned over to see Suiko grabbing hold of the man, lifting him into the air. He was definitely a hunter. We pulled around, window down so Jalee could hit him with a blast of lightning as Suiko released and let him fall. He was dead before he hit the ground.

  “Vicious,” Fiare said. She reached over awkwardly, clasping her sister’s shoulder. “That’s what I’ve been trying to show you all these years. It took Ferris to get you there?”

  “It took me being part of the team to understand what was necessary,” Jalee replied.

  “Wait, didn’t you serve the hunters?” Kinara asked.

  Jalee nodded, looking uncomfortable. Milrae’s new friend shifted to be able to see her. There was clear unease, maybe a bit of distaste, though our latest addition didn’t show any emotion.

  “Is there a chance they don’t know you’re with us?” Kinara asked. “A chance he could go down there and infiltrate?”

  “Not going to happen,” I insisted.

  “Plus, I’m pretty sure they know now,” Suiko said as she floated up through the bottom of the car.

  We continued to the other side of the hill, me being extra alert with my bat sense. So far, none were coming, so I said, “We seem to be in the clear.”

  “Milrae grumbled something,” and her friend replied. Turning to me, Milrae explained, “She says you’re wrong.”

  “How so?”

  “No people, but… there.”

  I followed the direction where her claws pointed and cursed myself for not having found another means of defense. Out of the grass rose three turrets, and almost immediately they began firing. At least this vehicle of ours had a shield. I took over controls and began evasive maneuvers.

  “No point being discrete now.” Fiare had the door open, and grinned at her sister before jumping out shouting, “Are you going to join in the fun?”

  Jalee grunted as if that was ridiculous, but as her sister rode out and dodged the bullets, she cursed and threw herself out the door after her. I watched the two sisters go on the attack, spiraling and weaving between shots. While Jalee was aiming to take the turrets out with her lightning strikes, Fiare got low and lit the nearby brush on fire. Soon, half the hillside was alight, dark smoke billowing up over the hill.

  “Mind telling them to get back here?” I asked Suiko.

  She did, and as she left, I spotted the entryway I had been hoping to find. A metal door near the base of the hill, just below the water’s surface.

  We lowered as it opened for two men in suits to emerge in small, winged submarines. One rose from the water and was starting away from us, when Jalee came around the hill and made contact with a blast. It didn’t take the vehicle down, but did some damage, causing it to pull back in retreat. Now it was my turn. Commanding our vehicle’s turrets, I opened fire. The first ship fell, spinning and slamming back into the cliff, while the second had seen what was going on and joined the fight.

  Two shots pinged off our flying car, then Fiare joined the fight again, flames blasting into the glass panel that protected the strange craft’s flyer. As lightning, then more of our bullets, joined the assault, the second craft exploded.

  “Get us in there,” Koharu said excitedly, leaning forward and pointing to the opening and the door that was starting to close. It seemed we had caught them off guard, and they were getting the hint.

  I was happy to oblige. The closer we got, the clearer it became that wasn’t going to happen.

  “Pull back!” Kinara shouted.

  “Shit!” I said.

  Reaching out to my connection with the hunter drones, I was pleased to find them responding. I launched two drones into the opening and unleashed in every direction with sprays of bullets. Jalee figured out what I was doing and zoomed down to join the strike. Seconds later, smoke was rising from the closing doors, then they paused. We came to the landing on the surface of the water, finding that we would be able to fit into the doorway, but not the car. Already, as I exited the vehicle, I could make out corpses within. The click of my tongue showed me that more forces were coming up from below.