The Protector frowned, shaking his head. “I’m no witch.”

  “Witches make the portals, then?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Generally. There are other ways, such as those sun disks you unfortunately lost.”

  “Lost is a strong word choice,” Kinara argued. “Allowed a powerful being to take so that he might be able to close off the portal to the monster world and avoid an invasion into Earth? Better.”

  “Thank you.” I pulled her close.

  “Something pulled us here,” Megha said, voice hushed, mysterious. “I felt its presence. Whether it was the STP agents or something else, we’re here now and don’t yet have a way out. Might as well try to find out why we’re here.”

  “And hope this block on our abilities fades away sooner than later,” I added, trying to summon my hunter blade. Still no luck.

  “Agreed,” Suiko said to me. “Getting a bit stir crazy locked up inside you like this.”

  “Imagine how it is for Basty,” I thought to her and gave the little guy a pat.

  “Where do we even start?” the Protector asked. “I mean, this feels like some Isekai fun, but in the stories, there would be a creature or something that comes along and lets us know what the issue in the world is, and how to fix it.”

  “Except, here we know the issue,” I said. “Otherworldly beings using some sort of portal to enter the monster world, and we need to stop them.”

  “But…” Jericho scrunched up his face in consideration. “Why would STP send us to the exact world we’re going after?”

  “Unless they didn’t know,” I offered. “As in, they thought they were delivering us to the enemy.”

  Jalee grunted from my side, then at my look, said, “That would mean we’ve either been sent into an ambush, or they missed their mark.”

  I braced myself, glad for the allies we had with us, even if I felt rather exposed and naked without my powers. Considering how limited mine were in comparison to Jericho’s, I had to wonder how he was holding up.

  “Let’s move,” Kinara offered. “If there’s an ambush, we don’t want to be hanging around waiting while they start to realize where we are and come at us.”

  “Smart thinking,” I admitted and motioned to a rocky cliff to our left. Better to find coverage and be ready, than be out in the open. We had no idea if this was an ambush, or if some little half-mouse humanoid was about to run up and tell us some princess was in danger, but what we knew for sure was that we were still handicapped and in a strange world.

  To my relief, no attackers showed up in those first few minutes of walking. Not even a sign of them in the dark sky. I half-expected an explosion to hit at the point where we’d been standing, but when we reached the top of a hill and looked back, it was all calm. From here I could see we’d come through to a crater in the middle of a vast field, with jagged rocks beyond it. They wouldn’t have been visible from the point we were standing before, but now that we could make them out in the dim light, I was glad we didn’t go that route. Odd lights appeared in the distance as if hovering in the sky. Or maybe they’d been there all along, and I’d only just noticed them?

  “Cities?” I asked, indicating them.

  “Hard to tell,” Jalee replied.

  We all stared for a bit, likely trying to figure it out. Some of the lights moved, others stayed in place. They were all too faint to get a good idea of what we were looking at, and it was otherwise so dark that we couldn’t see any outlines of buildings or anything of the sort.

  “It’s possible Arthur was simply wrong about where we were going,” Megha posited.

  “Fuck, that would be a big mistake,” Milrae replied, then laughed. “I mean, would that mean we’re completely stuck here?”

  The Protector glanced at us and shook his head. “Nah. They’ll find a way to get to us if we can’t get to them. That or Mr. Liahona here will come up with an answer.”

  Jericho scoffed, then said, “You know, there was a time when we couldn’t get magic to work, and it had to do with runes that were blocking our magic. It’s possible their device used something similar.”

  “And how does that help us?” Steph asked.

  He pursed his lips, shrugging. “Not sure yet, but it might.”

  Another moment of silence followed, and we were walking again, this time toward one of the lights that looked less distant than the others.

  A jagged rock caught my foot and I nearly stumbled, then requested a bathroom break. Others had to go, too, so we headed over to the nearest part of the cliff and found a decline, where we each took turns. My mouth was parched in the dryness of this place, so I was extra glad we’d brought supplies. Still, knowing we weren’t sure how long it had to last, I only took a small sip of water.

  “Have mine,” Kinara said, urging me to drink more. “My kind can go days without craving water.”

  “Even if that’s true, you should have some,” I protested. “And if not, I’d prefer to save it for when it’s necessary.”

  She leaned in, kissed me, and said, “Ah, that should hold me over.”

  We started on our journey again, all relieved and somewhat more energized.

  “I feel so naked without my team,” the Protector admitted.

  “They’re probably out there right now, trying to get to you,” Steph said, reassuringly.

  “What worries me,” Jalee said to me, voice hushed, “is what all this means for the others back home. If we were able to be pulled here by STP, could they have managed some trick back home as well?”

  “STP is more than we anticipated,” I replied. “But your sister, the others, they’re strong. They can defend themselves.”

  But even as I said it, I had to wonder. Devasla would no doubt be trying to find us, tearing through the monster world in the process. Likewise, Amabie would probably start a search on Earth, using her water portals, and there were those with the Protector who had a strong network of information.

  The true question, then, came down to whether they would find out we weren’t where we were supposed to be. To most of them, the answer was home, with them. We certainly weren’t there. But even those who knew where we’d gone, and that would likely spread soon, wouldn’t have any way of knowing we were here. Wherever here was.

  I glanced over at the Protector while we walked, hating what I saw in his eyes—fear. This guy was supposed to be some amazing badass, and he was afraid! Fuck, what did that say for me and mine? Instead of worrying, however, I decided it was best to engage, try and keep him calm.

  “Tell me about this war you won,” I said, moving to walk closer to him. “I hear it was epic.”

  His eyes met mine, and a glimmer of excitement showed. “Man, you wouldn’t believe it.”

  “Try me.”

  “We went up against Ra himself. Ra, Morganna… others, too. It was insane.”

  “Oh, yeah, we had to use the Eye of Ra, that’s how we met—” I turned to indicate Koharu, only then remembering that she wasn’t with us.

  “It’s weird,” he said, realizing what had happened. “Since meeting the myths, I don’t know if I’ve been alone. Like, at all.”

  “You’re still not,” I pointed out.

  “True.”

  We walked in silence for a bit, before he turned back to me and asked, “The Eye—it’s safe?”

  “Oh, yeah. A group of monkey people—”

  He held up a hand, cutting me off. “Wait, better not to know. That way I’m not tempted.”

  “Would you be?” I scoffed. “You?”

  “I might be the Protector,” he replied, “but in some ways that makes it even more dangerous. Power begets more cravings for power, and power like that can be too much for any of us to handle.”

  “If movies have taught us anything, it’s what you just said,” I replied with a chuckle, and noticed Jericho grinning our way. He had to be the youngest of all of us, I realized. He was barely out of high school, by the look of him, with his Marty McFly look from Back to the Future.

  The light ahead flickered, then moved. Not much, but shifted, and we all knelt as if it were an eye looking in our direction. When nothing else happened, we shared humored, worried looks, and continued. Now, however, we were moving with caution, ready. For one, because after the shift in the light we were able to see outlines of shapes ahead. While they were hard to make out at first, we soon came upon an upside-down pyramid, one wedged between two mountains that rose beyond. From up there, glittering lights told us we’d stumbled upon a city.

  “There,” Steph said, and she indicated a corner of the wall nearest us. Walking along it were two figures in hoods, faces unseen.

  Before we could duck out of sight, one saw us and sent a purple ball of light our way. As it came, a wave of energy washed over us. Awareness came over me, and with a click of my tongue, I knew our powers were back. That was confirmed when I held out my hand and the sword appeared, while watching Jericho perform a spell that sent an ice wall up in the purple blast’s path. A split second later another attack came our way as the ice wall exploded, but Steph had sent a counter spell—a blast of flame so the two energies met in a small explosion.

  Jalee rose next, grinning as electricity sparked blue around her and formed her wings. Her blast hit the point of the pyramid, causing ear-splitting alarms to ring out.

  I backed up, Basty zipping around me, ready, Suiko emerging like a wraith of terror, prepared to enact her revenge for being trapped.

  As the alarm cut off, more lights moved our way and shadowy figures in robes lined the horizon.

  “Now we have their attention,” Milrae said with a grunt.

  11

  I motioned for a retreat, but Megha was already charging over, leaping to the wall. Steph sent another attack as bright lights shone out from the base of the pyramid, nearly blinding us. What I managed to see was Megha jumping down onto one of those figures, and sliding her fingers into its head as I’d seen her do with the monster when attacking our house. Next, she made it turn to attack the other one. Three purple blasts of light caused the second to fall, and her to be thrown from the first as it collapsed.

  What looked like ships were in the air, flying our way. Megha was up and sprinting back along the wall. At that moment, our job was to provide cover fire.

  “Attack the ships and the light!” I shouted, glad to see that Jalee was already on it, blasting the nearest light with all she had.

  It shut off with an explosion of sparks, while two craft crashed, one rolling across the ground and hitting at a point that sent it toppling over to land within sight. It was a spaceship, dark, with angles as if the whole thing were an experiment with blown glass.

  My throat was suddenly dry; given the chance I would have drunk all the water we had left. I took a step toward the vessel, hand moving on its own as if it wanted to reach out and touch the thing. We had seen much, but coming across a spaceship, and knowing there were many more here… it was almost too much for me to comprehend. But hadn’t the hunters used advanced technology? With their guns and the strange craft they rode, this was easily the next logical step. After all, Fiare had assured us they weren’t of her world. And if there were multiple worlds, why not at least one that was more technologically advanced than our own?

  Still, the implications were terrifying. They had turned the monster world into their private hunting grounds. What then would they do if they managed to find bring more to Earth, to even open a gateway?

  “We need to get out of here before more of those things arrive,” I said, and the others seemed to be in strong agreement. We might have managed against the small numbers we’d taken down, but this place was clearly capable of so much more.

  Jericho was already walking back, moving his hand as he chanted, soft golden light falling over all of us like particles. A tingling, refreshing sensation came over me, and my strength surged.

  “Boosts, wards, anything you can do to prepare us,” he said, glancing around.

  My team had no response to that, but Steph knelt and touched a rock, sending a gleaming red glow into it that was replicated to others. The glow faded, and she grinned at my curious glance.

  “Like a trap,” she said.

  “More like landmines,” Jericho explained. “Or claymores. They’ll blow if the enemy comes this way.”

  “Intense,” I said, grateful to have them with us.

  The Protector held out Excalibur, and said, “As much as I appreciate what we’re doing here, mind getting us out? If the Liahona is working and all.”

  Jericho glanced at his staff, then the Protector. “I’ll send you, and any others that would go. But I worry if we go now, they’ll find a way to follow. There’s a magical aura here, one I don’t fully understand—maybe not magic, even. But something. We need to learn more.”

  “Understood.” The Protector considered, nodding. “I’ll go, gather my team. If we can find our way back to you, we’ll come with reinforcements. A little help in ensuring I can find my way back would be appreciated.”.”

  No more to be said, Jericho held his staff close, hand on the ball at the top, and chanted. A purple circle formed around the Protector, and the man was gone.

  The rest of us stared at that spot for a heartbeat, each likely wishing we could leave this place but knowing Jericho was right, that we couldn’t. Everything Fiare had mentioned was tied to this world, without a doubt. And if there was a chance the enemy could follow us through, going now would be the worst possible choice.

  “Quickly,” Jalee said, and she was motioning us back to the cliffs. I agreed, and we joined them to fall back and consider our options. We reached the darkness of the cliff without trouble, then regrouped.

  “I’m going to miss having him around to help,” Jericho said with a glance over his shoulder, clearly referring to the Protector.

  “Still, if they manage to return, the larger group might be key,” Steph said.

  The shrill alarm sounded again, and it was clear we were only in a temporary calm between waves of the storm.

  “When I had my hands in that being’s mind, I saw things,” Megha said.

  We all turned to her, waiting, until Jericho finally asked, “Such as?”

  “This place, it’s like some other dimension.” Megha knelt, hand moving through the dirt, then stood, letting it sift through her fingers. “I saw the past, the future… saw those things attacking people like us but wearing armor.”

  “Like knights?” Steph asked.

  Megha shook her head. “Like… space knights. Men and women who had magic, and they called these things Nihilists. What’s more, I saw through this one’s mind, that he’s been to your world.” She turned to Kinara and the other monster ladies. “Been to your world and is back to report on a loss. That was one of the hunters.”

  I blinked, confused, but saw Jalee nodding enthusiastically.

  “This makes sense to you?” I asked.

  Jalee shrugged. “Of course. They came from some other world with tech we couldn’t, at the time, begin to understand. We followed the Liahona thing, so it makes sense it would bring us to a connecting factor.”

  “Sure.” I ran a hand through my hair, then turned to Jericho. “We need to get inside. Find out what these creatures are, and what they know.”

  “What about these people you saw?” he asked Megha. “They looked like us, only in this space armor?”

  “Pretty much, yes,” she replied. “Although, some had odd skin colors, even horns.”

  “So could be a mixture of humans and monsters out there fighting.” His gaze met mine, and he arched his brows. “Badass.”

  I chuckled but looked nervously back the way we’d come. “Agreed, but one step at a time. Would be cool to meet up with this other group, join them or whatever—but right now we have to deal with the issue at hand.”

  Jericho nodded.

  “One other problem,” Megha said. “When I was in his head, I felt something turn to look at us. Meaning, I think something or someone much more powerful than these is coming.”

  My first thought went to the queen we had briefly met in the monster world. But we weren’t in the monster world. Still, as far as we knew there was a connection they were using. Could she possibly be here? And if so, why?

  I stood, looking back at the wall and what we could see of the mountains rising behind it. “Let’s hurry.”

  “We find this thing, get you on to uncover the path the hunters are using, and see if we can end it, then we have to get back,” Jericho said.

  That was the plan, and it was time to put it into action.

  12

  Not one of us knew what we were doing, only what had to be done. We ran along the cliff, more than once glancing back at the explosions that signaled enemy moving among the traps and wards set by Jericho and Steph.

  Suiko moved like a living wind at my side, relishing in her freedom. First with that metal ball they’d trapped her in before, then being unable to leave my body, I could understand her position.

  We had to get around to find another way into the upside-down pyramid, or to whatever was beyond it. Part of my mind was reeling with everything going on. Me, a fucking Dorito-loving, whiskey-drinking visual novel guy, running around on what I could only think of as an alien planet. Me, here, trying to find a way to sneak into an alien compound—to the extent that we were going up against blasters and spaceships. Shit, if only there were a princess to save and a secret message from R2D2. Okay, it wasn’t quite Star Wars, and I certainly wasn’t about to take down the Death Star, but I certainly felt as badass as Luke.

  Running along, I clicked my tongue to be fully aware of my surroundings and noted several creatures scurrying out of our way. None seemed hostile, at least, but seeing as Basty and Kinara were both hungry and hadn’t been enjoying the other supplies, they took a short excursion to do their hunting.

  Both caught up to us with creatures dangling from their mouths, though Kinara had an extra in her hand.