I shrugged. “They’re huge. Best I can come up with is colossus. Like, the first was a wind colossus, then… brimstone? Stone? I don’t know.”

  “Sure, but going back to the matter at hand,” Tink said. “How is what you have at the temple going to help?”

  “Ah, right.” I drew a deep breath, trying not to think about the last guy I knew that tried to harness the power of the core stones on his own. For a few minutes it had been unthinkable power running through him, then… pain, screaming, power seeping out through his skin along with his blood. He had fucking exploded. My best bet was to ignore that and hope I was much more advanced than he had been. Trying to put on a confident smile, I explained, “The core stones constantly give off a power-enhancing effect, but if one were to take them for him or herself, we’re talking extreme amplification. And more than that, I think, but nobody really knows. They are actually metal, so calling them stones is a bit off, but the point remains—whoever uses them, if the stones allow, becomes very powerful, indeed.”

  “So, why isn’t Master Daewoo out there using them?” Cheri asked.

  “Master Dawa,” I corrected her. “And because he’s definitely not powerful enough.”

  “But you are,” a voice from the back of the room said. I turned, realizing it was Hinru. I’d completely forgotten she was there, and chuckled to myself. She was sitting on the bed, looking away.

  “I hope so,” I replied.

  “Are you all… I mean, is this how you conduct meetings?”

  “Sorry, yes,” Erupa replied with a laugh.

  “It’s kind of gotten to the point where we don’t even think about it,” Tink chimed in.

  “Speak for yourself,” Cheri said, pressing her bare breasts against my back, both hands on my balls, moving up to my cock. “It’s all I can think about right now. You’re sure we don’t have more time?”

  The others chuckled, the comment earning a nervous glance from Hinru.

  “You heard Maji,” I said. “The other hunters were right behind. They’re thrown off because of the Hermites, but that won’t last forever.” The Hermites insisted their power of illusion would only hide them from a certain range. If the hunters came within it, we would be in trouble.

  “They weren’t far behind us, either,” Mer said, emerging from the bath opposite me. She had been in there so long, I’d nearly forgotten she was there.

  “You can hear down there?” I asked.

  “And see. On that note… nice view.” She winked, emerging from the tub and accepting a towel from Erupa. Her eyes met Hinru’s, I noticed, and both seemed to blush before looking away. Whatever game they were playing, I found it adorable.

  “Warning,” I said, taking my cue to stand and grab a towel, out of politeness keeping my back to Hinru as much as possible.

  The others bathed quickly as I dressed, and my eyes wandered. My yearning would have to wait, though, because we had a mission to get to.

  “So, when we get to the temple, how do we get the stones?” Cheri asked. “I mean, do you just walk up and take them?”

  I laughed, although it couldn’t hide my nervousness in regard to the answer to her question.

  “It’s much more complicated than that,” I replied.

  Cheri stepped over, arms around my chest from behind. “As long as we win, or at least die in each other’s arms, I’m happy.”

  I turned and kissed her, then looked around at the rest of the team and smiled. If it came to dying, at least having tried and died with them at my side would be worth it.

  “Can we hurry up?” Tink said, now drying off, careful with her fairy wings. “All this bathing got me hot and bothered. The sooner we save the world—er, universe—the sooner we can have fun again.”

  “Fucking right,” I said, adjusting the bulge in my pants so as not to make Hinru any more uncomfortable than we already had, and gestured to the door. “Come on, it’s time I give you a tour of the temple. The place I once considered home.”

  They actually seemed excited by that, and as we headed out to meet with the other two temple monks to begin our journey, I had to admit I was looking forward to everything that lay ahead.

  Hey, at least we were together. Nothing else mattered.

  THE END

  BOOK 6: Psychoverse

  114

  We were running out of time if we wanted to get off Theramuse before the complete army of Gold Reaper bounty hunters arrived for our heads. At the moment they were specifically targeting Hinru, one of their former leaders who had betrayed the work for the same side I now served.

  They wouldn’t stop with her, though. We had chosen our side, drawn the line, and along with a handful of other bounty hunters we were now on the run, in a sense. Except our main threat wasn’t really them at all—it was whatever waited on the other side of the portal I was responsible for opening. And then responsible for controlling once it was let loose. Then responsible for using the power of the monsters to go up against the Nihilists and greater enemies of the Citadel.

  All of that together meant I had a fucking headache. Not so painful that I didn’t have questions I needed answered before we began our journey, though.

  “The other bounty hunters?” I asked Erupa at my side.

  “Soon, that’s why we need to leave now.” She eyed Cheshire uncertainly.

  “No, I mean the ones who didn’t turn on Hinru.”

  “Ah…” Erupa cringed and turned to Tink, who had for some reason decided to be small and was now perched on her shoulder.

  Tink sighed, fluttered up, and landed at my side, close enough that Cheri had to step away. She almost crashed into Hinru and Mer, who were watching as the monks and Hermites made their final defensive plans.

  “See, the thing is,” Tink bit her lip, then came out with it, “they’re mostly dead.”

  “The fuck?”

  “Yeah. With Maji there, and some of the Gold Reapers’ FTL ships already anticipating Hinru’s move, there wasn’t much chance for them.”

  “But some made it,” Erupa quickly interjected. “They’re out there, forming a perimeter. Ready for trouble.”

  “No shit?” I glanced up at the waterfalls and purple swirling mists that came through the gaping holes in the infrastructure caused by Maji’s invasion. “They better be talking with the Hermites about a plan, so we don’t get any accidental ‘friendly’ fire.”

  “Not to worry,” Hinru said, glancing back and apparently having overheard. “I spoke with High Glotian. They’re on it.”

  “I saw him,” Cheri said, eyes wide. “Is he, I mean… I didn’t know we were allowed to talk to him.” She started to walk off, looking excited.

  Hinru grabbed her arm. “Might want to wait a bit, you know? Until this is dealt with.”

  “Ah, right.” Cheri pouted.

  I still hadn’t gotten over the fact that she had been a follower of the cult, or that she still seemed to be kind of obsessed with the whole thing. Her aura was reading orange and flaring up, which was basically what I’d expect from a child about to ride her first fighter jet.

  “Shh, they’re coming over!” Cheri squealed, and sure enough, High Glotian was walking our way with the monks Masters Richter and Dawa.

  “Here’s the plan,” Master Dawa said, pausing only briefly to ponder at the excitement-filled stare Cheri was giving High Glotian. “We’ll need an escort who can take us through the waterways, get us to our fast travel port, and—”

  “That would be me,” Hinru explained, grinning. “I haven’t water travelled in forever, but the power remains, and I can figure out the waterways the moment I make contact.”

  “I’m sorry… What?” Mer stepped toward her, eyes lighting up. “Water travel?”

  “It’s related to Theramuse, and doesn’t work elsewhere that I know of because it’s related to the essence. But yes.”

  “Can you teach me?”

  “I can try, maybe after this?”

  Mer turned to me at that news, beaming. I gave her a smile and a nod, agreeing that a member of my team knowing how to water travel, whatever that meant, might come in handy.

  “One other point,” Erupa said, eyeing Master Dawa. “Us?”

  “Of course.

  “We have to,” I explained. “Go with them, I mean, because without a Master’s blessing, there can be no trial. No trial, no core stones.”

  “No core stones, no taking control of monsters and doing our part in the war, Erupa,” Cheri added, clearly trying to show off. The fact was accentuated when she folded her hands and smiled at High Glotian.

  “Unfortunately, she’s right,” Master Dawa said. “That, and the return journey is perilous. You’ll want our assistance to ensure you make it out alive.”

  “Bullshit,” Erupa countered. “What’s to stop us from simply walking into your religious temple place and taking them?”

  “A lot of us,” Master Richter replied, clearly amused. “But it would be fun to watch, provided nobody was killed.”

  “That, and I won’t steal from the temple,” I noted.

  “No?”

  “I might have left the temple, but that doesn’t mean the temple left me.”

  He nodded in respect.

  “And the rest of this place?” Mer asked, looking longingly at the lake, as if that were her home. Apparently, part of her longed for the water. We would have to see about getting a tub on the ship.

  “We will hold the enemy off,” High Glotian said. “As long as we can. We’ll fool them into thinking that Hinru hasn’t left. If we can keep them from following your trail for a short while, it might make all the difference as to whether you succeed or not.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “Well then, if we’re all in agreement, let’s be on our way.” Master Dawa stepped aside, making way for Hinru. She approached the water, knelt, and thrust her hand into its depths in a way that caused purple tendrils to shoot out. The effect reminded me of electrical currents, as if she had just started a massive machine.

  “Who’s first?” Hinru asked, but everyone was looking at the overly-eager Mer.

  “After you,” I said to Mer, and watched as she jumped into the lake, only to instantly shoot off as if through a tube. Good thing I didn’t get motion sick, because otherwise this would suck.

  Chesh debated, eyed me with a look that spoke of defiance, but then gave in and took the plunge. With a deep breath, I leaped in after the cat. As soon as the cold water touched me, however, I was whisked away as if I’d simply been jolted awake. Water shot past, darkness, then more water but this time with light streaming in. All of it went by in a flash, then I emerged onto an area that overlooked desert sands. Just past that, I saw rolling hills of green with brown slopes snaking their way through.

  I was on my hands and knees with the cat’s tails waving before me. We crawled out of the way as the world seemed to spin. Others appeared behind me, with Hinru coming last.

  “Have we arrived?” I asked, feeling the queasiness settle, glad that it did.

  “Not even close,” Master Dawa noted with a check of his digital holo map. He moved over next to me as Hinru used her purple mist to make images appear. A map, I saw as Master Dawa began to manipulate it, moving things around. “There, that’s us,” he moved his finger past two more rivers and what looked like some populated cities, “and that’s where we’re going.”

  I stared, not liking the sound of that one bit. With so much distance yet to cover, anything could happen.

  115

  The sun was approaching the mountains, filling me with worry about the moment when it descended and we would have to make this journey in darkness. It wasn’t that I worried about our group being able to take care of ourselves. Hell, we had my team, a top Gold Reaper—or former, anyway—and two top level monks from the Temple of Domrem.

  It was more that I didn’t like not knowing where I was going, and trusting someone else to figure it out frustrated me. Maybe. Okay, fine, it was that I didn’t know what bugs were on this planet, and I hated the idea of them being all around, looking at me, even crawling on my legs, and me not knowing.

  Picking up the pace, I walked alongside the monks. “The temple. It’s been a while.”

  Master Dawa ignored me, but Master Richter nodded subtly, which I took as a sign that the subject was open for discussion.

  “I had joined with someone…” My mind raced with images of the young woman, a girl whose name I had only learned a few minutes before the first time she had forced her tongue into my mouth, catching me off guard. I hadn’t been able to read emotions well at that point.

  “Master Eloise,” Master Richter said, knowingly.

  “Did she…” I frowned, not knowing where I was going with this, exactly.

  “Ever ask about you?” He laughed. “Sure, sure, she spent evenings staring at the moon, singing about you being out there somewhere and thinking of her, too.”

  “He’s yanking your robes,” Master Dawa said, and for the first time that I could remember, the man actually smiled.

  “I didn’t mean that,” I countered.

  “What did you want to know, then?” Master Richter shrugged, pausing briefly to work his way down a steep decline.

  “If she stayed… succeeded. But, based on the fact that you said ‘Master’ before her name, I’m assuming yes.”

  “Correct.”

  I nodded, allowing a half-smile, proud of her. That little girl had talked big dreams, had been a large contributing factor in my deciding to go to the temple.

  “Why’re you asking?” Cheri appeared on a ledge to my right and swung down.

  “Shit.” I laughed. “You scared me.”

  “Me? I’m not the one asking after some lost lover.”

  “It’s not like that,” I countered.

  “Oh, good. Because it sounded like we are headed back to some place from your younger days, and there’s a young flame, one you want to know about.” She eyed me warily, waiting for me to refute it. “What’s that, Lilly?” She ran her thumb over the bear’s head. “No, I can’t punch him, I love him too much.”

  I laughed, nervously, slowing to let the monks move ahead. “Cheri, I love you, too. Definitely too much to ever let my eyes wander.”

  “Good. So?”

  “So, I was curious, of course. I left that life behind but my mind still has unanswered questions, you know? I’m still interested in learning what became of various players in the game of my younger life.”

  “You all have a strange relationship,” Hinru said, coming up behind us.

  “It’s not,” Cheri argued. “But out of curiosity, how so?”

  Hinru eyed me, then Cheri, and laughed. “Seriously, Ezra here’s putting his dick in each one of you, and no jealousy. But he asks about some old fling, and you get all protectively jealous?”

  “Hmm. Oh, because I want to know that when he’s fantasizing about her—which he better not be—it’s with me in the mix. Erupa and the ladies, we have something in common, something that brings us all together. We’re sisters… wait, no, that makes it weirder. Lovers in a sense, too?”

  “Oh?” Mer said, and I turned to see we had slowed enough to where we were all bunched up now, with only the monks ahead.

  “The rest of us have all…” Erupa admitted, a hand on Mer’s shoulder. “But… it happened naturally. It isn’t something you’re required to be part of, exactly.”

  Mer’s aura made it clear that she was blushing, although the dimming light made it hard to see.

  “And if I wanted in?” Hinru put a hand on Mer’s other shoulder. An awkward silence followed, interrupted by Hinru chuckling. “Only joking.”

  Cheri laughed nervously as Hinru walked on ahead. “For the record,” Mer said, making eye contact with me, “I like her.”

  “Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say to that.

  “We could consider—” Cheri started, but was interrupted by Hinru clearing her throat.

  “Hey, check it out,” Hinru said, motioning for us to hurry. We all jogged over.

  “Here we are,” Master Dawa said, kneeling in his spot ahead of us, where the ground gave way beneath. I couldn’t see the water yet, but as we drew closer, I heard it. “This one should take us to the last stop, where we can walk to the port.”

  “I don’t get it,” Tink admitted. “Why not fly like normal people?”

  Master Richter eyed Master Dawa, but explained, “We did consider that, but this was best to avoid being followed. However…” He gestured to the right, where a group of trees stood.

  No, not only trees, I realized. Something moved, then another something. We were being watched.

  “Who?” I hissed.

  “Local raiders,” he replied. “At least, that’s my assumption. Let’s move, before they get too close. They might think we simply ran away.”

  “They can’t follow?” Erupa asked.

  “No.”

  “Not unless they have a water traveler,” Hinru clarified.

  “Not likely,” Master Dawa added.

  A shot went off, echoing around the valley we were in, but it didn’t hit any of us.

  “Motherfuckers,” Cheri said, taking a step to go and confront them.

  “No need to engage,” Hinru said and knelt at the side of the stream. She dipped her hand in the water as purple mist descended and swirled around us, connecting, glowing. “Step in, and we’ll leave them far behind.”

  Cheri clearly wanted to teach someone a lesson, so I wrapped her arm through mine and together we stepped into the water. Again, in a flash we emerged from another point, this time at the backside of what looked like an old, run-down city. There were large warehouses, old mining equipment, cranes, and more. No signs of life that I could see.

  We stepped out of the way as the others came through, Hinru last since she had to hold the connection.

  “That way,” Master Richter said as Master Dawa began walking toward a derelict building.

  Not even halfway around it, though, I registered aggression emanating from somewhere behind. I glanced back, thinking that maybe something had annoyed one of my team members. The sight of one of our pursuers emerging from the water hit me at the same time as the aggression flared to attack mode. It was a wild-looking guy, nude but for some torn pants, his body lanky and covered in what looked like branded tattoos, face leathery and marked with scars.