The muscles in Neeka’s shoulders suddenly bunched with tension. “The collision...it’s already happened.”
Collision? “What are you talking about?”
“They’re here.” Her friend’s gaze drifted far, far away, to a land unseen by others. “The game has begun.”
“What game?” Taliyah asked, only then realizing the harpy was in the midst of a vision.
“He has drawn his cards. Now he plays his hand. Prepare. The next move is yours.”
The bedroom door swung open, hinges whining. Tabitha Skyhawk, mother of four, matron of dishonor, merciless killer and perpetual bachelorette, stumbled inside the chamber. She looked as if she’d just escaped a blender. Battered, bruised and bloody. She clutched an arm to her chest: her hand was missing. Fear clung to her like a second skin.
Blood freezing in her veins, Taliyah leaped to her feet. Despite waves of pain and dizziness, she remained upright. Grit and resolve served her well. “What happened?”
“Harpina,” Tabitha croaked. She tripped forward, leaving a trail of blood in her wake. Crimson wetted her pale, waxen skin and splattered her torn clothing. She just kind of fell onto the foot of the bed. “A fog rolled in, and a massive wall appeared. Nine monsters stood before it. The battle bell sounded, and we rushed to engage. The monsters had no weapons, yet they severed harpy hands and feet in seconds. Bodies began to vanish. So many of us, just gone. The survivors did the unthinkable. We...surrendered. I flashed out to find help.”
Taliyah’s stomach turned inside out. Harpies had surrendered? A horror too abhorrent to bear. She scooped up the first-aid kit and got busy tending her mother’s most concerning wounds.
“Who’s dead?” she demanded. Anyone she knew? Each of her sisters lived in the mortal world. Aunt Tamera had died in battle more than a century ago, too injured to regenerate, ensuring Taliyah’s heart bore a scar with her name. “What monsters?”
With her remaining hand, Tabitha shoved inky strands of hair from her face. “I don’t know. I...don’t know,” she repeated lamely.
“Nissa is dead,” Neeka intoned, going deeper into the vision. “The leader killed her.” A gasp. “Blythe.”
“Blythe was there?” Dread slapped Taliyah. Eight years ago, Blythe had found her consort—the male fate chose for her. She’d given up her virginity, right along with her desire to become General. Seven years ago, she’d birthed a child. A beautiful little girl named Isla. Someone Taliyah loved. “Was Isla with her?”
Eyes stark, Tabitha nodded. “Yes. And yes.”
Taliyah knelt in front of the woman who’d trained her to harness the worst pain imaginable and keep fighting. To fall and stand up, even if your legs were broken. “Tell me everything I need to know.”
“I wish I could,” her mother rasped. “All I know is that Blythe and Isla ran. Isla fell, and Blythe backtracked. I worked my way over, but I—I couldn’t find them again. I don’t know whose...pieces lay on the ground.”
A barbed lump grew in Taliyah’s throat before falling and settling in the pit of her stomach. “Whatever their injuries, they’ll recover.” Her sister had experienced as many deaths as Taliyah, reviving never a problem. Why would things change now?
Isla had her own phantom abilities, despite never dying.
“The monsters... I’ve seen nothing like them. So cold, so cruel. They shredded anyone who approached them. There was so much blood.” Tabitha the Vicious peered at Taliyah with grave eyes. “Save our people, daughter. Save them all.”
Seeing her powerful mother so shaken and speaking as if the world had just come to an end shook her to the core. “I’ll go to Harpina and assess the situation, yes.” Forget her own injury. She strode to the closet to collect daggers, a crossbow and a pair of short swords. Strapping those swords to her back proved excruciating, but she didn’t care. “Whatever these monsters are, they’ll die begging for mercy.”
“Use my key.” Motions more awkward by the second, her mother removed a chain, where a small, dagger-shaped pendant hung.
Realm keys, no matter their incarnation, allowed a holder to flash, moving to a new location with only a thought. She could land in any location of her choosing. The key to the Realm of the Forgotten would facilitate her return. She’d had it tattooed on her lower back, an hourglass set to vanish when her purchased time ran out.
After securing the chain around her neck, she double-checked her enchanted ring. The metal screws anchoring the metal to bone held steady. Excellent. The older she’d grown, the louder the phantom screams had become, until even a few seconds had threatened to push her off the cliff of madness.
She turned to Neeka. “Any helpful hints for me?”
Her friend tilted her head, as if digging deeper into her vision. “You should say yes.”
Say yes to what? “Anything else?” Maybe something she understood?
No answer was forthcoming, the oracle lost. Very well. Taliyah nodded goodbye to her mother, then forced her body to mist. Frigid cold washed over her, weightlessness settling into her bones.
Deep inhalation. She clasped the key to Harpina. With only a thought, she flashed to the other realm. The bedroom faded...
Heartbeat, heartbeat...
The palace formed around her, and she exhaled. Murals covered gold-trimmed walls, featuring General Nissa in the midst of battle. Multiple chandeliers dangled from the arched ceiling. Gold bricks paved the floor.
Usually chattering harpies filled this area. Today? There were no harpies and no chatter. Just dead silence.
Rage sparked in Taliyah. Someone will pay.
A massive set of double doors loomed before her. The throne room waited beyond them. Tall, muscular guards stood sentry, both males clutching a sword—the weapon of choice for immortals with sensitive ears. There were other men present, some marching down hallways, others guarding different doors. Vampires, wolfshifters and banshees, all natural-born enemies, worked together. What she didn’t see? Monsters.
Taliyah wrapped her fingers around the hilt of a dagger, preparing to strike. In this form, no one could see, hear or even sense her. Appearing, striking and vanishing would be easy. But why solidify, leaving dead bodies sure to set off an alarm? Why not spy first?
“Who is the bloodthirstiest among you?” a rough voice called from the throne room, brutal in its intensity.
She stiffened. A monster?
Let’s find out. Wasting no time, she ghosted through the closed doors...
3
Taliyah drew up short. Hundreds of soldiers surrounded her. Other vampires, wolfshifters and banshees stood alongside other natural-born enemies. Elves, warlocks, merfolk. Goblins, minotaurs, centaurs. Trolls, fae, shifters of every kind. Gorgons and even a handful of creatures she couldn’t identify. Everyone focused on... She couldn’t tell yet, the crowd too thick.