The group still hadn’t heard from Cassie and Rafe, and Magda was worried they might not find them. The attack in San Francisco had her worried, but she knew Cassie could take care of herself. And Rafe was pretty handy with a sword himself.
They pressed on, the night sky a blanket of stars through the towering canopy of the forest. Redwood trunks the size of a city bus stood in their path. Xavier’s massive form swooped down in front of the group, Circe on his back.
“The ravens are expecting us. It isn’t far.” Circe slipped from his back, and Xavier shifted. All Magda could see was the outline of a dragon contorting into a man in the flickering beams of flashlights.
The group pressed on through the forest. An owl hooted above her, high in a tree limb, and a mosquito buzzed close to her ear.
She swatted it away just as a call went up from the front of the group.
“I think we’re here,” Emilia said, carrying a massive box with Brigid as they passed Magda.
“You carried all your gear?” Magda asked, perplexed at the engineer’s dedication.
“Don’t ask,” Brigid said irritably.
Magda held back a laugh as she watched them trudge through the forest with Emilia’s gear.
They walked into a clearing. Below, Magda could see an intricate web of interconnected tree houses. A flock of ravens burst from the roost and flew over the group of shifters on the ground.
The black birds squawked and cawed above them. Did they really want them there? Magda’s blood buzzed in her ears. She just wanted a place to sleep tonight, not to have to run from a conspiracy of ravens.
The swarming black bodies flocked over them and landed in a tree above, squawking wildly, before they dove down and glided back to the tree houses. On the catwalks above, they shifted into human form, one by one, until a hundred humans stood above them, naked and strange.
Their hair hung with bones and feathers, and their eyes shone ember black under the glow of the group’s flashlights.
A white-haired woman drew on a robe and stood above them, regarding the pitiful New San Diego refugees.
“Your leader has informed me that you are in need of protection. Since we had a previous agreement, we will grant you welcome. But be sure, it cannot last long.” With that, she spun on her heel, her robe flying around her slim body before she strode away.
“Greeeat,” Magda said to no one in particular.
“I hope I have time to set up shop,” Emilia said behind Magda as she and Brigid set down her heavy, metal box.
Magda turned to watch the young wolf shifter open her box and inspect her many gadgets and computer parts.
“What the hell did you bring?” Magda asked. Didn’t food and water matter a bit more at this point?
“I have almost everything I need. I can tap into the primitive Internet, work on your mobile terminal… oh, yeah. I have the parts to do a small upgrade I wanted to do on your device. I’ve also been working on a project to transform twice the energy from solar cells into battery power. I just need to test if my theory is correct.”
“And you plan to do that here? In the woods?”
Emilia frowned and looked around. “Don’t discourage her. We’ve worked in worse situations. Don’t listen to her, Emilia,” Brigid said, giving Magda the stink eye.
“I’m going to find something to eat,” Magda said. Those two had lost their minds a long time ago. There wasn’t much use trying to talk sense into them now. But she appreciated Emilia’s ability, especially when it came to fixing the equipment she needed to access The Program.
Magda walked toward where Xavier and Circe were speaking with two witches and a group of dragon shifters. She stood there like an idiot until Circe acknowledged her.
“Yes, Magda? Have you heard anything from Cassie?”
“No. But I’m worried that she isn’t here yet. Have you been able to contact her?”
“I’ve been too distracted to go into deep meditation. Could you please tell her we are here? I have to negotiate with the ravens. It’s a nightmare. They don’t really want us here, which I’m sure you’ve guessed. Please don’t alarm the others. Everyone will have to sleep on the ground.”
“Okay. I’ll try. I’m totally hungry, though.”
“There is food over there. Tell them I sent you so you can get to the head of the line. Thank you, Magda. You are invaluable to the group. If you need anything, please come to me.”
“Sure thing.” Magda shrugged and stuffed her hands in her pockets. She walked toward the food and found a group of shifters counting out rations. The man who’d driven her bus stood in front of the line that had begun to form.
She cleared her throat loudly, and he scowled at her. “What?” he asked, scooping up bowls of oatmeal for a shifter mother and her kids.
“Circe told me to come to you to ask for food. I have something important to do, and I need to eat first.”
“So, do all you dome kids get special treatment now? Giving mobile homes to those hybrid bastards, and now you get the choicest food. When will it end?”
“I just need whatever everyone else is getting. I have to contact Cassie.” Magda was exhausted. She was done with shifter prejudice against the dome kids. It wasn’t their fault they were who they were. No one asked to be kidnapped by Pyramid Corp and the Anu. Sometimes, she wished she’d been irradiated like everyone else.
“Fine, here.” He scooped her a bowl of porridge and shoved it in her hands. She sighed and took it, a tear of frustration forming in her eye.
She found a quiet place to eat the cold porridge. It was the first meal she’d had all day. In the chaos of the fire and saving Lily, she hadn’t packed any of her things, or any food to eat. With her stomach full, she switched on the terminal.
Chapter 11
Michael’s white robe fluttered around his legs as he strode down the mothership’s hallway. The Council of the Seventh House had convened in the council’s chamber. The wide door slid open, and Michael walked through the entryway and into the white metallic conference room.
The other members of the council had already assembled at the long table at the center of the room, sitting on floating chairs with their legs crossed. Michael took his seat and nodded to the other council members.
He had been a part of the Council of the Seventh House for fifty thousand years. The life span of a Palladian like him could be five hundred thousand years. Michael was only half that, making him one of the younger members of the council.
What separated Michael from many of the others was that he had been tasked with overseeing Earth since the Anu had first hybridized humans from the hominid creatures native to the planet. He had been their guardian in the face of the Anu. He fought for their freedom and acknowledged their sentience long before the rest of the council.
“What news of the Earthlings, Michael?” asked Evelina, the council leader.
“I believe it is time we intervene. The humans have proved they are ready for Ascension into higher dimensions. We cannot continue to allow the Anu to play their breeding games and destroy a highly developed, sentient race.”
“What makes you believe they are ready for Ascension? Even after the radiation and wars, they remain warlike and barbaric. The council sees no evidence they have evolved.”
“I’ve been overseeing a small group of them on the western coast of their North American continent. There are several members of this group who have shown brilliant adeptness in transitioning into the fourth dimension. Cassandra Kline, a girl from one of the Anu’s domes, has taken the gifts I’ve given her and has used them brilliantly not only to navigate the fourth dimension but also to liberate her fellow captives. A mutant witch who has taken the name Circe has communed with a dryad and has learned the secrets of unity and oneness. And a girl named Magdalena is so brilliant with the Anu’s Program, their gateway into the fourth dimension, her ability rivals that of Cassandra Kline’s. She was not gifted this ability. It is natural to her. If she is so capable
, then I can only assume other humans would be as well.”
“Michael, we understand your desire to protect the Earthlings, but they are still under the domain of the Anu. The Anu created them, and until the Earthlings can prove they no longer want their overlords, we cannot intervene.”
“They don’t know they have a choice,” Michael countered.
“This is untrue. The Anu have made it clear from the beginning that the humans are a slave race. They have popularized it in their myths and media since the beginning. The humans accept this without question. We cannot liberate a race who does not desire liberation.”
“Their planet was destroyed. They’ve been mutated beyond recognition, and now Anu half-breeds are growing amongst the population.”
“We understand all this, but until you can bring me proof that the majority of Earthlings no longer wish to be slaves, we cannot interfere with their free will,” Evelina said, her golden-white hair flowing around her brilliantly beautiful face as if blowing on a breeze.
“Very well.”
They continued their talks, discussing the business of an intergalactic byway and the politics of the outer reaches of the Centauri system. Michael knew deep in his soul that the entire universe was his home, and he was part of an infinite whole, but he felt a special kinship with Earth, the planet he had observed for the last fifty thousand years.
But now that he’d felt Magdalena in his arms, he felt even more connected to the planet and its people. He was in love—deep, inexorable love—with the little human. There was a conflict in loving her. He knew that the council would not give him wholesale approval, but it didn’t matter to him. He was wise enough to make his own decisions. That was what being a member of the council meant at the end of the day.
He had decided he would make Magdalena his own. She already owned his heart, and he planned to give her his. Then he would save her planet.
Chapter 12
Magda found herself in her childhood bedroom, her starting place within The Program. This room always made her feel more comfortable and confident that she could create her own reality within The Program.
She sat on her bed and looked around at the posters on her walls. Emptiness sunk in her stomach. She would never see her home again. Never see her parents again. Pressing her hands to her face, she stifled a sob.
This was not the time for self-pity. At least she was still alive. That was more than she could say for ninety-five percent of the human race. She took a deep breath and stood, strode to the door, and turned the knob.
Outside she stepped into a grassy field. A soft breeze blew over the tall green grass, and dandelion seeds danced in the air. She could smell the scent of lilacs and daffodils. Stepping from her bedroom and into the springtime scene, she looked around.
Was Cassie somewhere around here? She concentrated on Cassie as hard as she could with her eyes pressed tightly shut. When she opened them again, she was still in the grassy field.
With no idea what else to do, she began walking. Perhaps Cassie was over the gentle hillside on a road headed toward the ravens. But it was nighttime in the world and day here. That couldn’t be right. She closed her eyes again and concentrated, bringing a clear picture of Cassie up in her mind.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Michael standing before her. She nearly jumped out of her skin. Her lips parted and her body tingled.
“Michael,” she said in a breathy voice.
“Magdalena. My darling.” He moved to her and enveloped her in his arms. She went rigid and stepped away from him.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you remember?”
“Remember what?”
“We were together, on the beach.”
Her entire being went numb, and her head almost popped. “That was just a dream!”
“Dreams take place inside the astral realm, Magda. I thought you knew. I’m sorry. I hope you don’t regret it.”
“I thought I was having a lucid dream. God damn it. This is the second time you’ve tricked me!”
“I’m not tricking you, Magda.”
“Fine. My mind is tricking me.” She put her hands to her ears and turned around to walk in the opposite direction. This was just too much. The hot sex she’d had with the godlike alien had been real sex that happened in another dimension? Shit. Walking between worlds when she was awake was difficult enough to come to terms with.
“Magda,” he said, taking hold of her arm with a gentle touch. “Dear girl. I would do anything for you. In a hundred thousand years, I have not loved like this. Please, forgive me.”
She spun around and looked at his perfect face, craning to gaze up at his height. “I don’t understand any of this, Michael. What’s happening? Why did you come to me? I’m nobody. I’m just a human girl who was trapped in a dome for five years. Why are you here, and why do you want me?”
“All will become clear. Just know I never meant to mislead you.”
He moved into her and kissed her head. Magda let herself fall into his arms. It had been so long since she’d had anyone hold her, had any warmth in her life. First her parents died in the war, and then her brother had died of his mutations.
She lifted her face to kiss him, and he planted his lips on hers. She inhaled his scent. He smelled of sky and exotic spices that filled her with heady desire. Michael trailed kisses down her neck, pulling her close to his taut body.
“Your friends are coming, Magdalena, but you must be careful. There are others behind them.”
“Who?” she asked, pulling back.
“The Anu’s flunkies. You haven’t much time.”
Magda shot awake, looking around into the darkness. Most of her group were asleep on the ground, and the flickering lights of campfires glowed in the night. She heard the snap of branches as flashlights and torches glimmered through the trees.
She jumped to her feet, breathing heavily. Was it Cassie or Pyramid Corporation soldiers? “Who’s there?” she yelled into the darkness, her voice wavering.
“It’s Cassie,” she heard a confident voice call through the forest. Magda breathed a sigh of relief. The outline of figures broke through the dense forest, and she could see Cassie and Rafe. Behind them, a hundred children from ages five to eighteen walked bleary-eyed and frightened into the clearing.
The ravens broke from the tree houses above and descended on Cassie’s group, circling and cawing. Xavier strode to the head of the group and waved the ravens away.
“These are our friends. We told them to come.”
The ravens landed all around the group of scared children and shifted into human form, naked and perturbed.
“We never agreed to an additional group. You must go,” the elderly leader stated.
Shots fired through the misty forest, and a raven shifter went down. The rest of them burst up into the sky and flew toward the shooters. Rafe and Xavier shifted instantly, and Cassie ran after them, drawing her sword.
“Lead them back to the buses,” Cassie shouted at Magda, throwing her a set of keys. “Go, now!”
“Everyone on your feet!” Magda screamed. Why would Cassie tell her to lead? No one would listen to her. More shots sounded through the trees, and the sleeping group from New San Diego hurried to their feet. The children who had followed Cassie from the domes looked terrified as they huddled around the trunks of massive redwood trees.
“Back to the buses!” Magda yelled. “Come on!”
A sonic boom vibrated through the camp, knocking Magda to the damp ground. She struggled to her feet, carrying nothing but her mobile terminal in her pocket. The group screamed as they ran through the forest. Flashlights flickered over tree trunks, and the sound of Magda’s panting breath filled her ears.
Gunshots peppered through tree branches, and the agonizing sound of screams of pain faded behind them as they charged through the forest. It was at least two miles back to the highway. She prayed they’d make it.
When the black stretch of concrete finally came into view, she f
elt a wave of relief wash over her. The group descended onto the highway and into the rest area where the buses were all parked. People crowded onto the vehicles, sobbing and panting.
The children from the dome took longer to filter through the forest. Some were just kindergartners. Magda feared some had been lost in the forest. She went back across the highway and waited for the children to filter through. They moved instinctively to the bus they had just gotten off.
Magda went to them and unlocked the door for the children to climb aboard. As they got on, she saw the bus was nearly full.
“How many of you were there?” she asked them.
One of the older girls spoke up. “Ninety-seven.”
Magda did a quick head count. Ninety-six. Maybe the other child had gotten on another bus, or maybe it was still lost in the woods.
Fear and panic vibrated in her blood. She flicked on her terminal and was instantly transported to the child. The little boy sat huddled under a tree, shivering and wet. Magda could see his exact location in her mind’s eye.
“Stay here,” she said. She walked to the older girl who’d spoken before and handed her the keys. “I’ll be right back.”
As Magda got off the bus, she saw the others were pulling out of the rest stop already. Damn. She needed one of the shifters to drive the bus. She sure as hell couldn’t do it.
She focused in on the child, seeing the world and the information from The Program overlaid before her eyes. Walking directly to him, she took the child’s hand and led him out of the forest.
Her feet hit the pavement, and headlights barreled toward them from the south. She tugged the boy across the street and into the rest area. The car came into view, a Pyramid Corporation van. Shit.
She hurried the child onto the bus and grabbed the keys from the girl after swinging the door closed behind them. Magda wouldn’t let Pyramid Corp get its hands on these kids again.