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Chapter -17- Portal of Destiny

September 30 - nightfall San Francisco, California ...

Karla knelt on one knee , with both of her forearms up to cover her face. The telekinetic repulsing shell she created around herself kept both of the freakish creatures from harming her with their scythe-like fingers.

She glanced down at her handbag. Next to Kuda was a Ziploc bag with several homemade high calorie protein bars, all made from household ingredients. There were three bars. Each square was two inches by two inches.

Karla kept one hand up and used her other to reach into the Ziploc bag. In magic marker, the bag was labeled, '700 Calories, 10g Fat, 25g Protein, 40g carbs' in blue lettering.

She opened the bag with her thumb and forefinger, took the first bar and stuffed it into her mouth. It was delicious. She could taste the maple syrup, the peanut butter, the honey, the frosted flakes, the peanuts, the oats, and the raisins, most of all.

Karla silently praised herself for making them last night. Finding olive oil was the difficult part in the Parker Mansion. But there was more than enough whey protein powder.

The succubus started on the second snack bar. She pinched her thumb and index finger together, sealing the Ziploc bag. She pressed it down into her handbag adjacent to Kuda. "Don't even think about eating those. You'll get fat."

Kuda sniffed at where the bag was sealed, smelling the sticky ingredients that had transferred over from her fingers. He licked at the plastic bag.

"You will get so fat if you try and get into that last square, I'm telling you." She licked the stickiness from her fingertips and stood up.

The telekinetic shell remained in place.

Karla cracked her knuckles. "Okay. I'm getting tired of you two. But now we know I can't knock your head off without making more of you jokers." She grimaced, remembering Chance, back in Marseilles, in 1999.

Instead of trying to bury her emotions, she thought back to how Chance saved her from several of these creatures. She closed her eyes, remembering the fuzzy image of herself kneeling overtop of his dead body in the hospital bed, fifty years ago.

Her eyes glistened with emotion. She embraced the pain.

Karla reached out, through the telekinetic shell, took one of the creatures by their throat and swung them into the other. Empowering her arm and upper torso with telekinesis, she used the body of the first creature as a large club, beating the other creature into the floor.

The tiles gave way. The second creature stopped moving. The freak she held by the throat stopped thrashing in her grasp.

Karla dropped the monstrosity adjacent to its recently created clone. She lifted her foot and stomped on their skulls, nearly side by side, until the sole of her right shoe came apart.

The shoe disintegrated, but stomping on the two creatures had no effect on the flesh of her heel. She kicked the remainder of the shoe away and knelt over their motionless forms, panting softly.

"Jesus Christ." The masculine voice startled her, but she recognized it immediately.

Karla lifted her head. Despite her hair becoming a mess from sweat, her porcelain face appeared flawless, perhaps even enhanced by the glistening of her eyes. Her pupils were fully dilated - twin black pools surrounded by a thin halo of glistening green.

She met the simple chocolate gaze of Reno Nevada.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Sorry you had to see that side of me. Not one of my finest moments."

"You have a lot of different sides, Karla. And I've seen a quite a few of them. I sure as hell don't judge."

"She replied with a thin smile.

"So, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm good. Just had a snack. I'm sure I'm negative calories after using my powers so much."

Reno looked around the foyer, making sure they were alone. "You didn't even smear your lipstick."

She grinned somewhat. "Anyway, you've got to be careful with these freaks, here. If you cut off a limb, the bastard heals what it lost, and the limb grows a second creature. These two ... well, they were just one when I got here. And both of them will wake up shortly, once the brain repairs itself."

Reno frowned. "How long does it take to become another creature?"

"Not long."

Nevada approached them and gestured for her to move. "Take Kuda over there. Cover his ears or something."

"Oh ... let me get into another room, babe."

"Good idea."

Karla shouldered her handbag and moved down to the nearest door in a nearby hallway. She stepped into a study and held Kuda to her chest, peering down the hall towards the foyer.

Reno held both of his hands towards the motionless remains. A burst of electricity gushed from his palms, slamming into the creatures' bodies on the floor.

Karla squinted, looking to the right of where Reno stood. She thought to herself that it was like staring at a welder's torch.

The intensity of the wavering beam danced about, forking to various parts of the bodies. The main arc ended where the head and neck of the bodies were.

She could feel the heat from down the hall. The floor and walls trembled as if from brontide. All at once, she felt completely dazed.

Karla tumbled to the floor. She crawled across a carpet, dizzy and overheated. She rolled off the carpet onto a tiled section of the floor and laid flat on her back, panting softly.

She looked over at Kuda, and her handbag, lying on its side, and squinted at the animal. The little fox appeared dazed as well.

Kuda crawled along his belly, as if trying to stay as flat as possible to the floor. He appeared dizzy and disoriented. His ears laid back, and his tail fluffed up.

A moment later, the door to the room swung wide open and Reno stepped into the room. He hurried over to Karla. "Are you alright? Jesus, you look pale." Reno knelt adjacent to her.

"Don't," she said. "I'm not ready to sit up yet." She took a deep breath and sighed. "What the hell was that?"

"I really let those things have it, full force. I deafened and blinded myself for a minute. I had to heal. I figured it made the most sense to cook those bastards. I guess lightning is a little hotter than I realized." Reno held his hands up, showing her that they were still healing. "It wasn't the electricity that cooked off my palms and clothes. It was the heat. Never went that hard before."

"Clothes?" she coughed softly. "I didn't hear anything. I can barely hear you. It's a good thing I had my hand over Kuda's head."

"Karla, I'm really sorry. And yeah. You're looking right through me. Are you okay?"

She blinked a few times. Reno slid into focus. His blazer and cotton shirt hung by his shoulders, but it was burned away in front, so that she could see his undershirt. His pants resembled cutoff shorts; his legs were tan.

"I'm not really sure," Karla started, trying to calm herself, "But I think legitimate lightning is upwards of, uh, fifty-or-sixty thousand degrees. Maybe hotter. What's the foyer look like?"

"The walls are charred in some spots, and the floor and ceiling are all messed up in a funky circle shape around where I was standing. Most of both bodies are ashes, now. I had to really keep it focused on them to do the job."

Karla draped a forearm across her head, over her eyes. The dizziness passed. "You cremated them?"

"We need to find some clothes, Karla. I'm not going to find everyone with my sunburnt balls hanging out."

Karla perked and moved her wrist up, over her forehead, looking at Reno. Sure enough, there was a series of small holes burned straight through his pants and boxers.

"Jesus, babe." She rubbed her face. "I'm staring to be able to hear and see, now. It'll take a bit longer for me. I'll teleport whatever is left of those creatures into a block of concrete or something. Help me up."

Reno lowered to one knee and put both of his arms beneath her.

Karla draped one arm up around his neck and hung on to him.

He lifted her off the ground and stood. "You going to be okay?"

"Nathan had an energy field that he created around himself when doing stuff like you just did. It absorbed and deflected the energy and heat. It helped reduce the sonic sound so his ears wouldn't turn to crap every time he attacked someone like that. He called it sonic shock or something. The lightning is so hot it cooks the air or, uh, actually, I think it's a sonic boom of sorts."

"What...?"

Karla offered a lame smile. And rested her head on his shoulder. "Basically, you were at ground zero for some serious thunder."

"I didn't know it would knock you on your ass, halfway up the hall. I'm sorry."

Karla slid her legs out of his left forearm and eased to the ground. "I'm fine. I just ... Nathan never did that stuff around me. Now we know why."

"Yeah. Noted."

She picked up her handbag with Kuda, shouldered it, and slid her left hand down to comfort the small animal. "Oh, honey, you're trembling like a leaf from all the adrenaline." She ran her fingernails gently up and down his pelt to calm the little animal.

"I'm going to need new clothes."

"Kalen is too small. You won't fit in his stuff." She paused, tilted her head, and then she smiled brightly. "He'll have sweatpants. Everyone has sweatpants. I'll look through his stuff. You stay here. I'm feeling better, now. I'll teleport those two ... whatever's left of those weirdoes, and I'll be right back with a pair of sweats."

"Thanks." Reno looked around the room. It was a study room devoted to a specific time period. He approached a large book on a stand wrapped in what looked like leather. "Look at this friggin' thing."

Karla replied with a tired smirk. "That's a tome, not a 'thing,' and it's bound in human flesh. Just stay put. I'll be back in a few minutes with some threads for you, and hopefully our friends, and that mirror."

Karla walked to the door, wiped a bit of moistness from her forehead, where she experienced a cold sweat a few moments earlier. She turned back to Reno and smiled. "Thanks for coming to help. You're a good guy, babe. You really are."

"When I heard the Kincade family wasn't back with the mirror, I started asking around to see what was going on. Then I heard you went to check it out."

"Yeah, I was getting worried about them because they were taking so long."

Reno nodded. "That's what people were saying - that Natalia and the others were taking too damn long. And they said you went off by yourself to check it out. I went down to garage. Wilfred was tinkering with my car, I told him the situation and he gave me the keys. Here I am."

Karla's smile broadened. "So you only came for me?"

"Yeah, you didn't have to come alone. When I got here, I saw Kalen's Buick out in the driveway. But you're here fighting weirdo things by yourself. So what's going on?"

"Let's go find out. I'll find you something to wear. Just stay put and I'll be right back."

Reno ran his hands through his singed hair, matted down and glossy from a sheen of sweat. "Karla, if there are more of those things pinning everyone down ... we can't risk that."

"Natalia and the others are probably holed up in the panic room," Karla said. "Just let me find you some..."

"They're just a few burn holes." He leaned over and looked down at the front of his pants. "You can see my shins and one of my thighs. You can't see my junk. I'll be alright ... at least, you know, now that the zipper cooled down."

Karla brought her hand to her mouth, trying not to snicker. "Okay, okay. Let's go, then, Top Cop."

Reno grinned and moved to hold the door for her. "Let's go, then," he repeated, adding, "kiddo."

"Kiddo huh?"

"You're as young as you feel and act." He stepped out into the hall behind her. "Let's check on those things first."

They returned to the foyer. The remains of the feet from the bodies were starting to heal.

Karla waved her hand at them. "Now they're in the foundation wall. And trust me, it's thick. This house was put up in 1905, and it's been through a lot. Natalia's enemies kept attacking it to try and find her, not knowing she has other places around the state. So this place is a fortress ... just in case."

"Like the Parker Mansion?"

Karla smiled. "A little ... but the Parker Mansion was designed with the most modern building designs in mind. No, babe, this place is old school. It goes deep, and it's built in layers to withstand quakes. It's one of Methos' designs. It'll withstand a goddamn nuclear bomb."

"Right on." Reno used his foot and brushed away ashes on the discolored tile floor. The marble was cracked in a circular pattern around them. He nudged Karla and pointed to the ceiling, where a similar circular pattern matched the one on the floor. "Cylindrical."

"Huh. Weird. What caused it?"

"I think the sound."

"I didn't hear much. I just felt really dizzy."

Reno shrugged. "Same here. But considering the fact I couldn't hear anything for a moment ... not even ringing in my ears, and not even a high-pitched tone, I assume I deafened myself. Which way to the panic room?"

Karla side-nodded to the right and started walking. "Beautiful old home. I've never seen it look like this, though. Usually, Natalia has a group of vampires here, studying and stuff."

"It's a mess, now."

"Yeah. There's no one is here to protect it." Karla gestured to the floor with a downward nod. "Look at all these boot prints. They ransacked this place looking for every little nook and cranny. It's a shame."

"I thought Natalia does that shadow stuff, Karla. Couldn't she just escape?"

"I don't know. Maybe they did. But that begs the question - why didn't they come back to the Parker Mansion?" Karla reached into her handbag and fished out her cell phone. She thumbed the screen and brought it to her ear.

Reno stayed quiet as they walked.

"Hey, Sinopa, any word from the Kincade gang yet?" Karla paused. She listened to the reply and said, "I'm here now. It's a mess. Do you remember France, 1999? Yeah, it's where you and I met." Another pause, and then, "Yeah, those things - I encountered one. It turned into two."

Reno looked around at toppled bookshelves and overturned marble statues. He saw tapestries strewn across the floor, and various bits of furniture were knocked over. He put his hands into his pockets, as if searching for a notebook out of habit. He withdrew his hands and closed them several times, fidgety.

Karla sighed into the phone. "Yeah. Lucky for me, Reno showed up. He hit them with full-on lightning. There wasn't much left of those things. I phased the remains into a concrete block layer beneath the floor."

Karla grew silent again, listenig to asinopa speak over the line.

"No, no, Red. You stay there incase Natalia and her crew show up. Kalen's car is still here. If we don't find them, I'll bring the Buick back with me."

A pause; Karla added, "He keeps the spare key here at the manor. Unless you want to send Carmen to come get it. Lord knows, I wouldn't want to step on that girl's toes over her boyfriend, or his car. "

Karla brought her palm up and covered her face. "Okay, fine, have her come get it, then. I'll come back with Reno." Another pause, and then Karla said, "I'll be tired as hell by the time I leave here. If I don't have to teleport, I won't. See you when I get back, Red."

Karla thumbed the screen and put the phone into her handbag. "This staircase back here will take us to the third floor. Then we have to take another staircase back down to the second floor."

"What the hell?"

She smiled. "It's meant to confuse invaders, and buy the family time to escape or hide." She made her way into the kitchen and took Reno's wrist. "But I know the layout."

They vanished.

The kitchen disappeared, suddenly replaced with a bedroom. Karla stopped in front of several dresser drawers, lying on the carpet in front of the dresser. "Our bad guys went through everything. Those creatures weren't exactly the type to root through every little thing."

"So a team came in first, with guns, and they brought those freaks along for the ride."

"Well, just the one. I turned it into two."

"One creature didn't leave that many dirty footprints." Reno explained. "Several came in from the windows, tracking dirt all over the place. I saw bullet holes fired throughout the house."

"Oh, shit," said Karla.

"Several attempts with a shotgun failed to breach the door, so they used Primaline. It opened the locks, but it didn't take the doors off the hinges. Impressive hinges. I saw quite a few windows were breached, too."

Karla furrowed her brows. "These guys came in through the windows and the front door? I get the windows, but why the main entrance, too?"

Reno nodded. "The only reason they would want to open the double doors in the foyer is to bring equipment in. Probably something they could use to see into the walls to search for the panic room."

Karla frowned. "Damn. You, uh, really know your job." She picked up a pair of sweatpants from one of the dresser drawers, sitting on the floor. She pulled the drawstring away from the waistline and used her teeth to loosen a knot.

"Let's just find them."

She handed the sweats to Reno. "You're, what, a thirty-two waist?"

"I wear a thirty-four with a belt, unless they're a thirty-two relaxed fit." Reno slid off his crumbling shoes, scorched socks, the remains of his pants and his boxers.

"You're a little more man than Kalen. He's a small guy."

Reno held the pants up and examined them. "Yeah, these sweats will work fine. What kind of shoe does Kalen wear?"

Karla moved towards the closet to look for shoes but kept her gaze on Reno while he stripped off the tattered clothes. "Eleven or twelve, I think. Bigger than your feet."

"I'm a ten and a half. I could fit into an eleven. You see any sneakers or sandals?"

Karla extended her palm towards the closet and tensed her forearm. Her body charged up with telekinetic power, causing the side effect of a pink glow within her palm. She used it to illuminate the closet.

"You can stop looking over your shoulder, Karla." Reno pulled the sweats up his legs and tucked the drawstring inside the waistband. "Kalen's a skinny kat. ...With big feet."

Karla snagged a pair of old Sketchers and walked back to Reno. "He's a twenty-eight waist, but don't worry - if it makes you feel any better, you two are the exception to the rule regarding shoe size." She pushed the sneakers into Reno's hands.

"You trying to say I'm hung?" He offered her a lame grin and took the shoes over to a nearby bed. Reno sat down on the edge and pushed his feet into the shoes, without socks. "These things are really worn-in. Loose. See if you can find a few pair of socks. I'll wear two pairs, then these shoes'll fit."

Karla nosed through the dresser drawers, found two pairs of socks and tossed them towards Reno. "Yeah, you've always walked with confidence, Reno. It's deserved. He's about the same length but you're thicker."

Reno shook his head, slid the shoes off, and put on the socks. "Do girls really care about size that much?"

"Some do; I don't. I have a preference, don't get me wrong, but I'll take passion over penis size any day."

Reno pulled on the second set of socks over the first, followed by the shoes. He tied the laces extra tight. "I thought every chick wanted to get jumbo junk?"

"Nope. I've met guys so big down there that it was almost like trying to give birth during sex. Besides, most big dicks stay kind of floppy in the middle. I guess it's an issue of circulation."

He shook his head and chuckled. "Christ, this conversation is a trip. Well, thanks for complimenting mine, I guess. I'm ready when you are."

Karla shrugged with a smile. "Yours is in my preference-zone. I like it to be within an inch of average. Anything over eight requires foreplay first. Anything over ten inches requires a lot of foreplay first, and sometimes I just don't have time for all that extra song-and-dance. Then you've got cut or uncut; you've got hung guys that stay nearly the same size all the time, then you've got growers, who swell up from Tom Thumb to Casey Jones when they're turned on. You've got ones shaped like a straight pole, and others that have a curve to them. Some are..."

Karla grew silent with a hand over her mouth. She cut her harlequin hues from left to right, glancing up the length of Reno's forearm. Her green gaze met his brown eyes.

They both looked down at Karla's handbag, somewhat alarmed by the sound of Kuda growling.

Reno sighed. "Can we not talk about dicks? I'm neither gay, nor am I patient enough for that conversation. Thanks." He released his hand from over her mouth.

Kuda grew quiet but kept his ears laid back, still glaring at Reno.

"No sweat, Top Cop."

"Your furry boyfriend is giving me the stink-eye."

She smiled. "I trained him with jerky."

Reno moved to the door of the bedroom and peered out into the hallway. Satisfied by what he saw, he turned back to Karla. "You're going to get coal for Christmas."

A wry grin tugged at her pink-painted lips. "Mm, that's what I get from everyone, every year. Haven't had to pay for heating since the Christians stole Yule. How else do you think I keep Hell nice and hot?"

Reno replied with a blank stare.

Karla smacked Nevada on his rump on her way out of the bedroom. She turned left and headed towards the master bed chambers.

They stopped in front of two elegant, decorative doors. Both were wide open. Karla stopped in the doorway and put her hands on her hips.

Reno stopped behind her, arms folded.

The bedroom was empty. The room was tossed like the others, and a wall panel appeared to have been shredded by claws. Beyond, the door to the panic room was wide open.

The mansion remained completely silent. Karla and Reno exchanged glances.

Splotches of drying blood dotted the carpet. A man in body armor lay face down by the left nightstand.

Reno stepped around Karla and started investigating the room. He made his way over to the body. "The blood spatter on the floor doesn't appear to belong to this guy. It goes perpendicular to this far corner he wound up in."

Karla shrugged. "In a battle with supernaturals, that doesn't matter, Reno. Someone could have picked him up and tossed him over there. Remember, conventional rules don't always apply to the Esoteric Community."

Reno frowned. "Noted." He turned to the open panic room and peered inside. Nevada held his left hand outward and used his palm to illuminate the small room behind the wall. "There's a mirror in here. It has a fancy frame."

Karla hurried across the bedroom and peered in through the doorway to the panic room. The mirror was leaning, angled, against the wall. She recognized it.

"Karla?"

Her eyes glistened. She sighed softly and swallowed back old emotions. "If it wasn't for Chance, I never would have found this thing for Natalia. And after all that ... after nearly dying repeatedly for this stupid thing ... Reinhardt murdered him." She turned to Reno, tears spilling down her cheeks.

Reno frowned, staying quiet and respectful.

Karla sniffled miserably. "Tamamo suppressed that for a while. But I remember everything now. God help that man if I see him again. Don't you dare kill him if you ever have the opportunity. His snobby, pompous ass belongs to me. I mean it."

"I thought that guy was like Sire - hard to attack."

"He's not as powerful as his brother was," Karla said. "As emotional as I feel about that man ... I could take him."

"If he's not as powerful as Sire, how come he was such a big deal in the supernatural community, back before I got my powers?"

Karla kept her gaze on the mirror's reflection "I'm told he can cause a minor stroke, which, for most supernaturals, would leave them without their powers for a while. But he has to focus on the subject, and it takes time. So he likes to attack while you're unconscious ... or he'll drug you first."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I'd forgotten a lot about him, thanks to Sire mind-fucking me in 1997. But I remember most of it now."

"Jesus." Reno looked down at his glowing left hand. "I don't know what I'd do without my lightning. I used to hate it, but now it's a part of me."

Karla looked away from the mirror and rested the side of her face against Reno's chest. "Nathan was so fucking badass."

Reno didn't reply.

She smiled a little. "He once got into an argument with Reinhardt. The Justiciar accused the old man of being part of an old, defunct regime, because they didn't agree on how to handle a rogue supernatural. So Nathan told Reinhardt to go ahead and take away his lightning."

"Seriously? Nathan just gave it up?"

"Nope. Nathan healed the stroke damage after a moment or two, and then he blasted a hole right through the roof, and linked up to the sky. It scared the shit out of that pretentious prick - Reinhardt backed down from his stance on the argument."

"You think I could heal from a stroke, too?"

"I don't see why not."

"You miss him, huh?"

Karla dried her face against Reno's tattered undershirt. She replied with a muffled sigh against his chest.

"Karla?"

"Yeah, I miss those big stormy grey eyes, and his gruff, grumbly voice. I miss his whole, like, stoic 'this is man's work,' bullshit. I didn't think I would, but I really do. It was his way of being protective."

"If a woman wants to help, I say let her help."

"That's one of the ways you guys are totally different," Karla told him with a hidden smile, face still against his chest. "We have to take the mirror back to the Parker Mansion. We can figure out where everyone else is when this stupid thing is safe."

"I have some bungees in the trunk. We'll have to put it on the roof or something. This thing is too big to get through the doorframe and too long for the trunk. There's some sort of metal thing in the back of the Chevelle, anyhow - it holds a charge."

"Compulsator," Karla murmured against Reno's chest. "Wilfred called it a compulsator. I think it 'compensates' for lesser drivers who don't have balls as big as yours, that way they can drive it."

Reno opened his mouth to explain how a capacitor works, but said nothing. "Nice play on words - compulsator, compensate. You've got a joke for everything."

"Yeah. Let's get this stupid thing back to the Parker Mansion. I'm spent. I'm exhausted. I'm running on fumes or whatever." She gave him another swat on the backside, but it was softer than before. "I just want to go home and make some sort of high-carb food, like pasta or something. I'll need it for when we go through that mirror tomorrow morning."

"I thought Kalen and Laura were supposed to go with us? They're missing."

"We still have you and me, Top Cop. We still have Tamamo, Sekhmet, and all those hunters. We'll be fine. We can't stop and mourn our friends until this shit is done."

"Mourn them?" Reno reached for her elbows and looked down at her face. "Why would you think they're dead, Karla?"

"Because they had one job, Reno. As you can see, the mirror is here, without a scratch, but they're nowhere to be seen. They wouldn't leave it out in the open like this. Not unless they died while fighting to protect it."

"Bullshit," he quipped. "But, wait, Karla ... if they died protecting this thing, where are the bodies?"

"I..." She trailed off and frowned. "Sorry, thinking about Chance has me in a weird mood, babe." Karla looked around the bedroom. Her eyes landed on the dead mercenary on the left of the bed. "Maybe you're right. But then where the hell are they?"

"I don't know, kiddo. Let's get that thing back to the Parker Mansion. You're tired. I can tell just by looking at you. You need one of those girl-baths."

"God that sounds nice." Karla walked to the mirror and picked up one onside. "Grab the other end."

"I'm not telling you to do all the work, but can't you lift that thing by empowering your arm with telekinesis?"

Karla smirked. "You want all the weight on one side of the frame? It would bend. And I'm not going to levitate it out or teleport it out of here. I'm spent. It's a good thing I brought junk food with me or I'd be on the floor."

"I keep forgetting your ability is tied into your metabolism."

"I'll tell you what, I'll make it so we can skip the stairs. Deal?"

"Good compromise," Reno said with a grin. He picked up the other side of the mirror frame. "I'm ready when you are."

Karla switched her handbag to her other shoulder, nodded and started walking with him. She looked down into the bag, briefly. "Stay out of the mirror, Kuda. We don't know what to expect in there just yet."

Reno backed out of the panic room, he backed out of the bedroom and moved diagonal to her, so that they could both walk forward down the hallway with the mirror. "How much trouble are we about to get in?"

"Let's just say there's a reason we're not sending everybody. Because then there wouldn't be enough people left to fight Falcon later on."

"Forget I asked." Reno sniffed disdainfully and shook his head. "So, I never asked - how many times have San Fran or Oakland sports teams gone to the World Series or Super Bowl in the last twenty-five years?"

"Well, lucky for you I follow that stuff because it reminds me of all the good times last century. Let's see, starting with the Super Bowl in 2024..."

X

X

Friday, October 1, 2049 - 10am San Francisco, California Parker Mansion ...

"We have to assume the worst about Evan, Natalia, Kalen and Laura." Tamamo stood in the doorway of the first floor gym. Instead of her kimono, she wore archaic style bushido armor, including a decorative torso piece, shoulder coverings, and armored sections over her arms. She held a helmet under one arm, had two swords on each hip, and tessen fans on the front of her belt. She had two metallic daggers, known as Sais, on leg holsters.

The room stopped and turned to face her. Conner approached her. "You look bad ass, Tammy."

Reno, cradling a mug of coffee in his hands, said, "Is that some sort of Samurai war outfit? I thought Samurai were all men?"

Tamamo stepped into the gym and looked at everyone around her. "Samurai is a strictly masculine term, but the Bushi Class had women amongst their ranks, trained in martial arts, war tactics and strategy. They were called the Onna-Bugeisha. My naginata is in the room by the mirror we will travel through."

"What's a ... whatever you just called it?" asked Reno.

Tamamo offered him a smile. "The naginata is a light weight spear with a blade on the end. Imagine a curved sword but the handle is the length of a pole."

"Oh, right."

Tamamo turned from Reno, adding, "Over thirty percent of slain warriors on battlefields were women. We weren't all homemakers. Our armor is designed the same as pieces worn by men - functional with excellent mobility."

Conner looked back at his uncle, back at Tamamo and smirked. "If you really want to blow his mind, tell him about wakashudo."

Tamamo shook his head. "Reno, if you live through this battle, look up Spartans, Samurai, and same-sex relations between students and their sensei. Now, everyone I need you all to focus."

Reno held his hands up, shook his head, and embraced his coffee in his palms again. "I don't care about bisexuality, Conner. My brother is bi. I don't judge him."

Conner pursed his lips together, looking uncomfortable. "Right. Yeah. How, uh, how could I forget."

Reno replied with a secret smile. Karla grinned at him for turning around Conner's attempt to cause discomfort. Reno and Karla exchanged secret glances.

Tamamo cleared her throat expectantly.

The room grew quiet.

The kitsune smiled a bit. She switched her helmet to her other hand, passed it over to Conner, and spoke in a clear voice. "Going into the mirror today will be myself, Reno, Karla, and Sekhmet. We will lead the hunters in, in waves. We need to come up with a plan for how to go in, but ideally, two of us should go in first, followed by the first group of hunters. Then the other two of us should go in, followed by the second half of hunters."

Karla held her right hand outward. "I volunteer to be at the front. If we're walking into a trap, or some sort of firestorm, I can repel incoming attacks with a telekinetic field."

Sekhmet swiveled her head to the left and nodded respectfully to Karla. "Excellent. I wish to accompany you through. You will act as defense and I will act as offense." Her words ended on a guttural-sounding snarl at the base of her throat.

Tamamo nodded in agreement. "Reno-san will come through with me. He creates an energy field, and can help to cover the second wave of hunters through the portal."

Karla leaned back on the angled backrest of a weight bench. "What about Kuda? Does he come or stay?"

Tamamo grimaced, appearing uncomfortable. "I do despise how my kanko shows favoritism to you over his own mistress." She shook her head and added, "We bring him. If we find our friends, Kuda will help lead Natalia and Evan back out of the portal. But you must keep him out of danger, Karla-san."

"I keep him in a satchel on my hip at all times. I'm using one of Jon Parkers old hip bags, so it will stay on my side, and so Kuda will be safe."

Sinopa glared at Tamamo. "You're the one who sent Kuda to assist Karla in 2023. Do not act jealous - that is beneath you, sensei."

Tamamo's expression lightened. She grinned at Sinopa and said, "You are wise, Sinopa-chan. I want you to take Conner, Carmen, Trajen and Steven to hand out flashcards with numbers on them. The hunters will line up in their groups."

No one spoke.

Tammy continued. "Raul and Wilfred left this morning, early, to lock down the Kincade estate. Rachel and James will be on location with fifteen hunters to guard the mirror, and make sure that whoever comes out is friendly. They are out back, right now, hand-selecting people for their guard detail."

"When do we start?" asked Karla. "I mean, you know, how long do I have to freshen up?"

Tamamo turned back to Karla. "You have one hour. I suggest you feed before you leave."

Karla shrugged. "Then we'll be down one able body."

"Karla-san, go into town, find someone, and be back within an hour."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Karla vanished.

Tamamo turned to the remaining group. "Karla left a high carb breakfast in the kitchen. She also made something she calls 'survival bars,' and sealed them in bags. I do not know how long this battle will last. There is a possibility we may have to make camp and stay a while. These bags of food are not snacks. They are high calorie bars with protein to prevent hunger should we have an extended stay. We will all meet in the main tent in the back yard in one hour."

X

X

Meanwhile, In the Celestial Realm ...

Natalia looked up."I heard something. Kalen, come to my left. Evan, to my right. Laura, Do you perceive anyone near to our camp?"

Laura looked around the forested area and listened. She nodded. "Someone is out there."

A man emerged from the tree line and advanced towards the camp with his hands up. "I am sorry to startle you. I had to make sure you were safe to approach. This realm is under attack by fearsome warriors."

Evan said, "They're called the Jötnar, a mythological race from..."

"Nae, my dark-skinned friend. I haven't seen a single living Jotunn for two solar rotations. They were wiped out by an attack of fearsome warriors. However, we do not know from where they came."

Natalia looked the man over, deciding he appeared harmless. She noted he was unarmed and wore simple garments. "What is your name?"

"Laufeyjarson. I was separated from the Asgard realm. The Æsir tribe is ... well, mostly missing."

Natalia looked him over a second time. "Laufeyjarson? Did I say such correctly?"

"Yes, madam."

Natalia nodded slowly, as if cautious. "That sounds familiar..." She thought about the man's name but couldn't place it right away. "Are you from Valhalla?"

"No, miss. But I've seen its splendor. And you have me at a disadvantage. I do not know your names, or from where you came."

"Natalia Kincade." She gestured to the handsome pale man adjacent to her. "This is my hand-to-hand champion, Kalen Kincade." She motioned to her other side. "This is Evan Balmoral. And, finally, Laura Bathory." She touched Laura's hip and whispered, "Curtsey."

Laura frowned. She bent her knees somewhat and held her hands outwards as if holding an unseen skirt hem.

Natalia smiled and said, "Mr. Laufeyjarson was it? We arrived here by mistake. We are from Earth. We came through a portal that leads into the realm."

"Ah. Earth. I know some who wish to escape the realm due to the attacks," said the man.

Natalia frowned. "There is a treaty in place. Deities are forbidden entry to Earth."

"I misspoke, my lady Kincade. I did not mean _I_wish to flee. I wish to find my way back to Asgard and defend it from the warrior race that attacked from seemingly out of nowhere. I mean that some will wish to leave. In truth, I have been in contact with a handful of other deities who wish to defend this realm. I scout for a group of warrior deities camped nearby."

Natalia nodded. "I see. Do you not know the location of the portal?"

"I would prefer to station a small garrison to ensure the attackers do not find their way to Earth. The deities have few rules in this realm, but one of the most important is to protect Earth. Without the faith of believers, we cease to exist."

Natalia frowned. "I ... I've heard such. And the greater the faith-base, the more powerful you become."

"I was born here," said the man. "I was not created by a religion. I am simply a descendant of self-important gods who were birthed from the imagination of humans."

"I did not know such could exist," she replied.

Laufeyjarson nodded emphatically. "I will never rise to become powerful because no one on Earth has heard of me. That means I am mortal and I will die of old age. But that also means I will not disappear the way my ancestors vanished when they were forgotten by humans."

"Who were your descendants?"

"My lady Kincade, I honestly do not know. My sister was the family genealogist. Forgive my ignorance. Perhaps I have the chance to make something of a name for myself in the future, though. If I can successfully protect the entrance to the portal so that these attackers cannot leave the realm, you could tell someone ...anyone of my bravery. It could be published and I will cease to age."

Natalia started to speak but the man held his hands up and shook his head.

He offered a disarming smile. "I don't expect you to do such. But when the chance for immortality is within grasp, I would be a fool not to ask. Who knows, perhaps I will earn a reason for the four of you to remember me, hmm?"

Natalia offered him a sympathetic smile. "My lord, Laufeyjarson, your chance for immortality would first hinge on the four of us returning to Earth safely."

"Understood. I may be able to help. But why come here? This realm is under attack. The deities have been caught off guard and most of the powerful ones were targeted and rounded up. They were locked away, leaving only the less worthy, like myself."

Her eyes lowered, lifted and her head tilted. "We came here because we were attacked by a fearsome creature capable of healing its injuries. We fled here. We cannot go back until we know the path is clear."

"And when will you know?" he asked.

Natalia folded her hands and stepped from her group. She approached the man and held her hand out expectantly.

He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Madam."

"M'lord," she replied with a curtsy. "We have friends on the other side. They will eventually come for the mirror, so we are staying close enough to the footpath to watch for them. When they arrive, we will know it is safe to return."

"They know to come for you?"

"They are preparing to attack those who laid waste to this realm. They are my finest warriors. Also, we have aligned ourselves with a deity from this realm."

"Sekhmet?"

Natalia blinked. "How did you know?"

"It is rumored she fled the realm to find help, or possibly the man responsible for the fall of the Celestial Realm. I am pleased she contacted you."

"It was difficult to train her to work well with the others. But she fell into line." Natalia smiled, proud of her work. "It takes a guiding hand to show everyone how to live peacefully. But I am a patient woman."

"Ah, so you are their leader," said Laufeyjarson. "Most impressive." He swept his arm across his waist and bowed. "I am honored, my lady Kincade." He stood up straight, chest out, chin up. "Would you do the honor to show me where the portal comes into this realm? The rest of this realm has been locked down from Earth, and it is our duty to protect it. I promise you that we will not make ourselves an obvious target. It would be best if my people remained hidden in the portal's proximity."

"I..." Natalia eyed him again.

"If just one of those warriors found their way through..."

She nodded in agreement. "I will have Kalen take you there."

Laufeyjarson frowned.

"Is there something wrong, M'lord?"

"I do not mean to be offended. It is just..."

Natalia tilted her head, understanding social tact and convention. "Please, you can tell me if I've been rude."

The man nodded and told her, "It is customarily discourteous to pass me onto someone with whom I have built no rapport. Perhaps it is because I cling to traditional..."

"Say no more, M'lord. I would be pleased to take you there. It isn't far."

Kalen narrowed his eyes, looking the man over carefully. "She is quite proficient at protecting herself. Do keep in mind the fact that she is a lady. I would hope you behave as a gentleman when away from our presence with her."

Laufeyjarson approached Kalen and offered his hand. "I have a wife. I have children. I am a family man."

"Also, there are enemy combatants around the..."

The man held his hands up, as if defensively. "My lord, Kalen, and I am a scout, not a combatant. However, I am proficient at blending in and will keep her safe."

"I, too, am rather skilled at hiding in the shadows." Natalia nodded. "It is settled then." She turned to Kalen and said, "I will return shortly. Take care until my return. Stay quiet. Keep Evan alive."

Kalen kissed her hand. "If I do not hear from you in approximately fifteen minutes, I will come searching for you, Mistress."

"I know that you will, Kalen." She smiled, kissed either side of his face and turned to Laufeyjarson. "Attend me, good sir."

"With pleasure, my lady Kincade."

Natalia made her way down to the footpath with the gentleman at her side. She moved gracefully through a forested area and counted the tree trunks in passing.

After several moments of walking, she placed a hand on the man's elbow. "Through here." She guided him off the path, between several trees, and into a densely wooded area.

"Again, I have a wife," he joked. "Forgive my humor, it's just that young adults, barely older than children, like to sneak into the woods to snog."

Natalia smiled and shook her head. "We call them 'teenagers.' Worry not. I respect your marriage."

"Are you married?"

"I am a widow."

"I was once in open relationships, but I found Sigyn and we are very much in love."

Natalia replied with a smile. "Mm, since Niall's death, I, myself, have had an unusual mate-ship with a human man. I allowed him occasional trysts as I am not much of a lover."

"Human? You say the word as if to suggest you, yourself, are not quite human."

"I am a vampire. We drink the blood of humans to sustain ourselves."

"I see. Yes, I am familiar with vampires." The man held a branch up so that Natalia could pass beneath. The thick forest opened up, just ahead, in a beautiful moonlit clearing.

Natalia looked up at the sky. The grass was higher than her ankles - lush, soft and green. "It was day when we left my camp."

"The Celestial Realm has different regions. We may have just passed over a border, into a land where it is currently eventide. Such is difficult to explain."

Natalia looked forward, towards a lone pond. A slight evanescence hovered over the water, which reflected the moonlight on its sparkling smooth surface. "That pool of water is the portal."

"Excellent. I will accompany you back to your camp before heading to my garrison. Unless, of course, you wish to share a camp with my kind. It would be safer for your people."

Natalia tilted her head in thought. "Perhaps. I would like to meet them before I make a decision."

"Of course." As an afterthought, he added, "I have a question for you."

She tilted her head the other way. "Proceed."

"If vampires drink blood to sustain themselves, is that why you are pale?" He paused, and then asked, "What I mean is - are you pale because you have not fed as of late?"

"I've made due. If I go too long without blood, or if I lose blood from an injury, I will not die. I simply ... hibernate in a manner of speaking. At which point, I would awaken when Kalen brings blood to revive me."

"And is it true vampires can heal physical injury?"

"Yes, but it costs blood, leaving us with a thirst."

Laufeyjarson nodded in understanding. He held his wrist to her. "You are in an unknown realm, surrounded by attackers spread out throughout the land. I submit to thee a small amount to ensure your health and continued vigilance in this realm."

"It is very kind of you," she said. "I could not yet bring myself to ask Evan. Are you sure?"

"I am. It is best we trust each other if we are to help one another."

"I will not forget this, Laufeyjarson. Perhaps your immortality is within grasp after all, as I am ageless and will not forget your kindness." Natalia paused to reflect on his name again. "Were you named after someone important? Your name seems somehow familiar to me."

"Perhaps I was. Again, my sister was the genealogist." He moved alongside of her and said, "With all due respect, I would rather not watch." He moved behind her and guided his arm around, resting his elbow on her shoulder, so that his wrist was in front of her chin. "The sight of blood ... that is why I am a scout, not a combatant."

"Understood." Natalia brought her hands up, clasped his forearm firmly, and plunged her fangs into his warm flesh.

She felt him flinch at first. Next, she heard him sigh in delight from the sensuality of the acupuncture-like skill in which she pressed her fangs into his arm. She withdrew her teeth and blood splashed across her tongue. Natalia swallowed the nourishing liquid.

All at once, Natalia felt the strangest sensation. She couldn't be sure if it was caused from drinking the blood of a non-human, or if it was something else. The confusion mixed with the euphoria of the feed.

Her arms and legs felt strange. Her back felt cold. It started as pins and needles, like when a limb 'fell asleep' long ago, when she was mortal.

Her neckline tingled. She sagged into his arms. Her eyes lowered, seeing the blood trickle down his arm.

Laufeyjarson guided her to her back, gently.

She felt the grass against her ears, but not against the rest of her body.

Natalia looked up at the man kneeling over her. She saw the blood running down his forearm. The wound sealed. Her eyes cut from left to right. She noticed he also had blood on his other hand.

"My deepest sympathies, Madame Kincade. I had to put my short-blade into the back of your neck to separate your spinal cord. Now you are paralyzed until it's removed. I like you, Natalia Kincade. You recognized my surname. However, allow me to properly introduce myself."

Natalia's eyes widened. "Your wife is Sigyn - you are Loki"

He smiled brightly, pleased that his name was known. "Yes. I am Loki Laufeyjarson. Laufey was my mother's name. Also, I would like to apologize in advance for the lack of respect I will show you going forward. I will be delivering you as a gift trophy to my friend, Dr. Aris Falcon."

"I am disappointed in you," she whispered, her voice mostly failing her.

He rolled her onto her side and tied a piece of twine around the handle of the knife. He wrapped the remainder of the twine around her neck, to ensure the blade would not slip out.

Once secure, he lifted her body into his arms. "I promise I will not allow Dr. Falcon to kill you. But you are the leader of the rebellion. And now, your people will be leaderless."

Natalia glared up at him. Her eyes softened and she sighed. In a soft tone, she murmured to him, "You are ignorant to work for that man."

"He works for me," said Loki. He carried her towards the pond, stepping into the water. "Yule comes early this year. Should I practice the human tradition of gift-wrapping when I deliver you to Dr. Falcon? Would that be trite?"

He lowered into the heart of the pond and the world around them dissolved.

They arrived in a large empty room with flameless illumination on the ceiling. Loki heard muffled voices in an adjacent room.

He whispered to her. "Your friends must be close. I see no signs of battle, and I hear conversation through the wall."

Natalia sighed, unable to raise her voice to call for help due to the blade, which caused blood to coat her vocal cords. "This is not my home where last the mirror was located."

"Interesting." Loki walked away from the mirror. His boots squished with water, leaving puddles in his wake. He glanced back at the mirror behind him and sighed. "I would love to bring both you and the mirror to Aris Falcon. But it's quite large, isn't it? At least you I can carry. Mm, and I can always tell Aris where this mirror is located. Or, perhaps I can destroy San Francisco, sealing Falcon's creatures in that realm."

"I thought you said they were warriors," Natalia whispered.

"Falcon found your mirror in your home. He sent those creatures in to assist the Jötnar. Imagine my surprise when they killed every last jotunn in the Celestial Realm outside of Niflheimr and Múspellsheimr. Thankfully the Norse realms are locked down from the Celestial hub realm. Else my kind would have been destroyed."

"Falcon created those creatures by mistake," Natalia whispered. "Imagine the danger you will be in when he uses them to kill all deities, including you."

"Silly girl, only one man is prophesized to match my prowess in battle. And if you haven't noticed, Heimdallr isn't here, on Earth. So I am unstoppable now that I am here."

Loki eased Natalia's weight against the doorframe, opened the door and peered out into a hallway facing a large window.

He could see out into a courtyard with tents, hosting various people walking about.

Natalia cut her gaze towards the large window across the way, able to see into the courtyard. A smile graced her pale lips. "You have to get through an army of Earth's finest hunters. Simply lay me down, here, on the floor, and flee like a coward. You cannot escape with the both of us or you will be caught."

"Coward?? I am nothing if not resourceful. Perhaps it would be best for you to know something about your captor, Natalia Kincade. I engineered the death of a god - Baldr. I am a shape shifter. I have appeared as both male and female. I am not as trapped as you think."

Natalia remained silent. After a moment, she asked, "So the mythology is true? You changed your gender at will?"

"I gave birth, in the form of a mare, to the eight-legged stallion, Sleipnir. I am the father of the wolf, Fenrir. I am the father of the world serpent, Jörmungandr. In fact, I have a great many children. Also, I have taken the shape of many of Earth's creatures. You are a fool to think I am helpless."

"Mm, all I recall about you from my studies, is that you were bound in the Hot Springs with the entrails of your son."

"Do_not_ speak of Nari. I have lost all respect for you. You are a foul serving-wench at best."

"Be quiet, pervert god. You have many other bastard children whose entrails my people will find to imprison you again."

Loki ground his teeth together in anger. "Your little champion, Kalen, will not be coming for you. Like Bragi, he is nothing short of a bench-ornament. But I am impressed with your gall. Too bad you are nothing but a malicious witch; you will amount to nothing."

"You_are_ trapped in this room with me. I honestly look forward to witnessing your next move."

"Is it true you laid your thigh over the succubus?"

Natalia smirked. "Long ago. But I have no shame in my actions," she told him. "Why did you bring me with you through the portal? Why not leave me there, come back later and come through here alone?"

"Odin and the other gods have cursed me - I am banned to go through any earthly portal," Loki said. "It would reject my passage. Imagine my surprise when I could not leave the Celestial Realm on the coattails of Sekhmet. So I went through with you."

"You tricked the portal," she surmised aloud. "Inventive, trickster god."

"Say what you wish. I do not need to take you to Falcon as a gift trophy. He has enough. I only needed you for passage through the portal."

"I am not afraid of death." In truth, she mourned her unaccomplished academia.

Loki smiled and pulled the door shut. "I will not kill you today. A far more terrible fate awaits you. For now, sleep Natalia Kincade."

"How do you plan to force me into torpor?" She glared at him, frustrated with her inability to move. "Just ... go, you errant child."

Loki unwrapped the twine from her neck. He removed the blade. He stuffed an end of the rope into her wound, wedging strands of the twine in place to discourage her wound from healing.

Natalia winced, feeling the horrible sensation against the back of her neck. The feeling was mostly muffled, accompanied by a sting from the exposed nerves.

Loki put his dagger in his teeth and sat her up in the corner.

He stabbed her repeatedly in her legs, hips and cut a swath across her abdomen.

She didn't flinch or react in any way.

He offered her a rather dark, mysterious sort of smile, as though taking pleasure in attacking her so viciously. "Is it true that vampires keep their blood in the cavity of their body, instead of in their veins?" He plunged the dagger into her sternum. "Just incase, I've broken the large blood supply humans call the aorta. Gravity will do the rest. I only wish you actually felt the blade pierce your body. Lucky for you, I paralyzed you first."

Natalia slumped in the corner. "I will heal in time."

"You will bleed out and slip into torpor before long. And whether or not you sleep through the destruction of this city does not matter to me. Just know this, my lady - you will not wake up. I will be the last face you see before you die."

Natalia felt warm liquid bubbling up her esophagus. She spit a wad of blood into his face. "I have trained my people," she said in a guttural, phlegmy-sounding voice "They are more than capable of killing you."

"Again, my death has already been prophesized. Heimdallr is currently unavailable to commission for such a job."

"Why do these things?" she whispered, looking down at the blood pooling on the floor around her body. "Why live up to the horrible stories written of you by humans? Why embrace it?"

Loki stood up, glaring down at her with a smirk. "It was my fate to have a hateful life. I have had a hand in many shameful deeds. Just know that I am far from finished."

"That is not why," she said, murmuring softly as the world began to fade. "Be honest with yourself. Why are you doing these hateful things?"

"So that I can give my wife, Kiko Sigyn, the life she deserves. A world where she can be praised and loved and worshipped with me at her side."

"No ... you do this because you are hurt. Angry. You want revenge."

Loki glowered at her. "You cannot understand the slights, the atrocities commited against me. In the form of a mare, I bore Sleipnir, the most brilliant of all horses. And Odin took my son! Odin now rides him as though he is nothing more than a simple warhorse. My children, my family deserve better than these horrible insults by the other gods."

"Your 'family.' They are an invention of mortal story tellers."

Loki tilted his head. "Are they? One of my children is Fenris the wolf. One of my children, Hel, is the queen of the damned - she presides over the realm where she receives a portion of the dead. And then there is my son, the World Serpent." Loki paused for effect, and then said, "I _personally_told my son to enter the Garden of Eden and seduce Eve. Jörmungandr was only too happy to bring Original Sin into this world."

"Caine was absolved of Original Sin when God put His mark upon him. I am a descendant of Caine."

Loki smirked. It broadened into a grin, and then evolved into a brilliant smile. "My_son_ impregnated Eve. Caine is the first vampire, because God cursed him to sustain himself on ashes and blood. And you are a vampire, Natalia. Therefor, you are one of my descendants. It is only appropriate that I end your life. I will bury you beneath the rubble when I bring about the fall of San Francisco."

Natalia's head lay on her left shoulder. She looked up at him with half-lidded eyes. "Then I shall see thee in Hell. I will be waiting when you arrive soon after."

Loki lowered to one knee adjacent to Natalia and smiled. "Hel, a realm named for my daughter." Loki leaned in close and brushed his lips against her ear. "I will tell her to expect you."

Natalia glared at him with cold eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy, her gaze became glassy.

Loki turned away from her and opened the door, peering out at the hunters, seen through the window to the courtyard. He shifted his shape to take on the appearance of one of the hunters.

He glanced back at her and smiled. "And now to cast the blame of your murder on the hunters. I do love causing discord and chaos amongst allies." He left wet footprints in his wake, walking out of the room with the mirror.

Loki made his way towards the rear entrance to mingle amongst the hunters, leaving footprints through the large room, to the rear exit, and out to the hunters' tents.

Natalia grew still, eyes half-lidded. Her body shut down and she entered into vampiric hibernation.