9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Tia stumbled down the street, getting closer to the manic laughter when, in front of her, the houses on either side and the street disappeared. The air shimmered, and there was nothing but a shimmering curtain of mist bringing demonic laughter closer to her.

“Tell me,” Tia turned to Tieran, eyes pleading just a little, “that we don’t have to step through that.” She knew better, but held out hope, anyway.

The night was all about doing everything she never wanted to do. Taking a deep breath, she went to step through the curtain, but Tieran caught her around the waist, pulling her back. He shook his head, and she knew that meant don’t say anything.

Tieran moved to one side of the shimmering curtain, making sure she was tucked behind him. Bryce moved to the other side, and they waited. Tia peeked out from behind Tieran’s back and watched Bryce with huge eyes. She’d never seen him shift from a shifter male to a werewolf.

His body grew taller, but it was the shift of his facial features and the hair along with the way his teeth grew and the sharpness of the nails that really fascinated her. When the shift was over, she understood why the clothes he was wearing were at least a size or two too big. She had wondered about it, but thought it was impolite to ask.

Tia knew her mate had also shifted. Just being behind him, she could see how his muscles had grown and how he was suddenly just a bit taller than he had been before. Watching these males change into monsters was interesting, but she knew if they were changing into monsters, it was because they felt danger was approaching.

Danger was coming, and she wasn’t prepared for it. She looked back at the shimmering curtain wanting to prepare herself for whatever was going to come out of it. Time seemed to stand still, and then there was a roar as the curtain undulated and a body barreled through it.

Bryce lunged forward, his hands clamping onto the inhuman creature with lightning speed. With a fierce growl, he hoisted the twisted form off the ground, muscles rippling with raw power. In one swift, brutal motion, Bryce twisted, a sickening crack echoing as the creature’s neck snapped. Without a second glance, he flung the limp body behind him, his focus already shifting to the next threat.

Tia’s hand went to her mouth in an effort to stay silent. There were a thousand questions she wanted to ask, the first one being how he could kill so effortlessly without looking like he had a qualm.

Was the world of the monster something she wanted to be a part of? She had asked herself that before, but seeing Bryce break that monster’s neck made her wonder. There was another undulation, and another body came through, coming for her mate, who she was sure she would one day love completely. She was already half in love with him and it hadn’t been a day. Tieran grabbed this one out of the air. This monster was female, the first one she’d seen.

Of course, there were female monsters. Why did she only think of them as males? She looked like the typical witch, an Old Crone. Tia wanted to reach out to her, one sister helping another. Tieran moved before she could even make a sound.

Tieran’s sharp nails shot out. They sank into the witch’s throat with precision. His grip tightened, a snarl curling his lips. With a fierce growl, he swung her effortlessly over his shoulder, her body arching through the air before crashing down behind him. Tieran and Bryce crouched. Two wolves came through the curtain, teeth bared, saliva dripping from their mouths.

One of them jumped at Tieran, making Tia stumble backwards. She fell to the ground, biting her lip, and still she could hear the small squeak of fear that came from her. Tieran and the wolf fought and she could tell that her mate wasn’t taking it easy on him.

If the wolf got a chance, it was going to rip out his throat. They rolled on the ground. The wolf got a chance.

His teeth latched onto Tieran’s arm. Tieran used his other hand to dig his nails into the wolf’s flank and pull. She could see claw marks and the blood dripping from the wolf’s side. Her mate gave a vampiric hiss as the wolf tried to tear into his shoulder.

Tieran took his other hand and dug it deep into the wolf’s other flank. The wolf released him, whimpering. Tieran threw him to the ground.

Tieran and Bryce crouched low; eyes locked on the shimmering portal as two snarling demons burst through. Their twisted forms were covered in black, chitinous armor. Their razor-sharp fangs gleamed in the dim light, and acrid smoke curled from their open mouths. The first demon lunged at Tieran, sending Tia stumbling backward. She hit the ground hard, biting her lip to stifle a gasp of terror as she watched the chaos erupt.

Tieran and the demon clashed in a vicious blur of claws and sinew, each fighting with primal fury. Tia’s heart pounded as they rolled across the ground, Tieran unleashing every ounce of his power. The demon’s claws swiped dangerously close to his face, its eyes glowing with hellish intent.

Suddenly, the demon found an opening, sinking its jagged teeth into Tieran’s arm. A snarl tore through the air as Tieran’s free hand lashed out, his claws ripping into the demon’s side, pulling hard. Black blood gushed from the wound, dripping onto the scorched earth beneath them.

The demon dug its claws deeper, rending flesh and bone. With a guttural growl, Tieran drove his other hand into the demon’s other side, his claws puncturing the thick, armored hide. A shriek escaped the creature as it released its grip, its strength fading. Tieran bellowed, lifting the demon with inhuman might and slamming it into the ground with a sickening crunch, triumphant.

She looked up to see the wolf Bryce was fighting was also on the ground. “Your people?” Tia whispered low, wanting only Tieran to hear her.

“They’ll live,” he grunted.

“Now, it’s time for us to go see what’s on the other side of this distortion field.”

“Distortion field?” she asked. She’d been thinking of it as more of a curtain, but now that he mentioned it, it did look like there was a distortion in the air.

“It’s meant to take us from one place to another. Unless I have missed my guess, I believe that when we walk through this distortion field, we will be back in the mirror universe.” Tia’s stomach dropped. There were lots of things she wanted to see, but the world they came from wasn’t one of them.

“I’ll step in first,” Tieran said.

“Please, my king,” Bryce interrupted. “It is my honor, my duty, and my privilege to protect the royal family.” Tieran executed a perfect bow, honoring Bryce.

“From this day forward, Bryce, you will be the protector of the queen.”

“Thank you, my king,” Bryce said.

“Tia, you will walk in after Bryce, and I will walk in after you, giving you as much protection as possible.”

“I don’t like knowing that the two of you are putting your lives on the line to take care of me, but I understand. More importantly, I appreciate it.” She wanted to say something flippant to lighten the mood, but the realization that this wasn’t who she was anymore stayed her tongue.

If she was going to be Tieran’s mate, and she was, nothing in this world was going to stop her, including death. Then she had to embrace becoming a queen. In this moment, the most important thing was to let her mate and her subjects know that she could fulfill her duties. Her subjects, if anyone at any point in her life had suggested that she would become royalty, she would have laughed her ass off. Look at her now.

She wasn’t playing at being queen, and there were a lot of lives, including hers, on the line. It all came down to what she was willing to do. “I’m ready.” She reached out to Tieran, who took her into his arms and gave her one final kiss.

“After this is over, there will be time for you and me.”

She nodded, knowing that she had to believe they would come out victorious no matter what she saw when she crossed into the mirror plane.

Bryce looked back at her with a faint smile, and then he stepped into the distortion field.

Just like with the monsters on the other side, once he stepped through, Tia couldn’t see him. Tieran held onto her arm for a few seconds, keeping her still. Then he gave her a gentle push against her back, and she, too, stepped through.

Her mouth dropped the minute she reached the other side. There were monuments that stretched high into the sky that were beautiful and gleaming. There were other parts of the city that looked like it had been destroyed.

There was filth on the streets, but not animal filth or filth from monsters. It was the debris that her people left behind. Vast monuments of destruction that couldn’t be moved. How had Tieran’s people lived here for so long and managed to eke out life in this world? No wonder her people left it.

There was no way humans would be able to survive this kind of destruction. “Where are the trees?” Tia turned around, realizing there was more destruction than she originally thought. Humans ravaged this planet, depleting all its resources.

“We have two groves with trees and flowers and plants that we cultivated back to life. There are segments of our people that need nature. The oceans were destroyed, although we were able to save one or two minor oceans,” Bryce said.

“The lakes were a little easier to bring back to life, but there are no fish in them. This plane is dying, and the only thing that has kept it going is my people,” Tieran told her.

“How do you live with that demonic laughter? It sounds like someone went mentally insane and then started laughing.” It took all her strength not to put her hands over her ears.

“I believe they timed that to go off when the distortion field appeared. The necrotechs are aware of the prophecy and have spent their lives looking for the one who would bring it to fruition. That person is you.” He pulled her close. “Your mother, being an intelligent woman, hid you right in front of their eyes.”

Tia wasn’t sure if her mother deserved an expensive gift or a good yelling at for letting her walk into all of this blindly.

“The stronghold is over here?” Tieran asked. He thought it would be on his world where the necrotechs could guard it.

“The prophecy mentioned tall, beautiful buildings. I believe that whatever this curse was created and crafted before the necrotechs left this mirror plane.” Tia said.

It made sense to her. “I bet the prophecy was given while my people were still living here, which is another reason why it mentions the buildings. What do we do now?” Tia asked.

We search for the stronghold, Tieran said. “It could be anywhere in this mirror plane, but I don’t think so. I believe it’s right here in Montrea.”

“What the heck is Montrea?”

“It’s the name of the city,” Bryce said.

“That just seems like a strange name for my people to call a city.” Bryce shrugged and then the werewolf receded, and he became the male that Tia was used to seeing.

“We found an old, faded sign. On it were the letters M-O-N-T-R-E-A. Montrea.” Tieran said.

“Oh my gosh, Montreal! We are standing in Montreal. I know that because we have a Montreal in our world — or your world that’s now our world.” When she was young and people used to talk around her without censoring their words. She had heard all about Montreal and how beautiful it used to be, but how it was no longer beautiful.

Her mother had taken her there one day, and she thought with all the trees and the flowers that it was one of the most beautiful places she had seen. But now she realized they weren’t talking about the Montreal that they had. They were talking about the one they left behind.

“This city used to be beautiful.” She looked into Tieran’s eyes and then into Bryce’s, and realized that they didn’t care. Once again, she couldn’t blame them.

“So, how do we look for the stronghold? And maybe in looking for the stronghold, Tieran, you can show me where you used to live?”

“That, my queen, I can do.” He took her hand and gave her a wink before they started walking up the street.

“My abode is not that far from here.” They weaved around large pieces of concrete that had come up from the earth and couldn’t be moved. Tieran didn’t stop when they reached the building made of large stones that were slowly chipping away.

The stone was beautiful, and she wished she could have seen it when it was first made. But now it was drab and lifeless. There was dirt all over the building. Tieran gave her a bow before he opened the door and ushered them in. They were in a huge room, larger than any she’d seen before. It reminded her of stores they had on their part of the planet.

“This appears to be a department store, but I can’t fathom going to one this big.” There were dividers breaking up the space into rooms that she’d never seen before.

He showed her the kitchen area, his throne room, as well as what she would call a living room, and his bedroom. The place was beautiful in a very old-fashioned looking way. Everything here was mismatched. It looked like he hit a thrift store and picked whatever he wanted.

And yet the elegant male by her side made her see this through different eyes. This would be some place she would be okay with calling home. Why? Not because it was the most gorgeous, not because it was the cleanest, but because her mate lived here.

“When we were tricked into this plane, my father was drawn to this dwelling. After he no longer lived here,” Tieran didn’t want to go into what had happened to his father, “I too was drawn to this dwelling and never left.”

Tia turned to stare Tieran down. What were the chances that two kings would be drawn to one spot?

Tieran took her hand. “Follow me,” he said to Bryce.

They walked through the large room to a small door in the back and then through that door. And then he took them to the opposite side of the room, where he pulled open what looked like a cage.

“What is this?” Tia asked, hesitant to walk inside of it.

“From what your nonstop media shows, it’s called an elevator: a skeletal one, since the doors don’t fully close and you can still see outside.” He shrugged, never having been on one himself.

“How could such an advanced people destroy themselves?” Tia asked.

“If you give a child fire, something will burn,” her mate replied. He tugged Tia onto the elevator with Bryce following them. Closing the door, he hit a button, and the elevator descended into the building.

When the door opened, Tia started sneezing, dust attacking her. The first thing she noticed was there was an absence of spider webs.

“Where are the insects?”

“The only thing that has survived on this planet is us.”

If she had the time, she would plop herself down in the middle of the dust and cry for people that have been badly abused. Tieran took her over to what looked like a vault. Tia immediately saw the line on the floor that separated the room they were in from the vault they were walking towards.

She stopped. A female stepped out of thin air. Her eyes were red and glowing.

Her smile was wicked, “I’ve been waiting for you, travelers. Time to die.”