This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

MESSING UP MAGIC

First edition. October 30, 2018.

Copyright © 2018 Winnie Winkle.

ISBN: 978-1732905009

Written by Winnie Winkle.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Messing Up Magic

Winnie Winkle

Acknowledgments

The Author of this Book has been granted permission by S.E. Smith to use the copyrighted characters and/or worlds created by S.E. Smith in this Book; all copyright protection to the characters and/or worlds of Magic, New Mexico are retained by S.E. Smith.

This book is dedicated to Deborah Kroh

I’d like to thank Julie Sutherland, Trace Mathews, Betsy O’Leary, and Joseph D’Amico for all their help and support. I appreciate you all more than you know.

Special thanks to S. E. Smith for opening her world and letting me play there.

Foreword

Imagine The Worlds of Magic, New Mexico... A series that brings together outstanding paranormal and science fiction authors to expand a town where witches, aliens, vampires, werewolves, goblins, sorceresses, pirates, time travelers, and paranormal live in harmony - when they aren’t joining forces to defeat the bad guys. A magical town where being abnormal is the norm!

I’m S.E. Smith, the creator of Magic, New Mexico and I invite you to curl up with each book now and discover all the action, the magic, and the love that makes Magic, New Mexico the ultimate go-to series for Paranormal / Science Fiction Romance readers.

For all the stories, go to MagicNewMexico.com/books/

Grab your copy today!

1

A green-tinged glow emanated from far side of the rock-strewn hill. Zayn moved towards it, catlike, quiet, but curious. Flying was an option, but tracking was second nature and Zayn liked hunting. The act of stalking while wrapped in darkness, placing his paws with silence and purpose, fed his nature in a way that quick and easy never would.

Kids camping in the desert were Zayn’s favorites. The rush of their fear and the shrieks of the women were a feast. Zayn liked terror. He loved discomfort. Scaring the piss out of humans made his whole night.

Close, he paused, belly fur touching the dust, sniffing the air. Scents filtered and sorted in his mind. He knew everyone in Magic, New Mexico. Zayn’s ear flicked at the familiar wolf scent, tinged with a new smell. He prepared to pounce. Crouched, Zayn skirted a pile of rocks, edging towards the glow.

Pain sliced through his head, blinding him, the green fading to black.

“What have you done?” hissed Moku. “Interaction is forbidden.”

“It crept up and appeared predatory,” replied Andok. “Per protocol, my weapon is on stun, not kill. We’ll finish our observation mission and depart before it awakens. The energies in this place differ from other places on this planet, Moku. It will please Slodoon to learn this. Our last observation found a minimal trace of the Smoke Ones. The Solids were the vast majority of the population on the planet’s surface.”

“Transitions happen,” Moku said, turning from the inert body of the mountain lion. “This planet is young. Let’s finish and lift off. It will be light soon. We will transmit and receive new orders from Slodoon.”

“He’s out cold!” Jonah’s brown eyes twinkled from his furry face as he touched the big cat. His twin brother, Joseph poked Zayn with a paw, then settled on his haunches. The boys were werevamp cubs from nearby Magic, New Mexico, an unusual haven for those gifted with unexpected abilities. Everyone from Magic was special, many powerful, but to the boys, they were just neighbors. While playing with the moon tonight, the boys tempted fate by tracking Zayn, a powerful Djinn not known for his social skills. A chance to irritate Zayn was a good trade on the times he was a jerk. The Djinn had zero use for nine-year-old boys.

“Who do you think zapped him?” Joseph asked.

“I dunno, but alien for sure. Frost might know. He’s an alien.”

“Duh, bro. He and I ended up stuck on the ice planet for months! Frost and Aunt Lacey won’t be home from the Glacian homeworld for a week. Should we move Zayn?”

“Let’s go grab the bike and put him in our magic egg basket. We can carry his big furry butt back to his house in that.”

Joseph loped south, with Jonah nipping at his heels. The young werewolves tumbled, squealing and rolling together in a mess of toothy grins and tails before leaping back to resume the chase, their howls filling the night.

From the air, nothing assembled into a woman, who squatted next to Zayn’s limp body. Knowledgeable hands ran across his ribs, and fingertips examined the gash and knot on his head. A sigh left her lips, and she raised the big cat into the air as Zayn’s head rolled and his eyes slit open. A soft growl cut to silence. She and the cat became smoke, then nothing at all.

“B-b-b-but Theo! We swear Zayn was right here. He headed towards the green glow. We could see the two aliens on the other side of this big rock pile.” Jonah’s discomfort was clear.

“It’s true,” Joseph picked up the story. “Zayn stalked them as a mountain lion, one of them zapped his head, and he dropped!”

Jonah and Joseph squirmed under Theo’s gaze. Theo was the law in Magic. He had an alien ancestor, but it was so far back he didn’t know the story; Theo was also half-dragon which proved useful in keeping the peace. When anything unusual happened in their town, Theo handled it. In Magic, lots of unusual things happened, but Theo handled the non-normal unusual. He was mid-thirties, 6’4”, with huge shoulders and a broad chest, ice-blue eyes that hearkened to that outer world ancestor, and his dark curling hair fell over his collar. His skin was bronzed from the New Mexico sun. Theo looked, every inch, like an intimidating person in a town that didn’t intimidate. At all.

Jonah and Joseph traded looks. Under the moon last night they’d played, perhaps a little longer than they should have. By the time they’d come back, found Zayn missing and sounded the alarm, the sun was rising, and they were boys once more, their typical daytime appearance.

The lawman dropped to a knee, looking at the dirt near the rocky base of the hill. The sand held the impression of the big cat’s body. The question was, where was the cat? Theo picked out the wolf prints of the twins and a few small human ones. Those were half the size of Zayn’s big feet. Since Zayn was a Djinn, he could have come to, shape-shifted and flown away, but that didn’t explain the extra prints. As improbable as it looked, someone had been here and moved Zayn with no trail. That meant magic. Magic wasn’t anything new to Theo, but this magic didn’t look much like his Magic folks, which might create problems.

“Green glow?” Theo asked, rising and gazing at the boys.

“We saw them leave, as soon as one of them blasted Zayn,” Jonah said, his white hat shining in the morning sun. “Tall and thin, each had a scanner or machine that was making the glow, and one knocked out Zayn by shooting a gun at him.”

“They took off from yonder,” Joseph added, pointing north. “We checked on Zayn after they left.”

Theo nodded, walking around the big rock pile to the other side, looking for disturbed fauna or rocks. Imprints a few hundred yards away showed him where they’d landed.

“Boys,” he said, fixing them in an icy stare. “Head home. Let folks know to keep an eye out for unusual visitors or happenings.”

Relieved they weren’t in trouble, Jonah and Joseph jumped on their bike and pedaled, their feet a blur of motion, into the air.

“Where the hell are you, Zayn?” Theo muttered. “And who in the outer worlds visited last night?”

Haseya tended her fire, stirring the steeping herbs. The steam rose, and she sniffed.

“Almost ready,” she murmured, glancing at the big cat sprawled comatose in the corner of her hut, who was beginning to stir.

Haseya stepped into a twirl, transforming from a woman, to smoke, then into another big cat. She sat across the fire from her visitor, solid black eyes watchful as the fire popped, sending sparks to feed the night.

The fire warmed Zayn’s feet, his body returning to this side of alert.

“Holy crap!” he snarled, realizing there was a big cat staring at him. “What the?” He blinked at his own paws. “I’m a cat? Wait a minute, this isn’t right. Huh. I can’t remember why, though. Rrrrowwl, my head. What happened? Who am I?”

“Something hurt you. I am prepared to heal you,” the other cat said. Stunned, Zayn realized he could understand the strange string of growls, purrs, and ear and tail movements that made up this language.

“Heal me how?” Zayn’s tail snapped, confused.

“You will need to drink the broth I prepared.”

“Who are you?”

“I am Haseya, the Healer.”

Her dark eyes flicked to him and then away, a sign of respect, and Zayn found this relaxing.

Haseya lifted the handle of the pot with her teeth and rose, her walk silent as she came around the fire to place the pot next to him. She turned, and he realized she was beautiful, fluid, sinewy, and elegant.

“Drink that,” she said, resuming her place by the fire and curling her tail over her front paws.

Zayn lapped up the broth, its scent filling him for the moment. Its effect on him was immediate. The pounding in his head ceased and his eyes cleared, filling with her beauty. Her scent covered him and his blood flowed quick and intentional. He wanted her. When her heat came, he would have her.

2

“Report!” Slodoon’s voice barked from the console.

“I transmitted our readings,“ Moku replied. “There is evidence of a grouping of the energies you seek in the area.”

“Were you seen or contacted?”

Moku and Andok exchanged a quick glance.

“We believe not, but encountered an animal, predatory type, which Andok stunned as a matter of precaution,“ Moku replied.

“Did the animal register any of the desired energy signatures?”

“I… I did not scan it, High Scientist.”

“You did not scan it. Remind me, please, Andok, why in the Universe did I hire you?”

Andok stared at the cockpit floor.

“Go back to the area. Secure your craft in an alternate spot and begin a new mission. You are to grid-cover and scan the entire area. I transmitted your mission and the coordinates to cover. Remain cloaked. You have seven of this planet’s days to do this.”

“Yes, High Scientist.”

“And Andok, If you don’t want to go back to cleaning laboratories, I would suggest you scan everything.”

“Yes, High Scientist.”

Slodoon disconnected the transition and turned back to the group of Morducks on his main screen. “The planet has potential,“ the Morduck leader said. “If the exploration is fruitful, our race can either enslave or weaponize the smoke energies. We will control this sector.”

Haseya was so close to him Zayn could sense her blood moving. Pleased with the progress of his healing, her soft purr rumbled, ricocheting into his chest. Instincts taking over, he rose, following her flicking tail while sniffing. In a quick motion, he mounted, wrapping his big paws around her neck and chest. Zayn was on fire, engorged, ready, then tumbling, losing his balance and landing nose first in the dirt, flat on the ground. Haseya had disappeared.

He yowled in lust and frustration into the earth. His eye caught movement, and he saw a woman watching him with dark eyes. With Haseya’s dark eyes, he realized.

As his mind thrashed with desire and confusion, inside something shifted. Zayn gathered himself to leap on the woman, springing up, and falling short.

Haseya’s laugh filled the hut. “Well, this is unexpected. Who are you, my new friend? You are not the lion I found.”

Zayn looked down, confused, and saw human hands, feet, and one fully erect and ready penis.

“I, uh, I don’t know. I remember nothing other than being here.”

Haseya’s amused glance inspected his rock hard cock, rising to meet his gaze. “I will not give you a chance to use that,” she said, her voice gentle as she tossed him a cloth to cover himself. “But, I will help you find your memory and return you to your time and place.”

“My time and place?”

“Yes.”

Her brevity annoyed him. I don’t like her having control over me. Things will be different once I remember who I am.

His eyes took in Haseya’s long black hair, her big dark eyes and trim, supple body, wrapped in a soft buckskin dress that showed off her strong legs, toned arms and a slim waist that accented her curves. She was more than beautiful. Zayn watched her, seeing how her fearless confidence lit her from the inside out. I have to have this woman. Deep within me, I know that I’ve searched forever for my one. Beyond my control, I woke up next to her fire. I will make her need mine.

What am I doing? I heal the Mother’s creatures. That is my purpose, the one I chose so long ago when faced with the truth of who I am, and turning from that truth. I cannot take a husband, I cannot dabble in a tryst. What I am must end in me. It is the way of our people to shun the dark and embolden the healing light.

Haseya gazed at the cat who wasn’t a cat, a man who might not be a man. Dark hair fell over his forehead and flowed over his broad shoulders and tautly muscled arms, falling to his narrow waist. Eyes, so dark they looked like liquid black, looked back at her. He is an enigma, yet I sense no malice. At least, not towards me.

“I sheltered you in my place of healing. It is what humans call being within an interdimensional space. It means that we exist across a line in time from the scene of your attack. When you are well, you can return. You will not remember me when I carry you home. When you re-cross this line, this time will erase from your mind and me with it.”

This made her heart grow leaden. This man-cat, whose eyes watched her every move, was a new connection for her. She’d been alone, healing the earth, for a long time. He’s woken my blood. This is dangerous to my need to honor my people. He cannot remain.

“I will remember you,” Zayn said, his deep voice raw with the grief of her words. “You and I are more than a crossing of spirits. I cannot forget a single thing about you. Your scent, the way you move, the light that shines from within, I see all of this. You are the healing food I’ve sought forever.”

Haseya’s eyes turned to Zayn’s, he saw sorrow, and beyond that, he saw her desire for him. In a flash he reached her, pulling her curves into him and kissing her as her lips parted for him, tasting her essence flowing throughout her body. Her dress yielded to his strong hands, bent on discovering her secrets and laying claim to each one. Zayn’s mouth devoured the curve of her neck, the hollow points of her collarbones lit with his fire as his lips traced them, tongue exploring the curve of bone and muscle.

His hands ran along her ribs, exploring each curve that held her heart, sensing her quickened blood, powered by her yearning for him. He cupped her full breasts, teasing each nipple with a calloused thumb, before sliding his mouth down to claim, with small bites, their promise.

Haseya moaned as his hands slid across her belly, seeking her heat. Zayn’s fingers found an inferno, toying with her clitoris as the rush of passion engulfed her. She was his, she was re...

“NO!”

Once again, Zayn lay face down in the dirt of the hut’s floor with a hard-on, the taste of Haseya in his mouth and her smoke up his nostrils. On the other side of the fire, an owl sat, watching his frustrated face and throbbing cock.

“This is supposed to be! Why are you fighting it?”

The owl blinked.

“Dammit!” Zayn’s frustration roared through his blood, and he felt the shift upon him once more. Now there were two owls at the fire, one calm, watching with interest, the other agitated, spinning his head and flapping his wings.

“I have searched and never found a woman who called my blood, called it beyond lust, in the way of all time. I know you feel this too. Why are you fighting me?” Zayn clicked his beak, whirring and hooting in frustration.

“Because I cannot. I must forever remain alone,” Haseya clicked in return, her heart heavy with a sadness beyond any she’d ever experienced, even that of choosing self-banishment.

“I am sorry,” she said, placing one taloned foot in front of the other and beginning her twirl.

Zayn watched, confused as she turned to smoke, then back to herself. Grabbing him, she held his wings closed and twirled again.

They were outside Magic, New Mexico. This is familiar. I’ve been here before. At least I thought so. Why can’t I remember who I am?

Haseya released him, and Zayn pushed himself to shift, becoming a man as Haseya placed a foot forward. He kissed her as she turned, a trail of smoke on his lips as she vanished, leaving his arms empty.

Zayn, the big strong Djinn, the shape-shifting badass genie Zayn, the thousands of years of women-having Zayn, the owner of the night, the day, and the time between Zayn, sat down, howled, and ugly-cried like a besotted teen. His heart blew into a million pieces, stuck in the space of time.

3

“Must have been one hell of a night,” Theo drawled, rummaging behind the seat of his truck, then tossing a pair of sweatpants at 6’8” Zayn, who pulled them up over his long, hard-muscled thighs with a snap. “Mind telling me how you vanished and come back buck naked?”

Theo didn’t mention the tear stains. Zayn was big and Theo didn’t need a fight, he needed answers.

“Do I know you?”

“Oh, great,” Theo muttered. Louder, he answered, “Yes, you do, and I can take you back to your place. Want a ride?”

“Yeah. Thanks. What’s your name?”

“I’m Theo. I’m the Sheriff around here. You’re Zayn, and you live in a town called Magic, New Mexico, and have for a long time. I reckon it’ll come back.”

Zayn climbed into the truck, and Theo headed back towards town. He planned to stop at Topper’s first. She was, well, interesting. As in, powerful, sassy witch interesting. Her help would be handy in sorting out Zayn’s brain.

“This is my house?” Zayn asked, looking around at the wind chimes on the welcoming porch. The house beyond, painted in bright colors and symbols, looked like a sixties throwback.

“Nope. This here is Topper’s place. Headed here to see her when I found you. Official business. Set yourself on the porch. You’ve met Topper, maybe you’ll remember her.”

Zayn settled on the rail of the shady porch, leaning his chiseled back up against a pillar. Tapping two long fingers on the kitchen door, Theo let himself in.

“Topper, I need help. Zayn got into a mess last night, think it was alien-related, and they zapped him into next week. No clue who he is, sitting there in his birthday suit, and can’t remember what happened. Zayn has information about who is snooping around in his scrambled brain. Care to lend a hand?”

Topper’s hair, bright pink today, framed an amused look. Compared to Theo and Zayn, she was trim and tiny. Somewhere in her fifties, she bounded through life with an attitude and feistiness of a far younger spirit. Topper exuded curiosity and loved with interest. Theo thought her unique in a town full of unusual.

“Found him naked? Well, I’m sorry I missed that bit of fun. Sure, let me sit a spell with him and I’ll see what he needs.”

Her hand waved towards the kitchen and a plate of cookies and a pitcher of fresh-brewed tea zoomed from their respective spots. Topper carried them outside through a door that opened itself. Theo followed with three glasses of ice that appeared, floating in front of him until he grabbed them. Zayn, staring across the desert, didn’t turn until Topper greeted him with the offer of a cookie. Belly perking up, she had his full attention.

“Do you recognize me?” Topper asked, peering at a munching Zayn.

He cocked his head, eyebrows wrinkling in confusion, and she laughed. Topper twirled a finger and her hair turned purple, the color it was when she last saw Zayn a month before. Recognition flickered across his eyes.

“Stunned, and a recent memory wipe,” Topper turned away from Zayn, speaking to Theo in a low voice. “Djinns are tricky, but I don’t think he knows what he’s capable of while he’s in this state. I can help. I’ll have him back to being a pain in your butt in no time flat.”

Topper murmured a spell under her breath, restoring Zayn’s wiped memory, disturbing nothing recent. Zayn blinked as a light switched on in his brain.

“Zayn, I need information. Who zapped you? What are they up to? Where did you go? Did they take you with them?” Theo leaned in, ready for answers.

“Haseya!” Zayn hollered, shifting to an eagle and flapping off the porch rail, heading back towards the hill of rock.

“That was unhelpful. Typical.” Theo grabbed a few cookies. “Thanks for getting that cantankerous Djinn back to his normal cooperative self.”

“Anytime, Theo,” Topper said, arching her brow and shooting him a saucy look. “You can come play lawman on my porch whenever you’d like.”

Theo picked up his sweatpants and trotted back to his truck, a grin playing with the corners of his mouth. Topper wasn’t his age, but she was still a fine-looking woman, bold, savvy, and amused with the world.

Another time. I have an eagle to track. One who’ll need pants.

Haseya lay next to her fire as her spirit folded into itself.

“Am I dying? It this my time?”

In her heart, she knew this wasn’t death, but a choice. She assembled a bowl of specific leaves and added them to her fire, filling her hut with aromatic smoke. Silent, she watched the pictures in the smoke assemble, waver, and drift, replaced with new pictures.

Here was herself as a child, healing her first bird. There she was with her mother, crying because she did not understand what she’d done. She’d become a bird to heal the bird, without thinking. The stern faces, calling her to choose and lay down the path of the Skinwalker; their disapproval frightened her. Did they not understand she loved the light of being a healer? She was tiny, six-years-old, an antelope in a circle of coyote faces.

“I did not understand this was the way of the witch,” she told her fire. “Once the bird told me of its pain, I could heal because I could be like the bird, know of the bird, and pull from my own bird body to heal it.”

The fire pictures showed her mother, kneeling, begging her to use the plants, to never call the animal itself to her, to never make the change.

“There is no light in the Skinwalker, Haseya, they are darkness and despair. We turn from the darkness as healers, we seek the light of love for our Mother, the Earth, and those who dwell within her beauty.”

“I promise, Mother.”

She meant it, too. Haseya studied the ways of the plants, helping each member of the earth be well until it was their time to leave for the spirit world. She spent each sun-filled hour in study, learning at a rate that pleased to borderline astounded the elders. Haseya spoke to no one of the dreams that overtook her in the night, and the teaching she received while walking in the dreamworld.

“It was like being two different children,” she murmured. “I did not want to be a Skinwalker, but I was one from birth, taught that witches are dark, scary, and hurting of the people and animals of the earth. It was impossible to be both light and dark and be Navajo.”

The fire picture shifted to the reckoning where two of the oldest and most revered women in the tribe laid their accusations out for the elders.

“Haseya,” the oldest one said, “is both light in the ability to heal, but despite that, is a Skinwalker. She leaves her body in the night in the form of an owl and flies beyond our seeing.”

“She has tried to remain in the light, and this is her true heart,” the other woman spoke up, “but we say here, to all Navajo, that she cannot stop being who she is.”

Haseya looked across at her Mother’s stoic face. She must have seen, but her love and belief for Haseya gave her the hope she could dwell in both. It was not to be. After a passionate discussion, the elders rendered her verdict.

“Haseya, whose name means She Rises, you are banished from our Nation. We will not destroy you; we will allow you to exist as both Skinwalker and Healer as you were born to be. But, Haseya, you are no longer Navajo. The dark cannot dwell in our Nation. If you accept this, you must live without a mate, never make a child. If you vow to heal, you may dwell in her spaces beyond and protect the earth in your way.”

“I so vow.” Expecting death, the council handed her life. Eyes cast downward, Haseya left the council, took up her medicine bag, and walked into the night. She would never return.

“I am capable of darkness,” she admitted, seeing the picture rise of the massacre of her people and her own wrath against the white and Mexican men who slaughtered the innocents, feeling once again her smoke slicing through their hearts, dropping them from horses and laying them there for the vultures. “I killed for twenty years, sweeping through the camps of men, killing any who stepped from the safety of their fire.”

It was only when they gathered her people, stuffed them into a space in New Mexico and made them stay put, victims of the white man’s bold and naïve belief that the earth had borders, that she stopped her murderous spree. Haseya sighed at these stupid humans who believed the Mother’s bounty had walls.

After her rage cooled, she entered a self-imposed exile, staying in the desert, avoiding human contact, healing the earth and the animals. At one point a call came, reaching her across the line of time, telling a story of a haven for the magical. Haseya turned the story over in her mind many times. She was a Skinwalker, welcome nowhere, feared by the Nation, a killer of men, a conundrum of purpose, alone and barren by choice.

No good can come of this call.

Decision made, the song of Magic, New Mexico slipped away unheeded.

The last picture in her fire was the cat-man, fighting to hold her as she drifted into smoke. With a sob, Haseya kicked the log, sending the picture to the sky while her traitorous heart broke.

4

Cloaked, Moku and Andok headed down the ramp, arguing.

“This grid is huge,” Moku grumbled. “I suspect Slodoon doubled it after learning you didn’t scan that predator. Should I assign you three-quarters of the work? Seven of this planet’s days to scan this space means we won’t see a sleep pod this entire mission.”

“I couldn’t lie,” Andok said in frustration.

Moku slid an eye, he had three, to Andok, taking in the slumped shoulders of his Junior Scientist. “Andok, what is our mission?”

“We seek energy signatures that register as both solid and vapor within a single entity.”

“Remember, anything solid, anything vapor, scan it. Don’t let your expectations cloud the mission. You made a mistake. If we find what we’re looking for, the mistake won’t matter.”

Andok straightened and nodded. “Thank you, Moku. I needed reminding.”

“We were all Junior Scientists once,” the Senior Scientist said, with a small smile. “Even Slodoon.”

“I need to talk to you, Zayn,” Theo shouted at the eagle perched on the top of the rocky hill. At least, he hoped it was Zayn. Damned Djinns. “I brought pants.”

The eagle lifted, soaring in a slow circle, once, then twice around the hill, before landing a few feet from Theo, who tossed the sweatpants as Zayn shifted back to human.

“Thanks,” Zayn muttered.

Keeping Djinn’s cocks covered seems to be my entire job description these days. “We had visitors last night,” Theo said. “Alien. Did you see them?”

“No, I was close though. I could smell them. I’ll recognize that scent.”

“Can you remember anything?”

I remember everything about her.

“They hit me with a stunner, direct to the head. If I’d been an actual cat, I’d be dead. I don’t think they know much about Earth. Once they kill a few things, they will realize I was not the norm,” Zayn said, thinking aloud.

“Perfect,” Theo said. “That’s attention Magic doesn’t need. I plan to do a flyover tonight, see if I can spot a new landing spot for their ship, or verify they’ve left, but I doubt we’ll be that lucky. Care to join me?”

“Alright. Sundown. Here.”

If it kept his mind from blowing apart, it sounded good to Zayn. I need to think. How did she cross the interdimensional plane? I thought only Djinn could do that. Haseya is different. She is not Djinn. I don’t think she knows what I am capable of. Hell, to be fair, I didn’t remember what I was either after that alien episode. She thinks I won’t remember her, but crossing the line is child’s play for me. I was built for it. How can I get her back?

Theo looked at Zayn, thoughts racing. Something else is up with him. He’s rattled, and I’ve never seen this Djinn as anything other than an arrogant, overconfident jerk. He moves through the world like he owns it. Now, he’s the poster boy for perplexed.

“You sure you’re OK?” Theo asked, ready to move fast if the Djinn turned on him.

“Yup. See you tonight.”

The sweatpants flopped to the dirt as the eagle rose, higher and higher, circling the skies. Theo threw them behind the seat and climbed into his truck, shaking his head.

“That was downright cordial, for Zayn. He is definitely not back to normal. At all.”

Theo rolled his truck to a halt, stepping out into the cloud of dust and stripping, throwing the clothes on the truck seat. Naked, he stepped away from the truck, transforming as he moved. His wings pulled from his shoulder blades, feeling, as always, like an itch finally scratched. His neck lengthened, curving as his snout grew, with little puffs of smoke lifting away from large yellow eyes, now able to see everything for miles. Scales rippled across his skin, as his spine flexed, adding vertebrate extending to his spiked tail. Growing the tail is the best part. Once that counterbalance is in place, I’m unstoppable.

Theo exhaled, forming the fog that would shield Zayn, in whatever form he chose and his own dragon form, from any prying eyes and scanners.

“Ow!”

“Zayn? Where are you? What are you?”

“I’m a Djinn, dumb ass. I’m smoke. Stop whacking me with your stupid tail.”

“The hell? Be something easy to see.”

“Nah, smoke is better tonight. You flyover everything you have cover for, and I’ll do the rest.”

“I don’t want to engage these Aliens, Zayn. I need to figure out their intentions. Can you stay in that lane?”

“Yeah, I can, unless they try to zap me. Then I’m gonna mess them up.”

“I can live with that. Just don’t kill them. Dead guys can’t say who sent them or why. Useful stuff to know if I’m taking care of Magic.”

“Yeah, yeah, Hero. I hear you. See you before sunrise.”

The smoke thinned as Zayn lifted, heading south. With a heavy whomp from his wings, Theo rose, hidden in his fog, and began a methodical grid search.

“Moku! Look at these readings. I am picking up a vapor with real potential!”

Moku reached for the recorder, his hand uncloaked.

Zayn watched, amused, drifting around them as they clicked and chittered. Zayn noticed a hand, long-fingered, pass something to the other one. They are wearing special clothes to keep themselves hidden. How about I mess that up?

Zayn drifted to the ground, gathering sands to create a dust devil. A little smile crossed his face as he upped his vibration, laughing at the reaction by the aliens to their recorder, then using the high vibration to compress the sand within the whirling devil into tiny diamonds. With a flick, he sent the dust devil into the creatures, covering their cloaks in sparkling dust.

Hide from that.

He watched them try to brush each other off with little luck as he drifted skyward. They turned to the north, heading, he supposed, to their ship. Zayn followed, seeing Theo’s fog ahead. This is fun. Looky what I found, Hero.

From his vantage point, Theo watched the two glittery aliens scampering to the ship he’d located. Looks like Zayn’s been playing. At least they aren’t dead. I reckon I’ve been playing too.

The two Aliens skittered to a stop outside their ship’s hatch, welded shut. Dragon fire. It’s a thing. You won’t be getting that open anytime soon.

“Good evening,” Theo drawled as the aliens whipped around at the sound of his voice. “I’m the law here. If you shoot at me, there will be consequences you won’t care for.”

“Moku, what do we do?”

“Shhhh. Say nothing. We must act like we don’t understand and learn as much as we can. Keep the recorder hidden in your cloak.”

In silence, the aliens looked at Theo.

“Y’all look real pretty in your sparkly gowns,” Theo continued. “Time to come along with me, and we’ll have a nice chat.”

“I’m getting a Smoke energy above and this Solid registers an odd reading,” Andok murmured. “Preparing a containment chamber.”

Zayn slipped into Andok’s cloak, made only his hands solid and tipped the box towards Andok and Moku, pressing the button as Theo stepped forward. A blinding flash erupted as two cloaks fluttered to the ground in a sparkling finale.

“You’re welcome,” Zayn’s laugh boomed from his seat on top of the ship. “They were about to box your butt like a steer in a chute.”

“Where are they?”

“In the box. Check under their ball gowns.”

Theo picked up the glittering cloaks, a flashing box, and the recorder. “You mind? I need to reopen this ship.”

“Not at all. Want me to bring you your jeans? Seems only fair.” Zayn laughed as he jumped from the ship, shifting. Theo swallowed at the silverback gorilla staring at him. Djinns are happiest when they unnerve a human. Sheesh. Good thing I’m half-dragon.

“No pants necessary. I’ll fly back and get them once I finish here.” Handing the gorilla the items, he watched him take off in a three-legged lope towards town, holding on to the boxed aliens and their gear in one huge hand. Shifting back to his dragon form, Theo released a stream of fire, unsealing the hatch of the ship.

“Time to open a can of worms.”

5

“Whatcha doing?”

Theo jumped, banging his head on a jutting metal storage cabinet, and turned towards the voice.

“Why are you doing it naked?” Jonah sat on the ground, howling in laughter.

Theo rubbed his head, annoyed. “I’m investigating.”

“Want these?” Joseph asked waggling jeans and a shirt at Theo.

Theo fixed an icy look at the boys that wilted them only a degree or two but resulted in Joseph tossing the clothes up to him. Theo pulled his jeans on, carrying the shirt and backing the twins down the ramp.

“Zayn sent us,” Jonah offered. “He says the box is jumping, whatever that means.”

“What does that mean?” Joseph asked. “Did you catch those guys? Can we see them? Do they have a cool ship? Can we see that?”

“Maybe later,” Theo said, shooing the boys towards their bike. “Go tell Zayn I’m on my way. Go on, light a fire under your tails!”

The boys jumped on their magic bike. Pedaling furiously, they lifted off the ground and turned towards town. Theo took one final look through the ship. With a sigh, exercising care so as not to split his jeans, Theo half transformed and welded the hatch closed once more. I’m not taking any chances. After pulling his shirt on, he started the jog back to his truck and, he hoped, breakfast.

Zayn sat at Theo’s desk, feet up, with a lazy grin. The box in front of him jumped. “They’ve been at it for hours,” Zayn laughed. “Determined little moon brats, I’ll give them that.”

Theo tossed a bag of ten ham and egg biscuits on the scratched desk in front of Zayn, set down two coffees, and pulled a chair up. As a rule, he wouldn’t give his chair up for anyone, but Zayn had been a big help, saved him a ton of trouble by boxing these two up, and Theo was too hungry to give a crap. After cramming a sandwich in his mouth, he pushed a coffee towards Zayn.

“Obliged,” Zayn said. This feels weird. Djinns are God’s outcasts. We aren’t friends with humans. Well, Theo is a half-dragon, but still. It occurred to Zayn, as he munched, that last night had been fun with Theo, not despite him, almost as if they were friends.

Zayn snorted. Theo raised an eyebrow, and Zayn shook his head as if to clear it, and stuffed another biscuit in his mouth. It’s Haseya. She’s changing me. I will find her and take her as my one. Her body played across his mind, his exploration, her response.

“You’re drooling,” Theo said, pushing a wad of napkins at Zayn.

Rock hard, too. He finished his last biscuit and chugged the coffee.

“I gotta head home for a few. Send one of those boys to fetch me if you need help.”

The only way he could get his big stiff cock past the lawman undetected was as smoke, so Zayn flowed home, determined to find Haseya and fill her with his reason, his seed, and his love.

Zayn paced while he picked apart what he remembered about that night. How did she know someone hurt me? What called her to my rescue? He was certain finding that was the key to calling her to him again.

Eyes closed, Zayn thought back to her hut, across the line of time. ‘I am Haseya, the Healer,’ she’d said. Healer. Healer of animals? Of humans? Of the earth…??

“That’s it! Yeah. Connected to everything on earth. She sensed the change in me in my animal form and came to help me.”

I could ask Theo to shoot me, but I doubt he’d do it. Uphold the law, blah, blah, blah. For a dragon, he’s got issues.

An idea struck, and Zayn stopped pacing. “That’ll work! I can find her.”

Zayn ran out his back door, flinging himself into the sky, catching the air beneath eagle wings, and heading for the desert to find a life to save and a woman to win.

From his high vantage point, Zayn scanned the ground, looking for the damaged yet living. He floated in a lazy circle, eyeing a band of coyotes circling a small herd of pronghorn antelope. Startled, the antelope moved out. The coyotes selected one, coming at it from multiple directions, biting and tearing at its legs and throat.

Dive bombing, Zayn beat off the band, driving them away from the staggering antelope. It was a female, limping and damaged, dragging herself into a thicket of New Mexican locust and lying down. Zayn landed in the tall shrubbery and looked at the deer. Bloody, but no longer bleeding, she had a chance of survival. Perhaps Haseya would sense her and heed the call.

As the coyotes drew closer, and Zayn amused himself by driving his smoke up their noses to confuse them. The deer watched Zayn with soft liquid eyes as he shifted from smoke, to eagle, and to bear, swatting any coyote who came too close.

The sun was setting, and Zayn readied for a busy night when he saw her smoke. In a flash, he shifted, flowing his smoke into the hide of the deer, inert as dust. Haseya examined the deer.

“You are lucky to be here, friend. How odd that the coyotes left you alone. It must not be your time.” Haseya lifted the ailing antelope and stepped into her twirl, vanishing as the sun dipped.

After placing the deer by the fire, Haseya twirled into a pronghorn.

“How did you survive? Your wounds tell me you should not have.”

“They protected me.”

Haseya leaned forward. “Protected? Who?”

“An eagle, a bear and a cloud kept me safe in the thicket.”

Zayn could not understand a word but watched Haseya glance up into the corners. The antelope ratted me out.

“The cloud, was it ever a man?”

“No. I don’t understand why it saved me, but it drove the band off and stayed with me when they came back. I do not understand, but I am grateful.”

Haseya returned to her fire, selecting and steeping herbs. “I am making a medicine of your healing plants. Rest for now. I will wake you when it’s ready.”

The antelope lay its head down and slept, and Haseya returned to human form. Zayn watched her, letting her beauty fill him. He reveled in her air, fighting the urge to shift and grab her into his arms, he waited, patient. If he seized her, he’d land in the dust again.

“Come out,” Haseya said, not looking up. “I know you came along.”

6

Zayn slipped off the sleeping antelope’s hide, careful not to disturb her. When did I become thoughtful? I’m changing into the world’s worst Djinn.

He stood before Haseya, naked. Her beauty sang in his blood as he filled with his need for her physical body. Haseya looked up, gave him an unexpected smile, and flipped a cloth over his erect penis. He smiled back, tying the cloth around his hips, covering his one-eyed lust monster, for now.

“I cannot hide my desire for you,” he murmured. “But why do you refuse me? No one ever has.”

“I am a Skinwalker, a Navajo witch. The Nation is one of healing. Skinwalkers are destructive forces of anger, death, and damage. Despite my sincere effort to remain a healer, at night, something called me to the darkness. My Nation saw the conflict, understood my desire to be a healer, and banished me. The price of my life was to remain alone and barren. I accepted that then. I accept it now.” Haseya’s dark eyes filled with her sadness, the price had never felt as heavy as it did in this moment.

Zayn rose and sat next to her, taking her hand. “I am a Djinn, a genie of smoke and wind. We are an old race, formed before humans, cast out by God for refusing to bow to man as the angels did. Djinns are everywhere, we are angry, and we create chaos and oppression amongst humans. It’s our way, forever, of showing God he erred. This anger fuels me, forms my thoughts, leads my choices, and has for thousands of years.”

His tone shifted, and he held Haseya’s gaze. “Until you.”

“I did not realize it damaged me, Haseya. Since I first found you, tasted you, craved you, everything changed. I’m saving creatures. I made a friend with a human. Well, he’s half-dragon, and there’s an alien in his woodpile too, but still!

Zayn rubbed his temple. “Haseya, I’ve tormented tens of thousands of humans in my time. I focused my entire existence on adding to their misery. Your beauty and spirit hit something so deep within me it’s unexplainable, but I have shifted in a way I cannot undo. I love you. My life is yours. If you reject me, I will die, for I have known love and there is nothing left to learn.”

The soft scrape of a hoof drew their eyes, and they looked at the nervous antelope. Haseya moved a foot, becoming an antelope once more. Curious, Zayn followed suit and shifted to an antelope form.

“Who is he," the injured antelope asked.

“He is your protector,” Haseya replied, placing the pot next to her. “Drink this, it will help your wounds to seal and heal.”

“Thank you,” the antelope said to Zayn, drinking Haseya’s broth. “I was prepared to cross but grateful to live. I carry a calf. It is good to create new circles for the world.”

“It is our purpose,” Zayn replied to the antelope but looking at Haseya. “The call of our natures is stronger than any law of man.”

“I hate most humans, they are cruel and do not kill to eat, but in play. It is not the true path," the antelope said, resting her head as the broth began its work. Sleep and healing tugged her eyes closed.

“Not every human,” Zayn said. “Many are good, but some are dark. Dark is a choice.” Turning to face his love, he continued, “Haseya, you chose the light. Sometimes darkness is the right choice, but dwelling, embracing, enjoying evil, that is also a choice. It is not the one you made. You chose light and deserve love and a child of your own.”

Haseya’s eyes washed over his heart. He was drowning. Zayn moved to her, catching her head and hip, lifting her to her sleeping pallet. Lust screamed through his veins, but the lessons learned before held his reins close. For the first time in his existence, he accepted this woman must choose him. He could not make her desire him, she was his equal, superior in many ways.

His hands explored her skin, seeking only to lift her spirit to the point of ecstasy. His lips moved over her ears, breath gentle, then a sudden nip on her earlobes. Hands sliding through her glossy black hair, he kissed her, exulting in her tongue’s exploration of his own. One hand drifted to her full breast, pulling the taut nipple with little twists while she moaned through his kisses.

Her hands, lost in his hair, pushed his head, and he untied her wrapped dress, moving his mouth to cover her nipple, first closing his lips on it with a hard squeeze, then holding it while teasing with a firm tongue. Haseya’s back arched, and Zayn closed his teeth, gentle at first, then with pressure, on her stiff nipple. As he repeated the cycle of firm tongue and greedy teeth, a groan from deep within shook Haseya.

Zayn returned to her mouth, letting her kiss him, caught in her abandon, while he threw her leg up over his shoulder. Exposed, he explored her flower, sliding his fingers over her wet labia before settling on her clitoris. Holding himself back took every bit of control Zayn had, but his calloused fingertips rubbed her base, then began with firm little taps on her nerve center, watching her writhe, seeing his touch make her come in violent spasms, head thrown back, eyes sightless with pleasure.

Zayn, starting again, kissed her, rougher this time, asking for her lust and her body’s need to respond to his touch. Haseya was fire; Zayn roasted in her heat. He was the reason, he was hers, her choice. He ran a slow hand down her body, his finger penetrated. Virgin. Her hips lifted and ground, urging him. Did she sense my pause? Of course she did. We are one.

Zayn lifted her other leg, one on each shoulder, as Haseya’s hands clutched his chest, pulling him down. Unable to stop, Zayn grabbed his throbbing cock and entered, feeling her give, opening the way, taking, needing his thrusts. Mindless in his lust, Zayn’s hands sought the small of her back, pounding into her, then gripped her firm ass. Each thrust he strained with his need to go deeper, his finger slipped into her anus. Her soft cries of passion and want were in time with his own building, his cock, slick and huge, needed release, He was ready. They both were.

Zayn’s seed exploded, his body collapsing on Haseya. I am complete. If I perish, I have lived.

7

Theo and Topper, her long hair a feisty orange with a white streak, stared at the box bouncing on Theo’s desk.

“Whoever they are, Theo, I think you’ve pissed them off properly,” Topper laughed. “That box is emanating crankiness.”

“We’re dealing with complete unknowns, Topper. I can’t reach Frost and I have little experience with aliens. Frost handled rogue aliens for a living for the Coalition as a Star Ranger. Sure could use him.”

“Those babies need to visit their Grandparents, Theo, and check out their dad’s homeworld. If these two Aliens of yours misbehave once out of the box, I’ll make myself useful.”

With a sigh, Theo pushed the release button on the box, which ejected an irritated Moku and Andok into the jail cell. Six eyes stared at Topper and Theo.

“Are we still pretending we can’t understand them, Moku?”

“Silence, Andok. You contained your Superior for a seventh of our mission with your gross incompetence. Say nothing. I will handle this.”

“I didn’t cause this, Moku! Something moved the containment chamber as I activated it!”

“Quiet!”

“Soy Moku, rango de High Scientist, en una misión para estudiar formas de vida. ¿Por qué me has detenido?”

Theo and Topper exchanged looks, and Theo sighed. “You are in NEW Mexico. En inglés, por favor?”

Moku’s eyes shot daggers at Andok, who prepared the mission background, and tried again. “I am Moku, rank of High Scientist, on a mission to study life forms. Why have you detained me?”

“I’m the law here. You understand that our planet, for the most part, is unaware of extraterrestrial life. This means you have no permission to be here according to Coalition rules. Where is your homeworld and what is your specific mission with this planet?”

“We are scientists, searching to catalog life forms. Your region returned results that interested us. These readings are unlike most places on your planet, and we want to learn why. The rules allow no-contact scientific exploration.”

“Nice job on the no-contact, since you are sitting here in my jail.” Theo reached behind his desk and pushed a package through the bars. “Here is your food. Do you require anything else for life?”

Moku nodded to Andok, who opened the packet. “Three day supply,” Andok said in their language.

“This will sustain us for today alone,” Moku replied in English. “Then we must return to our ship.”

“We’ll see about that,” Theo remarked. “You fellows are in a heap of trouble.” Turning to Topper, he added, “I need a couple hours sleep. You game to watch these two?”

“It’ll be fun!” Topper replied, slapping Theo lightly on the chest. Yummy. “Go on, rest.”

“Do you have our cloaks?” Moku asked Topper. “We are uncomfortable without covering.”

Topper’s violet eyes twinkled. “Oh, I doubt you’ll get those anytime soon, but I will find clothing for you.” Cocking her head to one side, she sized up the aliens. “Hmmm. Inelegant, but they’ll do.”

With a little wave of her hand, a package appeared, out of sight, on Theo’s chair. Topper stood, picked up the package up and pushed it through the cell bars. Moku was fast, but Topper stepped away before he reached her.

“Uh, uh, uh,” Topper chided. “That would have put you in the naughty camp.”

The aliens opened the package, finding colorful neon yoga pants and hot-pink tank tops. With difficulty, they pulled the clingy pants up over their round butts and donned the shirts.

“We look ridiculous,” Moku muttered, “but we’ll blend in wearing these earth clothes when we break out of here. Slodoon will check in, and when we don’t respond, he’ll enact Protocol A.”

Turning, he glanced at Andok. “Tell me why I should believe you when you say you didn’t accidentally put us into the containing unit.”

“I understand what it looked like, Moku. Within my cloak, a human hand appeared and turned the box. If we read the recorder for that moment, we have the proof, of a vapor and solid energy occupying the same space, that Slodoon seeks.”

Moku stared at Andok. “You are staking a lot on this wild tale, Andok. Are you sure this happened?”

“I would not lie to you, Moku.”

This was true. Moku trusted his Junior Scientist, knew he was logical and honest in his work. It was why he selected him for this mission even though there were more experienced candidates.

“Good. I believe you. Slodoon will not. We must escape and we must retrieve the recorder.”

Theo was about forty yards from the jail when the roof blew.

“Topper!” Debris bounced off his hood as he slid sideways to a stop, leaping from the truck and racing towards the door that hung sideways off its frame.

“I’m okay! Damn aliens,” Topper muttered, picking herself off the floor.

“Where are they?”

“Escaped, heading for their ship, I imagine.”

“Tell me while we roll. Let’s go!”

Theo’s truck bounced over the gravel roads. Topper sat crossed legged about six inches above the seat, floating to avoid the worst of the bumps and potholes, while adding a pillow to the roof of the truck to cushion Theo’s head.

“The littler one, that was so listless, began flopping on the floor; I tried to help him. I sealed the doors so the larger one couldn’t leave, but the skunk shot me into the container box. I’d forgotten about it! Theo, I’m sorry about your roof, but the whole jail blew when I exploded out of that box. Once we get back, I’ll fix it, you’ll never know I blasted it.”

“I’m not worried about the jail. Did they grab their stuff?”

“I think so,” Topper replied. “There was nothing on your desk when I blew out of their box. It’s not much of a box, Theo. I doubt it would hold any resident of Magic for long unless they had no magic of their own. I was expecting it to be a challenge, which is why I used a strong spell.”

“That recording device may have me and Zayn on it while transformed. What’s most important is retrieving the recorder, Topper. It’s more important than the aliens but I’d like to get a lid on the entire problem.”

“Understood.”

Laughing, Topper pointed out the window. Theo rubbed his eyes, shook his head, and rubbed his eyes again at the sight of two grey-skinned dudes in skin-tight neon yoga pants bumping booties across the scorching sand, hot-pink tank tops flapping in the dry wind.

“What the…? Never mind. I don’t need to know.” Theo gunned the truck, getting in front of them and slamming on the brakes. “Help please, Topper.”

The alien’s feet lost contact as they rose in the air, and sand lifted around them, forming an opaque orb that grew clear, turning to glass.

“Air holes, Ma’am, if you please.”

“Delighted, Lawman.”

Topper floated the orb to the back of the pickup, and Theo secured it with tie-down straps, giving it a couple extra slams against the sides of the truck bed. “Call that stupid tax.”

“How did you escape?” Moku asked Topper. “How did you make this container materialize? How do you suspend gravity?” Moku was excited. This is a major discovery!

“Answer none of that,” Theo interrupted, slamming the truck’s tailgate. This is turning into a crappy day.

8

“This is the best day of my entire life,” Zayn told Haseya, as the three antelopes lay around her fire. “And, I’ve easily had a million of them.” His eyes covered her with love and lust. Why can’t that antelope take a nap?

Haseya inclined her head to him, rising to check her patient’s wounds. “These are much better. You could return to your herd today if you wish. They are still tracking northwest, towards water.”

“I am ready. I appreciate your healing and for being like me in form.” The antelope turned to Zayn. “Thank you, Protector. I will not forget you.”

Something appreciating a Djinn? Someone loving a Djinn? My life is a complete 180 from three days ago.

“I am glad I was there,” Zayn replied, surprised to realize he meant it.

Haseya rose, motioning to the antelope. Zayn stood, melting into smoke. “You can follow me?” Haseya murmured.

“Djinns have no boundaries. We are between all the lines, my love.”

With a smokey smile, Haseya lifted the antelope and twirled, and Zayn followed.

When they materialized, hell broke loose.

“Run!”

Haseya pushed the antelope away, frantically stepping into her twirl. Zayn watched in horror as her smoke sucked into the Alien’s containment chamber. In a flash, he exploded himself into fine particulates over the plain to avoid meeting the same fate. Haseya had no opportunity for escape. Her transformation, as fast as she was, left her smoke too concentrated, and the device caught her easily.

She couldn’t see them. Haseya is the steward of the Earth, not of the planets beyond. She landed right in the middle. My love never had a chance.

Zayn’s rage, even spread out in microparticles across miles of desert, was magnificent. The dust storm raced towards the Alien’s ship as they fled to their ramp in panic. Sand drilled into every nook and crevice, filling, ruining, and burying the craft six feet deep. Zayn’s raging vibration turned it to glass, a shining dome of detention.

He shifted to an eagle and landed on the ship. Pacing, talons clicking, he turn possibilities over in his mind. I need to think, make a plan, save her from these bastards. They aren’t human, a few of my tricks won’t work. The eagle hopped along the dome, talons slipping on the curving glass. I can’t go in as smoke, it won’t work, too concentrated, they’ll bag me too. I can hold this ship here, but can’t protect her while stuck outside.

It hit Zayn like a load of bricks. I need help. I need a friend. Me, the terrorizing Djinn. I need people. Human people. What. The. Hell.

“Report!” Slodoon barked.

“Protocol A is in place, High Scientist,” Potol replied. “We have not located your original landing party. We believe someone discovered them. Their ship is here but sealed shut. We’ve not encountered this technology before, but figured out how to unseal it.”

“Cloak and search for my missing scientists. Anything further to report?”

“Yes, High Scientist. We believe we have captured a Smoke and Solid specimen. This may explain the absence of the original landing party.”

“Protocol B enacted. A second ship will arrive to extract the original party. You are to bring the collected entity to my lab immediately. Understood?” Potol smiled at the excitement in Slodoon’s voice. How I wish that I, Potol, found this breakthrough. Moku made the initial discovery; the honor was his.

“There is a slight problem, High Scientist. Sand disabled our craft. A dust storm buried us, and filled our drives. We cannot operate or lift off.”

An angry sputtering flowed from the cockpit’s comm system.

“I will consult with the council and contact you in one earth hour. Be ready, Potol.”

Potol sighed in silence. “I am standing by, High Scientist.” I can’t be anywhere else.

“Montu!” Potol snapped. “What is our status?

“Our craft cannot fly. The sand fouls many of our systems, including our drives and hatches. A scan indicates that a hard crust of sand that was liquified and hardened covers the entire exterior.”

“Is that a normal phenomenon for this planet, Montu?”

“No, Potol, it is not. This planet has electrical lightning that can change the sand to this substance, but this covering on our ship appears manufactured, not natural.”

“There was more than one entity! They want to prevent us from taking the specimen! Continue scanning, Montu. We need to get this ship operational. Find the weakness.”

“There is one other issue, Potol. Our life support cannot pull air from outside or generate it from within.”

“That is our priority repair. Direct primary life support to the specimen. Our mission is clear. But, if we can save ourselves, that would be optimal.”

Theo sat in his truck, blinking. As the Sheriff in Magic, unusual spectacles landed in front of him from time to time, but the sight of a glass-covered spaceship topped with a pissed-off Djinn was a new one. Zayn appears normal, at least, so there’s that. Theo swung out of the pickup and shielded his eyes, looking up at him.

“Howdy, Zayn. Mind telling me what happened here?”

The Djinn, whose current shape was the head and wings of a dragon, the body of a bear, huge bull balls, and what looked like an alligator tail, slid down the slope of the ship, landing with a howling roar that raised the back hairs on Theo’s neck. Rumbling forward on two legs, swiping the air with long, lethal claws, the Djinn threw his snout up, shooting fire into the sky.

“Very pretty,” Theo said, outwardly unflappable, adjusting his weight to unclench his sphincter. “The big balls are a nice touch. You’d scare the crap out of any human within ten miles of you.”

Zayn slumped, shifting into a dispirited dust devil that revolved anemically around Theo’s truck.

OK, this is straight up not normal. Djinns are lots of things, but dejected is not one.

“Zayn, what’s going on?”

The dust devil slowed and stopped, shifting to human form. Theo passed the sweatpants automatically.

“I met a woman. I met the woman. She agreed to have me.”

Mentally snorting over the concept of this Djinn being patient enough to woo, Theo nodded, poker-faced.

“Her name is Haseya. She’s not a Djinn, but she can shift and cross the interdimensional plane. The aliens from this new ship took her, Theo. I’m sure this is why they’re here. This ship,” Zayn jerked a thumb back over his shoulder, “is not going anywhere, but if I slip in, they’ll bag me. They can catch concentrated smoke. I must save Haseya! It’s killing me.”

Theo shot a quick look at Zayn but detected no trickery on his face. This Djinn, as improbable as it seemed, was in full-on rescue mode for love. I’m looking forward to meeting her. Any woman who can knock this mighty genie down to lovesick puppy status, in three days, belongs here in Magic.

“This dovetails with my information. The first ship’s aliens are at Topper’s place. She’s got them in a big glass cue ball, and everything they ask is about how she suspends natural law. This ability must be the signature they scanned for, and it’s why this second ship appeared. You’ve boxed this ship, Zayn, for now. My gut says, since they sent a second, they will send a third. Looks like finding something in Magic is important to them. Whatever they want from us, I don’t think it will become a ‘let’s be friends’ moment.”

“I will kill them all. I excel at vengeance.”

“They’ll send more, Zayn. When they do, Haseya won’t be the only one in danger. Every person in Magic is a potential target. We need a plan.”

9

Haseya swirled in the container. After exploring it, she found weak points she could use, but once escaped, she’d still be in the ship, with her captors and unknown options.

“I won’t kill them,” she said aloud, weighing her choices. “Crossing to the dark side for self-preservation is a step I’m not willing to take.”

A faulty seal was her exit point, and Haseya slipped out just enough, planning to take a quick look and withdraw back into the container, but something was wrong. Her container, placed behind a glass panel, overlooked the main area of the ship. Lights flashed and sirens rang. Both Aliens were lying on the ground, in obvious distress. Haseya flowed out of the container and felt for any tiny weakness in the glass observation panel or surrounding walls.

“Here!” In a flash, she escaped into the cockpit, bending to examine the first alien. “He’s dying. What is happening to them?”

Wasting no more time, she lifted both bodies, stepped into her twirl and vanished.

Back at her fire, she examined the one alien, learning his anatomy, feeling in his mind.

“He’s not dying, they were running out of air,” she observed as he stirred. “Oh, Zayn, my love,” she laughed softly, “what did you do?” The other alien moved too, so Haseya transformed, mimicking the Alien body, and sat by her fire in silence.

“Potol, wake up! Are you hurt?” Montu glanced around, puzzled by the hut and silent Haseya, whose eyes remained on them.

Potol stirred, pushing himself up and looking around. “Montu, where are we? How did we get here? Who are you?” he addressed Haseya. “What happened to us?”

“Oxygen deprivation," Haseya answered.

“How did we get here? What are our coordinates?”

“I brought you. You were dying. I am a healer.”

“Take us back to our ship!” Potol ordered.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Haseya’s amused dark eyes looked at the two aliens. “If I return you, you will die in an airless ship. As a healer, I cannot cause your death. You will stay while I determine the best course of action.”

“That’s unacceptable,” sputtered Potol, rising. “Come Montu, we will find our ship ourselves.”

Flinging open the hut’s door, he stepped out and screamed, falling. Montu lunged, pulling him from the void back into the hut.

“There’s nothing out there!” Potol’s arrogance was fading fast.

Haseya glanced at him, then at their spaces by the fire, silent until they sat down opposite her.

“Being contained isn’t fun, is it? Treating others like a specimen, I believe those were your words, does not respect the gift of living. You violated the Earth with your actions. I saved you, but you are still arrogant, unwilling to learn anything beyond that to which you have not sworn allegiance.”

Potol opened and closed his mouth.

“What are you?” Montu asked. “We thought you were an aberration, a half-life with a useful skill.”

Haseya, in her alien form, looked at him, her eyes seeing the lies he’d eaten, the partial truths that made his exploration, kidnappings, and killings of his ‘specimens’ feel justified, and felt her anger rise. Without comment, she shot a hand of smoke out and touched Montu on his forehead, sending all the pain of the creatures he’d encountered back into him. Montu jerked away, screaming.

Before Potol could react, Haseya touched his forehead, watching him fall beside Montu, their shrieks filling the hut. They have no tear ducts. Interesting. They’ve bred themselves clean of emotion.

“You cannot shed tears, but you can experience the death-wails you left behind, the horror you inflicted can now fill your blood, and you will learn. Oh, my little grey friends, how you shall learn.”

“The location of the entity sounds promising, Slodoon. Your efficiency in retrieving it far less so.”

“I will bring you the specimen, fulfilling the terms of our agreement,” Slodoon replied to the Morduck on his main screen, covering his deep fright with arrogance. “We are the greatest conclave for scientific discovery in the Coalition. You will have your entity.”

Slodoon disconnected and paced, anger radiating with every step. I now have two teams of scientists missing, two ships on the surface that aren’t responding to communication, and a promising specimen. I need information!

It was three earth hours since he’d been able to raise Potol on the comm channel and three earth days since he’d reached Moku. He wasn’t supposed to send his people to Earth in the first place. The Coalition list of forbidden planets was clear. Sighing, Slodoon eased into his console. The credits offered, to find life forms able to change from solid to vapor and back, were substantial.

I’ll be rich beyond my wildest dreams, as long as these Morduck honor our agreement and not kill me. I regret the fate of these specimens, forced to become a new type of soldier or utilized as a weapon to seize power from the Coalition. Once they do, they’ll open the mining, well, the marauding, might as well be blunt, of unsophisticated worlds. But, with the Morduck’s promise of full, unfettered support for my scientists, we will be a beacon of discovery, advancing knowledge in the entire universe.

“Well, mostly the quarters of war. But, I’ll be rich, famous, and remembered. It’s a good trade.” Slodoon said to the empty room. But first, he needed that specimen.

“Krotig! My office, now.” Krotig, his direct report, was the only one aware of the entire scope of Slodoon’s secret mission.

“High Scientist?”

“Krotig, I need options for a specimen retrieval from that non-Coalition planet. They appear to be resisting. We have two ships stranded, two teams missing, and the specimen is the highest priority. I’ve sent details to your workstation.”

“By when, High Scientist?”

“As close to now as possible, Krotig.”

10

Once Zayn glassed over the Alien spaceship, the jig was up in Magic, and Theo’s town hall meeting had a near one-hundred percent turnout.

“Except for Frost and Lacey, two people I could sure use,” Theo muttered.

Topper shot him a side-eye and shook her head. “Theo, this town will not stand by. They are ready to help. Once we’ve contained this, Frost will be back and can do the Coalition stuff. It’s not like we need them on this end right now.”

Theo looked at Topper. Her spirit and feistiness fill the room and change the air.

Topper caught his glance and shot him an impish grin. I could put your smile back on your face, Lawman. Just watch me.

Theo stepped forward, clearing his throat. “Folks, we have a situation. Three days ago, an alien spacecraft touched down outside town and stunned Zayn, who was investigating.” Well, sort of.

“They injured Zayn in the life form he’d taken. A healer named Haseya rescued him. When Haseya returned Zayn to Magic, the aliens captured her and tried to capture Zayn. He glassed their ship over, to prevent the kidnapping.”

Theo looked around. The people in Magic tolerated more than liked Zayn, and Haseya was a complete stranger. Will they want to help?

“Based on what I’ve seen and been able to get out of these aliens so far,” Theo gestured to the floating ball containing the aliens in yoga pants that Topper brought with her to the meeting, “I believe they are looking for shifters, with the mission to take any they find back to their laboratories.”

Many in the crowd muttered, staring at the encapsulated aliens.

“Folks, they sent a second ship after losing communication with the first, so we need to prepare for them to send more.” Heads nodded. “If they do, based on what our fashionable friends here say,” Theo gestured to the floating ball, “Any entity that suspends natural law is at risk.”

Everyone exchanged looks. This was the whole purpose of Magic. It was their place to be whatever they were, unmolested. The sound of the muttering grew louder, and the aliens shrank towards the back of their ball, which obliged by rolling, landing them on their backs like a couple of tie-dyed beetles. Several of the Magic residents laughed; the crowd was with him. No longer a hassle towards a non-resident and one that was often an ass, this was a threat to all.

“Well done,” Topper murmured.

“I’m uncertain what we face, but we need to be ready. If they send another ship, and we delay that landing party, they will send more. They’ll reach their tipping point and send as many as necessary to get what they want. It will get messy.”

“We can hide or move the whole town, but that will endanger Frost, Lacey, and their babies when they return. Another option is leaving town and hiding elsewhere.”

“No!” Zayn’s deep voice cut through the crowd and he walked forward. “Magic is a place for people and creatures who ran, hid, then ran again. We know that history, Theo, as do you. Here, in Magic, is the greatest concentration of power on the entire planet. We should stand. I, for one, am done running.”

Many in the crowd nodded, and Theo looked at his neighbors, the ones he swore to protect. “What if we lose people or they’re captured? Are you prepared to condemn your neighbor to pain, suffering, or death?”

“I’m ready to fight for my neighbor,” Topper declared.

“I will fight as if they were my own,” Zayn said, as Theo watched the crowd. A few looked flabbergasted at Zayn’s words.

The chorus of “I will fight”, “Me too”, “This is our town”, wafted up from the group. Theo rubbed his forehead. I did not expect them to rally around Zayn. Hell, half of them make it a point to avoid him. It’s like they can feel the change in him. I want, hell, need a vacation after we settle this. Someplace without Djinns.

In the space between the crowd and where Theo and Topper stood on the little platform, Haseya materialized with Potol and Montu. Topper shot the spell before anyone could react, forming the sand around the aliens as Haseya stepped back, ready to leave them.

Zayn had her in a flash. “Stay. You need to remain for a moment. Please, Haseya.”

Haseya pulsed, electric in his touch. I could not leave if I wanted to. Every cell within me calls for him.

Topper’s newest orb, complete with air holes, bobbed above the crowd who were milling under the orbs pointing and talking.

Theo motioned to Zayn and Haseya to join him as the citizens settled down. Topper stepped back up onto the little platform with an inquisitive glance at Haseya. Theo stared at her, forcing himself to look away after a moment. She was gorgeous and powerful. Lit from within. No wonder Zayn was a fool about her.

“Ma’am,” Theo nodded. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“May I speak?” Haseya asked. Theo nodded, hoping he wasn’t making a colossal mistake.

“Greetings. I am Haseya, the Healer. Many moons ago I heard the call of your council to come to sit by your fire and become one of you. I chose not to heed the call, but I am grateful you sent it.”

The crowd exchanged glances, and a voice halfway back asked, “What form of magic are you, Haseya?”

“I am a Navajo Skinwalker, cast away as a darkness from my Nation long ago, to continue as long as I remained on the path of healing the earth and its creatures. In this role, I met your tribal member Zayn, who sustained a head injury at the hands of your captives.” Haseya gestured to the colorful Moku and Andok.

“These two,” she pointed at Potol and Montu, “revealed their true mission. They are here to capture and steal the ones who shift, for their scientific research, but they have doubts. In their hearts, they fear the entities they steal away must become soldiers or weapons of war against something they call ‘The Coalition’. I have shown them the error of their ways and that their quest for knowledge has pain and consequences. These two have learned. The ones to follow have not. Driven by a lack of respect for creatures and a willingness to hurt them, they consider none but themselves as superior. They see their mission as a noble endeavor. I come to you with a warning. These non-earth beings do not care about your life force; they are incapable of emotion which makes their brutality easy.”

Haseya stepped back, Zayn’s arms closing around her. What am I doing? Although this feels right, I must choose.

11

A plan, of deploying trolls and dwarfs who would not register any kind of unusual energy signature as they patrolled the perimeter, emerged. Werewolves agreed to be the runners, relaying communication from the front, where they planned to fight, to the town,

“Stay in wolf form,” Theo cautioned. “We need to keep them from coming towards the town, looking for more shifting signatures.”

“Please, please, please let us help,” Jonah and Joseph wheedled.

Theo looked at their begging brown eyes, considering. “You can, if your parents approve, but I need you here in town. I need fast runners to relay messages across town,” Theo told them. “Jonah, you run north and south. Joseph, I want you to run east and west. Under no circumstances can you shift, understood? This is important work. I’m counting on you.”

The boys nodded, suddenly serious. “OK, Theo.”

“Haseya confirmed that it is the act of changing form that gives off the energy signature they seek. Stay in your form for the duration. Shifting is what they are looking for,” Theo told the werewolves, vampires, and shifters. “Vamps, remain in your human form and guard the children in the new jail. Protect them at all costs.” Theo fixed an eye and saw they received the unspoken message.

Across the town square, Topper addressed the witches and warlocks. “Unity of spells is important. We don’t need fancy; cast ones that any of us can undo. Shrink spells and orbs.” Topper gestured to the new orbs floating next to her, with tiny enraged Aliens hopping in them. “Don’t forget the air holes. We don’t want to kill them, they are our bargaining chips. The Coalition can sort this out. Remember, if the attacking aliens break or steal the orbs, they won’t be able to return these captives to full size. We’re going for impotency, here.”

“Having looked at them, they have that sewn up,” one witch laughed.

“Witches, spread out in pairs, like the spokes of a wheel. Put one of each pair near the front to help the trolls and dwarfs, and one nearer the town as a fallback. Put a sending spell on every orb and send them to me,” Topper smiled. “Leave no unprotected spaces, and have fun, dear sisters.”

Turning to the warlocks, Topper said, “Gentlemen, the town is yours. If they get this far, you have your discretion. Theo has the vamps inside, protecting our children, you have everything else.”

The first watch of trolls, dwarfs, and wolves left, and Theo rubbed his eyes. When did I last sleep?

Topper handed him a cup. “Drink this, it’ll help. Nobody is sleeping for a while.” Their eyes connected, held too long, and Theo smiled.

Zayn lifted Haseya and carried her up the steps of his porch to the hanging bed he kept there. “I like sleeping under the stars. Being here with you is everything I’ve ever wanted or needed.”

His finger slid a lock of her long silky hair away from her ear, bending to trace the curves of her ear with his tongue, releasing his warm breath slowly, filling her with heat and pleasure. She turned into him, kissing him fully, then rolling on top of him. Sitting on his growing cock, trapped in his jeans, she smiled down at him.

“I hate pants," Zayn said, laughing.

“I love you,” Haseya whispered. “I have honored my vow to the Nation for hundreds of years, but my heart cries out for you.”

Zayn wanted to pull her in and make her mindless, his hands yearned for her skin, but he stopped, looking into her eyes. “I respect that vow, and you for making it. When your Nation spared your life, this was a respect shown to you. You are more, Haseya. Your life glows with the peace of healing and protection. Even as a young woman, they must have seen you as beyond a darkness to be feared.”

“I tried to be the light,” Haseya said, her eyes holding Zayn’s. “I am sorrowing, but this desire for you is beyond anything I’ve ever known.”

“Does your love for me make you crave darkness? Are you swamped in vengeance?” Zayn asked, running his big hands up her bare arms to her shoulders, and sliding them back down with a slow firm sensuousness over each muscle, before loosely circling her wrists.

“No, I am not. I have been vengeful. I killed in anger when the Nation clashed with the white men and the men of Mexico. I punished them for corralling the Nation, for kidnapping the children, killing the warriors, and raping the women. In their dreams, I screamed, punishing their sanity for their desecration of the land and the animals. Vengeance seethed throughout my body, but I stopped, sick from the sensation of each death stealing my life force. The last one, as I bent to slay him, I paused. He was young, a man-child. I lifted him and created the hut. I saved him and returned him. He was my beginning, and also my end.”

“You are more than the label ‘Skinwalker’, Haseya. You rose above that.”

“In the language of my people, Haseya means, She Rises.”

Zayn looked at her, seeing the pattern in the Universe, receiving more in one moment than he thought possible. Releasing her wrists, he turned, laying her beside him, kissing her as each cell sparked, connecting, the air humming around them. His hands moved to open her dress, pushing it off her shoulders and freeing her arms to embrace him once more. Each kiss, small nip, and soothing tongue folded him to her.

Meant. This connection, orchestrated from centuries before, comes to completion now.

Zayn touched her, devouring each smooth curve of muscle, delighting in her response as his lightest touch raised the downy hair on her skin, chuckling into the softness of her throat as he watched goosebumps of desire rise, then smooth out as a silken sheen of sweat covered her, her body aching for him, each pore of her beautiful skin showing him the way of her.

Moving his mouth to her nipples, he sucked them in long pulls, finishing with a gentle closing of teeth and frantic tonguing. Haseya’s back arched, and she ground her hips toward his cock, still encased in his jeans. She reached in desperation for his zipper, and Zayn caught her wrists, rolling her onto her back, holding her hands down on either side of her bucking hips. Using his forearms to open her thighs further and hold her still, he lowered his mouth, licking her labia open, savoring her taste, before flicking a firm and quick tongue across her swollen bud, sliding his mouth up and down the stem of her clitoris, and flicking the bud once more, teasing and releasing her again and again, until she shook with desire.

Zayn held her, watching her orgasm burst across her body, lighting her nerves like wildfire. I can see this electricity tracing along her skin when she alights from pleasure. She truly is lit from within.

Lifting himself, Zayn shucked his jeans off with a thump, and lay back down beside Haseya, watching the golden lines of electricity slow and fade as she returned to him, unseeing eyes regaining sight, seeking his. I want nothing more than her, forever.

Haseya touched him, and Zayn groaned, holding himself back to let her explore, curious and growing bold. She examined, gripped and squeezed him, and he coached, gently, to what pleased him. Haseya opened her lips to take his swollen head, sliding her tongue along the shaft as Zayn moaned. She looked at him, mouth full of his throbbing cock and the sight of those eyes nearly tipped him over the edge.

Flipping her, Zayn entered her from behind, enjoying her surprised cries and moans of pleasure as he angled to hit her G-spot over and over. Haseya’s hips shook as golden lightning raced from her spine, across her back, over her round butt, and down her legs. The tingle of her light as it erupted between his hands and her skin was intense and Zayn felt himself flying past the point of no return. Thrusting hard, he slammed deep into her, balls tight and ready, the world greying out as his seed burst inside her. His hands released their death grip on her hips, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“I love you, Haseya. You are my reason to be, and to continue.”

Under the stars, still connected, the lovers slipped into sleep.

12

Topper’s eyes roamed over Zayn’s nude back, following the curve from shoulder to narrow hip and an incredible ass. Lucky Haseya.

“Wake up, Zayn. We’ve got company. No shifting.”

Vanishing before the Djinn rolled over and showed her more than was appropriate, Topper popped back in front of Theo. “Message delivered. Got my no pants moment.” Topper’s eye crinkled in amusement as she watched a thread of thought cross Theo’s mind. Good. You should worry. Get a move on, Lawman. We could have fun together.

The sound of a motorcycle rumbled in the distance. Theo and Topper stepped out, watching Zayn and Haseya, their long hair streaming behind them, roll up in a cloud of New Mexico dust. The bike, an old Indian with fringe on the seats and saddlebags, seemed perfect for them.

“I’d hoped we’d have more time,” Theo told them inside his office, gesturing to a huge map of Magic and the surrounding desert. “The red pins are the original two spaceships. Green pins are the new arrivals. These ships are bigger. Notice how they are flanking us. My guess is that they intend to pin us in town and entrap us.”

“So far, the witches are watching but aren’t engaging, per instructions. Let the aliens make the first move. That will provide more information on their tactics while hiding our abilities to fight them. I’d hoped we could have you two shift to the interdimensional plane since you seem to be the primary targets, but the window for you to do that without drawing attention to everyone else is closed. So, we run it as per the original plan.”

Jonah trotted in, panting. “One of the new ships is blasting the glassed-over ship, breaking the glass. Trolls said to tell you, they are almost in and once they see it’s empty, they’ll be on the move.”

“Good job, kid. Head back, so we can see what they try next," Theo said, giving the cub a rare smile as Jonah showed his toothy grin and loped out.

Jonah headed out, clearing the town square as Joseph raced in, skidding sideways in his eagerness to give his message.

“Theo! Dwarf Abraham said there are two kinds of aliens in the second ships and there‘s a bunch.”

“How many is a bunch, Joseph?”

“Abraham said maybe forty.”

Theo, Zayn, and Haseya exchanged looks. Forty was doable.

“Of each kind! Abraham said they all are carrying the boxes you mentioned, and weapons, too.”

“Crap,” Theo said. Two kinds? The second ones could be the bosses, or they may be the enforcers. Either way, they were dealing with an unknown threat.

“Joseph, find your father or one of the other werewolves. Their messages are first, tell Abraham to pull the trolls and dwarfs back to the outer line of witches. And second, tell the witches to start going after them. Get them shrunk and in orbs, but be quiet and quick. Quiet is the key, Joseph. It’s important to avoid being seen for as long as possible. RUN.”

“I need you to ride to the inner line of witches and bring them up to speed, then get back, Zayn.”

Zayn nodded, swinging a leg over the Indian, kicking the motor to life, and sliding around in the dust towards the witches.

Topper materialized in front of Theo.

“I’m getting orbs.” She vanished, but not before letting her eyes twinkle at him.

Theo and Haseya stepped outside the office into the street. The air was humming with magic, and Theo’s hair stood on end. He looked at Haseya, dumbstruck. Gone was the beautiful maiden, dark-eyed and silken-haired. In her place stood a creature of death. Haseya looked at him. “Be not afraid, Lawman. They can’t sense this shift. The air changed; it pulled my true form to the surface.”

Theo looked at her black skin, an infinite matte that absorbed light. Haseya’s eyes were solid gleaming black and her long midnight-black hair brushed the ground. Fingers, tipped with curving claws, hung at her sides. Her fierce teeth flashed in a blood-red mouth when she spoke.

“Witchcraft?” Theo spoke once he was certain he had control of his voice. And my bowels.

“Yes," she turned, her voice the sound of death. “Not what they seek.”

“I’m sure you’ll get their attention.”

“I am their final vision.”

Holy crap. Theo cleared his throat. “I’d planned for you and Zayn to be the last resort, to shift and then smoke them if all else failed, to give us cover to flee.”

“I will be part of that plan if needed. Until then, I join the witches in the inner circle.”

“Can you do those spells?”

“I will bring clarity to the lost, restore balance to the earth, and teach truth to the wicked," Haseya intoned, turning her head to look at Theo, her death voice twisting in his ears. She fell through the earth only to rise from it near the inner circle.

What the hell, Zayn? That woman could make a dragon crap his pants.

“Toppe…”

Topper was there before he finished.

“I heard. She’s powerful, Theo. Let’s let things roll for now. At least she is on our side. We have a new, matte-black gun.”

Theo held her glance for a moment, then looked over her shoulder at the incoming boil of dust that was Zayn returning, and nodded. “He’s in for a surprise.”

“Yep.” Topper vanished back to collect the incoming orbs, but the sense of the Skinwalker was everywhere. Stay in the light, Haseya. Stay in the light.

13

“Where is she," Zayn sputtered, after a quick glance into the office showed him Haseya was missing.

“Skinwalkers are witches, Zayn. She wanted to help. I don’t control her, and neither do you,” Theo answered. And believe me, Bud, I doubt there’s a force on earth, including the Djinn, that can. “Besides, I think she’ll be useful.”

The punch came so fast that Theo barely slid his chin out of the way; it landed hard on his shoulder as he staggered back a few steps.

“Useful?” Zayn roared. “You let her go to the fighting to be useful?”

“I don’t have time to fight you, Zayn,” Theo said, setting his feet and squaring off. “I’m dealing with two spaceships containing two kinds of aliens, a town full of targets, and a bunch of little kids stashed in my jail for protection. Get a grip! She wanted to help, she heals people, it’s her decision, and she went. If we need to make a run for it, she’ll return and join you in providing cover for us to escape.”

Theo watched Zayn decide, dropping his shoulders as Joseph bolted across the town square. Zayn crouched, snatching him up before he hit the building. Joseph was too out of breath to speak, fright screaming out of his eyes.

“Th-e, the new aliens, n-not the three-eyed ones, are shooting at the witches. They hurt one. A three-eyed a-alien tried to put her in the b-box and then this b-black woman rose up out of the g-g-ground and touched h-him. The alien screamed, Theo! Who was she? She’s s-something else. The hurt witch got away, and the black one s-sank into the g-ground. Like w-water.”

Zayn set Joseph down and looked at Theo.

“It’s OK, Joseph, that’s Zayn’s girlfriend,” Theo said, keeping his voice light and squatting down to be eye level with Joseph. His eyes flicked up to take in Zayn’s face. “She’s on our side. Drink this water, and head back. Tell the others she is with us. If you see an alien closer to you than a hundred yards, you hightail it to the jail. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir. I do,” Joseph said, lapping from the bowl Theo handed him.

Zayn stared at Theo. As Joseph headed out the door, he erupted. “Black witch?”

“Yeah. She’s not shifting, Zayn. Haseya’s a little, uh, intimidating in her witch form.”

“Under these circumstances, this healing is the best I can do," Haseya told the injured witch who nodded as Haseya returned to the battle.

In front of her, a witch was sending an orb, and beyond that, the dust showed where the aliens were shooting their weapons, trying to hit two witches. Haseya saw one stumble, going down to her knees as an alien pulled the containment chamber off his back. Haseya dropped into the earth, materializing next to the alien, touching his forehead and changing his chamber into a tumbleweed. His shrieking filled the air as he fell to the ground, holding his head with a piteous cry.

Haseya ignored him and lifted the witch, healing her from the wound, then turning once more into the dust and shouting. Over and over, she healed and taught, letting other witches shrink and orb her howling victims, moaning in the knowledge of the pain they wrought in their lifetimes, as consolidated karma fell into their minds.

Come.

Haseya paused, surprised, then sunk into the earth, rising at the feet of Topper until she towered over her in silence.

“I need to understand what you’ve done to them,” Topper said, her voice serious.

“They have blocked their emotions. I am placing the pain, sorrow, and fear of their many victims back into them, so they can learn what they are.”

“Is this one dead?” Topper gestured to an orb with a silent, still form within it.

With a wave, Haseya removed the orb, and the alien fell into her black palm. She placed a finger in its chest, feeling its life-force. “It is overwhelmed, but it lives," Haseya replied, her voice indifferent.

“I ask that you not kill them with these lessons of yours, my sister,” Topper said, looking into Haseya’s eyes.

Sister. Sister? I appear as a Skinwalker and she sees a sister?

“They would only die if they were never kind, only always cruel,” Haseya told Topper.

“We must choose to be better. No killing. The laws they break are not ours, the justice served will not be by us. We fight only to preserve and protect.”

Haseya looked at Topper and nodded. “No killing," she agreed as she fell back into the earth once more.

Topper recast the alien into an orb with a sigh and caught another orb as it whizzed around the corner. Sixteen.

Jonah yelped as the shot hit his leg, causing him to fall and roll in the dust. He tried to rise, but his leg wasn’t doing what he wanted it to do. Panicked, he got up on three legs, limping, dragging the damaged limb. It hurt. He wanted to cry but in wolf form, he couldn’t.

I guess being a runner wasn’t such a great idea. Jonah whimpered and kept hopping, searching for a dwarf or troll to help him. Why isn‘t anyone around? The dust settled, and the hackles rose on Jonah’s neck and spine. Jonah growled deep in his throat at the group of aliens, holding a few dwarfs, that blocked his path.

“Run!” they screamed at Jonah, as the aliens started to suck the dwarfs into containment chambers. Jonah wheeled, afraid, moving in an awkward half-trot. A witch cast spells, her hands a blur. One alien shrank, but they forced the witch to vanish under the heavy fire of their guns.

Jonah limped but kept going. He knew these aliens were too close to town, that they’d gotten past the trolls and witches somehow, and that Theo needed to know.

I’m getting away! They either didn’t see me leave or they think I’m just an animal! I can do this, I can…

The alien patted his containment chamber, “This one appears promising.”

A barrage of spells blasted at them and shrunk two of the aliens. The remaining aliens pulled together, then faded back to report and regroup.

Orbs flew in. Topper caught them. Twenty-three.

14

The first skirmish over, the little town regrouped, taking stock. Theo looked at the assembled. They were dirty, sweat-stained, and dust puffed off their clothes as they half-heartedly tried to brush each other off. The children in the jail had spent their day making a meal for the fighters. Sandwiches and cake disappeared as parents and neighbors patted the children’s heads.

“Thank you," Topper said, bending down to smile at a small witch with red curls. “You did well.”

Theo caught a vamp’s eye. The children bowed to applause as the vampires corralled them back to the jail for the night. Rising, Theo addressed his town.

“I am happy to report no deaths today. While there were injuries, Haseya healed most on site, keeping our talented witches ready to fight. Today, our witches captured thirty-seven aliens.”

The crowd applauded with enthusiasm, and the witches waved, smiling.

“Now for the bad news. The aliens captured two trolls, four dwarfs and one of the werevamp cubs.”

The crowd gasped and muttered. Theo let the news run over them, raising his hand for silence after a minute.

“The fact they got that close to town is worrisome. They were into the inner ring of protection. While delivering a message, Jonah ended up in the wrong place at the worst time. The witch in that section took heavy fire but shrank three of the aliens and retrieved one container, freeing our dwarf friend, Abraham.”

Gesturing to a box placed on the platform, Theo stepped aside as Abraham climbed onto the box and stood to address the crowd.

“Neighbors, I wish I had better news. They’re hunting the dwarfs and trolls. Each time they caught one of us, they adjusted the sensors on their scanners, making it impossible to hide. I’ve lived a long time. A soldier has a certain look. The first ones, the three-eyes, they are not soldiers, although they fight well. These others though, are well trained, learning and adapting as they fight. Tomorrow will be far more difficult.”

Topper stood and stepped up onto the platform. “Two witches sustained injuries too severe to allow them to fight in the field. I’m moving them to the town, and two warlocks will take their places tomorrow. For those who are unaware, Haseya joined us on the field today; both in healing the injured and fighting the aliens, she was resourceful and saved many witches from injury.”

Topper looked around intending to point to her, but Haseya was nowhere to be seen.

“I’m pleased to report that we have, with the aliens captured earlier, forty-one total captives. However, we have only two of the soldier-type ones. They are our top priority tomorrow. If we can reduce their numbers, this will help us push back the attack.”

Theo stepped forward once more. “This was a good day. Tomorrow will be much more difficult. We may lose people, the aliens may overrun our town. This fight belongs to everyone. What say you, Magic?”

The murmuring began, soft but growing, as neighbors talked out options. After about fifteen minutes, Theo sensed a decision and raised his hand once more.

Simon, Jonah’s werewolf father, stepped forward. “Theo, we agree, for the most part. We want to open the portal to the Glacian homeworld and send the children, including Joseph, and a request for Coalition support. We know they don’t have to help us, but we should ask.”

The first time Frost, a Glacian, came to Magic, the citizens of Magic figured out how to create a window between the two worlds. It was a rare occurrence that the town opened it, but this sounded like a prudent move.

Simon continued. “That way, we can use the vamps and warlocks more effectively. We also think many of our citizens own the night and we should use this pause as a chance to spy.”

Theo looked at the nodding heads.

“Prepare the children, and I’ll write an explanation for them to carry with them. They depart in fifteen minutes. Simon, a word privately?”

Simon nodded, looking like he knew what was coming.

“This is your decision, but I think Joseph’s connection to Jonah may prove useful in locating him. They always sense the location of the other one.”

“Their mother said the same thing.”

“I’ve got to write my request to the Glacians. If Joseph goes, I’ll need the name for the manifest.”

“It’s a hell of a thing, Theo.”

The men gripped hands and bumped shoulders.

“Last week, my biggest job was keeping pants on the Djinn,” Theo agreed. “Time to kick these aliens out of our peaceful little town.”

The entire town stood in the square, and Theo handed the oldest child the letter for the Glacian Council. As the portal opened, the children stepped through, waving to their parents and vanishing. When the portal closed, Simon ruffled Joseph’s fur.

“Stay close, Son. Understood?”

“Yeah, Dad. I can feel Jonah, he’s in the ship with the bad aliens. He’s hurt.”

“The day will be ours, Joseph. We will get Jonah back.”

Joseph looked up at his dad , feeling his power flex. “I wouldn’t want to be an alien tonight, Dad.”

Simon laughed. “You should see your Mother, Son. She’s ready to rumble.”

Theo and Topper sat in the empty jail. The cell held a single orb containing the unknown Aliens. Across the square, the remaining orbs sat in the bank, on the floor of the safety deposit box room.

“Why are you here?” Theo addressed the tiny, pissed-off aliens, and raised an eyebrow.

“My goodness, are they mad,” Topper remarked,

Topper, once the orb was in place, covered the cell in a sheet of magnifying glass, so they could see every expression or attempt at trickery. She presented the aliens with a mirror; they saw nothing but themselves in all their tiny glory.

“I might have bent that glass to make them look smaller than they are,” Topper whispered.

Theo shot her a side eye and grinned.

“You should smile more, it suits you,” she teased, still whispering.

“Why are you here?” Theo asked the prisoners again. “I’ve got time. You, however, will continue to shrink until you perish. When you answer questions, you will increase in size. Your fate is entirely in your hands.”

Topper’s eyes sparkled. She could bend that glass all night, letting the aliens believe that what was changing was them. She held her fist up for a bump, and Theo’s eyes twinkled back as he tapped it.

The aliens exchanged looks, and one spoke. “It is you who will die.”

“You think? From where I‘m sitting it looks like we have a third of your forces contained after a single skirmish. Enlighten me, please, on how this attack is going so well for you.”

“You are nothing! We are legion. We take what we need and wipe the rest from existence.”

Theo looked at Topper and held up a thumb and forefinger, moving them together slightly. Waving her hand, Topper adjusted the glass to reflect the orb shrinking, while the bed in the cell stayed the same size. Their reward was an angry noise from the orb.

“Stop! How are you able to subjugate the natural law of your planet? We demand answers!”

Theo pushed his finger and thumb slightly closer and Topper obliged.

The aliens exchanged looks. Theo looked at their hard, scaly greenish-grey skin, elongated body, and well-developed arms and legs. Unlike the three-eyed race, these looked fit and like trouble. Soldiers. Committed to their mission. I doubt they’ll divulge much.

“We are here to retrieve the scientists you stole.”

“By shooting up my citizens and trying to attack my town? Why not send a landing party to meet and discuss terms?”

“You appeared hostile.”

Theo snorted. Catching Topper’s eye, he increased the space between his thumb and forefinger by a small amount, and Topper adjusted the mirror. The aliens exchanged another look.

“If you return all our party to us, we will leave your planet.”

“Taking no specimens?” Theo drew the word out, watching the aliens. Their narrowing eyes gave him the answer.

“I think the Coalition can handle you. This is their problem. You dumped it in my lap, but I don’t have to keep it.”

This had an effect. The two stiffened their bodies and exchanged a brief look as Theo watched carefully.

“You are not a Coalition planet. Why would they care about this low-tech race?”

“Why do you?”

“We will prevail, Earth human. You are nothing compared to the power you are unleashing. Your puny efforts will fail, we will take what we need and destroy the rest. The Coalition will fall. Calling them is an idle threat.”

Theo raised an eyebrow, jerking his head towards the door. Topper nodded, stepping silently outside with Theo behind her.

“They are sending an invasion fleet. My impression is that they operate beyond Coalition law. This is bad, Topper. Far worse than I thought. Can you find Haseya?”

“She came when I called once, Theo. All I can do is ask.”

“Then ask! Please, Topper.”

Ooh. Beg me, Lawman. “Consider it done, Theo.”

15

Haseya stood outside the ship, melting back into the earth and rising in another spot, observing and melting to nothing again. She flowed quickly, gone before they turned towards her, but she felt they might see her on their little boxes, which was useful information. So far, she had touched only the three-eyed ones and not learned of the new, scaly ones. This would change now.

As she rose behind one, she tapped the creature with her mind, putting him to sleep, then floating him in silence to the ground. Working quickly, she felt in his mind and body, then tapped him once more, falling into the earth as he awoke, jumping to his feet and scanning the area.

Did I fell asleep? I see nothing from this scan, so I must have dozed. Better to say nothing than incur the wrath of the Commander.

Haseya rose again, away from the ship.

Come, sister.

Haseya dropped, then rose from the earth and looked at Topper.

“Thank you for coming to see me. We learned these new aliens are mounting a force against us, Haseya. This could be a massacre and the end of Magic. What have you learned?”

“These are evil creatures. They have little to no good in them. My teaching would kill most. They want to steal and kill, and they have a great tribe behind them. Unlike the three-eyed ones, there is no higher purpose that defines them. These warriors have no calling to the light. You were right to send the children. They intend to enslave them, trophies of the battle.”

Topper swallowed. “Theo wants to speak with you. Shall we?”

Haseya fell through the earth as Topper popped to the jail. Theo was standing outside as Haseya rose in front of him. Topper stepped outside and joined them.

“They are waiting for more ships and warriors,” Haseya said, her death voice chilling Theo’s part-human heart. “Once these ships arrive, there will be no mercy, they intend to kill or enslave every being. Catching a shifter is a priority. If they are successful in containing the ones that shift, they will kill the three-eyed ones, since they no longer need their services. There is no room in these beings for anything but darkness. They thrive on desecration, turmoil, and fear.”

Theo looked at Haseya and rubbed his forehead. Have you met your boyfriend? These guys sound like space Djinns.

Theo cleared his throat, asking, “What would you do with this situation, given what you know?”

“I cannot heal them, they are fully what they are,” Haseya answered. “My teaching is their death, but vengeance is not my path. I would contain the situation and remove the vulnerable, who are, now, your trolls and dwarfs. They hold no useful skill or desirable powers for these invading warriors. They’ll seize them for slaves.”

Theo looked at her. “Can you hide them?”

Haseya’s eyes gleamed. “Yes. I can put them in a safe place, but I must shift to do so.”

“Right before dawn, we will create a diversion, if needed, while you move them.”

“What have you learned of the werevamp cub?” Topper asked. “Is he safe?”

“The alien I examined did not have that information. I will find out for you. I’ll return the hour before dawn,” Haseya replied.

“Thank you, my sister,” Topper said, holding Haseya’s eyes in her own for a long moment.

“What was that about?” Theo asked.

“If she gets a safe opportunity, I asked her to steal Jonah back.”

“Fair enough.”

I wonder if that was everything. Knowing Topper, I doubt it.

Theo left the job of guarding the jail to Simon and his son Joseph and moved towards the town square, accompanied by the vampires and warlocks.

“You’ve been patient. You were ready to defend the town if the aliens made it that far today,” Theo told them, “but, if you want to do more, I have an idea.”

The expression on their faces told him they wanted blood and not just for dinner.

Theo nodded, saying, “They are standing watch outside their ships. Vamps, I want you to go to the bank, down to the vault, and shift to bat form. It’s the only place I can think of that might mask the shift. Once in form, pair up with a warlock and leave for the ships. Learn everything you can about those ships! If you can capture any of the soldier aliens without being seen, do it and send the orbs to Topper. We believe there are 38 of that type left, but more are coming. We need to thin their numbers and get information. Are there questions?”

“Do we try to retake our prisoners?”

“Haseya is tasked with that.” Theo watched the glances exchanged.

“Warlocks, if it is a question of you or a vamp being taken, give yourself up. Topper says the containment is easy to break with an average spell. Keep the vamps out of their hands.”

“Understood.”

Theo escorted the vamps to the bank. Martin, the troll banker, opened the vault, shut the vamps in it, counted to ten and reopened it to a flood of bats winging towards the front door. Theo held it open as the bats fled into the night, and the warlocks disappeared with tiny pops.

“I hope this isn’t a big mistake,” Theo muttered.

“You’ve got to rest the witches, and sending the fight to the aliens gives them the idea we are fresh and have deep resources,” Martin chuckled. “Half of war is head games, Son.”

“It’s the other half of war I’m worried about, Martin.”

Zayn stood on the rocks scattered across the nearby hill, watching the ships. Anger seethed, filling his blood and making his mind dark and unyielding. Everyone had a role, except for him. He got to play the victim. I am a Djinn, the embodiment of fear. I instill despair and loathing. And, I am about finished with sitting on my ass.

Haseya rose from the ground before him, staring in silence.

Zayn took in the skin that melded with the night, the gleaming black eyes, the hair that fell to the ground like a cloak. Curious, he leaned towards her and lifted the hair. Naked. She’s running around fighting, naked. His body responded to her, but his mind’s fury was well beyond lust.

Without thought, he grabbed her, forcing her legs apart. Haseya melted through his fingers into the ground and reappeared, now several feet away from him, sensing his turmoil and his darkness.

“You spend a lot of time naked, my love. Why are you filled with anger?”

“These things require eradication. Nobody is doing it. I can handle the whole problem in an hour.”

“We are not exacting vengeance, Zayn, we are protecting and preserving our own. This fight is another world’s war. Not ours.”

“That’s bull, Haseya. You preach about saving. Look at you! You are the vision of death,” Zayn’s rage washed over them both in an ugly flood.

“My appearance and my choices are two parts of a single life, Zayn. So are yours. Is your choice to be two-faced? Kind when it gets you what you want, but clinging to the feeling of power you exact over the weak? If so, you are not the spirit I believed you to be, the one who spoke of change and love.”

“We are being attacked! I will be what I am capable of, Haseya. Just like you.”

“No. I am being a healer despite the attack, not using the attack as an excuse to unleash my violence. You do not see this. In that, you do not see me.”

The pause drew out between them, Zayn’s eyes hard and angry as Haseya’s gleamed with slow understanding.

“I have made an unforgivable error.”

Eyes shining with despair and sadness, Haseya sank into the earth.

“You are wrong!” Zayn roared at the earth where she’d been. “This is the time of violence and destruction. This is the time of the Djinn.

16

The bats winged through the murk, checking out the ships, then peeling away. As an alien looked up to scan, he vanished, his recorder and box floating after him, back to the warlock. His muttered spells sent the orb and then changed his appearance to that of an alien. He grabbed the weapon and the box and returned to the alien’s post.

“I’m in place,” he sent out in a sonar signal. High above, the bats whirled, heading to the other end of the ship to repeat the location, containment and replacement of the alien scout positioned there. Soon warlocks replaced the six scouts at each ship.

Light cracked as a hatch opened and two aliens came out, approaching a warlock, waving arms and grabbing him. Bats dive-bombed and one sank its teeth deep into an alien neck. A couple of pops and the aliens were in orbs. The bats rose, and every warlock faded back from the ships.

At the rendezvous, they took stock.

“We need to see if the bite affected the prisoner,” one warlock said, “and see if the alien blood affected our vamp.”

The bat who bit the alien landed on his outstretched palm. The warlock and vamp vanished back to town.

“We took fourteen prisoners, and it’s three hours to daylight. Shall we thin the ranks a little more? Exercise care, everyone. We’ve lost the element of surprise.”

The bats took wing, surveying the ships from the skies. Below, two of the warlocks watched the main ship in silence. The replacement sentries were the three-eyed types. The warlocks exchanged a look.

“These are the ones they will sacrifice. Bet they want to get us under the ships and catch us.”

“We should retreat. It’s time to let them wait and wonder.”

“Agreed.”

He released a sonar signal skyward, the bats wheeled as one and turned away from the ships amid the faint pops of the vanishing warlocks.

“I have an idea,” Topper murmured, as Theo jumped. Did I fall asleep? Crap.

He took the cup she offered, and drank it down in a couple big gulps, asking, “What?”

“Rings,” Topper replied. “We can enact rings of spells around the town that will slow them down.”

“I’m listening,” Theo replied. Whatever she puts in that tea, it works.

“I’m thinking of outer rings that are spells on their equipment, turning their containment chambers into boxes of fruit, or their weapons into water pistols, things like that. If the spell is clever, they won’t even know.”

“That means they will keep running towards the center of town. I like it, Topper.”

Her sassy grin made him laugh.

“The inner circle will be a reduction zone. We’ll cast individual spells to catch them and orb them once they cross the shrinking spell line, but they’ll be little, and not a threat. The important thing to remember is that if we cross that spell line, we’ll shrink too.”

“Okay, that’s on the table. Dawn is in two hours, let’s call the meeting.”

Topper waved her fingers and sent tea to everyone. The citizens gathered around the little platform, sipping, as Theo stepped up.

“Our warlocks and vamps waged an impressive attack on the soldier aliens last night, capturing fourteen.”

The crowd whistled and clapped as the bats fluttered and the warlocks nodded and waved.

“We now know that the aliens get sick from a vampire bite but it won’t stop them. They have a component in their blood that violently disagreed with the vampire that bit the alien. She will be OK, but we can’t afford to divert witches to healers. Since vamps can shift and are a target, but cannot defend themselves, we plan to send the vampires, along with the trolls and dwarfs, into Haseya’s hiding place. They will leave in one hour.”

Murmurs and nods greeted this information.

“Witches and warlocks will set ring spells in increments of a tenth of a mile around the town. These spells activate when anyone crosses through them. The outer spells will change the alien’s equipment. We’ve captured a few pieces and can use them to make the spells look realistic. The idea is to remove the containment threat and neutralize their weapons without their knowledge. The final ring, the one closest to the town center, will shrink anyone who crosses.”

Theo looked around at the crowd. “That includes you. Be careful. If you cross the line, you will get small, and quick.”

“If we have to evacuate, run to this platform. Understood?”

The crowd nodded as Haseya rose through the earth near the front of the platform. “Without shifting, I could find no way to enter the ships and save the prisoners. I cannot pass through the metal, only the earth. I am sorry to fail you.”

Simon stepped towards Haseya. “It’s not a failure, we just don’t have them yet.”

“Are you ready to take the trolls, dwarfs, and vamps?” Theo asked.

“Ready.”

“Set the spells, except the shrink one, please, Topper,” Theo said. “While the witches are working, we’ll begin the evacuation, Haseya.”

Slodoon’s ship landed on the far side of the town from the Morduck ships. Having them on the planet in these numbers was a terrible sign. As in a ‘they might kill me’ kind of indicator. I expected a small observation team, not a platoon of fighters. Slodoon’s crew assembled.

“Nothing, nothing, interests you beyond obtaining shifting life-forms. Remain cloaked at all times. Do not help a Morduck in peril, do not assist each other if it means delaying the retrieval of a specimen. There is no other mission. Go!”

Donning their cloaks, Slodoon led twenty-five Senior Scientists down the ramp, trotting across the desert, scanners on high.

Zayn watched the aliens moving around their ships, his rage rising around him like armor. I will destroy you, show you your guts, listen to your piteous cries.

Haseya rose outside the bank building to move the vamps, dwarfs, and trolls. The bats flew into a bag, she nodded and Topper closed the vault door as Haseya stepped into her twirl. Once at the hut, the bats fluttered out of the bag and shifted back to human form. Haseya closed her eyes and flexed her mind, increasing the size of the hut tenfold. She waved her hand and food materialized, along with blood in jars along the wall. A pump handle appeared, with a bucket for catching water, and piles of big pillows, suitable for sitting or lounging, stacked up along the hut’s walls.

“This is plenty, Haseya,” Jonah’s mother said, grateful for the comfort. “Go, bring the rest.”

Haseya twirled back and forth, bringing the dwarfs and trolls to safety.

“We’re ready, Theo,” Topper said, hair a fiery red, hands on hips, staring up at him.

This woman. She’s like a mini superhero volcano.

“Set the shrink spells after I take off. Watch the line once they’re set, folks. Let them come to us.”

Theo, a little self-conscious about stripping to shift out in the open, decided there was no time for fussing over niceties. Besides, these jeans were his favorite. Topper’s approving expression was his last view before his tail emerged. Theo flapped his wings in a mighty downward draft and took off, ready to decoy the aliens towards the rings of spells. As Theo cleared the town, Topper signaled the witches to cast the shrink spell.

“Now we wait,” she said, with a little grin.

Zayn’s nasty smirk pulled back across his teeth. He shifted, becoming electric and circling each ship with a subterranean high-voltage ring. Fry, you mothers.

17

Theo landed with a thud, and Zayn slid an eye in his direction. Zayn’s long black hair stood on end, surrounding him in a circle of static electricity. His eyes snapped with electric sparks, and his hands glowed as he shot power into the ground, across the desert to the two ships, surrounding them in circles of death. Theo looked at the glowing deadly subterranean lines, ready to flatline any who step on them, then back at Zayn.

“You need to stop that,” Theo said in a mild voice. “Unless your plan is to get us all captured or killed.”

Zayn upped his vibration, and Theo felt the earth surge under his feet. Small rocks and pebbles bounced in staccato patterns around them. Theo was grateful for his impenetrable dragon skin. I need to be impervious in the face of old Lightning McGee here. What is it with Djinn and their tempers? You’d think, after a few thousand years of crankiness they might let it go. Mellow out, have a cookie, take a nap.

“Your girlfriend moves through the earth, right? When she does, will she appreciate your sparkling personality? You two have a fight or something?”

The voltage lessened slightly, then sizzled back into Zayn’s hands. His hair floated down around his mutinous face.

“She doesn’t… she didn’t…. This isn’t the time for… Oh, the hell with it. I’m doing this my way and that’s that.”

“That always works with women, Zayn. Excellent plan.”

Zayn’s face went dark and his hands lifted, deciding whether to test Theo’s dragon skin at close range. Theo shot a plume of smoke. Just try it, Djinn.

Zayn moved, but Theo snapped a wing sideways and knocked him ass over teakettle. The Djinn was on his feet in a flash.

“This your big plan, Zayn?” Theo roared, sparks shooting from his snout. “To fight me and let the town get overrun by aliens? Let your girlfriend land in a box again? Huh? They will keep sending more ships. The more you kill the more they’ll send. We gotta get on top of this and get it handled.”

Zayn glowered, then dropped his hands.

“Think you can bump out of your funk long enough to help? I’ve got to get these aliens headed into town. We’ve got a trap laid but they have to leave the ships. Your Djinn juice containment isn’t helping.”

Zayn made a noise halfway between a growl and a groan. “What you got in mind, Theo?”

“Work from the sky and piss them all off for a while. Get them moving, out of the ships, start them herding towards town. Don’t kill ’em, Zayn, but make them mad. Topper’s got them once they get into town, but we want as many of them as possible, running into town at the same time.”

A wicked smile lifted the corners of his mouth and Zayn closed his eyes. Theo heard a rumble. It sounded like it was coming from inside the Djinn. Pulling his broad shoulders back, Zayn popped them forward with a sharp snap. Theo saw the closest ship rock on its landing gear.

“What the…?”

“Shock wave," Zayn said with a crooked grin.

“Impressive.” Holy crap.

Zayn rumbled again, hitting the ship hard. Hatches flew open and aliens swarmed off the ship in full tactical gear.

“Time to go,” Theo muttered, exhaling a cloud of fog. “Need a ride?” Zayn grabbed the joint behind Theo’s wing and swung a long leg over his back. They lifted within the fog, heading to the second ship, and landing some distance away.

“I had no idea you could do that,” Theo said, lifting off and staring at the second ship, now tipped off its axis and tilted halfway towards the sky. A small army of aliens clambered out of the ship, also in full tactical gear.

“It appears they were preparing to invade Magic anyway,” Zayn called. “Close your eyes, Theo. I’m about to light this place up.”

A blast of blue light hit the silver ship, reflecting as the aliens covered their eyes and scrambled for the backside of the ship and shadow. Theo, staying high, flew around the ship. Ducking his head, he felt Zayn push another blast of light at the ship. The aliens abandoned the protection of the ship, running towards Magic.

“Run, jerks!” Theo added more fog and angled back to the first ship. Zayn’s blue light caught several aliens out in open and they fell to their knees, hands over their eyes.

“Think the three-eyed ones are light sensitive,” Zayn laughed.

Theo drifted upward, and around to the rear of the ship, still on its landing gear.

“They’re hiding under the ship, Theo.”

“Yep, I bet they think if we have to come to them they can box us up.”

Cutting a sharp turn, Theo headed back about half a mile and landed.

“Hit that ship.”

“My pleasure.”

Zayn’s rumble built, and he blasted the shock wave across the desert, raising a line of dust twenty feet wide. The ship bounced into the air, tipping up onto one side before flipping upside down.

Theo’s large yellow eyes watched the alien reaction. A few were pointing their way, but more were turning towards town.

“Go,” Theo whispered. “Go on.”

All but four of the aliens moved towards Magic. Two of the four took up the watch on the disabled ship, and the other two, at a fast trot, headed towards Theo and Zayn.

“They left guards. That means that’s where our prisoners are. Time to go, Zayn.”

“It is," murmured Slodoon, pushing the hood of his concealing cloak back and patting the containment chambers. “Well done, my Senior Scientists. We have two perfect specimens.”

Slodoon gestured in a circular motion, recalling the scientists to their ship, and pulled his hood back on. We’ll see who prevails now, Morducks. You messed up a simple scientific mission and extraction. Too bad you didn’t trust the experts. That will cost you. Big.

“Two Morducks from that ship are heading towards us, High Scientist.”

“If they attempt to stop us from reaching our ship, shoot them.”

Haseya watched in horror as the aliens captured Zayn and an orange dragon that reminded her of Theo. What do I do? There are so many of them. They are wearing clothing to hide their bodies, but their life forces shine through.

Counting, Haseya thought there were at least twenty-five, and one seemed to be the leader. He patted the boxes containing Theo and her Zayn. Well, not my Zayn anymore, I cannot sanction his darkness.

Haseya and her hurting heart fell back into the ground. Following the group underneath their feet, Haseya listened to their excited mutterings about their captives, and about the energy readings on their little boxes.

That’s me. The realization gave her an idea. They can sense me, but I don’t think they’re looking under the ground. I appear implausible there.

The two Morducks, in a flat-out run, were nearly upon the group.

“Give us the specimens!”

“You? No. Our mission, our effort, therefore, our specimens.” Raising his weapon, Slodoon shot both of the running Morducks, who tumbled into the dust.

“Leave them,” Slodoon said as two scientists moved forward. They turned, surprised at the command. “Secure the specimens and prepare for departure”.

I can’t help my love for him, it’s in my cells, even if we can’t be together. I have to save them. Working quickly, Haseya spread her smoke into a fine particulate cover across the sand, rising unseen to wrap the entire exterior of the ship. Once reconnected to herself, she hummed, singing within her vibration. Singing into the metal of the ship, making every part of the ship carry the message, filling the space with urgency.

They are leaving

Escape

Fight now

Theo’s container exploded into chunks. Balancing on his tail, he kicked out the glass wall in front of him with his powerful hind legs. An alien, raising a new containment chamber, shrieked as the box melted from the stream of dragon fire. Another alien picked up a chamber and dropped it as Theo turned it cherry red. Twisting, Theo swung his tail, sending the nearest aliens flying, while others dove for cover.

Zayn’s smoke shifted out the hatch and exploded across the desert, spread wide to avoid recapture. Theo backed down the ramp, shooting fireballs into the ship to hold the aliens in place, then lifting off and blasting fire until the ramp was red-hot.

Haseya slid off the skin of the ship and dropped into the earth. Rising next to the two Morducks lying in the sand, she crouched, exploring them with her mind as Zayn landed beside her. He knelt, placing a firm hand upon her exposed knee.

“They live,” she said, struggling to keep her voice neutral, but Zayn’s presence filled her heart, once leaden, with a joyfulness that felt like treason.

“I killed no one either, Haseya,” Zayn said, voice breaking with the need for her acceptance. “I wanted to, but I chose a different way to fight because your love is greater than any vengeance.”

“Zayn, your darkness stands between us, it covers our love. I cannot unsee it. Do you think I can’t feel it? This battle rages within you, it feeds you in ways you do not reject. Knowing this, I must refuse to love you. I cannot harbor darkness; it will change me, undo the good. Go, Zayn. They will exit their ship soon.”

Haseya dropped to the earth, her eyes taking in the broken look on Zayn’s face. I’m killing him as surely as I killed the others. I stand at a forked road, unsure of my path.

Theo swooped down. Zayn gripped the top of his wing, leaping onto his back. Rising fast, Theo headed for the thin clouds. We need to regroup and get ready to rumble.

18

The Djinn was unhinged. Theo had no clue what was on his back, but by the changes in weight, claws, and roars, he was certain that the Djinn was shifting uncontrollably. It took all of Theo’s concentration to fly steadily. Man, is he dragging those big balls across my scales? I need a raise, a shower, and a vacation. A long one.

Looking down, Theo watched the aliens break apart into smaller groups, heading around the perimeter of Magic, preparing for a push to the center. From his vantage point, each group appeared to have some soldiers and many of the three-eyed types. Shifting around, Theo looked across the desert at the third ship, the one he’d enjoyed overheating. I sense these groups aren’t together. They sure aren’t acting like they are coordinating anything.

Behind him, Zayn howled, and the surrounding air compressed. The earth hurtled up at Theo, who beat his wings frantically to avoid slamming into the ground.

“Did you… dammit, Zayn! Did you try to shock wave us into the ground?”

Wheeling south and gaining altitude in case Zayn went bonkers again, Theo headed in the direction of the original ship, the one he’d investigated four days ago when his life was a hell of a lot simpler. Coming in fast, he spiraled, laying Zayn on the ship and cartwheeling away as Zayn let loose with another wave, flattening the ship’s landing gear and leaving the ship’s body sunk into the desert.

Theo maintained his airspace, watching Zayn laying on the top of the ship. If he hadn’t almost pancaked me five minutes ago, I’d feel sorry for him. He’s a mess.

“Zayn? Man, you kind of lost it there. You OK?”

Zayn sat up and rubbed his head. On the other side of the spaceship, Haseya lifted from the earth. Theo flapped slow, watching. Her eyes took in Zayn’s pain as her body crumpled.

Theo lifted higher. I do not want to be in the middle of these two. I’ll be over here, playing lookout and staying out of rage range.

“Go away, Haseya. You are killing me. Or, maybe I am killing myself. What I know is I am dying.”

“I do not want to harm you, Zayn. Our connection is beyond understanding, but, it is flawed. Why must one of us experience damage for this to work? That’s not how it's supposed to be.”

“Why should I change? Who did you fall in love with, Haseya? Me. I’m still here. In fact, finding you let a part of me I didn’t believe was in there explode and take over. I have changed. Do you think you are perfect, and I am flawed? That is pride, your pride is your undoing. You have no space for anything beyond yourself!”

“My pride? I live a life devoted to the care of others, a selfless life!”

“You hide behind your life! You aren’t living, you are playing God with creatures and thinking you are honorable. You know what’s honorable, Haseya? Love. Love honors the soul of another, heals the thousand cuts of this life, and makes whatever we do in this world better. You heal things. It’s what you do. But, your heart is closed, so you sit in your hut and become nothing more. Your pride is throttling your heart, Haseya. It’s choking mine, too.”

“I made a vow! Your stubbornness and insistence I forsake my promise is your darkness calling, begging to pull me into it. You manipulated me to get what you want. It’s impossible to be light when you choose this path, Zayn.”

“You are right, Haseya. I cannot be light. You are my light, and your turning away is my desecration.”

They glared are each other, and the ground hummed, the air above, shaking. Theo buffeted in their wind, watching as the earth cracked across the desert.

Furious, Haseya shifted, her smoke shooting skyward then returning like a spear, headed for Zayn, who shifted, wrapping her in his smoke, and they rolled, boiling, across the sand.

I have zero idea who is winning or even whether this is a fight or make-up sex. Theo stayed high, following the progress of the ball of tornadic dust as it rolled and zigzagged towards town. Maybe they’ll roll across the shrink line. I could get behind the idea of a mini-Djinn.

A small drone-like object floated across town and came to a stop in front of Topper.

“We will exchange our prisoners for yours. You have 15 minutes to comply.”

“Or what?” Topper said in amusement, trading side eyes with the witches. She didn’t think the drone was anything other than a message delivery system and wasn’t expecting an answer.

“We will kill the child creature,” the drone answered. “We will kill it in front of you, and we will not be merciful.”

The drone lifted, turning back across town.

The witches looked at one another, anger mirrored on each face. Topper snapped her fingers; her dusty jeans and denim work shirt changed into black leather pants and a slim silver tunic covered in copper-hued runes that moved, casting constant spells for self-preservation and protection. In this shirt, she was invincible. Topper’s hair flowed blood red, ending in glowing silver tips. Black over-the-knee boots crisscrossed in chains covered her feet, and copper-chain fingerless gloves covered her hands.

“I’m about done with this," she said, watching witch after witch change into the sexy fearsome looks they favored.

Violet, green, blue, and liquid chocolate eyes of all ages stared back at Topper, amidst a chorus of “Indeed, darling", “Word, sister", and “Let’s hit it, girl.”

“Hurt one of our precious children? Perish the thought," said Elthera, one of the oldest witches in town, as she stepped up to Topper. Covered head to toe in black lace, she looked like a Victorian-era badass, which wasn’t far from the truth. Topper hugged her and the two exchanged a long look.

“How few of us would it take to open and hold open the portal?” Topper asked the group.

The witches murmured amongst themselves.

“Six, sister. Six strong witches could do it.”

“Alright. Here is the suggested plan. If we cast spells over the shrink line spell, we’ll either weaken or destroy it, so blasting Jonah and the others free isn’t the preferred option. They outnumber us, with so many of our people shifted to Haseya’s hideout.”

“When the aliens come for the exchange, we show them the orbs,” Topper continued. “Then we open the portal to the Coalition. We tell them that goes two ways. If they threaten to hurt Jonah, we tell them we will toss orbs into it, and that we toss the soldier aliens through first. We tell the aliens holding our Magic citizens that if Coalition forces come out, they won’t be coming for us. If they return our prisoners, we’ll close the portal.”

“I want eight witches on the portal, in case this goes sideways. We must be a show of might. Having that thing snap shut before we’re ready won’t look good.”

Heads nodded and eight of the older witches moved to the center.

“We’ve cast many spells together, Topper,” Elthera said. “We’ll call the portal.”

“Perfect. The rest of you fan out and don’t get too close to the shrink line. We don’t want it to look like there’s a trap. But, be ready when they cross it to orb the prisoner. Float the orbs to this net,” Topper waved and a floating net appeared. “It will grow if we need it to and keep us from bumping into orbs if we have to fight.”

“Places, my darlings,” Elthera called. “We have five minutes until our unwelcome guests arrive.”

Slodoon spoke to his cloaked scientists as they huddled on the south side of the town, “We are unseen by all. The Morducks appear to be trying for a prisoner swap. We will observe this. It’s possible we will find additional creatures here, hitherto unknown, that we will want to study. Prepare to engage, but only for targeted specimens. Those are your only orders. Do nothing else.”

To the sound of their murmured assent, Slodoon peered through his viewer, watching the center of town and the flamboyant creatures standing there.

19

The alien parties reached the edge of town and advanced, moving from block to block until they circled the town. The groups paused, prepared to advance. Eight Morducks, seven who carried a prisoner apiece, followed their leader towards the center of town. Each prisoner, scared and exhausted, stared at the witches.

One troll mouthed, “it’s a trap” before being punched in the side of his head. Trolls are tough, and the punch didn’t hurt, but the message was clear to the witches.

Jonah couldn’t help feeling small and tired. He’d struggled, with success, to not shift while captured, but exhaustion, pain, and fright were winning. Topper’s eyes narrowed. This child is beyond brave. What a fierce little cub he is! When we get him back, I will spoil him rotten.

Topper hoped they’d walk through the shrink line and solve all her problems, but the Morducks stopped about ten feet from it, the one holding Jonah shaking him by the scruff of his neck.

“Where are our prisoners?” the Morduck shook Jonah again, who let go a heartbreaking little yelp.

“Here," Topper said, eyes narrowing as she pointed to the orbs holding the three-eyed aliens.

“Fool. Where are our prisoners?”

Haseya was right, they don’t care about the three-eyed ones. Looking uninterested, Topper picked up one of the sixteen orbs that held the Morducks.

“What have you done? Restore and pass them to us now!”

Topper slid a side eye to Elthera, and the older witches called the portal. A blue circle of light glowed brightly, increasing until it reached ten feet in diameter. The center of the portal swirled in silver and white streaks, rolling into infinity.

Topper tossed the Morduck orb back on the pile and stepped forward, the silver tips of her hair glowing. “This is a portal to the Coalition. Release our prisoners and leave this area. If you don’t, we will toss your prisoners into the portal and turn them over to the Coalition. Your presence here breaks Coalition law. You will leave our people and retreat from our planet, or we rain that law back on your heads.”

“We are far from the Coalition boundaries, fool. We can kill or enslave all of you before the Coalition can send you any help.”

Topper, with an arched brow, inspected her fingerless gloves, unimpressed.

“Did I forget to mention this is a two-way portal? If I toss these prisoners over, I imagine Star Rangers will head through to figure out why.”

Topper watched the leader pause, raise his weapon and fire at her. The stream of water landed in the dust. The Morduck closest to him lifted a containment chamber and pressed the button. Topper smiled, but her eyes flashed red.

Lifting a three-eyed orb, she tossed it into the portal.

The Morducks watched, glowering. Topper noticed the one that held Jonah shifted his feet. Was he nervous?

Topper selected an orb containing a Morduck. Her eyes drilled into the Morduck leader’s as her arm swung back to toss the orb into the portal.

“Release all but the child,” the Morduck leader ordered. “Bring the child-creature here.”

Topper watched them drop the trolls and dwarfs on the sand, who moved away from any Morducks, but stood fast. They aren’t leaving Jonah. Good.

“You forgot one of my people," Topper said, raising a second Morduck orb and floating it over next to her. Behind her, the portal glowed, ready.

The boiling dust ball stopped, breaking in two, then back to Zayn and Haseya, appearing as a healer and not the black witch.

“I am sorry I attacked you, Zayn. Forgive me.”

“Dammit, Haseya, we are both flawed, both trying, and destined to love one another! If I can release thousands of years of Djinn why can’t you release a few hundred years of Navajo?”

“Because if I forsake my vow, I am nothing.”

“What? No! You are everything! You heal, you teach and you love. You aren’t Navajo, you are more. Stop cramming yourself into a box not meant for your spirit. Please Haseya, I am begging you to hear me.”

“I hear you, Zayn. But this darkness is within me, calling, waiting. I love you. But you need to forget me, Zayn. It’s the only way.”

Zayn reached and pulled her to him, kissing her with more than his lips, letting every vulnerability surface, letting his soul cry into her skin, his heart beating towards hers in the single rhythm of love.

Haseya melted into his kiss, meeting his message with her electric connection. Zayn saw the tracings of gold zigzag across her cheekbones, neck, shoulders, and then down her arms. He felt the tiny electric pops on the tips of her fingers as she touched his face.

“I will dream of us, knowing it cannot be,” she whispered, her soft breath curling into his ear and lighting him from within.

She turned black and slid into the earth.

Haseya rose into the noise and dust of the raging battle. Turning, she took in the scene of several Morducks chased by six beat-up looking trolls and dwarfs, a huge blue circle of light, and the witches watching it from the town center. The shouting sounded like the war cries of old. Her eyes landed on the Morduck holding Jonah. Sensing Jonah’s injuries, she flew to the cub and grabbed him. The shocked Morduck held on.

“Release him,” she intoned.

In the struggle, Haseya gripped the Morduck briefly. It was enough. He sank to the ground, shrieking in agony, as she pulled Jonah away. Holding the cub tight, she shifted; they vanished from the mayhem. The Morduck leader, moving fast to pull Haseya into a containment chamber, erupted in frustration. His roar of anger rolled across the battlefield as apples tumbled to the ground from the opened chamber.

“That. THAT! Did you scan that? What was it? How could it do that?” Slodoon hissed in excitement.

“I scanned it, High Scientist. It is different, but the solid and smoke readings it registers lie within the parameters we seek.”

“If it returns, do whatever it takes, kill whatever you have to, to secure it.”

“Understood, High Scientist.”

Falling back, Morducks shot useless weapons, and the troll and dwarf prisoners charged at their unarmed captors. Bellowing, they ran after several of the Morducks, turning them toward the portal. As they crossed the shrink line, witches caught them in orbs and stowed them, but the trolls and dwarfs, understanding the spell in place, turned away. Bellowing in fury, they chased another small group of Morducks towards the shrink line.

In the chaos, Slodoon moved his men closer to the center of town, stopping only when he saw the apples and the failed weapons. Using a skill, they’ve disarmed the Morducks. Hiding behind the bank, he had his scientists test their chambers and weapons, verifying they were still functional. With a scanner, Slodoon tried to read the revolving blue circle in the town square. I don’t understand this reading. What are they doing? I must get these specimens. Signaling silence, Slodoon gestured his men to hunker behind the bank and wait, watching.

“Zayn? Zayn! Snap out of it!”

The Djinn looked at Theo, blank-faced.

“Remember what you did to make the alien’s cloaks visible?”

Zayn nodded, not trusting his voice.

“Think you can do that again?”

Zayn nodded, clearing his throat. “Yeah, Theo. I can do that.”

“Let’s do this, my friend. Mount up.”

They came in from the west; the sun shone behind them, blinding any who looked their way. Theo watched the battle and the terrain carefully, noting the odd rippled effect which he guessed were the cloaked aliens he’d warmed up an hour ago. He dipped sharply and landed about a half-mile from the bank, on the little grocery’s roof.

“You with me? Clear head?”

“Yeah,” Zayn replied, his voice as heavy as his heart. “I’m here.”

Theo’s ice-blue eyes looked at Zayn, assessing. There, sort of broken, but not like before when he tried to pancake us both.

“Listen up, Zayn. While you were doing your thing in the desert, remember that other ship of the three-eyed types? The ones we escaped from?”

“So?”

“These guys aren’t talking to the others, Zayn. They act like they are on a different mission, and aren’t doing anything except trying to capture Magic folks. Right now, Topper has a portal open to Glacier, she’s fighting the aliens, capturing a bunch more, but what do you think those aliens that grabbed us are doing?”

Zayn raised an eyebrow.

“They aren’t doing jack! They’re watching it go down, Zayn. Now, why do you suppose they’d do that?”

“Clean up on aisle nine,” Zayn made a noise between a laugh and a growl. “They’ll let Topper take everybody down, and then they’ll zap us up in those little boxes of theirs.”

Theo scratched his stomach scales, nodding. “I think that’s the plan. There’s at least a couple dozen, and they’re cloaked. Think you can make them fancy like before, without getting caught?”

A slow smile spread across Zayn’s face and he crumpled to smoke, rising.

“They’re by the back of the bank,” Theo said. “Light ’em up.”

Zayn rose, spreading thin across the sky and raised the sand, building the hurt, being misunderstood, and the sadness he felt, and flexing it into the sand. Diamond dust, beautiful and cold, lay in a transparent sheet on the air before him and he twisted it, releasing his dust devil of loss and pain onto the cloaked aliens.

I cannot release you so easily, Haseya, but out of love, I will leave you alone.

“Report!”

“This stone dust appears to be a natural component of this planet, High Scientist, but these particles do not move in this manner. This is a manufactured ruse to de-cloak us.”

As the aliens tried to brush each other off, Zayn floated back and drifted down to Theo, settling on the roof. Showtime, Hero. You’re up.

20

The appearance of Jonah in Haseya’s hut elicited a scream from his mother, who leapt up from her cushion to fly across the hut and fold him into her arms.

“Thank you, thank you so much, Haseya. I am so grateful.”

“It is my way," Haseya, said, “but, he is injured. Please, sit with him while I make the medicine.”

Jonah’s bright eyes inspected the hut. “Where are we, Mom?”

“This is Haseya’s home, across the interdimensional plane. She moves back and forth.”

“Oh, cool. Zayn does that too!”

Haseya felt tears fall into her cooking pot and the leaves she held blurred in the thoughts of what would not be. She and Zayn, happy, helping in the earthen world and Zayn showing her the secrets beyond this plane. He wants nothing but to be with me and I withhold that. Those who knew my promise are long dead. My Nation...

Haseya steeped the tea, struggling for control.

I fear I have killed that alien. Even the briefest touch ends evil. Yet, I touched Zayn and felt only love. Then, I tell him to his face he will make me dark. He who covers me in light and love. That I have taken as a mate, then shunned. Truth, Haseya. You are dark already and have demonized the good within Zayn. You’ve forsaken his love, and have none to blame but yourself.

Haseya brought the tea to Jonah and his mother, snuggled on a big pillow near her fire.

“He should drink this, then sleep. I must go help your tribe.”

“Go!” the hut chorused, as Haseya stepped into her twirl.

Theo executed a soft landing a couple buildings back from the bank and looked at the glitter-covered aliens. They weren’t wholly visible, but to a dragon’s eyesight, they were lit up and ready to barbecue.

“Blue light, Maestro, if you would be so kind,” Theo said, turning his head to protect his eyes.

Zayn blasted blue light at Slodoon’s team. This, thanks to the diamond dust, looks off the chain. Zayn let off a low laugh. Cringing and moving to avoid the light, the aliens scurried around towards the side of the bank.

“All yours," Zayn said, still laughing. Grabbing hold, he swung a leg over as Theo sent two fireballs along the side of the bank, and as aliens started to run, Theo lifted off and moved, sending two more fireballs racing along the front of the bank.

“Get moving, kids. Get out in the open," Theo muttered.

As the aliens fled the protection of the bank building, Theo let ’er rip, sending a steady stream of fire behind their feet, pushing them towards the spell lines.

“No! Stop!” Slodoon ordered, but it was too late. The weapons pointed at Theo shot water, hiding Theo in a momentary patch of steam. He rewarded them with another blast of fire, then swung east to blast the other side of the group, driving them and a few stray Morducks on that side towards Topper.

“Hold the line!” Slodoon screamed. “Capture that, that… thing.”

Impotent boxes pointed at Theo and Zayn, who waved at the hopping aliens from his perch behind Theo’s wings before sending another blue blast, one that Theo had to jerk his head to avoid.

“Gimme a heads up next time, partner.”

“Damn. Sorry, Theo.”

Sorry? SORRY? From a Djinn. I have truly seen it all. Theo laughed, snorting smoke, and swung around, heating the sand by Slodoon, who broke out in a sparkly, hot-footed dance. Zayn’s laughter roared above him as Theo’s fire, bit by bit, pushed the group towards the shrink line.

Diving, Theo blew the last blast at Slodoon, burning his backside just as he hit the shrink line. Scooping air frantically, too late, Theo realized he wasn’t going to make it.

“Adios, amigo!” Zayn blasted off Theo’s back into a million bits across the sky as the dragon crossed.

*pop*

“Aren’t you cute?” Topper murmured, picking Theo up and tucking him between her breasts. “I may have to keep you.”

Haseya? A little help?

Topper smiled as Haseya rose before her. “Can you heal him without the ‘teaching’ as you call it? This one was burned and needs attention.”

“Do you not want him to learn?” Haseya asked, bending to inspect the tiny, smoking alien.

“I don’t want him dead is all," Topper laughed. “I think he may be the leader. If you can fix his burned butt and teach him at the same time, that’s fine with me. I’m all about lifelong learning.”

Haseya’s white teeth flashed in a smile, and she tapped Slodoon’s mind with her own.

“He is far gone, but teachable. Cover your ears.”

Haseya picked up Slodoon, who began to shriek.

“Shhhhh. You are a bad little alien, but you aren’t a lost cause. Understanding has a price.”

As Slodoon writhed in her palm, Haseya examined his burned backside.

“I’m reluctant to take him to my fire. The less he learns the better it is. I’ll do the best I can with his injuries.”

Haseya touched the heart of the burn, and the wound began to clean itself, and seal from the worst of it to the healthy edges of his skin. Once the skin sealed, Haseya tapped it and the alien stopped shrieking.

“I removed the pain," she said, to Topper’s raised eyebrow. “Now, back to learning.”

She tapped his forehead and the little man curled up in her palm, trembling. “You can re-orb him. This one definitely is the leader. He was hoping you’d drive off or capture the others, let your guard down, and he’d be able to catch you all. He’s not a nice being. Overfond of what humans call money, uses anger to hide his fears, and more than a little puffed up about his intellectual importance. He’ll still be intelligent but he won’t be such a venomous snake in the future.”

Elthera caught Topper’s eye. “What do you want to do with the portal? Close it?”

Topper pulled Theo out of her boobs and held him to her ear.

“All of them?” Topper shook her head. “We don’t have them all. A few are still out on the fringes.”

She listened intently, and a grin lit her face. “That would work. I like it, Theo. Sort of like a grand finale.”

Holding him in her palm, she called the witches and warlocks, motioned to Zayn, who rocketed down from the sky, landing just beyond the shrink line, and to Haseya, standing near the witches. Topper crooked a finger to the six dwarfs and trolls. Whispering, the grin went from face to face; they liked the plan. Zayn shot skyward once more as Haseya fell into the earth.

Topper stuffed Theo back between her breasts, smiling at the indignant little puff of smoke that wafted from the neckline of her tunic. Stepping back, she magically tossed every orb, except for Slodoon’s, into the portal. Waving her fingers, a pen and paper appeared, and Topper quickly dictated a note to the bobbing pen, which raced over the paper. The note folded itself, and Topper sent it through after the orbs.

“Shut it, my sisters!”

The portal snapped closed.

“Ready?”

“Ready!” The witches and warlocks had formed a circle, facing outwards.

“Release the shrink line!”

The closing portal and the faint pop caught the attention of the remaining aliens. Several were sent running towards the witches, who watched while counting.

“Four... three... two... NOW!”

A rain of spells encapsulated each citizen of Magic within an individual large orb. Topper looked up through her orb and nodded.

Zayn burst across the sky, lifting sand and glassing over the entire town center in an airtight dome. As the last of the glass hardened, Haseya rose into the dome, her matte black skin stark against the glass. Looking at the aliens, she began to inhale, sounding like a freight train. Orchestrating an oxygen tsunami, Haseya pulled the air from the dome, letting it fill and expand within her body until she resembled an Alice in Wonderland Skinwalker on too many cakes.

The aliens staggered, falling to their knees and then to the ground.

Haseya waved her hands broadly across the domed space, pulling the unconscious bodies to her, shrinking and orbing them into a small pile by her feet. Looking up at Zayn, her eyes full of lost love, she threw her arms into the air with a snap as the air ejected from her shrinking body. The dome shattered and fell back, sand once more.

Topper’s bursting spell disintegrated her orb with an sharp crack. The sound repeated as the other witches and warlocks followed. Turning, they freed the remaining citizens from their orbs.

“I was a little worried when I saw we didn’t have any air holes," a dwarf confided to Topper as he brushed the dust off from his surprise landing. “Despite my big ears, I don’t hear as good as I used to. But, I reckoned whatever you were whispering, it oughta work. But, when the dark one pulled the air out, I figured out what the plan was, cuz we ended up being the ones who had air. Pretty neat trick!”

“Her name is Haseya," Topper told him. “You need to meet her. She’s incredible, and I hope she makes Magic her home.”

21

Haseya materialized in her hut, smiling at Jonah and his mother. “The trolls and dwarfs are back in Magic," she said. “It’s time to go. How is your leg?”

“It’s great! Look!”

Jonah bounced around the fire, ending in a high kick.

“Jonah?” His mother shot him a look.

“Oh, yeah! Thank you, Haseya. For saving me and making me better.”

The cub ran and buried his face in her dress, and Haseya patted his head, overcome with longing for a child. This love that bursts from children, it is the brightest of lights.

“You are welcome, Jonah. My heart feels happy to see you well once more. Shall we?”

Extending her hands, she pulled them to her and stepped into Magic.

The air in the town snapped with industry. Dwarfs swarmed over the broken buildings, assessing and repairing. Trolls washed the soot from Theo’s fire off the sides of bank. Other citizens swept sand, emptied apples from the chambers, or collected the weapons and boxes.

Topper popped into the square, depositing the final orbs, containing the few aliens left who guarded the ships.

“These are a little dinged up, but the children will have fun playing with them,” Elthera told her, shooting one of the water pistols. “That was more fun than I’ve had in years, Topper. Seems like we older ladies are useful in a pinch.”

“Oh, Elthera, I’ve learned from you for my entire life, You are the keepers of the spells. Your libraries are my heart. Please, don’t feel you aren’t the backbone of the witches here in Magic,” Topper replied, hugging her. From her blouse, a little squeak emitted.

“You can’t keep him in there forever, darling,” Elthera laughed.

“He seems content,” Topper grinned. “Don’t worry, I’ll give him up… at some point.”

Haseya stood on Zayn’s porch, looking across the desert. Nobody was home, and she let her mind wander over the night they shared, under the stars, before it grew complicated and dark. I don’t understand myself. I am dark and I know my darkness well, but Zayn’s anger is worse? Then why could I touch him and feel nothing but his love and desire for me?

Sitting on the swing bed, she rubbed her eyes. Even for a Skinwalker, today felt long. But, it was a good day. We vanquished evil, but also, evil learned of itself. So, today, the scales tipped. In the world, evil stepped back. In its place, light filled the spaces and new life can grow there, new circles created.

Her eyes closed. I’ll rest a moment, lying in what could have been.

Zayn flew in silence, scooping air with his wings and landing on the rail of his porch. Turning his head sideways, he looked at the sleeping woman. Her beautiful face looked tranquil, silken hair spread across his pillows. Why? She fought me in a frenzy, every particle of her against every particle of me, a billion bits of her truth denying a billion bits of mine. I had my answer. Now, this.

The eagle paced along the railing, talons clicking, loosening the paint in a little shower to the floorboards below. A part of me says screw it, but that’s the old Zayn. Haseya made me see my world for the shallow circumstance it was. A series of takings with nothing feeding my heart. No matter what, however long I have left, that part of me is dying and I’m not going back. But, what is forward? I can’t chase a woman who doesn’t want me. There is no respect in that choice. I’m stuck, both loving and unloved.

Zayn bowed his head. The shift came on him, and he crawled, in human form once more, into his bed. I can at least hold her while she sleeps, my heart breaking within her breath.

Wrapping his arms around her, he let it all go; the misery sliding through him as sleep crept from the corners to claim his mind. I’ll awaken alone, but I can die then. For now, I live with her in my arms, safe and warm.

Haseya woke in Zayn’s embrace, covered in peace. Looking through the railings, she watched the moonrise and the slow awakening of the night world, the living, mating, and dying that turned the world forever. Each life spark became part of the forever fire.

This peace is because he sleeps beside me. He is not dying from my touch. He is dying from my pride.

Slipping from the bed, Haseya became smoke and materialized near a fire in the northwestern part of New Mexico. This was the fire of an old woman whom Haseya watched from afar when she felt the need for her people. Tonight was not that night. Tonight, she needed more.

“Ya at eeh, Adeezhi.” Greetings, younger sister.

“Ya at eeh, Adi.” Greetings, older sister.

“I seek your wise counsel,” Haseya said. “May I join your fire?”

“Sit at this fire, Adi, and speak.”

“I am an old spirit, born when the Nation was younger, before the time of the white and the Mexican men, long before the time of sorrow and the long walk to this place.”

The old woman’s clouded eyes looked at Haseya’s and nodded. “I sense your spirit, Adi. What do you seek?”

“I am a healer, as are many, but banished for being a Skinwalker. This is also my truth. I am both and have been both for all the time of our people. I accepted my banishment and vowed to live alone and barren as a healer, forsaking the darkness. I have done this, but no longer can. I have met a spirit, also light and dark. I cannot live without him, but I cannot live with the darkness that will fall on me if I turn my back on my people’s wishes.”

“What is your truth, Adi?”

“I love him. He is only in the light with me, there is no darkness in our unity. We drive the darkness from each other. I want only to be light and with him.”

“And you seek blessing for this?”

“Yes, Adeezhi.”

“You held the bond of trust for hundreds of years, Adi. In that time, the people struggled, but our belief in and love of the earth and its creatures is strong. You are a creature of this earth. In that spirit, I release you. Be the force for good you can be, but make love in this world, for it needs that to bind the wounds of the centuries.”

Tears flowed down Haseya’s face. “I stand humble and grateful before you, Adeezhi.”

“Go, Adi. Be what you are becoming.”

Haseya returned to Zayn’s porch, but the bed was empty. Kneeling, the keening wail of death flowed from her throat and she lay across the bed, grief flowing across her like a flash flood in a riverbed dry for centuries, unable to pull in the healing rain. I am too late. My pride has killed us. He made it clear that without me, he could not go further. What have I done?

The owl twisted his head, looking down at the noise in wonderment. Was that coming from my place? Swooping down, Zayn saw her, sobbing into his scent on the bedclothes. The sound covered him; it was the sound of love lost, a crumbling heart. She came back? Grieving for me? Why? What changed?

Zayn landed on the railing and shifted, kneeling to pull Haseya into his arms, amazed at the sense of wholeness radiating from her. Unthinking, he lifted her onto the bed and lay beside her, folding her into him while her body shook.

“Touch me,” he whispered. “Touch me like you touched the others, intending to teach. Learn what you need to know.”

The shaking lessened, and she looked up into his eyes. He nodded and her hand slid up along his chest to his face, and her finger tapped his forehead. Zayn’s life, of petty behaviors, of stirring humans up and increasing their misery, rolled through their minds. His love grew, pushing the past to the side, and lighting his mind, showing the places he became, grew better, kinder, and lived beyond himself. Haseya saw him in the darkness of the beginning, the move to Magic, becoming part of a community, finding her, befriending Theo. It rolled out in a continuous thread. Zayn felt no pain. The sensation faded, and he saw Haseya’s eyes, looking at him with love.

“I thought that would hurt.”

“Only if your heart wanders in darkness.”

“I told you, you changed me.”

“No. You were shifting within yourself. You grew and became more.”

“Where did you go?”

“I went to an elder of the Nation and asked for a release from my vow. Her blessing healed me.”

“I am glad you have that. You deserve happiness.”

Something in his tone caught at her. “There will be no happiness unless you are with me. I sent you away because I felt torn within my mind. You were right, Zayn. My pride was driving the wedge between us. I held up an ideal as more important, and because of that, I don’t deserve your love. But, I am asking for it. The need to complete our connection calls me to you.”

22

Zayn looked down at Haseya. I could teach her a lesson, could rain pain and sorrow upon her, destroy her forever, leave her bleak, dark and broken, raging across the earth. Her pain would cause damage and destruction to millions of humans. This is the way of the Djinn. I would fulfill my original destiny in glorious horror.

“I’m not that Djinn. Not anymore.”

Surprised, he watched the golden lightning race across her skin. I’m not even touching her. Why can I see this? He traced the patterns across her throat and over her collarbones as her full lips parted slightly. It’s not my touch that ignites her, it’s me. I create the connection that fires this light. She is more with me, and I am complete with her; we are a loop that illuminates the universe.

Zayn caught her lower lip in his, watching the lightning steak across her face and into her hair, making it glow. Releasing her lip, he kissed her, tasting her as their tongues danced, moving his mouth to taste her skin, kiss her eyelids, curling his breath into her ears as he murmured her name. Haseya’s fingertips crackled along his spine, the light touch of fire sending shock waves down his central nervous system and filling his cock in an instant.

Zayn opened her dress, pulling her from it in one fluid motion and tossing it on the floorboards. He groaned in delight as Haseya’s fingertips tapped his nipples, snapping electric lust across his brain.

Catching her hands as they wandered towards his cock, Zayn flipped them both so she straddled him. Beneath her, sliding down until his mouth reached her flower, he licked her wetness, tasting her heat. Holding her wrists, he sucked gently on her clitoris, then closing his lips firmly on the base in a sensual squeeze while fluttering his tongue across her swollen bud. Her cries as she came filled him. Zayn released her hand, wet a finger within her and slipped it into her butt, sliding in and out of the tight opening as her body throbbed in orgasm.

Pulling her from the swing bed, Zayn pressed Haseya up against the porch rail, facing the moon, and entered roughly from behind. Protecting her hips from the railing with his hands, he exulted as she reached behind to spread her cheeks, taking the deepening thrusts against her G spot with little cries that spurred Zayn to grab her thigh, prop her knee up on the railing, grip her hips and drive deeper. Her skin exploded in gold, streaks shimmering from her spine and traveling across her skin.

Gripping her breasts, Zayn pinched her nipples hard as he thrust, releasing them only to pinch again. Her pussy gripped him, swollen with lust, and Zayn threw his head back in a howl at the moon. Haseya joined him, their combined need creating a rhythm that flowed to the moon, called the tides, moved the planet.

Twisting her, Zayn propped her butt on the railing, holding Haseya by the small of her back and his cock as she wrapped her legs around him, trusting his strength, taking his stiff cock deep within her.

Reaching down, her fingertips found his balls, and she squeezed firmly, tiny pops of electric excitement jolting him past the point of no return, balls contracting, tingling in her grip, exploding his seed into her.

Slick with sweat, they leaned into each other, sated in the moon’s light. One.

Theo walked around on Topper’s kitchen table, flapping his wings in annoyance.

“In my defense, Theo, I’ve been a little busy. And, I had to find your jeans. The whole town fought a battle on them, remember? It’s been quite a day.”

Theo’s little puff of smoke was cute, but it seemed disagreeable.

“You act like my pillows were uncomfortable, Theo. I gave you the best seat in the house!”

“It’s not that, Topper,” Theo squeaked.

Topper laughed, picked him up, and took him outside. “Ready?”

Little dragon feet stamped in her palm. “Alrighty then.”

Topper waved her hand and Theo grew. Soon Topper was standing in the shade of a full-sized, irritated dragon.

“Where’s my jeans, Topper?”

“They’re on the porch, Lawman,” Topper said, turning back toward the porch. “Along with lunch. When did you eat last?”

Theo passed her in a trot, and Topper took in the view as he snatched the jeans, and yanked them up. He pulled his shirt over well-muscled arms, and grabbed a sandwich. Plopping into a chair, he tried giving Topper his trademark icy look.

“That won’t work on me,” she laughed. “In fact, I kinda like it.”

“What am I going to do about you, Topper?”

Hair turning pink, her eyes sparkled, “What do you want to do about me, Lawman?”

An audible pop announced Elthera’s arrival.

“Join us for lunch, dear? There’s plenty.”

“Well, I might have just a smidge. It’s been too busy for a proper tea for days.”

Elthera sat down, settling her skirts, as Topper handed her a plate with a chicken salad sandwich. “I popped over to remind you of the plan to reopen the portal in an hour. It’s time to bring the children back home.”

“And get rid of the rest of these orbs. I’m ready to put this adventure to bed.”

“Do you think they will leave us alone now?”

“If I were them,” Theo replied. “I wouldn’t. We are still of interest and unprotected. I think Magic needs to have a talk with the Coalition. They dumped this on us after they sent Frost on a mission here a couple of years ago. That put us on the radar of other worlds. I intend to ask for concrete plans on how to stop that from mushrooming into a larger problem for us.”

Topper nodded. “We can handle ourselves, for in a general sense, but the question is, do we want to? I mean, are we intending to live our life here on a constant war footing? That’s never been what Magic is about. I don’t think we should give up the life we created here without making a stand for it.”

“I agree,” a deep, familiar voice came from the front yard.

“Frost! Where did you come from?”

“Lacey, the twins and I landed the transport back at her place and she popped me over.” Frost shifted his feet. “Theo, a word?”

Theo nodded, crammed the last of his sandwich in his mouth, and grabbed one to munch on the walk. Topper floated a sandwich to Frost, and the two men headed back towards the center of town.

Theo brought Frost, a retired Coalition Star Ranger, up to speed on the initial contact and subsequent invasion by two species, and unlocked the jail. Frost inspected the remaining orbs, picking up the one containing Slodoon.

“He is of the Glagnon race. Glagna is a Coalition planet that is a center of scientific research and discovery. Glagna does sanctioned scientific exploration of outer world planets, such as yours, Theo, but their presence here was not that.”

“These,” Frost continued, picking up a different orb, containing a scaly soldier waving angry fists, “are Morducks. They are outlaws and are working to overthrow the Coalition. When you passed the Morducks through the portal, you got everyone’s attention. Star Central radioed immediately, since we were on the return flight home, requesting I provide an update. Topper’s note made it sound like things were well in hand, but Morducks are violent. I’m glad to see Magic prevailed.”

Frost held Theo’s eyes. “This time.”

“That’s my conclusion. They will keep coming. That’s not the life Magic wants, Frost.”

“Lacey said the same thing, Theo. She also said that running isn’t in Magic’s cards.”

“This is a Coalition problem, Frost. They put us on a map with your first visit. Now the Universe wants to have a party on our porch and break our nice things. We’re not amused.”

Frost sighed, easing into the chair across from Theo’s desk. “What are you planning to do next?”

“In half an hour, we will open the portal, send these dregs back to Glacier, and get our kids back. After that, Magic will talk about what we, our town, want to do.”

“Fair enough.”

The children ran from the portal to happy calls from eager parents, showing off their new toys, gifts from the Glacians.

Two Star Rangers stepped through, each carrying a large case. “Permission to visit?”

Theo nodded. Topper flung the last of the orbs into the portal. Catching Theo’s eye, she wiggled her fingers in a sassy little wave and followed the orbs.

Theo watched, caring more than he should. Don’t close that portal, ladies. Elthera eyed Theo with an amused look on her face as she and the older witches held the portal open. After a few minutes, to Theo’s poorly masked relief, Topper reappeared. The portal shrank and disappeared.

“All prisoners restored to full size, and you know what, Theo? I think that teaching thing of Haseya’s works.” Topper smoothed her slim black dress and stepped off the platform in her little black ankle boots. “A good number of the aliens were remorseful. The others, whom I guess she did not touch, were raging. Haseya is an interesting witch. I’m glad she found us.”

23

Theo looked at the two Rangers, Frost, and his now empty jail. Three pairs of ice-blue eyes, mirroring his own, stared back. Theo rubbed his forehead. Has it really been only six days? My butt is dragging like I’ve aged six years.

“The Morducks are a problem,” the Ranger named Arbuk began. “Their planet signed a Coalition agreement in order to get information about other worlds. They used that information to plunder and steal technology they can weaponize. It took a while for the Coalition to catch on, but when they did, they exiled them with heavy sanctions. I won’t mince words, it hasn’t had a significant effect. The Morducks intend to mine low-tech worlds for skills and unusual beings like the ones found here. Magic is a ripe target.”

Egan, the second Ranger, spoke. “Morducks attack, withdraw, wait for the furor to die down, then wage a heavy assault. We’ve seen this pattern against other worlds the Morducks are interested in harvesting.”

“I don’t like how that sounds,” Theo said, flicking his eyes to Frost’s stony face and back to Egan’s.

“From the Coalition’s standpoint, if the Morducks were successful in weaponizing any of the skills that Magic citizens are capable of, it would be a serious tactical advantage for them,” Egan continued.

“So, this is about helping you,” Theo said, his tone flat.

“That’s the surface of it, Theo,” Frost said, his tall frame leaning against the doorjamb, “but, you know it’s deeper. Keeping Magic folks out of the hands of the Morducks saves this entire planet from them. Non-magical people here on Earth would endure terrible treatment. The loss of life, in a Morduck invasion, is significant. If the Morducks are successful here, other planets will fall. It will never be enough.”

“I assume you are here with a proposal," Theo said, his chair creaking as he leaned back and looked at Egan and Arbuk.

“A request,” Arbuk replied. “It’s unusual to have a low-tech planet that also holds beings evolved beyond technology. The Coalition would like to station Egan and me here as permanent residents of Magic. Our mission is to protect you from outer world intrusions. Anything beyond is none of our concern. You handle that, and we deal with the off-planet snooping.”

“They asked me to re-commission, Theo, for work on Earth only,” Frost added. “I’m your third.”

Theo slapped his big hands down on the wooden desk and rose. “All I can do is ask the town, Rangers. It’s up to them.”

Zayn woke and looked into a pair of sad eyes.

“Why the sorrow, my love?”

“I killed yesterday. When I pulled Jonah from one of the scaly aliens, I touched him, Zayn.”

“Do you know for certain he succumbed? No? Let’s take the Indian, roll to town and ask. Topper or Theo will tell us what happened to him.”

Zayn lifted her chin with a long finger, and kissed her nose, then her cheeks and down her neck, watching the light dance within her skin.

“After?”

“After.”

Topper, Theo, Frost, Egan, and Arbuk stood next to the pancaked ship.

“How did you do this?” Arbuk wondered.

“I didn’t, this is Zayn’s work," Theo replied cryptically. I really don’t want to get into the physics of Djinn heartbreak at a thousand feet.

“It’s not a problem," Topper assured Arbuk, her eyes crinkling in the corners.

“It is,” Egan told her. “We need to remove these ships, and this one won’t fly. This can’t stay here, and moving it will draw attention on a planet that thinks they’re alone in the galaxy .”

The corners of Theo’s mouth upturned. Topper let her violet eyes twinkle at him as she hit the ship with a reduction spell, then lifted the toy-sized ship and floated it over, plucking it from the air.

“The children can play with them. Oh, unless you need them?”

“No, not really, but how? Never mind.” Egan and Arbuk traded looks and climbed back up into the bed of Theo’s pickup, struggling to keep their faces straight as they stopped at the upside-down ship. Four toy spaceships later, Theo turned the truck back to town.

The unchanging desert resumed its job as a place for pronghorn antelopes, tumbleweeds, and dust.

Theo parked by the jail to the sound of Zayn’s Indian rumbling through town. Topper smiled at the sight of Haseya’s and Zayn’s long black hair streaming behind them, leather fringe flowing as the bike cruised up. Theo made introductions.

“Zayn, Haseya, this is Egan, and this is Arbuk, visiting from Glacier to follow up on our little skirmish with the aliens.”

Haseya motioned Topper aside. “I must ask, the scaly alien I touched when I took Jonah – is he dead?”

“No, but there was one in rough shape, Haseya, I think he’s the one you mean. I did what I could. He will recover. It impressed me how that healing changed the demeanors of the ones you touched. I would love to sit together and talk about your magic sometime.”

Haseya’s teeth flashed in an uncharacteristic smile. “I’d like that very much, Topper.”

The women laughed, looking up to see the men watching them.

“Did I miss something?” Topper asked, glancing from face to face.

“We need to talk to the town, Topper. Just asking if you plan to come along,” Theo said.

His look says more. Careful Lawman, I will take you up on that.

“I do, Theo. Let’s go!”

Theo looked at the assembled group, taking in the vibe of unity. It had always been there but now felt tenfold stronger.

“So, those are the options. We can welcome Arbuk and Egan as fellow citizens of Magic. They and Frost become part of the Sheriff’s office. Those three handle anything that comes back at us from the outer worlds, and for everything else, you’re stuck with me.”

The crowd laughed. “Works for us," a voice called from the back.

“Or,” Theo continued, “We can fend for ourselves. Based on the previous behavior of the Morducks, they will come back, and it will be in force. I don’t doubt we can put up a credible fight, but I need to know whether being on constant lookout and battle-ready at all times is what you want?”

Simon stepped forward. “Are you saying that if Egan, Arbuk, and Frost are here, they’ll be able to tell if the Morduck’s ship, or any others, are coming?”

“That’s correct,” Egan said. “We have a scanning system and other equipment that will let us see with enough warning to sound the alarm and give you time to be ready or to leave. We’ll be the alien version of your hurricane warning system.”

The crowd murmured, and Theo sensed their agreement.

“Welcome to Magic, gentlemen," Simon said, ruffling Jonah and Joseph’s hair.

“Did you find out? Is that alien alive?” Zayn’s hand ran down Haseya’s sleek hair and came to rest on the top of her hip.

“He lived! I’m surprised and also grateful. Their darkness felt complete, Zayn. This was not the news I expected.”

“Not everything that’s dark is irredeemable, Haseya.”

Her eyes smiled up at him, and she tipped up to kiss him. “Another thing I’ve learned from you. But, I know one thing you don’t.”

Zayn raised an eyebrow and laughed. “Really? I’ve been around a few thousand more years than you, my love. What secret knowledge do you possess?”

“This,” she said, placing his hand on her belly and smiling at Zayn’s look of incredulity.

“Really? Are you sure?” Zayn caught her up and swung her, pulling her close and breathing into her ear. “I have a love for all the ages for you, Haseya. You are my universe. You and our son.”

Haseya patted their daughter and smiled, dark eyes twinkling. Perhaps, my love, I know another thing you don’t.

The Morduck Council reviewed the transmissions, one sent from their ship and the other from the Coalition, notifying them of the prisoners detained at the Glacian homeworld. It ended with a demand to appear to the Coalition Senate to explain themselves.

“Show the transmission from the ship again.”

They watched as the black shape rose from the ground, touched a Glagnon who dropped upon contact, and then fell through the ground and vanished.

“Again.”

“This is the weapon we need. Prepare a battle plan.”

~ The End ~

About the Author

Winnie Winkle is an emerging author of paranormal and science fiction romance. She lives and writes in South Daytona Shores, Florida. This is Winnie’s first book in the Magic, New Mexico series.

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