Chapter Twenty-Nine – Introducing… Rayna #2
“Good. Then we should probably get back to the others and at least talk about what my plan is.”
“Yeah, of course. Let's go.” I nodded.
Kiss her! It might be the last time. Aren’t you worried about that?
Ignoring the voice in my head, I followed Likosa out of the room.
When we returned to the others, they were talking to Tayvion about Sire.
Jericha lifted her arm, pulling her sleeve up to reveal an intricate tattoo that lifted from her flesh, and a weird-looking snake vine with pink flower petals around its head appeared.
“So, all of you have a magical pet?” Tayvion gawked as she petted the snake head. “That is so interesting! And she is beautiful.”
“What’s going on here?” I asked.
“We were just talking about Sire, and apparently, each of them has a pet too! I wonder if magical pet companions are drawn to your people,” Tayvion explained. “This is so amazing, Shon. Now you can have a better understanding of where you come from.”
“My people?” I frowned, wondering how she was already so comfortable with the concept I was struggling to accept.
“Well, I mean, you’re all related, according to what they said,” Tayvion noted. “Shontae has a cat, and Rayna has a dog from the Bane! Apparently, its farts are apricot-scented!”
“We can catch you up on all that later,” Jericha, who struck me as the more sensible of the three women, spoke. “Now, we need to discuss the plan. Jackie is on standby in case we need her.”
“You’re right.” Likosa moved to the center of the room. “There is a lot to discuss and not much time to do it in. We have a small window of opportunity I want to take advantage of. They will not be expecting us, but I don’t know how long it will be until they realize we are there.”
“Are you saying we’re walking into hostile territory?” Whitney asked. “I mean, what’s really going on, Likosa?”
“I don’t know about you going to war, Shon.” Tayvion frowned at me.
“I do not expect this to turn into a war, but there may be some hostility toward me.” Likosa glanced my way, and I gave her a slight nod of encouragement—not that it felt like she needed it.
“I did not leave my home by choice. Someone forced me out after being falsely accused of betrayal. I’m not sure how, but she convinced everyone I was in the wrong.
Before I knew it, some of the strongest in our world had come together to push me out. ”
“And you can’t just go back and talk things out?” Tayvion asked. “Does it need to be so complicated?”
“If it were that simple, I would have done so already,” Likosa said. “I tried to go back home plenty of times, but our world has an invisible shield around it. The rejected are not allowed through it. Though my expulsion wasn’t an official decree, somehow, it still works against me.”
“Tell us about your home,” Whitney said. “What is it like?”
“Kinasha is a beautiful place. It’s a world of women—or at least what you would classify as women. There are no male counterparts.”
“Count me in!” Tayvion hopped up from her seat.
“And what about Evan?” I teased before looking at Likosa. “Please continue.”
“Our world is one of trust. When someone breaks the trust, the others will turn on her. The accusation against me was a betrayal of one of the greatest trusts.” She sighed.
“I promise you all, I did not do what I was accused of. If I had, I would accept this fate. I want to go back to clear my name.”
“That’s fair,” Jericha said. “I wouldn’t want people thinking I did something I hadn’t done.”
“What about the people? They’re all women. This is off topic, but how do you reproduce?” Whitney asked.
“Trust bonds can be activated to allow for reproduction. It’s a serious and selective process. When you pair with someone, the bond can then be used to blend pieces of your genetic information into a new soul.”
“So who carries the child?” Rayna leaned forward.
“There is no carrier. We have our babies externally so each mother can nurture the child as it develops before birth.”
“This is fascinating.” Tayvion sounded like she was reading a page-turner she couldn’t put down. What about periods? Do you all get a period?”
“No. That is an unfortunate side effect of being human.” Likosa laughed. “So sorry for you all.”
“But you said we’re not human, right?” I asked. “We’re descendents of aliens? So how is it that we also have periods?”
“Well, your ancestors mated with humans. I supposed that is how it was passed down to you.” Likosa shrugged. “I won’t pretend to know how it really works. It's not something I researched.”
“Aw, that’s some bullshit! Our powers got suppressed but not our menstrual cycles?” Whitney fussed.
“I wonder if there’s a way we can awaken that genetic trait.” Jericha leaned forward. “We need to research this.”
“World hopping works.” Rayna shrugged.
“Temporarily,” Whitney pointed at her. “You said your last period almost killed you when you got back here.”
“It did. I thought I was out of here for good!” Rayna said. “I made Metice bring me a truck load of tacos and a heating pad made of lava rocks! Never seen that demon so terrified.”
“Let’s refocus, please.” I suddenly had no interest in talking about the bond of menstrual pain.
Because you hate her guts and wish that period had done the job?
“Thank you.” Likosa looked at me, and somehow, we got locked in each other’s gaze. It felt like I wasn’t the one who could see the emotions of others. Her eyes told me not to worry about Rayna. My heart told me not to hold on to Likosa so tightly.
“Ahem.” Tayvion cleared her throat, breaking our eye contact.
Four women stared us down, and my face warmed. Before I could say anything or run the hell up out of there, Sire flew into the room. The grand distraction. She brushed the tip of her wing against Likosa’s face, greeting her before she came to me.
“Thank you,” I whispered to the bird as Likosa continued.
“The plan is to go in through a back passage. It is a break in the barrier of our world that is only opened once every sixty years. If we don’t do this now, it won’t happen. At least, not anytime soon.”
“Okay, so we slip in through the break.,” Jericha said. “How do you see this working out?”
“Rayna will get us there. They don’t know her magic, and from what I can tell, it's pretty much undetectable when you land on a new world. That will get us in the door,” Likosa laid it out.
“To be safe, Shontae, I’ll need you to wrap me inside one of your energy blankets before we leave.
That will mute my magic and allow us to slip through easier. ”
I nodded when she looked at me but said nothing. I was sure I could do what she wanted. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d done it.
“Once we are there, Jericha, it will be your turn to take the lead. There is a thick, forested barrier wall outside of the territory we need to enter. It is several miles of greenery that would kill us if we didn’t have someone with a special ability to help us connect with nature,” Likosa said.
“And what do I do?” Whitney asked. “You said you don’t want this to become a war.”
“No, I don’t. But should we need it, your firepower will come in handy.
I hope Shontae will be able to put any opposition to rest with her ability, but there are no guarantees.
There are strong people in my world, all with varying abilities of their own.
I don’t know how this will go, but with you there, if things turn against us, the four of you should be able to get out together. ”
“You want us to leave you behind?” I asked.
“I can take care of myself.” Likosa nodded.
“And once we’re inside?” Jericha asked. “I take it you have that planned out?”
“My plan is to face the person responsible for kicking me out,” Likosa said. “That is the only way to clear this up. Once she admits the truth, that I didn’t do what I was accused of, this will all go away.”
“Well, this sounds fantastic! I wish I could go,” Tayvion said as Sire flew from me to her. “We’ll just have to stay here, won’t we, girl?”
“Exactly. I need you to keep an eye on Sire. We don’t know if that crazy heifer will come back.”
“If you don’t think Cadence has her locked up in a basement somewhere by now, you’re out of your mind.” Tayvion laughed. “I doubt we will ever see her again.”
“You’re probably right.”
“So are you all off to the battlefield now?” Tayvion asked Likosa. “Is this why we’re all gathered?”
“We have some time. We would need to move in just over twenty-four hours.” Likosa looked around the room, taking in each of our faces before landing on mine.
“I felt this would be a great time for you all to get to know each other before we go. Maybe we can figure out how best you will work together.”
After some debate, mostly from Jericha, Likosa left.
I wanted to thank Jericha for questioning Likosa’s logic.
I couldn’t do it myself because I didn’t want to risk being called out for it.
I should want to get to know these women, right?
They were, in some way, family and could help solve a lot of the questions I had. But I didn’t want Likosa to leave.
Soon enough, the conversation turned to the topic of our people and their origins, and that meant a lot more of Rayna speaking, since she was the one who had the best understanding of it.
“I’ve been to three other worlds that had people like us.
Turns out, Earth wasn’t the only world they ran to,” Rayna explained.
“I spoke to a few of them, and some knew our history more than others. I learned our people were elementals. The original world is dead now, but being there allowed me to trace the signatures of some of our people. They are all over the place. Knowing that healed something in me I didn’t know hurt. ”
“We’re elementals?” Whitney said in a swooning tone.
“At the basic level, yes, but it’s manifested in different ways due to our environmental conditions.
I think, Whitney and Jericha, you two have the most straightforward expressions of your elements.
For Shontae and me, it would be harder to really connect it to an element, especially because what counts as elements on Earth may not have been the same in our original world. “Honestly, same.” Whitney nodded.
In a strange way, I’m so grateful to Likosa and that pool of hers.” Rayna chuckled and touched her cheek. “Though, I mean, I was not expecting what happened in there.”
“It’s so weird; I didn’t get any special treatment.” Jericha laughed.
“Neither did I. I mean, not really,” Whitney said. “I thought it was going to be so much more.”
“Special treatment?” I asked quickly, glancing at Tayvion. She couldn’t have looked any more obvious. Her eyes were wide, and her lips were sucked into her head.
“Well, yeah. She pretty much water banged Rayna!” Whitney laughed. “Was it like that for you?”
“Something like that,” I said through a tight jaw. “I think I’ll make us some tea. Anyone want anything else?”
They all said no, and I headed to the kitchen.
“You’re jealous!” Tayvion came in whispering. “I never thought I would see the day, but here we are.”
“Shut up.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe this.”
“I think this is good. It is super healthy for you.” She clapped her hands. “You finally met someone you care enough about to be jealous.”
“I am not jealous. This is all just overwhelming me,” I denied her accusations.
“I mean, she shows up here with three women who I’m apparently related to.
Then, she dips and leaves us to bond before we’re supposed to go fight our way into her world so she can claim a home I don’t believe she belongs in anymore. ”
“Oh, shit.” Tayvion put her hand over her mouth.
“What?” I asked as I filled the kettle with water. “I know it's late. I should be telling them to leave, but I think tea will calm me down.”
“No, that.” She pointed at me. “You love Likosa.”
“Tay, this is not the time to tease me.” I waved her off.
“Friend, I am not teasing you. I’m being very serious right now.” She took the kettle from me. “Shon, look at you. You’re upset about Rayna, and then, is it sadness I’m sensing? You don’t want Likosa to go home. Tell her that.”
“I will not.” I leaned against the sink.
“Fine, but it's going to bite you in the ass if you don’t!” She hip-checked me before setting the kettle to boil. “Don’t think I’ll ever let you live it down if you chicken out now. Now, let’s serve up some tea so we can get Rayna out of your house before you gut punch her ass!”
Tayvion was laughing, but I wasn’t so sure it wouldn’t happen.
That’s right. No other woman is allowed in that pool but you!