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The CEO looked to Colonel Crane and saw a sympathetic expression but knew he couldn’t overrule his superior officer. She sighed. “Fair enough. It’s true. All we can do is share our experiences. This is the fallout of remaining hidden from you. We’re complete strangers, and you have no reason to trust us. So, we can’t rely on you to assist us in this mission.”
“What mission? There is no mission. You’re all remaining in our custody until we can make some sense out of this,” the General insisted.
Roy snorted. “We don’t have time for you to try to grasp something so far outside your realm of experience. You’ve no frame of reference. We’re facing the extinction of Humanity and Non-Human life. Mab’s already taking steps to achieve that goal. We were fortunate Henry was able to stop her when he did.” He could see the General’s expression close up. “Your inability to comprehend the danger places everyone at risk. We didn’t and don’t need your assistance, but now you’re actively interfering with efforts to save the bloody world!” he snarled.
Sigrid reached out and seized Roy’s hand as she could see his agitation was leading to an attack.
The death of Humanity wasn’t going to begin here.
-=-
“What’s happening?” Eleanor quietly asked as she sat up. She froze as her voice sounded different to her, smoother and a little deeper. She looked at her hands and was startled to see how much paler her skin looked. Her fingers were longer too!
Meixiu knelt down next to the cot she was sitting on and touched her knee. “You went through a transformation from overfeeding on Wild Magic. The same happened to me and to Raymond.”
“Raymond!” she gasped and spun to see a white-haired version of her husband resting on the next cot. “Oh my god! He’s…” she sighed. It felt odd to be so attracted to a man that looked like her husband but sexier. A pang of strange guilt flashed through her then her rational mind scolded her. This was her husband, and thinking he was sexy was okay!
She reached out to touch his hand. His eyes fluttered open, then turned to her. He smiled when he saw the wonder in her eyes. “Hello, beautiful,” he said.RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
Eleanor smiled at how much sexier his voice was as well. “You’re one to talk- Oh!” She suddenly realized they would need to change identities once more as there was no way to explain this change.
Raymond nodded as his mind was following the same path. He glanced over to the gathering. “Are we missing something?”
Meixiu shot an angry look over to the Humans. “The General is being a jerk!”
Mick chuckled as she arrived to overhear Meixiu’s assessment. She looked to the two platinum blondes. “How are you two feeling?”
They smiled back at her. “Amazing!” Eleanor gushed.
Raymond nodded at her assessment. “Yes, I feel lighter yet more powerful. I’m not sure what that means yet, but I’m not complaining.”
Eleanor saw Camila was up and showing no signs of distress after her operation. She turned her head to look at Minkah. Her shirt and jacket’s shoulder were scorched and melted away, but her skin underneath no longer resembled that. It was smooth and unblemished. She turned her head to look at Raymond. “He healed her?” she asked incredulously.
Her husband nodded. “And she bit him savagely while he did, but he didn’t stop. When she passed out, he just asked me to heal the punctures. Then I woke up like this.”
They all looked over at Henry sleeping peacefully on Camila’s lap. They could see she was running her fingers through his hair.
Meixiu sat on the end of Eleanor’s cot and looked into the surgeon’s eyes. “I do not believe in fate, but powerful witches are playing us all like we are chess pieces. I don’t like it.”
Eleanor nodded, and Raymond’s expression was grim. “We can only do the best we can,” he added.
“If we hadn’t met, and you hadn’t joined me to find Henry, and you hadn’t been shot, and Eleanor hadn’t asked Henry for help operating on you, he wouldn’t have linked to the Global Healing Spell in time to stop Mab from killing off the Fae. The chain of actions leading to this moment frightens me, but I cannot determine who benefits from this. My mind tells me Baba is powerful enough and clever enough to think this through, but she has no love for anyone, so she wouldn’t have made an effort to save the Fae.”
“Who is Baba?” Mick asked.
Raymond answered. “Baba Yaga. She’s possibly the most powerful witch in history. She’s a master tactician who plays the long game.” He looked to Eleanor wistfully. “We’ve never met her nor had any involvement in her schemes to date.”
Meixiu nodded. “She’s deeply involved with events around Henry as she raised him from a child. Recently, though, she’s been avoiding him.”
The Sergeant frowned. “Shouldn’t the General be told about Baba Yaga?”
Meixiu shook her head. “His nerve is already failing him when dealing with one witch. Telling him about another wouldn’t help him.”
“It sounds like he’s falling back on the familiar when confronted with the unknown,” Raymond agreed. “Protocols and process, neither of which we can afford.”
“AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!”
They jumped as Minkah came out of her slumber with a scream. Everyone turned to look at her as she struggled to her feet, looking around wildly at the unfamiliar room.
Eleanor stood to face her and spoke softly to the panting woman. “It’s okay. You’re healed. Henry healed you. You’re all better now. Take some deep breaths.”
Minkah shuddered from the memory of the pain, then focused on the doctor, and confusion showed in her eyes. “Who are you?”
“Oh! I suppose I do look different! I’m Eleanor King, and this is my husband, Raymond. We were there when Henry was rescued. We’ve been changed by the Wild Magic, as were you,” she said calmly.
Minkah shook her head as she didn’t feel different. She looked down at herself, and besides feeling so good, she couldn’t see the difference.
“Your eyes are both blue now; a deep and stunning blue!” Eleanor sighed with a smile.
Minkah sucked in a shocked gasp. The genetic flaw was gone?
Across the room, Roy stood quickly as he listened to something. Minkah instinctively listened as well and picked up a deep rumble from below, likely street level. Something heavy was approaching.
“We’re about to come under attack. General, it looks like your people will get firsthand experience fighting Mab’s troops. A platoon of Ogres are running up the street and will soon be at the building’s front door,” Roy insisted, then looked to Camila. “Sleep time is over for the boy. Wake him.” She nodded.
Minkah felt a rush as the thought of combat sent a thrill through her. She was a trained assassin and took great pride in her work. She hadn’t had an opportunity to do that work recently. Ogres were a challenge due to their toughness, tenacity, and sheer brute strength.
“I’ll help.”
Roy looked over at her and nodded.
She was going to war.
-=-
Gordon Crane almost sighed with relief as Roy mentioned they were under attack. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do to break through the General’s mental paralysis. Now he had something concrete to get them moving in the direction they should be.
“Ogres, what do they look like?” he asked Roy.
“Big, tough as hell, and ugly with tusks in their lower jaw-”
“Giants,” Mick said, and eyes turned her way. “We fought two of them at the New Jersey containment center. Seemingly impervious to bullets. Really hard to put down. With both the werewolves and us attacking them, we barely managed to take them out.”
“Ogres. The two at the prison were Ogres,” Henry said as he groggily sat up. He was glancing at Camila and Sigrid with an embarrassed smile when he realized he’d been sleeping on them.
“How many in a platoon?” Crane asked.
“Roughly twenty,” Roy said. “Did you fellas bring anything bigger than those pop guns?” he asked, looking over at the Human soldiers.
“What’s required?” Baines asked. Now he was back in familiar territory.
“Fifty caliber or better,” Roy replied. “Grenade launchers would be useful. Ogres don’t stop until you or they are dead.” He looked towards the security camera in the ceiling. “Protocol Z9.”
“What was that?” Baines snapped.
“I have a contingency plan in place for repelling such an invading force. I just ordered a squad of my men to collect the high caliber weapons from the armory and to engage the enemy before they reach the building,” Roy explained. “Please tell your people to not shoot the Weres carrying the oversized weapons coming up from the basement.” The General scowled but sent one of his men out to notify the others.
Henry stood and walked over to hug Roy. The big redhead looked embarrassed. “Henry, this isn’t the time- OH!” He stopped talking when he felt the energy flowing into him. Henry pulled back with a red face as he moved to Sigrid, who was standing and grinning with her arms thrown wide. She hugged him and giggled as Henry sent Wild Magic pouring into her as well.