Page 53 of Shifter King

"What?" All three sets of eyes squinted.

This time she made just a slab, several inches smaller than the doorway. With it lined up precisely, she released the slab. It slammed forward with a satisfyingthonk. The Okalu winced and jerked back, the hissing and rattling intensifying. "Stupid mortal child!"

Amelia blinked, crouched beside the slab, and pulled it back. Half of it was gone. The half that had passed through the doorway. "Interesting."

"How dare you," the Okalu continued.

"Uh huh."

"You know that this is not the only way that we can reach you. You cannot avoid us forever."

"No, but no need to rush our meeting in-person is there?" Amelia fixed her gaze on the portion of wall between the doorways.

"All it takes is once. You give us permission once, and we will be in. All it takes is once, and we will always be watching."

"We'll just take this one thing at a time." With that, she pointed to the space and imagined a black walnut end table with flared legs and four books in the shelf between the legs. It appeared, hesitating only for half a breath.

She blinked, squeezing her eyes shut once, twice, thrice. It was still there. She smiled. Good.

"If you do this, you only make it worse for yourself."

"Hmmhmm." She then envisioned a large brick wall over the frame of the doorway. Not passing over the jamb. Just bricks in front. They slapped one upon the next, sealing up as perfectly as if by the hand of a master mason.

Stepping back, she blinked purposefully this time. Eight blinks. It did not fade.

All right.

What was on this side of the corridor was under her control. On the other, not so much. This she could work with though. The Okalu had been watching through her mind. She needed to figure out just how much it had witnessed, and that wall needed to remain up. At least for now, she had a few more answers.

It felt good to make progress.

That cool breeze blew across her face again. Blinking, she rubbed her eyes. They stung. What? What even was this?

The smoky scent intensified, burning the inside of her nostrils even as she turned her face. She fell back a step, holding up her hand to steady herself as the dark empty doorways leered at her. Where was that smell coming from?

Wait. Her eyes watered.

No.

That wasn't from her mind at all. That was happening in the waking world. Help. They needed help!

* * *

No sooner didthe Vawtrian youths realize that Enver was dead when they erupted in cheers and raced for the stairs. The last ones roused from the trappings within their minds and staggered up with the help of their fellow Vawtrians.

Phobos rushed down the stairs and seized two, a red-haired boy and dark-haired girl, neither over the age of fifty. He gripped them tight, his lips pressed in a tight line as tears spilled down his cheeks.

Naatos hefted the Abliato's corpse out of the sand kraken's way and let it take one of the other dead bodies instead. It seemed to be hunting based on taste, and presumably it could taste through those tentacles despite the technology muting the senses. He then leaped to the other side.

The girl with red and white hair had been one of those trapped for a second time in the illusion. She struggled to even stand, but she allowed him to carry her while AaQar picked up one of the smaller Vawtrians who had broken an arm in all the thrashing.

Within a few minutes, all were gathered on the thicker soil of the hill overlooking the arena but blocked from the city's sight by shrubs and low trees. Naatos cleaned the blood from his hands with a surge of energy that dissolved it, a far better solution than sand even if it was a little inefficient.

AaQar quickly organized the young Vawtrians so that care could be provided to those who needed it, using scraps of cloth and some of the waxy but pliable felrun leaves of the waist-high bushes. Most of the young ones he set to helping one another. Phobos eagerly joined in after he saw to his two cadre mates. Naatos helped as well, working alongside AaQar. It was good to see his brother working so much faster and with better focus. Another sign of improvement overall.

As the last of the wounded were being treated, Phobos approached him. "That was absolutely incredible," he said, his gold and amber eyes still wide. "What you both did—I've only heard about that in stories. I didn't think any of us could do that."

"You can," AaQar said, securing the crude leaf bandage on one Vawtrian's ankle. He then examined her broken arm and shoulder. The girl winced but did not cry out. "With training and time. And if they stop draining all of you. The levy must be stopped. If none of you pay it, you will bring an end to their reign far faster."