came back then he wasn't going to be making it out of his
current captivity alive.
You people have been perpetrating the greatest evil
on the planet. We have been trying to stop you. The male
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voice was sounding very sure of himself.
"I think there has been some kind of mix up here."
Kal wished he could reach out to Isabelle. He had a feeling
her calming influence was just what they needed. All of his
powers might be gone but they were still just a few hours
from the full moon and patience was not a virtue he had in
abundance on a good day.
Mix up? The female voice questioned.
"You sent those police officers after us after they
killed my other half's parents. Your name is Alexa, right?
Alexa and Gabriel. I bet if you let me down we could all
just talk like civilized beings and sort this all out." Kal
hoped they were listening to him.
Killed her parents? The male voice sounded
horrified.
What? The female voice followed.
"Enough!" A loud resounding yell filled the room
and Kal suddenly found himself staring at a face he had
thought never to see again. Standing in front of him, alive
as he had been just weeks before, was his friend Doug.
"They can't hear you anymore, warrior." Only Doug had
never sounded quite like that in his life. It was a mechanical
sounding version of the voice that had once belonged to his
best friend. "I see you recognize me. I thought perhaps if I
took this body, took it and used it, that you might relate to
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it and perhaps we could make you more comfortable."
Doug's eyes, colder than they had ever been in life, sneered
at him.
"I take it you're Sebastian?" Kal needed to
formulate a plan.
"That's what some people call me," Sebastian
answered laughingly. "You can call me that if you wish."
"Well." Kal laughed without any humor in his
voice. "Seeing as you have me at a complete disadvantage
here, I don't know why you need to make me comfortable
so how about you leave my dead friend alone and come see
me in your actual body?"
"So you can send an image of me to your lady and
have them track me down even after you are dead? I think
not. In that case killing Kal would gain me no advantage. I
think I am quite comfortable remaining as I am. Besides,
seeing as you got Doug killed, I think it's only right he gets
to return the favor."
The lights had come on and Kal could see his first
impressions of a basement were correct. How many floors
under was still anyone's guess.
"Do your friends know who you are, Sebastian? Do
they know what you really are?" Kal pulled tightly to try to
free his wrists but found himself stuck even tighter.
"Do you know who I am, Kalmari?" Sebastian
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sneered. "You just missed the great reveal at your home.
By the way, Veli is dead. I will miss being able to inhabit
that body. Who knew your little friend Leonardo had that
much guts? I may have made a mistake not taking him first.
But, no bother, I will dispose of you and then dispose of
him. Your women will be left with no one to protect them
and even Isabelle, and of course I know about Isabelle, with
your powers to protect them will be no match for me. I will
have effectively ended the reign of the Outsiders with two
little deaths."
"I don't think it's so easy to kill us, Sebastian." Kal
laughed out loud. Suddenly he was completely sure of
himself. In his whole life he had never been completely
sure of himself but strung from the ceiling by his hands and
powerless he could actually see things clearly for the first
time. "We have always existed, we will always exist and if
it was easy to kill us, then you would have done it years
ago when we were babies. I think you are currently unable
to kill us and that's why you're using those two people to
get us. She said she brought me here and that he knocked
me out. You've always sent minions against us. I think
you're sweating. You can't kill us, at least not yet, can you?
You're basically as powerless as I am at the moment."
"Powerless?" Sebastian was getting angry. "I may
not be yet able to kill you but I assure you, weakling, that I
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am not powerless."
Sebastian raised his hand to the sky and brought
forth voltage. Kal knew the bolt was going to hit him
seconds before it actually did. His whole body shook from
the shock of it but he wasn't dead. Something was
protecting him.
"I can keep you here and make you completely
uncomfortable every second of every day until you rot from
it and then I assure you when the time comes I will kill you
and you'll be begging me for your death."
"I'm not capable of begging from you. The only
person I am capable of begging from is about half your size
and much more pleasant to look at."
Sebastian screamed with rage and pummeled Kal's
body with powerful destructive energy again. Kal could
smell the ends of his hair burning. He still wasn't dead. He
should be dead. What was going on?
Suddenly he could hear it clearly. A voice that had
been trying to speak to him from the moment he had
opened his eyes.
Call to me Kal, and I will answer you.
The moon. How was it possible? He didn't have his
powers.
It's never been about your powers. They are from
the earth. You are from me. She is from the sun. The men
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have always come from the moon and the women the sun.
You are not Outsiders to us. Together you were sent here to
save the children when you were just a child yourself. Call
to me Kal as your family has done since time began.
Help me. Please help me, he called to the moon.
Please help me get back to her.
Kal? Isabelle's voice filled his head. We are here,
Kal. I don't know how we got here. We were in the living
room and now we are someplace else. A house. I can feel
you inside. Marina is trying to unravel the safety spells that
are keeping the house locked up. Leonardo says there are
two people upstairs and you in the basement. Is that
correct?
Two upstairs. Me in the basement with the big bad
Darkness who is currently wearing the body of my dead
friend Doug, remember him? The moon brought you here.
His whole body jerked as another bolt hit him. He hoped
Isabelle couldn't sense what was going on.
What's happening? Isabelle's voice was in his head,
screaming. He could feel that she was getting angry and
suddenly he was terrified for her. She had no idea how to
handle his powers, let alone how to handle them when she
was angry. The whole house started to shake. Sebastian
looked up at the ceiling, his eyes narrowing.
Kal winced, realizing that there surprise entry was
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now blown. Isabelle, he thought to her , if you can hear me
then take a deep breath and give me back my powers. It
was your own gifts that took them to begin with, kiddo. It's
never been about me, it's always been about you. Or rather
about what we can do together and this is what you can do.
So do it.
I don't know how to do that, Kal. It was you who
gave them to me. You said something about taking what
you knew you could give me. Stop giving me all the credit
and take some for yourself.
Another bolt hit Kal and as his eyes refocused he
could see that Doug, or rather Sebastian, was starting to
sweat. He was bluffing and Doug had never been any good
at it, which was why Kal had always won at poker. His skin
was fried. He could feel it; he certainly wasn't in shock—at
least not yet.
It was time.
Well then I want to take them back, now, Isabelle.
Kal felt the instant rush of power as it reentered his body.
His hands started to tingle with excitement. Closing his
eyes, he visualized the ropes disappearing from around his
wrists—another gift, he knew, from the moon. He couldn't
wait to tell Leonardo. Imagine that, he thought as he landed
gracefully on the floor, I know something that Leonardo
doesn't.
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Face to face he was taller than Doug and therefore
at that moment he was taller than Sebastian. His skin
burned and he felt like he had a thousand tiny needles
poking him all over but he didn't care.
"Sorry, it's time for me to go now. I've got a girl
upstairs waiting for me." Kal focused and sent all the
energy that was building up inside of him outwards into
Doug's body in front of him. Sebastian began to scream.
"Guess it hurts, huh?" Kal grinned at him. "I don't have any
limitations on me towards killing you. I don't think that my
girl would much care if killing you put a little black dot on
my soul. She likes the darker side of me."
In front of his eyes, Doug's body began to writhe
and shutter before it exploded. Kal could feel the evil that
was Sebastian push out into the air around him and
concentrated on not letting him invade his own body. He
imagined putting up shields to block his mind, large metal
shields that would not break. Nothing was getting into his
head that Kal didn't want there and Kal didn't want that
anywhere near his consciousness.
They seemed to be holding because Kal felt the
second Sebastian's essence left the room.
He's pure energy right now and he's heading right
for you. Don't let him. Tell the others, he sent to Isabelle.
Reaching her was the easiest for him, broadcasting to
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everyone would take too much energy and he felt like he
might fall over at any time.
Upstairs, the sounds of footsteps rushing through
the front door caught his attention and he turned to run up
the basement stairs, nearly colliding with Isabelle who he
grabbed instead and pulled into his arms. It hurt but he
didn't care.
"Baby, are you okay?" He touched her everywhere.
He was not going to ever let her out of his sight again. They
were going to have to find a way to prevent that Alexa
person from removing them without their consent.
"I'm fine, Kal but look at you. What did he do to
you?" Isabelle responded. Kal looked down, confused, and
saw that he was covered in burns on most of his arm and
that his hair was slightly burnt off, giving him a look that
was akin to a medium-well done steak in a restaurant. He
could only imagine what the rest of him looked like. His
adrenaline was pumping so hard that he hardly felt
anything anymore. Shock, he thought. I'm finally going into
shock and I can't feel it. He knew that wouldn't be true later
on.
"What time is it, Isabelle?" Kal suddenly realized
that she was supposed to be traveling back to meet Abraxas
and if the way the full moon was calling to him was any
indication then they were almost out of time. "Don't worry
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about me. We heal fast."
"You heal fast?" Isabelle didn't sound convinced.
Leonardo and Marina came flying down the stairs in front
of them.
"He does." Leonardo grinned at Kal as if he
remembered some of the other times Kal had healed faster
than most. Kal didn't want to imagine what times Leonardo
was thinking about. He was glad he didn't have a window
into Leonardo's mind.
"I hear Veli's dead." Kal looked at his two friends.
They were more like family to him and now he was going
to be responsible for their safety. He knew he wouldn't let
them down. Every ounce of self doubt he had ever had
seemed gone.
"I killed him." Leonardo held his gaze.
"He saved us," Marina snapped back.
"You'll have to tell me about it sometime but right
now I think you and Isabelle need to do a little time travel."
* * * *
Isabelle could feel the difference in Kal. It wasn't
just that he was injured; he seemed to suddenly be filled
with resolve and self confidence. She didn't know exactly
what had happened in the basement but she was thrilled
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with his new resolve. It fit him. He was her man, and she
liked him totally alpha. Well, she amended, most of the
time she would.
"Here?" Isabelle looked confused. "Can we do it
from here?" They had practiced it always doing it in the
living room of the mansion.
"Here's as good as anywhere." Leonardo looked
around. Charma came down the stairs, joining them.
"They're gone. The two who were upstairs have
vanished," she reported.
"I think I can help you two." Marina looked at
Leonardo and Isabelle. "We all can. I didn't mention it
earlier because I thought I must be crazy but with
everything that has happened and Leonardo telling me to
admit my power, I think I can help you all focus your
energy. We all can. All of our powers are unique and I
think if we form a circle and concentrate we can help add
our uniqueness to Isabelle and then she'll be able to travel
more safely. It would help, obviously, if we were a
complete group. I'm going to work on that when this is over
but for now, this will do. It will more than do." Marina took
a d
eep breath, exhaling.
Isabelle grinned at her, remembering her first
impression of Marina as being deeper than she seemed.
"You all need to find what I have." Kal squeezed
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Isabelle's hand. "Or I wouldn't care if we never found
anyone else. You're my family. We can beat this son of a
bitch with our eyes closed."
Isabelle smiled. Maybe a little bit too alpha, she
laughed to herself.
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Chapter Eighteen
All five of them joined hands in a circle. Isabelle
had time to once again be astonished that they were doing
this in the basement of a strange house.
Leonardo began to concentrate his energy on
Isabelle, who in turn began to concentrate her energy on
jumping backwards through time.
But this time it was different. She could feel all of
them with her.
Marina, the spell caster, who could see things none
of the rest of them could see, clearing space and time to
make it easier for her.
Charma, so gifted in healing, keeping her calm and
focused. So much stronger than anyone ever gave her credit
for. She held the world's emotions on her shoulders and
somehow she didn't hunch over.
Leonardo, the energy enhancer, acting like a battery
and powering her up. He was still partially closed from
them. He had stolen Veli's powers and ended his life. His
brilliance there for everyone to see but the rest of him still
hidden.
Kal, her other half and protector, injured yet
wrapping her in his embrace and keeping her safe as she
knew he always would. She knew she was going to make it.
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