CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Cierra wouldn't normally leave her house in the middle of the night, but she knew something was wrong. She sensed a powerful threat around Alex and refused to leave him in danger, so after dropping Terri off with the Bryce family, she ran to Pickering Wharf.

She arrived just in time to see Rikki fleeing the scene. Although she wanted to chase after her sister, saving Alex was more important.

There was no sign of him anywhere. Cierra began to panic. She was about to dive into the water in an insane attempt to go after him when an arm grabbed her.

"Stay on dry land, Queenie," Kit said. "I've got him."

Kit held her hands out and made a motion like she was pulling something toward herself. A powerful wave of water came rushing toward them. It rose above the wall and crashed down. When it receded back into the sea, Alex lay motionless on the ground.

"Alex!" Cierra cried in horror.

As Cierra attempted CPR, Kit knelt beside them. "Cierra, step aside for a second," she said.

"I can't... He's not breathing," Cierra said numbly.

"Cierra, move," Kit insisted.

"I have to help him!"

"Calm down, girlfriend," Chad said as he ran toward them.

"Chad... Chad, Alex isn't breathing... He's... He's not breathing..." Cierra began to cry before resuming CPR.

"It's okay, Cierra," he said soothingly. "Kit's an exceptionally powerful hydrokinetic. She can pull the water out of his lungs. Let her help." He gently put a hand on her shoulder. This grounded her immediately.

"Help him," she whispered. "Please..."

Kit put both of her hands on Alex's chest and pressed down with all of her strength. With one powerful compression, Alex suddenly expelled a tremendous amount of water. He began to cough before slowly opening his eyes.

"Oh my God..." Cierra sobbed as she flung her arms around him. "I heard the banshee... And I had a vision... I thought I was going to lose you..."

"You almost did," Alex admitted. "Cierra... Rikki was here."

"I know. I saw her," Cierra replied.

"It's true..." Chad whispered.

"What's true, Captain Glitterpuss?" Kit asked.

"There were rumors that Erica Vitti could control the Siren of Salem. It was never proven, but... It looks like Rikki sent her after Cierra's fairytale princess boyfriend, who yet again ended up in distress."

"You know I can hear you, right, Chad?" Alex asked.

"Of course I do, trophy husband. You're a delicious piece of arm candy, and you have a heroic girlfriend who'll do anything to save you. Embrace it."

"Chad, he's the leader of the Silver Society," Cierra reminded him. "Alex is not some accessory I like to flaunt. He's a powerful psychic and slayer."

"Okay, fine. He serves other purposes, too, but I enjoy looking at him... And I'm not wrong about how often he ends up in distress."

Cierra turned toward Kit. "Thanks for saving him, Kit," she said.

"No problem," Kit replied. "Captain Glitterpuss is right for once... Your boyfriend's hot, and the world would be less attractive without him in it."

"Seriously? I feel like a piece of meat," Alex protested.

"But we'd only compare you to the finest cut of steak, Alex," Kit replied with a wink.

"If you're both done hitting on my boyfriend, I have a question," Cierra said.

"What is it?" Chad asked.

"If Rikki can control the siren because of our bloodline, can I do it, too?"

"Probably. You're the rightful heir. If anyone should have the power, it's you."

"Then I'm going to make sure she never touches Alex again."

"Mix your blood into the water," Kit said. "That should summon her."

"How do you know that?" Cierra asked.

"It's what Rikki did. I can still feel her blood in the water."

"Your link to water magick is that strong?"

"It's always been really powerful," Kit replied. Cierra noticed her fidgeting with the gold bracelet she always wore on her wrist. She sensed magick in the bracelet and wondered what its purpose was.

"Cierra, you probably need to do this alone," Chad said. "Wait until the morning."

"The morning might never come," Kit pointed out.

"You know what I mean! Cierra, go be with your man and celebrate the fact that he survived. Meeting the siren can wait for a few hours."

Cierra was curious about the siren, but she couldn't deny that all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around Alex and never let him go.

"Okay," she agreed. "I'll try this at a real hour."

"Speaking of, can you end this night already? I miss the sun," Kit complained. "I do not do spray tans."

"I'm working on it," Cierra replied. "I need to figure out how I cast it to begin with before I can break it."

"Think fast, warlock queen."

Kit walked away before Cierra could protest against the title. She sighed and said, "Come on, Alex. Let's get you home."

Chad followed behind them, making sure they arrived safely before he left.

~*~

When Tommi woke up, she was looking at herself. "Oh crap," she said. "I'm in the In-Between..."

"No kidding," her Mirror self replied.

"Hi, Mirror Me. What's new?" Tommi asked casually.

"What's new is we woke up here and I have no idea why," Mirror Tommi replied.

Suddenly, a creature came toward them. It had the body of an elephant, the head of a hippo, and the wings of an eagle.

"Maybe it's friendly?" Tommi suggested.

It growled in response. "I'm thinking that's a no," Mirror Tommi replied.

Several other strange hybrid creatures appeared behind the first. "Time to fight?" Tommi asked.

"Time to fight. Full Tommi?" Her Mirror self replied.

Tommi sighed. "Full Tommi," she agreed. She didn't like unleashing her full powers. She found that once she did, she had trouble stopping herself from destroying everything in her path. Still, this situation seemed to demand she not hold back.

The two girls began to fight against the creatures. They used both magickal and physical attacks. Nothing seemed to be working. The creatures bit at them and slashed them with their claws. Tommi was starting to worry they wouldn't make it out alive when a voice called, "Tommis! This way!"

They both looked up to see Merrick standing by a corner. He picked up a bow and loosed an arrow at the closest creature.

"Man, am I glad to see you!" The girls said in unison as they ran toward him.

They fled into the door. Merrick sealed it shut as soon as they were inside. "Who's the girl?" Mirror Tommi asked as they both spotted Merrick's companion.

"This is Faith," he replied. "You can trust her. Watch out for Chester. He's always close."

"Ugh. He's still alive?" Tommi asked.

"He survives," Merrick replied.

"What brings you both to the In-Between?" Faith asked as she began healing Tommi. Merrick patched up Mirror Tommi's injuries, which were not as severe.

"We just woke up here," Mirror Tommi replied.

"The veil is too thin," Merrick said. "The barrier will collapse soon. We don't have long."

"How do we stop it?" Tommi asked.

"Breaking the eternal night spell will help," Merrick replied.

"It's too late," Faith said. "The evil is rising. When he is finally free, both worlds will be destroyed... And with them, we will be destroyed as well."

"Okay, Madame Pessimist... Maybe it's not a lost cause yet," Tommi said.

"There's still a chance we can undo the damage," Mirror Tommi added.

"You are special, Tommi West," Faith replied. "If anyone can help us, it is you."

"First thing's first... We need to get home," Mirror Tommi decided. "Jesse might be able to help us sort this mess out."

"Tell him I miss him," Merrick said softly.

"I will," both Tommis replied in unison. They could see the sorrow in Merrick's eyes. Losing Brick and Julissa had broken him. It was a miracle he was still standing.

"You're stable now. Find your way home through these doors," Faith said. She motioned to two doors which lit up in unison.

"Which is which?" Tommi asked.

"Trust your instincts. They'll guide you home."

Both Tommis headed to the doors. Suddenly, Tommi knew which one to open. They each vanished back into their rightful realms.

Tommi emerged to find something unexpected in her bedroom.

"Chester... What the hell are you doing in my room?" She demanded.

"Who do you think sent you into the In-Between?" He replied. "You're a very sound sleeper when the right spell is cast."

"Listen, you asshole... Get out of this realm right now or I'll go Full Tommi on you."

"Do you think you can take me, Tommi? How cute." With that, Chester lunged at her. He stabbed her in the chest before she ever saw it coming.

Tommi fought back despite her injury. If she was going to die, she refused to go down easily. Just before she blacked out from blood loss, she heard growling coming from the doorway.

~*~

Jesse had known something was wrong immediately. He raced to Tommi's house as soon as he felt her return to the right realm. What he found was Chester, of all people, trying to kill her.

The full moon made it impossible to stop himself from changing form in his enraged state. He immediately pounced on Chester, tearing into his shoulder with his teeth. What he realized surprised him.

He smells like Danny, Jesse thought.

He pulled back slightly, needing to make sure he was right. But which Danny is his father? Mirror or Valley?

That question was enough to make him stop in his tracks. This evil nuisance was related to his lawyer. If it turned out that Valley Danny was his father, Jesse couldn't just kill the guy no matter how much he hated him.

He forced himself to shift back into his human form. "Who are your parents?" He demanded.

"I have no idea," Chester replied as he clutched his shoulder in pain. "They abandoned me, like most people abandon their abominations. Why?"

"No reason." Jesse slammed Chester's head into the wall. That knocked him out immediately.

He knelt beside Tommi and checked her pulse. It was still there, but it was growing weaker. Relieved, he pulled her head into his lap and tried to stop the bleeding.

Skip, I need cleanup at Tommi's, he thought. That kid Chester escaped from the In-Between again. I need you guys to detain him. I can't risk him getting loose, but I need time to figure out where the hell he comes from. Tommi's hurt pretty badly. Send a strong healer.

We'll be right there, Skip promised.

Jesse continued to hold Tommi, determined to keep her safe until help arrived no matter what.