Read Online Aetherial Annihilation by John Corwin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John Corwin
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looking at my skin for signs of burns.
Elyssa checked herself as well. "Looks like I'm all here, except—" Her eyes widened. "I'm missing a toe!"
"What?" I dropped to my knees as the hum of the arch wound down, and inspected her feet. She wore sandals so it was plain to see she still had all her toes.
Elyssa burst into laughter. "Gotcha!"
I rose and gave her a dirty look. "Not funny." I had to admit, it was a bit humorous, and god knew we both needed a laugh after what we'd been through. "Let's go talk to Shelton."
We walked across the wide space to the large pair of doors at the entrance of the pocket dimension of Queens Gate. Though I'd been through them many times, it was still somewhat wondrous stepping through into a whole new world.
We opened the doors and stepped onto a brick paved road. A wide valley stretched before us, cliffs towering on all sides. Atop the cliff to the right sat the Science Academy, a silver gleaming citadel dedicated to mad science. Out of sight on the cliff to the left, a plateau showed the towering spires of Arcane University. The city of Queens Gate nestled in the green valley between the two cliffs, and far behind it rose another mountain.
I called Shelton and had him open an omniarch portal. I didn't feel like hitching a ride on the sky car up to the university and hiking to the secret tunnel near the Dark Forest at the back of the university.
"You're here?" He whooped. "One portal coming right up."
A moment later, a nice proper portal without deadly static sliced open the air before us and we exited in a large room where the smaller sibling of an Obsidian Arch stood.
Shelton gave me a hug. "Great to see you, man." He traded hugs with Elyssa and kissed her on the cheek. "I wasn't sure you'd make it."
Bella, a petite Colombian, embraced us and kissed us on the cheeks. "We were so worried. Harry couldn't concentrate when we played Scrabble, and I won every game."
"You always win, woman." Shelton flashed a smile. "Let's go to the mansion and relax. I gotta hear what happened."
I almost broke into tears at the thought of being home among family.
It was great to be back.
Chapter 7
Over cupcakes and milk, Elyssa and I took turns telling the story.
"Holy Mary, mother of midgets." Shelton ran a hand down his face. "So destroying these things is like setting off a nuke?" He grabbed another cupcake and bit into it. "How are we supposed to counter them?"
"Perhaps we could move them and fire them into space," Bella suggested. "The only other option is disabling them somehow."
"I need to speak with my father, but the aether lines are down outside the pocket dimension." Elyssa looked doubtfully at her phone. "I have a signal here, but only get an error message when I try to call."
"We might have to go topside so you can use the nom cell towers," Shelton said. "Or, I guess we simply go to Atlanta."
"That seems our best bet," I said. "No sense hanging around here." I stood, stretched, and cracked a yawn. "I'd like to get a good night's sleep first."
Shelton slapped the table. "It's settled then. Tomorrow we head to Atlanta." He stood and rubbed his hands together. "Just when I thought things were getting boring, we're back in the saddle."
"I really thought ending Daelissa's conquest would be it for a while." My lamentation was greeted by sad nods.
"It never ends." Bella collected the cupcake platter and stacked the empty cups on it. "The Overworld government is still in shambles, and the lack of magic is making everyone grumpy."
"It definitely puts a damper on things." Shelton snatched a half-eaten cupcake from the plate and wolfed it down. "On the bright side, Ryland and Stacey had a litter of kittens or pups, or whatever you call baby lycan and felycans."
"They're called babies, Harry." Bella gave him an admonishing look. "They moved to a nice house in Atlanta, but I haven't heard much since the baby shower."
"I got the message from Stacey about their twins," I said. "I
Elyssa checked herself as well. "Looks like I'm all here, except—" Her eyes widened. "I'm missing a toe!"
"What?" I dropped to my knees as the hum of the arch wound down, and inspected her feet. She wore sandals so it was plain to see she still had all her toes.
Elyssa burst into laughter. "Gotcha!"
I rose and gave her a dirty look. "Not funny." I had to admit, it was a bit humorous, and god knew we both needed a laugh after what we'd been through. "Let's go talk to Shelton."
We walked across the wide space to the large pair of doors at the entrance of the pocket dimension of Queens Gate. Though I'd been through them many times, it was still somewhat wondrous stepping through into a whole new world.
We opened the doors and stepped onto a brick paved road. A wide valley stretched before us, cliffs towering on all sides. Atop the cliff to the right sat the Science Academy, a silver gleaming citadel dedicated to mad science. Out of sight on the cliff to the left, a plateau showed the towering spires of Arcane University. The city of Queens Gate nestled in the green valley between the two cliffs, and far behind it rose another mountain.
I called Shelton and had him open an omniarch portal. I didn't feel like hitching a ride on the sky car up to the university and hiking to the secret tunnel near the Dark Forest at the back of the university.
"You're here?" He whooped. "One portal coming right up."
A moment later, a nice proper portal without deadly static sliced open the air before us and we exited in a large room where the smaller sibling of an Obsidian Arch stood.
Shelton gave me a hug. "Great to see you, man." He traded hugs with Elyssa and kissed her on the cheek. "I wasn't sure you'd make it."
Bella, a petite Colombian, embraced us and kissed us on the cheeks. "We were so worried. Harry couldn't concentrate when we played Scrabble, and I won every game."
"You always win, woman." Shelton flashed a smile. "Let's go to the mansion and relax. I gotta hear what happened."
I almost broke into tears at the thought of being home among family.
It was great to be back.
Chapter 7
Over cupcakes and milk, Elyssa and I took turns telling the story.
"Holy Mary, mother of midgets." Shelton ran a hand down his face. "So destroying these things is like setting off a nuke?" He grabbed another cupcake and bit into it. "How are we supposed to counter them?"
"Perhaps we could move them and fire them into space," Bella suggested. "The only other option is disabling them somehow."
"I need to speak with my father, but the aether lines are down outside the pocket dimension." Elyssa looked doubtfully at her phone. "I have a signal here, but only get an error message when I try to call."
"We might have to go topside so you can use the nom cell towers," Shelton said. "Or, I guess we simply go to Atlanta."
"That seems our best bet," I said. "No sense hanging around here." I stood, stretched, and cracked a yawn. "I'd like to get a good night's sleep first."
Shelton slapped the table. "It's settled then. Tomorrow we head to Atlanta." He stood and rubbed his hands together. "Just when I thought things were getting boring, we're back in the saddle."
"I really thought ending Daelissa's conquest would be it for a while." My lamentation was greeted by sad nods.
"It never ends." Bella collected the cupcake platter and stacked the empty cups on it. "The Overworld government is still in shambles, and the lack of magic is making everyone grumpy."
"It definitely puts a damper on things." Shelton snatched a half-eaten cupcake from the plate and wolfed it down. "On the bright side, Ryland and Stacey had a litter of kittens or pups, or whatever you call baby lycan and felycans."
"They're called babies, Harry." Bella gave him an admonishing look. "They moved to a nice house in Atlanta, but I haven't heard much since the baby shower."
"I got the message from Stacey about their twins," I said. "I
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