Paranormal Misdirection by Dima Zales

Author:Dima Zales [Zales, Dima]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mozaika Publications

Chapter Forty

There’s no water on the other side, and it’s bright—so bright that even with the visor, the sudden change momentarily blinds me.

When my eyes adjust, I see that our surroundings look like the inside of an active volcano—except even the sky is on fire.

Is this the firebird’s home world or the inspiration for the descriptions of fiery hells?

Whatever the answer, I break into a run, and so do my friends.

“We need to move faster, or we’ll risk igniting,” Itzel gasps out, taking the lead.

Ariel and I overtake her and leap into the next gate just as my skin starts to burn.

Felix and Itzel join us a moment later, with Itzel berating herself for ever agreeing to help us and Felix panting inside the helmet like a dog.

As I catch my breath, I look around warily. This is the last world before we reach our destination, so with our luck, it might be the most dangerous.

Not spotting any immediate danger, I begin walking.

Our surreal surroundings look strangely familiar.

There’s a silver Grand Canyon-like mountain ridge in the distance that I could swear I’ve seen before, and same goes for the alien star formations in the sky. Ditto for the seven differently shaded moons.

When I see the magnificent aurora borealis, it finally clicks. “Nero has a painting of this place hanging in his office,” I say, picking up speed as I head for our destination, the blue gate.

“He’s clearly been here,” Felix says, matching my stride. “Which isn’t surprising, seeing how it’s his map we’ve been following.”

“Does that mean it’s a safe world?” Itzel asks, taking the lead again. “I mean, would anyone stop to paint a landscape if it wasn’t?”

“Nero might,” Ariel says. “For all we know, he can waltz through the worlds we just passed without breaking a sweat. Maybe even the fiery one.”

“Right.” Felix slows down and looks my way. “Nero might be able to, but what about Rasputin? Did he also use a space—”

We don’t hear what Felix says over the booming roar that shakes every root of my hair.

We break into a sprint.

Images of giant bear-dinosaur hybrids flit through my head, but as I throw a panicked glance over my shoulder, I spot something bird-like in the light of the aurora.

Whatever it is, it’s massive, and it’s diving for us.

I speed up.

The roar feels nearer.

I push the suit and my muscles to their limits once again.

When we’re a few feet away from the blue gate, the roar shakes the ground once more, and—though it could be my adrenaline-overloaded imagination—I could swear there are human words embedded in the sound.

Ariel jumps into the gate, with Itzel and Felix following.

I’m about to follow them when I feel my seer intuition go into high gear. Almost on autopilot, I reach for Headspace.

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