I was scared of what would happen now and as I felt my paranoia expand another power ran through my veins. I had no control of it. Time rifts were torn open, sucking in soldiers and some flew at Jonah and Datha. I watched as it enveloped them and took them away from the arena and the city itself. I wished for it somewhere so it happened but why wasn’t I with them? Why was I left here to face everything alone? I couldn’t handle this alone! I faced the council and gulped. One was dressed as the Earth fighters in a brown Gi and was big and broad and muscled. Beside him stood a lithe male dressed in a purple cape and turban. He was small in stature but no less intimidating.

  Slightly to his right was another male. He was a carbon copy of Jonah! He had cropped hair and a beard but give Jonah a haircut and a beard and they’d be near twins! He had silver-grey eyes as opposed to Jonah’s mismatched eyes. He wore silver clothes. Beside him was the fire witch who was dressed in a slinky red dress and beside her was a tall woman dressed in a blue grecian dress that sounded like a bell from all the bangles she wore. These were the council of Kin? They looked like a gang of popular kids! There were the jocks and the cheerleaders. I had no idea where the little guy fit in.

  Maryanne: Don’t take them lightly Myra! Strength? What are you doing?

  Strength: That thing tried to suck me in! I’m protecting myself!

  Mark: With marshmallows?

  Strength: I can’t help it if our pillows are marshmallows! Blame Jessica!

  Jessica: What did I do? Nice duds Marshmallow Man.

  Roy: Oh s that’s where they all went to!

  Jack: The new voice, Monster, is a threat to all of us. It can suck out our essence. I think we should lock it up. Duck!

  Maryanne: We’ve never had to lock one of us away before. I’m sure once he adjusts…

  Strength: Get it away! It's gonna eat me!

  Mark: Really Maryanne? Cause I don’t see Strength calming down any time and Monster does seem to...duck.

  Jessica: What is up with all the floating objects?

  Roy: Monster can’t control his ability, swamping Myra whenever she uses him or he appears.

  Jack: We’ve got to lock him away. No choice.

  Maryanne: The choice belongs to Myra.

  I’m kinda busy at the moment! Will his ability secede if he’s locked away?

  Jack: Yes

  Do it, I said as I faced the curious council as the rifts continued. I couldn’t continue like this, stuck in one place while waves of whatever this was left me like some satellite! I felt like the sun or a supernova was more accurate, at the moment. One move and I’d take the whole of reality with me! I didn’t want to die here. On the other hand, there was nothing the brigades could do as I bled power. I watched in my mind, as my voices ran with lassos and wrestled Monster, a Morgan reminiscent of t rex, that we fought. Great, as if I didn’t have enough bad memories of that thing, now I had a mini-me of it running in my mind! Better if it was locked away.

  Jessica had captured it but Strength had refused to get close to it so Mark, after smacking Strength, along with Roy and Jack, wrestled the thing into the subconsciousness, and Jack locked the door to the room with a strange black key that disappeared from his hand and reappeared in Maryanne’s hand. He shrugged and everyone went back to the mind room. I shuddered and the power began to ebb until it stopped flowing and I collapsed to my knees breathing deeply.

  “Well? Get her!” Sneered the fire witch and the brigades moved in. I was too weak to do a thing so I waited for my death at the end of a sharp spear or arrow. I found instead rock-hard hands shoving me up by my arms and shoving me to the council members where I was inspected like a fly.

  “She seems human,” said the tall woman.

  “She has our elemental abilities, Medina. She can’t be human,” said the big-muscled Kin.

  “I know that Siegfried. I was talking about her looks. She looks human.”

  “I’m curious how she can use three elements and blast us with a fourth,” said the small purple-garbed Kin.

  “Thorn, she must be some kind of mutant,” the Jonah look-alike said.

  “Gale, does it not interest you?” asked Thorn.

  “Not really,” Gale muttered gazing at Myra’s form.

  “We need to find out everything we can about these other worlders,” said the fire witch.

  “Aithne is right. She may pose a great threat to us,” said Medina.

  “Why? Have you seen something, Medina?”

  “She will bring a new dawn to Sapherine,” she said with acidic blue eyes gazing into Myra’s dark eyes. Myra shivered. There was something wrong with that gaze. It held a thousand silences and a thousand screams within them. They were evil. Who was this woman? I didn’t want her near me. She gave me the heebie-jeebies by standing near me!

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “The only thing she will bring is a good laugh. Throw her in the dungeons,” said Gale.

  “Your majesty? Why don’t you give her over to me? I can make her talk,” said Thorn.

  “Your last victim died, Thorn,” said Siegfried smirking.

  “So she did,” Thorn muttered.

  “She’s going into the dungeons for now. We’ll all take our chance to break her,” said Aithne smiling and Gale shrugged.

  “Go ahead. Call me when you get results,” he said, turning and walking away. His demeanor reminded me of how Jonah would dismiss others on Earth. They really were related. Several silver-garbed soldiers grabbed me and I hissed.

  “Easy I’m injured,” I muttered as they marched me to the dungeons again. I was thrown into the enclosure and locked in with no food or water. I slid down the mud walls. I could break out of this easily but what was the point? I was too injured to run. I didn’t know where Jonah and Datha were, but hopefully together. I was at the mercy of the council for now. The best thing to do right now was to create a bridge between myself and the voices. I wanted to know what we were going to do with Monster and any new voices that popped up. I made myself as comfortable as I could with a large gaping wound on my back and called to them. Maryanne? Strength? Mark? Jack? Jessica? Roy?

  Maryanne: I’ll always answer. As for Monster? You have to decide Myra

  Strength: That thing tried to eat me!

  Mark: It was only doing what comes in its nature. You were the one who looked it in the eye!

  Jessica: Yeah, lug head. Thanks for helping by the way...scaredy cat!

  Roy: Some tough guy.

  Jack: We’re getting off-topic. Monster is capable of absorbing us and our powers so it's best right now to lock him up.

  Marianne: He also can’t control his ability and if he’s released then you’re bound to become a supernova of ether again.

  Strength: Yea, who knows what it’s capable of?

  Mark: Strength’s manliness aside he’s right. You could have sent your friends to a different world for all you know.

  Jessica: Real assuring guys! They’re still on Sapherine. Well, Jonah is anyway.

  Roy: How do you know?

  Jack: She can sense it. We all can if we try, so can Myra. It was right after that messed up spell we did to help him. We are tied to him somehow.

  I tried to sense Jonah. Instead, his scent of what I can now recognize being Sapherine forests, a fresh breeze, and ozone bled through reassuring me he was safe. I smiled. At least he was safe and here. Yeah, he is here, I said to them. They nodded and began arguing about Strength’s less-than-manly display again.

  Maryanne: That’s not the point! What do you want to do with Monster, Myra?

  Strength: It’s your call

  Mark: Tiny penis is right, it is your call.

  Jessica high-fived Mark and smirked: Yup

  Roy smirked and nodded, sending his short hair in disarray.

  Jack squeezed the bridge of his nose: Idiots. Yeah, it's your choice, Myra.

  I thought about the new addition for a minute. I’d like to see it if it’s possible I said watching their reactions. Maryanne winced. Strength shook. Jessica and Roy both sighed and Jack frowned.

  Jack: If we let it go then a catastrophe will ensue. It can’t control its ability only its intent and right now you want to go home. Who’s to say it won’t bend reality and send you to Earth right now leaving your friend stranded?

  I can do that?

  Maryanne: Yes, you can or it can anyway.

  It was tempting. So tempting to leave everything and everyone behind and just go home. For a minute I thought about it. What did I really owe Jonah? He belonged on Sapherine I didn’t! He was a lost prince! He was also a hybrid, and the laws were clear on that. I couldn’t leave a friend to suffer slavery while I was home. What kind of person would I be? I’d be worse than a bully! Worse than the fire witch and the council! No, I wasn’t going home without Jonah. Besides, I did owe him. I didn’t know how to hunt and he did. Without him, I’d never have survived Sapherine. Despite being a bully Jonah had his good traits too and was a decent human being under the arrogant exterior.

  No, I won’t leave Jonah behind. I guess we’ll keep Monster locked up til we need it. I gasped as cold water rained down on me and I was knocked to the present world.

  “Filthy hybrid! My mother wants to see you,” said Arriana as she grinned.

  “You do know that Jonah is a hybrid, right?” I muttered, wiping the water from my eyes.

  “Yes, but he’s a natural hybrid. Not a freak like you. Come on get up,” she said, grabbing my hair and hauling me to my feet. A chain was attached to my neck and she dragged me down the hall and up some steps into a red room. Original. Red, Fire. Really?

  “Hey, how did you get water if your mother is fire?” I asked.

  Arriana rolled her eyes. “A birth mutation since my father was a fire brigade General,” she said.

  “So you’re a mutant too,” I muttered, gazing at all the potions on display. It reminded me of the Oracle’s house except most of these potions were a bright red or some hue of it. She only used red potions? Or was that all she could make due to her element? Was that what they looked like due to her fire affinity? I hissed as I was dragged farther into the room where Aithne and Gale were waiting. They seemed to be arguing over something.

  “Just heal her, Aithne! We can’t break an already broken toy,” he said gazing at me and smirking. I recoiled. That was Jonah’s smirk!

  “Very well your majesty,” sighed Aithne as she uncorked a potion and handed it to Arriana. She tried to make me drink it but I wouldn’t open my mouth. My hair was yanked and my mouth opened slightly in pain. Arriana fed me the potion and pinched my nose closed. She smirked as I had no choice but to swallow. I felt an intense burning on my back. I screamed trying to get to my back.

  “Oh, dear. I must have used the nerve regeneration potion. My mistake,” said a grinning Aithne as I sunk to my knees crying as the agony increased.

  Maryanne: She is cruel and vindictive!

  Strength: She’s horrible!

  Mark: she is

  Jessica: What a bitch!

  Roy: A big one

  Jack: Her daughter is following in her footsteps

  Arriana is also a bitch but her mother thrills on pain. I bit my lip and kept my shrieks inside me letting whimpers escape me. I was human! I felt pain acutely and this burned like acid in my wound! Still, I kept my senses about me.

  “Ok, you’ve had your fun, Aithne now heal her,” said Gale. Our eyes met and I glared at him much like I did his nephew.

  “Fine. Hold her,” said Aithne smirking.

  Gale summoned wind restraints around me and held my original neck leased around his wrist.

  “Get on with it,” he said and flipped me onto my stomach.

  I moaned and then I felt real pain as Aithne healed my back. I smelled burning skin! Not taking much more I lifted my head and glared at the King.

  “You can’t break a shattered mirror,” I muttered and closed my eyes. It took a few minutes for my voices to lull me to their world and I left this one of pain and torture behind me.