LITMIR.BIZ

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do, what you’re responsible for—should tell you something.”

      “If what you say is true,” Viv said, “then what are Benders supposed to help us with?

      Nikoli’s eyes darkened and his face hardened. “Serious trouble is headed your way. An attack on one of your factions. More attacks will follow.”

      All three sisters sat staring at him, open-mouthed.

      “A-attacks?” Viv said.

      Nikoli nodded slowly. “What’s expected is total annihilation of each of your sectors.”

      The sisters moved to the edge of the couch like they were about to spring off it.

      “Whoa!” Gilly said, holding up both hands. “What the hell?”

      “All of them?” Evee asked, her hands beginning to tremble.

      “H-how do you know this?” Viv asked, trying to keep her voice level.

      “Because our job is to find, keep tabs on and kill Cartesians, many of whom are planning attacks on your territory,” Nikoli said.

      Viv got to her feet and gestured for a time-out. “Hidden Benders, too much knowledge of what you should know nothing about, now you throw in these...these Corinthians?”

      “Cartesians,” Gavril corrected.

      “Whatever,” Viv said, starting to pace. “What are they?”

      “Cartesians are monstrous creatures,” Nikoli said. “Many stand ten feet or taller. They have incredibly thick scales that cover their body, and the scales are hidden beneath a dense mat of fur. The scales and fur protect them from any form of human weapon. Even a grenade wouldn’t faze them. Their teeth are all massive incisors, made to rip and shred, and their claws are four to six inches long and butcher-knife sharp. They travel through dimensions and get into our world through rifts. Their sole purpose is to destroy the whole of the netherworld so they will have absolute power. Every time they kill a creature, be it a vampire, werewolf, djinn, or anything from the netherworld, they absorb that creature’s power into themselves. That power allows them to multiply in numbers.”

      “That can’t be possible,” Viv said, her head buzzing with all the information. “If creatures that size were roaming around this planet, surely we’d know of their existence.”

      “I remember the Elders talking about them,” Evee said, biting her lower lip. “When we were little. Much, much younger. Remember? Taka told us. She didn’t call them Cartesians, not that I recall anyway, but it sounded like bogeyman-talk to me. You know, something to scare us into being good.”

      “I don’t remember any of the Elders or even Mom talking about that kind of creature,” Gilly said. She turned to Viv. “You?”

      “No.”

      “Wait,” Gilly said, standing up and whirling on the balls of her feet to face Nikoli. “What’s this about traveling through dimensions?”

      “The reason Cartesians are not as widely known as others from the netherworld is because they hide between dimensions.” Nikoli placed one hand atop the other, indicating layers. “They’re able to travel through the folds of time and space, move from dimension to dimension. They attack, then simply vanish into another realm. Like they never existed at all.”

      “How many dimensions are there?” Viv asked. “How much hiding space do the bastards have?”

      “Ten dimensions,” Lucien said. “But we’ve only been able to push them back to six.”

      “Actually, there are eleven dimensions,” Ronan said. “The eleventh is still controversial in today’s scientific think tanks, but it exists.”

      “What causes a rift in a dimension?” Viv asked.

      Nikoli slid to the edge of his seat, giving her his full attention. “Anything that produces a large amount of atmospheric, electrical static. Like a tsunami, Category Five hurricane... Words from a powerful Triad. Once the tear is created, one or many Cartesians will plow through it, capture whatever netherworldly creature it can, kill it, then return the creature’s power to the Cartesian’s leader to do with as he sees fit.”

      “The creeps have a leader?” Gilly asked.

      “Yes,” Nikoli said. “He’s the one all Benders truly seek. He wants to possess the power of every netherworldly creature in existence. Once he’s accomplished that, we fear his ultimate goal is to control mankind. To be the supreme power of the universe. He’d be able to control the very structure of planetary alignment with that much power.”

      Gilly and Evee looked over at Viv, who lowered her head. She knew they were thinking about her saying she’d quit this morning. She wondered how Nikoli knew.

      “Ten—eleven—dimensions, does it really matter?” Viv said, to get her sisters’ eyes off her. “How do you kill what you can’t see?”

      “Oh, we can see them,” Lucien said, “but only after we track them by scent.”

      “What kind of scent?” Evette asked.

      Gavril wrinkled his nose. “Like rotten eggs and cloves mixed together.”

      Evee’s head whipped in Viv’s direction. “Cloves?”

      Viv swallowed hard, eyeing Evee and Gilly. She turned to Gavril then to Nikoli. “We’ve smelled it. The cloves, I mean.”

      The cousins looked at each other, appearing puzzled.

      “You smelled it?” Nikoli asked. “Where?”

      “Here, in the house,” Evee said. “In our Gr... Our books. We opened three books and caught a whiff of it.”

      “Why did the four of you look so...I don’t know...out of sorts when we mentioned the scent?” Viv asked.

      “Because, normally, humans can only pick up a whiff of that scent at the time of a Cartesian’s entry or right after an attack. It concerns me that you smelled it in your home. What kind of books were you referring to?” Nikoli asked Evette.

      The triplets eyed each other. No one knew of their Grimoires except the Elders or those within the Circle of Sisters. They were taught from a very young age that the books and their contents were not to be shared with anyone except another Sister.

      “Personal books,” Viv finally replied. “Doesn’t matter what kind of book. The point you’re trying to make is that we smelled it in here, right?”

      Nikoli stared at her, and Viv saw something in his eyes that made her insides feel hot and quivery. “Right.”

      Suddenly a loud, frantic pounding came from the front door. Without a word, Viv, Gilly and Evee ran toward it.

      Through the side windows that bordered the heavy front door, Viv saw Jaco, her East pack leader, standing at the front door, his face serious and drawn. In human form, he stood over six-four with a massive chest and a long mane of black hair that reached below his shoulders. He wore jeans and a white T-shirt. His eyes, usually a brilliant green, looked faded, dull. The sight of him made Viv’s heart stutter to a stop. Even though he had access in and out of the locked compound as one of her generals, Jaco never came here. For him to come directly to her home meant something had to be seriously wrong.

      Jaco pounded on the door again and was about to give it another hit when Viv opened it.

      Jaco took one look at her and took a step back. “I must speak with you immediately,” he said.

      She motioned him inside.

      He shook his head. “I think it is best if we speak privately.”

      Viv motioned him inside again. “Whatever needs to be said can certainly be said in front of my sisters.”

      Jaco nodded. “As you wish.” He stepped inside, and Viv closed the door behind him.

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