Just then, Cassi walked in, with Omar by her side.

  “You are in the city of Omen on Planet Topaz., and you are my prisoners.”

  She had at least ten armed guards, and Omar had to keep one hand around Jack’s neck, and the other on the chain holding his neck. He could barely contain him.

  Cassi looked at them through the bars. “This is what I want.”

  Kim interrupted, “What do you want us for?”

  “Okay, you, Kim, I need for the wedding ceremony,” Cassi said while pointing at Kim.

  Kim looked at Omar up and down. He was very unattractive. He had something of a turtleneck, shabby hair, and he was tall and skinny. Nothing like Steve.

  Kim spoke, “You sure have a rotten taste in men. Why are you marrying him?”

  Cassi replied, “I’m not marrying him, you are.”

  What! Kim thought. Then it hit her. She took a good look at Cassi. She looked very much like her, blonde hair, green eyes, almost the exact same build, except Cassi was a year older and an inch taller. “That’s crazy. That explains her, but what about me?” Tasha said.

  Cassi answered, “That’s easy. You’ll be my personal slave. I’ve always wanted one of those. You know, my great-great-grandfather was a general back in the war between the states of the Carolina’s. I just love that feeling of power, you know.”

  Kim and Tasha struggled violently to get out of their handcuffs.

  “It’s no use, sugars. As long as your wrists are tied, neither of you can use your magic, especially you, Tasha.”

  This angered Tasha. Not only could she feel her connection to her magic cut off, but with her being black, she also felt like she had been pushed back in time, at least two hundred years ago.

  Cassi looked over at Kim and Tasha, then at the girl groomers.

  “You, ” she commanded, “get out. I have more to discuss.” They left.

  Two of the guards came forward. One was uncuffing Kim and twisting her wrists, while the other put a small tray of soil under her other hand.

  “This,” Cassi said, “is soil taken from outside the city. Kim, I want you to use your plant acceleration magic to see if the seeds in the soil could grow plants again or if the radiation outside the city could support life again.”

  Kim touched the soil and the plants began to grow slowly, but the plants didn’t look healthy. But it was life. It answered a burning question, as their food rations were running low.

  “Good. You see, Omar, you have what you need . . . a beautiful wife and a chance to recreate life. Come on, let’s go.”

  Kim was recuffed as she reeled from the guard manhandling her wrist.

  Jack growled at Tasha, and he extended his neck to lick the bars of the cage they were in.

  “Don’t get any ideas about leaving,” Cassi said as they all began to leave.

  Tasha stared at the room they were in. She tried to think as she could hear electricity and water moving through the pipes and various circuits around them.

  “Kim, we’ve got to get out of here,” Tasha said.

  “I’m with you, sister, but how? We can’t do any magic like this.”

  Tasha pulled a hairpin out of her hair.

  “I’m going to try to pick these cuffs, Maurice and Tony showed me how.”

  She tried, but the pin hit the floor out of reach. They were both sunk and disappointed.

  Tasha wanted to cry. Then she felt a twitch on her, like somebody was tapping her shoulder. Then she forgot she brought Duhbe along with her.

  She pulled it out of her bra.

  “Kim, we’re saved,” she said. She unfolded Duhbe outside the cage.

  Just then, Jack could feel magic somewhere. That was his job—to sniff out magic.

  “Grrr,” he growled and dragged Omar back down the hall followed by Cassi and the guards. They entered the room to see Duhbe unfolded and ready to protect the girls.

  Several of Cassi’s guards fired blindly at Duhbe. The bullets bounced back and hit the guards, striking them down. Cassi went into her intangible form. She whispered, “Duhbe.”

  More guards fired. This time, some of the bullets’ energy was redirected to snap Tasha and Kim’s handcuffs.

  Thanks a lot, Kim thought.

  “Now, time for some magic,” Tasha said as her hands glowed with orange energy. “Fast cars and cheap dives, give these men the shock of their lives!” Tasha’s spell worked. First, the water pipes burst, then the electric cables snapped and fell into the water, electrocuting Cassi’s guards.

  “Do something, stupid!” Cassi said to Omar.

  By this time, Tasha had walked closer to him and waved magic sparks into his eyes. “You’re blind.” She cast another spell. His eyes were in absolute pain. He fell to his knees. Tasha snatched his spell book from him and hit him over the head. He was in more pain.

  “Get them, Jack!” Cassi commanded.

  “Grrr!” he growled.

  Tasha braced behind Duhbe, and Jack’s own speed and force were used against him. He was knocked out.

  More guards came in as Kim and Tasha boarded Duhbe. They flew out of the tall building followed by an explosion. In the chaos, Cassi couldn’t be hurt. She shook Omar and Jack. “Let’s go. They got what we needed. After them!”

  Chapter 9

  The Reflex

  With fresh, new starjets, Maurice, Tony, and Linda landed undetected. No one knew they were there. This was the best place he thought, on top of a flat mesa far from the ground, away from prying eyes.

  “Okay, this is what I want,” Maurice said. “I want you both to go down into Kai and see if you can get their help. Tony, I want you to protect Linda. Her communication skills should at least let them know we mean them no harm. I’m going to the city of Omen alone to rescue our friends. Any questions?”

  Neither of them liked that plan. Tony wanted some action, and Linda wanted to stay with Maurice.

  Linda spoke, “You can’t do that. I want to be with you.”

  For the first time, Maurice blew up at Linda, “Go with Tony! That’s an order!” Linda cried on the inside as she bit her lip. She was shocked and hurt and thought, He’s never treated me like this. I wonder if his near death experience messed up his thinking? Either way, this made Linda feel angry. She had been by his side almost always since they had left Earth. Sometimes she felt like a part of him.

  Tony was angry too, though he tried not to show it. Oh well, he thought, get on with the mission at hand.

  They had to camouflage the ship into stealth mode so nothing could ping the ships. No radar or sonar.

  Maurice flew on Merek. The good thing was no one could pick him up on radar or sonar. Only someone with magic skills could pick him up. All he had to do was sneak into Omen and find out where Tasha and the rest were.

  He landed on top of a rooftop tower. Below, it was crawling with guards all dressed in black. Something was odd. They were all carrying pistols, not rifles. They were out and alert.

  Maurice got closer and hid in the shadows. He lowered himself to the ground. The best thing to do was be quiet. He could hear different guards talking. After about ten minutes, he heard an explosion. It was in one of the towers. It almost looked like fireworks of green and orange. He recognized it.

  Tasha’s magic!

  Instantly, Merek buzzed beneath his feet. Something was happening. There was an explosion again from the tower, then Maurice saw Duhbe fly away into the evening sky as several guards fell out of the tower. Tasha and Kimberley were on it! He wanted to go after them immediately, but just then, several dozens were running by. Maurice hid again. He knew he would catch up to them. The guards patrolled the streets. He had to wait.

  * * *

  Kim and Tasha had made a clean getaway, but Tasha knew something was wrong. Even though they had a head start, they needed to be secluded. They needed rest. They were both scared.

  As they passed over a mountain, Kim noticed something. “Look, a cave.”

  Tasha replied, “That’s a mine, not a cave. At any rate, we need to land.”

  They did. Outside of the entrance, there was mining equipment, several skeletons, and tools. No one had been here in years, they thought. There was even a digging machine in the distance.

  Tasha folded Duhbe and they went in. Tasha really wanted to look in Omar’s book. Something about it is mysterious and forbidden, yet inviting. They saw flickering lights of all different colors ahead. Now they were going to find some answers!

  * * *

  Tony and Linda had a chance to finally start walking and exploring down at the bottom of the mesa. He could see little creatures jumping around, and the air was fresh and breathable. Judging from the scanners, it was a little weird, considering the planet was 95 percent lifeless on the surface. Tony knelt on the ground. There were footprints, multiple footprints. Some were barefoot. Some were shoe or boot prints.

  Then something hit Tony—a rock. Then a volley of rocks were hitting both him and Linda. Suddenly, Tony saw several figures coming out of the bushes.

  Tony responded with rifle fire and shot at least seven of his attackers. All were middle-aged men. Tony went closer to make sure they didn’t get up. Then more people came toward them. They were carrying metal bars and branches. He shot a few more.

  “Stop, Tony, we were supposed to be talking to them,” Linda said.

  “I am talking,” said Tony as he kept firing.

  Over in the distance, they saw a vehicle. It was carrying two passengers. They were much younger, maybe in their teens. The female was black and the male was white. They seemed to be more civilized.

  Linda wanted to talk. She grabbed the barrel of Tony’s rifle and pointed it at the ground as he fired. “Tony, please . . . Let’s surrender. We need to talk to somebody.”

  He hated it, but Linda was in charge. He threw his rifle on the ground as did Linda.

  Slowly these people approached them. The two young rushed to them first, and both Tony were subdued and tied and carried into their vehicle.

  The road to any type of order was bumpy from there. There was a gathering along the way. These people watched as they were paraded through the crowds. When they finally stopped, there were a string of tents and shacks and two small buildings that looked like they were built by anybody who knew anything about construction.

  A man came out to meet them from the largest tent. To Linda, he was very handsome. He was somewhat muscular and in better shape than everybody there. He looked about forty-nine years old with salt and pepper hair and mixed race.

  He spoke in a language that neither Tony nor Linda could understand. He wore what looked like a torn uniform, and he was heavily armed with a gun on each hip and a rifle strapped across his back.

  He reached over and grabbed both of them. Their first thought was harm. Linda saw his nametag.

  “Markell,” she said.

  He was shocked. She spoke his name. He pulled the both of them into his tent, and even though they could not understand each other verbally, they exchanged notes.

  “Linda,” she said. “Tony,” she said, pointing to him.

  “Tony, this is Markell. He says the people of Kai are a race, or rather, a culture of scientists. He knows all about The Devil’s Comet, and we can help each other. Those young people that captured us are Sephine and Kion. They are his best soldiers.”

  Tony replied, “Maybe they can give us our equipment back. We need to contact Maurice and see how he’s doing.”

  “You’re right, Tony,” she said.

  Chapter 10

  The Kind Stranger

  Tasha and Kimberley walked deeper and deeper into the mine. For once, they tried to understand Maurice and Tony’s fascination with abandoned buildings and ruins. Strangely enough, the further they went in, the better lit the cave was.

  Then Tasha found out why. The stones and rocks in this cave/mine were mostly transparent and most gave off a natural color, like streetlights. In fact, there was a stream of green rocks lining the floor and parts of the “ceiling” going in different directions, like the arrows on the floor at the hospital.

  Ahead of them was an abandoned countertop, which looked like a place where a lot of decisions were made because there were papers and blueprints on top written in a language she couldn’t begin to understand.

  Tasha placed the book on the counter. She reached back and held Kim’s hand. Some outside force was forcing her to open the book to a certain page in the middle of it. Something was taking over her, and then she spoke, “Step forth and go free!”

  Then out of nowhere, a stranger appeared. He was young, about a year order than her and Kim. He was black, and to Tasha, he was very handsome.

  Instantly he hugged both of them. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m Robert. I’ve been stuck in that book for over a year. Oh, baby, it feels so good to be free again!”

  They were really scared now, but Robert calmed them down. “I’m Robert, the, I guess you could say, test Karpenter. Like Cassi, both of us were sent here to save this planet.”

  Something about him seemed very honest. Tasha questioned him, “What happened?”

  He replied, “In short, I was stabbed in the back. Between Cassi’s intangibility power and my magic of good luck, we were supposed to save this planet. Only Cassi pretended to love Omar, and he stranded me in that book. Only somebody with stronger or equal magic could free me.” He put his arms around both of them

  “Now I’m free . . . free . . . free!” He even laughed a little.

  “What was it like in the book?” Tasha said.

  “Pleasant and boring. Nothing to do but walk. I didn’t get tired. I didn’t get hungry, but I got lonely and a little crazy. It’s worse than a prison like that for the last three years.”

  Tasha replied again, “You’ve been stuck there for three years or so? They never bothered to check on you?”

  He responded, “Yeah. Once a year, when the Devil’s Comet comes, they need Cassi to make this planet intangible.”

  Tasha interrupted, “What do they need you for?”

  “To make sure she does it right. You see, I have magic just like you, except my power is good luck or to ensure the best possible outcome. In effect, it’s almost like I’m a slave.”

  “You’re nobody’s slave!” Tasha shouted. “You’re coming back with us.” She got closer to him. It was as if something had come over both of them. They kissed.

  Suddenly Tasha felt cold. Really cold. Kim felt even colder. The temperature on Topaz was dropping, and no one was sure how cold it would get.

  Robert could tell the ladies were uncomfortable with the environment so he tried to comfort them.

  “I’m from the Carolina’s. It’s really cold back there.”

  But this was little comfort to Tasha or Kim because both were from California.

  He had to warm them up.

  Time for some magic, he thought.

  “Tasha.”

  She was shocked because she never told him their names.

  He spoke again, “Tasha, Kim, you have the magic to change your clothes to whatever you want to. Let me show you.” He waved his arm in front of them and changed their outfits into several stylish outfits. Nothing for cold weather though. Finally, Tasha got the hang of it. She waved herself a heavy jacket and one for Kim. “That’s it.” Robert said. “As long as you have any clothing you were wearing on earth, you can turn it into any article of clothing you want.” Both of them felt better because they started to warm up.

  Outside the mine, Maurice had followed Tasha and Kim. His meter had led him to where the others were. He folded up Merek and went in. Somehow, he sensed they wouldn’t be far. He proceeded with caution. In the distance, he could just hear a faint noise. If he were lucky, he would get the others and be on his way.

  * * *

  Tasha’s jacket was a bit oversized, so she struggled to zip it up. Robert, always trying to be helpful, struggled to help her. “Hold still, will you, girl?” he said.

  Just then, Maurice stepped in, holding his gun. “Step away from the ladies.”

  Robert turned around. He had his hands up. He was tired of the mistrust, even from someone the same color as him.

  “Don’t shoot, man, I was just helping. I’m Robert.”

  “Wait a minute,” Maurice replied, “you’re the one on the file.”

  “Yeah, we friends, baby.” He came to Maurice. Maurice lowered his guard as Robert gave him a big hug. As a leader, he was glad to have Robert on his side. He could tell he was older, stronger, and in better shape. “Okay, we’re on the same team. You can fall in with us. Let’s go. We need to head in this direction he pointed. There’s another exit, which will get us out of there and to the surface.”

  The girls walked ahead as Maurice and Robert tried to understand each other. They found a steep incline, which led to the surface only a few hundred feet, but it was a straight line.

  Not too far behind were Cassi, Omar, and their troops. The mine was too small for vehicles, but Cassi had Tasha and the others outnumbered ten to one. There was a chance they could get out, but she brought Jack with them.

  Jack’s savage instincts kicked in. He barked loudly. He howled.

  That alerted Maurice.

  “That’s them!” Maurice said. He gave Merek and his laser pistol to Tasha and told her and Kim to keep running up the incline and out to the surface while he and Robert would try to slow Cassi and the others down.

  Tasha and Kim ran, but Kim kept slipping down. They ran a little farther up till Tasha saw a cluster of boulders to hide behind. Her warrior skills kicked in.

  “We’ll make our stand here.”

  Meanwhile, farther down the incline, Maurice and Robert hid behind a large bolder.

  “Come on out, the four of you, and I won’t kill you too fast!” yelled Cassi.

 

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