The Bold Warrior: Parallel Society, #6

By Stuart Jaffe

The Parallel Society has a singular task — to protect the universe from the troubles caused by other universes intersecting with ours. But recent disruptions to the Society have place Veronica "Roni" Rider in the position of team leader, and they don't have time for her to get acclimated.

 

Especially when one of their own goes missing.

 

Now, it's up to the remaining members to find their lost teammate, uncover what really happened, and set things straight. Of course, it'll be far more difficult than that. And when their nemesis Yal-hara appears, it might be downright impossible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stuart Jaffe
• Release date: Feb 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201938291

Book preview

Chapter 1

Turbulence shuddered through the cabin, and Roni held her breath. She didn’t mind flying under normal conditions, but this recent job in Nebraska had left her nerves on edge. Teanna had located a relic near a large farm outside of Callaway. Rather than sending the whole team, Roni and Elliot opted to go together. Teanna had been feeling sick lately, Gram stayed back to mind the bookstore, Gully had difficulty passing for human in the tight spaces of an airline, and Garcia would have joined, but Roni thought it better that he remain to work on his potions. After all, this wasn’t a living relic. Just an object that needed to be locked inside one of Gram’s books and sent away from the universe.

Except that didn’t happen.

She glanced over at Elliot. The old man sat in the aisle seat with one of his long legs stretching out as far as he could manage without disturbing the passenger in front of him. With his gnarled cane angled between the floor and the armrest, he couldn’t bring down his tray table. Instead, he folded his hand across his belly and stared ahead with glazed eyes that seemed as unsettled as Roni felt.

Part of her wanted to sleep. Leave her old friend alone. He would talk to her, if he wanted. But sleep would never come. Not when the jock in the seat on her left snored heavily with his head leaning against the window and his mouth locked open. Not even the constant engine noise could overcome that. Besides, leadership did not end simply because she felt tired. And neither did friendship.

I should have insisted on bringing the whole team with us, she said.

With a soft shrug, Elliot said in his deep voice, We managed. And we succeeded.

Still, it must’ve put more of a strain on you.

She could still see the sweat pouring down his face when they had realized the relic was more than an odd-shaped table — three cylindrical legs holding up a triangle top, the whole thing coated in heavy, black lacquer. As they approached it in the middle of a plowed cornfield, the table moved away. A living relic — a creature from another universe trapped in this one.

No matter what Elliot said, Roni knew from the relic’s first halting steps that she had made a serious miscalculation. They lacked their potion-maker. They lacked their chain-wielding book-maker. They lacked their all-purpose golem and their battle-ready tracker. Between the two of them, all they had was Roni’s bravado and Elliot’s spell-making abilities. The latter took time and were better used for healing and shielding than fighting. The former served to get Roni in more trouble than out.

Rolling his neck to release a few loud crackles, Elliot bent over the armrest and said, You don’t need to worry about me. I’ve faced far worse than a tough piece of furniture.

I know that. I’ve been with you for a few of those times. But we usually are together as the whole Parallel Society. I shouldn’t have let us go off on our own.

We had no reason to suspect this was anything more than picking up a non-living object.

That’s not the point.

Nor is what you should or should not have done. You’re asking me about all of this because you’re worried that I might be shaken by the experience. I am not. Encounters like today’s are a big part of the thrill in what we do. I cannot imagine ever feeling anything but exhilaration after a successful mission.

Exhilaration — not the word Roni would have used to describe being hit by that table once it got scared. It lashed out by scrunching down on its legs and bursting forward, popping off the ground and shooting like a malformed bullet. Roni dodged the first few attacks, but when it finally hit her in the shoulder, she fell back into the plowed earth, dropped her shoulder bag, and found using her arm difficult for a few moments.

But Elliot needed time to put together a spell to either contain or slow this violent thing. No, not violent. Not in the dangerous sense. It was merely scared.

Roni figured there had to be times when animals from Earth slipped into some other universe. Those poor creatures would be terrified. And if they happened to be a lioness, a bear, or a wolf, the results might be equally violent.

In the end, Elliot had to abandon his spell. This creature moved too fast, and Roni was the only other target available. Instead, they spread out, taking the frightened creature’s attacks in stride, until Roni could get to her bag, dig out the emergency book Gram always provided her with, and lure the creature into a final assault. When it blasted across the field at her, Roni opened the book and it soared straight in.

Painful. Exhausting. A bit nerve-wracking. But exhilarating?

She looked at his eyes again — wearing facemasks on the plane made it difficult to gauge his expression, but she didn’t buy the idea that he was elated with the high of a successful job. Staring at him, knowing he could see her in the corner of his eye, she waited.

I promise you, fighting that living relic did not bother me.

Something’s bothering you, and I can’t run an effective team if I don’t know what problems you’re dealing with. Is it Sully? Are you still in mourning?

Elliot’s eyes drifted down. He’s always in my mind, and I will always mourn his loss, but no. That’s not troubling me.

Is it Yal-hara? Just mentioning that name filled Roni with enough dread to fuel all her fears for a century. The spindle-legged creature had been a trapped living relic for all of Roni’s life. When she was eight, Yal-hara swiped some of her memories — important ones of her mother and father — creating Roni’s Lost Time. But more than that, Yal-hara was both a guest and a prisoner on Earth, and recently, she made it clear that she intended to leave, to rule other universes, to swipe other memories of other children. Yet since their last confrontation, she had grown quiet. The loss of her lawyer, her main human representation in this world, must have caused her plans a major setback. At least, Roni hoped so.

But Elliot shook his head. I have no illusions that Yal-hara has given up, yet I also try not to spend time worrying over things until they happen. Preventative measures, of course, but nervous fretting does no good.

Then what are you sitting there thinking about?

"I actually was thinking about our mission, about how brave you were dealing with that odd relic, and about how much — well, I suppose the word is fun — how much fun I was having. Hold on, I can see you getting heated. You know I would never lie to you."

But you’ll bend and twist the truth as far as you can. You and Gram did it to me for years.

I know I’ve done that in the past, but in this case, I’m not. That was an improvement. Hearing Elliot accept his part in hiding the truth of Yal-hara from Roni warmed her. She wasn’t angry about it anymore, but she appreciated that he did not argue the point.

Over the speakers, the pilot came on to say that they were approaching Philadelphia International Airport and would be landing in twenty minutes. You better hurry, Roni said.

Elliot’s laced fingers tightened. I was thinking about how much I will miss fieldwork and making our universe a little bit safer.

Don’t you start now. Gram talks about dying way too much. I don’t need you mulling over that you’re old and time is running out.

I am and it is. However, I’m not referring to my death. Rather, I’ve been contemplating moving on to something new. He sighed. There. I have said it out loud.

Retirement? You can’t retire. It’s not possible.

"I assure you it is. But I wouldn’t call it retirement."

This isn’t a job with a 401k or a pension or anything like that. It’s not something you can walk away from. This is more than a job. It’s a way of life.

I thought much the same when I was young. Devoted myself to that exact idea. Decisions on family, on friendships, opportunities, and even love — all of it played second to the needs of the Parallel Society. Looking back now, I’m not so sure that was the right way to think about things.

Two flight attendants walked along the aisle. They gathered trash, asked people to sit upright and put away their tray tables. Passengers who had been sleeping groaned and stretched as they straightened in their seats — including the snorer. The time to talk was over.

But Roni inched closer to Elliot and whispered, Your request to retire is denied. I won’t allow it. Then she sat back, folded her arms, and glowered out the window as the clouds passed by.

They did not speak for the remainder of the flight. Roni wanted to talk, wanted to let Elliot voice his troubles, wanted to hear what needed fixing so she could fix it. Losing another team member would not help the Society — especially one who held so many years of knowledge and experience. Of course, she understood that eventually Gram and Elliot would no longer be around, but until the natural order of the universe took them from her, she had no intention of saying goodbye.

After landing and departing the plane, they walked through the terminal — part of which was under construction. The Philly airport was eternally under construction. With the crowds filing in and out of various gates, rushing to the restrooms, or dashing ahead with a sense of urgent purpose, Roni held back from talking further of Elliot’s retirement. She never liked overhearing when people had important conversations in public places and figured she should do her part not to add to the problem. She especially hated it when she was forced to have such conversations in public. This one with Elliot would have to wait until they returned to the bookstore.

Saving her from further thoughts on the subject, her phone chimed — Gram.

We’re still making our way through the airport, Roni said after a short greeting. Everything went fine, though. All taken care of.

That’s good to hear. Gram’s tone stopped Roni mid-step. Elliot stuttered a few steps further, then looked back with a deep frown. Gram went on, You both need to get home as fast as you can.

Why? What’s happened?

It’s Teanna. Lord help us, she’s missing.

Chapter 2

During the drive back to In the Bind, the family bookstore, Roni tried to swallow the idea of Elliot retiring from the Parallel Society. No matter what he wanted to call it, that’s what he would be doing — retiring. They had barely adapted to the loss of Sully, but his loss had been final. He was gone from the world. Period.

If Elliot no longer worked with them, he would still be breathing. He would still be living on the fifth floor, still be around for breakfast, still be available for a spell or two when needed. Or would he? When a person left the Society, did they keep their abilities?

It didn’t matter. He simply could not be allowed to leave. They needed his experience and wisdom.

They?

Fine. She needed his experience and his wisdom. She needed him.

But as she pulled off the highway and into the town of Olburg, she amended these thoughts. True, she did need Elliot in her life, but the Society required him. And Gram. And Gully and Teanna. And even Garcia. They were charged with protecting the universe from other universes that slipped into this one, and that enormous task could only be accomplished by working as a unified whole. She had seen that fact proven numerous times since becoming a member of the Society. And right now, the team had become more disunified than ever.

As they turned toward the bookstore, Elliot said, I know you’re upset at what I said earlier, and I do understand, but —

There’s nothing to discuss.

I’m not —

Teanna is missing, so your grand plan to abandon the universe will have to wait.

I’ve served the universe and the Society for most of my life. You know I will do everything I can to help find Teanna, but —

Good. Teanna needs us.

But after that is done —

After that, you’ll get back to work.

Stop interrupting. Just because you are the leader of the Society does not grant you the right to be rude.

Feeling grains of the little girl inside, she lowered her voice. Sorry.

He said nothing more, and moments later, they parked on the street a block up from the store. Roni carried their bags as Elliot leaned heavier on his cane than in the past. The air had grown crisper, and she wondered if they would get any snow this year. Autumn had come and gone with little fanfare. The leaves had changed color, of course, but the temperatures had fluctuated wildly. As much as people pointed to climate change, part of her wondered if their collisions with other universes could be partially responsible, too.

In The Bind had been open for several months since their latest remodeling — a charming way to say they had to rebuild after destroying the place in a fight. Though there were still some empty shelves on the main floor, it brought Roni small bits of joy to see the store as it had once been. As she remembered it from growing up.

The Big Table still dominated an open area near the right wall, and she could still see the staircase and elevator in the back from the front counter, but most of the floorspace now had aisles of bookshelves. They were different heights — Gram had gathered them from garage sales, antique shops, and even a friend who worked at the city dump — but they were enough to hold treasures upon treasures. The worn, leatherbound editions of classic fiction, the bent and abused modern paperbacks, the textbooks from graduated college students, and the reference material left behind by ex-hobbyists — all found their way to the bookstore in search of a new home.

The air smelled of old paper and binding glue. Roni loved it. Whether the store was crowded with customers or empty at the end of the day, the restoration of the place gave Roni a surge of hope whenever she entered and breathed in its delicious aroma.

This was the home of the Parallel Society. Had been for decades. The floors above housed