City of Infinity: Parallel Society, #7

By Stuart Jaffe

For Veronica "Roni" Ryder, the journey to becoming leader of the Parallel Society has been tough. She has fought people and monsters, experienced magic and mayhem, traveled the Earth and universes beyond. But one creature, one vile monstrosity, has been her most daunting rival – Yal-hara.

Having escaped our universe to cause havoc throughout all universes, Yal-hara has now grown from a menace into a threat upon all existence. Only Roni and the Society stand in the way.

But to do that, she will need a bigger team. Much bigger. In fact, she'll need an army.

Get ready. This is it. The unforgettable final book in the Parallel Society series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stuart Jaffe
• Release date: Oct 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215789162

Book preview

Chapter 1

Standing guard outside a large home nestled behind a winding, gravel driveway, Roni shivered. Though the afternoon sun spread copious warmth upon her, she could not stop the nerves chilling her skin. It wasn’t a feeling of being watched — shrouded in trees, nobody could easily see them from the street. Rather, she continually considered what they would find when they entered that house. Yal-hara’s house.

Garcia hunched over the lock, dissolving it with one of his potions, while Teanna stood aside Roni. They scanned the light traffic and handful of pedestrians, searching for possible threats. If anybody dared to glance their way — but nobody paid any attention. If anything, it seemed as if some of those strolling with their children to the park or rushing to reach the bus stop actively looked away from the house. As if their core, animal instincts warned them off.

I’m starting to think Yal-hara fostered a bad reputation in this neighborhood, Roni said in a low voice — just in case her talking might attract attention.

She would benefit from as few visits as possible. If she let people fear the house, then she had a good strategy in that regard. Teanna jutted her chin as she surveyed the area. Her trim physique continued to add definition from a strict regimen of healthy eating, intense exercise, and solid rest.

The shift from party girl to vigilant warrior had happened fast. Part of it came from discovering that black skin did not fare well in America. Most of it came from a desire to be prepared for the next time they crossed with Yal-hara.

And there would be a next time. Roni was determined to see that happen. They all were.

Because of Elliot.

When Yal-hara escaped this world by cutting a hole into another universe, Elliot had jumped in after her. For the many months that followed, his absence, his loss, numbed the rest of the Parallel Society. They went through the motions of closing up the rips to other universes, locking them away in Gram’s special books, and fighting the creatures that slipped through in the process, but the heart of their efforts did not beat. They did the work because it had to be done and no more.

Until Roni came upon a piece of paper in Elliot’s old apartment. It contained his attempts at decoding a page of math and symbols they had taken from the Scholar — the creature responsible for opening the path Yal-hara and Elliot had jumped through. On that paper, Elliot had written the words City of Infinity, and Roni knew right away this was where they would find him. Since then, the entire team had become single-minded in their attempt to uncover the location of the City. Find the City, and they would find Elliot. They all believed it. They all hoped it would prove true.

We’re in, Garcia said, but the clang of the doorknob dropping to the entranceway had already told them as much. Ready?

Roni paused. That was a good question. So far, everything had gone as expected. After spending a few months systematically sifting through the Grand Library for any information on the City, Roni decided they should track down Yal-hara’s old home in hopes of finding information she may have left behind. Gram and Gully remained in the library, combing through the remaining books while the others hit the pavement.

They started with the only address they had — the original house Gram, Sully, and Elliot had put Yal-hara in decades ago. But Yal-hara had left that building soon after. Though kept prisoner in this world, she had no intention of being under constant scrutiny. She knew the Society could not watch her and protect the universe at all times, so she had little trouble escaping. Roni clung to the hope that Yal-hara maintained a residence somewhat nearby — considering the number of interactions they had with her over the years, it was not an unreasonable guess.

After numerous avenues resulted in dead ends, they finally located Mr. Kemper — Yal-hara’s latest lawyer, representing her even after she escaped this world. He refused to hand over any information about the creature, even the closely guarded secrets that no longer held value. The firm’s reputation, any lawyer’s reputation, was built upon keeping their client’s secrets — valuable or not. However, after a surprising amount of persuasion, mostly from the threatening hands of Teanna, Mr. Kemper grudgingly provided them with the address of Yal-hara’s former home.

Roni peered into the dark opening, the stinging scent of Garcia’s potion hovering in the doorway, and tamped down the rising knot in her chest. Before her mind could convince her of some reasonable excuse to close the door and walk away, she entered the house. A pressure of vile hatred wafted against her skin. It hung in the air as if it had been floating in the foyer, waiting for somebody to enter.

It was Yal-hara. Her hatred. Her vileness. It permeated the wood and glass, the carpets and mirrors, the membranes and —

Membranes?

Roni tapped on her phone’s light. The foyer had been designed to mimic wealthier homes — white marble floors with a Turkish carpet dominating the center, a stunning cherry stand in the center with an abstract sculpture sitting upon it, an upholstered bench to the side where nobody had ever bothered to sit. But the archways leading deeper into the house had a green residue growing in patches of viny mold.

With her own light on, Teanna stepped forward. She peered through the opening into the next room before waving the others over. It’s everywhere.

Roni followed into a wide room dwarfed by a baby grand piano. But neither the immaculate instrument nor the beautiful bookshelves nor even the stunning oil paintings on the walls could draw their attention. Not when the strange mold stretched along every corner of the room. Floor and ceiling, wherever the walls connected, the green fur could be seen. Like a weird, pulsing caulk with a hard rib down the middle, it filled in the crevices of the house, lending each space the sensation of being surrounded.

Garcia had an empty vial in one hand. You think it’s safe to take a sample?

It came from Yal-hara, or at least, her house. Roni raised an eyebrow. What do you think?

After a short internal debate, Garcia returned the vial to his pocket.

They passed through a formal dining room and into the kitchen. It would have been an impressive tour, if not for this alien fungus. Roni fought down the temptation to open the large refrigerator. Considering the house had no electricity, whatever waited in there had probably become a wall of its own mold by now.

The entire house felt frozen. Locked in the moment Yal-hara had left, yet new life had formed as well. The creature that had terrorized Roni left behind a dusty, dying museum for her to explore, yet she wanted nothing more than to leave. Because she could feel Yal-hara the same way she could feel the bedsheets of her eight-year-old self that night when her memories had been taken and her Lost Time began.

I found her study, Garcia called out.

Roni followed his voice into a room far less human and far more Yal-hara. Though cluttered with old books and stacked documents, the room contained a pristine order — an exacting choice made for each object from the extra-wide office desk to the crystal figurines on the bookshelves to the circular table only large enough for a crystal decanter. The same exacting way Yal-hara’s numerous, spindle legs moved — picking out each placement before setting down. Just as she had walked over Roni, the footfalls creeping over her eight-year-old legs and stomach and chest.

Damn. Roni thought she had finally gotten over dealing with all of that. Would she ever? Does anybody truly get over the terrible things that happened in life?

As if in answer, her eyes fell upon an old box sitting open on one shelf. Palm-sized with an ornate, swirling design built from two different shades of wood, her skin prickled at the sight. Not just any box — a relic box. Meant for trapping creatures from other universes, the box would have symbols surrounding it which acted as instructions — orders, really — that forced the creature into certain behaviors. Under Yal-hara’s control, that usually meant violence. And this box was open.

Before her racing heart could spin her around, she heard Teanna’s voice, soft at her side, It’s okay. There is no writing on this one.

But it’s open. There’s a creature loose in here.

No. This box has yet to hold anything.

How can you know that?

Remember when she sent her old lawyer to attack us with all those boxes? Not a single one remained unscathed when they were opened. The creatures inside are prisoners both in mind and body. When they are released, they are furious. A wood box like this one would never have survived.

Roni looked closer. Teanna was right. The box looked pristine.

With an embarrassed chuckle and feeling warmth flush her cheeks, Roni turned away from the shelves. Her heart still pounded against her chest, but a few slow breaths helped calm her pulse despite the foul mold stench. A thought hit her that perhaps the mold was a creature from a relic box, but even if true, the stuff clearly presented no immediate threat. Unless …

We should all be wearing masks. Thick ones. Like biohazard masks. We have no idea what that gunk could do to our lungs.

Garcia fluttered a piece of paper from the desk. This looks like some kind of expense summary.

How does that help us? Teanna said.

He shrugged. I’m just reporting what I’ve found.

Perhaps you should focus on —

The air pressure in the room displaced with enough force to pop Roni’s ears. The walls shuddered as if a train sped by from the kitchen. With an odd whoosh, the spicy-sweet aroma of coriander spread across.

Nobody moved.

Roni listened but heard nothing. Any idea what the heck that was?

Teanna said, Possibly Yal-hara has set up some kind of alarm. We should be careful.

And encouraged, Garcia said. An alarm suggests there’s something worth protecting here.

A thick rumble mixed with a higher-toned hum came next. Then the deep whine of a heavy foot pushing down on old wood boards. The sounds grew louder. Something alive roamed this house. And it was coming their way.

Chapter 2

The nature of her job with the Parallel Society meant that Roni had witnessed numerous creatures from numerous universes. Some were friendly, comforting beings. Some were nasty, monstrous revulsions. But nothing prepared her for what entered the study.

It had a massive, lizard-skinned head, beady-eyes, and a long snout with jagged teeth clearly evolved for tearing flesh. But that was not particularly strange. Terrifying, sure, but not strange. What bothered Roni, what shocked her, was that this head sat upon a seven-foot, humanoid body that — as best as Roni could think of it — looked as if somebody had removed the flesh much like removing the hair on a poodle. Rings of lizard skin remained at all the joints, but in between, Roni saw only bone. And while a poodle had a cute aspect to it, this creature forced bile up Roni’s throat. Its bits of flesh were not fluffy, puff balls. Rather, they hung from the bone like shredded fabric.

She struggled to understand how its organs could function. With no esophagus, no abdomen, no thighs or forearms — how could this creature exist? It made no sense to her brain, but she could not deny her eyes.

Nor could she deny its full-throated screech as it stood in the doorway sizing them up.

Heck of an alarm system, Garcia said. How could that have been hiding in this house and we didn’t hear it?

Teanna pulled out her two hatchets. Doesn’t matter. It’s to be dealt with now.

Issuing another screech, the creature burst forward several steps, and Roni noticed that running up the thing’s leg — along the back, barely visible — was a thin, vine-like line of mold. The deeper it stepped into the room, the more she smelled that sour odor. It combated the warm coriander. Sickening. Before Roni could point out her observations, Teanna matched the creature’s vocals with a screech of her own. With this battle cry, she charged ahead, holding one hatchet overhead to attack and the other close in to protect.

Though the creature did not appear intelligent, it fought back hard — whether through hidden smarts or classic instincts, Roni couldn’t tell. But she watched the beast evade Teanna’s strikes. When it could not get out of the way, it successfully blocked the attacks. Then it counterstruck.

Caught up in her own assault and the fact that the creature had done nothing but block, Teanna missed the shift. The creature’s blow came in a clumsy arc, but it glanced off the side of Teanna’s head. She wobbled to the wall.

Garcia jumped right in before the monstrous thing could follow through against Teanna. He had an open vial and splashed the contents onto bone and skin. With a double hiss — one from the burning liquid, one from the burned creature — it stumbled back toward the doorway.

All of these attacks gave Roni enough time to dig out the small emergency book Gram always provided. Handheld with a short chain attached to the spine, the book could pull in a single enemy and hold it for a brief time. Long enough to get the thing back to the bookstore where Gram could permanently dispatch it into a larger, more stable book.

As Roni braced her body with a wide-legged stance, she raised the book toward the creature. But Teanna burst in between, her vicious yell louder than before, angrier. Blood ran down her face while she threw one punishing blow after another, her hatchets spitting bone into the air like woodchips. The creature raised a forearm to block, but Teanna cut through, leaving a jagged stump behind.

With a ferocious swing, she buried one hatchet into the beast’s shoulder. Muscle memory had her follow up by slashing the other hatchet across the belly, but this thing had no belly. The weapon breezed through emptiness, and the lack of resistance stumbled Teanna’s rhythm. She twisted too far, and the creature took advantage. Using the forearm Teanna had cut apart, it sunk its sharp bone through her shoulder blade. She bellowed and clunked to her knees.

Garcia sprayed more of his acids upon the enemy, sending gray smoke into the air. Roni tried to ignore the conflicting scents, but her stomach curdled anyway. It wasn’t the stench, anyway. It was fright. Because she couldn’t open the book with Teanna and Garcia in the way — not unless she was willing to have them vacuumed into the book along with the creature.

But before she had to deal with the fact that such a contemplation even entered her head, she noticed a dark line on the floor. A vine. Stretching from the baseboards all the way towards the creature.

It’s a puppet, she said.

What? Garcia looked across at her, and the creature backhanded him for losing focus.

Roni dashed forward. With its forearm still grinding into Teanna and its attention divided on Garcia, it never noticed. Running right by, Roni grabbed Teanna’s hatchet. Her mind raced, making sure she had drawn the right conclusions but knowing the time for second-guessing had long since gone. She raised the hatchet high and brought it down into the floor. Hard. Fast. Slicing through the vine.

The creature’s next screech cut off and it collapsed into a heap. Roni wanted to do the same. Instead, she eased to the floor while she caught her breath.

Good … work, Teanna gasped out.

Roni nodded. Dabbing at the sweat on her face, she said, Garcia, do what you can.

He hurried over to Teanna, took a fast look at her wounds, and rushed out. Returning with cloth napkins from the kitchen, he created a compress for her shoulder. He also applied pressure to the head wound which appeared worse from all the blood, but quickly revealed itself as a long but shallow cut. She’ll be fine when we get back. I can mix up an excellent restorative in my workshop.

Then let’s get going. I don’t want to be here any longer than —

Roni froze, staring at the bookshelves.

What is it? Garcia asked, helping Teanna to her feet.

That relic box.

You think that monster came from there?

No. But it changed. The box, I mean. It was wood. She walked over and lifted the box off the shelf. Made of orange and blue plastic, it looked like a child’s toy.

Maybe that’s a different one. Maybe the wood one got knocked down in the fight.

She glanced around the floor for any sign of the wood relic box. Or the remnants of one. But she knew she would find nothing. Because this plastic box was the same one.

With a frown, she closed the lid and slipped it into her coat pocket. The tension in her chest screwed tighter as she felt its weight against her side — greater than that of the plastic she had