This the second Prequel to my Valoryn Universe series. The first being Threshold. This story is set a year before book one starts. With the ending of her chemo Emily has let the events of Threshold sift from her foggy memory.

    "Cheater." Alejandro grabbed at his throat and cursed in Spanish.

    Emily had snagged his cape when he moved past her to slash at her brother Justin. Alejandro and her cousin Ryan were dueling them with swords in her Grandparents Orchard. The stakes were less than death but Alejandro was finally getting what he wanted.

    He pivoted and knocked her sword from her hand. "Yield." He held his sword to her throat.

    She smiled at the masked and caped assassin. "Never." Emily still wasn't up to par with her sword after treatments and he was helping her train.

    "Alejandro."

    He and Emily both looked at Justin. He had his arm around Ryan and his sword at his throat.

    "Seems we have a draw." Alejandro said.

    "Partna and I win." Ryan said.

    While Alejandro was distracted Emily knocked his sword arm away and held a knife to his throat.

    "I repeat. Cheater."

    Emily smiled and lowered the knife. "Hogwash." She went to retrieve her sword from the ground.

    She'd heard it land. The grass was thick from the spring rains. Even so she should have been able to see it reflecting the sun, it was big enough. All she saw was bright verdant blades of grass.

    "Did any of you see where the sword landed?"

    The three men joined her search. They scoured every inch of the orchard yet never found it.

    "The portal has claimed another weapon." Justin said.

    "What portal?" Alejandro looked from Justin to Emily.

    "We believe there is a portal here due to the fact that we lose weapons all the time. Arrows, knives." Justin handed Alejandro his sword. "Thanks for letting us borrow them."

    "That's one of my favorite swords."

    "Give it up buddy. She's gone." Emily clapped him on the back. She'd decided since her initial meeting of the assassin that they could be friends. After all Seraphine had foreseen it.

    A car pulled to the side of the road and the passenger window rolled down. "Would you guys happen to be the Patriot Crusaders?"

    "Bugger off. Their next job is entering a portal to retrieve my sword."

    Since Emily's return from another dimension and her subsequent boredom afterword, her and her brothers had decided to start their own company. Justin's time in the military had come to a close and they both needed something to do. Ryan had agreed to join them and given up a sweet gig with the Men in Black.

    "Does he speak for you?"

    "No Sir."

    "He wishes."

    The man parked in the drive and joined them in the orchard. "I am Lieutenant Colonel John Clutch."

    Emily, Justin and Ryan saluted him.

    "At ease. I'm here because you want a contract with the Government. I've reviewed your files and anyone who's worked with you had good things to say."

    "But." Justin rested his hands on his hips.

    Clutch looked at Emily. "Medical discharge."

    "I didn't beg Colonel Jaxon and I won't beg you. I'm done with treatments. Anything I can't handle my brothers take care of. If you don't want me, then we'll work freelance for people who don't care."

    Cancer had cost her, her post and it seemed it would forever taint her professional career. While she may be damaged goods she still could get results.

    "I want to see your team in action. Lets go get this gentleman's sword."

    "That's all fine and dandy but how do you propose we enter the portal?"

    "First things first. Weapons." He motioned them to follow him. Clutch led them back to his vehicle. He handed Emily a shotgun with a sling and a set of crescent moon knives, curved blades with four points.

    "I expect magnificent things with these." He rifled through his trunk once more and handed Justin a Haladie, two bladed knife and a bag of plumbatas.

    "Wana play lawn jarts Em." Justin tossed a plumbata at Emily and she sidestepped.

    "Piss off."

    Ryan laughed. Justin had speared Emily when they were younger with a lawn jart. It was a laughable yet touchy subject that she still bore a scar from.

    "And a rifle." Clutch handed Justin the gun and looked at Ryan. "Since subterfuge is your friend, a blowgun, caltrops, shoku, and a pistol just in case."

    The Lieutenant Colonel led them back to the orchard.

    "So how do we get in?"

    "Like the weapon did." Clutch pushed Emily.

    She stumbled. The Orchard winked out and was replaced by barrenness. A wasteland surrounded her. Her brothers and Clutch blinked into the wasteland beside her. Emily's skin crawled. The other dimension she had tried so hard to forget looked just as desolate as the ground she now stood upon. Alejandro's sword lay a few feet away.

    "Well that was easy." Ryan said. "So...we got the job?"

    "Give the sword back and then lets see what's over here." Clutch said.

    "If we got too far from here we may not be able to get back to this point." Justin said.

    "You haven't shown me anything."

    "Then give us an actual mission." Emily picked up the sword.

    "This isn't starting out so good. I'm taking a mental note that you and Justin have authority issues."

    "Say we investigate this side and find nothing living and then, we never find our way back to this spot because everything looks the same. Do you want to dies her?" Ryan asked.

    "We don't need to find this exact spot again. We're still standing in the orchard. It stands to reason that anywhere here we can step back into our reality."

    "How are we not already dead? There's no plants which means no oxygen." Emily tossed the sword and it disappeared.

    "Perhaps our oxygen is present here. Like I said, we are still in the orchard."

    "Do you even hear yourself talk?"

    "Mental note number two. Despite Emily's history of work with more than natural things, she remains a skeptic."

    "Skeptic? It's not skepticism, try disbelief."

    "Why are you so skeptical?"

    "Allow me to disprove that Lieutenant Colonel Jack-"

    "Emily."

    She left the word ass out when she continued talking. "I believe in aliens, bigfoot, the yeti, chupacabras. Paranormal entities to some degree, though my belief in God and the afterlife butts heads with the word ghost."

    "Yet you cannot fathom our oxygen being present here. Granted it may be thinner, I'm feeling out of breath."

    "Perhaps you've just been behind a desk too long, if that soggy middle is any indicator." Emily said.

    "Let me make one thing clear. I am not Colonel Jaxon. I am Lieutenant Colonel John Clutch."

    "You just like to hear the sound of your name attached to that title don't ya."

    "And I will not tolerate insubordination of any kind. I am your commanding officer and you'll speak to me as such."

    "Now, see that's where you're wrong. Until we sign a contract you're not our commanding officer."

    "I can make life very difficult for you."

    "My life has been nothing but a series of difficulties." Emily was on the verge of attacking the Lieutenant Colonel.

    Justin stepped between them. "You're right. Lets explore, It'll be fun."

    It's not that Emily hated exploring, she just hated being ordered around by people she just met. And that made her more difficult than usual.

    "It'll will be just like when we were kids."

    "Yeah Partna."

    "Yeah except him." She jabbed her thumb at Clutch.

    Emily and Justin had grown up on thirty acres and with their cousins they'd explored every inch, playing out movies they made up. That Justin made up.

    "Come on boys." Clutch walked away from them.

    "So I don't have to go since I'm not a boy."

    "You're either a boy or a dike."

    "Excuse me."

    "Well look at you hair."

    "Mother trucker, chemo took my hair, so you rephrase that shit or I'll kill you here and get rid of your car. No one will come looking for you, ya prick."

    He drew his gun aimed it at her. "No one will come looking for you."

    "Stand down sir."

    "You wanna eat a bullet too?" He shifted his gun toward Justin.

    "I will drag you to hell myself if you harm either of them." Emily said.

    Clutch held his hands up in surrender and smiled. "You'll make a good solid team."

    "Made."

    Clutch holstered his gun and walked across the barren landscape. "There's no prints."

    Emily ran at him to push him back into the orchard. Before she reached him the ground swallowed him and she slammed on her brakes, her feet skidding in the dirt.

    "Where did he go?" Ryan asked.

    "Who cares? We're scot free. Lets go home."

    "If we return without him, we would be in trouble. They know he came to see us." Justin said.

    "If we get rid of his car we'll be fine." Emily said.

    Clutch's hand thrust back up through the ground. Justin ran forward and grabbed it. Ryan rushed to join him and they pulled. Clutch's face came out of the dry soil and he sucked in air.

    "There's something down there."

    An unseen force below the earth sucked him back down, his hand jerking from Justin's.

    "Dead."

    "We don't know that Partna."

    "We can hope and pray."

    "Em, get a shovel." Justin pushed her and sunlight blinded her as she fell into the orchard.

    "You assholes almost hit me with the sword." Alejandro said.

    "You got it back. Now I have to dig some dick out of the ground because he wanted to be an explorer."

                                                              V

    Emily stood with her arms crossed watching the boys dig in the dirt.

    "You could help." Justin scooped dirt out and dumped it at her feet.

    "I don't want him back."

    "Partna."

    "Fine." She stepped into the shallow hole, held her hands above her head and stomped.

    Nothing happened.

    "You think we didn't try that while you were getting shovels?"

    She climbed from the hole. "I'm done." Emily walked across the barren landscape. The ground gave out below her and she slipped through the dirt and landed in darkness.

    She landed on her feet and felt the impact jar up her back and into her skull. Her landing echoed around her then retreated into the suffocating blackness. Her breathing sounded loud in her ears.

    "Eff."

    Emily waited for her eyes to adjust but they didn't. She ate enough carrots she should be able to see better and despite her fathers inquiries, radiation treatments had never made her glow. It was a shame, because right now she could really use it.

    Emily held her hands out in front of her and slid her right foot forward. The ground was gritty and uneven below her shoe. Tiny sparks flashed in the dark, she held her hand in front of her face. With each foot forward the glow intensified and rippled away from her. Soon all around her was illuminated and she could see that she stood inside a cavern. Thankfully it was empty. The ceiling was too high to go back the way she'd come.

    Emily drew her crescent moon knives and searched for an exit. A thin crevice let her out. She was thankful cancer had made her paper thin. Like the cavern, the crevice was pitch black, and as she moved, the walls glowed. She suspected some type of microorganism that was stimulated by the air caused by her movement. But what did she know.

    The ground vibrated under her feet and she wiggled through the fissure faster. She squeezed into a larger tunnel. Light was racing toward her from the left. Emily wedged herself back into the crevice.

    John Clutch ran past followed by a thundering horde of pale, hairless, upright creatures. When the tunnel was empty she stepped back out and ran after them.

    "Em."

    She halted and turned. Justin was squeezing out of the crevice.

    "John ran past a minute ago."

    "Ryan is waiting topside. Lets leave a trail so we can find our way back." Justin scratched the Patriot Crusaders initials into the wall with his Haladie.

    "Last chance to leave that idiot to his fate."

    "Em, I know he's rude."

    "He's a jackass."

    "But that doesn't mean he deserves whatever fate he'll find here. And if he's the only chance at a contract, shouldn't we take it?"

    Emily turned and started after John. Despite the hate she already possessed for him, they needed a contract. She was desperate to entertain herself and desperate to outrun Leyume's future for her.

    "If you don't agree, we won't do it."

    "You're right, we need this."

    The glow dissipated after they passed and darkness chased them. Justin left a mark every so many feet even though the tunnel never branched off. Loud screeches and hollering buzzed down the tunnel and they halted. The path curved in front of them.

    "Get the hell away from me." John's voice ricocheted.

    Emily peeked around the curve into a large chamber filled with the horde. John was backing toward the far wall his hands out in front of him. The creatures hemmed him in on all sides. Emily pulled her head back and motioned Justin to back up.

    "Too many." She whispered.

    He pulled his rifle from his back.

    "At least we'll die honorably." She racked her shotgun. "Hey!"

    Justin stepped up next to her and waited for them to funnel into the tunnel. The ground trembled beneath their feet.

    Emily discharged two shells and watched the shot rip through pale flesh. Blood painted the walls, their faces, and the rest of the naked creatures.

    Heads exploded when Justin shot his rifle. The horde back pedaled into the chamber in fear trampling their fallen comrades. The brother and sister duo advanced and stopped just inside the end of the tunnel.

    "Still kicking John?"

    "That's Colonel." He pushed through the creatures that bore a slight resemblance to humans when you got closer.

    "You mean Lieutenant Colonel." Emily said.

    Before he could respond the ground trembled again. The beasts before them were still.

    "Fuck." John said.

    Emily waded through the creatures who scuttled away in fear. She laid on the ground at the back of the cave. Justin followed her lead. John hesitated.

    "What are you waiting for? Kill them before we're even more outnumbered."

    "There's no reason to kill them." Emily reloaded.

    "They're basically animals." Justin reloaded as well.

    "They were going to eat me." John showed them a bite mark on his leg.

    "Maybe you shouldn't have made yourself such a tasty morsel. Get some cancer, lose some weight."

    "You're safe now." Justin said. "Now I suggest you follow our lead and use them as cover."

    "What happened to your gun John?"

    "I lost it when I fell." He laid down next to Justin.

    The ground vibrated under them until the sound of feet drowned out everything else. The creatures they hid behind ran into the tunnel towards the sound. Emily sat up and touched the wall at her feet.

    "What are ya thinking?"

    "We need up."

    "It's too smooth to climb." Justin said.

    "I don't suppose if we piled the dead bodies it'd be tall enough."

    Justin shook his head.

    "The chamber I fell into has a way out but I was too busy running to use it."

    "Can you get back there?"

    "Yes."

    "Then lets go." Emily ran into the tunnel.

    Justin and John were on her heels. The narrow space was clogged with creatures fighting  and snapping at each other. Emily fired and pieces of flesh went flying.

    A plumbata sailed past her face and knocked a creature over with the impact, it bowled over several more as it fell.

    Emily dropped her empty shotgun and drew her crescent knives. Flesh gave way to the sharp metal as she pushed through the crowd. Snarls, teeth gnashing, and cries of pain filled the air.

    She didn't stop until there were no more in front of her. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed her brother and John were still on her heels. The three of them continued their sprint. John moved to take point. Out of the chaos behind them came thundering footsteps.

    "You better know where you're going."

    John led them to a side tunnel that went into a small chamber. The wall was sloped from the ceiling like a ramp.

    The thundering was getting closer.

    John led them up the slope and pushed on the ceiling. Dirt rained down but it didn't give. Justin slammed the butt of his rifle into the ceiling.

    "Partna." Emily jammed her blades into the ceiling.

    "We're running out of time." Justin fired down into the tunnel.

    Creatures spilled into the chamber.

    "Get it open." Emily ran back down the ramp and attacked.

    The crescent blades became an extension of her arms. Anything that came through the tunnel into the chamber, she cut down.

    "Em, fall back." Justin yelled.

    She turned and ran. Pale light seeped down from a small hole. Ryan's hand reached through. John broke more dirt away. Justin had the pistol John had given to Ryan and was covering Emily.

    When she got to the top she was wheezing. Ryan pulled her through the opening then John and Justin followed. None of the creatures followed them into the light. The four of them pushed each other back into the yard and collapsed in the grass.

    "Well done." John said. "The things you did and saw though, it wasn't enough. That wasn't a test, it was a bonus." He motioned them to follow him. He opened his trunk and pulled a man from it.

    His hands were bound in front of him and so were his feet. A gag muffled his pleas.

    "Interrogate him." He shoved him at Emily. "Show me your illness didn't make you weak."

    Emily knew how to interrogate. She'd been trained by Clayton. But she couldn't see how this would prove she wasn't weak.

    "I'm not an interrogator, I'm a soldier."

    He could have chosen any of them and it rankled her that he'd chosen her. Either because he really did think she was weak, or because he thought she'd enjoy it.

    "Make him scream."

    "Give me a reason."

    "Because I'm your commanding officer and because I said so."

    "You're not my anything. So unless my Country requires it for its safety, then no."

    John shoved the man back in the car. "The contract is yours." He pointed at Emily. "Because I'm going to break you."

    "I'll take that contract. Because I'm going to prove to you that it can't be done. Not by cancer, and not by you." She dropped the knives at his feet.

    Her brothers dropped their weapons too.

    Emily set her neck knife on the foot of her bed and stepped into her bathroom to shed her clothes for bed. The front door busted open and soldiers swarmed in. She lunged toward the bed and grabbed the knife.

    "Drop it."

    "You'll have to shoot me bitch."

    The men parted and the Lieutenant Colonel walked in. "For Gods sake Emily, put some pants on."

    "What. The. Hell."

    "It's time for work."

    Emily got dressed and followed the men to a waiting transport. After several hours of silence they switched to a helicopter that dropped them at a compound. John led her to an office.

    "Where are my brothers?"

    "I wanted to have a little chat, just us. Sit."

    Emily dropped into a chair facing his desk.

    "I will not tolerate your leniency for less than human creatures again. Your new motto is, if it's not human, it's dead."

    "I'm not a murderer."

    "That's not murder. That's survival of the fittest. If my expectations are not met, I will take it out on your brothers."

    For once in Emily's life, she held her tongue. And she began to plot the death of Lieutenant Colonel John Clutch. No one threatened her brothers.

    "Have I made myself clear?"

    "Crystal. But if you think that'll break me, you'll have to try harder."

    "I suggest you find a bunk and get some sleep. Tomorrow your brothers will join us and we'll start the mission."

    "I want the mission file." She held her hand out.

    "I said get some sleep."

    "Do you honestly think I can sleep in a house full of strange men?"

    "None of them have an interest in young boys."

    "I guess it's a good thing I don't have a Johnson then."

    "What I mean is, no one here finds your flat frame desirable."

    "You'd be surprised by how many people do. I myself am often shocked."

    "Don't expect special treatment because of your gender."

    "I don't want special treatment. I just have a strong aversion to rape."

    "Find a bunk."

    "I'm not responsible for the dead men in the morning then." She pushed out of the chair and left the office.

    Emily selected a bunk next to the door. She dropped into it and stared at the ceiling, her ears craned to hear the slightest of sounds. Something flared at her feet and she looked down. Fire raced up her body. She held still because she didn't want to appear in the other dimension with only half her body. The bunkhouse was replaced by her room in Leyume's home.

    "How that doesn't hurt, I can't fathom." She wished he hadn't brought her back. She never wanted to see that dimension again.

    "Would you rather it hurt?"

    "What do you want Leyume?"

    "Nothing. But you need your rest and I thought you'd feel safer here in my home."

    "I trust you less than them."

    "Why?"

    "Because I don't know what your game is."

    "Order."

    "Tell me the destroyer is John and I'll bring you his head."

    "You clearly didn't get anything out of my book." He patted his pocket.

    "Don't tempt me to charm it away from you again."

    "Charm? That must be why the Lieutenant Colonel has taken such a shine to you."

    "Ew. I swear if you tell me he's the person I owe you a debt for."

    Leyume laughed. "No, your hate for him only grows."

    "Good."

    "You're going to regret your decision to take his contract. But it sets the tone for the rest of your life."

    "Stop telling me the future." She rolled over in the bed.

    "Your person is doing fine by the way."

    Despite her mistrust of Leyume, she drifted to sleep. When she woke she was back in the bunkhouse. A layer of ash separated her from the top of the bed.

    "I hear you left last night." John stood next to her bed.

    "Show me proof." She rolled over and put her feet on the floor.

    "What's all over the bed?"

    "Dandruff. Where are my brothers?"

    "My office." He led her back to the room.

    Justin and Ryan sat in chairs. Emily leaned against the wall and waited for him to start.

    "While I can appreciate all of your backgrounds, what we do here is different. We're not here to keep things out of the public eye. We're here to keep anything foreign off the planet and punish any humans helping them get here."

    John picked up his desk phone. "Get him ready." He hung up and looked at Emily. "That man you refused to interrogate, he works for a man who sells humans to aliens as livestock."

    "And all of you had to do was explain that."

    "I don't have to explain myself. You on the other hand have to follow orders."

    "What do you want out of him?"

    "A name and a location."

    "Where is he?"

    "The basement."

    Emily turned and left the room. In her almost two years as a Creation Enforcement Agent she'd never had to use what Clay had taught her about interrogation but he had made her watch him do it.

    Emily stepped into the stairwell. Two guards stood at the bottom. Another man stood between them with a manila folder in his hands. He stepped forward when Emily got to the bottom. Their eyes were level.

    "I'm Dominick." He handed her the folder. "Forget your preconceived notions about interrogation and torture. I do things differently."

    "How different?"

    "Just follow my lead." He turned and led her into the interrogation room.

    Two empty seats were sitting across from the man in his boxers. His hands were behind him and his feet were attached to the stool legs. Emily took a seat and opened the folder.

    "I'm an American citizen. This is illegal."

    "Illegal?" Dominick said. "What about all of your illegal activity Mr. Burton?"

    "I ain't done nothing."

    "That's funny." Emily looked up from the folder. "Says here you're a kidnapper."

    "You've got no proof."

    "I don't need proof Mr. Burton. I need a name. Who employs you?" Dominick asked.

    He kept his mouth shut.

    "Rodney." Emily waved the folder in his face. "Just give us their name. If you don't, you're not leaving this room."

    "You guys don't scare me."

    "I agree my cohort isn't scary." Dominick stood. "Hell, I may not be that scary looking, but looks can be deceiving."

    A table sat against the wall and Dominick approached it. Emily and Rodney watched him pick up and inspect various instruments. He came back with a filet knife.

    "But I assure you, I'm a sick fuck." Dominick sat. "Have you heard of the belief that eating your enemy imbues you with some of their power?"

    Rodney shook his head.

    "I believe if I eat my enemy, not only do I gain his power, I also gain his knowledge. So if I eat you, not only will I find out your employers name, I'll also find out where he's holding that shipment of humans." Dominick inspected the knife. "Or you could tell me now."

    "No one is that sick."

    "Emily, what part looks good to you?" Dominick stood and circled Rodney.

    "I don't know, I'm a first timer."

    "You're in for a real treat. The back is my favorite part. If you cut it in thin enough strips, it crisps up really nice."

    "You're bluffing." Rodney craned his neck to see behind him.

    "Am I?" Dominick felt up his bare back. He motioned Emily to join him. "Right here. Feel that." He placed her hand on his back.

    "Oh I see."

    He let her hand go and sliced a piece off. Rodney screamed. Dominick went back to the table and turned on a table top grill. Rodney kept screaming.

    Dominick covered the flesh in seasonings. "Cover that wound would you." Dominick yelled over the screaming.

    Emily tugged off her shirt and pressed it to Rodney's back. Dominick crouched in front of him.

    "Do you smell that?" Dominick sucked air through his nose. "Delicious."

    Rodney quivered.

    "What's his name?"

    "Stefen Holloway."

    "Do you want to try your own flesh as a reward?"

    Rodney shrank away from Dominick.

    "Now, where is he?"