Alli cried out in surprise as something yanked her, and her passengers out of the shadow realm as they were passing by. It shouldn’t have been possible at those speeds, not to mention she had been fully inside the realm at the time. Yet here they were. Wherever that was.

It wasn’t the shadow realm, but it also wasn’t Earth, at least not fully. It was somewhere else, a place between the two realms. Everything was a half-step out of phase and covered in wisps of creeping darkness. It wasn’t the shadows she was used to, but something darker and more malevolent.

“Be careful!” She projected to everyone.

“Where are we?” Kate asked as she and Beth climbed off Inara’s back.

Sierra followed their example a moment later and slid off Alli. “Nowhere good.”

“Are you getting anything from your oracle abilities?” Inara asked the party through her telepathy charm. It had been a gift from Gaia that was fitted to her collar.

Despite being able to talk, she rarely spoke to anyone but the two girls and Alli. Though she had been opening up to Myri somewhat within the last couple of weeks.

The blonde-haired woman shook her head. “No, I didn’t get a hint of this one. There were only hints of darkness.” She looked around a look of dawning understanding crossing her face. “Oh, I thought it meant something else.”

Beth pulled her gun from its holster and made sure the selector switch was on magic. Without access to her inventory, she didn’t have the luxury of firing regular ammo.

Alli took a hesitant step forward when nothing appeared to attack them right away. It wasn’t worth trying to leave just yet. If whatever had brought them here had the power to pull her out of the shadow realm once, then it could do it again.

They needed to wait for the right moment before they made an attempt to escape. However, first, they needed to find out who had brought them here, and why. Though frankly, she was afraid the why was going to be far more of an easy one to answer.

The group kept up one tentative step after another, just walking aimlessly forward for several long minutes. Towering trees of darkness loomed above them to one side as they clung to the road. No one wanted to wander into those depths.

Everyone could feel the eyes that stared back at them from the absolute darkness within.

“Why is nothing attacking us?” Kate whispered after several long minutes.

The group hissed at her.

“Would you shut up!” Sierra whispered harshly back. “Do you want to jinx us? What if one of them heard you and got ideas? Just be grateful that they are merely content with slowing us down for now.”

“I’m worried about what Charles, Charlotte, and Kira must be facing though if all they are doing is slowing us down,” Alli muttered, her thoughts still coming clearly through, along with her worry.

That made the rest of the group grow quiet.

“Why though? Those three are the main powerhouses. I mean, outside of Alli, the rest of us can’t compare to them.” Kate wasn’t ashamed of her strength, rather, she was proud of the levels her team was at. Comparing them to beings like Charles and her sister, however, was just plain ludicrous.

The gap between their level of power was just too great, and obviously the same could be said for Alli as well. Which made them being pulled into this weird place all the stranger. Who, or whatever had managed such a feat was outside the realm of normal itself.

“Did you know these sorts of places existed?” Beth asked as they continued walking.

“I had a guess. If the shadow realm exists, then it stood to reason other such places must as well. But I never knew we could actually stay and walk around in them. Every time I’ve entered the shadow realm it was while I was traveling, I never thought to just simply enter it.” Alli replied, suddenly feeling the urge to explore her own realm properly. It wasn’t as forbidding as this dark place.

“Do you think these have always been here?” Beth wondered, gradually growing a little more comfortable. “I mean, how much of our world did the gods change versus simply revealing what was always there under the surface?”

“I would guess that at least fifty percent was always there. Certain things like this, I don’t think they could have added. I don’t think they had the power to create something like this.” Sierra shook her head. “It’s hard to say for sure. I know Charles has run into monsters from local myths. Which begs the question, were they already there? Did the gods add them, or were they created through people’s belief in them?”

Kate rolled her eyes. “You’re getting too deep there, Sierra, but I think we get your point.”

Inara stopped and let out a low growl. Her tail suddenly scraping the ground as it began to swing back and forth in preparation to attack. Her eyes were glued to the trees on their left side.

Alli felt her hair and fur underneath bristle and harden in response to the unknown threat.

A few moments later, monsters made up of absolute darkness began to step out from the trees and began to partially surround them. In seconds, their area of retreat had been entirely cut off, with only the way forward left open.

Alli looked above them as she heard the distant sound of wings flapping toward them.

Whoever had brought them here had finally gotten tired of waiting and was now making their entrance.

“Is that a gargoyle?” Beth asked as it came into view.

“I used to love that show,” Sierra said, her mouth moving on autopilot.

The being coming to a hover thirty feet in front of them did indeed look like something from that show.

“Do you know who we are?” It asked in a surprisingly normal voice.

“I don’t, but my companions seem to believe that you are some kind of gargoyle,” Alli replied, stepping forward. “Why did you bring us here?”

“Do you know what the powers of a gargoyle are?” It returned, bobbing gently up and down in the air as it flapped its wings.

Everyone shook their head.

“Immortality, limited shapeshifting, flight, camouflage, petrifying touch, and enduring bodies at night. In the darkness, it is exceedingly hard to hurt us. Do any of those sound like something that could have brought you here? Besides, my race is primarily known as one of protectors. We guard against the darkest creatures.”

Alli glanced around at the dark monsters. “Are these those darkest creatures you spoke of, or something else?”

“They are, in part.”

“Why haven’t they done anything to us yet?” Sierra asked the gargoyle.

“Because I asked them not to.” It grinned and began to laugh at their shocked expressions. “I said that I didn’t bring you here. I never said anything about not working for the person who did.”

“What about ‘protecting against the darkest creatures’? Was all that lies too?” Sierra snarled, suddenly angry. This realm was messing with her ability to see the future, and without access to her bow, she couldn’t even fight. It was leaving her feeling helpless, which dredged up unpleasant memories from her past.

“Darkest creatures can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. I personally think you humans are pretty much the scum between my wings. I could be protecting those creatures over there from you.” The gargoyle drifted closer before finally alighting on the ground in front of them.

“If you didn’t bring us here, then who is your boss and what do they want?” Alli demanded, taking a step back from it.

“That is not my place to ask. However, you will have a chance to ask him yourself momentarily.”

“Guys, he, I think it’s a he anyway, did mention being pretty much invulnerable during the night, right? Do you think this counts as night, or is something more natural required?” Kate whispered, her hand searching for Beth’s.

“I doubt we would get so lucky.” Inara crowded closer to them both.

“So where is he, then?” Sierra shouted, putting on a brave face.

Alli smacked the woman with her tail as the gargoyle glared at them.

“I just told you he would be here momentarily!” He growled in a voice promising death.

“Where are the rest of your kind? Why haven’t we seen any of you around until now?” Alli asked while they waited.

“We were banished, same as all the other beings your stories have been filled with. The occasional glimpses people would get from the corner of their eyes were the hidden realms, such as this one drawing close to Earth. Not enough to let us out, but enough for the rare glance that kept stories of us alive.

“As for why they haven’t appeared, they probably don’t have anyone with the power to let them out. After all, I can’t leave here even if I wanted to, and I know I’m not the only gargoyle here.” His wings flared out as he grinned and pointed to something approaching them from behind. “I told you he would be here soon.”

Walking calmly towards them through the darkness was a large man. He was wearing an old metal helmet that protected the eyes and nose but left the lower half open. Despite that. At some point in the past, one of his eyes had been gouged out, while the other glowed with an unholy orange light.