Black Avatare

26 | VISITOR

"A dimensional rip?" Binara's jaw fell open. "What the heck is that?"

Diyan surveyed her while the blue-white candlelight reflected off his eyes. "Not all demons can teleport to the human realm at will. Natural windows appear between worlds—small and unstable. That's how demons cross over. To transport an army, Mahasona needs something more."

"But what about you? And Raya?"

"I'm one of the few who can warp the fabric of space to create a window—when and where the barrier between the realms becomes thin. It takes considerable energy and skill to maintain it. The mark I put on you helped. It was like a beacon that made it easier to open a portal directly to you. Raya used it to take up station at your balcony. It's easier to imagine these windows as the two realms touching—holes you can travel through."

"So, like, mini wormholes?"

Diyan frowned. "Wormholes?"

Binara shook her head and recalled the battle at Natran. "Mahasona brought multiple demons to that artisan village."

"He's more powerful than ever. I believe that incident may have been something of a test run—at a smaller scale."

"The weather event!" She thought of the ominous cloud formation. "Those weird clouds were also there when I summoned you at Mai Mara Cemetery."

"Yes, two portals were active that night, and strong auras coalesced—mine and his, though he was possessing his dog at the time. Hence, the weather anomaly."

She sat silent for a moment, thoughts eddying in a turbulent mass. A gust of wind blew over the balcony, rustling leaves and raising goosebumps. The ever-present moon hung over them, its mellow glow barely penetrating the shadows. Both times she had come close to her nemesis, the sinister clouds were the warning sign, but she had no idea.

"I'm glad you're able to withstand teleportation so well," Diyan said, steepling his hands over his half-eaten plate. "In a way, it's not surprising, but..."

"How did you teleport me the first time at the cemetery?" She jogged down memory lane in light of the newfound knowledge. "I know the second time was Raya bringing me to your palace."

"Both times were actually me. I was particularly ill-prepared at the cemetery, because..." He paused. "Well, I did manage to get you away from there."

"But...what about Raya? At Natran, Mahasona lunged at me, and the bridge collapsed. Raya grabbed me and—"

"Raya's job was to keep an eye on you, though it was getting harder with your mark fading over time. When I realized you were in danger, I wasn't in a place to come to your aid. Raya was already there, so I possessed her to bring you here."

"You can do that? Possess Raya?"

"Raya and I share a mental connection." A smile flitted over his lips. "The same connection you hijacked thanks to my mark on your shoulder."

"Oh..." Her eyes widened when she remembered the trippy dive into the leopard's mind. "You used the mark to track me through Raya, but it kind of backfired at that moment?"

"Something of the sort."

Binara drummed her fingers on the table. "So Mahasona also has this mental link with his shadow wraith—the dog. He possessed it at Natran. I could see it in the dog's eyes. At the footbridge, he finally showed his true self to me."

"Mahasona might have done so because he didn't expect you to escape. Otherwise, he prefers not to show himself." Diyan frowned, and the tiredness about him became more pronounced. "He'd rather have humans focus all their efforts into hunting me down—based on an age-old misconception."