Enchained WATTPAD VERSION [Inter-Universal Protectors: Book 4]

3

They'd vanished.

All traces of the mysterious thief were gone as though they never existed.

No signal or tang of teleportation could be found. No trace magics. Not even a footprint! The only sign of their being there was the missing artefact – an old knife able to cut through the very fabric of reality, according to Xix's contact.

'That's just cheating,' Ema muttered as she left the tomb.

Amneris smirked. 'Thought you were one of the best trackers in existence.'

'Don't you start with me, Topanga.'

Amneris raised her hands, though the smirk remained.

Ema turned to Xix. 'You can't sense anything?'

She shook her head.

'Well, shit.'

'I can't either,' said Amneris, 'if anyone is interested.'

Jay huffed. 'That "from another multiverse theory" is starting to look plausible now.'

'It makes no sense,' Colt said from where he stood in the doorway of the tomb. 'If the knife was used, the air would be scarred.'

'It is a very powerful object,' Amneris agreed. 'I can sense its power was here.'

'A very powerful object . . .' Colt snapped his fingers. 'Aside from the Cores and the Weapon Tali absorbed, what is the most powerful artefact in creation?'

Amneris and Xix exchanged alarmed looks.

'There is no way they would!' Xix whispered.

'Well, unless you have any better ideas,' Amneris hissed. She tugged a strand of curly golden hair. 'We have to get there first. He's probably right.'

'Agreed.' Xix raised a finger to her lower lip. 'But would both of us going be a good idea? They could use the opportunity to steal our powers.'

Amneris rolled her eyes. 'Really, what are the changes of that happening?'

'Rather high?'

'We are two strong and fast badass ladies. They got no chance.'

'Your cockiness will be your downfall.'

'I'm immortal and have the power of both Naiu and the Weapon on my side. It'll take more than a magic book to take my power.'

'We don't even know how it works!'

'Gods, you're so paranoid!'

'You're not paranoid enough!'

Jay let out a high-pitched whistle. 'What are you two talking about?'

'Nothing,' they said.

Amneris turned to Colt with crossed arms. 'There is a version of Earth which was essentially brought to ruins not even a thousand years ago. It's undergone a lot of changes since that day. Practically uninhabitable and in complete ruin.'

'The story claims the weapon that caused the destruction is still there,' Xix added.

Amneris nodded. 'In the wrong hands, it could bring down the walls between worlds. Luckily, the Humans destroyed themselves before figuring that out.'

'Only they didn't destroy themselves,' Xix interrupted. 'They . . . evolved—'

'—More like de-evolved.'

'—Into something new.' She rubbed her crimson bracelet. 'Even we would have a difficult time against them.'

'But if this person, whoever they are, is going after objects that powerful, we don't have much of a choice,' Ema said, bracing her hand on a hip. 'We have to get there first.'

'Xix and I have to get there first,' Amneris said pointedly. 'This... whatever they are, they're tracking down items that can be used to bring down walls between universes. If they get enough, they could, in theory, bring down the walls of the multiverse and throw all Creation into Negative Space.'

Jay shivered. 'Hard pass. Void Beasts make me nervous.'

'Not the point,' Amneris sighed, raising a hand to her head.

Colt glanced to the darkening sky. 'Even the Gods struggle to survive the Void.'

'That's the point.' Amneris pushed her hair over a shoulder. 'How do you think living things in Creation would be able to handle Negative Space if even the Gods can't. The Void Beasts would be the least of their concerns.'

'Bad is putting it mildly,' Xix said. She tilted her head back to look at the sky. 'The Void isn't the worst thing that could happen, though.'

The others faced her with questioning looks.

Xix waved a hand. 'Presume for a moment the many multiverses theory is true. If the walls between multiverses were brought down, it's not outside the realm of possibilities the power source could be used to fuse multiverses together.'

Jay grimaced. 'That would be bad, too.'

Amneris pushed her fist against her hand. 'Either way, we have to find and stop whoever is behind this before they do something they regret.'

'So we go to this Earth and grab the power source you are talking about,' Colt said.

'Not "we",' Amneris said, placing a hand on his shoulder. 'Me and Xix will go.'

'But—'

'This is more dangerous than usual,' she said. 'Your power is strong but it may not be strong enough.' Amneris gestured to her sister. 'Xix and I have the power of the Cores and the Weapon on our side. We can handle ourselves just fine.'

'I still believe—'

She cut him off with a quick kiss. 'Trust me, love. We'll be fine.'

Colt sighed, defeated. 'Be careful, okay?' He eyed Xix. 'Both of you.'

The Terpolite woman winked. 'I'll keep her out of trouble as much as possible for you.'

Amneris grinned. 'But no promises.'

'Naturally.'