Dissolution
Author: Kyle West
Date: 2018-10-22 07:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fiction; Science Fiction; Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic; Action & Adventure; General; Horror
Description: Xenofall is coming... Shanti returns to a divided Red Wild. Isaru, the puppet of Rakhim Shal, now rules from Haven. He plans to attack Colonia itself to win the support of the bickering Elekai kingdoms. Meanwhile, a resistance recognizing Shanti as Anna Reborn has formed at Kalear. But it will be crushed unless she can find further support. Lurking behind everything is the sinister power of the Hyperfold. Its dissolution could mean the death of the Xenofold itself...
Publisher: Ragnarok Press

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Also by Kyle West

Map

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Nine

Chapter Fifty

Chapter Fifty-One

About the Author

Also by Kyle West

Glossary

DISSOLUTION

The Xenoworld Saga, Book 6

Kyle West

Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2018 Kyle West

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

First e-book edition, October 2018

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Also by Kyle West

Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian

The Wasteland Chronicles

Apocalypse

Origins

Evolution

Revelation

Darkness

Extinction

Xenofall

Post-Apocalyptic/Fantasy

The Xenoworld Saga

Prophecy

Bastion

Beacon

Sanctum

Kingdom

Dissolution

CHAPTER ONE

WHEN I AWOKE TO COLD reality, every terrible memory returned to me. Mia was dead, and we had left Isandru behind in the Hyperfold with Rakhim Shal. If he wasn’t dead, he was probably much worse than that – a prisoner.

The vision of Mia falling from Isaru’s blade played itself over and over in my mind. Over and over, I was tortured with the image of her falling dead, the shocked expression on her face, her being absorbed by the light of the Hyperfold’s point of origin. I watched as Isandru himself was pulled in by that light, likely to never see the real world again.

And here I sat in the cold dark forest to the dead city’s west, unable to do anything. We cowered in the shadows while Isaru and his dragons were likely beginning a new rampage on the Red Wild.

It couldn’t get any more hopeless than this.

* * *

Isandru had commanded us to run, had practically pleaded with us, but running didn’t feel good, even if it was the right choice. How great was our hubris? How could we have ever thought we could dissolve the Hyperfold, to beat Rakhim Shal at his own game? Twisted with the images of Mia’s death and Isandru’s disappearance was Rakhim’s insane, gloating face. That face seemed to say, Better luck next time, kid. If there is a next time.

Here in these woods, I could do nothing but ask questions of what might have been. Was there any reason to go on? Did Isandru have a chance of destroying Rakhim, even if he was alone? Would it be possible to attack the Hyperfold again? We had foolishly shown our hand before we were truly ready.

Stop blaming yourself, a voice seemed to say from inside my head. No one could have predicted this.

The voice didn’t seem to be my own, though it spoke with my own voice.

Anna. She was just feelings, usually. She had never talked to me directly like this.

And I wasn’t sure if I liked it.

Ignoring me, then. Well, knowing myself, I don’t blame you. I have always been stubborn.

I couldn’t resist responding. Why are you talking to me? Why not speak up before?

The voice seemed to be amused. At what, I didn’t know. I was weak, Shanti. I’ve been a silent watcher all my life, not even knowing I existed. Until you entered the Xenofold for the first time. It became clearer, then. I watched the world pass through your eyes, though at times, I slept, too. I’ve tried talking before. But maybe I’m buried so deep that you never really heard me.

I swallowed a nervous lump in my throat. I’ve felt you. You’ve been speaking to me all this time? About what?

Nothing for a long while. I had given up after you failed to notice the first few times. And I tried a few more times after that, just to see if anything changed. A pause. Nothing had.

But I can hear you now.

Yes, Anna answered. I wonder why.

I wondered why, too. Perhaps it was because, for the first time, I could focus on nothing more than my thoughts, even if my thoughts were the main thing I wanted to escape from.

Whatever the case, Anna said, the impossible seems possible, now. We’re in this together.

A strange thought formed in my mind, and I wondered if Anna could read it. My body was supposed to have been her body. The Xenofold had been too weak to bring her back in her full power. But a kernel of that power had remained, all the same . . . a kernel which had grown once it received nourishment from a connection to the Xenofold.

If that theory was true, then it was no surprise Anna could talk now.

Did that mean the more I used the Xenofold, the more power I drew, the greater Anna would become? Would it be me watching from the shadows one day, a prisoner in a body that had once been mine?

I got a chill at the mere thought. Anna did not speak to me again, at least, not for the rest of the night.

* * *

The wind rustled the boughs of the shadowy, ominous trees as I faded in and out of sleep. The darkness of the forest was near absolute. The air was cold, far colder than it had been when we first entered the Hyperfold. The leaves we used to cover ourselves did little to keep us warm. I could feel the heat of my friends sleeping beside me, and if not for that, the night would have been far more miserable.

Isa could start a fire almost anywhere, but even she was afraid of being spied by a dragon circling above. No doubt, they were searching for us on silent wings. If there was to be a fire, it would have to be during the day, and perhaps not even then.

Hunger twisted my stomach, and exhaustion set deeply into my bones, an exhaustion only exacerbated by the cold. The wind blew like ice, bearing with it drops of sleet that had found their way through the forest canopy.

I pushed thoughts of Isandru, Mia, and survival from my mind, instead focusing on the day ahead. Somehow, I had to lead everyone to the western side of Ragnarok Crater, the place I’d told Pallos to meet us if we ever became separated. It had been at least a month since that conversation, possibly even two. For all I knew, he had given us up for dead.

All the same, it was our only hope. We had to reach the western Ragnawall or die trying.

* * *

Over a century ago, the forests surrounding Hyperborea were a treasure trove of nature’s bounty, shaped by people to feed the population of the Red Wild’s greatest city. Though its orchards, farms, and groves had not been maintained for decades, their crops still grew wild within the forest that overran the crater in its entirety. Food wouldn’t be an issue here; the main concern was exposure.

I clenched my teeth to keep them from chattering and sheltered my hands within my cloak. My fingers were numb, all the same. Isa, Fiona, Shara, and I lay side by side, the only source of warmth. No one kept watch; the forest was too dark, and all of us were so exhausted.

Since sleep would not find me, I sought Silence instead, maintaining a thin connection to the Hyperfold, for no other reason but to dim the discomfort. Though the connection itself was small, I could still feel the vastness of the Xenofold encompassing me. Though the city of Hyperborea lay in a reversion, the Xenofold could still be felt, and used, out here in the forest.

I tried to use Silence to get a sense of our surroundings. Despite the cold and darkness, life pulsed within the surrounding forest. Countless trees grew from the pink xen, undisturbed by human hands for over a hundred years. Small rodents and birds ate the fruit dropped by trees, while deer dashed through the undergrowth. I even sensed bears and wolves tromping on the xen, though they were nowhere near us. They were wary of human intruders and their strange scent, not remembered for many of their generations.

Last of all, I sensed the comforting presence of my friends around me – Fiona’s dreamless sleep, Shara’s twitching, and even the tiny trickle of the Xenofold’s power that had manifested in Isa just recently. It remained to be seen just how much that power would affect a change inside her.

The Xenofold was still here. There was still strength left . . . perhaps enough to resist the coming storm.

* * *

Eventually, enough light seeped through the forest canopy to stir me from my doze. I opened my eyes to see Shara sitting on a fallen log while peering into the shadowy woods. Like me, she was using her connection to the Xenofold to give her strength.

Shara sensed me looking at her, and turned. She watched for a moment, neither of us feeling the need to break the silence.

The woods were very quiet and still. Even the wind had died down in the night, leaving a crisp coolness. A sheen of frost covered all; tree bark, boughs, leaves, and undergrowth. The orange sun filtered through the treetops and did nothing to warm the forest, though the light stirred Fiona and Isa from their sleep.

We all sat quietly for a moment, remembering the dreadful day before. But there was little time for mulling; we needed to get moving, and the sooner we did, the better.

“We need to find food and be on our way,” I said. “And I’m willing to risk a fire, if the rest of you are.”

“I could do with a fire,” Isa said, her teeth chattering. “If Isaru hasn’t followed us.”

“He hasn’t,” Shara said. “We would know if he had.”

“I heard a few dragons flying overhead last night,” Fiona said. “Though they didn’t cry out.”

I’d heard nothing. Perhaps I slept more deeply than I realized.

“No doubt he’s looking for us,” Shara said. “These woods are good cover as long as we stay in the thickness of the trees.”

“I suppose a fire is too much to hope for, then,” I said. “The smoke would be visible for miles.”

“I can make a small, smokeless fire,” Isa said. “If I can find the right kind of wood.”

All looked to me for the final decision. Though I wanted to linger and warm up, I knew reaching the western Ragnawall was far more important. Moving would have to do the warming up while the trees could be counted on to provide shelter from the wind.

“We can’t risk it,” I said. “We need to head west for the rim of the crater. Food can be found on the way. We passed lots of fruit trees in the night, and no doubt we’ll pass many more on our way.”

“Fruit,” Shara said, a bit disdainfully. “What I could go for is a nice stew with a lot of meat.”

“We can have all the stew we want once we’re out of here,” I said.

“If we get out of here,” Shara said, grumbling.

“We will,” I said. “Pallos will still be searching, and if he is, then he’s bound to notice the increasing activity of the dragons. Maybe that’ll tip him off that we’ve come out of the Hyperfold.”

This was enough incentive for everyone to stand and brush the leaves from their clothes.

Fiona untangled a twig from her wavy, red hair. “I wonder how much time has passed while we were in there. Lucky we didn’t come out in the dead of winter. We might not have survived the night.”

“It’s either October or November,” Isa said. “This is about how cold it is in the Northern Wild during those months.”

October or November meant we were in the Hyperfold for two or three months. How much had the world changed during our absence? What mischief had Isaru been up to, before he had come to rescue Rakhim?

Those questions would have to be answered later, and only once we got out of here. We had to survive the cold long enough for Pallos to find us in the appointed spot. From east to west, Ragnarok Crater was about eighty miles across. We probably ran five or more miles through the forest last night, and Hyperborea was almost exactly in the middle of the crater.

That meant we had some thirty miles or so ahead of us – a distance that was doable in a couple of days if we didn’t run into trouble.

I felt along the top of my head, noticing for the first time that I had about an inch of hair there. So, my body wasn’t the same. My hair had grown in the intervening months, if not as much as it usually would.

I threw on the hood of my cloak and tried not to think of how horrifying I must look to the others, not only because of my hair, but because of my marred skin.

It was at that moment that a sharp pain cut through my stomach, causing me to grunt and fall to my knees.

“Shanti?” Shara asked. “What’s wrong?”

The blood rushed from my head, and I inhaled deeply to keep myself from fainting. Though my injury was months ago at this point, my body was still acting as if it were only yesterday. Seeker Karai had warned me that I would need food – lots of it – to complete the healing process. Somehow, my body had sustained itself in the Hyperfold, but now that we were out, its demands needed to be met.

“She needs to eat,” Fiona said. “Seeker Karai said that the healing would cause her metabolism to spike. I’m afraid we have no choice but to find food here. She’ll need something more substantial than fruit. Perhaps Isa can . . .”

“I’m on it,” she said, hefting her bow. “I’ll see what I can find.”

And like that, she was off into the woods. We waited there in the quiet for about ten minutes, with me grasping onto Silence to keep the worst of the hunger at bay. I’d never been this hungry. My stomach felt as if it were twisting itself into the tightest, most painful knot imaginable. The others kept me company as they gathered wood for a fire, and fruitlessly tried to forage nearby.

Ten minutes later, the undergrowth shifted as Isa reappeared, carrying two rabbits that she held from their hindfeet. She dropped them to the ground.

“Lucky you have me,” she said.

“That was quick,” Shara said, impressed.

“There’s so much life in this forest,” Isa said. “I saw three more fat ones just like that, too fat to even run. I’d have killed more if we could build the fire bigger.” She looked at the wood gathered, getting rid of most of it while leaving a small remnant. After rearranging the wood, she gave a nod of satisfaction and began striking her flint to make some sparks.

“This shouldn’t smoke too bad,” she said.

“Shanti needs to eat regardless,” Fiona said, with a tone saying that the decision was final. “Karai said she needs to eat two or three times her normal amount, until she has fully healed. We still have fifty miles to go, and all of us just spent a cold night outside. The fire will do us all good.”

Isa nodded her agreement, just as a flame sprung to life. Not long after, a cheerful flame was blazing. Its warmth was welcome on my face.

“There’s a stream nearby,” Isa said. “And plenty of forage just a few steps away by the stream. I found some edible roots, blackberries, mushrooms, and a few hazelnut trees. Seems we camped out right next to an old grove.

“No wonder the rabbits like it here,” Shara said.

Isa nodded. “Between the four of us, we should have enough gathered by the time the rabbits are cooked for a healthy meal, plus some for the road.”

“Things are starting to look up,” Shara said. “Where is this forage, exactly?”

“The blackberry bushes are toward the stream, that way,” Isa said, pointing. “I’ll get these rabbits cleaned and cooking.” She frowned. “Wish we’d thought to bring a pot . . .”

None of us had brought our packs; we couldn’t take them into the Hyperfold, so we left them behind.

The rabbits would have to be skewered or cooked on stones in strips of meat, but I was so hungry that I didn’t care.

Despite my protests, Fiona and Shara insisted I remain sitting, which was probably for the best. They went in the direction Isa indicated.

As Isa skewered the rabbits, I couldn’t help but be impressed with Isa’s survival skills, earned from growing up in the Northern Wild, where hunting and gathering was just as much a part of daily life was farming.

While the meat cooked, we kept an eye out for potential threats. An hour after sunrise, the woods were well-lit. While it allowed us to see our surroundings, I still felt exposed; even if a dragon flying overhead couldn’t see us, it might smell the cooking meat. So far, however, no dragons had passed overhead.

Fiona and Shara returned, their cloaks filled with hazelnuts and blackberries.  Shara was already cracking the hazelnuts and setting them near the fire where they could warm and dry. I instantly felt better as soon as I started eating berries. When the rabbits were finished, they gave me a whole one to myself.

I ate and I ate, and once I’d finished with the meat, I was still hungry. I ate more nuts than anyone else, and more berries. I made myself stop, even though I could have eaten more. I’d probably eaten twice as much as anyone else, and it was hard not to feel guilty, even if I actually did need the food.

Drowsiness took hold of me, caused by the food and the warm fire. That was cut short as soon as Isa extinguished the flames with dirt, spreading the coals with her boot while the others worked to cover all traces of the fire. By the time it was hidden, it was as if it were never there.

The fire had been a risk, but one that had paid off. All of us were full and ready for the long hike to the Ragnawall.

CHAPTER TWO

ON OUR WAY WEST, I could see that we wouldn’t be lacking for food. We passed overgrown orchards of apples, pears, plums, and apricots, along with wheat and corn that grew wild under the trees. Edible brown mushrooms grew thick on the undersides of logs, and the woods were rife with game of all sorts; rabbits, deer, squirrel, among many others, all fat from living the good life.

Even if the city had brought on the downfall of the Xenofold, it was easy to see why the original settlers had been tempted to stay here in the first place. For all of its danger, the land was a fertile haven for life. The frost was already melting, to be replaced by a thin veil of fog.

That fog was a reminder of our need for haste. Normally, Shal had the ability to fill the crater with fog at will. That he wasn’t now suggested that he didn’t have the ability to do so. Maybe we had dealt him a blow, or perhaps Isandru was fighting him even now to prevent this.

Whatever the case, we needed to hurry. A thick fog would make it nearly impossible to find our way out of here.

It wasn’t until midmorning that we heard our first dragon. As soon as we heard the beating of its wings, we scrambled for the ground, hiding beneath a fallen trunk and remaining there until it had completely passed. The dragon was a sign that Isaru was looking for us, and that leaving this place would be very difficult.

As we kept going west throughout the day, a dragon flew overhead every thirty minutes to an hour. But Isaru couldn’t have sent every dragon to search for us. Ragnarok Crater was small, and every dragon searching would have meant almost constant contact with the swarm. A sizeable chunk had to be off doing something else.

I tried to stay positive, but I could see the fear in my friends’ eyes. If Pallos was still checking the crater to pick us up, he would get one shot to do so; the dragons would be drawn to Odin’s position as soon as they were aware of it. If the dragons were aware of Odin, connecting with the ship would be more difficult.

As we walked through the trees, avoiding wide meadows and streams, my mind kept returning to the events of the previous day. Mia’s death played out over and over in my head. No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t see how I could have saved her, or how I could have stopped Isandru from reentering the Hyperfold.

The loss of them both hit me again and again throughout the day, never diminishing in pain. No one spoke, probably plagued by similar thoughts. Mia had shown such promise; she had never asked to be a part of our world.

She had never asked to be taken from it, either.

There she was again. Anna, adding her own thoughts to the matter.

Are you still there? I asked.

Yes, the voice said. I’ve always been here. If you need help . . . just ask.

My guardian angel, then.

I had thought it sarcastically, but Anna seemed to just be amused. I know you didn’t ask for this. When you fight, so do I. When you reach for the Xenofold . . . I am there. Maybe you never heard me speaking so directly, but you have used my abilities before. Many times. That’s why you know how to do so much, though no one has ever taught you.

I already knew that but being reminded of it wasn’t comforting.

Just don’t take me over, I thought. This body is mine.

Even though it was supposed to be hers.

“Are you all right, Shanti? Are you hungry again?”

Before I could respond, Fiona was holding out a pear. Rather than answer her, I took the fruit and started eating.

* * *

As afternoon waned into evening, the trees thinned while the ground became hilly and rocky. No one had said a word since we’d stopped for lunch under a copse of maples a few hours ago, where Isa had managed to catch a trout with her bare hands and cooked it over the fire, as the rest of us munched on fruit gathered during our walk.

Without ever mentioning it, we never stopped to camp. By the time night arrived, there were no more searching dragons, which was good, because the forest had thinned while the terrain had become more open and rugged. In the far distance the Ragnawall was visible, sparkling with pink luminescence. The land sloped ever upward in rolling, craggy hills toward that wall which extended higher than even the rim of the Grand Canyon at its deepest. We guided ourselves by the stars to make sure our course was still going west. The soil and xen of the lower forests gave way to rocks of the twisted hills.

Somewhere on these slopes, Odin would appear. Or at least, so I hoped.

We worked our way through the hills late into the night, taking advantage of the full moon and clear skies. We ate the remainder of the food we’d gathered on the way. We didn’t stop, not until dawn came to reveal the vast forest spread behind us to the east, and the even vaster crater wall ahead, impossibly high and insurmountable.

We continued until we couldn’t walk any longer. There was no sign of Pallos or Odin, just as there was no other signs of life. Even to the east, where the red sun broke through Ragnarok Crater’s haze, there was no sign of any living thing. The towers of Hyperborea were lost to the mist, impossible to see.

I kept watch while the rest slept in the shelter of some nearby rocks. The visibility was poor. Despite our altitude, I could only see perhaps a quarter to a half mile in any direction. Pallos would have to literally be right on top of us to have a shot at finding us.

For all I knew, we could be waiting on this hill until the day of our deaths. Standing there and watching my friends sleep, it certainly felt that way.

When we needed to drink throughout the day, we drank from a nearby stream. When we needed to eat, one of us stayed behind while the rest went into the forest to scrounge whatever these rocky heights offered . . . which was very little in comparison to the crater below.

Without a ship, this place was a prison. The only trail leading out that I knew of was to the south, where we had come in all those months ago. I didn’t want to take that option; surely, Isaru also knew that was the only way out, and we were sure to be caught if it ever came to that.

We waited all day long, and into the next night. I closed my eyes, meditating and finding Silence. I reached out, as far as I possibly could. I couldn’t have said how, but I felt that someone was looking for me, someone I knew but couldn’t name. Pallos had no ability to connect to the Xenofold, so it couldn’t be him.

If there was someone searching, though, who could it be?

I thought about sharing this with the others, but decided not to in case I was wrong. What hope I had faded with the daylight as we settled into a fitful sleep.

This was the second night. And since Pallos hadn’t come during the first, I was beginning to lose hope.

* * *

And then, the sound of Odin’s engines jolted me from my sleep. I was screaming for the others to wake, but they were already up, waving madly in the predawn. We were taking off our cloaks despite the bitter cold, waving them like madwomen.

The ship roved over the hills slowly, methodically, its spotlight shining at the top of each crest. It went to every hill but the one we stood on,

Odin passed right over us, scanning the hill just beyond.

“No!” I screamed. “Turn back, turn back!”

But, suddenly, miraculously, Odin did turn, shining its spotlight directly onto us. I was blinded, and the others’ joyous screams were lost to the din of the engines as it pulled in close. Within the minute, it was landing while the boarding ramp extended.

Part of me wondered whether I was still sleeping, if this was just a dream. When the blast door hissed open, I wanted to weep for joy. But the person framed by the doorway wasn’t Pallos at all, but the person I had felt searching for us during my meditation.

So that was how Pallos knew where to find us.

CHAPTER THREE

“HIGH PRIEST MARKAS?”

THE LOW morning light didn’t illumine his features well, but if the wild gray hair and beard was any indication, then it was him.

He walked down the ramp, extending a gnarled hand to help us on board, his light brown eyes looking right into mine, his expression one of concern.

“Come inside,” he said. “It’s warm, and we have hot food aboard.”

We needed no other persuasion, and if that weren’t enough, the sound of a dragon’s cry pierced the air, unseen in the morning mist. We ran up the ramp, and the feel of Odin’s warm air thawing my face made me sigh with relief. When the last of us, Shara, was on board, the door closed and the ship lifted off.

All of us went to the table and sat as Odin picked up speed and altitude. The loud thrumming of the engine made all conversation impossible, but Markas offered us a reassuring smile as he remained standing near the table, holding onto it to keep his balance.

After a short while, the ship slowed and the din of the engine ebbed, making it quiet enough to talk. “Markas. How did you ever find us?”

Up close, I could see that his tanned face was wrinkled from decades of living in the harsh desert sun, though much of that time was no doubt spent inside the Sphere which dominated the center of the Ruins. “We’ve been searching for weeks. Yesterday was the first day I felt any presence or hope of finding you. I wanted to search within the crater itself, but Pallos refused, saying you instructed him to pick you up here. So, it took until this morning to find you.”

I nodded. “I’m glad you did wait. Going into the crater would have been suicide.”

Markas nodded again, as if conceding this point. It had been wise for Pallos to find Markas; as an Elekai with the Gift of Insight, he had the ability to detect other Elekai in the vicinity.

“We’re sure glad to see you,” Shara said. “I was beginning to think we were going to die on that hill.”

“What about the food?” Isa asked.

“Of course,” Markas said. “Eat first. Help yourself to whatever’s in the galley. There’s coffee, toast, eggs, butter, bacon . . .”

“I guess he knew we were coming,” Shara said.

“I had a feeling,” Markas said.

All of us went to fill our plates. I heaped up twice as much as anyone else, a veritable mountain of scrambled eggs, toast, and enough butter and coffee to give me a heart attack.

We sat back down and dug in, the only sounds being the smacking sounds we made from eating so fast.

The first one to speak was Fiona, but only after she’d cleaned her plate. “How long has it been since we entered the Hyperfold, exactly?”

“Almost three months.” Pallos appeared in the corridor leading to the flight deck. He looked the same as before, his eyes concerned behind his spectacles. “I was beginning to fear the worst weeks ago, but Markas seemed to be confident of your survival.” He frowned. “Where is Elder Isandru and Mia?”

All of us stopped eating, and from that one question, any joy we had found in the food was killed. From our reaction, Pallos had to fear the worst. As the leader, I’d have to be the one to deliver the bad news.

“Isaru ambushed us while we were connecting to the Hyperfold,” I said. “He killed Mia as soon as she left it.”

It seemed unreal as I said it, to the point where I didn’t want to believe my own words. The shock was written onto Pallos’ face. For a moment, he had nothing to say.

“And Elder Isandru?”

“He stayed behind,” I said. “To fight Shal in the Hyperfold. We . . . don’t know whether he’s alive or dead. But we think he’s alive, fighting for us. This was all . . . who knows how long ago. We don’t even know what month it is.”

“It’s October the twenty-eighth,” Pallos replied, in a voice said that in the light of such news, the date was inconsequential.

Everyone was quiet, again grieving the moment that was still so fresh in our memories. It was my failure, and talking about it just made me want to break down and cry. I pushed that emotion down. I’d have to deal with it later; practical matters had to come first.

“It’s a wonder any of us escaped,” I said. “We were outmatched.”

“I see,” Pallos said. “Isandru was kind and wise, and Mia a gentle spirit. They will both be missed.”

I didn’t want the reminder. Unbidden, a tear came to my cheek.

“Take your time to rest,” Pallos said. “Eat. We have enough fuel to stay airborne for a long time. We are quite safe up here. When you feel you’re ready, we can discuss everything that’s happened since you’ve been gone.”

“That’s a good idea,” Fiona said. “How about we take a two-hour nap once we’ve eaten and then meet up in the conference room?”

All of us agreed that was the best course of action, though it seemed wrong to take any such luxury when there was so much to grieve.

But food was a necessity, and so was sleep. We couldn’t do much without either, and that included avenging Mia’s death, and saving Elder Isandru, if indeed he could still be saved.

By the time I entered my cabin and hit the soft mattress, I was asleep as soon as I closed my eyes.

* * *

I awoke sometime later to the ship being still. We had landed somewhere. When I got up to check on Pallos, I learned that he had landed us on a mountainside about two hundred miles south of Hyperborea, far from dragons and Isaru.

Markas prepared a hearty stew, and I ate as if I hadn’t stuffed myself several hours earlier. Meanwhile, Pallos caught us up on the previous two months.

Although most of the news wasn’t good, I was relieved to hear that my parents were completely fine. They left Haven as soon as my father had gotten well, in order to secure the land they had purchased from King Taris near the Red Mountains.

“They’re keeping that land for you,” Pallos said. “After these last few months, it’s known as the gathering ground for any resistance against Isaru. The Sphere Priests have mustered there as well by High Priest Markas’ command. Besides them, there are several hundred others that have gathered, not wanting to be part of the madness that has resulted since Isaru’s ascension.”

Isaru’s ascension? But that could only mean one thing . . .

“King Taris is dead,” Pallos said, finishing my thought. “The official story . . . well, we’ll get to that in a minute. But it’s safe to say that Taris is dead by Isaru’s hand.”

“Oh, Isaru . . .” Fiona said, her face going white. Isa’s face went ashen as she raised her hand to her mouth. It was as if all of us had been stabbed by the same, icy knife. If there was any doubt that Isaru was still himself in any way, all those doubts were dashed in that moment.

“How do the people accept him if they know what he’s done?” Shara asked, her voice quavering slightly.

“That’s just the thing,” Pallos said. “They don’t know what’s truly happened, and most accept the story Isaru tells. So much has happened that I’m sure I’m going to forget something trying to explain it all, but I’ll try my very best.”

Pallos paused to gather his thoughts, while the rest of us waited. I felt a cold dread build in my heart.

“King Taris was murdered by Isaru. It could have been no one else. And yet, the murder has been blamed on you, Shanti.”

Fiona was the first to react. “What? How is that even possible? She was nowhere near Haven!”

“It’s said that you flew in by dragon and escaped in the night,” Pallos said. “Even if the story seems unbelievable, Isaru’s hold on Haven and its environs is unquestioned. Most of the lords under vassalage to your father have sworn oaths of fealty to the new monarch.”

“Not surprising,” Fiona said. “As king, the courts are almost under his full control. Even if someone suspected him, to point it out would be suicide.” She nodded for Pallos to continue.

“The only open rebellious pocket is the territory under the control of your parents,” Pallos said, “and only a few lords have yet to swear their oaths, though it’s understood that they will do so soon.”

“Awful news,” Shara said. “Your parents were very lucky that they took ownership of that land before Isaru came to power.”

“How much land are we talking about?” I asked.

“It isn’t much, but it is well-situated. It is known as Kalear. Its people have historically been independent of both the Annajen and the Makai, but recently swore fealty to King Taris after the last lord’s rebellion. Your parents moved there to rule in the Annajen name, but have since announced Kalear’s independence from King Isaru, citing the reasons I gave above. The land lies fifty miles off the Pilgrimage Road, running from Sylva to Haven, and is something of a backwater. It’s little-populated, but there is some good farmland, enough to sustain itself, while the terrain itself is mostly forested and hilly, while the Red Mountains form its eastern border. There are mines that produce decent amounts of iron ore and other useful metals. In the foothills of the mountains lies the castle that defends the Iron Pass and the town itself, which leads through the mountains to the plains beyond. The castle is well-built and was constructed during the time when the Annajen kingdom was young, which is good, because it means Isaru cannot attack without a significant army. As such, your parents are safe for the time being, along with anyone who has gathered to them.” Pallos paused, as if to make another note. “It’s also fortunate that Kalear is quite far from Haven, which means if Isaru means to attack it, he would have to go through some expense and effort to do so.”

“How many have gathered there?” I asked.

“Besides the people who live in the land itself, several thousand refugees have come from all parts of the Wild, including the north, which has become depopulated and practically inhabitable.”

These words were a huge blow to Isa, who was now shedding tears. “I don’t suppose you have any news about my parents?”

“I’m afraid not,” Pallos said, his voice grave. “There are numerous refugee camps, mostly in and around Haven. It’s possible that they have come to Kalear, but I haven’t heard any word.”

Fiona put her arm around Isa, who had started sobbing uncontrollably.

“We’ll find them, Isa,” I said. “Your parents have means, and they probably escaped early.”

She wiped her face, and nodded. “Maybe. It’s just the not knowing that’s the worst.”

“We will learn more in time,” Fiona said.

“It’s a terrible situation,” Pallos said. “Refugees stream south in an unending tide. Mist overruns the Northern Forest, and is quickly overtaking Laston, the most northerly of the Annajen’s cities. Crawlers and dragons prowl the unending fog. Untold thousands have died trying to escape the Mindless . . . mostly the poor who don’t have the means to escape. Northold is no more; no word has come from there in well over two months, and the city’s leadership is in exile at Laston. The only place the Samalites can run are Annajen lands. Isaru has commanded they be given food and lodging, and the men are conscripted to bolster Isaru’s forces.”

Pallos’ words were so dark that I could scarcely speak, much less think.

“The bad news doesn’t end there, I’m afraid,” Pallos continued. “Isaru claims that he is Elekim Reborn . . . that Annara’s Prophecy had it all wrong and was a mistranslation. As proof of his identity, he offers the Mindless swarm, saying that they are the Elder Dragons returned, that the dragons must follow him and obey his every command. As you know, the return of the Elders was part of the Prophecy as well – a sure sign that the Second Darkness was coming soon. Even if there are holes in the story, people are afraid to go against him. Rumor has it that he is preparing an assault on Colonia. There is rhetoric of purging the Holy City and retaking it for the glory of Elekim. If Isaru takes the city, it will cement his legitimacy, as it is commonly known that the lost prophecy speaks to the retaking of Colonia by Elekai forces.”

“What about the Seekers?” I asked, feeling sick to my stomach. “What do they think of all this?”

“They have not spoken either way,” Pallos said. “But by necessity, they will soon have to declare for him as well. The pressure he places on the Sanctum must be immense. We think it’s only a matter of time before the Sanctum declares for Isaru as Elekim Reborn . . . a declaration that, no doubt, is being helped along by Elder Haris, who is Isaru’s very outspoken advocate.”

“Curse that man,” Fiona said. She looked at me. “I heard what you said about him, when the Clerics were healing you. I wasn’t sure of it then, but I am now. He’s working for Isaru. He has to be.”

I shook my head. All this information was so overwhelming. I didn’t know where to begin. “My parents are safe, truly safe. Right?”

“They’re safe and sound,” Pallos reassured. “Both have been instrumental in organizing the Stronghold. That’s what we’ve been calling the castle at Kalear.  There is enough food for everyone who comes, and they are working with the Makai to bring even more food.”

“What about my uncle, King Arius?” Fiona asked. “Does he stand with us, too?”

“He is being . . . diplomatic,” Pallos said. “Most of our supplies actually come from him, which means he is no friend to Isaru, even if he hasn’t openly said as much. Though Isaru’s army is powerful, and while he controls the richest lands in the Wild along with an army of dragons, he still lacks allies. For that reason, he hasn’t provoked the Makai. In truth, he’s probably hoping for a truce so he can focus on capturing Colonia.”

I could see the logic of that. Pallos had thought about this for months, while all this information was still new to me.

“Though it’s been almost three months since the Hyperfold, the war in the Wild has yet to begin in earnest,” Pallos said. “There have been no battles here yet. While Isaru still outnumbers your people – your army, if you will – people follow him more out of fear than a belief in his cause. That is an advantage you have. Those who are joining you do so because they believe in your cause. It is being whispering that you are truly the return of Annara into the world.”

“But I haven’t even revealed myself yet,” I said.

“I suppose you’ve told enough people by now that rumors have had time to spread and take root. People are beginning to believe, and if the dragons are any indication, people know, deep down, that times are changing. They are looking for a leader. Isaru’s claims don’t make sense. With his father’s murder at your alleged hands, it seems all too convenient for Isaru, who inherited Haven’s throne because of the king’s death. If you were to suddenly appear and give your side of the story, I have no doubt that more people would join your cause.”

I felt a moment of doubt. All of this was moving much faster than I could keep up with.

“How are things going in the east?” I asked. “Any word from Prince Nabea and Elder Tellor?”

“I’ve visited several times,” Pallos said. “When I left them, Tellor and Nabea were returning from a war against the Kingdom of Tenise, in which they were victorious. Tenise declared itself in alliance to Isaru, as have many other Eastern Kingdoms who fear his dragons. Only Savannah and Atlantea declared themselves in opposition to Isaru, for the obvious reason that they had suffered at his hands. Isaru justifies his attack on them by saying they supported you . . . that you are an agent of the Radaskim.”

“How can anyone believe that?” Shara asked.

“Many are forced to,” Pallos said. “Or at least to give lip service to what Isaru says.”

“This is all Shal’s doing,” I said. “Isaru is a puppet who might still be saved. Let’s not forget that.”

“What do we do, then?” Isa asked. “If the Hyperfold is his weak point, then how do we attack it?”

“I’m afraid that will be impossible,” Pallos said. “Every time I’ve flown close, there have been numerous dragons guarding the entrance.”

“The Nameless One only told us how to defeat it,” I said. “He never said it would be easy.” I paused to collect my thoughts as the others looked at me. “We have to hold on. Survive. Isandru entered the Hyperfold again, using the pathway I created. No doubt that closed as soon as he entered. We must hold on long enough for him to destroy the Hyperfold, or to at least weaken it.”

“We don’t know Elder Isandru’s fate,” Fiona said. “He could be alive, or dead, or . . . worse.”

“How could he ever hope to stand alone?” Isa asked. “There were six of us against Shal last time, and it wasn’t enough.”

I didn’t know how to answer. I just remembered what I saw – the Elder Prophet, with tears in his eyes as he held his dead sister in his arms, his moment of decision, even as Isaru fought against us like a madman. Isandru told us to flee while he took care of the rest.

“Perhaps he knows a way that none of us do,” I said. “We just need to learn more. If we learn more, we’ll be able to do more.”

Even as I said it, though, the answer didn’t feel satisfying. That meant that in the meantime, there was nothing we could do to help him. If he took too long, we’d all be dead by the time he was done. As long as the Hyperfold existed, as long as it grew in power, then the more impossible the fight became.

“Survive,” Shara said, testing the word.

I nodded. “What other choice do we have? If I knew another way, I would take it. We must wait things out and see what we discover. We were gone for three months. The world is a different place, now.”

“There must be something we can do to help him,” Isa said. “Perhaps if we return and try again. . .”

“A suicide mission,” Shara said. “But I’m not against it if it’s the only way.”

“As I said,” Pallos said, “Isaru has already planned for that. He will never make the mistake of leaving the crater undefended again.”

“We were close, Pallos,” I said. “So very close.”

Were we, though? I was questioning that statement myself. The Nameless One had told us to find the key – that our combined strength would be able to turn the Hyperfold off. But what had transpired in the Hyperfold was the opposite of that. Was it a betrayal, or were we just missing something? I had fought Shal, and Isaru briefly. My blade would have cut Shal’s head clean off, if not for Isaru.

Nowhere had we found any sort of key, metaphorical or literal.

“We’re doing it wrong,” I said. “I’m sure of it. Maybe Isandru will figure it out.”

“That’s it, then?” Fiona asked. “We’re just going to leave him in there alone to figure it out all by himself?”

“I don’t like that answer either, Fiona,” I said. “I want to help if there’s a way. But what is that way?”

“You said it yourself,” Fiona said. “Mia spoke to you from the Hyperfold originally, did she not? Perhaps Isandru will do the same.”

That was a good point. Though Mia was gone, Isandru was still alive . . . in a way. If it was anything like Mia, he might communicate with us, even if it was only through dreams.

“We both have the Gift of Prophecy,” I said. “We must listen for him. Perhaps the key is there.”

No one mentioned the other possibility – that Isandru was dead and all of this was pointless. We couldn’t believe that unless the evidence pointed that way.

Until then, we hoped.

Four hundred years ago, Anna and her friends had headed to Ragnarok Crater expecting never to return. By some miracle, most of them had survived that, going on to found the Elekai people that still lived today.

Just thinking of Anna reminded me of her presence, of how she was watching me, even now. What did she think of all this?

For now, however, she chose to remain silent.

“This is far from over,” I said. “The Xenofold still exists. The Xenofold still fights. The key to the Hyperfold’s destruction is inside, somewhere. Whether that’s a physical key, or it’s metaphorical, it is there. We will find it or die trying.” I looked at Fiona. “And we’ll find a way to help Isandru. We will. The Xenofold hasn’t given up on us yet, and neither has Isandru. Therefore, we won’t give up on them.”

CHAPTER FOUR

AFTER OUR MEETING, PALLOS AND I walked to the flight deck, where he went straight for the captain’s seat out of habit. It was only after halfway sitting down that he remembered himself, and instead opted for the copilot’s seat. I pretended not to notice.

After lifting off, I flew Odin south across the Red Wild, heading for the Stronghold, the coordinates of which were fresh in the ship’s navigation computer. We flew in silence, only talking about the details of the flight job, but from time to time, I caught him glancing over at me, as if he wanted to say something.

“Something on your mind, Pallos?”

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “It’s . . . nothing. I can hardly believe you’re still alive.”

“Everyone thinks we’re dead, I imagine.”

“Many do,” he admitted. “Your parents are still hopeful, though.”

My parents. It would be good to see them. My mother would be worried sick, and my father would be as well, though he’d do a better job of hiding it.

We lapsed into silence. I couldn’t help but feel troubled as we passed over the foggy landscape. While battling Shal in the Hyperfold, the mist had spread across the surface completely unchecked. The fog didn’t dissipate until we crossed the Red Mountains and flew over a small, walled town built on both sides of the Colorado River. The town still seemed to be standing.

Fiona, Isa, and Shara came up front at this point, and gazed out the windshield. Fiona informed us that the city below was most likely Laston. Small buildings, huts, and tents spilled outside the bounds of the stone wall itself, filled with the refugees that fled the Northern Wild.

“It’s the Mindless Wars all over again,” Isa said.

“Try the Second Darkness,” Shara said. “Can’t we just admit that it’s upon us now?”

It was hard to argue against her point. The north had always been untamed, but now it was all but uninhabitable. How many thousands had already died, even as Isaru caused more destruction? I could see how the instability would give him even more power. People would overlook the shaky reasons for his ascension if they feared for their lives.

As powerful as Isaru was, however, we had a few things going for us. One, we had escaped the Hyperfold and Ragnarok Crater, which was not something he wanted. And two, Isandru himself was in that Hyperfold, hopefully finding a way to destroy it.

Practically all the land we passed over was occupied by our enemies. Laston and its environs were informally a part of Annajen holdings, but had always enjoyed a significant deal of local autonomy; from what I had read, most of their decisions were decided by a mayor and council, like Northold. It wouldn’t be until we passed the Colorado and reached the southern half of the Xenoplain that we would be in lands that were still contested. Beyond the Xenoplain itself were the lands of the Makai.

“How much further?” Shara asked.

“About two hours’ flight,” Pallos said.

That was when I began to wonder. Pallos had been outside my eye for almost three months. He was loyal to Shen before any of us – after all, his role here was that of diplomat of the Shen Collective. Even though he professed to be a diplomat, I knew the line between that and spy was rather shaky. Certainly, he’d given us no cause to think he was going to betray us, but it was hard to trust anyone whose loyalties were divided.

“Can I have a moment alone with Pallos, please? It shouldn’t be long.”

The girls shared a look, but departed the flight deck without question, leaving me alone with him. Pilot, engineer, diplomat, spy. What other identities could Pallos be hiding?

It was silent for a moment; silent, because I was trying to decide how to broach the subject.

Thankfully, however, Pallos beat me to it.

“Yes, I’ve spoken with Shen since you’ve been gone,” he said. “But not in the way you might think.”

I nodded. “Go on.”

“I made him aware of your entry to the Hyperfold. There was nothing he could do to save you.”

“You spoke with him yourself?”

Pallos nodded gravely. “A rare honor, though I cannot say I was happy about it. I was hoping he would know a way to get you out.”

“What all did you talk about?”

Pallos shrugged. “He spoke much, but said little. I concluded that it was not for me to know. He was worried about Elder Isandru and Mia just as much as you.” Pallos frowned. “He never said why; I didn’t ask. I can only conclude that their role in stopping the Hyperfold was important . . . perhaps, even, that it would be impossible to do it without them.”

“Mia died,” I said. I felt sorrow at the words, and my powerlessness in saving her. “No. She was murdered.”

“But Isandru still lives,” Pallos insisted. “So long as he lives, perhaps there’s still hope.”

“The Nameless One was clear that it would take us all to defeat Shal and destroy the Hyperfold,” I said. “Isandru is alone.”

“Perhaps you were able to weaken him enough for Elder Isandru to finish the job,” Pallos said. “From what you’ve told me, Shal was destroying his entire creation just to get to you. Isandru went in soon enough after that to take advantage.”

That was a good point. Shal had done something similar on our first trip into the Hyperfold. We had been able to escape – just barely – although Isaru had been possessed by Shal while exiting. We were warned by Shal himself that entering the Hyperfold was not something to be attempted by the weak. Though Isaru was by no means weak, in comparison to Shal and the Hyperfold, he was easy prey. When we had exited the Hyperfold this time, there was no in between place, allowing everyone to escape directly into the real world.

We hadn’t been powerful enough to do that last time. If we had been, so much would be different now.

“What else did you tell Shen?”

Pallos shrugged. “Nothing of consequence. But I’d rather talk about you for the moment.” Pallos looked at me, his eyes considering. “You’ve let me know very little of the important things yourself; I would argue my transparency has been greater than yours.” Before I could respond, he pressed on. “Don’t think I missed that long meeting you held with everyone outside the Hyperfold. I watched, but couldn’t make out a word from inside the ship. Undoubtedly, it had something to do with me . . . or perhaps you were revealing something the Nameless One told you that you didn’t want me to know.” Pallos looked at me neutrally. “I’m not going to ask you what it was, but after my audience with Shen, I have a pretty good idea.”

“What did he tell you?”

Pallos smiled. “You want me to reveal my secret, while keeping yours to yourself. How about a trade?”

I almost growled, but kept myself in check. “Well, what do you think we were talking about?”

“I’ll bite,” Pallos said. “I think you were discussing how to defend the Xenofold from Shen in the event of the Hyperfold’s destruction. Because, obviously, Shen wants to destroy the Xenofold and rescue the people that are tethered to it.”

“You mean, Elekai,” I said.

“Yes. Elekai. Anyway, am I close to the mark?”

I debated whether to hide the truth from him, but in the end, I confirmed what he asked. “The Nameless One told me that Shen’s eventual goal is total control over humanity. He sees the Xenofold as a rival, and he wants it gone. The problem is that the Xenofold is the very thing that keeps us safe from the Radaskim; if it didn’t exist, then Shen would have to find a way of defending the world from the Radaskim without it.”

“For that reason,” Pallos said, “Shen will never threaten the Xenofold.”

“At least until he thinks he’s figured out how to defend the world without it.”

To this, Pallos made no response.

I pressed on. “If Shen isn’t willing to live and let live, then there will be conflict. This is assuming we even survive the second Xenofall. Perhaps not for years and years – perhaps not until I’ve been dead for a century. But so long as the Xenofold is threatened, either by the Radaskim or by Shen, then my job isn’t finished. If there isn’t any room for us Elekai, then there isn’t room for Shen either. Odium and the Radaskim don’t want to live with either.” Pallos had no response for his. “As far as Shen goes, I don’t believe he can defend the world against the Radaskim without the Xenofold’s help, even if this is what he wants. And I don’t think he has any reliable way of controlling the Xenofold, either.”

“No,” Pallos agreed. “He doesn’t. However, a formal alliance between you and Shen will do much to advance things in your favor.”

The thought was startling, and I couldn’t hide my shock. Such an “alliance” would be lopsided, as Shen’s forces were far stronger than mine ever would be. That, of course, meant he would dictate the terms. And that was unacceptable.

“Impossible,” I said. “Our end goals are different, and he would find a way of maneuvering me to do what he wants.”

“Shen is as interested in your success as you are,” Pallos said. “Was is not Shen who gave you your prophecy? Without that, you would have never known to go to the Nameless One in the first place. His supposed archenemy.”

That part did seem rather strange. According to the Nameless One, Shen was his chief rival. I felt like a pawn caught between two gods. I had to choose one or the other.

“If Shen cares about this world as much as you say he does, then he’ll help me without the need for a formal alliance,” I said. “He will act on his own.”

“Yes,” Pallos said. “But isn’t it better to know what his moves will be in advance? And don’t you think he’s capable of achieving his goals without your help? It’s far more prudent to cooperate with a giant than to run about on your own, blind. You might find yourself crushed underfoot.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No,” Pallos said. “It’s history. Many people have tried to resist Shen. It didn’t go well for them. Granted, the Elekai are a unique challenge, even for Shen . . . especially given the very real threat of the coming invasion. All the same, Shen has never lost. The Elekai have lost every time but one, if what you’ve told me is to be believed.”

I felt the comparison was unfair. The Elekai had lost every planet to the Radaskim except for Earth, but the Elekai’s fight against the Radaskim was different compared the Elekai’s conflict with Shen. I left that point unsaid, however.

“Well, I’m glad to know who’s side you’re on,” I said.

“I am on your side,” Pallos said. “Just not the way you want me to be.”

“A diplomatic answer.”

Pallos nodded, even giving a small bow, as if conceding my point.

I kept thinking of Pallos’ comparison, that I was just a person against a giant. In fact, it felt more like I was a fly against a giant. We had faced something similar during the Ragnarok War, our little band trying to save the world while the empire led by Augustus had a competing vision for life after the war. In the end, once the war was over, his empire had assumed control of the Wasteland, just as he had promised, despite all of our protests.

It had worked, for a while, but the rest was bloody history. I was afraid of the same thing happening again.

Or rather, Anna was, because it wasn’t just my own fear I felt, but hers. She had just wanted a world that was safe for herself and her children, and free of interlopers, whether that was a Radaskim Xenomind or a superintelligent AI.

Despite all his power, though, even Emperor Augustus couldn’t find a way to deal with the Xenofold, and in the end, the Xenofold ended up winning that battle, surviving long after his empire had crumbled to ruins, only to be resurrected at least two times throughout the centuries by foreign invaders.

But there was a third possibility. Perhaps the Xenofold could save itself from both Shen and the Radaskim . . . that was, if we found a way to dissolve the Hyperfold once and for all.

The problem was, however, that I had too little information, and I didn’t know the right way to go.

“I’ll keep what you’ve said in mind,” I said. “Perhaps Shen is a friend. I doubt it, but I won’t exclude the possibility.”

Pallos nodded gratefully. “That’s all I ask. I think if you consider what I’ve said with an open mind, maybe there’s a solution that can keep everyone happy.”

The words were empty to me, and once again, diplomatic.

I turned on the intercom. “All of you can come back in. It won’t be long before we’ve arrived.”

CHAPTER FIVE

WE KEPT WIDE OF HAVEN and Annajen lands, not wanting our passage to be noticed by Isaru. We flew so high that it would have been impossible to see us. It wasn’t just people we had to be worried about, though. Dragons were likely keeping an eye out above as well as below, if Isaru knew we had left Ragnarok Crater.

Once we were close and we deemed it safe, we began our descent. On our left, the Red Mountains ran from north to south, its western flank lined with foothills, ridges, and thick forest. West of the mountains lay the wide and flat Xenoplain, stretching for hundreds of miles and taking up almost all the land between Haven and Sylva. This rich land was home to countless towns, hamlets, and smaller cities, and though I had never traveled there personally, I knew it was the most populous part of the Red Wild.

Though it was called the Xenoplain, there were still plenty of low, rolling hills, along with blue lakes and silver streams, pockmarked with small forests with trees both vibrantly red and deep-set green, all against the paler pink background of the xen. Stone roads and highways crisscrossed the landscape, and where the land wasn’t taken up by forest or field, an abundance of crops grew, a yellow and green patchwork against a red tapestry.

The Xenoplain was the breadbasket of the Wild; while the Northern Wild had plenty of game to hunt, most of the crops were grown here and exported to the rest of the Wild. The Xenoplain was central to the economics, and control, of the Red Wild.

My parents had only purchased a very small part of it, in the foothills of the Red Mountains in the Xenoplain’s extreme southeast, lying firmly on the border of Makai and Annajen lands. While that put us far from Isaru and Haven, there were still plenty of local Elekai lords that counted Isaru as their suzerain, and most had given Isaru oaths of fealty by now.

Soon, I’d be seeing everything for myself.

* * *

My first sight of the land purchased in my name revealed a territory that was largely forested, as Pallos had previously mentioned. Several streams ran down from the nearby mountains, joining into a river that, Pallos said, eventually fed into the Colorado just south of Haven. Within the rivers were woods filled with ample clearings, along with simple wood homes and farms. These lands were definitely not as densely populated as the others we’d flown over, though Kalear itself was a decently sized town of a few thousand.

My first sight of Kalear, on top of a high hill right before the mountains, reminded me very much of Northold. The wall was of wood, and at the highest point of the hill was a stone keep surrounded by a square stone wall, against the backdrop of the red-tinted mountains. The town’s wooden outer defenses were probably meant to keep out only smaller forces, while the castle itself, the Stronghold, could stand up to a siege much longer.

“Kalear was named after some Annajen lord from long ago,” Pallos explained. “The land and titles passed out of the Annajen family, and has switched many times since. The lands were confiscated from Lord Black by King Taris for his recent insurrection, and when he was put to the sword, the lands and titles passed into your name, as you well know.” Pallos gave an ironic smile.
“Though few know it, Kalear has actually returned to Annajen possession, seeing as you are the beginning of their line.”

As I listened, we drew closer to the Stronghold itself, a stone fortress, square in shape with low, thick walls. Four square towers stood on each of its corners. It was plain, smaller than the Sanctum, but sturdy-looking. Rising directly behind the Stronghold were the first of the foothills of the southern reach of the Red Mountains.

“The Stronghold guards the Iron Pass,” Pallos reminded me. “Of course, Mongar and Highgrove are more important cities, guarding the more important East Road. Kalear was larger and more important in earlier times, before the first Mindless Wars, when the Pilgrimage Road was the only way north from Sylva to Hyperborea. Back then, from what I’ve learned, the road actually passed through here. They call that road the Old Road, now.”

“That hasn’t been the case since the new road was made after the wars,” Isa said. “Kalear no longer holds the strategic importance it once did.”

I let Pallos take the captain’s seat, since he knew where to land. Once I was sitting in the copilot’s seat, Pallos directed Odin toward the Stronghold’s inner courtyard.

“Are my parents down there now?” I asked.

Pallos nodded. “Yes, they’ve taken up quarters in the keep. You’ll be seeing them soon.”

“All of this is unreal,” Shara said. “An entire kingdom to your name!”

“Well, perhaps they should call it a queendom,” Isa said.

“We’re not here to play at lords and ladies,” Fiona said. “People have chosen to come here because they don’t believe in Isaru’s way of running things. They are looking for a leader. A strong leader.”

“I think Shanti’s up to the task.”

Well, at least one of us believed that.

“Of course,” Fiona said. “My point is, many who are here risked their lives to be here. While some may only want food and shelter, many have come because they’ve heard about what Isaru was offering, but didn’t like it. We can’t run things the way he does. Though I haven’t read the Prophecy of Annara myself, I’m sure it doesn’t say anything about Anna coming back to rule the world or to be anyone’s queen.”

“Anna is . . .” I paused to reconsider my words. What did Anna want? Though she had talked to me earlier, she was still being strangely quiet. “Anna was only interested in stopping the Radaskim. Whatever this is, kingdom or queendom are not the right words. Maybe it’s more like a resistance: a resistance to Isaru’s way of running things.”

“I like that,” Shara said. “But calling ourselves a resistance just makes it seem like we’re rebels against a rightful king. Isaru is no better than an usurper.”

“And it means nothing if he crushes us with his army of dragons,” Fiona said.

“The castle is equipped with a small supply of ballistae,” Pallos said. “Old, rusty things; probably from the last Mindless Wars. They were found in the cellars under some moth-eaten cloth. Anyhow, I repaired those as best as I could, and some of the soldiers here have even managed to hit a raiding Radaska. The dragon was probably Mindless; there seems to be an aerie of them in the nearby mountains.”

“How many of these ballistae?” I asked. “You said a small supply.”

“Err . . . three,” Pallos admitted. “But it’s not all bad news. In the last couple of months, I’ve perfected a design based off the ones we found. Even improved upon it as a project. I’ve instructed Kalear’s smiths and fletchers on how to make them. There are plenty of yews for the cutting in the forests, and all the other parts can be found nearby. The Stronghold has a hot forge and master smith who knows his craft well, who said my designs were simple enough and that it would only be a matter of time.”

“How much time?” I asked.

“Well, the raw materials must be gathered . . . trees felled, iron ore smelted and placed into the proper molds . . . manpower is the main issue. A prototype is nearly completed, and once done, the rest will come off the line much more quickly. I plan on integrating some Shen production techniques to increase efficiency. There are many arts that have been lost to time and history. I can at least implement some rudimentary assembly lines that will allow the Stronghold to challenge a direct attack by dragons.”

Pallos stopped talking as he concentrated on the landing; we were now directly over the castle courtyard. My heart gave a flutter at the thought that, within minutes, I would be seeing my parents.

CHAPTER SIX

ODIN TOUCHED DOWN LIGHTLY IN the Stronghold’s courtyard, which was filled with stone buildings, out of each of which poured smoke that was quickly lost to the bright blue sky. Above the Stronghold’s eastern wall, the Red Mountains towered, their top halves covered in white snow. The pass had to lie between the two big ones that dwarfed the castle that guarded it.

Odin was centuries out of place here.

In front of the keep, I could see an assembly of Sphere Priests at their training, each paired with another and crossing blunted practice swords. They didn’t so much as pause at Odin’s landing, such was their discipline. It was hard to judge just how many there were, but my guess was well over a hundred. They were the true Seekers, the ones who had remembered their original purpose to guard both Anna and her prophecy.

“That’s a lot of fighters,” Shara said, impressed.

A lot, I thought, but is it enough? “Let’s go out to meet them.”

Pallos unstrapped himself from beside me. “They train like that twice a day, at least two hours at a stretch. I’ve never seen more skilled fighters. They probably rival the Seekers’ Champions.”

There would be time to determine their skills later. “Where are my parents?”

“In the keep, no doubt,” Pallos said. “I can take you there.”

“And I should be joining my brothers for training,” High Priest Markas said. “Even an old man has to keep himself sharp.”

I nodded. “Come find me once you’re done.” I turned to the others. “Let’s move.”

I left the ship and entered the crisp, cool air, followed by the others: Pallos, Fiona, Shara, and Isa. All of us had cleaned up and eaten, and all wore new clothes found in the ship’s stores. We were as fresh as we were going to be for the moment, until we had the chance to have a decent rest.

The air was sharp with cold, and the air fragrant with earth, leaves, and smoke. Autumn leaves tumbled down from the few tall apple trees that grew in the courtyard, along with the leaves of oak and maple. The trees lent the courtyard a beauty that spoke of more peaceful times, when trees growing in a castle courtyard had not been considered an impediment or fire hazard.

The ground was bare dirt, worn down by countless thousands of feet. Martial shouts filled the air from the direction of the priests’ training. As I walked toward the Stronghold’s keep, I watched their synchronous movements. Each man could have been a copy of the other, following the same sequence of Windform. None so much as broke their attention as we passed by. To my surprise, I recognized a few of the boys I’d met back at the Sphere, though none of them spared me a glance.

The keep’s doors were wide open, its interior lit by blazing sconces. I could feel their heat as we stepped out of the cold air and up the stone steps leading deeper into the keep. The steps opened into a wide hall, filled with four rows of tables perpendicular to the heavy oak doors. On a far dais was a high table which was being readied for the evening meal by an army of servants. There was no sign of my parents.

“They may be upstairs,” Pallos said.

“Did they not hear us land?” Shara asked.

“No doubt they did,” Pallos said. “However, this ship has landed here almost every day for two months, each time with no news. They are likely talking to someone or other upstairs – even managing a land as small as Kalear, there is plenty to do.”

We took Pallos’ word for it, and followed him up some wooden stairs built along the Great Hall’s southward wall. Soon, we reached a second floor of thick wood that led into a corridor lined with heavy wooden doors. We passed servants dressed in woolens whose eyes widened upon seeing us – they had to know who we were, but they didn’t so much as raise a voice in greeting.

“A bit shy, aren’t they?” Isa asked.

“Most people who work here come from humble origins,” Pallos said. “Many are refugees from the north.”

Pallos stopped the next passing servant, asking if she knew where the Lady Naomi was. Just hearing my mother’s name filled me with happiness and the realization that I would be seeing her soon.

The servant led the way, stopping before the last door on the right, where Pallos knocked.

“Give my mother and I a moment, please,” I said.

“Of course,” Fiona said. “Pallos can find something to keep us busy.”

“A tour of the castle grounds, perhaps,” he said.

As he led the way, the door was opened, revealing a woman who was not my mother at all. “Yes, do you have business with the Lady Naomi?”

“She’s my mother,” I said.

From within the room, I heard her speak. “Let her in, Anabelle!”

Anabelle’s eyes widened as she dropped a hasty curtsy. “Apologies, my Lady.” She scurried away, her cheeks red, and left me a view of my mother standing next to a table she had hastily stood from. A cup of steaming coffee sat on the table, along with some sort of pastry.

For a moment we just stood and stared at each other, our eyes filling with tears while the sounds of the castle courtyard filtered through the open window; a hammer, the drilling priests, even birdsong. After three months of eating well and resting, she was almost her old self again . . . though her face was drawn and tired from her long, cruel captivity in the dungeons of the Red Bastion. But her face shone with a beauty and inner strength that hardship could never diminish.

At last, I ran forward to embrace her. “Mom . . .”

“My dear daughter,” she said, stroking my hair and sobbing.

We just cried like that, ugly, heart-wrenching tears I didn’t know I was capable of. Her embrace, the strength of her arms, even her smell, brought back all the warm memories of childhood that had been forgotten in the pain of living. Though she was thinner and weaker than me, she was the one lending me strength.

“I know I don’t look the same,” I said, “but I promise it’s me.”

“I’d recognize you in a crowd of thousands, hair or no hair, scar or not scars,” my mother said. “Your hair will grow back in time, and when all of this has passed, we’ll find a good man for you.”

“Mom . . . I can’t think about all that right now.”

She laughed. “No. I suppose not. But it’s not wrong for a mother to still hope, is it?”

I was starting to pull back, but my mother wouldn’t let me go. I resigned myself to being crushed by her. She gave me one final squeeze before letting me breathe again.

We both took our seats at the table across from each other. She held my hand in hers, drinking some coffee with her free hand to steady her voice. Despite that, I was the first to speak.

“I’m sorry it took so long,” I said. “There were . . . complications, to say the least.”

“I was so afraid,” my mother said, wiping another tear from her eyes. “Such nightmares. Such pain. You must never know what I had to feel, Shanti. I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted from me.”

My mother poured me a cup of coffee, and as she did, I watched her face, seeking its old familiarity. She was as I remembered, but . . . older. Her light brown eyes and tawny brown hair were the same, and she was still beautiful in the light of the open window. But I could see things that weren’t visible before; more creases on her face, more worry, more pain. She had aged ten years in the time since I’d left Colonia, though it had hardly been one year. Her hand shook as she raised her cup to her mouth; I was worried she was going to spill it.

“You’re here,” she said. “That’s what matters.”

I smiled, wiping another tear from my right eye. My own hands were shaking now, and I was grateful for the support of the table. “Where’s Dad?”

My mother sighed regretfully. “He left just a few hours ago. We don’t expect him back for a few days at the least. He was meeting with some of the lords east of the mountains, hoping to secure food and supplies from that direction, since we are mostly cut off from the west.”

My heart wrenched at hearing that. I had missed him by just hours.

My mother continued. “If we can get the supply line secure, both people and materials can flow freely into Kalear without having to pass through Annajen lands.”

It was a good idea. Anything that came from the west was in danger of being seized by Isaru, strengthening his forces while weakening ours. I felt so out of place at that moment – it was hard to believe that I was here with my mother. That it was autumn and that I was in command of an entire territory.

“I’m overwhelmed,” I said, feeling that word did no justice to how I truly felt.

“I’m here to help, Shanti,” my mother said. “Rest assured of that. You were born for this Shanti, though it might not feel like that now. But first, I want to hear everything that’s happened, in your own words. Pallos told me everything leading up to your going into the Hyperfold, but I know nothing beyond that.”

It was going to take a while to tell her, but for now, I had the time, and I wanted to spend it with my mother, even if it was just explaining everything I had gone through, reliving the horror of it all over again.

She held my hand the entire time, and it was enough of her strength to go on.

CHAPTER SEVEN

BY THE TIME I FINISHED talking, I still felt the terror of it, the memories coming back as I replayed my story. I tried to distance myself from that pain, even grasping onto Silence at times, but all the same . . . the tears still came, and when they did, my mother was there to hold and comfort me.

It was a wonder I hadn’t died, a wonder that I had lived to see my mother’s face again. I remembered what Elder Isandru had told me: every time I risked my life, it wasn’t just my life I was risking. It was the life of everyone in the entire world.

I felt older now, but not necessarily wiser. I’d have to risk my life again and again until I figured out a way to stop the Radaskim once and for all.

When I couldn’t think of anything more to say, my mother sat quietly, continuing to hold my hand in hers. When she spoke, her voice was comforting.

“I feel such pain at what you’ve gone through. You’re my child, and if I could, I would keep you safe until all this was over.” My mother’s eyes became sad. “But that’s not for a long time yet.”

She fell into silence. When I was sure she wasn’t going to say anything more, I spoke.

“I don’t know what comes next, Mom. We tried the best we could, but the Hyperfold still stands. Mia died, Mom. There’s nothing I can do to bring her back . . . nothing. Isandru went inside again before we left, but I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

I was crying again and cursing myself for crying. Everything I had bottled up, every emotion I had pushed away with Silence, came roaring back in that moment. That was when I realized that suppressing my emotions with Silence had a price . . . whatever I pushed down came back twice as strong later.

“Rest,” my mother said, soothingly. “You’re tired, Shanti. You’ve been through so much.”

“I can’t rest,” I said. “Isaru is in control of Haven, and it’s my fault, and–”

“—and all the more reason to rest,” my mother finished. “Kalear has been kept together for three months in your absence, and it will keep for a few days longer. You need time to rest, and to just be, Shanti. I’m sure your friends would agree as well. You may have the power of a god, but you have a human heart, and human weaknesses . . .”

“I can’t,” I said, stubbornly. Even as I argued, I knew she was right. “I . . .”

I couldn’t find an answer to her good sense. Instead of pointing out that fact, my mother only smiled.

“Sleep here,” she said. “The bed is comfortable. I’ll stay here with you, so you won’t be alone. If you need anything, I’ll be right here. Food can be brought, if you’re hungry. You’re thin, Shanti. Your strength will return to you, in time, and so will your heart. The others cannot see the pain, but I can.”

“How?” I asked.

“Because I’m your mother.”

And as if I was a weak child again and not the hero who had singlehandedly brought down a dragon with just her blade, my mother had me in bed and asleep in less than two minutes, singing me a lullaby from childhood that brought me back to a safe place where no one could hurt me. When I slept, my dreams were of a hot, desert sun, the slow flowing Colorado River, the laughing of children out in the streets. It was as if I’d gone back in time from some magic.

For the moment at least, there were no worries.

* * *

When I awoke, it was evening. The air was chill, but a small fire was burning in the nearby fireplace, providing light for my mother, who was still sitting at the table, writing with quill and ink. I remained quiet, just watching her for a moment. She must have detected me waking, because she turned and smiled. “Awake already?”

“I had a dream,” I said. “I was home again in Colonia. It was summer and the sun was so bright. I was a child again.” I sighed. “It’s all nonsense.”

My mother put down her pen. “Your mind knew you needed a bit of peace, Shanti, and it gave it to you.”

“I’d forgotten what that felt like to be a child, and when the feeling returned to me . . .”

The thought escaped. It was like I was trying to remember the way the sun felt on my face hours after sunset.

My mother looked at me sadly. “You still are a child. One day, I hope you will grow to be old and gray like me. And I hope you won’t remember the pain of these times, and not mourn the childhood that was lost.”

“I’m not mourning,” I said. “I remember childhood fondly. Though the times are dark, not all is dark in the times.”

My mother smiled. “No. It’s not.”

The wind blew cold through the window, shifting the curtains and slamming the heavy shutters suddenly closed. After the resounding boom, the room was left in silence save for the crackling of the fire. My mother came and sat at the foot of the bed, placing a hand on the sheet where my leg was. As I looked at her, I realized how much we’d been through together before Isaru had spirited me away to the Sanctum. I had lived an entirely separate life here. Separate, but unceasing in thinking and worrying about my parents.

She had taken care of me all her life, and in turn, I had started to take care of her. And now, the roles were as they had been. Though she thought me a child still, I no longer felt like one. How could someone still be a child when they could take care of their parents on equal terms? Perhaps that was a mark of growing up.

I was still having difficulty grasping that both she and my father had reentered my life. The child in me wanted to follow and do as she was bid, while the person I had become . . . the hero who the Elekai said I was supposed to be . . . wanted to figure out the next step for those under my charge.

Would my parents accept me as that person? Could they? With my mother here now, protecting me, I didn’t want to return to my new identity. I just wanted to be taken care of, because out there, I had no one to take care of me the way my mother could.

“Shall we get you dressed?” my mother asked.

It was as if she had answered my concern with that simple question. There was no reason to get dressed unless you were to go out and see people, and if I was to see people, then it would be in my capacity as a leader, not as my mother’s child.

I nodded, and my mother helped me dress and get ready. It felt strange to not have her brush my hair as she would have done only a year ago. These days, I had no hair to brush.

By the time we were heading for the door, there was a knock. My mother opened the door, revealing Annabelle. I had been so fatigued earlier I had not noticed that she was a young girl that could not have been much older than me. As she curtsied deeply, I thought it strange that I considered her a girl at all.

“Dinner is nearly ready,” she said. “Shall I bring it here?”

My mother looked to me for direction, but I shook my head. “No. We’ll eat down in the hall.”

Annabelle nodded. “Of course, my lady.”

I almost corrected her, telling her to just call me Shanti, but I was too tired for even that. Neither my mother nor I had been born ladies, and it could be argued that the both of us were born lower than even Annabelle; after all, we had lived in the Subura, the poorest neighborhood of Colonia, and had spent our days as farm hands on the river plantations for all the years of the war.

My mother took my arm. “Come, Shanti. Everyone will be wanting to see you.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

WHEN MY MOTHER AND I walked downstairs, the hall was filled with well over a hundred people, almost none of whom I recognized, though there were many white-robed priests, worn and sweaty from a hard day’s work. The rest of the people were a mix, some wearing a sword and mail, others humble woolen clothing, and even a few wore richer, silken garb, such as the kind worn by the upper classes of Elekai society.

The voices quieted as my mother and I reached the bottom landing. I tried to ignore the silence as I followed her to the high dais, where Isa, Fiona, Shara, Pallos, and some others I didn’t recognize were seated. There were only two empty seats in the middle, most likely reserved for my mother and father. Since my father wasn’t here, I’d be taking his chair.

When we were both seated, the silence thankfully didn’t last long. Food was served from the kitchens by people my age. It seemed strange to be up here while the people who should have been my peers were serving the food. Food was given to the high dais first, fresh venison cooked with onions, carrots, and potatoes in a thick gravy, served with fresh greens and goats’ cheese, with fresh-baked bread with garlic butter. The smell of the food was maddening. I did my best to wait, until I realized that everyone was looking at me expectantly; apparently, I was supposed to take the first bite. As soon as I did, the others followed. The people on the tables below began eating and chatting as soon as I did so.

I tried to eat slowly, but I was still making up for all the lost meals, and the healing I’d received from the Seekers meant I would be even hungrier than usual for the coming days. It was an inconvenience, but I couldn’t stop myself. I hadn’t had a home-cooked meal like this in ages. The forest at the foot of the mountains didn’t seem to be lacking in bounty, judging by the well-prepared meat, which was gamey but still tender. The gravy was succulent and filling, perfectly drenching the potatoes and carrots.

I talked little and ate much, even as the others spoke and laughed around me, even as beer and wine were served.

“Is it always this lavish?” I asked my mother.

She shook her head. “We wanted to do something special for your return.”

“And if I wanted to take my meal in my room?”

My mother smiled. “Then we would still celebrate and have another one just like this tomorrow.”

After eating two full plates, as well as the blackberry pie with whipped cream that was the dessert, I was stuffed.

“We can’t feast like this every night,” I said. “We must have gone through several days’ worth of food just tonight . . .”

“Don’t worry over it,” my mother said. “Your job is to rest and recover, not to worry about the details.”

All the same, I couldn’t help but feel that I needed to know the details. “Winter will be here soon. Do we have enough food? What about the people who might be coming in the following months?”

“Your father is working to secure supplies,” my mother said. “We have leftover gold from King Taris, and the harvest this year was good.”

That was fortunate, but I was still worried. The fact that my father had to go in person to secure additional supplies was telling in and of itself.

After the meal was finished, a group of men stood to the cheers of the rest of the hall. One held a guitar, and another a drum, while a third held nothing – he was most likely a singer.

“They came from the mountains about a week ago,” my mother said. “They’ve sung and played almost every night since. It’s good for people’s spirits.”

“Are they any good?” I asked.

My mother shrugged. “It’s a lively style, though different from what we’re used to.”

I looked down the table, where I saw Shara, Isa, and Fiona watching with interest. I couldn’t help but notice the singer was quite handsome, with blue eyes and blond hair. When he began to sing with a pure, angelic tone, I could see why all the girls were gazing dreamily at him.

Soon, the tables were cleared and pushed to the side of the hall. Fires roared in the hearth and blazed brightly from the sconces. Already, couples were pairing up to dance to folksy mountain tunes, while laughter and cheers filled the air. The white-garbed Priests of the Sphere remained on the sides. Only the younger ones watched with widened eyes, while the older one’s faces held a mask of discipline.

“I want to dance,” Isa said.

“You need a partner, first,” Fiona said.

“Why not you?”

“You need to find a boy,” Fiona said.

“Why?” Isa asked. “Shara? Shanti?”

I shook my head, but to my surprise, Shara giggled. “I’ll dance one with you. Long enough for one of the boys to hopefully pluck up their courage.”

Isa squealed with delight and ran down to the floor, for once acting like a girl of fifteen years. Shara just laughed and followed her.

By now, quite a few people were dancing, including half of the people at the high table. I watched as Isa and Shara learned the moves of the dance, and I smiled to see them having fun. The men outnumbered the women two to one, but this wasn’t much of an issue, because all the Sphere Priests made a point of not dancing. This made the rest of the men much happier.

“They have strange beliefs, don’t they?” my mother asked, looking toward the line of white-garbed priests leaning against the wall.

In truth, I didn’t know how much about the priests at all, other than the fact that they had branched off from the Seekers long ago, after the fall of Hyperborea. They admitted no women into their order, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t any women of Elekai blood in the Ruins, where the Sphere was situated.

“Their culture is different,” I said. “They have followed their ways since the time of Hyperborea’s fall. It’ll be a while before they become used to anything else.”

“Every day, they practice,” my mother said. “They have done well in keeping Kalear safe, so I have no complaints. But . . . it would be better if they blended in a bit more. The people fear them. They’re so . . . austere.”

Looking at the priests that had remained, I could see what she meant. All had the same, stony demeanors, and all watched impassively as they leaned back against the far wall. It was as if they were guarding the great hall rather than participating in the revelry.

“They are doing what they do best,” I said. “There probably isn’t much dancing where they come from.”

My mother nodded; apparently, she had learned about the Sphere Priests already, probably from Markas himself, but only wanted my opinion on them.

My mother was about to speak again when two women walked into the hall from the open doors. They both wore Seeker’s white with hoods pulled up. I watched, feeling a shock go through me. There were Seekers here? The shock only increased when they pulled down their hoods, revealing two faces I hadn’t seen in months.

I was about to shout across the hall, before realizing that the music would drown out my voice. They both looked up, recognizing me despite my lack of hair, just as a third figure joined them; a woman also who dropped her hood.

They were Seekers Deanna, Aela, and Amalia.

I felt two things; excitement at seeing them, even though Amalia had tried to capture me in Haven not too long ago, while the other feeling was fear. Why were they here? And if they were here, were there any other Seekers?

I stood. “Stop the music!”

Only a few people heard me, their eyes widening upon seeing my demeanor. Within a moment, the band had ceased its playing, leaving a confused murmuring in its wake. During this time, the three Seekers never took their eyes off me. It was hard to gauge just what they were thinking from their neutral expressions, though Aela couldn’t hide a small smile that certainly didn’t seem threatening.

Already, the Sphere Priests were fanning out, getting between the crowd and the new arrivals. While their hands went to their blades, they made no move to unsheathe them.

But I knew with one order from me, they most definitely would.

“There is no need to stop the celebration,” Deanna called out in a booming voice. Her features were handsome rather than beautiful, and the brown hair was cut short, barely reaching her chin. “We’ve come in peace.”

“We’ll speak out in the yard,” I called back. I motioned for my friends to join me, and nodded back to the band to continue playing. They did, tentatively, though no one was dancing now.

Perhaps I reacted too harshly, I thought. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel a nervous weight form in my stomach. I didn’t know where the Seekers stood as a group, for Isaru or against him, though I trusted Deanna and Aela individually. Amalia was more of a wild card.

My mother followed me as I strode down from the dais, while the others fell in beside me.

When we reached the front of the hall, I nodded toward the doors. I could already feel the cool air outside, despite the heat of the two blazing sconces on either side of the door.

The courtyard was quiet and cold. I nodded to the two priests that were posted as guards, and they shut the doors, cutting off the music from within. Unbidden, and probably ordered by Markas, a group of four older priests followed the rest of us outside. Even if they were unnecessary, I appreciated the gesture.

Above, thousands of stars shone in the sky, while on the walls, only a few dark-garbed sentinels kept watch. I knew them to be priests as well; apparently, they changed their clothing to match the situation.

The Seekers faced us, about ten feet between us, and we stared at each other for a long moment. Back in the Sanctum, Deanna and Aela had been my friends, but more than that, mentors. Deanna’s no-nonsense approach to life and Aela’s willingness to train me in my early days both helped make me who I was, but their joining with Amalia made me doubt their intentions.

Amalia was one of the strongest Champions in the Sanctum, and only three months ago, she’d been part of a team sent by the Sanctum to arrest me and take me back for judgment. The cause of that trouble had been the blade I now kept at my side, but Aela wasn’t looking at the blade now. Her appearance was as beautiful as it was severe. There was not a funny bone in her body, though if anything, she looked older and more mature than before . . . as if she had seen things, as much as the rest of us had.

“Welcome to Kalear,” I said. “It’s good to see you all. I assume you’ve just arrived?”

Deanna must have sensed the terseness in my voice, and responded bluntly. “We don’t blame you for doubting us. We’ve had plenty of time to think about how you might react to us on our long road here.”

“You walked?” Shara asked, in disbelief.

“And were let in as well,” Fiona said.

“As messengers,” Deanna said.

“I’ve long had orders to let messengers from the Sanctum in and brought to me immediately,” my mother said, looking at me. “I hope this wasn’t wrong.”

“No,” I said. “But Seekers are very dangerous. I would not wish for anything bad to happen if our sides are opposed.”

“Then you shouldn’t be afraid on that account,” Deanna said. “Outside these walls, there are about thirty Sanctum-dwellers camped. The three of us are the only Seekers, sadly, but among them you’ll find equal numbers of Initiates and Apprentices. A few of us died to get here . . . but we knew we couldn’t stay in the Sanctum a moment longer.”

“You’ve come to join me,” I said, in realization.

Aela nodded, and so did Amalia. The two could have been sisters, with their good looks, brown hair, and brown eyes. The main difference was in those eyes; Aela’s were soft and friendly, while Amalia’s were hard and determined.

“The place has gone to hell,” Amalia said, sadly. “Many have reason to doubt the Elders’ motives, especially Elder Haris. As for myself, I’ve doubted him ever since the Elders Isandru and Tellor left to join you. Since then, there has been a lot of talk in the air. We left while we still could, though several of the apprentices had to pay with their lives, despite the protection we gave them.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “It saddens me that they died on my account.”

“We’ve been named traitors and exiles,” Deanna said. “We’ve been traveling hard for well over a month, going by back roads and through the country just to get here. If at the end of this road, I discover that you’re truly not Anna, not the one who has been prophesied, then I’ll punch you so hard that you’ll turn into Anna.”

“She is Anna, rest assured,” Fiona said. “I was with her in the reversion of the Xenofold. Elder Isandru . . .” Fiona trailed off, steeling herself to continue. “He accepted her, and so does Elder Tellor. She has proven herself in countless other ways that I simply can’t explain all at once.” Fiona gave each of the women a hard look. “Your struggles to get here have not been in vain, my friends. We need all the help we can get.”

I nodded. “Thank you for coming. It would have been easier to stay and follow orders. If you fear you’ve broken your vows, you’ve actually done the opposite. Anna was the founder and leader of the Seekers, and their purpose was to seek her when she returned to the world. Now, you’ve found me and have truly fulfilled your oath.” I looked them all over, realizing just how haggard and thin they were. “But all this can wait for later. Come inside where it’s warm, along with everyone who’s come with you. I’ve only arrived today myself, but I’m sure there’s enough room in the hall for everyone to sleep warmly tonight.”

“We would appreciate that,” Deanna said. “I’m afraid we have a lot to tell you about the Sanctum and Elder Haris. None of it good.”

I felt my heart drop at that. I swallowed before responding. “I will hear it all, then.”

“Forgive me,” Aela said. “But Fiona said Elder Isandru accepted her . . .”

I paused, not sure how to respond, but my hesitation told all.

“We’ll speak about it inside,” Deanna said grimly.

CHAPTER NINE

I USHERED THE SANCTUM REFUGEES into the Great Hall and had my mother make sure they were fed with the leftovers from the feast, of which there was plenty. They warmed their hands by the fire gratefully while they waited for their food.

After Deanna, Aela, and Amalia had scarfed down a quick meal, I led them upstairs, where it would be quieter, with Shara, Fiona, and Isa accompanying me. I took them to my mother’s room, where we gathered chairs around the fireplace.

Despite the fire’s warmth and seeing old friends once again, it did little to improve my mood, because the news they had to share was dire.

“Tell me what’s going on with Haris,” I said. “I had some worrying dreams about him.”

“The man is mad,” Amalia said, with a scowl. “He acts like he runs the place, not knowing his station below Chief Elder Arminius.”

“Acts like he runs the place is putting it mildly,” Aela said. “He actually does run the place in truth, and has gotten enough of the Seekers’ support to be Chief Elder in all but name. Such was the state of the Sanctum when we left it one month ago. Who knows where it’s at now?”

“We were hoping you might know something,” Deanna said. “We haven’t had any news since we set out. We headed this way, not really sure what we’d find . . . even if we’d find anything at all. More than once, I thought we were chasing a rumor that there was a resistance growing against Isaru’s rule.”

“I know nothing more than you about the Sanctum,” I said. “I literally just got here today and haven’t been part of the events of the Red Wild for the past three months.”

“Where were you?” Aela asked. “The only thing we’ve heard is rumors, almost all of them not good.”

I looked at her seriously. “I, along with everyone else here, was in Hyperborea.”

They stared at me blankly, the news clearly not registering. Finally, when they realized I was serious, Amalia spoke. “Whatever were you doing there? That place is real?”

I nodded. “It’s very real, unfortunately. And it’s the cause of most of the evils plaguing the Red Wild and the Elekai today, including Isaru’s change of allegiance.”

“You’re going to have to explain all this,” Deanna said.

“I’ll try,” I said. “Much has happened since we’ve parted ways. In Hyperborea, we fought against an evil man named Rakhim Shal, who lives inside an evil place called the Hyperfold, which is outside the city of Hyperborea. From there, he is controlling Isaru with a form of mind control, called tethering.”

“Tethering?” Amalia asked, blankly. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“It is a Lost Gift, not well-known,” Fiona explained. “I know most Seekers are skeptical of the existence of the so-called Lost Gifts, but tethering is one of them. It describes a Seeker’s ability to maintain control of another being that also shares a connection to the Xenofold. In this case, however, the tether connects Isaru not to the Xenofold, but the Hyperfold, which stands in direct opposition to the Xenofold.”

“I would have never guessed,” Deanna said. “Isaru, under control of this . . . Rakhim Shal? A man as powerful as that must be important, but I’ve never heard his name.”

“Who is he?” Amalia asked. “Is he Elekai? I’ve never heard of him, either. And what exactly is this Hyperfold?”

I took a deep breath, trying to figure out how best to explain this.

“Rakhim Shal is from the past, and he doesn’t exist in this world in the same way we do,” I said. “It will be difficult to explain . . . very difficult, and I can tell by your faces that none of this makes sense. But you need to bear with me, because everything hinges on defeating him and the source of his power. That source of power is known as the Hyperfold.”

Then, I explained who Rakhim Shal was, how he served as an advisor to the last king and queen of Hyperborea, and how he had created the Hyperfold as a solution to end the Fading . . . the Elekai losing their Gifts over successive generations. I also explained how Elder Isandru was their son and heir, and how his life had been extended by Aether given to him by Rakhim Shal.

“The Hyperfold was created by Shal as an alternative to the Xenofold. It allowed unwholesome things to be done which the Xenofold wouldn’t allow, and it was powered by the ichor of the Sea of Creation. Aether, which you know of as a highly addictive drug and sometimes a medicine, also works as a bonding agent. One who takes Aether has the potential to be connected to the Hyperfold and tap into its powers as well. While the Hyperfold gives great power to those who forsake the Xenofold, it comes at a great cost – madness, addiction, and perhaps worst of all, it’s causing slow death of the Xenofold itself as the Sea of Creation is drained of all its vital energy, at a rate that’s too much for it to replenish itself.”

I could already see that this was a lot for them to take in. I answered a few of their questions, but in the end, I had to press on with my explanation.

“Shal housed the Hyperfold in a place called the Thought Dome, located in Hyperborea. The city itself is long dead, its towers crumbling into dust and its streets and canals empty of life. But the Hyperfold lives on, sucking the energy out of the Sea, an almost unstoppable force.” I paused, reflecting on the events of the last few days . . . or rather, the last few months. “For three months, we fought Shal in the Hyperfold, but in the end we were defeated. Shal was rescued by Isaru at the last minute. In the fight, one of my friends, Mia, died.” I didn’t mention that she was Isandru’s sister; that would have taken even more explanation, and they just needed the basics for now. “Isandru went after her, and we don’t know what’s happened to him. We hope he’s still alive, but if that’s so, it means he’s trapped inside the Hyperfold, because the portal leading into it has closed.”

* * *

There was a long silence as everyone digested this information.

“A terrible shame,” Aela said. “Elder Isandru was wise and powerful. I have no doubt that if he had remained in the Sanctum, then things would not have gotten to this point.”

Deanna and Amalia nodded their agreement.

“I’ve never heard of this Hyperfold,” Deanna said. “But it strikes me as the truth. I haven’t seen Isaru since that day both you and he left the Sanctum, Shanti, but everything has been happening too fast to make sense of it. All I know is, none of it feels right. All of us would agree with that, along with everyone who decided to brave the long journey here. We don’t believe anything Isaru is saying about you, Shanti. I have no idea why you stole Annara’s blade . . .”

“Not stealing,” Isa said. “It is hers by right.”

Deanna nodded, as if she conceded that point. “I suppose that much is true. I sometimes forget the Initiate I mentored is Anna Reborn . . . it is difficult to fathom, just as it is difficult to say Anna instead of Annara, as our teachings dictate. Things change over time, but it is hard to imagine the past meeting the future in such a way. Not just you, Shanti, but in the form of this Rakhim Shal.” She paused, as if what she was about to say was important. “The point is, your visit to the Sanctum three months ago got a lot of us thinking. Everything changed after that visit, as all of us discussed what you mean by your words, usually out of earshot of the Elders and other Seekers. Haris became more overt in his power grab . . . without Isandru and Tellor to back Elder Arminius, there was no one willing to stand up to him. You have been named exile and traitor, Shanti. Seekers and Annajen agents alike have been seeking you throughout the Wild, but to no avail.”

“Isaru knew where we were,” I said. “Perhaps all that is a show. After all, we are the supposed murderers of his father.”

“I could never believe that of you,” Aela said. “But neither could I believe it of Isaru. But after hearing the news of how Isaru plans to attack Colonia, how he blames you for his father’s death . . . I knew he never liked his father, but I had no doubt he loved him, even if I don’t know Isaru as well as you do. Something isn’t right, but I couldn’t stand by and let your name be slandered, even if it meant giving up my post at the Sanctum. At the very least, I wanted to discover the truth for myself. Since there has been no news of you anywhere, all of us feared the worst.”

The Seekers had long been hunting me, though now it was for a different reason. Seeker Amalia, who sat across me even now, had been one of the Champions ordered to hunt me down and bring me back to the Sanctum, along with Anna’s blade. When I returned to the Sanctum a few weeks later, only Elder Arminius’ judgment had allowed me to leave the Sanctum freely, granting me the time to prove my identity.

Time had passed. Over three months of time . . . and it seemed that Elder Haris’s arguments had won over mine.

Only, there was nothing more I could do. I had proclaimed myself, and now, people either believed me or they didn’t.

Those who hadn’t chosen a side yet were waiting for me to prove myself further.

But I was still curious about one thing. “What turned you around, Seeker Amalia?”

“I believed shortly after you announced yourself,” she said. “You fought like no Initiate I’d ever seen when we found you in Haven. Four Champions against one, and you held your own. Granted, you fled in the end, but the point still stands. And the fact that Elder Tellor himself followed you has divided our sect in half. Most who have proclaimed themselves for him, and for you, have left by now, most going east to join him in Atlantea. Those who have stayed stand behind Champion Garin. With Elder Isandru gone, the Prophets are all but dead as a sect . . . its only members are here right now, or their locations remain unknown.”

Kachar, the advisor to the king and queen of Atlantea, had been one such prophet who had given himself over to the Radaskim. That was one of the missing prophets, and I had no idea about any of the others.

“So, Haris runs the place now in all but name,” I said. “I had a dream about him, and I believe it’s true. He has sided with the Radaskim.”

Amalia’s eyes widened, as if I had said something taboo. I realized I’d been away from the Sanctum too long; saying things about the Radaskim wasn’t done casually.

“Tell us about the dream,” Deanna said.

So, I told her, about the dark place I was before entering the Hyperfold, the place that lay between the Hyperfold and the real world, and how I’d heard Odium’s voice emanating from the darkness. That dream had been three months ago, though it felt like just a few days.

“He is the ultimate enemy beyond even Rakhim Shal,” I finished. “And if he is to be believed, then Haris is his puppet. I’ve met several others like him. In the Ruins, there was a priest named Mithras, who I believe was communing with the Radaskim as well. There was a former prophet named Kachar, who was an advisor to the monarchs of Atlantea. And, last of all, there was Rakhim Shal, who is behind everything. And finally . . .”

“. . . Isaru,” Isa finished.

There was a moment of silence as everyone contemplated everything that was discussed. Aela was the first one to break the silence.

“I can’t imagine Isaru going over to the . . . Radaskim,” she said, struggling with saying the word. “He was different, yes, but not in a bad way.”

It was going to be hard to explain that. What I’d told them about tethering probably didn’t make a lot of sense, especially if it was the first time they had heard of it. I didn’t want to use Shara as an example, either, since a similar thing had happened to her. The Hunters had a way of using Aether, a way that likely channeled the power of the Hyperfold, albeit unknowingly. Or perhaps they knew full well what they were doing. Shara at that time had latent Elekai abilities, only awoken using Aether, which allowed her to be placed under Hunter Valance’s firm grip. Only leaving and entering the Hyperfold had erased that addiction, and her tether.

But when Isaru entered the Hyperfold, leaving it made him carry its mark with him, something that hadn’t become apparent until he fled the Hollow to join with the Mindless dragons.

They wanted to know the rest of my story, the stuff I never really told them. So, I tried to explain everything else as best as I could . . . how I’d learned I was Anna in the first reversion, to the reason why I left the Sanctum in the first place to rescue my parents, and how that journey had led me to Hyperborea to seek the prophecy that Anna had written in the past, all while receiving mysterious dreams of Mia and Isandru from the distant past.

As the hours passed, I got to the part where Shara, Isaru, and I were leaving the Hyperfold during our first journey to Hyperborea, what seemed ages ago.

“When Isaru came out, we thought he was dead,” I said. “At first. We flew him to the Hollow on the dragons Elder Tellor and Elder Isandru brought.” My voice grew thick as I talked about Elder Isandru, but I pushed on. “Anyway, he was only unconscious. The dragons promised to care for him, because we had to leave. While we were gone, he woke up and all seemed to be well. But unknown to us all, even the Elder Dragons, Isaru was possessed by something outside himself. It was only later that we learned that something was a someone, in the person of Rakhim Shal. Shal is trying to attack our world using Isaru, to weaken it before the Radaskim arrive.” I looked at Aela. “That is the long answer to your concern, Aela. It isn’t Isaru’s fault. He was never supposed to be in the Hyperfold in the first place, and was never supposed to fall under Rakhim’s control. And yet that’s what happened.” I paused to think. “Now, we’re trying to find a way to reverse it. Only we don’t know how, yet.”

The only sound for the next minute was the crackle of flames, and the wind blowing outside, rattling the shutters.

“We were fighting against Shal in the Hyperfold,” I continued, “a battle which lasted three months. Time works differently inside it. What was just a few minutes in there was actually several months on the outside.  The first time we were in there, it was the opposite . . . Shara and Isaru were in there for weeks when only a few minutes passed on the outside by the time I followed them in.”

“How is that possible?” Aela asked.

“It’s beyond comprehension, I know,” I said. “But that’s how it works. The Hyperfold is Shal’s world, his reality. He controls it utterly, and that means anyone who is connected to or uses the Hyperfold can be used by him.”

I stopped to collect myself. As my throat thickened, I didn’t know if I would be able to continue. I motioned for Fiona to finish the rest, though her voice was thick, too, as tears flowed down her cheeks.

“We tried to avenge Mia after Isaru killed her,” she said, “but we escaped the Hyperfold too late. Isaru killed her, and as we fought against him, Isandru went back into the Hyperfold, just as her body was absorbed by the light. It was our mission to destroy the Hyperfold, and that’s what we believe he’s going to do or die trying.”

“So, this Shal must be killed,” Amalia said. “Then why are we sitting here? You have a flying ship, do you not? Why don’t we go fight him and end it once and for all?”

“That’s what we just tried,” I said. “Besides, dragons guard the entrance to the Hyperfold, when there were none before. Getting in will be impossible unless they move. We had our one chance, and we failed. Isandru right now is our best hope.”

Amalia grit her teeth while making a fist, but offered nothing else. To a Champion, nothing was worse than having an enemy but not being able to fight him.

“There has to be a way,” Aela said, finally. “You said this place came to you in your dreams. Might it not continue to do so? Isandru, if he’s in there, could be trying to communicate with you.”

“We’ve thought of that already,” I said. “So far, my sleep has been dreamless. What sleep I’ve managed to have, anyway.”

“Perhaps you can try focusing on it before you sleep,” Aela said. “Isandru is in there alone. He needs help.

“I promise, I’ll try,” I said. “I owe him that much.”

“Me, too,” Fiona said.

“There’s more I need to know from you guys,” I said. “We’ve learned a bit from Pallos, who helps us with the ship, but I would hear more from you.”

“An alliance between the Sanctum and Haven is likely,” Deanna said. “It will be difficult to focus on Shal when our existence is threatened in the real world.”

“Isaru has made no moves yet,” Amalia said. “He is wisely consolidating his hold on his father’s domain, making sure all his lords give him the proper oath of fealty. Almost all have by this point, and those who haven’t intend on taking the oath soon. The only exceptions are you, of course – technically, you are supposed to owe fealty to the rightful King of Haven.”

“Just as the King of Haven owes rightful fealty to Anna, the first of his line,” Isa said.

“Absolutely,” Amalia said. “There are some other lords who have yet to give an answer, but their lands border the Makai. Such lords have a history of flirting with one side or the other, which is good for us, since they are our neighbors, and perhaps may be won over. All the same . . . Isaru is gathering a mighty host at the southern rim of the Grand Canyon, and another, smaller host is being gathered in the Xenoplain, a little over a hundred miles from here. It’s to be commanded by Lord Harrow, who recently won fame in putting down the insurrection in these lands in the time of King Taris. No doubt, Isaru intends to send him here to besiege Kalear.”

“Where did you learn all this?” Isa asked.

“I asked questions of the right people,” Amalia answered. “A Champion is as much a fighter as a saboteur.”

“We need help from the Makai,” Fiona said. “That much is certain.”

Amalia continued to share her intel. “The Makai have not spoken for Isaru in one way or the other, but have condemned him for the attacks on Atlantea and Savannah in the east. King Arius has not openly said Isaru has committed patricide, but his lack of support and his refusal to attend Taris’ funeral in Haven speaks volumes.”

“Since Isaru killed King Taris, wouldn’t Arius inherit Haven if Isaru were disqualified?” I asked.

“That question is difficult,” Fiona said. “Arius is of the line of Annajen, but finds himself ruling over the Makai people. He and Taris are brothers, after all, but Arius was only proclaimed king when Queen Sylva VI Makai passed away. In truth, he is a king-regent with no trueborn heir, but was voted all the titles appropriate to a king by the Makai War Council, and that decision was approved by Elder Arminius. As for matters of inheritance, King Arius has produced no heir and has taken no wife since Sylva’s death, and unless he produces an heir, the crown passes to Queen Sylva’s most senior heir, her niece named Laurelyn, who is twelve years old, and as far as Haven, the next in line for the throne is a contentious question that I won’t even get into.”

“This is very confusing,” I said.

“It shouldn’t matter in the end,” Fiona said. “King Arius is in his forties, strong, and healthy. I only wanted to clear up the confusion. In any case, Sylva isn’t far, and we should open a dialogue with my uncle.”

“If they openly support us, Isaru will use it as a pretext for war,” Amalia said.

“War is coming, whether we want it or not,” Fiona said. “The Makai are the most famed warriors in the Red Wild, and we would do well to get them on our side before Isaru does.” Everyone looked at her, seeming to be unsure of how that might work. “So far, King Arius has not heard from you . . . and within the week, it will come to light that you are here. The longer you go without speaking to him, the more he might suspect you have something to hide. Beat Isaru to the punch, and Isaru will be forced to think twice before calling his men and dragons on Kalear. It becomes more important, because Lord Harrow’s men are but a week’s hard march from here.”

I couldn’t argue with any of that. “It buys us time, yes. It might be worth going to the cities of Highgrove and Mongar, too. They control key mountain passes, and having them on our side will hem in Isaru’s territories.”

“A Makai alliance is more important to secure first,” Fiona said. “With them comes access to their dragonriders.”

“Not enough to challenge Isaru,” Amalia said. “The Makai have something like fifty dragonriders, while it’s said Isaru’s host numbers two hundred Mindless dragons, not even including the Annajen’s riders.”

“It’s a start,” Fiona said. “No one knows what Isaru will do first, but he is assailed on three sides. All his enemies are weaker than him, but none will stand with him. Colonia will not, most of the Eastern Kingdoms will not, and the Samalites certainly will not, many of whom have been attacked and harried by dragons while fleeing south. The minute he moves his army away from Haven, the others will go marching toward it, if they are wise.”

“Dragons will allow him to be in many places at once,” I said. “The others may do nothing out of fear.”

“The Makai are an obvious ally,” Deanna said. “Mongar and Highgrove might help . . . but none of us have considered the obvious answer. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Isaru plans to attack Colonia, and if Colonia does not know already, then they will find out soon. Why not join forces in the meantime, as a precaution?”

An alliance with Colonia, the same people who jailed my parents? That was not something I had expected, and my gut said it was unthinkable. Would it even be possible to work with them, when everything about their society hated the Elekai?

“They would want nothing more than for us to wipe each other out,” I said, finally. “An alliance, even a temporary one, would be impossible.”

“Perhaps not,” Fiona said. “After all, it is said that Anna was supposed to liberate Colonia as a sign of her identity. Isaru has claimed that the original prophecy was in error, and that due to a mistranslation, he is the one who was promised. If he takes over Colonia, and quickly, then it might give him the legitimacy he seeks. Colonia was the first city of the Elekai, long ago. While it might be wiser to strike us, while we’re still weak, my gut tells me it’s Colonia he’ll attack first.”

“He thinks Lord Harrow’s men is enough to keep us pinned here,” Shara said. “That’s what I’m thinking.”

Colonia had a large army and its own host of dragon riders – probably well over a hundred, even if the numbers were lessened by the recent Novan War.

If the Makai and Colonia both joined with us, our number of dragons would be at least half of theirs, which would be better than a quarter if only the Makai agreed to an alliance.

Slowly, I was beginning to see that having Colonia on our side was the only way. But would they ever go for it?

CHAPTER TEN

A KNOCK CAME AT THE door, causing the conversation to stop. The door opened, revealing my mother.

“Can I come in?”

“Of course,” I said. “I was just getting them up to speed.”

The three Seekers stood, and I made the introductions.

“We’ve just been talking about next steps,” I said.

After I explained what the Seekers shared with us, everyone was on the same page.

“An alliance with Colonia seems like madness,” my mother said.

“The only other option is defending ourselves with the Makai,” I said. “Nabea and his forces are too far to help. For all the evil the Covenant does, they have dragons. If we can’t match Isaru’s forces with our own, where does that put us?”

My mother shook her head. “I don’t know, Shanti. I just know the Covenant is not to be trusted. They betrayed us; they took you and intended to kill you, and they used your father and me to make you go to Hyperborea.”

I knew all that, but if Isaru was left unchallenged, everyone would end up being conquered by him.

“Perhaps the point isn’t to defeat him,” Shara said. “We merely need to survive long enough for Elder Isandru to finish what we started.”

“That could be months,” I said. The next bit was harder to say. “If ever. I know nothing about war. There hasn’t been a major war in the Red Wild since the Mindless Wars, and that was generations ago. Even the oldest of the old don’t remember those times.”

“There have been wars,” Isa said. “Small ones. Nothing like the Covenant and Nova, however, or like the Mindless Wars or what the Eastern Kingdoms go through.”

“The Makai and the Covenant hate each other more than the Annajen and the Covenant do,” Shara said. “While the Annajen are content to be at peace, the Makai live to raid the Covenant’s holdings. How could they ever be made to see eye to eye?”

“Necessity,” Shara said. “Only when Isaru is at their walls with an army of dragons and Annajen halberds will they consent to be helped by Elekai.”

“Do you think that’s what Isaru will do first?” I asked.

Shara nodded. “Perhaps. He wants to show himself as the fulfillment of Anna’s prophecy.”

But that begged the question . . . shouldn’t I be focused on the same goal? It was what I had written, after all, or at least, what I was purported to have written. If I just let Isaru and Rakhim get it, would it ruin all the credibility I had?

For some reason, I felt as if that was what Isaru was hoping for. I knew the Colonians would never let me have their city . . . and even if the conquest of the city wasn’t truly in the prophecy, many Elekai believed it was, and even looked forward to its liberation.

There were too many impossible things to do.

“I need some time alone to think this through,” I said.

“We’ve discussed enough for one night,” Deanna said. “We are weary and would like to rest.”

“Of course,” I said. “You’re welcome here as long as you want to stay.”

“We are not merely staying,” Amalia said. “I pledge myself formally to you, to do as you wish and follow your lead.”

“Me, too,” Aela said.

“And the same for me,” Deanna said. “You have proven yourself to us beyond a doubt, and those we’ve brought with us are yours to command.”

“I . . .” Words failed me. “Thank you. I’ll do my best.”

“You have our help, always,” Amalia said. “Only name the task, and if it’s in my power, it will be done.”

“The only task I have for you three is getting some rest,” I said. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

“As you wish,” Amalia said.

Everyone filed out the door, Isa last of all. She looked back for a moment, as if to say something, but in the end, shut the door behind her. Only my mother remained.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

I sat back in my chair. “Who knows?”

“You can talk to me. I am always here to listen, Shanti.” My mother came to sit next to me, placing a hand on my arm. “I know it’s overwhelming, your responsibilities. But you need to take care of yourself first. Let me sing you to sleep, just like I used to do.”

“I’m not a child anymore.”

“You’re my child. That’ll never change, Shanti.”

I looked within the fire’s glowing embers. I thought about all the nights Isaru and I had sat around a fire like this, trying to keep warm in the cold. I missed him terribly.

Isaru, once my best friend, now my unchosen enemy. As much as I loved my mother, how could she ever help me make sense of that?

I stood and went for the window while she just watched. I opened the shutters and looked down at the yard. I gazed above the Stronghold’s western wall, to get a view of the Red Mountains, their lower slopes glowing with xen and forest. A single shout emanated from down below, dying in the night. I heard the whicker of horses from the nearby stable, and the laugher of a child.

I looked at the night sky, feeling numb and powerless. I wanted answers, but there were none.

This war was impossible. It was sheer madness, and I knew it.

“I don’t know how much longer I can go on pretending, Mom,” I finally said. “This was supposed to be Anna’s body, not mine. This was supposed to be her brain, not mine, filled with her knowledge and her memories. I hear her voice sometimes, you know. I thought it was just me going crazy, but she’s there, inside of me, getting stronger all the time.” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share the next part. But she was my mother. “I’m afraid that someday, I’ll wake up and no longer be myself. I’ll wake up as her, and I’ll be the one trapped inside my own head.”

My mother said nothing to this. Perhaps she didn’t know what to say.

“Perhaps that would be better,” I said. “Anna would know what to do. Unlike me.”

“Can you hear her now?” my mother asked, after a moment.

I listened. It felt as if there were a pair of eyes watching me, but there was no voice. Only silence.

“No,” I said.

“I don’t know Anna or who she was,” she said. “I know who she is believed to be, both by the Elekai and the Colonians. I know that she was a girl just like you, who was probably scared out of her mind. Those heroes of the past . . . I believe they didn’t know what they were doing, either. All they knew was put one foot in front of the other, not knowing where the path would lead. But they hoped it would lead to somewhere good.”

I knew in my heart my mother was right. “I’m scared, Mom. No. I’m terrified.”

She stood and came to stand by me. I turned, and she hugged me.

“I’m scared too, Shanti,” she said. She parted from me and looked out the window. “Your father is out there, somewhere. I’m scared for him, too.”

“I miss him,” I said. “Is he . . . different?”

My mother knew what I meant. When I’d healed him in Haven, I’d also unwittingly connected him to the Xenofold. He was Elekai, now.

“He has strange dreams sometimes, like you. He was confident that you were alive. He said he felt something, that if you had died, he would know. He’s been training with the priests in the yard.” My mother smiled. “He’s a natural. He has always been a fighter, but their discipline has made him a warrior. In another life, with those powers, he would have been a Seeker.” She smiled. “But then, he would have never been mine.”

“I’m so grateful for you both,” I said. “So thankful you’re both still here.”

My mother embraced me again. “I know, Shanti. We are all alive. So long as that fact remains true . . . we are a family. We always will be. Your father and I support you, we believe in your cause, and we stand ready to help. It . . . isn’t easy. Gods know it isn’t. I don’t know why they gave you this burden, Shanti.” She laughed bitterly. “I speak of the gods, and I’m speaking to one now.”

“I am no god.”

“I know, dear. All my beliefs and conventions have been turned upside down these last few months. I’ve been broken and rebuilt again. But my life’s purpose is clear. To see you succeed. I raised you from the day we found you in the xen. Your father and I were young then, not much older than you. We had been trying to have a child ever since we were married. And there you were, waiting for us.” She paused. “Finding you was no accident. Finding you was everything.”

“Mom . . . stop. I’ve cried enough for one day.”

She chuckled. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. I love you, Shanti.”

Her arm tightened around me as we both looked out the window at the night-shaded mountains.

“What about you, Mom?” I asked, after a time.

“Me?” she asked. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been through so much . . .”

“We all have, Shanti. And gods know, we will go through so much more before all this is done.” She paused. “I don’t have to know prophecy to tell you that.”

Her words sent a chill down my spine. The only comfort I felt in the warm room was the feel of her hand on mine.

“Mom?”

“Hmm?”

I looked out into the dark courtyard. All was quiet.

“You can sing to me tonight.”

* * *

After the last notes faded, my mother kissed my cheek and softly closed the door behind. If she could see my tears in the light of the fireplace embers, she made no mention of it.

Once she was gone, I reached for Silence to numb my feelings. In an instant, I was awash in its familiar serenity. But even feeling its familiar presence didn’t completely calm my roiling emotions. And in the end, I knew it was an escape from painful reality.

But that didn’t stop me from seeking it, all the same.

I just wished I could talk to him . . . to Alex. Not as Anna, but as Shanti. I needed to know who he was. I needed to know if there was anything he could do, or if the power of the Hyperfold was so strong now that even he was powerless. Anna had been able to talk to him in her life, even after he had gone into the Xenofold to take on the mantle of Elekim.

Perhaps it was still possible. Perhaps if I spoke to him, he would hear me.

Alex . . . Elekim . . . I need your help. I’m at a complete loss. Nothing seems good enough anymore. All I want is to be free of this burden . . . this responsibility. Why did it fall on me? Was it hard for you to do the same? Where you succeeded, though, I’ve failed. I couldn’t stop the Hyperfold, and now, people are going to die because of it. How many will have to die because of me?

The night was answerless.

I need to help Isandru, I thought. But how? I need answers. Give me a dream, a prophecy . . . something to point the way. I’ve spoken to the Nameless One, but for some reason, I feel as if there’s more to my prophecy. Why did I think the Nameless One would tell me anything? Why would that suit him? Where are the answers? What do I have to do? How . . .?

I broke my thoughts, unsure of where I was going with all this. More than anything, I just wished Isaru were here. Even if he didn’t have all the answers, he at least had useful things to say. Comforting things.

I needed him back. There was no second option.

But how to get him back? How to break him free from the Hyperfold? The dragons said they had a way to overpower him, but it didn’t sound like a permanent solution. I’d die if I tried to do it on my own, and even with help, his connection to the Hyperfold would be difficult to break.

I kept my hold on Silence. I had to try and find Isandru, to help him in whatever small way I could. If I could do that, then not only would the Hyperfold end, but Isaru would be freed.

As afraid and overwhelmed as I was, Elder Isandru had it so much worse.

I formed a picture of him in my mind, and he was the last thing I thought of as I fell asleep.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

SHANTI . . .

A VOICE CALLED IN the wilderness. I floated above the xen-covered Earth, alone in the starry night.

Isandru?

I flew north across the Xenoplain, passing fields of ripened corn and wheat, streams and forest, until I reached the wide Colorado. I followed its course through the Grand Canyon, its twists and turns and under its sheer cliffs, until I left the river behind, flying farther north past fields, forests, and hills. There was not a soul for miles. A deathly, unnatural silence overhung the dark landscape like a cloud.

Shanti . . . can you hear me?

Isandru.

I can hear you, I called back. I’m coming.

I was flying faster, now. Laston passed below in the night, a mere blip due to my sheer speed. I arrived at a range of forested peaks, which marked the border between Annajen lands and the Northern Wild, the land of the Samalites. There was no fog here in the dream world. The land below was clear, as it hadn’t been in months.

Shanti . . . you must come. You must hurry . . .

Hold on! I called. I’ll be there soon. Just wait.

But then I felt myself slammed, hard. The sky spun above me as I spiraled down to Earth. The land rushed up to meet me, not even giving me time to scream.

I changed my course at the last instant, barely missing being impaled by a tree. The impact on the ground was hard, but I could still move, and I could still stand. The pain was just a dull ache in the back of my mind.

I scanned the sky for whatever had hit me, but there was nothing to see.

This is only a dream, I reminded myself.

But dreams had power. I would have to be very careful indeed.

Shanti . . .

The voice came once more, what I thought to be Isandru’s voice, but it was fading. It was coming from the north, no doubt.

My reverie was broken by a cold, amused voice coming from behind.

“Found you.”

I spun around, drawing my blade by sheer instinct, just in time to cross it with none other but Isaru’s blade. The steel of both gleamed coldly under the pale moonlight, but his eyes shone even paler and crueler. A twisted smile so unlike him spread across his face, marring his princely demeanor. He chuckled as he spun around for another strike, which I parried aside.

“Isaru . . . don’t do this.”

“So long as I breathe,” he said, “I won’t let you reach the old man.”

We exchanged a few more blows before I could knock him back into a tree. He grunted from exertion, backing away just in time to dodge my next swing.

“His name is Isandru,” I said, between breaths. “Or have you forgotten?”

“Prince Isandru of Hyperborea,” he said. “Prince Isaru of Haven.” He gave a crazed laugh. “We could be the same person.”

“Is this really you, Isaru?” I asked. I assumed Treeform, taking on a posture of defense. I didn’t want to immediately harm him. I wanted to learn more for now.

He ignored that question. “The Hyperfold is guarded, even in the world of dreams, Anna. I’m afraid it won’t be as easy for you to contact Isandru as with Mia.” He smiled. “Not unless you can defeat me, of course.”

Well, there went that idea. “Isandru doesn’t need my help. If you’re here, then he can deal with Rakhim without you interfering.”

Isaru strained his ear, and chuckled with sickening glee. “Sounds like he needs your help to me.” He looked at me, his eerie all-white eyes considering. “What will it be, Anna? Fight me, or leave me?”

“I’ll fight you if that’s what I have to do.”

“You will be defeated,” Isaru said. “The Hyperfold’s power is mine, and you’ll soon see you’re no match.” He chuckled. “I’ll give you one last opportunity to wake up.”

“Why did you kill King Taris?” I asked. “He was your father, Isaru.”

“You ask that question as if you don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?”

Isaru leaned forward. “I’m not really Isaru, now, am I?”

For some reason, Isaru . . . or rather, Shal . . . seemed content to speak, and continue speaking, as Isandru continued to call in the background. If I was talking to Isaru, then it meant that I wasn’t getting any closer to the Hyperfold and aiding Isandru.

I had to figure out a way to neutralize Isaru . . . but how?

I was already touching Silence, but I needed more power. I opened myself to the Xenofold fully, feeling its energy burn within me.

“That won’t be enough,” Isaru warned.

I ignored him, reaching out and probing for his connection to the Hyperfold. I could see it . . . strong, sure, and yes, unbreakable, at least by me. This wasn’t like cutting off the likes of Kachar, or the priests that had been under Mithras’ dominion at the Sphere in the Ruins. Almost all the Hyperfold’s power was concentrated in him right now, and that power could not be broken easily.

Not even by me.

“I will be here tomorrow night,” Isaru said. “And the night after that. And every night until you either kill me, or the High Lord Odium arrives.”

“Do you remember anything of when we were friends, Isaru? Or are you completely buried now?”

Isaru was about to answer when a set of footsteps approached from behind. Isaru’s face contorted in anger, just as I backed away to be able to face the new threat.

It was Fiona, her sword drawn and her green eyes fiery. “Shanti isn’t the only prophetess you have to deal with, Isaru. And you’re wrong. I heard everything you just said.”

“What do you mean, he’s wrong?” I asked.

But before Fiona could answer, Isaru attacked, going right for Fiona. I moved to intercept, forcing him to disengage and back away into the woods.

“I’ll hold him here!” Fiona said. “Go to the Hyperfold. Get to Isandru!”

I didn’t know how Fiona had managed to get here, but now wasn’t the time to ask questions. “Will you be okay?”

“Just go, Shanti! There isn’t time!”

Fiona grunted as Isaru attacked, but I could only do as I was told. I had to get to the Hyperfold before Isaru could do any damage to Fiona.

I ran into the woods, faster and faster, the sounds of the fight fading with distance. My feet flew off the ground as I went airborne above the trees. As I had been before, I was flying, even if I didn’t know how.

Fiona . . . be strong.

There was no response from her, but I heard her screams emanating from below. Continuing on toward the goal was the hardest thing I had to do.

* * *

The night was cold and eerily quiet. I couldn’t help but feel I had done wrong in leaving Fiona behind. Isaru was the stronger fighter with the strength he could draw from the Hyperfold. Fiona, as skilled as she was, could only hold on for so long.

As much as it pained me, I knew reaching Isandru was the more important goal. If I could do that, I somehow knew that Fiona would be safe.

I flew across the vast forests of the Northern Wild, the light of the moon casting a pale light. The swamplands of the Withering Waste were close, and the horizon stretched far away. The world swam before my eyes, a sign that this dream might not last long.

Isandru . . . are you there?

There was no response, but I flew on.

I passed the last mountain range before the Plains of Decay, the last flat stretch until Ragnarok Crater. The clouds darkened above while the ground below looked like something out of a nightmare – fields of deadened xen, bare trees, all cloaked in a wispy veil of mist. Dark clouds gathered over the cliffs of the Ragnawall that fell into the crater, lightning crisscrossing their mass.

Shanti . . .

Hold on! I said. I’m almost there.

I was flying down into the Crater. Just a few minutes more, and I’d reach the Hyperfold.

Through the thick mists, I found what I was looking for. The pink Thought Dome glowed in the distance like a beacon in the haunted night. I flew straight into it, not even having to pass through the outer door by way of the bridge, until I was floating above the shining Point of Origin.

Was this real, or was it a dream? If I flew in . . . what exactly would happen?

This is where I go now, a voice seemed to say inside me. Go in now. We’ll meet again.

Was that Anna speaking? Something in her words told me that I didn’t have much time to hem and haw. Isaru had been trying to keep me from coming here for a reason, and I might never get another chance to do this.

I flew forward and was pulled into the light.

CHAPTER TWELVE

I OPENED MY EYES TO find myself back in my bed. It was still dark outside, but the mountains had lightened to a dark gray with the coming of the dawn.

What had just happened? Was any of that real?

I felt strangely empty, as if a part of me were gone. Before I could wonder at it, I remembered Fiona and her fight with Isaru.

If that dream was real, then I needed to go check on her.

I pulled myself from bed, threw on my cloak and sword, and ran into the corridor. It only occurred to me, once I was out in the hallway, that I had no idea which room Fiona was staying in. In my mind, I could still hear Isaru laughing, could still see the evil glint in his all-white eyes. Elder Isandru’s voice echoed in my mind, urging me to hurry.

“Fiona?” I called. “Anyone?”

No one was up this early—not even the castle servants. Short of barging into all the closed doors on either side of the corridor, there was no knowing where she was.

I realized, however, that barging into random rooms was exactly what I had to do to make sure Fiona was okay. I hesitated only a moment before trying the first door, the next room down from me. As soon as the door opened, my mother rose from the bed against the far wall, waking with a start. She clutched the covers closely to her chest, as if using them as a shield. She relaxed upon seeing that it was me.

“Shanti!” she said. “What’s going on?”

“Which room is Fiona’s?”

Seeing my manner, she looked at me anxiously. “Just down the hall. What is this about? I can show you where she’s staying.”

“She may be in trouble. There’s no time to explain.”

My mother nodded and was already getting out of bed, and thankfully didn’t waste time with pointless questions. She walked quickly out of the room barefoot, leading me briskly down the corridor toward the stairs.

When we reached the second to last door on the left, she knocked.

But I didn’t bother waiting for an answer. I pushed the door open, to find two beds . . . Isa in one along the left wall, with Fiona in the one on the right. Both seemed to be asleep.

Isa roused, and looked toward me with groggy eyes.

“Shanti? What’s wrong?”

But my attention was on Fiona . . . Fiona, who had yet to move.

“Fiona?” I said her name loudly, so there would be no mistaking my voice. I ran forward and stood over her. Although Fiona remained still, I could tell that her eyes weren’t closed. In fact, they were wide open . . . and glowing white.

“Oh, no . . .” my mother said, running forward.

“What’s happened to her?” Isa asked, her voice beginning to panic.

I ignored Isa’s question for now. I grabbed Fiona’s hand, only to find it unnaturally cold.

“Fiona?” I said. “Fiona, please, wake up!”

She wasn’t hearing me, not stirring an inch.

I realized then that I’d have to try getting her up on her own. She wasn’t dead . . . not yet. The dream had been real, and Isaru was keeping her inside it.

“Isa . . . you need to bond with me.”

“What’s going on?” Isa asked. “No one’s explaining anything to me.”

“Fiona’s trapped inside a dream with Isaru. There’s no time to explain right now, but if we work together, we might be able to get her out before anything bad happens.”

I reached for Silence, and found my connection to the Xenofold readily enough. Strangely, however, it didn’t feel as strong as it used to . . . an effect of the dream, perhaps? I opened myself to it, until its power filled me fully. I could sense Isa’s connection, too, grabbing hold of it and connecting.

The link became stronger than either of us alone. Hopefully, the two of us would be enough to pull Fiona from the dream unharmed.

I sought Fiona’s own connection, but unlike Isa, her presence wasn’t easily detected. I was beginning to lose hope in my search when, at last, I found her, a fading light in the deepening darkness. That light would be gone in moments if nothing was done. If I couldn’t pull her back from the dream, I realized, Rakhim Shal would claim her just as surely as he had claimed Isaru.

We must be strong, Isa.

Perhaps we should get Shara . . . it will take too much power.

Fiona’s light was already darkening, almost to the point of being indiscernible against the blackness . . . a dying star winking out in the vast void. I knew there was no time to get additional help.

It’ll just have to be us, Isa. We can do this.

Okay, she thought.

And like that, we channeled the power of the Xenofold together, its strong current leaving directly from my hand and entering through Fiona’s. I let the river of light loose, directing it in a stream that plunged into the darkness of Fiona’s mind. I felt the strain of that power leaving me, and the strain it placed on Isa, who was bonded with me. But we had time still.

The silver stream rushed into the void, forming a bridge between the waking world and the world of dreams, the world in which Fiona’s consciousness now found itself. The stream was so bright that Fiona’s light was almost lost against it; I focused as hard as I could to maintain contact on Fiona’s consciousness, a consciousness that seemed to be slipping further away with each passing second.

And, suddenly, there was the sensation of connection . . . and then, of her being pulled.

The silver stream was nearly yanked away from me, like a rope suddenly being tugged too taut. Isa and I were slowly, but surely, being pulled down into the darkness with her, like rescuers going down with the drowned.

Hold on! I thought to Isa. Don’t let go!

I could hear Isa grunting from beside me, but she held on strong.

Fiona! Follow the light! Get out of there!

There was no response. I’d have to try harder.

I took a deep breath, and then gave it everything I had left . . . one final push that either would save her, or wouldn’t. The light streamed forward once more in an unrestrained burst, shining like a river of diamonds under fierce sunlight, blinding in its brilliance. The black was pushed back in one victorious, sudden sweep, and suddenly, I felt Fiona with us, rushing upstream toward the waking world.

Follow the light, Fiona!

When she reached us, only when I was sure she was back with her eyes opened, only then did I let go of Silence.

And when that power was gone, my legs went weak and my mind lost consciousness.

* * *

When I came to, I didn’t know how long I’d been out. I opened my eyes to see Isa and my mother both kneeling over me.

“She’s waking up,” Isa said.

I forced myself into a sitting position, the other two giving me space as I did so, which revealed Fiona sitting up in the bed, shaken but awake. Shara sat beside her, turning toward me now that I was up.

“How are you, Fiona?” I asked.

“I’m fine, now,” she said. “I’ve . . . been told I was trapped in a dream?”

“You remember nothing?”

“Of the dream, no,” she said. “Except . . . I still feel shaken.”

“How about you explain to us what happened?” my mother asked.

She and Isa helped me up, and pulled a chair for me to sit in. Once settled in, and once Shara was woken to hear this as well, my mother gave me a cup of warm tea to steady my nerves. I then explained everything as the tea started reviving me.

By the time I finished the story with me flying right into the light produced by the Hyperfold’s Point of Origin, everyone had gone quiet.

“Any ideas?” I asked.

Fiona cleared her throat. “First of all, I don’t remember anything . . . not even the intention of going to sleep to find you in my dreams. Prophecy . . . is a strange Gift. Usually it involves receiving prophecies from the Xenofold itself, and interpreting and responding to them appropriately.”

I knew that myself from my short training at the Sanctum.

“What you’re describing, however, goes beyond the bounds of mere prophecy,” Fiona said. “It’s as if you were in a whole other world, one that exists parallel to our own. I supposed I had breached that world as well.”

“Is there any record of such a thing?” Isa asked.

Fiona shook her head. “No. If I found you in that dream, then it had to have been by mistake. Perhaps it was a trap. Perhaps it was all conjured to separate the two of us, to isolate me, and . . .”

Fiona couldn’t bring herself to finish, so Shara did. “And turn you?”

Fiona nodded. “Yes. Maybe. If you and Isa hadn’t pulled me out, then I might not be talking to you right now.”

If that was true, then it was highly disturbing. It meant none of us would be safe, even in our sleep. At the very least, those with the Gift of Prophecy—namely, Fiona and myself—would have to be very careful. Isaru had said himself that he’d be waiting there, every night . . .

But something told me that there had been some significance to the flying into the Hyperfold’s light and the reason I felt so different now. I kept that part about feeling different to myself, mostly because I didn’t understand it. It was as if I had lost some memory of who I was, but I had lost so much that I couldn’t even remember what exactly was lost.

I took a sip of my tea. “That place . . . wherever it was . . . was dangerous. I have no doubt about that. I also have no doubt that it was real, and that Isaru was real. The Hyperfold and the Xenofold seem to intersect, somehow, though they are separate entities. Maybe they project into each other, and we can skim the center of both while being in neither. In other words, this could be a place where the Xenofold and Hyperfold have equal power. But we also learned something. We can affect things from here. But the reverse is also true. So can Shal, and so can Isaru.”

“You’re proposing going back?” Isa asked.

“Think about what almost happened to Fiona,” I said. “If she could possibly be pulled into the Hyperfold’s sphere though a dream like this, then that means it might be possible to get Isaru back in the same way.”

The others were quiet as they thought about it. Shara’s face was skeptical, while Isa’s was hopeful. Fiona chewed her lip, considering, while my mother just looked worried.

“I don’t know how,” I said, “but we have to believe there is a way, right? If we don’t believe it can be done, then what’s the point?”

“We need more answers,” Fiona said. “But where to get them? There are Seekers in the Sanctum who might know something about dreamwalking, or whatever it was we did. Perhaps that is a Lost Gift as well, or perhaps it’s a subset of Prophecy. Whatever the case, the Sanctum is on the wrong side of the coming war. If I were to return there for answers, there are no guarantees that I’d be able to get out again.”

“What about your uncle?” Shara asked.

“It’s true Sylva has a large library . . . probably the second largest in the Red Wild.” Fiona paused, considering. “It’s worth a try when we make our visit there, which we will surely do soon.”

“When will that be?” Isa asked.

“As soon as we can,” I said. “King Arius is still grieving over his brother’s death, and he still suspects Isaru of being involved. That can only work to our advantage when we tell him all the facts.”

“How soon is as soon as we can?” Shara asked.

That was a good question. And I could tell from my mother’s expression that she didn’t like the idea of me leaving so soon. “You’ve barely rested, Shanti. What you had tonight does not count as sleep. I won’t let you do anything more until you’ve had more food and rest. If you keep pushing yourself like this, you’re going to burn out. Or even worse.”

“I agree,” Shara said. “There’s plenty of food here as well, which you’ll need to continue your healing. I vote for one more day of rest . . . for all of us.”

“I agree,” Isa said. “All I want is to sleep.”

When even Fiona agreed, I resigned myself to reality. “All right. One more day. Sleep, eat, meditate. Do whatever you need to do to refresh yourself tomorrow. We leave for Sylva the following day.”

In the following silence, something was still eating at me. Isaru wasn’t playing games, and Isaru would likely be working toward his goals even as all of us slept. I knew sleep was a need, but I didn’t want it to be.

“What about Pallos?” Isa asked. “Is he coming, too?”

“Yes, of course he is,” I said.

“Do you trust him now?” Shara asked.

I hesitated. “I trust him ninety percent. Besides, having him with us will help me rest easier. He’s probably a better pilot than I am by now.” I looked at everyone. “Anything else?” When no one answered. “All right. Everyone’s free until tomorrow morning. Spend your time wisely.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE REST OF THAT DAY was spent eating and sleeping on all our parts. That evening, before dinner, I went out to the yard to watch the priests at their training. They had risked their lives to come here, braving a dangerous journey all the way from the Ruins, and it felt wrong that I hadn’t acknowledged them as a group yet. Fiona, Shara, and Isa got some of the castle workers to load Odin with food and supplies for our journey while I oversaw the priests’ training.

All of them gathered here revealed their true numbers to be somewhere around two hundred priests and initiates, all moving in the fluid motions of a Waterform sequence that looked more like a dance than a sword form. Their      bodies bent and contorted at seemingly inhuman levels of flexibility, and even the old men were as lithe as the younger ones. Their skill seemed to be even greater than that of the Seekers.

It was only when they reached the end of their sequences that High Priest Markas held up a hand, calling the assembly to attention. I noticed that I wasn’t the only spectator. A few faces watched from the sidelines that I hadn’t seen in months. One of them was Roland, the swarthy apprentice who ran the kitchens back in the Sanctum, and to my surprise, Alaric, the very same initiate I’d faced off against in the Spring Tournament what seemed ages ago. I didn’t see how it was possible, but he was even taller and wider than the last time I saw him, no less than six and a half feet high with trunk-like limbs and flaming red hair. He watched the proceedings with interest, only breaking his gaze now and again to look at me.

As Markas turned to face me, so did the entire assembly. Some two hundred pairs of eyes were on me . . . two hundred warriors who looked to me as their leader. I noticed others were joining the assembly from the wings, interested in what I had to say.

“I apologize for not coming out earlier,” I called, “but even I need to sleep.”

This brought about a few chuckles from the wings of the assembly, but none from the stoic priests themselves. Everyone here was aware of where I’d come from, so I didn’t need to further justify myself.

“It’s with deepest gratitude and humility that I address you now,” I said. “The reason you’ve joined me is a true reason. I’m Anna. Every bone in my body is her bone, the blood in my veins is her blood. Anna’s name may have changed over the centuries since her disappearance from the world, but that makes no difference. I am still her all the same.”

I gazed out at the crowd to make sure my voice was carrying in the open air. Thankfully, the wind wasn’t strong, and even some of the guards on the ramparts turned to pay heed.

“I came into this world Shanti Roshar. I’m her, too. But how can there be two people in one?” I gave a rhetorical pause. “That’s a question I’ve been grappling with these past few months, but the truth is . . . as much as I am Anna, I’m also Shanti. You may call me either. When I returned to the world, it was without memories of my past life. As time has gone on, I have remembered more and more. This ship you see, the Odin . . . I did not learn how to fly that in this life. My memories from my past life have taught me to pilot it. Likewise, my fighting abilities are not my own. The very forms you’re practicing now have their roots over four hundred years in the past. Roots Anna laid down when she founded the Seekers, an order sworn to keep the truth of the past alive and Anna’s vision for the future intact. No doubt, you’re wondering what that future is. Don’t worry, I’m here to tell you.”

If everyone was quiet before, now they were very quiet.

“You’ve called yourself the Sphere Priests, but the time for that name has passed. You are all Seekers now, just as at the time the order was split following the fall of Hyperborea. Your first task has been completed; you have sought me out, and you have found me. You have joined me at the head of the road, and now we are looking out at it together. The road is dangerous and dark, but nonetheless we must travel down it. Some of us, perhaps all of us, will die on the journey. But I invite you to take that journey with me now, as dangerous as it is. Such is your fate as a Seeker. You know this already . . . or you would not have joined me. As a Seeker or as a priest, you are taught to never fear death as part of the immortal code that every initiate learns by heart.

“With that in mind, your task at this moment is to remain here in the Stronghold, guarding it from all enemies. Lord Harrow’s men are not but a week’s march from here, and Kalear will need to be defended if it is to serve as our base in the future. I won’t lie to you; Isaru and the Sanctum are likely going to join forces, and together, they would be an all but unstoppable adversary.” I pointed toward Odin. “My friends and I, Seekers all, are flying to Sylva tomorrow to reach out a hand of friendship to King Arius of the Makai. We have a lot of common ground, and if all goes well, by tomorrow, we will be in alliance with them.”

Several let out at cheers at this, even if the task had yet to be accomplished. I hoped I’d be able to deliver that. Perhaps it was wrong to say at this moment, but I wanted those who fought for me to have something to look forward to.

“The Seekers are the key to fulfilling Anna’s Prophecy,” I said. “All of you are true Seekers, and those who don’t follow me aren’t. It’s as simple as that. Together, I know we can win this fight. Anna knew something in the past that we don’t know today. Much has been lost. But one thing is sure. The Second Darkness is coming. Xenofall is coming. Even now, Odium is heading right for us . . . and if we are to have any hope of stopping him, we must work together to unite the Elekai as a single people. That is our number one goal.”

Several called out their agreement, but the majority kept their silence. Because they disagreed, or because they were still listening?

“The Elder Dragons have returned to the world,” I said. “I’m doing my best to work with them to challenge Isaru’s power more directly.”

“Anna!” Roland cried, drawing his katana and thrusting it in the air.

Several others took up his call, followed by the guards on the wall and the castle workers who had come to watch. High Priest Markas looked at me, a small smile on his face. He drew his sword and thrust it skyward.

“Anna Reborn!” he called.

And then, everyone was yelling it. The entire courtyard was a clamor, and the thunder of voices pummeled into me. Their voices unified into one, finding each other and chanting: “Anna, Anna, Anna!”

The great cheer rose in the air. A cheer which seemed to me premature, but it showed one thing. They were following me, and not only that, they were counting on me. I had hardly even done anything yet to prove myself to these people. They had only heard the stories, and they desperately wanted to believe those stories.

I couldn’t let them down.

* * *

Sylva was only two hundred miles from Kalear, so reaching it took less than an hour in the Odin. The same journey by foot would have taken at least a couple of weeks, perhaps even more striking across the Wild rather than taking the roads.

The vast Webwood spread out in every direction, covering hills, valleys, the tops of mesas and buttes. Long ago, in Anna’s day, this land had been desert . . . but ever since the spread of the Red Wild, the land was lush and untamed. There were small islands of civilization in the sea of forest; hamlets, villages, even a few cities built entirely in the treetops of high Silverwoods. But none of them were Sylva, said by many to be even more beautiful than Haven.

It was late morning when what seemed to be a clump of trees rose above the surrounding forest. None of these trees were half as tall as Haven, but there was at least a dozen, larger than most other Silverwoods. The trees twisted and interlocked together, as if they were all one organism, the tallest being in the middle. The silver bark and boughs glistened in the light, while pink, shimmering leaves drank in the sun.

“That’s Sylva,” Fiona said. “It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve been here.”

Fiona had last visited Sylva while Isaru and I were still studying in the Sanctum.

“I don’t see where we can land,” Pallos said.

Fiona frowned, seeing the difficulty. “You’ll have to fly the ship away, Pallos. The Webwood ends about fifty miles to the east.”

“Does he really have to park the ship so far?” I asked.

Fiona nodded. “I’m afraid so. The trees grow too thickly, and most meadows are used for farming. Fifty miles are nothing to Odin.”

I knew Fiona was right in that regard, but not having the ship here would leave us a bit vulnerable. If we needed to escape for any reason, we’d only have our legs to rely on.

I didn’t expect that – not with Fiona vouching for me – but I wanted to be careful.

“We’ll do that, then,” I said. “Pallos can return to Sylva in the evening to check on us.”

“Of course,” he said. “If there are any lakes nearby, it will be a good chance to top Odin off, anyway. I’ll be sure to keep myself busy, make sure all the systems are running smoothly.”

I nodded. “Sounds like a good plan.”

I watched as Pallos slowed Odin to a hover, lowering it carefully until it hovered about thirty feet above the treetops.

“We’ll have to use the rope ladder,” I said.

Shara’s face blanched. “Rope ladder?”

“It retracts and extends on its own, so we’ll simply need to hold on,” I said. “Just don’t look down.”

“Topographical readout shows us about a hundred feet above ground,” Pallos said. “The ladder extends for one hundred feet. We should be good.”

I peered into the tree limbs of Sylva. There were hundreds of them, thousands, and almost all of them had walkways, buildings, and hanging pods, identical to the ones in Haven. Though not as tall as Haven, Sylva was clearly the larger of the two cities . . . perhaps by twice as much.

Getting them on our side would be a devastating blow for Isaru and Rakhim.

“Are all of us coming?” Isa asked.

I nodded. “Everyone but Pallos.”

“I have no doubt that King Arius will meet with us personally within the hour,” Fiona said. “And if not, I know exactly who to take us to.”

* * *

I opened the blast door to reveal the open air in front. The forest canopy was a mere thirty feet below us, and I watched as the rope ladder extended itself slowly, until its bottom rungs were lost to the trees.

Shara’s face paled at the sight.

“Will you be okay?” I asked.

She barely managed a nod. “I’ll make it. Find Silence, right? It’s not as easy for me as it is for you.”

“It takes practice,” Fiona said, “placing one’s fears into Silence.”

“I can’t do it well, either,” Isa said. “I can go last, that way you’re between two of us.”

“I’ll go first,” I said.

Though I wasn’t afraid of heights, seeing how high we were did make me a little queasy. It was strange that riding on a dragon didn’t produce this feeling while a ladder could.

A gust of wind blew the ladder, hiding part of it beneath Odin’s hull. It wouldn’t swing like that while we were on it . . . at least, I hoped not.

I took a deep breath and stepped out the door, carefully placing my feet on the first rung. The rope was thick and secure, and easy to grab onto. It was made from a material that didn’t seem to be producible anymore; it certainly had the feel of something manmade. I made sure the hilt of my katana was pointing to the side, so that it wouldn’t get caught up in the rungs.

Once I was halfway to the treetops, Fiona followed behind. The ladder moved a bit with her weight, but steadied within seconds. Like me, she was climbing down.

I waited just at the top of the trees for Shara. Above the din of Odin’s fusion engines came the blare of horns from the direction of Sylva, probably sounding a warning at our arrival. I looked that way to see people scurrying about the branches, some seeking the shelter of the trees. Others stood their ground, shielding their eyes against the sun to get a better view of the ship. Surely by now the Makai had gotten word that we had a spaceship in our possession.

If they didn’t believe that before, then they surely did now.

When Shara was starting her way down, only then did I plunge beneath the treetops. The ladder descended between two pine trees, the thick trunks of which grew from a bed of pink xen beneath.

A couple of minutes later and I was on the soft, spongy turf. Fiona was next to me in moments, just as Shara reached below the treetops. She was taking it very slow.

“You’re doing well,” Fiona called. “Almost halfway there!”

Shara made no response. She placed each foot and hand deliberately, testing her weight each time. Though the rope was surely centuries’ old by now, it seemed as sturdy as the day it was made.

While we waited on the ground, I took stock of my surroundings. We were in the middle of the forest, and there didn’t seem to be any trees or buildings nearby. I knew the direction of the city, but there were so many trees that nothing was visible. The ground was mostly clear – there was no underbrush or fallen logs standing in our way. It was obvious the ground was kept clear around the city aside from the trees and xen. Stands of brown mushrooms grew here and there. I recognized them to be an edible variety that had often found its way on my plate at the Sanctum.

Shara touched down, heaving a giant sigh. When she stepped out of the way, Isa slid the rest of the way down, landing adroitly on her feet.

Shara sniffed. “Show off.”

Isa smirked, but said nothing in response.

“I’ll lead the way,” Fiona said. “We should be heading for the nearest Silverwood. There’s one in the direction of the city with a bridge leading in.”

“I’m surprised no one’s come out to meet us yet,” Isa said.

“They may soon,” Fiona said. “There might also be a receiving party at the Silverwood.”

“Lead the way, Fiona,” I said.

She turned and headed off into the trees, the rest of us following.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

IT WASN’T LONG BEFORE WE stumbled upon the Silverwood Fiona mentioned. A wide wooden ramp circled clockwise around its trunk, spiraling six times before reaching the treetops above. From there, a long wooden bridge extended in the direction of Sylva, using tall trees for supports.

Waiting at the bottom was a group of about twenty soldiers wearing leather armor, bearing pikes and crossbows. They fanned out at our approach, forming a line two deep. While they didn’t point any weapons at us, their movements were tense, with every one of them staring us down. It didn’t seem that any of them recognized Fiona.

“Excuse me,” Fiona said, stepping up. “I’m Fiona of House Arius. Lead me to King Arius, my uncle, right away.”

The reaction was mixed; about half looked at her with skepticism, while the remaining half stared in wide-eyed shock. The leader of the group was the one who responded.

“You are the one they call Anna, are you not?” he said, looking at me. “It’s been said that Fiona Arius has been part of your party, along with several other Sanctum defectors.”

“Defectors, huh?” If that was the captain’s greeting, then something told me that Isaru had gotten to this place faster than I thought. “I think your king would disagree.”

“That remains to be seen, Anna,” the captain said. “As it happens, I have orders to bring you before him.”

“There’s no need for that,” Fiona said. “This place is my home, and I don’t need guards to watch over me like I’m suspected of something. The fact that my uncle’s guards even treat me with such discourtesy makes me think he has wax for brains.”

“It’s not you we are suspecting,” the captain said, defensively. “It’s her.” He nodded toward me.

“I didn’t murder King Taris, and no one here had anything to do with it,” I said. “Isaru has a lot to gain by saying that I did, and it’s very convenient that he inherited the throne of Haven at the same time. But that’s not for one such as you to know, is it?”

The man’s face reddened, but he offered no rebuttal. “I’ll take you to King Arius now. If you please, follow me.”

The captain turned for the ramp and began walking up. Some of the soldiers followed him, but more still lagged, waiting for us to follow so they could wrap around us. I wasn’t concerned that the king was going to do anything to us. It wasn’t much of a welcome, but King Arius was being cautious, and Fiona hadn’t lived in Sylva for years, and her returns in the meantime had been brief. It was possible that many here wouldn’t recognize her.

All the same, it didn’t feel as if things were getting off on the right foot.

We walked up the tree in silence, getting further from the forest floor as the walkway spiraled around. When we were in the treetops, the spiral ended at a long, wooden bridge which stretched through a maze of limbs. The day was warm; in the Southern Wild, it didn’t even feel as if autumn had arrived, though we were only a couple hundred miles further south.

The sun beat down hot and bright as we walked across the bridge. The dozens of Silverwoods which made up Sylva lay in the distance. Several dragons circled overhead, bearing riders.

Behind, I could hear the roar of Odin’s engines firing up. I looked through the trees and was just able to see the ship turning and blasting away from the forest.

“What’s that?” the captain asked. “There was someone left in there?”

“My copilot,” I said. “He’s only going to land the ship outside the forest somewhere. He’ll be back this evening.”

The captain grunted skeptically. “I see.”

“I’m going to give my uncle an earful about this,” Fiona muttered.

The captain’s face tensed but he didn’t respond.

The walkway joined a wider boardwalk, that seemed to be a main road in Sylva. Crowds walked up and down the boardwalk, which had stalls lining either side of it, filled with merchants hawking their wares. They parted as we made our way through the middle, and I noticed a lot of them were talking furtively in groups, all looking and pointing at us.

“That’s Fiona Arius right there,” I heard a man say. “She’s the niece of King Arius.”

“That girl,” an old woman said, looking at me, “Can’t be more than twenty. Is she the one who . . .”

I didn’t stay long enough to hear her finish. I was focusing on where exactly we were headed. The boardwalk split into a labyrinth of separate, thinner walkways, while there were many wooden staircases leading up different Silverwood trees. Looking up at the tangled growth of boughs and silver leaves, there were even more walkways and wooden buildings constructed both on and hanging from the limbs, while bridges interconnected the various platforms.

“It’s a maze,” Isa said, gawking. “A beautiful maze.”

“Luckily, I know the way,” Fiona said.

“We’re going to have to climb up again, aren’t we?” Shara asked.

Fiona nodded. “Not a ladder, fortunately.”

The surrounding soldiers gave no reaction to our conversation.

Sylva was beautiful, and I couldn’t help but notice the difference between it in Haven. It seemed half the people walking on the wooden walks were soldiers, or at least bore some sort of weapon. There were fewer smiles and more seriousness. Maybe that had to do with the events of the last few months. There was a strange tension in the air, as if the city expected to be under attack at any moment. On the forest floor, I could hear military drilling, could see men and women marching in formation, wearing leather and metal armor. They slashed with long spears and curved blades, the air whirring with their efforts.

“War is in the air,” Fiona said.

It was no wonder we were being treated as a threat rather than a potential ally.

We made for the center tree, following the captain and soldiers up the ramp that circled around its trunk. Soon, we were quite high, above most of the treetops of the surrounding forest and city. The ramp ended on a wide, wooden veranda which supported a large house made from Silverwood, formed from the very tree it grew on, roofed by nothing more than limbs and leaves. The doors leading in were shut, heavy and foreboding.

Fiona strode comfortably forward, none of the soldiers stopping her. Apparently, they believed who she was now. She shouldered the door open.

“You may go in,” the captain said.

“Finally believe us now?” Shara asked.

The captain made no response. “It is for King Arius to decide.”

I decided that a fight wasn’t worth it. “Let’s just go in.”

I followed Fiona past the threshold, into a wide space covered in a dome of leaves. The floor was of the same wood as the tree, sinking toward the middle and forming a wide circle. Seated on a single throne was a middle-aged man, with salt and pepper hair and a grim, narrow face. Despite his age, his muscles were still well-formed, a testament to a lifetime of training. During his youth, his strength must have been enormous. His silks and soft leather boots didn’t seem to fit his warrior’s stature, and his face was all hard lines and angles. He had a small, gray goatee that fell at least a foot from his chin, serving only to elongate his solemn face.

“Uncle Arius,” Fiona said, hurrying forward.

King Arius of House Arius stood to receive her. His expression was cool and neutral as his niece embraced him, his blue eyes looking over her shoulder at the rest of us. I paused, as did Isa and Shara beside me. His gaze seemed to size me up in an instant, his eyes flickering between me and my companions.

Fiona parted from him, and gestured toward us. “Uncle . . . may I present Shanti Roshar, Anna Reborn, along with Seeker Isa and Seeker Shara.”

Isa gave a curtsy while Shara merely inclined her head, regarding the monarch coolly. Of course, Isa and Shara, not to mention myself, weren’t formally Seekers, but after everything we’d gone through, we might as well have been.

“Welcome to Sylva,” King Arius of the Makai said, his voice carrying little warmth. “I’ve been expecting a visit from Kalear, but I did not expect a personal visit from its leader.”

“This is too important to leave in the hands of diplomats and messengers,” I said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Indeed.” King Arius gestured away from the throne. “I’ve cleared my schedule for the next two hours, so we can talk.”

Before waiting for a response, King Arius waved over one of his guards, giving him an order I couldn’t quite hear. The man nodded smartly before setting off deeper into the palace.

“Shall we?” King Arius asked.

Arius turned, and we followed him out of the throne room and deeper into Sylva Palace.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

KING ARIUS LED US ACROSS a bridge that bore us from this tree and into another, into what could be best described as a courtyard. We stood in the large hollow of this tree which made up a part of Sylva Palace, a large space filled with gardens, at the center of which lay a small, serene pool. Several Silverwood-wrought chairs and benches surrounded the water, where King Arius led us.

Once there, the king gestured for us to sit. He took up the chair closest to the pool, near a rivulet that ran from the outside of the courtyard to feed it. Fiona sat close to him, but her manner was formal and reserved. I was the last to take my seat directly across from him, with Shara and Isa on either side me.

“This place reminds me of Haven Palace,” I said, to break the silence. “Though it’s clearly larger.”

“And it’s far more beautiful,” Arius said bluntly. Looking around, I had to agree with that assessment. “I grew most of these plants myself,” he continued, gazing at the plants growing from the xen. “Like you, I trained at the Sanctum but under the Sages. I never rose to full Seekerhood.” His manner became suddenly businesslike. “So. You are Anna Reborn, then.”

The sentence was said with skepticism, but I was prepared for that skepticism.

“Yes,” I said. “But you can call me Shanti.”

“Shanti,” King Arius said. “Yes, I would prefer that. It seems more . . . accurate.”

“I can confirm that she’s Anna Reborn,” Fiona put in. “As a prophet of the Sanctum, and as someone who witnessed the revelation with her.”

King Arius nodded gravely. “I would rather you have been a Champion or a Sage, Fiona.”

Her green eyes became steely. “And why is that?”

“Sylva needs warriors and agronomists, not prophets,” Arius said. “If you were here, you would command your own company.”

“Battle was never my calling.”

“And following this false prophet is?”

“That’s a lot to decide for not knowing a thing about me or what I’ve done,” I said.

“I know enough,” Arius said. “I know that you killed my brother.”

“You can’t truly believe that!” Fiona said. “It’s pure nonsense. If you actually did believe that, she’d be in chains right now.”

“I would trust the word of my own nephew over hers.”

“And what about my word?” Fiona demanded. “Is that worth nothing to you?”

“What would you have me believe, Fiona? I believe you are honestly mistaken. When your father and I discussed sending you to the Sanctum . . .”

“Don’t bring him into this,” Fiona said.

Arius continued, relentlessly, “He wished for you to be a Champion, as he chose for himself. Prophecy is a pointless Gift. Everyone knows that, Elder Isandru most of all.”

“How dare you dishonor him in that way,” Shara said, with a withering glare.

Fiona’s face went white. Clearly, she was too shocked to respond for the moment. At last, she spoke. “Don’t tell me what my father would have wanted. More than anything, he would have wanted me to be happy. I haven’t regretted my decision. Not once.”

“Hold on,” I said. “Fiona . . . your father is gone?”

She let out a shaky breath and nodded. “Yes. Shortly after I joined the Sanctum, he died in a skirmish against the Novans.” She looked back at her uncle. “And yes, he wanted me to be a Champion, like him, and like my grandfather before him. I would have, Uncle, only the Xenofold had other plans.”

“The Xenofold,” Arius said. “Any person can claim a revelation from the Xenofold, and no one can disprove it. Far more have been fooled by dreams and visions than enlightened by them.”

“Nonetheless, Elder Isandru prophesied Anna’s return during his lifetime,” Fiona said. “And it was proven true, because she sits here today.” Fiona paused, to let this sink in. “More than that . . . my prophecies have proven true as well.

“What prophecies?” I asked.

Fiona nodded. “Things I have kept close to my chest. Only Elder Isandru knew. When I had them, I sent a letter to my father so that he would accept my decision to become a Prophet. The letter didn’t reach him before he passed away.”

There was a moment of steely silence, King Arius stubbornly setting his jaw as these things were revealed.

“Don’t give me that face, Uncle Arius,” Fiona said, dropping the formality. “Look at the world! Do you not see that the Second Darkness is coming? Do you believe Anna’s return to be truly impossible?”

King Arius met her gaze obstinately. “Sitting before me is a teenage girl, not the goddess of prophecy,” King Arius said. “I see the one who murdered King Taris, thrusting Isaru into a responsibility he is nowhere near ready for. He has performed admirably since his ascension; rebellion foments in his lands like cancer. And you, my niece, are only part of the problem if you are siding with the Kalear rebels.”

“What was even the point of coming here?” Shara asked. “You won’t listen to reason. You refuse to even hear our side of the story. You believe every lie Isaru has told you without even questioning it!”

“What’s the alternative?” King Arius asked. “Either my niece is being misled, or my nephew is a murderer.” He looked at her critically. “Which of those is easier to believe?”

“You ought to be more concerned with what’s truth,” Isa said.

“Tell me, then,” King Arius said. “What is the truth? Why should I trust your word over anyone else’s?”

“Because Isaru is not himself,” I said. “That is the truth. And if you would only listen to our side, then maybe you would learn the full scope of things. But if you refuse to listen, then you will only know what others have told you, and would have you believe, to you and your kingdom’s detriment.”

Something in the way I said that gave the mulish king pause. He chewed on these words, and for a moment, I thought he was going to reject them.

“I’m willing to listen,” he said, finally. “And I hope I don’t regret it.”

“Listen with an open mind, Uncle Arius,” Fiona said. “For once.”

King Arius gritted his teeth, but said nothing in response.

“First of all,” I said, “your nephew, Isaru, is my friend. He was the one who rescued me from the Covenant, along with his dragon, Jorla, who died protecting us in Colonia. We were together through thick and thin. We learned and trained together in the Sanctum, practically inseparable. My parents were thrown in a Colonian dungeon after the Hunters found out about me. While I escaped . . . they rotted.”

King Arius looked at Fiona, as if to ask for confirmation. When she nodded, he gestured for me to continue.

“The Hunters sent us on an errand. An impossible one. If we completed it, they would release my parents. They told us to go to Hyperborea to find the Prophecy of Annara for them. We had no choice, so we went, otherwise my parents would die. We trekked over hundreds of miles of desolate waste, but we made it in the end.”

“And lived to tell the tale, as no person has ever done,” King Arius said.

“I was there, too,” Isa said. “It’s all true.”

“For that matter, we’ve all been there,” Fiona said.

Everyone quieted so that I could continue. “We never found a prophecy. But we did find something dark . . . something evil. We met a man there who had given himself over to the Radaskim, and he was able to possess Isaru. Isaru is no longer himself, King Arius. This evil man, named Rakhim Shal, whose spirit still resides in Hyperborea, uses Isaru as his puppet to do his will. To do the Radaskim’s will. Ever since he’s possessed your nephew, we’ve been trying to stop him, to win him back if possible. All of us will confirm this as true. Isaru sacked the cities of Atlantea and Savannah with his dragon swarm, and used that swarm to take control of Haven, and pinned King Taris’ death on me. I had no hand in his death. I was in Hyperborea at the time, trying to fight Shal and free Isaru from Rakhim’s control.

“But I was thwarted. After Isaru assumed control of Haven, he next came to Hyperborea to save his master. One of our friends, named Mia, died when he attacked, and Elder Isandru is as good as dead. We barely escaped. We were there not two days ago.”

“From Hyperborea to Sylva in two days,” King Arius mused. “Impossible.”

“Not with a spaceship,” Fiona said. “We could be there by evening if we wanted. It flies faster than any dragon.”

“I’m sure you’ve heard the stories of the old gods and their spaceship,” Shara said. “We have that spaceship.”

“I cannot deny what I saw with my own eyes,” Arius admitted, reluctantly, “but it does not prove everything you’re saying.”

“It’s something, at least,” Fiona said. “And not just something, but a convincing piece of evidence. And if you weren’t so stubborn, you’d see that, too.”

King Arius nodded, albeit grudgingly. That was something.

“Where did this ship come from?” he asked, after a moment’s pause.

“Long ago, it crashed into a mountain out in California,” I said. “We found it. I’d never flown a spaceship in my life, but I still have Anna’s memories to guide me. I was born Shanti Roshar, not even knowing who I truly was until a few months ago. Fiona was there with me during the revelation and can testify to everything. I saw Anna myself. We are the same person, King Arius, and all the memories I have, the dreams, the way I fight, knowing how to pilot a spaceship with no prior training . . . there is no other explanation other than the fact that she and I are the same person.”

King Arius looked at the serene, clear water of the pool, his blue eyes troubled.  He was quiet for a very long time. I could tell that he didn’t want to believe us, that the story was too incredible. Though speaking with him was frustrating, I also knew that from where he was sitting, his skepticism was understandable.

“This is all very difficult for me,” he said, quietly. “I will need some time to think things over.”

“Please,” I said. “Take your time. I know it’s a lot.”

“I’m sure I’ll have more questions for you later,” he said. “But there is much I must do today, and until I can meet you again, you are a guest in my home.”

“A guest, or a prisoner?” Shara asked.

“I kindly ask that you do not leave,” King Arius said. “Not until I can figure things out. I give you my word that King Isaru will hear none of this if I determine your words to be true.”

“King Isaru,” Isa said. “Never thought those words could sound so wrong.”

“What happens if you determine our words to be false?” Shara asked.

King Arius looked at her seriously, his solemn face even more somber. “I truly hope that I don’t.”

Something in the intensity of his gaze told me that was exactly what he expected.

* * *

We were led by a household guard to a dining room attached to the guest rooms, on the periphery of the tree we were currently in. The table and chairs were carved from the tree itself, enough to seat ten or so people.

Food was brought – venison sandwiches with onions with an intricate green salad laced with small nuts and a creamy dressing.

While we ate, we discussed the meeting with King Arius.

“It’s worse than I imagined,” Fiona said. “He isn’t normally like this.”

“What is he normally like, then?” Isa asked.

Fiona frowned. “Kinder. More open. Something is weighing him down.”

“His brother’s death,” Isa said. “It can’t be anything other than that.”

“Yes, but there has to be more,” Fiona said. “Something’s in the air, a tension that’s palpable. It’s only like this when there’s a war on, or there will be a war. You saw the soldiers drilling, the dragon riders in flight, how harshly they treated us . . .”

What Fiona said made sense. It made our position here all the more precarious.

“We need to learn more,” I said.

“Hard to do that, cooped up in here,” Shara said, taking a massive bite of her sandwich.

She had a good point as well. Though most of the palace was technically open to us, it was restraining not to be able to go outside it if we wished. If Arius decided we weren’t trustworthy, we wouldn’t be able to leave at all.

We needed to discuss what to do in that case, but it was hard when a guard or two passed by the room every minute, keeping tabs on us. I was positive Arius was being kept updated on everything we said and did.

When one of these guards passed, Isa poked at her food glumly. “It’s almost as if you’re not even his niece, Fiona.”

“He’s being cautious,” Fiona said. “That’s all. We gave him a lot to think about, challenging all the perceptions and information he’s had for months. And there must be some suspicion of Isaru on his end. Remember what Pallos said about him not attending King Taris’ funeral?”

That was true. It told me that his gut reaction to Isaru’s ascension was wariness. In the intervening weeks, Isaru must have been doing all he could to sway King Arius in his direction, little by little. And then we showed up, throwing a kink in all those weeks of careful letters and emissaries from Haven. Perhaps even Isaru himself had found time to come here personally, but for some reason I doubted it. If King Arius saw Isaru in person, he would probably notice something was off.

Seeing things in that light made me understand our reception here more. And it made me more than a bit nervous.

“If my uncle comes to our side, it would mean war with Haven . . . and Arius sees Haven as a likely ally against the Novans, who are ever a threat. Never have the Makai and the Annajen raised arms against one another, though there have been close calls in the past. There have been border disputes before, as always, but never king directly against king. It would be a first, and it’s no wonder my uncle is being very careful in how he treads.”

“He must be convinced of the truth,” I said.

“If he knows the truth, truly knows it, then he will join us,” Fiona said. “I have no doubt of that. My uncle is stubborn, but in the face of convincing evidence, he isn’t a fool to close his eyes. I know him well. I grew up here until I was old enough to train at the Sanctum. I saw him just a few months ago, before all this happened. The trouble is, he has gone through so much lately and has no one to turn to . . . not since Queen Sylva died.”

“That was years ago,” I said. “He has never remarried?”

“It’s . . . complicated,” Fiona said. “Not much discussed. Besides, it’s not really relevant to what we’re discussing here.”

There was a moment of silence. The food was almost all eaten, and I took another plate for myself. My hunger was already lessening, but compared to before my healing by the Seekers, I was still ravenous.

“The question becomes,” I said, “how do we convince him?”

“Give him time to think,” Fiona said. “My uncle is a cautious man. He’ll have an answer for you, probably tomorrow.”

“The right answer, I hope,” Isa said. I noticed she had hardly touched her food.

“Is there something we can do in the meantime?” Shara asked. “Something productive, since we’re not allowed to leave this place?”

“Pallos is due to return this evening,” Fiona said. “We have to let him know what’s changed. Sending a message out shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“If Arius allows a message to go out,” Isa said.

“He will,” Fiona said. “If I weren’t here, it might be a lot harder, but so long as I am here, Arius will allow us at least that courtesy.”

“If it weren’t for you, we might already be in the dungeon, then,” Shara said.

Fiona didn’t respond to that . . . not at first. At last, she said, “Family counts for a lot.”

“I want to know what Isaru has already told Arius,” I said. “The king didn’t let on that they had ever talked, but I don’t doubt letters have been exchanged at the very least.”

“I’ve thought the same,” Fiona said. “But more likely, Isaru had, or even currently has, a diplomat here representing his interests. He wouldn’t risk coming here himself in case Arius suspected him. At least, not at first.”

“It’s hard to believe he had time to commit the murder and still reach us in the Hyperfold,” Shara said.

It seemed impossible, but Rakhim Shal had control over the flow of time in the Hyperfold. It was the price we paid by entering it. If we had stayed any longer, Shal could let a dangerous amount of time pass on the outside. Just three months and I already felt as if we were hopelessly behind.

“He’s had a few months to bend King Arius’ ear,” I said. “That’s an uphill battle, and it’s the first time he’s hearing a new perspective. It’ll take time, especially since Isaru has had many opportunities to meddle.” I sighed. “Perhaps we were naïve to think he would be a willing to ally us right off the bat.”

“When the lies are separated from the truth, I’m confident he’ll join us,” Fiona said.

At this point, the same disagreeable guard who had led us to the palace entered the doorway. “Lady Fiona. King Arius has summoned you.”

She blinked in surprise. “So soon?”

“Yes, my lady. You are to come by yourself.”

“And what about my friends?”

“He didn’t ask for them, my lady.”

Fiona frowned, apparently not liking the sound of this. She turned to us. “I’ll have to go see him. I’ll try to make it quick.”

“What do you think he wants?” Shara asked.

“I have no idea,” Fiona said. She turned back to the captain, standing and smoothing her Seeker’s robes. “Lead the way, captain.”

She followed the captain out of the room without a backward glance.

“I don’t like this,” Isa said, once we were alone again.

I didn’t either. Was he separating his niece to try to convince her to abandon us, and then keep the rest of us under guard?

“We need to be careful,” I said.

We ate in silence, not really feeling free to talk since we were being watched.

After about ten minutes of this, I couldn’t stand it any longer.

“The rest of you stay here. I want to see what’s going on.”

Knowing I’d probably end up regretting it, I left the dining room and headed in the direction Fiona and the guard went.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I WALKED ALONG THE OUTER edge of the palace, by a different way than we had come in. I was about to keep going when I heard Shara’s voice behind me.

“No way we make it through this place unseen.”

I was about to turn and ask why she hadn’t stayed behind, and was surprised not only to see her, but Isa. Before I could ask why they had both followed me, I saw that Shara was right: at that moment, a servant left one of the side doors in the hallway, taking note of our presence before moving on.

“We can at least get the lay of the land,” I said. “Information would be useful.”

“Excuse me.”

A male voice had come from behind. I turned to see a young guard with short black hair and a wide, square-shaped face that seemed so flat as to be smashed in. He was probably no older than me.

“Yes?” I asked, trying to act natural.

“King Arius requests your presence as well.”

“There hasn’t even been enough time for Fiona to reach him,” I said. “Guess he changed his mind and wants to see all of us.”

The guard ignored that observation. “You are to follow me now. Bring your friends with you.”

Without waiting to see if we would respond, the guard turned and walked the opposite way down the corridor.

Shara, Isa, and I shared a look before following him, wondering what this turn of events could mean.

We walked through the central courtyard where we’d had our first audience, passing through an archway on the other side where a wooden staircase spiraled around an upward-growing tree limb. We followed the guard up the narrow staircase. When we surfaced, we found ourselves on a wide, wooden veranda, filled with seats and cushioned couches, overlooking the courtyard and granting a view of the city below, along with the miles of pink and green forest extending in every direction. To the south, I could make out a line of low mountains wrapped in a golden morning mist.

King Arius and Fiona were sitting together on a couch near the railing of the veranda. The guard left us here, going back down the stairs, while King Arius gestured for us to sit down.

“I’ve decided,” the king said.

“That was quick,” Shara said.

“If you were playing me false, my niece here would have told me. Even alone, she confirms everything you told me before.”

“We haven’t forced her to say anything against her will,” I said. “Why would you think that?”

“When I’m not sure of something, I go with my gut,” King Arius said. “Something tells me you’re telling the truth, or at the very least, what you believe to be the truth, despite all evidence to the contrary. But a formal alliance would be . . . difficult.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Fiona answered for him. “My uncle has been informed that the Makai are under attack. As of this morning, Novan forces have been pouring into the Southern Wild.”

That was the last thing I expected to hear. “That’s crazy.”

“Needless to say,” King Arius said, “this event changes everything. It is time for us to move past whatever differences we have and work together.”

“Of course,” I said. “That’s all I wanted.”

“You want to be friends now that you need our help?” Shara asked.

“My nephew has grown tired of waiting,” King Arius said, nonplussed by Shara’s directness. “The Novans will keep us busy while he has free reign to do as he pleases.” King Arius looked at Shara seriously. “I never formally joined with my nephew, so rather than wait on my final decision on whether to recognize his legitimacy as Haven’s king, it seems that Isaru has taken things into his own hands.”

“He’s formed an alliance with Nova?” Isa asked, her face stunned. “They are the enemy!”

“They are the Makai’s enemy, yes,” King Arius said. “The only way I can see this alliance as possible is if Isaru has truly given himself over to madness. There is no other option. That said, the plan is as brilliant as it is devastating. We are pinned between two sides – Haven and the Annajen to the north, and the Novan Empire to the south.”

“In this way he can take Colonia unchallenged,” I said, feeling sick. “Colonia is still weak from their recent war with Nova.”

“Wouldn’t Nova be weak as well?” Isa asked.

“Nova has more men,” Arius said. “They outnumber Colonia ten to one at the least. They ended the last war with the Covenant to deal with some rebellious lands in the south. It seems now that that’s over. Nova is ready to turn its sight north again.”

“This couldn’t have come at a worse time,” I said. “Is fighting them possible? Can the Makai hold up?”

“We can defend our lands, as we’ve always done, but little more,” King Arius said. “It will take everything we have, and we must take battles in the Wild and not in the desert, where the Novan cavalry would have room to maneuver.”

“Isaru will be completely unchecked,” Fiona said.

Our hands would be tied for sure. The only other choice was fighting a war on two fronts, and that would probably ensure our demise.

“If the Novans get involved, then the Colonians will as well, if only out of sheer preservation,” I said. “It’s hard to say who they hate more, the Elekai or the Novans.”

“The source of all our troubles is Isaru himself. If he can be stopped, war can be averted.”

“He’s surrounded by an army of dragons,” Shara said. “We had our chance at Hyperborea and we failed.”

“Perhaps the Elder Dragons can help us,” Isa said.

“Can you speak to them?” King Arius asked, looking at me.

I nodded. “We spoke with them a few days ago . . .” I paused for a moment. “No. Three months ago. They weren’t keen on helping us then.”

“What about now?” Arius asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “As far as I know, they’re still debating whether we’re even worth saving. Quietus, Askal, and those who follow them will likely help. But as far as Tiamat and the southern dragons . . . I don’t know.”

“If it’s true that these are the Elder Dragons gathering at the Spire, then I truly have no doubt of who you are,” Arius said. “We witnessed the migration of the dragons three months ago, and I wondered if it could truly be the Elders returning. If the Elder Dragons have returned and they proclaim you Anna Reborn . . . then there is nothing more to be discussed on that matter.”

“They’re still at Dragonspire, as far as I know,” I said. “Unless they’ve moved on by now.”

“Our scouts have seen nothing of their movements lately,” Arius said. “They must be keeping to themselves, as the southern dragons always have.”

“Likely, they already know what’s going on,” I said. “Supposing we get the dragons’ help, it’ll go a long way.”

“For now, we’re on our own against the Novans,” King Arius said. “I will need every fighting man to defend against them. They don’t have Askaleen, but they have the numbers and wheeled ballistae to challenge us in the air.”

“We need to know what the Novans are after,” I said. “What did Isaru promise them? They have long coveted the lands around the Colorado River but haven’t been able to hold them since the First Century, when Colonia broke free from their rule.”

“Isaru wouldn’t give them Colonia,” Shara said. “He needs it to cement his legitimacy.”

“Maybe there’s someone we can talk to on the Novan side,” I said. “Who’s their emperor?”

“Emperor Titus IV,” King Arius said. “He has ruled Nova for about a decade. A man of experience and brutality. A real war monger who seeks to restore Nova to the glories it will never again see.”

A flash of memory came to me of Nova’s first emperor, Augustus I. Though his empire had survived four centuries, at least in name, I knew it little resembled his original vision. It had been invaded several times in its history, the conquerors blending in with the conquered to form a new cultural and imperial identity. The only thing that had remained the same was its martial character and old Latin names, a hallmark of an era when Emperor Augustus had wanted to recreate long-forgotten Ancient Rome in America.

“Little is known of Nova,” Isa said. “It has almost always been hostile to the Elekai and anything north of its borders, an isolationist and xenophobic country. It allows no one in, and those who do get in never escape. They have a harsh, feudal society. Besides a few lucky people, everyone else is practically enslaved. There are even rumors that when they were invaded about a century ago by a southern empire, the invaders were giants compared to the locals, seven or eight feet tall. Brasilia imposed their caste system on the locals, transforming Nova into what it is today.”

“That can’t be true,” Shara said. “I worked closely with the Colonian military and while the Novans are bigger than the average Colonian, they aren’t giants.”

I’d heard similar rumors, too, but unless we saw it for ourselves, it was hard to separate truth from fiction.

“Some of my men have claimed to fight giant Novans,” King Arius said, “though no one has ever brought me evidence of it. It could be that if they have giants with them, they keep them in reserve, only to be used in crucial situations. But there is little point in speculating. We must decide how we are to meet our enemy in the field.”

“If true,” Isa said, “the giants would be the local nobility. How often is it that a nobleman fights on the front lines? Likely, they stay in the back giving orders, only fighting when they must.”

That made sense as well and explained why there was only rumors and not concrete proof.

“As long as they enter the Wild, they will die in droves, giant or not,” Fiona said. “Such was the case in the last war, fifty years ago. The Wild could sense their malevolent will, and the land became hostile to them.”

“The Wild is weaker now than it was then,” King Arius said. “When we find Novans trespassing in the Wild, we kill them. We don’t want them to know the land, because knowing our own lands is our chief advantage against them.”

“Where are the Novans entering the Wild from anyway?” Shara asked.

“Most are still massing on its southwestern border, probably preparing for an assault on the fortress of Larre. They mean to breach it with cannons and take it quickly. It’s the main gap in the Selvan separating the interior of the Wild from the exterior. However, Larre’s walls are thick and strong, and it will hold for a long while, especially with the aid of my dragonriders. But it will fall eventually. Until the Novans take it, they cannot safely advance beyond, where their next obstacle is the Webwood, which surrounds Sylva for some fifty miles.”

“So, what do we do?” I asked. “Have they even formally declared war?”

“The Novans don’t make any such declaration,” Shara said. “They just attack when they sense weakness.”

“So, they might not be working with Isaru at all,” Isa said.

“It’s possible,” Arius said. “They could be like a circling vulture . . . except they don’t realize that their prey has plenty of fight in them.”

I thought of Nabea and Elder Tellor, along with Samal and Ret, a thousand miles or more away in the Eastern Kingdoms. If they could only send their army here, it would change everything. The sheer distance meant them taking months to reinforce us, however.

“We need more men, that much is clear,” I said. “The best I can do is inform Elder Tellor of what’s going on.”

“The Elder Dragons need to help us, too,” Isa said. “It’s hard to imagine any sort of victory without them.”

“We have dragonriders, but only a hundred or so,” King Arius said. “We cannot match Isaru’s forces, and attacking the Novans directly would risk losing too many. They are best for harrying enemy troops far from where ballistae bolts can reach them.”

“Will the Makai be okay holding out while we gather support from Tellor and the Elder Dragons?”

“They cannot conquer us in such a short amount of time,” King Arius said. “We will lose ground, but we will not be conquered.”

That part was settled, at least.

“We have Odin,” Isa said. “That counts for a lot, too.”

“Remember, we have limited ammunition,” I said. “I’d rather save the turrets for fighting hostile dragons.”

“So, who to talk to first?” Isa asked. “Tellor and the boys, or the Elder Dragons?”

“We’re going to Atlantea first,” I said. “As soon as Pallos returns with the ship.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

KING ARIUS HAD TO ATTEND to some matters, but unlike before, we could now go wherever we wanted.  It was afternoon now, so we decided to head to the forest floor while waiting on Pallos, where the soldiers did their training.

The light here was dim, the sunlight dappled with greens and pinks filtering through the leaves. Tree trunks rose like towers, as beautiful as any I had ever seen, with the Makai capital built on their supports. Fields of xen spread between the widely spaced trunks, well-packed from generations of feet. The city above was only accessible by ladder; ramps could be retracted at will, while the defensive network of bridges and platforms fanned out for miles in the treetops, in which more settlements and fortifications were built.

If the Novans ever got this far, it would be a bloodbath.

We found a quiet spot away from the din of martial drilling, where we could practice our own forms until Pallos returned with Odin. I couldn’t think of a more productive use of our time, so drilling it was.

We sparred for the next hour or so before I could hear the unmistakable sound of Odin’s engine, clamorous even through the thickness of the trees.

We sheathed our swords and ran through the thick trees of the Webwood. We reached a small clearing, and above I could see Odin’s hull and feel the thrum of its fusion engine in my bones.

The rope ladder descended slowly, and it was a minute before it reached the clearing below. Gulping, Shara started to climb first.

“Get high enough for us all to stay on the ladder,” I said. “Pallos can retract it once we’re all hanging on, so we won’t have to climb far.”

Everyone did as I said. Within a few minutes, we were stepping inside Odin’s wardroom, where Pallos stood to greet us.

“We have a problem,” he said. “There’s an entire army of Novans advancing on the Xenoplain outside the Webwood.”

“Novans,” Shara said, shaking her head. “How is it possible? Has Larre already fallen?”

“I don’t know,” Pallos said. “I can’t begin to guess how many there are. Tens of thousands at least.”

Something told me that Nova and Haven had to be working together, now. There could be no other explanation.

“We’ve been outplayed,” Fiona said.

“We’re at war, now” I said. “Whether we like it or not.”

And the real war with the Radaskim was still to come.

“Should we tell King Arius?” Fiona asked.

“He will know soon enough,” Pallos said. “I noticed a few dragons flying toward Sylva on my way, and we won’t get there any faster than they will. Something tells me we have our own things we need to do.”

I knew Pallos was right. “We need to see Elder Tellor, then. Either Larre has fallen, or they somehow found a way to push through the Selvan. Whatever the case, he and the others are the only ones I know who have an army at their disposal. We need those reinforcements if we’re to stand a chance.”

* * *

I spent the flight resting in my cabin while Pallos flew. I had to catch sleep wherever I could get it.

I was broken from my rest early, however, by a knock at the door. I opened my eyes drearily, noticing that the ship had stopped.

I had been sleeping so deeply that I didn’t even notice the landing.

“Shanti,” Fiona’s voice came. “We’ve arrived.”

Despite my grogginess, and remembering the severity of the Novans’ advance on Sylva, I forced myself to stand and latch my katana to my belt. I gave Fiona a nod and passed the wardroom to the lavatory. There, I splashed my face with cold water, the shock doing little to awaken my senses.

When I returned to the wardroom, everyone was now gathered.

“We’ve landed in Atlantea?” I asked. “Why didn’t you wake me earlier?”

“We tried,” Isa said.

I felt my cheeks redden. “Still. You have my permission to come in and shake me if that happens again.”

Pallos cleared his throat. “It appears as if Prince Nabea and Elder Tellor are waiting outside.”

They would have had plenty of time to hear the ship coming down from above. We were fortunate to catch them in the city and not somewhere else, as I had feared.

“Let’s go out there,” I said.

When we left Odin, the air was cool, but not cold, as it had been in Ragnarok Crater or Kalear. Nabea stood next to Elder Tellor, along with Samal and Ret, with an honor guard bearing halberds and wearing the forest green colors of Atlantea. While Tellor wore his Elder’s robes, pure white with the sword sigil of the Champions emblazoned on his left breast, Nabea wore leather armor with a long, flowing cape dyed verdant green, with his own Sanctum-forged katana sheathed at his side. Both Ret and Samal were dressed similarly, though without the cape, which must have been a mark of Nabea’s command.

The two months seemed to have transformed the boys into men. Their faces were stern, commanding, and even grizzled, and where Ret had been tall and lanky before, he had put on several pounds of muscle, though the blue eyes still danced with mischief. Samal had grown even thicker and stronger, though not as tall as Ret. He reminded me then of his namesake – Samuel was only slightly more muscled than him.

Despite the changes, everyone broke into smiles and hugged each other, all of them expressing gratitude that we weren’t, in fact, dead. After a few minutes of chatting and catching up on the smaller things, Nabea’s face became serious.

“Let’s go inside,” he said. “The only news we’ve had was from Pallos the few times he’s visited.”

“Where’s Elder Isandru?” Tellor asked.

I steeled myself before delivering the news. “He’s . . . not dead. But Mia . . . she fell in the Thought Dome by Isaru’s hand.”

The news caused everyone’s face to go solemn.

“How?” Tellor managed.

Going inside to talk was forgotten as all four of them looked at me for an explanation. “It’s . . . my fault. I let her come. We were trying to disable the Hyperfold, and Isaru was there to stop us. He must have followed us there from Haven after killing his father.”

It was hard to make myself go on. I felt tears come to my eyes and flow down my cheeks. Isa grabbed my arm in solidarity as I wiped my face.

“It’s not your fault,” she said.

But it was. I had told her to come. Even with all of us, it hadn’t been enough to kill Shal.

“We should go inside to discuss this,” Nabea said.

I nodded. We followed Nabea past the guards and toward the skyscraper that was the Nabea dynasty’s seat of power.

* * *

So, we told them everything that had happened since we’d left them in Atlantea three months ago. What Pallos told them lined up with what I said; it was the part after the Hyperfold where things became murky.

“We entered the Hyperfold and fought Shal,” I said. “We would have defeated him, too, if Isaru hadn’t intercepted us.”

“He had time to murder King Taris before coming after you,” Ret said. “How is that possible?”

“Time flows differently in the Hyperfold,” Shara said. “We’ve experienced it once before. We were in there for less of an hour of our time, and we came back outside, three months had passed.”

Samal was next to speak. “And you said this Nameless One told you to attack Shal directly?”

“He told me that only I could stop the Hyperfold,” I said. “He also said that I wouldn’t have enough power to do it alone.” I sighed. “I don’t know which to believe.”

And now, one of us was dead because of my confusion.

“It sounds like you were betrayed,” Ret said, gravely. “The Nameless One led you to believe something different, and didn’t seem to mind causing the confusion.”

“He’s not on our side,” I said. “But I don’t think he’s on the Radaskim’s side, either.” A memory returned to me, something Alex had told me before he sacrificed himself to save the world. “Elekim had a meeting with him, too. The Nameless One told him how to defeat Askala, the Radaskim who controlled the Xenofold then. The knowledge the Nameless One gave him is what allowed us the victory. The Nameless One hadn’t lied then, so why now?”

“He can’t be trusted,” Nabea said.

Isa nodded her agreement, along with several others – Shara, Fiona, and even Elder Tellor.

“Continue the story,” the Elder Champion said.

“Isaru entered the Hyperfold after we did,” I said. “It was necessary for him to enter it to save Shal. We were so close to defeating him, but Isaru put a kink in that plan. When the battle tipped in their favor, that’s when Isaru vanished. And that was when all of us realized that our bodies were still on the outside, completely vulnerable. I was able to follow him back . . . but not before Mia was killed.”

Tellor lowered his head gravely, his brown eyes troubled. Ret’s already pale face blanched even further, while Samal’s eyes clouded with anger.

“He could have killed all of you on the outside before even going in,” Samal said. “But he didn’t.”

It was something I hadn’t thought of until now. He could have done that, but hadn’t.

“Perhaps killing us on the outside would have done nothing to stop Shal from dying,” Isa said. “Or more likely, Isaru needed the opening we had created, and couldn’t kill any of us until we had exited.”

What Isa said made sense. Perhaps Isaru’s plan was to use the opening to save his master, and when things were under control again, to escape and deal the final blow.

Only Mia had felt the force of that blow, however.

Shara was the next to speak. “I’m . . . not one hundred percent sure how it works, but what Isa said rings true. You don’t need a body on the outside to exist within the Hyperfold. For one, the thousands of Hyperboreans that exist there now do not exist in the real world. Their memories do. The people inside seem just as real as people on the outside, even if they are only memories. Shal himself is such a memory, but look how he can still affect reality. The actual person . . . the soul, if you will . . . can exist on the inside.”

“Wait,” Nabea said. “So, if all of you returned, but Mia didn’t . . . is it possible that she might still be alive inside?”

I thought back to the actual moment. I could still see Isaru falling from above, blade extended downward, from where he had exited the Hyperfold, stepping from a portal of floating light. Mia had been kneeling, as if in prayer, eyes closed. Those eyes had opened in shock at that terrible moment; in death, she had made not a sound.

But the eyes had known. The eyes were there.

All of them watched me thinking and trying to make sense of it.

“She must have returned right before the blade entered her,” I said. “I saw her eyes at the end. She . . . she was there.”

And yet, something strange had happened after Mia’s death. The light of the Hyperfold seemed to consume her, until nothing was left, as if the portal were still open. Isandru had been able to reenter it in the same way.

“Her death is painful enough,” I said finally. “We shouldn’t ruin it with any wishful thinking.”

But Nabea’s insight had placed a sliver of doubt in my mind. If she were alive, then that meant we had left her behind, just as we had left Isandru behind.

And it made sense that if she were still alive, Isandru would have wanted to remain behind to rescue her.

“We shouldn’t give up hope, so long as there is some left,” Nabea said.

“Practically speaking,” Shara said, “she is gone. As is Isandru. They both may both exist inside the Hyperfold, or they may be gone completely.”

“We did all we could,” I said. “The rest of us are lucky to be alive. We were able to escape, running west through the forest. Pallos found us there. They took me to Kalear. After that, we went to go meet with King Arius in Sylva. The news from there isn’t good, I’m afraid.”

“Isaru has attacked?” Tellor asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

“It might be worse than that,” I said. “Nova is invading, and is probably working with Isaru.”

* * *

It was not the news they had been expecting.

“They must have been talking behind the scenes,” Tellor said. “Even if the Novans hate the Elekai, they may work with Isaru if it means destroying the Makai, who have long curbed their ambitions to expand northeast. So long as they strike before anyone is ready, Colonia will stand alone, completely open to attack.”

“Not unless we do something to stop them,” Shara said.

“Colonia is weak,” Tellor said. “The Sanctum estimated that as many as one in two of their fighting men are dead or no longer battle-worthy. They cannot withstand a siege for long, especially with the overwhelming number of dragons Isaru has at his command, not to mention the Annajen dragonriders which are sworn to the king of Haven. The city will surrender quickly, and seizing Colonia will give Isaru the legitimacy he seeks . . . the city is not supposed to fall to the Elekai until the return of Annara, according to prophecy.”

“He is claiming that title as well,” I said. “Impossible as it seems.”

“We’ve heard,” Tellor said. “But things are ugly here in the east, but not all the news is terrible. The Kingdom of Tenise has surrendered to our forces, and is now a client kingdom of Atlantea.”

“Meaning?” Isa asked.

“The old dynasty – the one Kachar propped up, and the one the Princess Abena was to marry into – has been removed from power. Prince Enu and his father, of the same name, have been served justice. The crown of Tenise is now held by one of the local families that have sworn their loyalties, who have some claim to it, however tenuous. It’s not much, but it’s the best we could do. With Tenise’s quick demise, the other southern kingdoms have sided with Atlantea. But Rakhim Shal’s fingers have long been at work, dividing the kingdoms rather than uniting them. So long as his threat remains, taking an army west would be leaving all the south open to attack. Not until the east is completely secured can we come to relieve the Makai and the Colonians.”

“There may not be time for that,” I said. “From what we’ve seen, the Makai won’t be able to stand long at all.”

“If what you’ve told me is true, then the Novans will be fighting in the Red Wild,” Tellor said. “In the Wild, one Makai man counts for ten Novans. They will die, and they will die harder the further they push in. The land is hopelessly forested and doesn’t have the food supplies to support a large army. Unless the Novans have support from the Annajen, their supply lines will be at the Makai’s mercy. They may have the numbers, but they will bleed, and badly. Even if the Makai were to lose Sylva, they could live off the eastern farmland in and around the southern Red Mountains, never truly dying and becoming a constant thorn in the Novans’ side. This state could very well last years.”

“And if Isaru does openly help them?” Shara asked.

Tellor’s face became grave. “That is why he must never be allowed to take Colonia. Once the Covenant is defeated, there’s nothing to prevent Isaru from using his dragons, or supplying food to the Novans through the Xenoplain.”

“We have no army,” I said. “Anyone who is resisting Isaru is gathering at Kalear, but there aren’t many of us. Perhaps a thousand fighting men, a number that would surely be crushed in open battle.”

Tellor thought quickly. “You must never give them a battle, Shanti. The Red Wild is called so for a reason. It’s filled with forests and mountains, and the land is fertile. A thousand men can exist where five thousand cannot.”

“Guerilla warfare,” Shara said.

“And Kalear’s position is well-placed,” Tellor said. “Hidden by mountains, where a thousand men can stand up to many in the narrow passes. The Iron Pass to the east will allow food and supplies to come in, while the Novans cannot hope to cut them off unless Sylva itself is taken and the Makai driven from the Red Mountains. Neither of these things will happen soon. At the earliest, one year.”

“Still, that is time we don’t have,” I said. “The Radaskim are returning in less than two years. Even if we were to somehow win the physical war, we would be weakened severely.”

“It’s all pointless as long as the Hyperfold is still here,” Isa said. “It has to be stopped. It’s the cancer that’s eating the Red Wild from the inside out. The Xenofold can only protect us from the Radaskim if the Hyperfold is destroyed.”

That was the thing, though. We had tried to stop it, and had failed. I was starting to run out of ideas.

“We need every soldier we can get in the Red Wild,” I said. “We don’t have the numbers, Tellor.”

“It is a very long march,” he said. “The Trade Road goes from Atlantea all the way to East Town, a journey of more than one thousand miles. The lands are so uninhabited that food supplies would need to be secured well in advance. That would broadcast our intentions to Isaru, and he would have plenty of time to meet us, perhaps even marching his forces to block the passes at East Town and Mongar. We could come through the Iron Pass and Kalear, but food would need to be secured well in advance for ten thousand men.”

“How long of a march would that be?” Shara asked.

“As much as three months,” Tellor said. “Two would be pushing the men to the point of exhaustion.”

“And winter is on its way,” I said. “It can be very cold in the land between the Eastern Kingdoms and the Red Wild.”

“You said it yourself,” Shara said. “It’ll take more than three months for the Makai to be taken over. There’s still time.”

“Yes,” Tellor said, “but it is not the Makai I’m worried about. It’s Colonia.”

“The Colonians will fall before then,” I said.

The only question that remained, then, was exactly how to save them.

“We have to work with what we have,” I said. “There’s everyone gathered at Kalear, but that’s nowhere near enough. And the Makai are not in a position to do anything but defend themselves. The Novans are already penetrating the Wild, bypassing the fortress of Larre.”

“That is grievous news indeed,” Tellor said. He thought deeply. “In light of the situation . . . perhaps a formal alliance with Colonia is possible. If only for self-preservation.”

The Elder’s tone sounded doubtful of this, however.

“Of course,” Shara said, “Isaru might end up doing something else entirely. Remember when we thought he was going to destroy Northold with his dragons, and he ended up going to the Eastern Kingdoms?”

That, too, was a valid point.

“The Elder Dragons are the only ones with the power to stop him,” Fiona said, after a long silence. “Dragons will decimate any normal army, so meeting Isaru in the field is pointless unless we have our own dragons to match.”

“Dragonspire is our next stop after this,” I said.

“We will have to refresh ourselves on the tactics used in the first Mindless War,” Isa said. “That was the only time where dragon attacks were common enough for people to defend themselves on a regular basis.”

“How did they defend themselves?” Shara asked.

“Massed ballistae and crossbows,” Isa said. “Long steel pike formations to protect the ranged contingents.” She paused. “Unfortunately, ballistae are not very mobile. It was the reason the Mindless Wars took so long to win, and it was no true victory; eventually, the numbers of Mindless thinned due to the Xenofold repairing itself, which allowed the Elekai to push back.”

“Colonia has a large stock of ballistae and bolts,” I said.

I remembered how a few of them had shot at Isaru and I while we rode into the city on Jorla’s back, what seemed ages ago. Jorla herself had died from a mass of pikes and crossbows. But even one dragon had taken long to fall, and we were talking about an entire army of them.

“Isaru can field about thirty thousand men, according to census data conducted by the Sanctum,” Tellor said. “The dragonriders number about fifty, plus the Mindless who follow him.”

“About two hundred dragons in all,” I said, feeling my heart plummet.

“If all the dragons at Dragonspire help us, we can match those numbers,” Fiona said.

“But we are still weaker on the ground,” Nabea said. “Unless we can reinforce from here with our ten thousand. But that means leaving my people open to invasion. Something I cannot do. My lords would rebel at the news, I’m afraid. No one wants to see their lands laid waste.”

“Then what can we do?” I asked.

“We win here first,” Tellor said. “We cannot leave the Eastern Kingdoms until the threats have been removed.”

“How long will that take?” Shara asked.

Elder Tellor shook his head. “Months, if not years.”

Again, it was time we simply didn’t have.

“We cannot win on all fronts,” Shara said. “That much is becoming clear.”

“We could split our forces,” Nabea said, doubtfully.

“And we would lose on both fronts,” Shara said. “We have to commit to one or the other.”

Committing everything to the Red Wild meant leaving Atlantea completely open to attack. Too many of the Eastern lords had sided with the Isaru, while resistance forces had yet to organize themselves.

“War has unfolded and the Eastern Congress has done nothing,” Nabea said.

“The Congress is utterly powerless,” Ret said, shaking his head.

“Have they stated an official position about Isaru?” Shara asked.

“The senators are basically siding with their own countries, rather than uniting for a single purpose,” Nabea said. “The war has long been fomenting, and Isaru merely set the spark. For the most part, the southern lords want complete autonomy from the Congress, while the northern lords are in favor of more centralized power. Atlantea’s position is the former, isolating us from our neighbors.” He sighed. “Abandoning our position here means giving up Atlantea entirely. Thousands will die to invading forces, and I’d have no right to call myself king.”

“But if Isaru wins, there will be nothing we can do to stop the death of the Xenofold. That will mean everyone’s doom.”

Everyone was quiet as they thought about this uncomfortable eventuality.

“What about the Shen?” Isa asked. “Couldn’t Pallos get some assistance from them?”

It was a thought that had crossed my mind, but ultimately, Shen wanted the same thing as the Radaskim – total destruction of the Xenofold. At least, that was what he wanted if the Nameless One was to be believed.

“There would be strings attached,” I said, finally. “The one time we spoke, he wanted complete control over humanity. For our own protection.”

“Protection doesn’t sound half-bad right now,” Shara said. “The Shen are powerful. They could turn the tide for sure.”

That was a thought. How would Isaru react to an army of machines pouring in from the west? Who would win that confrontation?

“But is it really victory if we don’t get what we want?” I asked. “Shen wants the Xenofold gone, but perhaps if he knew it was our protection against the Radaskim . . .”

“You think he would help us?” Isa asked.

“I don’t know. I suppose it’s worth asking him.”

For some reason, though, it gave me a bad feeling. Could Shen coexist with the Elekai? Did Anna return to hand over an entire people to a foreign power, even if that meant safety?

I didn’t know what she thought . . . Anna had been quiet lately. Almost as if she were completely gone.

Something told me, that even if with all her prophecies, that Anna could have never predicted this.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

AS WE LEFT ATLANTEA, IT felt as if we didn’t get much done, and we didn’t get to spend much time with our friends. For them, it had been three months while for us, it had only been a week.

With Nabea and his army committed here, we had no choice but to go to the dragons for help and hope for the best.

Ret, Samal, and Elder Tellor felt it best to continue helping Nabea, who needed their assistance. That left Fiona, Shara, Isa, Pallos, and I to continue our journey.

Once in flight, we stood in the wardroom, quiet and unsure of what to do next. Inevitably, every face turned to me for direction, as if I somehow knew what to do. Pallos had heard every word spoken, but surprisingly, he had not once pushed me to go to Shenshi to beg for Shen’s help. His expression was unreadable. Fiona looked at me intently, her green eyes inquiring. Isa’s blue eyes seemed fearful, while Shara’s looked steady and confident – only the tightening of her features betrayed that confidence.

I was the captain, the one they had pledged themselves to follow. And I had no idea what to do.

“We have two options, as I see it,” I said. “We can go to the dragons, or to Shenshi.”

Everyone thought over the two options, but like me, they didn’t know which would be better to see first.

“Perhaps Quietus has convinced Tiamat to help us in the meantime,” Isa said, at last. “We’ve been gone three months after all.”

“I’ve taken the ship by Dragonspire a few times,” Pallos said. “They’re still there, as far as I know, and don’t seem to be leaving any time soon.”

“What could they be planning?” Shara asked.

“Perhaps they’re not planning,” Fiona said. “They could be waiting.”

“For what?” I asked.

Fiona looked at me. “For you.”

“Why would they be waiting for me?”

She looked at me as if I should have known the answer. “You’re Anna. We follow you. The dragons should follow you. The entire world needs to follow you.”

I restrained myself from correcting her, telling her that I wasn’t Anna, but Shanti, a girl from Colonia who had never asked for this.

Instead, I said something different, since the answer I wanted to say was unacceptable. “If everyone is supposed to be following me, then why does it seem that I have to beg others for help? Those who have come to Kalear don’t even reach a thousand. You heard Elder Tellor; Isaru has an army of thirty thousand, and two hundred dragons to boot. How am I supposed to stop that without selling everybody out to Shen?” I looked at Pallos. “No offense.”

“I understand where you’re coming from,” Pallos said. “But you speak of Shen as if he were a monster, as bad as the Nameless One or Shal, or even Odium.” A chill seemed to follow mentioning that horrible name, but Pallos pressed on nonetheless. “Shen is none of these things. For all we know, you could ask him for help and he would say yes, asking for nothing in return. It’s his goal to help humanity, after all.”

I didn’t find that too likely. He had offered his help when I’d met him the first time. I wasn’t ready to sell out then, but as options were closing and doom approaching, I saw little choice.

“What would getting his help look like?” I asked. “Shen wants total control over humanity. He . . . sort of sees me as a representative of the Elekai, even if most of the Elekai see me as nothing more than Taris’ murderer. What would it look like if he gave me an army and let me use it against my own people, who are forced into following Isaru if only because they see no alternative?”

Pallos shook his head. “I don’t know the answer to that, Shanti.”

“Maybe there aren’t any answers,” I said, almost giving in to despondency. “What’s the point of any of this?”

“Hey,” Fiona said. “This isn’t over until it’s over, right? You’re not the type to give up, Shanti.”

I felt a fire burn inside me at the mere thought that I might be giving up. “Of course, I’m not giving up. There’s too much riding on this. If I were to give up . . . it would be betraying everything.”

And Alex. Alex, where are you now?

The thought had come from seemingly nowhere. But I never felt lonelier than in that moment. I needed him more than ever . . . a person I had never met, a person I only knew from another’s memories.

Those memories were fast becoming my own. Would it be possible to find him . . . to talk to him? Or was the Xenofold too far gone for it to be a possibility?

There is always hope, I thought. No matter how dark, no matter how hopeless, we defy the odds and fight.

“I need some time to think,” I said.

Pallos nodded and headed for the cockpit. The others watched me as I headed for my cabin. I felt in desperate need of rest, though I knew sleep would be impossible to find.

“Shanti . . .?” Isa called, as I put a hand on the door.

I looked back, and something in my face must have told her I wasn’t in the mood to talk.

When I closed the door behind me, I buried my face in my pillow, so they couldn’t hear me cry.

* * *

I dreamed of Alex. If Anna had felt missing before, then now she was back in full force.

“Alex?”

He stood in front of me, looking at me with love in his warm, brown eyes. He was smiling, but he said nothing.

“Alex, please.” I reached for him, but my hand couldn’t touch him. He was barely out of reach, a mass of light shining behind his floating form.

“Anna,” he said.

Hearing my name on his lips made my heart miss a beat. “Yes?”

“Find me.”

Find me? I wanted nothing more than that.

“Tell me where you are, and I’ll be there.”

“Where you left me before,” Alex said. “I’ve been waiting . . .”

“Waiting? For how long?”

His form shimmered, seeming to become absorbed by the light.

“Alex? Alex! Please, tell me what to do!”

“Can’t speak here,” he said, his voice barely discernible above the light – the light which somehow now had sound, a sound which was drowning everything out. “Come here . . . meet me here . . .”

Then, there was nothing. The light was all-consuming, almost burning.

I didn’t know how I knew, but I needed to get out of this dream.

The light was replaced by utter darkness, and I knew exactly where I was. Somewhere out there, in the pitch black, Odium lurked.

Anna . . .

The voice was grotesque and mocking. I tried to make myself wake up, but I couldn’t. I was too late.

You are a fool to believe you can ever find Elekim, Odium said. That way is closed. You will never lay eyes on him again.

Somehow, he had witnessed my conversation with Alex, or had at least guessed at it. Perhaps that was why Alex hadn’t wanted to talk long.

He is weak, Anna. Too weak. The time of the Elekai is past.

I didn’t respond, not seeing the point in speaking to him. I felt my heart pounding in my chest, and the infinite cold of the surrounding darkness.

You are not mine, Odium said, his voice a hiss. Not yet.

The visage of a horrible face entered my mind’s eye, gloating and laughing. Its open mouth swallowed me whole, and I screamed.

* * *

Reality didn’t return to me immediately. Even when I sat up in my bed, I could see the darkness of space and hear Odium’s cruel laugh.

All was silent save the hum of Odin’s engines and the sound of my ragged breaths.

I lay back down, feeling cursed to never get a decent rest. My eyes were heavy and tired, and I would have slipped into sleep again if it weren’t for the fear I felt deep down inside.

I left the cabin, finding the wardroom empty. There were no sounds on the ship; everyone was probably following my example, getting sleep in their cabins while they could.

I headed for the flight deck, where I found Pallos in the pilot’s seat, a cup of coffee steaming in the cupholder below the panel beneath the control stick. Outside, the night sky was bright with the multitudes of stars that made up the main band of the Milky Way. There were so many stars up here, even more than I could see in the desert air of Colonia.

“You should get some more rest,” Pallos said. “You’ve barely been asleep for an hour.”

“That’s a nice thought,” I said, letting myself sink in the copilot’s chair. “Anything new to report?”

He shook his head, one of his long bangs falling in front of the right lens of his glasses. He brushed it out of the way. “Nothing but quiet.” He looked at me. I noticed his eyes were red. He was running on as little sleep as me. Perhaps even less. “Bad dreams?”

I nodded. “They’re coming every night, Pallos. It’s not just in my head.” I paused, unsure how much I should be telling him. “They’re messages.”

“From Odium, you mean.”

I nodded. “He’s . . . trying to discourage me.”

What’s worse, I thought, I feel like it’s working.

“What did he say?”

I sighed. “Nothing nice, but that’s to be expected. He said . . . what does it matter, anyway? Is he even worth listening to?”

“I can’t be the judge of that,” Pallos said.

Pallos wasn’t prying, for once. Part of a new strategy perhaps, since I usually didn’t tell him much when he did.

The effect ended up making me want to tell him more, and being aware of that fact didn’t stop me from speaking. It was either that, or the lack of sleep was affecting my judgment.

“He’s trying to get between me and Alex,” I said, my voice coming out more dangerously than I intended. “I mean . . . trying to keep Elekim out of this. Elekim controls the Xenofold, as you know.”

“I know,” Pallos said. He took a sip of his coffee while formulating his response. When he set the cup down, he said, “I’ve seen too much to believe that this world is only made up of the things we can directly experience. In the end, it’s the things we can’t see which end up having the most power over us.”

His words rung true. The Xenofold, the most powerful thing I knew, couldn’t be touched in the conventional sense. It could only be imparted on a select few, a number that grew smaller and smaller each passing year as Gifts disappeared from the Elekai. That same Xenofold was dying, and with its death would come the enslavement of the entire planet, Elekai or not.

“Maybe I have to go back,” I said. “Maybe . . .”

Before I could finish my sentence, footsteps entered the flight deck. I turned to see Isa, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. From her manner, it was clear rest eluded her, too, though most likely for different reasons.

“I’m . . . not interrupting anything, am I?”

My cheeks, and Pallos’, burned red at the mere suggestion.

“Sorry,” she said, with a joking smile. “I couldn’t resist.”

When she saw how serious we both were, her demeanor changed at once. “What’s going on?”

“Shanti’s had another nightmare,” Pallos said. “A bad one.”

“What about?” Isa said, pulling down one of the two jump seats built into the wall behind the pilots’ chairs.

I was about to start explaining my dream when my head started to ring as if struck by a hammer. I winced in pain, and my skin was dotted with sweat.

“Are you okay?” Isa asked. “You look rather pale.”

Pallos seemed to notice, too. “I chalked it up to exhaustion, but . . . are you feeling sick, Shanti?”

“Bad headache,” I said. Saying those very words just made it hurt worse.

I reached out until I found Silence, though it only did a little to calm my mind and bring relief.

“Let me get you some tea and cold towel,” Isa said.

She ran off before I could protest. All I could do was lean back and groan.

“If there’s anything I can do . . .” Pallos began.

I held up a hand. Every word sent sharp pain through my head. “Shush.”

Thankfully, Pallos went quiet.

Isa returned with hot tea five minutes later, along with the cool rag.

“We need to get you to your cabin,” she said. “Enough planning for tonight. You can pick up where you left off tomorrow morning.”

“The dreams,” I said, as she helped me up.

“I’ll stay with you. If anything happens, I’ll wake you up.”

It was the best I could hope for.

* * *

Isa laid me down on my bed, propping two pillows beneath my head. All my body was drenched with sweat, and though the ship wasn’t swaying too much, every movement felt as if the ship had turned upside down.

“Close your eyes,” Isa said, soothingly. “Seek Silence.”

I felt the cup of tea in my hands. As Isa tilted the mug up, I was forced to drink. I didn’t know what she mixed into it, but it was filmy and awful. I nearly coughed it up.

“You’re going to need Silence to get that down,” Isa said. “My mother would make it. Does wonders for all sorts of pains.”

I opened my eyes, but couldn’t see the murky liquid in the dark of my cabin.

After I’d finished it, its bitter, sickly taste was left on my tongue. I laid back down and whimpered.

“Sleep,” she said. “I’ll be right here.”

I closed my eyes. It took a while, but the ship seemed to stop moving so much. I felt a sense of well-being, a feeling I knew didn’t come from myself, but the drink Isa had given me.

I was about to ask exactly what she had put in there, but I was already drifting off into a sleep that was, thankfully, completely dreamless.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

THE NEXT MORNING I AWOKE refreshed and clear-headed. Isa snored softly at the foot of the bed, her blonde hair falling over the side and hitting the deck below.

I did my best not to disturb her, but ended up tripping and bumping my shoulder into the wall, hard. Isa snored, as if in protest to the noise, before settling back down to sleep.

When I entered the wardroom and shut my cabin door softly behind me, I heard the clank and clamor of pots in the galley. I made my way there to find Fiona cooking a breakfast from some of the stores we packed from Kalear. She looked to be making eggs mixed with various vegetables, and four pieces of toast popped up from the toaster on cue as soon as I entered.

“Coffee’s in the pot,” she said. She looked at the coffee maker in awe. “Remarkable machine!”

Until Fiona had boarded the Odin, she had never seen such a thing. Shara, for that matter, hadn’t either. It was hard to believe that piece of equipment was four centuries old and still working, having survived for hundreds of years under the ice where Bunker 84 was housed.

“Thanks for cooking, Fiona.” I reached for a mug, brushing past Fiona in the tight quarters. After I poured a cup and had a drink, I told her about the dream of the previous night.

Fiona set the cooked eggs aside, her eyes troubled. “He’s been taunting you rather a lot, lately. Why?”

I shrugged. “I’m getting tired of it. Isa made me some tea last night, and it settled me down pretty well.”

Even thinking about the dream now, I felt myself break out into a cold sweat.

I told her the rest, about my horrible headache.

“Sounds like classic Aether withdrawal,” Fiona said.

“You think that has something to do with it?” I asked. “I remember that Shara’s Aether addiction was completely removed the first time we went into the Hyperfold.”

“That’s true,” Fiona said. “Maybe it doesn’t really work that way for you, and assuming it doesn’t, then the withdrawals could possibly be the source of your nightmares. Aether, after all, is a conduit to the Hyperfold, and the Hyperfold is ultimately under the control of Odium. The withdrawals could trigger memories and ties to that place. It’s likely there will be echoes, at least until the effects wear off completely.”

“And when will that be?”

Fiona was silent on that point. It was common knowledge that even one dose of Aether was enough for a user to be hooked for life. I’d had two. Elder Isandru, when he had walked the world, had had hundreds, if not thousands, over the span of his many years.

The conversation was interrupted when Isa walked into the galley, bleary-eyed. “Food.”

“Yes, it’s time to eat,” Fiona agreed. “Let’s get some food in her before she bites us.”

This earned Fiona a withering glare. I smiled as I headed for the flight deck to let Pallos know breakfast was ready. Shara was also there, and together, we assembled at the table, digging into our meal.

After a few minutes, we began discussing the business of the day.

“The terrain around the mountain was too rough for a landing at nightfall,” Pallos said, “so we’re at a hover. We have the fuel; I filled Odin up at a lake while you guys were in Sylva.”

“I’ll have to show you how to use the topographical scanner,” I said. “You don’t need to see where you’re landing to land.”

“I know that,” Pallos said. “But with the dragons and all, I didn’t want to risk anything.”

I had to concede that it was probably the right call, even if I believed we had nothing to fear from Tiamat.

“When are we going to make contact?” Shara asked.

“I’ll have to reach out to Quietus,” I said. “I’m not even sure all of us going will be necessary.”

“All of us should go together, if only for solidarity,” Fiona said.

“You’ll need someone to watch your back,” Isa said, no longer grumpy now that her plate was scraped clean.

I wasn’t sure how much risk I was in here, but I didn’t protest the idea. When dealing with dragons, it was best to be careful.

“Let’s land,” I said.

* * *

We landed the ship at the foot of Dragonspire. The towering peak was lit by the morning light, the xen and forest clinging to its face and basking golden under the sun. Against this backdrop flew several dozen dragons, their screams piercing the air. They were incredibly hard to pick out against the trees; the majority seemed to be Askaleen, whose pinks scales blended perfectly with the scenery. The air was warm and pleasant. Autumn didn’t seem to reach this far south.

I walked toward the mountain, the warm breeze blowing through my hair, which had grown several inches by this point due to the healing given by the Seekers. I held up a hand, letting the others know to stay behind. As they fell back, I scaled a hill which gave an unhindered view of Dragonspire.

I sought Silence and reached out with my mind.

Quietus.

I sent the message out and waited.

“I’m getting nothing,” I said.

Shara stood on my other side. “Should we just stay and wait?”

I didn’t see another option, so I nodded.

Shanti.

Quietus’s voice entered my mind as if it were my own.

Quietus, where are you?

We are gathered near here. I will come get you.

The connection was severed, and the others were looking at me questioningly.

“Quietus is coming,” I said. “She said most of the dragons are gathered close to here.”

“Doing what?” Shara asked.

I shook my head. “I didn’t ask. But I’m sure we’ll find out soon.”

We waited there on the hill for about a quarter of an hour before Quietus’s form appeared from around the side of Dragonspire, her black scales glittering in the bright sunlight.

Isa, Shara, and I backed away to give Quietus room to land on top of the hill. She glided toward us, picking up speed at an alarming rate. If I didn’t know it was her, I would have been screaming at such a terrifying sight.

At just the last moment, she expanded her wings and slowed, lifting just above the ground and landing nimbly. She folded her wings as both of her glowing white eyes focused on me. No matter how many times I met her gaze, I could never quite get used to its intensity.

Come with me, she said, her voice entering my head.

What about my friends?

They should remain here, Quietus said. Tiamat is already irked having to deal with one human.

I faced the others. “I have to go on alone. You can wait here until I get back.”

“For how long?” Shara asked.

“I’m not sure. I have to go now.”

Shara nodded. “All right. We’ll hold down the fort.”

I walked forward and Quietus lowered her body to make it easier for me to mount her. Once I was firmly seated between the two spikes directly below her neck, she turned and immediately ran down the hill, stretching her wings and gliding on the air before giving a few powerful flaps that sent us airborne.

I turned to look at the others, whose forms were shrinking with surprising speed. Isa waved while the others looked on worriedly.

* * *

Once we flew past the mountain, I could immediately see where we were going. A vast forest spread before us in a valley, in the middle of which was a large, pink lake filled with ichor. Perhaps as many as one hundred dragons stood around it, with a good half of them in the middle of it, bathing.

What are they doing? I asked.

Something I cannot seem to talk them out of, Quietus said. They are leaving Earth to its fate.

Wait. What?

We better hurry, Quietus said.

Quietus let out a bone-rattling roar that, at once, caused every dragon to turn its attention skyward.

I could see the largest of the dragons – Tiamat – standing in the center of the lake, the ichor halfway up his torso. I could still feel his eyes boring into us from afar. His shoulders were lowered, and his tail twitching, in what seemed to be a fighting posture.

Several dragons made way as Quietus shot down from the sky; I held on tightly. Though I wasn’t in any real danger of falling, my heart was still beating out of my chest.

Quietus let out another scream, drawing up with her wings and landing with a hard thump. I slid off her side and padded lightly on the ground. I turned to face Tiamat, who was glaring at me from the center of the lake.

The human returns. His voice resonated in my head.

Anna returns, Tiamat, Quietus said.

Tiamat made no response to this.

We are nearly ready, he said. You’re just in time, Anna human.

In time for what? I asked.

To take the journey into the Xenomatrix, Quietus said. To leave Earth.

There were about fifty dragons surrounding Tiamat in the lake, whom I somehow knew to be on his side.

All of them?

Yes, Quietus said. The dragons have been debating the question for one hundred days exactly. This, the one hundredth day, is when every dragon must decide for themselves what they will do: to follow Tiamat into the next world to carry on the Eternal War, or to stand and fight here, risking it all.

How could they leave? I asked. How could they give up?

They have deemed Earth’s Xenofold too weak to stand against the Radaskim, Quietus said. They believe it best to transfer their minds to the next world. Wherever and whenever that next world is.

But we need every one of them to fight here! I said. We have no hope of defeating Isaru’s dragons without their help.

Then you must convince them, Quietus said. For I could not.

Me? What can I say that you haven’t?

Quietus looked down at me, her eyes seeming sad. I don’t know, Anna. What I do know is that Askal and I have not swayed him, or those who follow him, in the least.

So, it was all up to me, then. And if my first and only conversation with Tiamat was any indication, this wasn’t going to go well at all.

Nonetheless, all the dragons were looking at me. I had to say something, to give my pitch and hope for the best.

You’re giving this world up, Tiamat, I said. I never pegged you for a coward.

I felt the dragon’s collective shock as if it were my own emotion. Other than Quietus and Askal, Tiamat was the highest-ranking dragon among the Elekai, and even the lowliest dragon was above the highest human.

I will not the suffer the insolence of your kind, Tiamat said. I will speak with you, but only out of respect for my king and queen. Say what you must, and be gone. This council is beyond your comprehension.

I ignored the insult. This is the only place we can make our stand. Mistakes have been made – mistakes that cannot easily be undone. But if you think we can win elsewhere, when Earth is the only victory we’ve ever had . . .

It is too late to fight, Anna, Tiamat said. Hyperborea set the scar that can never be healed. The world was doomed over a hundred years ago, and there is nothing we can do to save Earth’s Xenofold. Elekim, and the humanity he protects, will face Radaskim assimilation. There is nothing we can do to help you, for faithless humanity has not helped itself. You are a curse to the Xenofold, a false branch that must be cut off. Humanity was never meant to have the Gifts, for they only abused their power.

You’re right that nothing can be done, but only if you give up, I said. Do you really think you can win if you run? When have the Elekai ever won, except here? A thousand worlds have fallen to the Radaskim, Tiamat. Earth alone is the only one that has stood. Does that not mean anything to you?

It does. It is a lesson to us all. May that be a lesson to us all, Tiamat said. The Radaskim can be defeated again.

Because of humanity’s sacrifice, I said. Faithless humanity, as you seem to call us. What Alex did was not faithless, Tiamat. Though you’re a dragon with access to the memories of the Xenofold, perhaps you’ve chosen to forget that fact. I was there, Tiamat. I was there before you were even born!

Tiamat bared his teeth. You are not she. You have her face, and you even have something of her spirit. But your powers are weak, and will not avail you. As they didn’t when you tried to defeat the Fallen One in his own domain. Be gone, for you don’t know of what you speak.

My son, Askal said, with an agitated flutter of his wings, do you expect the Radaskim High Xenominds to commit the same errors twice? Anna Reborn is right. It is folly to flee. It is folly to leave the humans to their fate. Anna is right.  Before you were even born, the humans fought with us as battle brothers against Askala and her swarm. By the power of Elekim, all the Radaska were freed from Askala’s grip. Those few of us who are still alive from those days will fight to the end.

Tiamat let out a low growl, a growl which vibrated my very bones. My heart quickened as he waded through the ichor. His scales glowed with luminescence as the life-filled liquid parted to make a path for him by some unseen force. I realized it was Tiamat controlling the ichor, becoming one with it.

Elekim saved the dragons, father. But Elekim’s power has waned to nearly nothing, so much so that he is almost gone. Trying to waken him, as Anna has wakened here, might be the death of the Xenofold itself. So long as the Hyperfold exists, there is no strength. Tiamat turned his glowing, white eyes onto me. You have failed to destroy the Hyperfold, human, as I foretold last we met.

We tried, I said. We nearly succeeded. Even now, Elder Isandru is in the Hyperfold. He’s fighting, Tiamat. I would help him if I could. If I knew how.

Quietus and Askal turned to look at me, along with every other dragon gathered at the lake. This was news to them, and they wanted to hear more.

Is there a way I can help him, Quietus, to add my power to his?

You are Anna, Quietus said. The Xenofold serves you as much as it serves any of us. You simply need to command it.

What do you mean, to command it?

Even if she had the power, Tiamat said, the Xenofold does not have the power to give.

Be silent, Tiamat, Quietus said. I will hear nothing more of your bitterness. If it is in your wish to depart to the next world, then we will not hinder you.

You must see, Mother, that it is hopeless! You would die for these faithless humans, who have caused the destruction of this world?

You forget, my son, that we dragons rendered a similar destruction unto ourselves, long, long ago . . . we are an older race, and wiser one, now. But only through much pain and turmoil.

All were quiet as they listened to Quietus speak.

Our kind was young once, she continued, as young as the humans are now, when there was nothing that could even be called a human on this world. The Xenofold has blessed us with the wisdom of ancient times, wisdom closed off to the humans who have not been fully assimilated. Though imperfect . . . I judge the humans to be our brothers and sisters. I call this world mine as much as they do, Tiamat. All your life you have lived here, but if you believe your true home is among the stars . . . then I will not hinder your flight. I only want peace and happiness for you, and I would be grieved to ever see you die. However, I would be even more grieved to see you betray the sacrifice made my those older than you. And yes, even braver than you.

Tiamat was struck silent for a moment; but only for a moment. But how can I have happiness when you would throw away your own life? I could feel his grief and pain emanating from him. When you, father, and the old ones stay to fight a war that you are sure to lose? Why is it right for us, who have eternal life, to trade it for those who don’t have it? The life of an eternal being is worth a thousand of a lesser one!

That is where we disagree, my son, Askal said solemnly. A life is a life is a life. When we rate one above another, whatever the reason, then we have lost ourselves. Do not deceive yourself into thinking the humans deserve the fate that awaits them should you abandon them here; that is the lie you tell yourself, for you were grieved long ago. I do not believe you hate humanity, my son. You loved them so much that when they hurt you, when they disappointed you, you chose to hate them. You are right in that it was their sin, their folly, that created the situation we are now in. But never forget that we dragons birthed the original sin . . . the sin that became the Radaskim, the Aberration, that will hunt us throughout the stars for millennia, from world to world, until there are no more worlds and no more fights . . . only the cold dark of eternal slavery, of minds that will no longer be ours, of thralldom to the dark masters until the end of time. It is a journey I will not take, and that is what waits for you, if you run now.

Tiamat was silent as he tried to guess at the meaning of his father’s words. Father . . .

He continued nonetheless. Being reborn on the next world would reset everything to the mean, as the Nameless One dictates. The Radaska who follow you will be doomed to a life of slavery, unless a new Elekim can free them, as happened on Earth.

I can save them, Father, Tiamat said. I am strong enough. You will see.

Perhaps you have power enough, Quietus said. I don’t know what fate awaits you, my son. Whatever you choose . . . wherever you go . . . a mother’s love follows you. When you waken under a new sun and stretch your wings for the first . . . just know you may not hear my voice among the stars and the Eternal Song. Earth, in all likelihood, will be a graveyard.

But I would hear you! Tiamat said. If you journey with me, we will survive. There are thousands of millions of stars, plenty of time to run, to plan, to fight another day!

I am not running, my son, Quietus said. I am through running. I will stand here and die, if need be. I owe Elekim that debt for my freedom.

Tiamat turned to face Askal. And you, father? Surely, you see the folly of staying . . . how can we stay when the Xenofold is so far fallen?

I don’t know if we can win, son, Askal said. But I know that fleeing is not the answer. Elekim would never forgive me, and more . . . I could never forgive myself. What you must ask, Tiamat, is if you can live with yourself, having made such a decision.

But faithless humanity . . . The thought dissipated as Tiamat turned his white, angry eyes upon me. It was as if he blamed me for everything that had happened, as if I were personally responsible for dooming his parents to eternal death.

If the Radaskim were victorious, then Earth’s Xenofold would be assimilated into the Radaskim. All those bound to the Xenofold . . . all the Elekai who died since the Xenofold’s creation, dragon and human . . . would become the slaves of Odium.

To lose would be a fate worse than death. It would be eternal torture, to become a mockery of everything we fought against.

Staying on Earth was not an easy choice, honor or not. I could not begrudge any being . . . not even Tiamat . . . if they chose to leave.

The Xenofold will soon be too weak to make the journey possible, Tiamat said, resignedly. And at the point of decision, I find my own courage failing.

It isn’t over, I said, directly to Tiamat. There is still hope that the Xenofold can be saved. Whatever you choose, there is no sure answer. But if you stay with us . . . if you fight . . .then I can promise you that you will see the good in humanity that you’ve forgotten. And yes, you’ll see evil, too. But our fight is the same fight, Tiamat. I can’t ask you to forgive us. If we work together, I believe we can undo humanity’s mistakes.

You do not know that.

I know that we won’t if we never try. You and your dragons could be the difference in whatever battles lie ahead. This is our best shot. If you stay, Tiamat, I’ll show you our good side. My friends will show you that, too.

I have seen all that I wish of humanity, Anna, Tiamat said. I grant that humans may have been different once, long ago before I was even born. But no longer. They have ruined the Xenofold that was gifted to them. They have poisoned this world from the inside out. They have created false realities that will be their undoing! Now, let justice fall.

I couldn’t deny any of these things. I knew, ultimately, there was nothing more I could say. It wasn’t my place to choose to believe for Tiamat. I could only give him reasons to stay.

Do what you were born to do, I said, after a long silence. It’s up to you to decide what that is.

There was nothing more for me to say. Quietus, I’m ready to leave.

CHAPTER TWENTY

AS QUIETUS FLEW ME BACK to Dragonspire, my heart was so heavy that it felt as if it were in my stomach. Neither of us said a word to the other, each lost in our own thoughts.

At last, I couldn’t stand the silence.

Why won’t he fight, Quietus?

It was a long time before she gave me an answer.

He’s been fighting his entire life, Anna. His spirit has been broken.

What do you mean? How did that happen?

My son was born during the golden age of the dragons. The Xenofold was strong, unspoiled, and we dragons flourished in the Red Wild, creating gardens around the world. As the Xenofold flourished, so did the human Elekai.

So, what happened? I asked.

Tiamat is right. The gifts of the Xenofold corrupted the hearts of men. They used their power to rule over those who did not have the blessings of the Xenofold, and they sought to keep those they called Bloodless from gaining the Xenofold’s favor. This happened several generations following the end of the Ragnarok War, so there was nothing you could have done, Anna, even if your prophecies predicted it.

I knew about all that. What I didn’t know was what it had to do with Tiamat.

Though the human Elekai were powerful, they were the minority, Quietus said. Even so, over the span of a human generation, Colonia expanded to the height of its power, ruling most of what was once known as the Wasteland. Though the empire was wealthy, the Elekai did not share in its bounty with the Bloodless. Seeking a better life elsewhere, these unfortunate souls fled to the Red Wild, hoping to find the power given to their masters. Most of them stayed, becoming the Wilder tribes you know today.

But the empire fragmented when the Bloodless realized their own power, and they overthrew their Elekai oppressors. The dragons were divided. Many did not wish to harbor the human Elekai in the Red Wild . . . and yet, the new Colonian regime was brutal, seeking vengeance for all the wrongs the Bloodless had suffered. Tiamat was among those who wished to save any who fled to the Red Wild.

And you?

Askal and I saved as many as we could . . . even if we knew by our prophecies, and by Anna’s, that admitting the humans into the Wild would be its undoing. But we could not ignore their pleas for help. Many of the dragons were against harboring the humans, believing their natures to be fallen. They warned that the humans would abuse their powers once again, if ever given the chance.

Which they did, first with Colonia, and then with Hyperborea. Perhaps the only reason the Elekai hadn’t done any further damage was due to the weakening of their Gifts.

There was peace for a time, Quietus said. The human Elekai formed the kingdoms of the Makai, the Annajen, and the Samalites. The latter of these founded the city of Hyperborea, the story of which you already know. It was Tiamat who led the Samalites there, and he wished to lead them further on to the Hollow, where they would be able to live in paradise. But the journey was hard, and the Samalites’ strength wavered near the end. In the end, they settled in Hyperborea, seeing that the land was plentiful. Tiamat knew that if they settled in the Crater, it could be the beginning of their undoing. But they did not heed Tiamat, and so he left them there, calling them faithless and fickle. The towers of Hyperborea were grown as soon as the power of the Sea was tapped through the Xenofont. While they created many wonders, their power led, once again, to empire. Other kingdoms were subjugated, until Hyperborea’s reach extended from sea to sea. Maintaining that empire of vanity was too much for the Xenofold; it was against its nature. And so, the Sea weakened, both from overuse and its sensing of humanity’s ill-intent.

Even if I knew parts of the story, I’d never heard it as a cohesive whole. I waited for Quietus to continue.

Tiamat grew in bitterness when he saw the increasing corruption of the city. Worse, he blamed himself for causing the slow death of the Xenofold. It was his generosity, his goodness, that was spit upon by humanity. And it was thus in humanity’s lust for power that Odium of the Dark found his opening in the person of Rakhim Shal.

And now it might be too late, I finished.

Yes, Quietus said. It very well might.

Tiamat’s bitterness made sense considering Quietus’ words. I couldn’t imagine how it must have felt to give everything, to place such faith and trust in people, only to have that trust squandered.

I completely understood why Tiamat would not want to trust humanity again . . . why he didn’t want to trust even me. In his mind, he was just doing what he should have done the first time . . . let justice be served. Let the humans die, who were a cancer to the Xenofold.

* * *

When we got back to my friends, I dismounted Quietus and walked up to them. I spent the next few minutes explaining everything that had happened, including what Quietus had told me on the way back.

All of them were silent as they pondered what I said.

“So, what do we do?” Isa asked. “How many dragons will fight for us?”

“Fight with us,” I said. “And I don’t know. They still have to make their decisions. But I’d like to think I gave Tiamat something to think about.”

I meant every word back there, Quietus said. I mean to fight to the end, and so does Askal.

I nodded. That’s both of us, then. The Novans are attacking the Makai, Quietus. We believe they’re working with Isaru. Isaru plans on attacking Colonia while the Novans attack the Makai. We have no way of stopping Isaru in time.

I see, Quietus said. So, you want us to intercept Isaru’s forces?

It was too much to ask. If it came to open battle, many Elder Dragons would die.

Harry them, I said. Slow them down however you can. If you can pick a good fight, then take it. But right now, it’s best to delay Isaru’s army, if possible.

Quietus immediately saw my intent. You believe he can still be saved.

I nodded. Yes.

I’ll do this for you, Quietus said. As wise as we are, the Elder Dragons failed to see his threat. Rakhim Shal made fools of us all. This is our chance to correct the mistake. Quietus’s white eyes blinked. And what will you do in the meantime, Anna?

Do you have any suggestions? Fiona and I have talked about reaching the Hyperfold through dreams. But Isaru was there, guarding the way in . . .

I don’t doubt that, Quietus said. You must try again, Shanti. If you can reach the Hyperfold’s Point of Origin in your dream, then there may be hope.

I did do that, I said. Is that important?

Have you felt different lately? Quietus asked.

Her question triggered my memory of feeling curiously empty following that dream.

I have, I said. It’s felt like a part of me is missing.

Have you heard from Anna lately? Has her voice spoken to you?

Now that I thought about it, she hadn’t. What are you saying, Quietus?

In your dream, Quietus said, a part of you left and entered the Hyperfold to join Isandru. You couldn’t do it yourself, but Anna could have.

So, what you’re saying is . . . Anna is there now?

A part of her might be there, or perhaps the whole of her, Quietus said. In either case, her power inside you has diminished. I sensed it in you as soon as we met.

Anna was gone, then. I had wished for such a thing ever since I discovered who I was, but the possibility of it being actually true made me feel queasy. Anna was my shield, giving me abilities far beyond myself. Something told me some of her abilities remained, or perhaps a part of herself, but I felt the truth of it from Quietus’ explanation. She was gone.

If I didn’t have her, what did I have?

You are strong in your own right, Quietus said. And this is only temporary. Anna is calling you, Shanti, to return to the Hyperfold. She has gone where you could not go yourself, since she is only spirit.

Why did she go? I asked. Is she helping Isandru?

I can’t say, Quietus said. She lowered her head, moving her snout forward until it was nearly touching my nose. I felt the power resonating from her presence, and a great tenderness. I am sorry for your friend. I felt your story as we rode to the lake today.

It’s been hard, I said. But Isandru may still be alive. I can only hope that Anna is doing something to save him. You’ve given me new hope, Quietus.

In time, you will return, too, Quietus said.

I have to go back, then, I said, almost shuddering at the mere thought. If Anna has gone to do something, to prepare the way perhaps, then I need to go, too. I just don’t know when, or how we’re going to defeat all those Mindless guarding the entrance . . .

You will know the right time, Quietus said. As I said, some of Anna remains in you. She’ll let you know when the time is right.

How will I know? Will it be a feeling?

But Quietus only backed away, staring at me with a sadness that said she didn’t know, and that was for me alone to discover.

“Quietus!” I cried.

Be strong, Shanti, she said, before turning and gliding off the cliff.

Her roar resonated in the midmorning air as we stood watching, until her form was small against the mountainside.

“She says that the dragons following her are going to slow down Isaru,” I said.

“That’s good,” Isa said. “Did you learn something? You seem scared.”

I gathered myself before telling them. “Anna may be gone from inside me, now. That means a lot of her abilities, if not all of them, will also be gone. During that dream I had where I entered the Hyperfold, Quietus said Anna left, to go where I could not. Inside the Hyperfold. After that dream . . . I’ve felt empty. Like a part of me was missing.” I paused to think things through. “It means, someday soon, I’ll have to return to rejoin her. Quietus said I’d know when the time was right.”

Everyone was quiet, considering what I said. They didn’t ask when that time would be, thankfully. I didn’t want to think about that.

“You are strong in your own right,” Fiona said. “As strong as any of us. It was the reason you were admitted to the Sanctum in the first place.”

“I may not be able to do some of the things I could before,” I said. “Hopefully, it won’t come to a point where I need her abilities.”

“We can return to Shenshi in the meantime,” Pallos offered. “It’s worth asking Shen if he has any forces available.”

“Forces with strings attached,” Shara said distastefully.

Well, there was little I could do about that. If I was going to Shenshi to beg for reinforcements, I’d have to take the strings, too.

Besides, I might be able to learn something new from Shen. It had been a while since we talked.

“We’ll head that way,” I said. “Since there is little else we can do in the meantime. The only way we have of stopping an army is getting one ourselves. Shen might be our only way of getting it.”

We boarded the ship, lifted off, and then flew west toward Shenshi, leaving Dragonspire behind.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

OUR NEXT STOP WAS SHENSHI. It had been several months since my first and only audience with Shen, the artificially intelligent ruler of the empire that bore his name. I had a few hours to prepare what I would say, assuming I even got the chance to speak with him.

“We’ll be allowed to fly in, given who we are,” Pallos said. “But don’t be surprised if the circumstances will be different this time.”

“Different, how?” I asked.

“Your first audience was an introduction,” Pallos said. “It was a way for Shen to share his ultimate vision for humanity with you.”

“Yes,” I said. “Complete domination.”

“Domination?” Pallos asked. “An extreme choice of words.”

“Isn’t that what he wants?”

Pallos pondered this. “It is . . . difficult to think from his perspective, so I can’t claim to know his mind. Indeed, his thoughts and even way of thinking are so complicated that he might as well be a god. His knowledge is vast, and in the hundreds of years of his life, if one were to call it a life, Shen has gained more experience in ruling than any human ever could, living or dead. His chief prerogative is to prevent violence, and to protect humanity. Sometimes, that means controlling and protecting us from ourselves.”

“And what if humanity doesn’t want to be protected?” I asked. “I told him that last time. The Elekai will not exchange their freedom for protection. If Shen truly wishes for us to be saved, he will do so unconditionally.”

“These are all things you’ll need to discuss with him, not me,” Pallos said. “A world under Shen’s protection wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Everywhere Shen has been allowed to rule, peace has reigned. This is most of the civilized world; America is the only exception. It’s . . . a special case, due to the Xenofold.”

“Elekim is here,” I said. “Shen’s competition.”

Pallos was silent on that point, at least while he thought of a response. “Not competition. I can’t say what Shen thinks about Elekim, but they are both similar in that they are godlike beings. A collection of knowledge; Shen from ancient humanity’s vast datastores, and Elekim from the collective memory of the Elekai. Both have a different vision for the world and humanity.”

“To give ourselves to Shen would not only disrespect my heritage,” I said. “It would be a betrayal to Alex. Anna’s husband gave himself to save humanity. And if everything the Nameless One said is true, then Shen desires the death of the Xenofold.”

“Which would bring about the end of the Hyperfold,” Pallos pointed out. “The Hyperfold will destroy the Xenofold eventually. Is it not better for both to not exist than just the Hyperfold?”

I had to admit that was probably the case, but Pallos was ignoring the most important point. “Without the Xenofold, we are defenseless against the Radaskim. I know Shen is powerful, but this coming invasion will be different, Pallos. It will make what happened last time seem like nothing. Earth is a battlefield of a far greater struggle. Perhaps the most important battlefield. Even if every power on Earth submitted to Shen, what does Shen have that can stop the Radaskim’s advance?”

Pallos shook his head. “I don’t know, Shanti. But you can ask him that when we get to Shenshi.”

Looking at the topographical display, we were due in thirty minutes. “Is it time to reach out to them?”

“Not yet,” Pallos said. “It’s best to just delay until they hail us.”

“You don’t want them to see us coming?”

“Likely, we’ve already been detected,” Pallos said.

“This ship can’t be detected by radar.”

“Shen has his ways,” Pallos said.

I didn’t bother to ask for clarification on that cryptic statement.

“I should brief the others on what to expect,” I said. “And try to get some idea of what to talk about with Shen.”

Pallos nodded. “Of course.” He turned to look at me, his eyes sincere behind his glasses. “Remember. We of the Shen are not the enemy. I care about everyone aboard this ship, Shanti. I’m not merely a spy, to put it indelicately. I openly serve Shen and the Collective, because I believe in its ideals . . . and I believe there is space for the Elekai’s ideals within its bounds. Come what may, we will need to work together to preserve this planet. If we can’t . . .”

Pallos didn’t need to finish his sentence. We all knew what would happen if everyone put their individual goals above the safety of humanity.

Assimilation and extinction at the hands of the Radaskim and Odium.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Pallos. And thank you for your honesty.”

Secretly, though, I was doubtful that Pallos and I would end up sharing the same long-term goals.

* * *

It wasn’t long before we reached the domed city of Shenshi. It was perfectly opaque on the outside, extending as much as two miles off the ground at its highest point, a giant pink bubble that was visible from miles away.

When no acknowledgement of our presence came from the city, Pallos cursed and reached for the radio. He took a minute to find the proper channel and spoke into his headset. “Command? This is Odin. Can you read me?”

It didn’t take long for a female voice to crackle out of the speakers. “Pallos Sarin. It’s been a while since your last update.”

The voice sounded vaguely familiar. I wondered who I possibly knew in Shenshi, but realized it could only be one person: the doctor who had treated me after the fight with the crawlers at Northold.

“Forgive me, Mareen. I’ve had nothing but bad news to report.”

“It’s your job to report the news, good or bad,” Mareen Xiao berated. “What could this bad news be? Is Shanti there with you?”

“Let me speak to her,” I said.

“Put me on with her, Pallos,” Mareen Xiao said.

“And my report?” Pallos asked.

Pallos’s question was met with an exasperated sigh, at which he rolled his eyes and passed his headset to me.

“Hello?” I asked, putting it on.

“Shanti. Are you all right? Any new injuries? Did the treatment take effectively?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine there,” I said. “You wanted to talk to me about something?”

“We hadn’t heard a report from Pallos, so we were assuming the worst. I thought it would be better for you to tell me what’s happened. In your own words.”

I knew I shouldn’t trust her, even if I wanted to. She was on the same side as Pallos, and anything I said would be taken straight to Shen. For all I knew, he was listening, too. I decided to just tell some of the truth. “We got held up in Ragnarok Crater, and were separated from Pallos during that time. Now, though, I need to speak to Shen. If that’s possible.”

“He’s been waiting for your arrival,” Dr. Xiao said. “Pallos will know where to land. I’ll be at the landing point to escort you to the Crystal Temple personally.”

“Okay,” I said. I was a little unnerved at how coordinated this all was. “I’ll see you soon.”

I handed the headset back to Pallos. When he put it on, he looked confused.

“She hung up on me,” he said.

“What?” I asked. I’d never heard that term before.

“Closed the channel,” he said, looking a bit miffed.

“Well, you hadn’t reported to her for a while. Is she your boss or something?”

“Err . . . something like that,” Pallos said. “She’s the head of the American Science Group, and unfortunately, engineers like myself also fall under her purview.”

“She has a direct line to Shen, then.”

Pallos shook her head. “No one goes to Shen directly except through the Guardians,” he said. “I imagine a few of them we’ll be at the landing site, too.”

Pallos input some commands on the display, bringing up a map with our flight path. “Less than half an hour out.”

Which meant I would be speaking to Shen very soon.

* * *

When we broke through the pink barrier of the dome, it was to the sight of Shenshi’s hundreds of black towers rising to needle points, spread against the backdrop of the blue Pacific Ocean. We flew high above the buildings, waiting until we reached the coordinates Dr. Xiao sent us. It was only then that we lowered the ship on the top of a tall skyscraper.

Everyone was up front with us, watching out the windshield and gawking at the towering buildings. Both above and between the edifices floated billowing airships, transporting passengers around the vast metropolis. In front of us directly rose the massive Crystal Temple, the tallest and widest building in Shenshi, its top jutting with dozens of wicked, bladelike spires.

On the landing pad below, about half a dozen people scurried to the sides to give way to Odin, while a couple dozen more waited in the wings to receive us. Within a couple of minutes, we had touched down and were powering off.

We went to the wardroom and exited the ship, walking onto the windy roof. Dr. Xiao was there to greet us, wearing the same slacks and lab coat as on our first meeting, her black hair done up in a proper bun.

“Shanti,” she said, offering a hand and a smile. “It’s good of you to come.” She gave no reaction to my shorter hair, or newly earned scar.

I forced the smile back, taking note of the group of old, robed men bearing swords on the edge of the building, all watching silently. Despite their attire, I did not make the mistake of thinking these were Seekers. They were the Collective’s equivalent: The Guardians, sworn to protect the Crystal Temple which housed Shen’s mind, or at least a part of it, here in America.

The one I noticed first was High Guardian Mian, who I’d spent a little over a week traveling with to Odin’s crash site in the California mountains. As he approached, he inclined his head, removing his hood and revealing a mass of gray hair. “Anna,” he said. “You have returned.”

I nodded my own response. “High Guardian Mian.”

“I will lead you personally to the Crystal Temple, taking over for Dr. Xiao. We shouldn’t keep Shen waiting.”

I turned to the others. “Stay with the ship. I’ll be back soon.”

I followed Mian to a waiting airship that was anchored to the end of the building.

Guardian Mian broke the silence on our way to the ship. “Mia isn’t with you.”

I didn’t want to deliver the news, but I knew the High Guardian would want to know. “She passed away, High Guardian.”

“Oh,” he said, sadly. For the first time, something other than neutrality registered on his face. “I regret that very much.”

We said nothing more as we boarded the airship. I took a seat next to one of the back windows, waiting as the ship was unmoored and drifted into the open air. The furnace burned as it heated the air, the ship steering in the direction of the temple.

The passage was short and silent, only taking a few minutes. A few Guardian attendants were ready to grab the airship’s lines as it lowered toward the walkway leading into the Temple. As we waited for the ship to come to a stop, I remembered my last journey here, not too fondly. The Crystal Temple’s enormous size had hidden an interior labyrinth, filled with visions that didn’t seem to be part of reality. At some point inside, I had found Mia, and together, we had found a duplication of the Sea of Creation and the Xenofold’s Point of Origin. Only by entering that did I find myself speaking to Shen.

I didn’t know if I had to take that same journey again, but I knew I had to mentally prepare, just in case. A weak mind would go mad from the things seen inside the Temple.

Guardian Mian walked me out of the ship, and led me as far as the wide, open archway that led inside the cavernous space. Peering inside, I could see the long hallway, supported on either side by tall pillars. The configuration was different than the last time I was here, or else this was simply a different entrance.

“Follow the hallway,” Mian said, simply. “I leave you here.”

He merely waited, and something told me he had nothing more to say.

There was nothing left to do except enter the Temple. Trying to steady my pounding heart, I walked forward, my hand on the hilt of my blade. I couldn’t help but feel I was making a horrible mistake and that this might be the last time I ever saw sunlight.

* * *

It didn’t take long for the darkness to swallow me. Small lanterns on the corridor’s side were the only illumination, and the only sound was my footsteps as I walked deeper into the Temple.

After a couple of minutes, I looked back to see the entrance had become a small, semicircular point of light. Ahead I could only see the hallway diverge left and right. When I reached it, I took a left turn. Unlike the first time I came here, I wasn’t concerned about going the wrong way.

I knew that all paths led to Shen.

I wandered the building, my footsteps the only sound. I went upstairs, I went downstairs, I turned left, and I turned right, passing through empty rooms and passing through dark archways. All the visions I’d received on my first visit were completely absent now. The Temple was barren, its vast spaces filled with nothing but empty air and darkness.

After an indeterminate amount of time, I turned into an archway that seemed to lead to something different from the other rooms I’d passed through. I entered a large, empty space in the shape of a perfect cube. There was no ornamentation; only the doorway leading in and out. I walked a few steps forward when a sudden sliding sound from behind caused me to turn.

There was no longer any way out. A door had closed, so closely fitting that it was impossible to separate it from the wall.

I calmed my nerves by seeking Silence. I was grateful for the connection when I found it, though it felt weaker than usual, probably due to my distance from the Red Wild, or perhaps because Anna had departed.

“Shen, I’m here. Show yourself.”

My words echoed off the walls, but a moment later, a light shone on the opposite end of the room. A door was opening.

I walked forward, allowing myself to become bathed in the light. I held a hand up to my face, shielding my eyes from the glare. As I walked though, the light slowly dissipated.

I was in the same audience chamber I’d met Shen more than three months ago.

“Welcome, Shanti,” Shen said, his voice sounding out clearly in the confines of the room. “We have much to discuss. As with last time, it seems you’ve passed through the Hallways of Always without giving yourself to madness.”

The name for this place was apt. “There were no visions this time.”

“The visions were a test. I didn’t find them necessary this time.”

For that, I was thankful. A long silence lingered between us. Like before, I noticed that there was no placing the direction Shen’s voice was coming from.

Shen was the one to break the silence. “The Novans are pouring over the Selvan into the Red Wild, having taken the Makai citadel of Larre. Even now, Isaru the Fallen marches for Colonia to cement his legitimacy as the Xenofold’s chosen champion. The dragons hide in their mountains, debating whether the world, which has rejected their ways, is worth dying for. The Eastern Kingdoms war and fragment, wasting themselves on a war that will undo them before even the Radaskim can.” Shen paused. “And so it is that Anna finds her way here, ostensibly to seek my aid.”

Shen had summed up the situation fairly accurately. Even if his tone was neutral, I couldn’t help but feel he was mocking me. “So, Shen. Since you’ve figured everything out, will you help?”

“Gladly. If you are willing to place the Elekai people under my protection.”

“You can protect us,” I said. “But you cannot rule us.”

“If not me, then who?” Shen asked. “Would you have Isaru? We both know that isn’t an option. Or what about King Arius? Well, he rules the kingdom of the Makai, but does he wish to rule all of the Elekai? Does he have that ambition? Or, last of all, shall it be you, Anna? Are you willing to take that on?”

“I don’t know what would be best,” I said. “Does one person have to rule everything? That’s neither here nor there, though, because I have concerns.”

“I see,” Shen said. “And what are your concerns, Shanti?”

Here it was, then. “The Nameless One told me your eventual goal. Perhaps you can elucidate things a bit further, because I don’t trust him. Let’s just say I trust him about as much as I don’t trust you.”

Shen gave an eerie chuckle. The chuckle was eerie not because it was inhuman, but because it was exceedingly human. “I understand your trust of me is very little, but I’m glad that your trust of the Nameless One is just as much.” There was a pause. “What did he have to say?”

“He says that you seek the end of the Xenofold. He said you tried to destroy it when your armies took over Hyperborea one hundred and fifty years ago.” I waited for a response, only continuing when none was forthcoming. “Is that true?”

“Yes,” Shen said, his voice somber. “Humanity was never meant to bear the Gifts of the Xenofold. They were only given to you – and to all your friends in the past – because it was necessary to defeat Askala. The Gifts can be used to elevate humanity. But in the hands of those who seek power and destruction – like Rakhim Shal – it spells doom for all. You have seen what these Gifts have done. It would be more accurate to call them Curses.”

I felt as if Tiamat and Shen would get along quite well. “What’s your point?”

“The time of the Xenofold is past. And ending it is the only way to stop Rakhim Shal and the Hyperfold.”

“What about the Radaskim?” I asked. “Without the Xenofold, Earth is open to invasion. As long as the Xenofold exists, we are safe from them. How do you answer to that?”

“I answer thus: Earth will never be safe from the Radaskim so long as the Xenofold exists.”

“No,” I said. “It’s our protection.”

“That is where you are wrong,” Shen said. “The Xenofold is a gateway. Where the Xenofold exists, so does the entrance to the Xenomatrix, the web that connects all the Radaskim’s worlds. Nothing physical can pass through, but thoughts can. This is where the Nameless One resides, in the shadows of his web. It was through the Xenomatrix that he allowed Odium to enter your world, Odium who was able to enter the mind of Rakhim Shal and poison his thoughts. Rakhim Shal is not himself . . . just as your friend Isaru is not himself. Odium possesses Shal, just as Shal possesses Isaru.” Shen waited for this to sink in. “The only way to stop Odium from destroying the world from the inside out is to destroy the Xenofold, and to entrust its defense to me. If there is no Xenofold, there is no entrance to the Xenomatrix. This world will be safe from alien interlopers.”

“And you think you could successful defend us? Somehow, I have trouble believing that.”

“Yes,” Shen said. “Ever since I’ve learned of these things from my first attempt to destroy the Hyperfold, I’ve been doing the work, preparing for the eventual invasion. One hundred and fifty years, Shanti. The only missing piece was you. Without you on my side, we cannot stop the Radaskim.”

“What do you mean?”

“You will find out soon enough. The invasion is near, Shanti, and there isn’t much time. Will you join me in defending Earth from the invaders?”

“When will they be here?” I asked. “I know less than two years, but when exactly?”

“It has remained well-hidden,” Shen said. “But the observatories in the Shen homeland have spied vessels around one of the moons of Jupiter, called Europa in older days. Only once did we glimpse them; they could have moved on by now, and space is so vast that we may never find them again, even with all of our observatories. Needless to say, the invasion is coming soon, if it isn’t already on its way.”

“You’re missing the most important point,” I said. “If the Xenofold is destroyed . . . even if such a thing is possible . . . it would leave the world defenseless against the Radaskim. You say you’re enough of a defense, but you don’t know that. You can’t know that. We need the Xenofold. I don’t know the reason, but I know it’s too important to destroy.”

“As I said before,” Shen said, “The Xenofold feeds the Hyperfold. The Hyperfold will only die if the Xenofold dies.” Shen paused to give me time to understand. “Don’t you see? Odium will win if you allow the Xenofold to continue existing, as the Hyperfold gathers more power and eventually supplants the Xenofold. Destroying the Xenofold gives us the chance fight at the very least.”

I still felt as if something were missing. Shen was hundreds, if not thousands or millions, times more intelligent than me. Somehow, I had the feeling this exchange of information was more for my benefit that his.

“Just tell me your plan,” I said, seeing that Shen was waiting for me to say something else.

“Isaru must be stopped,” Shen said.

“I know that,” I said.

“Killed,” Shen said, quietly. “Without a host, Rakhim cannot touch the world. He would be trapped in the Hyperfold, as he was before. He would be unable to control his dragons, which are the key to his power. This buys us time to enact the second solution.”

“Which is?”

“You must enter the Xenofold,” Shen said. “And convince its consciousness to leave this world for the greater good.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW IF such a thing was possible. I just stood there and tried to think of my options, but all I succeeded in doing was feeling overwhelmed.

“There has to be another way,” I said. “A better way than that.”

“It is the only way,” Shen’s voice answered, clear and strangely calming. “Humanity was never meant to bear the Gifts of the Xenofold. It was an unfortunate necessity. Without the Gifts, it would have been impossible for Elekim to supplant Askala as High Xenomind. But once victory was achieved, the Gifts were no longer necessary. Alas, what was given by the Xenofold could not be taken back.” Shen paused. “Thus, came the Xenofont, Hyperborea, the Hyperfold . . . all of it.”

Explained in this way, I understood Tiamat’s point of view, who said humanity used the Gifts of the Xenofold for corrupt ends. Perhaps humanity was never meant to bear the Gifts, and ending the Xenofold would be a way of returning things to how they were supposed to be.

However, that gave Shen unrivaled dominion over the planet . . . and it wasn’t a real choice for me to make. Alex was still at the center of the Xenofold, and nothing happened to it except by his leave.

“It seems I’m out of options,” I said. “What makes you think you can protect us where the Xenofold can’t? If the Radaskim are as close as you say they are, then how will you have time to stop them?”

“As I said before, I’ve been assembling an army for decades,” Shen said. “But if the Hyperfold continues to exist, my army will be worse than useless. If the Radaskim come while the Hyperfold is still operational, then it will be in much greater power than otherwise.”

“But what happens to the Elekai if the Xenofold ends?” I asked. “You’ve said humanity would lose their Gifts, but what about the dragons? Wouldn’t that render them Mindless?”

“Sadly, yes,” Shen said. “But this would come to pass anyway by allowing the Hyperfold to continue existing. Eventually, the Xenofold will grow so weak that it crumbles under the Hyperfold’s pressure.”

There had to be another way. Shen was just giving me the solution that worked out best for him. Maybe it would work, but I didn’t want to see a world that was controlled by him, and I couldn’t betray the dragons by destroying the Xenofold, supposing it was within my power to do so. Without the Xenofold, dragonkind as we knew it would perish from the Earth.

“How much time?” I asked. “How much time until the Hyperfold is strong enough to overcome the Xenofold?”

“There is no telling,” Shen said. “Weeks, months, or even years.” There was a pause. “Perhaps even days. A tipping point is coming, Shanti. I would not waste time, if I were you.”

Unless Isandru found a way to end the Hyperfold on the inside, I didn’t see any other option.

“We tried to destroy it from the inside, and failed,” I said. “Isaru rescued Rakhim before we ever had the chance to kill him.”

“And supposing you return to the Hyperfold, you know what will happen,” Shen said. “Rakhim Shal has power to stretch time as much as he pleases. Any attempt to kill him gives him plenty of time to await rescue.”

“But is it possible to kill him?”

“Many things are possible,” Shen said. “Many things are also improbable. Fighting Shal in his own world can lead to nothing but your destruction. But if you go to Elekim, you will have the ability to end the Xenofold once and for all. It is the only sure solution.”

Was speaking directly to Alex even possible? I couldn’t imagine asking him to end the Xenofold. It was basically asking him to end himself.

It would be betraying everything I stood for.

Shen continued. “I know this is difficult for you. I don’t expect you to accept everything. Not all at once. But I have thought this over a great deal, Shanti. Anna returned to save the world from the Radaskim. Did she not?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Does the manner of salvation matter, so long as the world is saved?”

Now that was a question. “I don’t know.”

“If you fulfill your role, then I will dutifully fulfill mine. Over the centuries, I’ve marshaled the power of almost the entire planet. I’ve redeveloped the old technologies while incorporating new discoveries from the Xenofold. Millions of men and war machines stand at my command, and all will act in tandem, obeying without question. I stand ready to defeat the Radaskim who threaten my charge: humanity. I am not the leader of humanity, Shanti. I am its eternal servant. There is no better hope than me when considering the question of humanity’s future.”

As much as I hated it, I began to see Shen’s point. How could the Elekai stand alone against both Isaru and the Novan Empire? And how was I supposed to defeat Rakhim Shal when he possessed godlike powers in his own world?

Perhaps this was the only way. I was too young for this, too weak. Shen was probably right.

No, came a thought. Don’t give up. Seek answers. You’ll find them.

Anna? I thought she was gone. Or was that my voice talking to me, telling me that deep down, I knew that there was more to this?

I heaved a sigh. “I’ll promise you this much, Shen. I’ll find a way to speak to Elekim. But only if he’s willing to listen.”

“I think he will be,” Shen said.

I didn’t know how Shen came to that conclusion. “How do I find him?”

“I think you already know that answer.”

I thought back to the few encounters I’d had with Elekim . . . with Alex. One thing was common about almost all of them; I had been immersed in ichor, or somehow under its influence. I’d spoken to an older version Elekim, a man by the name of the Wanderer, the first time I entered the Xenofold.

Was it as simple as entering another reversion? There was only one way to find out.

“I’ll give it a try,” I said.

“I think you’ll come around to my way of thinking,” Shen said. “But you must be careful.”

“As long as you trust me to choose what I think is best.”

“Then choose well, and chose carefully,” Shen said. “The fate of the world depends on it.”

As if I didn’t already know. “I think I’m ready to leave. Unless you have something further to discuss.”

“There is one more thing. Something quite important concerning Pallos.”

“Yes?”

“By my orders, Pallos has hidden his true identity. He is actually a Guardian, and I tasked him with keeping watch over you.”

“I figured that out a long time ago. Anything else?”

“I deduced that you probably already knew. If we are to trust each other, then at least that has to be out in the open. Let me explain my reasons. I couldn’t predict how you would act around him if you knew the truth. If we are to be working together, it must be in the spirit of honesty. As a first sign of my growing trust, I’m revealing that I’ve given you one of the most powerful people in my domain, and that his loss would not be insignificant. After all, he’s the prodigy I trusted with the repair of Odin.”

Shen’s voice sounded almost . . . sad. As if he truly cared for Pallos. How much of that was real, and how much was simulated?

“Thanks for telling the truth, then,” I said. “Finally.”

“Think about what I said, Shanti,” Shen said.

A sudden light was revealed, rising from the floor in the wall next to me. I recognized it to be a door opening. I supposed our audience was over.

I entered the light and followed the hallway out of the Crystal Temple. The hallway ended in a balcony set high over the sprawling metropolis. As soon as I appeared, an ovoid airship floated in my direction, drawing up alongside the balcony. Guardian Mian stood in the open doorway as a boarding ramp protruded from the craft.

I stepped aboard and watched the massive temple fade away as the ship drifted toward Odin.

* * *

When I entered the ship, the crew was waiting for me in the wardroom.

“I spoke with Shen,” I began. “First things first.” I looked at Pallos. “Pallos. Shen confirmed what all of us knew, that you’re spying on us for him.” I paused to look at him directly, to make sure he knew I was serious. “He also said you’re a Guardian, which none of us knew.”

Pallos’s eyes opened slightly, his only betrayal of surprise. His face quickly assumed a neutral expression.

“He told you that?” Pallos asked.

I nodded. I wasn’t sure if Shen had told me everything about him, but it was better that Pallos thought he did. I might learn more that way.

The rest of the crew looked at him suspiciously.

“Very well,” Pallos said. “Yes, I’m an engineer. I’ve never lied about that. I personally oversaw the repairs of this ship and directed the effort. But my Guardianship I’ve kept hidden, by orders of Shen.” He sighed. “By proxy, that means I’m to reveal something else to all of you. I have orders from Shen that if he were to ever reveal that bit about me, then I was to reveal the full truth to you.”

“What are you talking about?” Shara asked. “Out with it.”

“I’m also High Vizier of the Shen Collective in America,” Pallos said. “It’s the highest title a person can hold here.”

There was a moment of stunned silence as we processed this news. It was hard to imagine this bumbling, clumsy man as High Vizier to anything more than a broom closet.

“You need to explain yourself,” I said, after a long, icy silence. “Who are you, exactly? What else have you lied about? And what is your real purpose here?”

“I supposed you’d already guessed my purpose,” Pallos said. “It’s to keep watch over the events of the Red Wild which threaten us all, even those of us at the Collective. The Guardians, as you know, are Shen’s human confidants and is his spy network. And yes, I’m the highest-ranked human in Shen America. I haven’t been for long. In fact, I was elevated as soon as I left with you, but mainly to have the clearance to enter and leave Shenshi as I saw fit, and to have all the necessary powers I would need, should I need it. But for the most part, I’ve been Shen’s eyes and ears. I’ve been doing it ever since I was your age, and even now, I’m the youngest Guardian in the history of the order.”

“So you can fight,” Shara said. “Your lack of expertise was all a front.”

Pallos sighed, and nodded. “Yes, I can fight. I don’t like fighting. I’ve never liked it. But yes, I can handle both gun and blade, though not to the extent any of you can. After all, I’m not Elekai, nor do I have access to the Gifts of the Xenofold as all of you do.”

“What can you tell us about the Guardians?” I asked. “Seems like you know a lot about us, but we don’t know a lot about you.”

“Like the Seekers, we’re spread everywhere, learning what we can and reporting it to Guardian Mian, the leader of our order. My purpose was to observe you, and if necessary, to help you . . . as I’ve done faithfully these last few months.” He looked at each of us in turn, his eyes confident and sure. He seemed different from before, as if his bumbling nature had all been a façade as well. “Make no mistake. I, and Shen, are both on your side. Like you, we seek the preservation of the planet.”

“But we have different ways of obtaining that goal,” I said. “One we can never agree on.”

“What are you talking about?” Fiona asked.

“Should you tell them, or should I?” I asked.

Pallos spread his hands, giving me the floor.

“Everything we talked about is true,” I said. “Shen wants to destroy the Xenofold because he sees it as the only way to stop the Hyperfold.”

From the blank stares I was getting, I could see that this idea didn’t even seem logical to them. The Xenofold was permanent and sacred. The idea that the Xenofold could be ended was simply unfathomable to an Elekai.

I saw that I’d have to do some explaining.

“When Anna was alive before the Ragnarok War,” I began, “There was no Xenofold. At least, no Xenofold as we know of it today. Until the end of the Ragnarok War . . . until Elekim’s sacrifice . . . the Xenofold was nothing more than the consciousness of Askala, which controlled everything connected to it. When Elekim supplanted her and took control, that’s when it became the Xenofold we know. However, before the first Radaskim invasion, there was no Xenofold, of course. And it stands to reason that the Hyperfold wouldn’t exist if its source of power were to be cut off. As time passes, as the Hyperfold draws more life, energy, and memories from the Sea of Creation, the Xenofold weakens while the Hyperfold strengthens. Eventually, there will come a point where the Xenofold is too weak to go on. At this point, the Hyperfold effectively becomes the new Xenofold. One under the control of the Radaskim.” Now, for the next part. “Shen’s proposal, and the direction Pallos would like to steer us, is to find a way of ending the Xenofold ourselves before the Hyperfold is strong enough to sustain itself. In that way, the Hyperfold would be effectively destroyed.”

“I see what you’re saying,” Fiona said, “but ending it ourselves is unthinkable. Without the Xenofold, we lose ourselves. Without it . . . our entire culture is lost. The xen and its trees, plants, all the ecosystems depending on the Xenofold, would die off. Many people who depend on it would also die.”

“And the Hyperfold would die, too,” Pallos said. “And with it, Rakhim Shal. As soon as he’s gone, the Mindless swarm under Isaru’s command would be freed. Isaru himself would be freed from Shal’s control.”

“And our world would be left without protection from the Radaskim,” Fiona said.

“No,” Pallos said. “Shen will be your protection.”

Everyone looked to him for explanation, but Pallos was looking at me. It seemed Pallos knew just as much as me about Shen’s plans, or perhaps even more.

“What do you know, Pallos?” I asked. “How long have you known it?”

Pallos swallowed. “It was . . . privileged information. I was under orders from Shen not to tell you. He said it was his right to tell. Perhaps he wasn’t sure of the time of its veracity, but . . .”

“Just say it already,” Isa said, annoyed.

“The Hyperfold was created by Shal as an aberration, a safe place for the Radaskim High Xenomind, Odium, to enter and occupy. A way to influence Earth without physically being here while weakening the Xenofold enough to become its new master. If he could do this, then an invasion would be entirely unnecessary.”

“What are you saying then?” Fiona asked. “That there is no invasion?”

“Yes, there is an invasion. Our observatories have detected an alien presence near Jupiter, on one of its four major moons, called Europa. They are well-hidden, and it’s been years since we’ve last detected them. They could still be there, or they could already be on their way here. Likely, there is still going to be an invasion. However, the Radaskim are trying to win the war before it can truly start, sensing the weakness of our planet.”

“How is ending the Xenofold going to help?” Fiona asked. “It’s the only thing protecting us from the Radaskim!”

“Not for long, it won’t,” I said. “The Hyperfold is slowly killing it off, anyway.”

Everyone looked at me, shocked that I could say such a thing. They had to be wondering if I was taking Shen’s side. I didn’t feel like I was, but I couldn’t refute the logic.

If we couldn’t destroy the Hyperfold by itself, then the only way to destroy it was cutting it off at the root.

“So, what do we do?” Shara finally asked.

“There’s only one solution as I see it,” Pallos said. “We have to find a way to end the Xenofold, to cut it off before the Hyperfold has a chance to subsume it.”

“How would we even do that, supposing we even tried?” Isa asked. “It’s madness!”

“I don’t know,” Pallos said. “That’s what I was going to ask Shanti.” Pallos looked at me. “Did Shen give you any clue on how to do that?”

Now, every eye was on me. “Nothing helpful. He said I needed to speak to Elekim.”

“Well, are you going to do it?” Shara asked.

“Speak to Elekim, yes,” I said. “If that’s even possible.”

“That’s our next move, then,” Fiona said. “I don’t know if I want to be a part of this. Destroying the Xenofold isn’t saving anything. We’re just dooming the world to destruction.”

“We can’t honestly go through with this,” Isa agreed. “Right?”

“I don’t know,” I said, feeling pathetic because I couldn’t think of any other answer. “I would like to speak to Elekim. To speak to Alex. Maybe there’s still a missing piece. Maybe there’s another way.”

“There’s Elder Isandru,” Fiona said. “We cannot discount him.”

That also was true. Ending the Hyperfold would effectively end his life. And there was another question, too. People continued to live on in the Xenofold after death, so long as they were Elekai. Ending the Xenofold would effectively snuff those souls out of existence. Or at least, that’s how I believed it worked.

“All the Elekai in the Xenofold could die,” I said. “Forever. Is that worth it just at a shot to save the planet?”

“Those same souls would become enslaved to the Radaskim if we don’t end the Xenofold first,” Shara said. “Supposing all this is true.” She was quiet as she thought. “I know I’d rather die than be a slave again.”

“Humanity for millennia has lived without the benefit of the Xenofold,” Pallos said. “When I die, for example, I know there is nothing for me beyond. Many people comfort themselves with the thought that there is something after, but that is a prospect of faith, not anything I can see with my eyes. You Elekai are unique in knowing that when you die, you will live forever as long as the Xenofold exists. But that also means you will be eternally enslaved if the Radaskim end up winning.” Pallos looked at all of us seriously. “If you ask me, humans were never meant to have such a terrible choice. It is beyond our capabilities and our intellect.”

Listening to Pallos, perhaps Shen had been correct in saying that the Gifts of the Xenofold were never meant for humanity. Perhaps the gift of an afterlife was never meant for us, either.

Yet to destroy the Xenofold, or not, was a terrible burden to place on us. How could anyone decide what to do with generations of dead? How could anyone knowingly end them and call it ultimately good? It was different from killing, but it certainly didn’t feel that way. It was a moral question no one had ever had to consider. Was it moral to kill someone who was already dead, if done for the preservation of those still alive?

Maybe, yes. And if we did nothing, the Radaskim would eventually take control of those souls, and their existence would be one of slavery. Death . . . if it could even be called death . . . would be a mercy.

“We can’t make this decision,” Shara said. “We just don’t know enough.”

I saw that she was right. “I promised Shen one thing; that I would speak to Elekim. Shen is confident that Elekim is going to agree with him, because Shen sees his logic as irrefutable. But something is still missing, and I need to know what that is. For now, though, Shen and our interests align.”

But not for much longer, I thought.

“If we’re serious about this,” Fiona said, “we’ll need to find a reversion.”

“The Northern Reversion is probably our best bet,” Isa said. “It’s the largest and most developed. But it will be dangerous.”

“It’s settled then,” I said. “We’re heading for the Northern Reversion. Try to get some rest on the way. We might not be getting any for a while.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

I TRIED TO CATCH SOME sleep myself, but wasn’t too successful. Seeking Silence was little solace. There had been too many revelations, and so much depended on me.

I couldn’t help but wonder and toy with the thought; what if I did as Shen asked? Assuming it was even possible, the world would be forever changed. Human Elekai would lose the Xenofold. Their Gifts would pass away as if they had never been. All animal and plant life that depended on the Xenofold would die out. Directly or indirectly, the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of humans would also be involved. And the dragons, who were only Elekai because of what Alex did, because of his strength, would revert to their previous, bestial state.

As horrible as that was, as horrible as it would be to be responsible for all that mayhem, the alternative could possibly be worse. The Hyperfold overpowering the Xenofold was a nightmare scenario.

Perhaps the Xenofold might not exist, but neither would the Hyperfold. It would give Shen the chance to stand up to the Radaskim invasion when it came.

There was a knock at the door of my cabin.

“Come in.”

I was surprised to see Pallos. “May we talk?”

I almost told him to go away, but I realized that wouldn’t get anything accomplished. We were stuck together, for better or worse, so we might as well work together. I needed clarity on where he stood with us, and we were only going to arrive at that point with conversation.

I sat up, rubbing at my eyes. “Conference room.”

I left my cabin and Pallos followed me quietly, almost meekly. The wardroom and interior corridor were both empty; everyone was making good on my advice to get some much-needed sleep.

When we entered the conference room, I sat. Pallos pressed the button which closed the door before sitting down opposite of me. We looked at each other, sizing each other up. It was hard to get used to the idea that Pallos Sarin was not just a lowly engineer, but a Guardian and the leader of the Shen Collective in America. What kind of power did he have? What could he do to us if he so chose?

“I’ll start, I suppose,” Pallos said. “I feel as if some things were left unsaid. I would like to reach a mutual understanding.”

“Honesty from the start might have helped with that,” I said, trying to hold back my anger. “Why should I trust you with anything now? I was starting to trust you, Pallos. You were there for us when we needed it most. If not for you, we’d be dead in Ragnarok Crater by now, or hunted down by Isaru’s dragons. It was you who opened up Shenshi for me when I was injured at Northold.” I thought for a moment. “In fact, given your position, it makes a lot of sense how you’ve been able to arrange for all that, along with my meetings with Shen. After all, I assume you were behind the first one, too.”

Pallos nodded his assent. “You’re right. I arranged the first and second meeting between you and Shen, and I was also the one to summon you to the Odin crash site. It was me who found Mia outside Hyperborea, when our scouts discovered her presence. It was all necessary to bring you to Odin. This ship is necessary if we’re to win against the Radaskim, for reasons that have already been said. I waited, patiently, to see if another solution to the Hyperfold problem was possible.” His eyes became troubled, even a little somber. “It was the only time in my life I relented in obeying Shen’s orders.”

“What do you mean?”

“He wanted no time wasted in trying to convince you to enact his plan.”

“His plan?” I asked. “You mean, ending the Xenofold?”

Pallos nodded. “I believed, perhaps, that it was possible for a middle way to be found. I can say something now that I can’t often say, if ever; I knew something Shen didn’t. I knew how difficult it would be for you to stomach the truth. And as for myself . . . I wanted to believe, like you, that there was another way to stop the Radaskim . . . a better way.” Pallos clamped his hands together, struggling to find his next words. “Because of my silence . . . Mia lost her life.”

At first, I didn’t understand what he meant. How could he blame himself for her death?

“Pallos, that wasn’t your fault. Why would you think that?”

“Because I let you do what I knew, deep down, wouldn’t work. Elder Isandru, too, is most likely dead.”

“He is alive, Pallos,” I said. “He’s working even now to stop Shal from the inside. We just have to give him time, and whatever help we can.”

Pallos sighed, then shook his head. “You’re still young, Shanti. I’m not much older, and have been given many responsibilities for one so young. Yet I’m old enough to know that what is best is not always what is easy.”

“I won’t end the Xenofold, Pallos, even if it were within my power. Anna came back to save the Xenofold, not to destroy it.”

“We don’t know the real reason Anna came back,” Pallos said. “It is said that there was a prophecy. Your prophecy.”

“The one you have,” I said.

Pallos looked at me, his face seeming to want me to realize something.

“The Prophecy was what you needed to hear at the time,” Pallos said.

I felt as if I’d been punched in the gut. “So you mean . . . we never actually found it?”

Pallos shook his head. “No, Shanti. There is no prophecy. There is only reality. There is only what’s happening before you. The Elekai still live in a world of myth . . . because myth makes sense of things that we can’t make sense of.”

I was struck silent. More lies. How had I been so foolish?

I swallowed a lump in my throat, resisting the impulse to reach for Silence. Silence had been my crutch. I never allowed myself to feel any pain or disappointment, but I let myself feel it in full force now.

“I . . . have no words for this,” I said.

We sat quietly for a long time, neither daring to look at the other. For the first time in perhaps ever, I felt all hope leave me. Isaru, and through him, Rakhim, were going to conquer the entire Red Wild, crushing all resistance to the Hyperfold. We had no one to oppose them, and meanwhile, I felt powerless to do anything against the Hyperfold itself.

The only option left to me was the one that would make me completely reviled for the rest of my life.

“The Xenofold will end, with or without you,” Pallos said. “But if you end it now, then it will be before the point of no return. If the Hyperfold’s power can build to a critical mass, then it will be too late. For all of us. There will be war . . . a long and terrible war . . . between Shen’s machines and Odium’s Radaskim swarm. There’s no telling who would win that conflict, but I’ll tell you one thing. We will be more likely to win if the Hyperfold is ended now. It’s within your power to stop it, if you only look for a way.”

“I don’t see how I can,” I said. “I don’t see why I should trust you.”

“Trust your instincts, then,” Pallos said.

I tried to think it through, but it was futile. The only thing I could think to do was the next step: find a reversion, and through that reversion, find Alex.

If I was going to end the Xenofold, as Pallos seemed to believe I was capable of doing, Anna’s husband deserved to know the reasons. Perhaps, if I had his blessing, it would make the whole thing easier.

It was a small hope, but I was willing to take anything at this point.

* * *

The flight north took longer than it would have usually. We wanted to avoid going too close to the crater and Northold, so we ended up heading northwest, and circling back around once we were well behind enemy lines.

The only problem now was finding a reversion in this land that stretched for thousands of miles in all directions.

I sought Silence and it readily entered my mind. I expanded my awareness in all directions. The Xenofold was still there, a shining light and connection. I couldn’t imagine life without it, even though most of my life, I had lived without it.

It felt like a betrayal to be using the Xenofold to search for a reversion, when my intent was possibly to end it. I was using the Xenofold against itself.

“North,” I said.

Pallos veered Odin more northerly, while I maintained the connection and used it as a compass.

In this way, we tracked north for another half hour before the Xenofold was nearly impossible to reach. My instinct was to get out of this place, but if that was my instinct, then I knew we were in the right place. No sane Elekai wanted to remain in a reversion longer than they had to.

“Put us down,” I said. “I think we’re close enough.”

While Pallos lowered the ship, I got on the intercom. “If you haven’t felt anything yet . . . then we should be here. I don’t know what we’ll find on the ground, and this probably goes without saying, but come armed and ready.”

I sat back and watched as we plunged through the mist. I couldn’t see anything around the ship, and the radar wasn’t catching anything in the surrounding airspace.

“Careful, Pallos,” I said. “Let’s make sure there’s ground beneath us before coming down too fast.”

“Copy that,” Pallos said.

The rest joined us in the flight deck – Isa, Shara, and Fiona, each armed with their weapons of choice. Isa had her bow around her shoulders, while Shara and Fiona were both wearing their swords.

We watched tentatively as nothing changed out of the windshield. And then, suddenly, we were touching down. Isa nearly tripped, only catching herself on my seat.

The mist had cleared on our landing spot, and was just now starting to crawl back.

“So,” Shara said, “which way?”

“I’m not sure,” I said. “The source of the reversion can’t be far from here. We’ll know as soon as we start walking.”

“And what do we do if crawlers come?” Isa asked.

I looked at her. “What we always do. We fight.”

“Sounds good to me,” Shara said.

We left Pallos behind, as usual, while the rest of us set out on foot into the thick mists. I was more nervous than usual leaving the ship with him, but there was nothing else to be done. Someone had to watch it, and he knew how to operate it in case there were incoming dragons. Nothing had showed up on Odin’s radar, but despite my shattered trust, Pallos still needed to remain with the ship.

I turned in a circle, trying to determine a likely direction. The void emanating from the nearby reversion hit me in waves. The feeling came strongest from north – or at least, what I thought to be north.

“This way, I think,” I said.

“Whatever we’re looking for is in that direction,” Fiona said, confirming my hunch. “It’s the way I least want to go.”

“Let’s get this over with,” I said. “For Isandru.”

Those words were edifying enough for the others to follow behind me.

I could see next to nothing in the mist. It settled cold on my skin. It should have been too cold outside for there to be a fog, but this place seemed to not follow any sort of natural law.

As we proceeded over the flat, spongy xen, I’d never felt more despondent.

“We’re almost there,” I said, to break the silence. “I can feel it.”

“Or feel the lack of it,” Fiona said.

A reversion was defined more by its lack of feeling than anything else. The surrounding xen and the plants that rose from it were dead, severed from the Xenofold. I got the feeling that this part of the Red Wild had been dead for years, and perhaps even decades.

“This place has rotted a long time,” Fiona said. “Its state is far worse than the reversion that appeared next to the Sanctum.” There was a long silence. “I don’t think any amount of Agronomy could reconnect it to the Xenofold.”

“Agronomy,” Shara said. “That’s one of the Gifts, isn’t it?”

Fiona nodded, but didn’t elaborate.

“I sense something up ahead,” I said.

We picked up our speed, and sure enough, the land began to dip. We followed the incline down until the surrounding mist began to shimmer with a pinkish light. This had to be the source of the reversion.

Before long, the ichor materialized from the mist, just a few feet in front of us. We stopped at the shoreline. We could only see about ten feet before even the ichor was lost, and all that was left was pink, glowing fog.

We had arrived here so quickly, and I wasn’t ready to do what I’d come for.

I sought Silence, reaching out to the ichor. I found a ready connection. I sensed great pain in the Xenofold, great weakness. It seemed to plead to me for healing.

I’ll try, I said. There may be one last chance to save you. Give me that chance. I need to speak to Elekim.

The connection between my mind and the pool strengthened. The others gasped and stood back as the surface of the ichor vibrated, sending out circles of ripples from its center. The liquid parted on two sides, as if held up by unseen walls. A long, shining corridor was revealed, at the end of which stood a bright light.

Enter, a voice said in my head.

I turned to the others. “Stay here. I’ll try to hurry back.”

I walked forward before I had the chance to doubt myself, until I was surrounded by the fiery light.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I STEPPED FROM ONE WORLD and into another. I could see nothing but an endless field of white.

I couldn’t remember who I was and where I came from.

Anna. My name is Anna.

No, that wasn’t it. Was that me, or someone else?

Alex. I had come here for Alex.

“Alex? Are you here?”

I felt a vibration in the air around me. My vision swam, as if a heat wave were rising off the white ground ahead. The dizzying waves slowly materialized into an image of a white tree shining with inner luminescence.

I walked toward that tree. There was no sound here, not even from my footfalls on the shining white surface. I reached out with Silence toward the tree; though I felt a connection, there didn’t seem to be anything behind that connection.

There was only silence.

It was so empty here. If this was the interior of the Xenofold, then it was far different than the last time I had visited.

Now closer to the tree, I could see that it was dying. Its sickliness had been masked by the aura shining off its bark. Only a few leaves remained, and its boughs drooped, lifeless.

I reached out to see if I could somehow help it. I felt its life force, its connection to the Xenofold, but sensed little beyond its moribund consciousness. It took no life through its roots, and hung on by a mere thread.

Is there any way to save you?

My words didn’t find a recipient. I opened a conduit from myself to the tree, seeking the power of the Xenofold. If I could just channel the energy into the tree, perhaps I could save it. While I felt the power flowing through me, it was as if it were being poured into a bottomless abyss.

I stopped before I could tire myself, opening my eyes to see the image of the tree unchanged before me. I turned in every direction, but there was nothing but the endless field of white.

“What is this place?” I asked, my voice dying in the air.

A gravelly voice responded. “This place is the end.”

Startled, I turned to see an old man in a brown robe sitting on one of the tree’s roots. His bushy, gray beard fell halfway down his chest and his smile was missing a few teeth. White, glowing eyes shone from his wrinkled face. The smile seemed amused, or perhaps expectant.

“Wanderer,” I said.

The old man gave the barest of nods to acknowledge this. “You’ve returned at long last, Anna. What is it you seek here?”

“I’m looking for Alex.”

The Wanderer’s wry grin faded. “Elekim . . . fights still. He fights against the encroaching waves of darkness. If he were to divert his attention, even for a moment . . .” The Wanderer trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.

“I understand,” I said. “I don’t know how it’s even possible, but it’s up to me to save the Xenofold.”

The old man’s eyes widened, as if in surprise, before he broke into uncontrolled laughter. I could feel nothing but shock as he continued to laugh.

“I suppose that came off as arrogant,” I said, as the last ebbs of his laughter faded while he wiped a tear from his eye. “Perhaps that’s impossible. Still, I’m at a loss. The Xenofold must be saved if the Radaskim are to be stopped, right?”

The Wanderer grew more serious. “Yes. But that’s not why you’re here, is it?”

How could he know the reason I was here? “I want answers more than anything else.”

The Wanderer nodded, and then gestured all around. “Do you see this here, Anna? This is all that’s left. One by one, the memories that have made the Xenofold have faded.”

“But I still feel a connection to it,” I objected. “It can’t all be gone.”

“No, it isn’t all gone,” the Wanderer said. “But soon, it will be. And the part that gives you power with it.”

I took a seat next to the Wanderer on the tree root. “Then . . . all this is pointless. There is nothing we can do to save it. What was the point of my . . . of Anna . . . coming back?”

“Even Anna could not have prepared herself for this,” the Wanderer said.

“But there must be something we can do!”

The Wanderer was quiet for a very long time. I just waited, angry at him for not having the answer.

“I’ve been searching for a solution to this for such a long time,” I said. “Pretty much ever since I found out who I was. For you to tell me that there is nothing we can do . . . it’s killing me.”

“Anna,” the Wanderer said, gently. “This isn’t over yet.”

“Then what can I do? I was told by Shen that the only way to destroy the Hyperfold is to destroy the Xenofold. But how could I ever do such a thing?”

“Not destroy,” the Wanderer said. “The Xenofold would sacrifice itself to end the Hyperfold. With one, final push through the connection that bridges us to the Hyperfold, we might overwhelm the Hyperfold and destroy it from the inside.” The Wanderer looked at me, his face solemn. “The world would return to the way it was. What once was, will be.”

I chewed on the Wander’s cryptic words. “Assuming this happened . . . assuming the Hyperfold was stopped and the Xenofold died in the process . . . I would lose my powers, and so would every other Elekai. Including the dragons, who would revert to their mindless state. Even if we could rid Earth of the Radaskim, they are still out there, in space. So long as they are out there, our world can never be free of them.”

“The world can be vigilant of them,” the Wanderer said. “The Xenofold is too weak to protect the Elekai now. Too weak to protect humanity. The old ways are dying, Anna. They have been dying since the age of Hyperborea, but truly, since the fall of Old Colonia. Hyperborea only accelerated what would, one day, become inevitable.”

“What do you mean?”

The Wanderer smiled sadly. “This is not our home, Anna. The xen may survive here for a time . . . millennia, even, given near-perfect conditions. Even the Radaskim cannot survive forever on their newly conquered worlds, which is one of the reasons they must always expand. Unfortunately, we Elekai are the same. Earth was our experiment, our test. After four centuries here, we, too, shall become wanderers of the cosmos. We, too, must leave this place and find a new home.”

“Tiamat is right, then,” I said. “This place isn’t the Elekai’s home.”

“The coming of Gifts to humanity was an extraordinary occurrence,” the Wanderer said, “and a necessary one. Without those Gifts, Askala and the Radaskim could never have been defeated. But they had no place in the world after the war, and given human proclivities to corruption, the Gifts became the curses.”

It was eerie how much the Wanderer’s words mirrored Shen’s, and mirrored Tiamat’s. It was as if they were the same person.

The Wanderer continued. “The Gifts led to Hyperborea, and the quickening of the Xenofold’s death.”

The Wanderer’s words struck a sad chord, more so because they rang true. “But what is our world without the Xenofold? There’s no going back to who we were. Is there?”

My words were more Anna’s than my own. Only she knew a world without the Xenofold. I had known no other.

“No,” the Wanderer agreed. The old man cleared his throat. “Of course, you would come with us.”

“What do you mean?”

“The great journey,” the Wanderer said. “The long sleep, until we find our new home.”

“I don’t know about that,” I said.

“When we leave . . . so will Anna,” the Wanderer said. “As will all things that belong to the Elekai.”

“What do you mean, Anna will leave?” I asked. “You mean, it would be like what Tiamat was telling me. It’s possible to leave this world?”

“Yes,” the Wanderer said. “It is . . . spiritual more than physical. But we will have a new home, somewhere out there. At least, until it is time to find a new one. The Elekai have been preserved for a time. We won the battle here, and now we have our right to exist. So long as we find a new world, there will be peace on that world. We will not repeat the tragedy of Earth, but keep it as a safe garden that even the Radaskim cannot trample. We tried to make Earth our Eden.” The Wanderer chuckled. “But there’s been too much pain and misery on Earth. Too many ghosts. Too much blood. Perhaps finding Eden is possible with a fresh slate.”

I didn’t know how these things could be, but all the same, I knew them to be true. Anna would go, leaving me just as myself, without my powers, and without the stranger in my mind.

“Tiamat is right, then,” I said. “There’s little point in fighting. But if the Elekai leave this world, like you’re saying, what would happen to Shanti?”

I wondered why I didn’t just say “me.” In this place, I supposed I was more Anna than I was myself.

“Shanti will fight,” the Wanderer said. “I can say no more than that. Perhaps she will win. Perhaps not.”

“You mean Shanti will die, along with the rest.”

“That was to be our fate back then,” the Wanderer said. “Some of us did die, and some of us lived, against all odds. Even I cannot predict the future. The future is full of surprises.”

I closed my eyes and let myself sink into Silence. I felt for the Xenofold, that connection that seemed to define who I was. Who was I without it? Who were any of the Elekai without it? How could we live in a world without the Xenofold, without the Red Wild, without our powers?

But if that sacrifice was the only way to stop the Hyperfold from consuming us all, and the only way to save Isaru . . .

I pushed all thoughts from my mind to enter a deep trance. I focused on the tree, waiting for some sign or message from Elekim, should he choose to provide one. Though he fought to keep the Xenofold alive, perhaps he would have the chance to visit me and point me the right way.

* * *

In my trance, the tree slipped away, and the Wanderer was gone. I found myself floating as one floats from one dream to another.

Alex . . . can you hear me?

There was no response.

Alex . . . I need you. We need you.

Suddenly, I opened my eyes and found myself on a wide, desert plain. The sun beat fiercely down on my brow. I raised a hand to my eyes to shield them from the sun.

Ahead, materializing from the shimmering heat, a figure walked toward me.

I walked toward the figure, too, and then ran ahead to catch it, but as I got closer, the figure bled into the surrounding desert. It was just a mirage of my own imagining.

“Alex?” I called.

“Alex isn’t here.”

I turned to see no one other than Isaru. I reached for my blade, but found that it wasn’t there.

He smiled knowingly. “You won’t need that here. In this place, I can’t harm you.”

“You’re real,” I said. “Right?”

“I’m a preserved memory of myself,” he said. “Isaru before he was possessed by Rakhim. I entered the Xenofold through the connection you forged to the Hyperfold, from when you entered it for the first time. I’ve been here ever since.” He squinted at something in the distance behind me. “Let’s find some shade. I have a feeling we have a lot to discuss.”

Confused, I followed him, wondering if all this was even real or merely a vision. This preservation of Isaru had been here the entire time? I had nothing but questions as we walked, the desert heat baking my skin. We entered the shade of a nearby mesa, where we sat on some rocks.

“So, you’re really Isaru,” I said.

“Yes. I don’t know what happened after the Hyperfold. After . . .” He shuddered. “I don’t want to think of what it felt like, when my body was stolen from me.”

“Then don’t,” I said. I was having trouble thinking of him as real, and was wary of any sort of trick. Yet I wanted to believe that this was Isaru, the same one I’d journeyed with to Hyperborea all those months ago.

“You’ve come from the outside,” Isaru said. “I figured you would, someday, either of your own will, or because you’ve . . . well, died.”

I shook my head fiercely. “No, I’m not dead.”

“Then you’ve come for a reason,” Isaru said. “To find me, perhaps. To free me.” He shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s impossible . . . not unless you were to somehow destroy the Hyperfold and get my body connected to the Xenofold again.” He paused to think. “Sometimes, I have dreams here. I dream of what I do up there, and I wake in a cold sweat . . .”

I realized the truth then. “You’re real. You’re really real.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

* * *

We sat that way for a long time, talking. Isaru knew some of the things he had done above, but not everything. Meanwhile, I explained everything those of us above had gone through. As we talked, the sun never shifted position in the sky.

“I didn’t know I’d find you here,” I finished. “I never would have known to look here. I thought you were lost, that I was responsible for everything that happened to you . . .”

“It was all an accident,” Isaru said. “Shal himself said something like this would happen if one who wasn’t strong enough entered the Hyperfold, at least through the way he devised with the key. Ever since that day, I’ve been stuck in this place. It’s like the real world. Only . . . lonelier. Even now I’m not fully convinced you’re real.”

“You’ve been in here alone?” I asked. “This isn’t just a vision of some sort?”

“Like the Hyperfold, the Xenofold has its own reality,” Isaru said. “Only it was never meant for the living. Since I didn’t truly die, I’m stuck in limbo. I can go either way . . . to the place of the dead, or back to the land of the living. It depends on what happens up above . . . if Shal can be expelled from my mind.”

“How is that even possible?” I asked.

Isaru smiled sadly. “It would be difficult. I have seen Rakhim. I have felt his power. I have tried to repossess my body, but I’m not that strong.”

“What would it take?” I asked. “If there’s a chance, then I want to take it. If we can get you back, it would change everything!”

“I must be brought into direct contact with the Xenofold,” Isaru said. “My physical body.”

“You mean, I’d have to get you to enter a reversion.”

Isaru nodded. “Not easy, especially considering that it’s not me controlling my body, but Rakhim. Assuming a connection is made between myself down here, and my body up there . . .” Here, Isaru pointed up above. “There may be enough strength in the Xenofold to drive Rakhim out for good.”

“And then you would be back.”

Isaru nodded his assent. “I think so.”

In my mind, I couldn’t see how it was possible. Isaru would need to be subdued, and the only way I knew of was to create a bond that had enough power to make him go catatonic. We had done it once before in our desperate attempt to escape Ragnarok Crater, but would it work again, with him surrounded by his army and his dragons?

I thought about that a long time.

Perhaps the Xenofold was showing me what it needed me to see. Perhaps it was showing me the direction to go. And if we could bond with Isaru and bring him to a reversion, then yes, I decided, it would be possible to bring him back.

But it would by no means be easy.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

WE SAT IN SILENCE FOR a long while. I looked out into the desert. The heat emanating from the sunbaked rocks was as real as anything I’d ever felt.

What would it be like to exist in this place, all alone?

“How are you?” I asked. “Are you holding up okay?”

Isaru took a moment to answer. “Like the Hyperfold, time here moves differently. I don’t know how long it’s been, but it also doesn’t bother me.” His face remained neutral. “Some days, I wonder if it would be better to join the Xenofold. To give up a life above. If I do that, then there’s no chance I could ever come back.”

“We’ll find a way,” I said. “Now that I know it’s possible, we’ll find a way.”

“How did you know to find me here?” he asked.

“I didn’t,” I said. “I came here looking for Elekim.”

Isaru nodded, as if this made sense. “I’ve also been seeking Elekim.”

“Any luck?”

“I’ve been to the shores of the Sea of Creation in this place. We could go there now if you’d like.”

I nodded. “Isn’t it far?”

“Distances don’t matter here,” Isaru said. “Grab my hand.”

I did as he asked.

“Close your eyes and follow me.”

Before I could ask, the desert heat was gone along with the bright sun, both of which were replaced by dimness and cool, dank air. When I opened my eyes, I gasped upon seeing the glowing Sea of Creation.

Or at least, what was left of it. The Sea had retreated miles from where I had last seen it. Though I had never seen the Sea in the physical world, I had seen it in visions. While this was no less a vision, I got the feeling that this was a true representation of what the Sea was like in the real world, as the world within the Xenofold was no more than a physical mirror of the surface.

The Sea was more of a lake now, and a small lake at that. Where once the ichor had touched the cavern walls, there were now miles between it and those same walls. The glow it provided was barely enough to illumine my hands in front of my face. The xen which grew along the walls was dimmer than I remembered. There was a faint, foul odor, like rotting vegetation. The xen dying, perhaps.

“This is it,” Isaru said, stepping forward just inches from the ichor. “What’s left of it, anyway.”

I stepped beside him, and could see clear across what was left of the Sea, at the far shore. Halfway across, the pink ichor abruptly turned dark, almost black. This black part of the Sea was frothing and violent. I remembered all those years ago, when we had been here to destroy Askala and save the world from the Radaskim. The Sea certainly hadn’t been doing that. Right in the center of the Sea came a glow, less feeble than the rest of the Sea, and not far from that was a long conduit, exiting from the cavern ceiling and delving deep into the Sea.

“The Xenofont,” I said.

Isaru nodded. “It still draws from the Sea, and whatever is drawn is diverted straight to the Hyperfold.”

“Destroying it here would affect nothing?”

“This is just a vision of how it is in the real world,” Isaru said. “It would be like trying to change the real world through a dream. It’s no more than a mirror.”

Though it was unmentioned by Isaru, dreams did have power. It was through dreams, my dreams, that Shal had been able to gain control of Isaru in the first place.

“Is Elekim here?”

“The entrance to the center of the Xenofold is there, in the middle of the Sea,” Isaru said. “I tried to swim out there, but the Sea rejected me on three separate occasions.” He looked at me. “Perhaps it would be more accepting of you.”

“I can try,” I said.

As a test, I stepped forward until my boots were a few inches under the ichor. The liquid brightened around me.

“That’s a good sign,” Isaru said.

I nodded. “I need a definitive answer. I need to know if the time of the Xenofold has passed.”

“That was the hardest part of your story to hear,” Isaru said quietly. “Let’s pray that it’s not.”

I went forward a few more steps, until the ichor was up to my waist, before turning around.

“I promise I’ll come back for you, Isaru.”

He nodded, but something in his gray eyes seemed to doubt me.

“Go,” he said. “I’ll be waiting.”

I nodded. “No goodbyes, Isaru. We’ll be seeing one another soon.”

I turned back around, reaching out to the ichor. I felt myself connect with it and, on my command, it drew back into two walls, creating a path that led directly to the bright shining light, just as it had done in the real world.

I went toward that light, walking through it without hesitation, entering the heart of the Xenofold.

* * *

When I stepped on the other side of the light, I was in the same place I was before – the Sea of Creation. I walked up the path made in the ichor sea until I reached the shore. A figure stood there, but it wasn’t Isaru.

I felt my heart beat faster and my throat clench once I realized who it was.

“Alex?”

He turned with a smile, dressed in plain pants and a white T-shirt – the same kind he might have worn four hundred years ago.

In that moment, I wasn’t Shanti, but Anna. I couldn’t control myself as I ran forward and threw my arms around him. For the first time in four hundred years, I could feel him, even smell him. He was real.

I felt myself shaking and crying, and didn’t even care. He kissed the top of my head and pulled me tighter.

“It’s good to see you,” he said. “To hold you.”

“You too,” I said, my voice shaky. “Please tell me this is real.”

I didn’t want to let go, but his grip loosened, and I pulled back to look at him. He smiled. His hair was brown and long, falling halfway across his brown eyes, just as I remembered him. His arms were long, but strong. I put my head against his chest, feeling safe for the first time in years.

Was this me, or her? Was there even a difference.

He took my chin and tilted it up toward his face. He leaned forward and kissed me while I closed my eyes. I felt the kiss not just on my lips, but every part of me. I kissed him back, hard, unable to control myself, with centuries of pent-up desperation.

This wasn’t Elekim, the god of the Elekai. This was Alex, and I was his wife, Anna.

I started to cry at the realization that this was all a vision and not real, and it could only last for a few minutes before it went away.

Alex looked at me with concern. “What’s wrong, Anna? Tell me.”

I sat down on a nearby rock, where he joined me, holding me close while I stained his shirt with tears. After a minute, I finally managed to speak. “This isn’t real. You can’t come back with me.”

Alex laughed. “What do you mean? Of course it’s real. I only had to wait until you found me.”

I sniffled. “What do you mean?”

“You were the key, Anna,” Alex said. “I’m here. This is real.”

I looked up at him, unbelieving. “No. That can’t be. I entered the reversion, and now I’m here. You mean . . . this place is real?”

“When you entered the Xenofold, I felt every question you had to ask, every desire of your heart. I heard what was on your mind . . . and you were right.”

“Right about what?”

“You need me. The world needs me. We must fight with everything we have left, one last push by the Elekai to stop the Radaskim for good. We’re too weak to last for much longer. And after we save this world, we’ll have to leave it. You and I together.”

Now I was sure this was a dream and not reality. “But how?”

“The time of the Xenofold is coming to an end, but not like you think. We will last long enough to fight and protect this planet for the final time. Only then can it end.”

“But we would be leaving this world to Shen,” I said.

“Yes,” Alex said, surprising me with that answer. “There is little we can do about that. Humanity, and Earth, will be as safe as it can ever be when entrusted to him.”

“You’ve spoken to him?”

“Yes. The Xenofold has peered into his thoughts, his intents. Under him, humanity can once again rise from the ashes, becoming greater than it has ever been before. Even if we wanted to stop him somehow, he cannot be attacked. There is no central point, and more than that, it would be detrimental to humanity.”

“Then it’s over,” I said. “Shen has won.”

“No,” Alex said. “If Shen wins, humanity wins.”

“When will it happen, then?” I asked. “When will the Xenofold end?”

Alex looked at me seriously. “It ends when I say it ends. And I will only say it’s over when the job is done.”

“You could stop the Hyperfold if you ended it now,” I said. “You could kill it all right now.”

Alex nodded. “There are a few concerns, though. There is your friend, Isaru, and Elder Isandru. They need to be saved first.”

“Of course,” I said.

“It is not just a matter of mercy,” Alex said. “It’s a matter of winning the war.”

“What do you mean?”

“Odium of the Dark has three champions. The first is Rakhim Shal, who is the chief of the three. Shal controls Isaru, Odium’s second champion.”

“And the third?”

“Elder Haris at the Sanctum,” Alex said. “But there’s nothing we can do about him right now. We have to focus our efforts on Rakhim Shal right now, since he’s the chief of the three. And if we do nothing to stop him, Shal will kill Isandru inside the Hyperfold. All three Champions must be freed from Odium’s grip before the Xenofold can pass away. If we don’t do that, then they will become fully Radaskim and have enough power to challenge the Xenofold directly. It would create a situation like the first Ragnarok War, with the Radaskim in control of the Xenofold again.”

“So, we have to save them first,” I said. “But how can we do that. You can’t be serious that this is reality, not the Xenofold.”

Alex laughed. “You still don’t understand? This is the real world. It took a lot of my power to do but I’m physically here, just as you are physically here.”

“Then I’m fully Anna,” I said.

And for the first time, I realized that Shanti had sunk deep into my mind, the watcher as Anna had been the watcher before.

It won’t be long, I thought. I just need your body for a while. You’ll have it back, my friend.

“It’s only temporary,” Alex said. “We exited the Sea of Creation together just now. There, you can see it behind us.”

I turned to look, and as Alex said, it was there, just as it had been in the vision.

It was all a bit overwhelming, but something told me time was of the essence. “What now then, Alex?”

“We get out of here,” he said. “And we help Isandru.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“SO HOW DO WE GET to Isaru? I left my friends at the reversion. They’re probably still there . . .”

“They’ve left,” Alex said. “They were forced to when some crawlers overwhelmed their position. I saw them fly off, but can’t say more than that.”

“Are they okay?”

Alex nodded. “They got out just in time.”

I wanted to ask just how he knew that, but I realized that wherever the Xenofold reached, Alex knew what was happening.

“What now, then?”

“There are various points in the Wild that can be used to travel wide distances, to someone who has the power to do it,” Alex said. “The Xenofold’s Point of Origin is such a place, acting as a hub that connects to any concentration of ichor large enough to recreate our bodies. That’s how you traveled from the reversion you entered into, and how you exited out of here.”

“Makes sense,” I said. “So you’re saying we’re going to travel by going back into the Point of Origin?”

“That’s right,” Alex said. “If you follow me, we can travel to the forest on the surface.”

Already, he was walking down the path I’d created in the Sea of Creation, the ichor forming two walls on either side. He offered his hand, and I took hold of it as I followed him. We walked toward the light, until reality bled into a dream. We were somewhere at the bottom of the Sea, yet didn’t seem to be completely present in the world. Alex was swimming up now, the pink Sea seeming infinite in all directions. Various points of light shone within the Sea, and it was to one of these points that we were going. I kept myself just inches behind him, so that I wouldn’t lose him in this strange place.

It was hard to tell just how much time passed. It could have been thirty seconds, or it could have been thirty hours. All I know is that when we surfaced, it wasn’t in the Caverns of Creation, but in a forested glade cloaked in darkness. The air was harsh and cold, though the pool of ichor we had surfaced from was warm.

As we walked out of the pool, the ichor clung to us, shining. I realized the ichor would shape itself to whatever I wished.

Pants and a shirt, I thought. Remembering the cold, I added, and a jacket.

I felt the ichor move along my body, shifting and morphing, until the light completely dimmed and revealed perfectly fitting silken clothing that felt warm. Though I hadn’t specified, the ichor had also formed warm boots and socks as well.

Alex had similar same clothing, tailored to his long and lanky form. The color was dark, which would blend in perfectly with the surrounding forest.

“This is amazing,” I said.

Alex gave a small smile. “You don’t know the half of what is possible.”

Seeing him standing there, I think I realized fully that Alex was here, in the flesh, and that this wasn’t just a dream. I ran forward and embraced him and was unable to hold back my tears of joy. I held him tightly. If I let him go, he might disappear.

“We have this moment,” Alex said, sadly.

“This moment?” I asked. “Only this moment?”

“There’s little time,” he said. “Isandru needs us.”

I knew that. Reluctantly, I let him go. “Just where are we?”

“North of Hyperborea,” he said. “The entrance to the Hyperfold is only a few miles away. Isandru’s done his part, but if we don’t hurry, it could be too late for him.”

“Let’s hurry, then.”

Alex ran off into the trees, somehow knowing which direction to go. I followed him, hardly able to keep up. Part of me still couldn’t accept that this was real, but deep down, I knew this was reality. Alex was back, and with him on our side, there was nothing that could stop us. He seemed different, older and wiser, though his body was much the same as it had been when he left the physical world four hundred years ago. I couldn’t wrap my head around what this meant.

I could only follow him and hope the answers came.

We ran quietly for thirty minutes nonstop. The ground was rough, but Alex seemed to know the way.

“Almost there,” he called.

As good as his word, the trees came to an end and we stood before the dead city, its thousands of broken towers milky in the light of the full moon. Alex didn’t spare the city much of a glance, instead opting to climb down the cliff that led to the plain outside the outskirts. Once we had carefully picked our way down, we ran forward into a depression that had once been one of Hyperborea’s seven fabled lakes. A long time ago, these lakes had surrounded the city, forming a protective barrier while serving as a reservoir that supplied the city with ichor. The lakes had been dry ever since the fall of the city a century and a half ago.

The screams of dragons carried on the wind from an indeterminate point. Alex paused in his tracks to listen.

“Hide?” I asked.

Alex looked to the dark sky, considering. “Yeah. They might hide.”

That hadn’t been the answer I was expecting, and before I could clarify that I’d heard correctly, Alex charged through the city rubble, heedless of any lurking danger.

“Alex!” I called. “Are you crazy? There’s well over a hundred dragons guarding the city!”

“Come on!” he called back. “You have to trust me.”

I didn’t have much of a choice, so I ran after him. We turned down what once was a wide thoroughfare, now half-covered with rubble, broken columns, and felled trees. The street was practically impassable, so we descended into a nearby trench, which was once one of the main canals that had laced the metropolis. The passage here was a bit easier. When our way was obstructed once more, we turned down another canal, which drove due west to the Thought Dome and the Hyperfold it housed. Once we neared the edge of the city, I could spy the Dome rising clearly above the dark forest that began right where the city ended. A long, high bridge ran out of the city and over the trees, which led directly to the entrance of the Thought Dome.

More of concern to me, however, were the dozens of dragons circling the starry sky above, screaming their iterant warnings.

“You sure about this, Alex?”

He gave a single nod. “Getting in will be the easy part. There should be a set of stairs by that bridge support. Once we’re on top, the real fun begins.”

“Just so we’re clear, we’re going to fight those dragons, right?”

“Yep.”

I could hardly believe it. “You sound confident. I guess it’s true that you’re a god.”

“I’m no more a god than you, Anna,” he said, turning to face me. “Or should I call you Shanti?”

“Call me whoever,” I said.

“Listen. It was Anna I was kissing earlier, just to make that clear.”

“Yeah, I figured. Let’s not make this awkward. I’m glad you did it.”

And I wanted him to do it again. The question of our love was too complicated to process right now. I felt like Anna when I had exited the Sea of Creation, but now I felt like both myself and her.

Fighting dragons seemed simple when compared to figuring out my identity.

“Let’s just move on,” I said.

Alex laughed. “Yeah. Good call.”

We reached the stairs, and thankfully, only a few of the stone steps were broken, allowing us to climb all the way to the top. As soon as we stood on the wide bridge above, it was a straight shot to the Thought Dome and the entrance to the Hyperfold within.

Just being here brought back all sorts of terrible memories. I broke into a cold sweat, not helped by the fact that we were easy pickings for the dragons swarming above the bridge. As soon as we started moving forward, their screams filled the night.

They had seen us.

All at once, they turned and homed in on our position, letting out baleful roars.

“All right,” I said. “I’m trusting you.”

“Bond with me,” he said.

I obeyed instantly. I reached for Silence and felt his connection to the Xenofold, and latched myself onto that connection. I gasped at the amount of raw power behind him, far more than I’d ever felt in my life. If I were just a lake, Alex was the entire ocean.

That’s when I realized that Alex himself was the Xenofold. Whatever power it had, he had, completely unadulterated. And he held all that power as if it were nothing. Even the bond I’d formed with everyone else that forced our entry to the Hyperfold was as nothing compared to this.

Feeling this power, I could see why Alex was so unconcerned about the dragons.

I followed Alex’s line of concentration, as a dozen links were forged, tethering every single one of those dragons to us. Vaguely, I was aware of them screaming, not in predatory delight, but in capitulatory fear. All of them wheeled around, futilely, knowing that Alex’s next move decided their fates.

I heard Alex’s voice in my head. Stop.

Every single one of the dragons stopped, hovering in midair. Seeing them hanging suspended in the air, no sound but the flapping of their wings, was eerie. There were no more screams, only complete obedience to the one who was controlling them.

I never knew such a thing could be possible. Tethering and controlling even one dragon was a struggle for me.

“Time to go in,” Alex said.

“You’re not going to kill them?” I asked.

Alex looked at me as if my question were strange. “They could prove useful. Remember, Quietus was once Radaskim. And there’s a chance that one day, these dragons can be redeemed if the Xenofold ever regains its full strength.

Even if immobilizing these dragons was only part of the strength of the Xenofold, it was still impressive. For all the weakness of the Xenofold, it was still unimaginably strong.

We ran across the bridge, right under the swarm of dragons that continued flapping their wings, hovering in the air. The bonds we’d forged didn’t seem to be in any danger of breaking. I spared them one last glance once we passed through the barrier that separated the Thought Dome from the outside world.

Once inside, I felt Alex release the bond between us. Through the semi-translucent barrier, I could see the dragons swarming again like angry wasps, but there was no sound save the emanating, oceanic drone of the glowing Point of Origin, just one hundred paces ahead along the shining bridge.

“Rakhim no doubt knows we’re here,” I said.

“He most certainly does,” Alex said. “But there’s something we must discuss before we go in.”

“What’s that?”

“Whoever kills Rakhim becomes the Hyperfold’s new master. But that new master is still vulnerable to Odium’s control.”

“Meaning?”

Alex shook his head. “It can’t be me. I can’t take control of the Hyperfold, and I can’t kill Rakhim.”

I wasn’t following what Alex was saying. If it couldn’t be him, then who?

“There’s only one way,” Alex said. “When I enter the Hyperfold, I won’t be able to leave again. It has to be you leaving. And when you do, it must be as Elekim.”

* * *

All I could do was stare at him dumbly. I felt as if I hadn’t heard him correctly.

“That can’t be possible,” I said, when I saw he was serious. “Why would you say that? You want me to become Elekim?”

Alex held my hand, looking into my eyes sadly. Seeing him sad just made my chest heavy and my throat thicken.

“I’ll try to explain, even if it sounds confusing. The Hyperfold poisons whoever controls it. It would be impossible for me to control the Hyperfold. Whoever takes control of it becomes the new Rakhim, basically. The only solution is for me to stay and make sure Rakhim can’t cause any more trouble. This will cause Odium to abandon him, to flee outside of the Hyperfold into his other two Champions . . . Isaru and Haris.”

“I think I understand,” I said.

“And you won’t be able to deal with either of them as you are now,” Alex said. “For one, that dream you had. A great part of your power left you then to help Isandru fight Rakhim. He fought him, but cannot ultimately defeat him. That power was necessary, but it has left you weaker. By giving my powers to you, you’ll be strong again . . . stronger than you ever have been. As soon as I impart my powers to you, you’ll be powerful enough to drive Odium out for good and free Isaru. With luck, you’ll be able to drive Odium out of everything he’s poisoning on this world. That will give the Xenofold some breathing room, some strength to gather itself before the final storm.”

“What about you, though? If I were to take over your position, what would that do to you?”

“I’ll remain in the Hyperfold, making sure it can’t be taken over by Odium. I can strengthen the link to the Xenofold, allowing all those who are trapped here to rejoin it.”

“That means you would be gone, too,” I said.

Alex nodded. “Yes. I will return to the Xenofold, for good this time. And I’ll be waiting there for you . . . for Anna. I’m sorry it has to be this way. But it’s the only way we can truly be together. Yes, I can remain out here, but even with all my power, the world would burn if the Hyperfold isn’t dealt with now.”

I felt a deep sadness at these words, mainly because once Alex was inside the Hyperfold, everything was going to be up to me once again, and if I failed, then Alex’s work would be for nothing, and we wouldn’t be together.

I wasn’t ready for such a responsibility.

“I can’t, Alex,” I said. “I’m not strong enough.”

“Do you think I thought I was strong enough?” Alex asked. “I didn’t wish for this, either . . . but it came to me all the same. I wouldn’t give you this burden if there were any other way, Anna. But this is the only way.”

“I can’t, Alex,” I said, tears falling from my eyes.

“You don’t know that!” He took me by my shoulders. “I know you can, Anna. You must believe that you can! That’s the source of my powers. I believe it, and the Xenofold believes it, too. Belief becomes reality.”

His intensity took me aback, but deep down, I knew that he believed in me, too, for some crazy reason. Would that belief also become reality?

I realized that yes, it would.

“Anna,” he said, “this isn’t the end. This is just the beginning. If we push Odium from Earth, if we hold back the invasion, we can start a new life, away from here, on a new world. Right now, you’re two people in one. But the part of you that’s Anna will rejoin the Xenofold before it fades, and then we’ll be together again.” Alex grabbed both of my hands, cradling them in his. “I know you’re not the same person anymore, Anna. I know that this body was never meant to be shared by two souls. But there might be a way out still, if we just believe and have hope!”

Listening to him, I understood how Anna had fallen in love with him. To maintain such a positive outlook in the face of such overwhelming odds was a rarity. Unwittingly, I found myself starting to hope, too.

I looked past him, toward the Hyperfold’s Point of Origin. “I’m not sure how much time we have, Alex. The longer we wait out here, the less chance there is of rescuing Isandru.”

Alex nodded. “You’re ready to go in, then?”

I didn’t know I would ever be ready for that. But as Alex said, it didn’t matter whether we were ready. We just had to believe we were, and pray that belief was enough.

I made myself nod. We stood for a moment, hand in hand, and walked together down the shining path toward the central, blinding orb. Alex went ahead, reaching out his hand toward the light.

Together, we were pulled in.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

THE WORLD WITHIN THE HYPERFOLD was not the one I was used to. The city of Hyperborea wasn’t there, and all that was left was a bleak, cracked plain under a dismal gray sky. Alex stood next to me.

In the distance, I spied a stooped figure kneeling on the ground alone, a wash of long gray hair falling behind his back.

Isandru. I ran forward to help him.

“Anna!”

I ignored Alex, continuing to run.

When I reached him, he didn’t turn. “Elder?”

“Anna,” he said, standing and then turning. “You’ve returned.”

The face wasn’t Elder Isandru’s, but of Rakhim Shal. He gave an amused smirk while his glowing eyes narrowed.

Rakhim’s eyes came to rest on Alex, who had caught up to me by now. Rakhim let out a throaty chuckle. “You are out of your element, Elekim. Prepare to be destroyed.”

“No,” Alex said. “That won’t be happening.” He looked around at the devastated landscape. “Your creation is passing away, and you no longer have the power to rebuild it.”

“I will soon,” Rakhim said. “Don’t you worry about that.”

I remembered the last time we were here, the Hyperfold had completely crumbled while we made our escape. Something told me that we had been very close to defeating Rakhim once and for all, but only to just fall short. But if what Alex said was true, then even such a victory would have been short-lived, since the one who killed Rakhim would just fall under the Hyperfold’s influence.

As if daring for this to happen, Rakhim taunted, “Kill me. You know you want to.”

The space next to Rakhim became warped and twisted, the waves congealing until a form appeared from the very air. I recognized the shape to be Isandru. He was kneeling on the ground, his head hung low.

“Elder Isandru!” I called.

The Elder Prophet looked up at me, seeming older that he had ever appeared. His face was sunken, his form thin and emaciated. There was no strength left in his body.

“He tried to fight me,” Rakhim said, almost with a coo. “Of course, he failed. And if you kill me now, I will destroy him utterly.” He gave a poisonous smile. “If you die in this place, you will be trapped here, forever my puppet.”

“The time of the Hyperfold has come to an end,” Alex said. “No one will die today. No, not even you, Rakhim.”

Rakhim’s smile evaporated. “Isaru will come. I have slowed time, and I can wait as long as necessary.”

“Isaru isn’t coming,” Alex said. “Not this time. Your master has abandoned you to your fate. You’re no longer useful to him.”

Rakhim’s expression darkened. I could see from his face that he knew the truth of this. His next words were filled with denial. “No. My master needs me. I created this place. I have the power to command Isaru. Without me, my master would not be able to touch this pathetic world!”

“That might have been true once,” Alex said. “But no longer. Your master is throwing everything he has into Isaru, and casting you into the darkness.”

Rakhim’s face contorted in rage. He reached out his hand, and I felt myself pushed back. I landed on my feet, stumbling a bit, but quickly regaining my posture. Rakhim looked down at his hands, unbelieving that they had produced so little power.

“Do you believe me now, Rakhim?” Alex asked. “Do you surrender?”

“No!” Rakhim said. “It can’t be.” He glared at Alex. “I will destroy this place before I ever let you have it!”

“Go ahead and try.”

Rakhim closed his eyes, seeming to channel an energy that I couldn’t feel myself. After a few seconds of this, he opened his eyes, an expression of horror on his face.

“Do you believe me now, Rakhim?”

“Why . . . why would this be?”

“It is Odium’s nature to use and discard,” Alex said. “People are his tools, and he casts them away when they’re no longer useful. All the power he has promised you was a lie. He gave you power, for a time. But he will not let you have victory. Victory belongs to him alone.”

“But I can still destroy you!”

“You’re powerless, Rakhim,” Alex said, stepping forward. Rakhim pathetically cowered, using Isandru as a shield – Isandru, whose eyes were still closed and whose body was unmoving.

“I’ll kill him!” Rakhim spat, “I’ll . . .”

Alex reached out his hand, and Rakhim flew backward, screaming. It was the move he’d intended to do to us, only when Alex did it, it was a hundred times stronger. He crashed into the ground far away and lay there, either incapacitated or dead.

“Is he . . .?” I asked.

Alex shook his head, as if to say “not yet.” He seemed confident that Rakhim would no longer be a threat, because he went straight to Isandru. He felt along his old, wrinkled face, and closed his eyes.

“He’s almost dead,” Alex said. “Rakhim has done terrible things to him. He wasn’t lying about the fight. I’ll try to revive him, but even my power is limited in this place.” He shook his head sadly. “I know it won’t be enough . . . but maybe I can give him enough strength so that he doesn’t have to die here.”

I watched as Alex closed his eyes, as the energy of the Xenofold flowed out of him and entered Isandru. A moment later, Isandru’s eyes opened, and he drew a deep intake of breath.

The first thing he saw was me.

“Shanti . . .” he rasped.

“Isandru,” I said, my eyes filling with tears while I knelt next to him. “I’m sorry. I was too late.”

I hugged him, but not too hard since he was weak. When I pulled back, Isandru was looking at Alex.

“This is Alex,” I said. “Elekim.”

Isandru smiled. “Yes. I know that. Only Elekim could have brought me back from the place Rakhim put me.” Isandru frowned, puzzled. “Where is he? I would fight him, though I have no strength left.”

I looked across the plain, and Isandru followed my line of sight.

“He isn’t dead, yet,” Isandru said.

“No,” Alex said. “I’m afraid it isn’t that easy. I’ll have to stay, to make sure he doesn’t have the power to rebuild. The Hyperfold won’t be destroyed now, but it also won’t get any stronger while I’m here.”

“I know what you said before, but he looks so weak, Alex. Maybe there’s a way we can end this, once and for all.”

Alex shook his head. “There’s nothing more you can do, Anna.” He reached out and touched my face, his expression sad. “As long as this place exists, Rakhim cannot truly die. This is the reason I came back. To stop him from using this place to poison the world. It’s your job to save Isaru, now, and to stop Haris in the Sanctum. Then this place can finally end, and Odium will have no one to possess in this world.”

I closed my eyes, relishing Alex’s touch and trying to commit the feeling to memory. “What must I do?”

“Find Isaru,” Alex said. “Odium will still be in full control of him. If Isaru can be freed, then you can return here. Rakhim has outlived his usefulness to Odium, but Isaru is still very useful, so Odium will be committing all his energy to him. It’s up to you to challenge Isaru, and Odium, directly.”

“And if I’m not enough?”

To the side, the air shimmered and seemed to split at the seam, revealing a rip into reality through which I could see faces: Shara, Fiona, and Isa. They looked at me as if through a pane of glass, their expressions shocked.

“I’m letting you out in the same place you entered the Xenofold,” Alex said. “Your friends have come back. I’ll hold things here while I wait.”

I threw my arms around him. “Will you be okay in here?”

Alex was quiet for an uncomfortably long time. “Once I give my powers to you, then I don’t know what’ll happen. I’ll be strong for a long time still. Strong enough, maybe.”

“Alex . . . you can’t stay here if it’s going to hurt you.”

“All I can do is buy us time,” Alex said. “My life on Earth ended four hundred years ago, Anna. It’s right for me to give myself to save the world, even a second time. But you can’t stay here. Isandru needs you.”

I wiped the tears from my eyes. “We’ll go now, then.”

I helped Isandru to stand. “Elder . . .”

“She’s gone, Shanti,” he said, his voice raspy. “Gone . . . I couldn’t save her.”

I knew he was referring to none other than his sister. “I know, Isandru. She will be one with the Xenofold. Alex is going to save everyone here, to make sure they go to the place of light.”

“I couldn’t bear the thought of her being in here,” Isandru said. “I . . . challenged him. I nearly won.”

“She’s in here?”

Isandru coughed. “I can’t leave this place. Not until she’s safe.”

“You have to get out, Isandru,” I said. “You’ll die if you stay.”

“I’ll die if I leave!” he said vehemently.

I looked at Alex, at a loss for what to do.

“He’s right,” Alex said. “He’ll die either way. A part of him will be left behind; such is the fate of those who enter this place. Leaving will hurt him greatly, but staying would be far worse.”

I nodded. “I know.” I helped Isandru toward the portal. “Let’s go back now.”

“Shanti . . .” he said. “Don’t be afraid. The best is yet to come.”

“Isandru? What do you mean?”

He smiled then. “The world may pass away. But it won’t matter. The Elekai will not die. It will only be . . . different.”

“Different how? Isandru?”

“Elekim . . .” he said, looking into my eyes.

Then, in my arms, he closed his eyes closed as his body sagged.

“Elder?” I asked, panic entering my voice.

He was unresponsive, but I felt a weak pulse at his neck.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

THROUGH THE PORTAL, THE OTHERS still gazed at me with their faces of perpetual shock.

“There’s something you should know,” Alex said. “When you leave this place . . . it will be as Elekim.”

“I know,” I said. “I’m still not ready for that.”

“When I stay here, I’m sacrificing myself,” Alex said. “A sacrifice is necessary to transfer my powers to you. Just as the one called the Wanderer died for us, I die now for you. For the world to have hope.”

“No,” I said.

“It must be this way,” Alex said, tears falling from his eyes. “I know I’ll see you soon. And I also know I can’t see you again unless I do this. I can’t let you go back out there without the entire power of the Xenofold behind you. That would be like killing you.”

“No,” I repeated. “I won’t let you die.”

“Come back,” he said. “When Isaru is safe. Then this place will end, and I can return to the Xenofold. After that the final battle can begin.”

Nothing I could say would change things. I had to accept this, even if I didn’t want to.

I hadn’t wanted to be Elekai. I hadn’t wanted to be Anna. And now, finally, I didn’t want to accept this final threshold of responsibility. To become Elekim.

“I don’t know how, Alex,” I said. “It’s too much!”

“You can,” Alex said. “Because I did.”

“You’re special,” I said. “You’re better and stronger than me.”

“No,” Alex said. “You are just as strong as me. Stronger, in some ways. Please tell me that you’ll try. I’ll always be with you, Anna. Always.”

I looked into his eyes, and I didn’t know how much was me and how much was her, but I trusted him with everything I had. I trusted him back then when he sacrificed himself, I trusted him when he told me we would be together again, and now, I had to trust him that this was the only way.

“Okay,” I said. “But this is the last thing I’ll do. The last thing you can ever ask me to do.”

“I know,” Alex said. “It’s so much. But I know our love is enough, Anna. Everything we’ve been through, in life and outside of life . . . it’s all been building toward this. And we will be together again. I believe that.”

“I do, too,” I said.

All this time, I was still holding Isandru. I wanted nothing more than to throw myself into Alex’s arms, but to stay here any longer with Elder Isandru would be a dishonor to him. I couldn’t let him die in this horrible place, the way I was allowing Alex to die.

“I have to go,” I said.

“I know,” Alex said. “Remember everything I told you. Remember to come back when everything’s done. I know you can do it, Anna.”

“I’ll come back,” I said. “Goodbye, Alex.”

“I love you, Anna.”

I closed my eyes. At that moment, I was fully Anna.

“I love you, too. With everything I am.”

I faced the portal, which was already growing smaller. I carried Isandru through, stepping out onto the other side just as it closed.

* * *

We were under the ichor. I pushed off the ground toward the surface, holding tight to Isandru. When I broke the surface, I pulled him toward the shoreline, where Fiona and Shara rushed to pull us out.

“Elder Isandru!” Fiona said.

At that moment, his eyes opened, but just barely. “Fiona.”

Isandru then closed his eyes, unable to do or say more.

“We need to get him on board,” I said.

“Is he going to be okay?” Shara asked.

They helped me carry him up the slope toward the ship.

“What happened?” Isa asked, walking beside me.

“I’ll get to that in a moment,” I said. “Elder Isandru is very weak. He fought Shal and is hurt badly.”

The wound didn’t seem to be anything physical, but he was hurt all the same.

We walked on board and laid Isandru on my bed. I touched his old, withered arm, and opened myself to the Xenofold.

Only to be shocked by the sheer amount of power I felt. Time seemed to slow as the exhilaration of power filled me. I felt as if I could do anything with that power.

I could perhaps even give Isandru his life back, repair all the damage done to him by Rakhim Shal and the Hyperfold.

So, I filled him with that power, somehow knowing by instinct exactly what I had to do.

And due to that instinct, I knew that even I couldn’t save him, not with all the power of the Xenofold, just as Alex couldn’t.

Even as I was coming to this realization, Isandru’s gray eyes opened and shone brightly, as if he himself were channeling the power of the Xenofold. I could feel a block in his mind, something that kept his connection from being fully pure. Still holding onto Silence, I unraveled that block, only realizing once it was untied that the block was due to his Aether addiction.

As the tension loosened, Isandru breathed a sigh of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted. His eyes faded in intensity until they were their normal gray color.

“Peace,” he whispered. “At last, peace.”

Everyone around us watched closely. He gave each of us a look in turn, before his eyes settled on me.

“Elekim,” he said, his voice weak. “Thank you.”

“You’re safe now,” I said.

“No,” he said, reaching a hand out. “I haven’t long. Without Aether . . . this life has been unnaturally long. I was . . .” He was wracked with a fit of coughs. Isa ran out of the cabin, returning with a glass of water as soon as the coughing fit was over. He ignored it, however. “I was waiting for my sister’s return . . . and your return.” He looked at me meaningfully. “But now . . . I must rest.”

“No,” Fiona said, tears in her eyes. “You’ve only now returned to us. You can’t leave when we need you the most.”

“Pain . . . great pain,” Isandru said. “He nearly destroyed me . . . kept me on the edge of madness.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you,” I said.

“Don’t be sorry,” Isandru said. “I did what I had to. I . . . slowed him down. Gave you a chance . . .” He paused to gather himself. His eyes shut from some unseen pain.

Despite my powers, there was nothing I could do to stop the inevitable.

“I’ve lived almost two centuries,” Isandru said. “That is too much time for any man. Only the Aether kept me going this long. Without it . . .”

“We have some still,” Isa said.

“No!” Isandru’s voice spoke with surprising volume. “No, Isa. I cannot go back to that.”

He turned onto his side, as if doing so might relieve some of the pain.

“What can we do for you, Elder?” I asked.

“I will not have Aether ever again,” Isandru said, very quietly. I had the feeling I was the only one who could hear him. “The time for that . . . is past. There is no place for it in our world any longer. I would see . . . each of you in turn. After that . . .”

He didn’t finish. I gestured to the others, so that they would come closer.

“He wishes to speak to all of you,” I said.

I didn’t finish, because they knew what I meant. Isandru wouldn’t be with us for much longer.

* * *

I went outside the cabin and fixed myself a cup of coffee, sitting at the table in the wardroom. Shara joined me there, looking at me from across the table.

“You did what you could, Shanti,” she said.

I nodded. “It wasn’t enough this time.”

“No one can stop what’s inevitable,” she said. “Isandru fought as a warrior should.” She looked at me closely. “Did you see Elekim? I heard Isandru mention him.”

“Yes,” I said. “Alex is in the Hyperfold now. If he’s there, Rakhim can’t cause any more trouble. But we must find Isaru. Odium is controlling him directly now, and we must drive him out and save Isaru. Only then can the Hyperfold be dissolved.”

Before Shara could ask any more, the door to my cabin opened, revealing Isa with tears running from her eyes. She had just seen Isandru. She came to sit next to me. I placed my arm around her as she cried into my shoulder.

“It’s no good,” she said. “He looks like he’s in so much pain, Shanti. Why is this happening?”

“He held on for all these years because of Aether,” I said. “He’s free of that burden, that false strength. His body is shutting down.”

The words sounded so harsh, but there was no other way to say it. Shara nodded from across the table. It was every person’s fate to die of old age, if they didn’t die from an illness, accident, or from battle. Death didn’t care about the niceties that were our shield.

We sat out there quietly, until the door opened to reveal Fiona. She looked even worse than Isa. Of all of us, she had perhaps been the closest to Elder Isandru. She gave a solemn, grieved look before walking past us to go to her cabin.

Without a word, Shara stood and went to see him. She didn’t look back, walking through the door. She wasn’t there long, perhaps a minute or two. She came back out and sat down, sharing nothing of what was said.

Now that I had given everyone their chance to speak, it was my turn. Walking across the wardroom and entering my cabin was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I went inside and closed the door behind me.

Elder Isandru lay there, groaning and in pain. He drew shallow breaths, and was muttering incoherently under his breath. I walked close and knelt, until my face was about a couple feet away from his. His face was a piteous mask of pain.

“Elder . . .” I said. “I’m here again.”

He opened his eyes, and forced a smile. “Shanti.”

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” I said, my voice thickening. “I’m sorry you have to go through this. I’m sorry it couldn’t be better . . .”

“I always thought I would be ready for this . . .” Isandru said, his voice barely audible. “It won’t be long, now.”

“I’m sorry if I took something from you during the healing,” I said. “I didn’t know taking away that block would make things worse . . .”

“It needed to go,” Isandru said. “If it didn’t, then Odium would have found me too, one day. It . . . was necessary. You did the right thing.”

“Is there any way I can save you?”

This actually made Isandru laugh, a laugh which was cruelly cut short by the pain it caused. “Not even Elekim can stop entropy, Shanti. You are strong enough, wise enough, to finish what was begun years ago. I have lived long enough to see the final fulfillment of my prophecy. That makes me happy. That lets me know my life, for all its sorrow, was worth living.”

“What final fulfillment?” I asked.

Isandru’s gray eyes were unfocused, but still seemed to find me. “That you would become Elekim. And you would destroy the Radaskim once and for all. A prophecy, at the time, I didn’t dare to believe true. Yet I believe it now.”

“But how is that even possible?”

“I don’t know,” Isandru said. He closed his eyes, and his voice entered my mind. But I have seen it. I see it now.

I knelt there for a while, holding his hand that had grown cold. He breathed shallowly for a while; through his touch, I could feel some of the pain he went through . . . a mere fraction of it.

“Leave me, Shanti,” he said. “Please. Bury me on the Sanctum grounds, beneath the large Silverwood by the stream. Several good prophets are buried there . . . old friends, long dead. Let me rest with them.”

I sniffled, a tear falling from my eye. “I’ll do that.”

“Shanti,” he said.

“Yes, Elder?”

“You are like a granddaughter to me. You and Fiona both. Promise me . . . when all this is done . . . promise me . . .”

At this point, Isandru was starting to lose his strength. “Promise what, Elder?”

He didn’t respond. He took one last breath, and released it as a half-completed sigh. He was still after that.

I cried there for a good two minutes, and made sure his eyes remained shut. The pain was gone, and his countenance was one of peace.

I stood on shaky limbs, and left the cabin to tell the others.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

WHEN WE ARRIVED AT THE Sanctum, we didn’t bother landing far away like last time. We went straight for the courtyard, which we found empty under the morning sun. The noise of our arrival drew a few people to the square, but they went right back to hiding as soon as they saw that we were landing. As hot as we were flying in, I couldn’t blame them.

Pallos cuts the thrusters a few inches above the old stone courtyard, and the suspension of the landing struts ate the force of the fall, the hull bouncing a couple of times before going still. We unstrapped ourselves and went to my cabin, where Fiona was standing watch over Isandru’s body.

It was hard to keep together as we lifted him off my bed. His thin form barely weighed anything; a good deal of his muscle mass had apparently withered away inside the Hyperfold.

I tried to brace myself for whatever was coming outside, as Shara pressed the button to open the blast door. Just a couple of minutes after landing, the courtyard was filled with dozens of Seekers, apprentices, and initiates, staring with widened eyes that went even wider as they realized who we were carrying, which was followed by gasps and murmurs. At the top of the stairs stood Elder Haris and Elder Draeus, each wearing a frown.

“Hold him for me, guys,” I said. “I need to talk to them.”

I waited to make sure their hold on Isandru was secure before stepping away to face the assembly. The voices quieted as soon as they saw I was about to speak.

“Elder Isandru has passed away,” I said, loudly and clearly. “He expressed his wish to be buried under the old Silverwood by the stream, the one close to the courtyard, where the other prophets are buried. That’s what we’re doing now. All of you are welcome to help us.”

Several Seekers broke from the crowd and went into the Sanctum while the others got closer.

“They’re bringing a casket,” an old Sage said, referring to the Seekers who had gone inside.

With surprising speed, the Seekers returned with an old pinewood casket. It was of simple design, not worthy of the last Prince of Hyperborea, but Elder Isandru wouldn’t have wanted anything grand, anyway.

We laid his body tenderly into the box, leaving it open so that all who wished to could come and pay their respects. We waited half an hour as each initiate, apprentice, and Seeker came. Elder Isandru deserved better than an impromptu funeral like this, but this was the best we could do given the circumstances.

The Elders, I noticed, held back until the very end. First was Elder Lian, whose stony demeanor softened upon seeing the Elder Prophet, with whom he had worked for decades. Elder Draeus pressed his palm to the Elder Prophet’s head, mouthing a few words before withdrawing. Elder Alan and Elder Arminius approached together, each bowing their heads low in respect. Last of all came Haris, the new Elder Scholar. As he stood in front of Isandru, his expression was neutral, and I could discern little behind his dark, glinting eyes. He glanced at me before returning to the stairs with the other Elders.

At last, all were done and quietly stood. I noticed some younger faces, new recruits who would have no idea who Elder Isandru was except through the stories. There was even a girl, perhaps Isa’s age, who reminded me of myself when I’d first joined.

I stepped forward and steeled my voice for what I was about to say. “Elder Isandru was one of the brightest lights in our fight against the darkness. He sacrificed himself to give the rest of us a chance to survive. Because of him . . . our eternal war against the Radaskim, the war we have often forgotten, is now possible to win.”

People seemed to be shocked that I would say this. The Radaskim were not often mentioned, and if they were mentioned, it was never done lightly.

“Make no mistake. The Radaskim are here, and we’re at war with them. Isandru fought against them, and it’s also what we are fighting against. You were called Seekers by Anna in the past age because it was your job to seek after her will.” I paused here to make sure all were listening, and listening well. “Her will is this: to follow her into the final battle against the Radaskim. The battle for Earth.”

Elder Haris stepped forward. “That’s quite enough, Initiate Roshar. Making this . . . scene . . . is a disrespect to Elder Isandru’s memory.”

“And what do you know about Elder Isandru’s memory, Elder Haris?” I challenged. “How would you know what he wanted? Elder Isandru was a Seeker. He was a Seeker who found the truth.” I glared at Elder Haris, to let him know that I knew exactly who he was, and who he stood for, and that he wasn’t going to fool me or anyone else here. “Elder Isandru, as esteemed as he was, chose to follow me, because he recognized who I am. You would keep that truth hidden.” Before Elder Haris could speak, I continued speaking. “Let’s put Elder Isandru to rest and bless the ground he’s buried in. After that . . . we fight. We stop our world from being swallowed by the darkness.”

“Why should we follow you?” a voice called from the crowd.

“There’s one simple reason for that. I’m Anna. I’ve returned to this dark time to lead everyone against the Radaskim. The war for our world has started, and people have already died. Some of my friends have died, and likely some of your friends have died as well. If we stand back and do nothing, our world will be washed over in a wave of death. If anyone doubts me, then challenge me. I’ve been given the authority by Elekim himself to lead the Seekers toward their true purpose. Anyone who does not follow me has not answered the call.”

No one spoke or challenged me . . . at least, not at first.

“This is nonsense,” Haris said, “and you are a liar. Since no one else is brave enough to say it . . . you commit a heresy, and if you were our holy goddess Annara, you would give better signs to prove it than just demanding our unquestioning loyalty.”

“I know who you are, Elder Haris. Is that you challenging me?”

All eyes went to Haris to see how he would react to this insult.

His first instinct was to give a superior smirk. “Humble yourself, Initiate Roshar, and return to the ranks of the Sanctum. You will not receive this offer again. The alternative is trial and condemnation.”

“No,” I said. “As Anna, I created this order, and I lead this order. Do you challenge me, Elder Haris? Do you forsake your vows to Annara that you swore when you were raised to the Seekerhood?”

“You are not Annara!”

“I am. If I’m a liar, then you should easily kill me, and I’ll receive my just condemnation. But if I defeat you, then it proves that I’m not lying. You’re the best fighter the Elekai have known in a generation.”

His face reddened in anger. “Yes. I challenge you.”

As Elekim, I didn’t have to let Haris draw any power from the Xenofold. And I wouldn’t. But if he fought with an ability that showed that he was fighting with a power beyond himself, it would prove my suspicion that he had given himself over to Odium, and that he was using the power of the Hyperfold, and not the Xenofold.

If he was confident enough to challenge me, then he was confident in the power of the Hyperfold to defeat me.

“Let us bury the Elder Prophet first,” Elder Arminius said. “The trial by combat will commence following laying Elder Isandru to rest.”

The gathering proceeded toward the trees, more joining all the time. Despite the over one hundred people surrounding us, I noticed the numbers were fewer than when I had attended the Sanctum as an initiate. Perhaps more than I’d thought had escaped to go join us in Kalear, or had gone their own way, not liking what the Sanctum had become.

As we buried the Elder, there was a tension in the air, and the Seekers murmured and cast glances my way. It was wrong to have that outburst and take the attention away from Elder Isandru, but I needed everyone to know the manner of this great man’s death.

I couldn’t let anyone challenge that.

As I watched the grave dug, the casket placed, and then filled again with earth after Elder Arminius had spoken a few words, I realized that I was through hiding. I was through pretending that I wasn’t Anna. I was her. And ever since my most recent return to the Xenofold, I was also Elekim.

If Haris wished to challenge the full power of the Xenofold, then I wouldn’t stop him.

CHAPTER THIRTY

ELDER HARIS FACED ACROSS FROM me as everyone in the Sanctum watched to see who would be proven right; the esteemed Elder Scholar, or the girl who claimed to be the returned goddess.

But under the surface, known only to me and Haris, there was a different battle. Elekim against Odium, light versus dark, freedom versus slavery.

While we waited, I heard Haris’s voice enter my mind. You cannot defeat me, Shanti. Lay down your sword now, and I’ll have mercy.

Have you given yourself to Odium, Seeker Haris? Why do you keep this place from realizing the truth of who I am?

There was a moment’s pause from Haris. Now he knew that I knew, if he didn’t already.

It’s useless to resist him, Shanti, Haris said. The Xenofold is dying. Weak. You would be surprised at the power of the Hyperfold. You will not leave this place alive. That much I promise you.

Haris didn’t know, then, how the Hyperfold had weakened due to Isandru’s influence. Would Odium abandon him the same way he abandoned Rakhim?

Only time would tell.

And then, Haris’ eyes glowed white, and I could feel the power emanating from him. I had felt that kind of power before, but not from a Seeker. It was like Mithras in the Ruins, like Isaru when we fought inside the Thought Dome, like Rakhim Shal at the height of his abilities. A dark aura encompassed him, a darkness that only I seemed to see.

He drew his katana and ran forward with terrifying speed. I raised my sword just in time to deflect a low slash, jumping neatly out of the way.

Haris rounded on me and unleashed a fury of attacks, moving faster than I would have believed possible. He was trying to kill me quickly, before I could make use of my newfound strength.

But after the initial shock, I felt calm overwhelm me. Haris wouldn’t be getting his chance. I had assumed Treeform, a stalwart defense that would give me time to open myself to the Xenofold. Its full power entered me readily, unabated. My focus heightened to inhuman levels, to the point where time itself seemed to slow. Life and strength surged through my limbs.

Haris’s face was red, contorted in a rage that belied the Silence a Seeker was supposed to hold above all. But for all his rage and darkness, it was obvious that he couldn’t match the power of the Xenofold. I parried and deflected his every attack with hardly any effort. From the strain on his face, I knew he was giving everything that he had, everything that the Hyperfold had given him for selling his soul.

It wasn’t enough.

Lay down your sword and surrender, I thought.

Never!

The fury of his attacks only increased, but I knew exactly where each strike would fall. I didn’t even have to move my blade; I could step aside long before the weapon got anywhere near me.

Give up, I thought. I won’t ask again.

Stubbornly, Haris continued to fight. I felt him weakening, slowing. His connection with the Hyperfold was thinning.

It kept on like this until Haris reached the point of exhaustion. I weaved in and out of his strikes, his pummels, his attempts to trip me up, matched every form switch perfectly, until my hands had maneuvered themselves to be on the hilt of his very own blade. I yanked the blade free as his eyes widened with shock. I stepped back with two swords in hand, both mine and his.

He went down to his knees, his chest heaving and his whitened eyes glaring. His face was a mask of disbelief as I held the blades, one on either side of his neck.

If Haris was in disbelief, then so was everyone else.

“It’s her,” Haris said, finally admitting it. “She’s Anna.”

From the shocked way everyone was looking at me, I knew they believed it, too.

* * *

There was still the matter of deciding what to do with Haris. My friends and I were the only ones who knew the truth of where he had gotten his power, and we were the only ones who knew that Haris was instrumental in keeping the Seekers from acknowledging me much earlier.

The fact of the matter was that he had given himself over to Odium and I wanted to get to the bottom of it.

I pulled the blades away and stepped back. All was quiet as Elder Arminius approached.

“What is to be done with him, Anna?”

I felt a moment of vertigo as I realized that even he had acknowledged me.

“Have the Champions escort him to a cell and keep him under vigilant guard. I want to question him.”

“It will be done.”

Haris cursed as two muscled Champions pulled him up. In the space of minutes, he had gone from Elder to suspect. The crowd parted as the Champions led him inside the Sanctum, with Arminius and I following behind.

“Stay here,” I called back to my friends. “Answer any questions they have. I have to see to this first.”

I followed the Champions into the Sanctum and down a flight of stairs, where Haris was deposited in a little-used cell with no windows, a thick door, and stone walls on all sides. The Champions stood outside the door, nodding for me to enter.

When I went inside, Haris was sitting in a chair facing the doorway. His face was still flushed and sweaty from the duel. He had the audacity to give a small, dark smile.

“Haris,” I said.

“Anna. How nice of you to spare me when I wanted nothing more than to sever that pretty head from your neck.”

I didn’t acknowledge the threat, or his general creepiness. “You gave yourself to the Radaskim. Admit it. None of that power you drew was from the Xenofold. I would have felt that.”

He chuckled. “What of it?”

“You realize that your master, Rakhim Shal, is a prisoner in his own creation at this moment?”

Judging from Haris’s worried expression, this was news to him.

“Before he died,” I continued, “Elder Isandru dealt him a devastating blow. It won’t be long until we catch up to Isaru and drive your master, Odium, from him as well. Your days of maneuvering the Sanctum against opposing Isaru are now over.”

“You will find it very difficult to defeat Isaru, I think,” Haris said.

“Why do you say that?” I said.

“My master is powerful,” Haris said. “He has promised me great reward to remain loyal to him.”

“You wouldn’t be the only one,” I said. “Odium will use you until there is no use left. Why should he give you anything? What good is a tool that doesn’t serve its purpose?”

“He gave me power,” Haris said, his eyes dark and greedy. “Such power.”

“And what did that power do for you?” I asked.

Haris scowled. “You know nothing! You may be Anna, but you are still just an ignorant girl.”

“Then enlighten me on what I don’t know,” I said. “Why does Odium have the right of it? Why does this world belong to him?”

“It was stolen from him by Elekim,” Haris said. “By you.”

I realized that Haris was not his former self. He had never been a pleasant person, but the transformation in the months since I’d left the Sanctum had been absolute. There was nothing about him that was physically different, but there was an inexplicable darkness to his eyes that only made sense considering what I knew about him.

“How long have you been working for Odium?”

“A long time,” Haris said. “Long before even you were born. I was a prophet once, you know.” Haris chuckled. “I suppose the old man never told you that.”

“Told me what?”

“You know, not all of us are blessed to play the role of the hero. After all . . . what is the hero without a villain?”

“What are you talking about? You had a choice, Haris, and you chose to follow Odium’s lies.”

“I was young, Shanti,” he said quietly, almost solemnly. “If you lived a life such as I have, and you listened to dark whispers promising freedom . . . then you would have said yes, too.”

“Freedom from what?”

“From pain,” Haris asked. “From helplessness.”

“Despite pain, you are still responsible for your decisions. You chose to follow Odium. You chose to heed those whispers, whatever they were.”

“I know,” Haris said. “I make no excuses for that fifteen-year-old boy who just wanted to be stronger than his bullies, who would have given anything for strength. I make no excuses for the boy who cowered in terror from his father when he was in a drinking mood. I make no excuses for him. He deserves damnation. He deserves despair.”

“He preyed on your weaknesses, Haris,” I said. “It’s not too late to renounce him and join the Elekai.”

Haris shook his head. “It is too late for me.”

“That, too, is a lie,” I said. “It’s always possible to turn back.”

“When I joined him,” Haris said, “he took away my ability to connect to the Xenofold.” He smiled bitterly. “I do not think I would ever want that connection again. I wouldn’t profane what is good with what is evil. I would spoil it somehow. It is in my nature to destroy, Anna.” He looked at me balefully. “Just leave me to my suffering. There’s nothing you can do for me.”

I shook my head at this stubborn man. “Think about it. Please.”

I left him in his cell and walked back out into the hallway.

Back in the courtyard, I got together with my friends and explained everything Haris had told me.

“I didn’t know he was once a prophet,” Fiona said. “All of that is disturbing, to say the least.”

“I’m not sure how far to trust him,” I said. “But for some reason, I believe everything he said. If it’s true, then I can see how he would have fallen into darkness. I want him to come back to the light.”

“These things take time,” Fiona said. “Night does not shift into day in an instant. But be very careful in hoping for redemption, Shanti.”

“Remember Isaru, how he fooled even the Elder Dragons,” Shara added.

It was a good point, one which I took to heart.

* * *

Now back in the bright, cool sunshine of the Sanctum grounds, the darkness of the cells seemed far away. Here, the majority of Sanctum-dwellers were still present, conferring quietly in small groups. I found Elder Arminius and approached him.

“He’s not saying much,” I said. “Though he told me he was once a prophet.”

Arminius nodded, indicating that this was true. “He was a pupil of Isandru’s once, believe it or not. It didn’t last long. He switched paths to study with the Scholars quite suddenly, if I remember correctly. I had only recently attained the mantle of Seekerhood, and despite working closely with Haris for many years, I did not know much of his personal life. He often kept to himself, and kept things professional.”

“I see,” I said. None of this was surprising to me. “I’m not sure what to do with him. He admitted that his power came not from the Xenofold, but from the Hyperfold.” I realized then that Arminius didn’t even know what that meant. “It’s the source of the Radaskim’s power on Earth, but Isandru was able to weaken it greatly. That’s how Elder Isandru died.”

“Wherever his power came from, it was clear that yours was greater,” Arminius said. “I believe you are who you say you are, as difficult as it is to fathom. We need guidance . . . and to know the truth of things.”

“Then just gather the Elders,” I said. “The four that are left, at least.”

“Elder Tellor is no longer with you?”

“He’s in the east, working with Prince Nabea to unify the Eastern Kingdoms.”

“A daunting task,” Arminius said. “Let us table this discussion until later, then. Whatever you share with us Elders, we can share with the rest of the Sanctum.”

“Elder Arminius! Anna!” A female Seeker bowed hastily to us both, having run from the direction of the Sanctum. Her green sash with the growing tree indicated that she belonged to the Sages.

“What is it, Seeker Lira?” Arminius asked.

“It’s Elder Haris,” she said. “He’s dead.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

I RAN BACK TO THE cell where I’d left Haris. Several Seekers were crowded inside it, talking.

“Let me through,” I said.

Instantly, the Seekers stood back, revealing Haris’s body on the floor curled into the fetal position. His skin was withered, as if the very life had been sucked out of him.

When I regained control of my shock, I asked, “What happened?”

“He started screaming,” one of the guards said. “We waited a moment, expecting some trick, but after a few seconds, we opened the door to see him writhing on the floor and foaming at the mouth. The screaming didn’t cease until he drew his last breath.”

Even on Haris’s face, the etching of pain remained. It looked as if he had aged twenty years, even though I’d only spoken to him a quarter of an hour before.

How could he have possibly died?

“Poison?” one of the Seekers asked.

“Maybe,” I said.

Looking down at him, I felt bad for him. I didn’t want to question whether he ever would have joined with Odium had his life been a bit better. Such questions were pointless, because they couldn’t be answered.

“What should be done with him, Anna?”

“Bury him here at the Sanctum,” I said. “He was wrong, and he did wrong . . . but he was one of us. Once.”

For the second time that day, we had a funeral. This one wasn’t nearly as attended as the first, and was over with far more quickly. I tried not to imagine Haris’s shriveled, pained expression lying in the coffin underground. At least he was buried far from Isandru, with the other Scholars.

With that business done, it was time for me to meet with the Elders. I took everyone with me to that meeting, including Pallos, so he could fill them on any details I couldn’t relating to Shen.

We stood in the center of the Elder Council’s chamber, four of the seven seats empty while the others looked on solemnly.

“Tell us everything we need to know to help you,” Elder Arminius said.

I did my best to oblige. It took a long time – many hours – but by the time we were through, there was a long silence. I left out some of the more personal details relating to me and Alex, but I did tell them that Elekim gave me his power to defeat Isaru, and that it was this power that allowed me to defeat Haris with relative ease.

I looked at each of the Elders, noting their troubled expressions. There were only three: Judge Lian, Cleric Draeus, and Chief Elder Arminius. The new Elder Sage, Alan, appeared to also be missing.

“We Elders are supposed to be wise,” Elder Arminius began. “I see now that we have only been fools.”

Lian and Draeus turned to look at him, and neither seemed to disagree with this statement.

“You never believed me, Elder Arminius?” I asked.

“I . . . hoped. I was investigating the matter myself, and something about King Isaru’s account of how you killed his father didn’t sit right with me.”

“That’s an outright lie,” I said. “Isaru was controlled by Rakhim Shal, who in turn was controlled by Odium. Isaru was possessed by Rakhim before but is now controlled by Odium directly. Until we figure out how to deal with Isaru, none of this can be set to rights.”

“What do you suggest we do, then?” Elder Lian asked in his deep baritone.

“We must depose him from Haven’s throne,” I said. “And drive Odium from his mind.”

“Then it shall be war,” Judge Lian said.

“It already is war,” I said. “The Novans are overrunning the lands of the Makai, providing a distraction while Isaru moves on Colonia.”

“Without the aid of the Makai, there is no stopping the Annajen army,” Judge Lian said. “Isaru’s force of dragons alone would be enough to decimate us.”

“It won’t just be us fighting,” I said. “My people in Kalear will fight. With luck, we’ll also have Nabea’s forces, too.”

“They’re too far,” Elder Arminius said. “It would take many weeks for them to reposition themselves in the Red Wild. And they would likely not leave their homelands undefended.” Arminius looked at me questioningly. “And how many are willing to fight in your name?”

“Not enough,” I admitted.

“What are your numbers?” Judge Lian said.

“Several hundred, at best.”

“And I assume this includes those Seekers and students who defected from here,” Cleric Draeus said, a bit stiffly.

I nodded my assent. “Yes. And there’s another group of . . . Seekers. There was a split in the order over a century ago, around the time of the fall of Hyperborea. They based themselves in the Ruins, north of Colonia and Haven. They’ve recognized me as Anna already.”

It was hard to gauge the Elders’ reaction. Did they even know about the Sphere Priests or their connection to the Seekers?

“I see,” Elder Arminius said. “We knew of such a group claiming to be the true heirs of Annara, and weren’t sure if it was only a rumor. These . . . priests . . . they were guardians of those Ruins, if I’m not mistaken.”

“That’s right,” I said. “They aren’t as numerous as the Seekers, but it’s time for the two orders to be joined as one.”

I was ready to argue and drive my point home, but to my surprise, none of the Elders raised any objections. Perhaps it was because they were too shocked to do so.

“They have the same Gifts, and they have the same teachings,” I continued. “Whatever drove us apart all those years ago needs to be put to rest. In fact, none of us can even remember what it was that drove us apart.”

“Perhaps I can speak to that,” Judge Lian said. “The order was split because they believed in you. The Seekers in those days had many different arenas and interests. It was these priests who believed the order had become too divided in its attentions, and had lost its original purpose.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Judge Lian continued. “The Priests, as you call them, are known among the learned here as the Marian Sect. Or, the Marian Heretics, as they came to be called during the Mindless Wars. Few know of their existence these days; indeed, they were almost written out of history. But they maintained the prophecies of their leader, Marius, that Anna would soon return and condemn Hyperborea for its sins.” He paused. “Of course, much of it seems mythological in nature. But there seems to be some truth to it.”

“This sect still exists,” I said. “They’ve come to Kalear and have sworn to follow me. The same that I demand of the Seekers here.”

This brought a silence, despite everything I had told them. Clearly, they were still uncomfortable with following me, even after everything I had shown them.

“We will get to that in due time,” Elder Arminius finally said. “There are precepts, traditions. It’s not supposed to be this . . . sudden.”

“We don’t have time for outdated traditions,” Shara said, stepping up and breaking her long silence. All eyes went to her. “Isaru is out there, and he’s going to lay siege to Colonia and take the city while we’re debating the finer details. Shanti is Anna. It was good enough for Elder Isandru and Elder Tellor. The Elder Prophet died for that truth. It takes a lot of pride to say that she isn’t good enough for you, either, especially after the way you saw her handle Haris.”

The Elders were silent as they considered her words. The silence was broken by Elder Draeus.

“I agree,” he said. “There is simply no alternative. She is who she says she is.”

Elder Lian also nodded. It looked as if it took great effort to do that one, simple action. “I concur as well. Only that puts us at odds with Isaru. Isaru, who still expects our loyalty. We’ll have to pick a side publicly, and soon.”

“We can stop Isaru if all of us band together,” I said. “If we believe his lies, then the Radaskim have already won. They are the true enemy. Isaru might still be saved if I can find a way to drive Odium from his mind.”

“I wish we had the ability to independently verify everything you’ve told us,” Elder Arminius said, “but as Shara here has so bluntly put it, we don’t have the time. Elder Isandru’s judgment, and that of Elder Tellor, will have to be good enough for us as well. I do not like to blindly follow anyone, so I still have criticisms and doubts.” He looked at me, his brown eyes scrutinizing and his wrinkled face severe. “Any criticisms or doubts that I have are a result of my profession and my station. Every day that passes, I become more convinced of the truth of what you’re saying. Our world is on a collision course, and if nothing is done, it will spell doom for us all.”

“I am most interested in the alignment of the Shen,” Judge Lian said. “You spoke briefly of your contact with them. Historically, they have been our enemies. What makes you think they would be our allies?”

That wasn’t something even I wasn’t sure of. “The Radaskim bow to no one, so they are at odds with the Shen as well. As I said before, I’ve spoken with Shen directly. While I don’t think our goals align completely, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We have much more to gain by working with them, at least in the short term.”

“All that’s left is logistics,” Elder Arminius said. “Kalear is far from here, Shanti, and the Sanctum is well-positioned. We have already been stockpiling food and supplies. In theory, this place could last well over two years under siege.”

“At the present rate,” Judge Lian said, drily, “the world will end before then.”

“Nonetheless, the Sanctum guards the Pilgrimage Road running north from Haven to Northold,” Arminius said. “It is the linchpin that connects all the Annajen’s northern holdings to Haven. The Annajen’s northern domains are not as vital as their south and central holdings, but they are nonetheless important. Isaru could not ignore us if we make our alignment known.” Arminius faced me, standing and his right fist to his chest in a gesture of solidarity. “The Sanctum stands with Anna Reborn.”

Following their example, Elders Lian and Draeus also stood, making the same gesture. I stared and tried not to gawk.

It had finally happened. I had the loyalty that I had so longed desired.

All I could think about was how much pain could have been avoided if only they’d believed me sooner.

But I couldn’t focus on that. There was only tomorrow and a lot of work to do.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

WE TALKED ABOUT A LOT of things after that. The plan for the moment was for the Seekers to hole up in the Sanctum and interrupt all the supplies flowing to the Annajen capital of Haven, and to fortify Nava Village. This meant setting up road blocks manned by Seekers and any able-bodied local men, who would form a militia armed by the Seekers’ vast store of weaponry. Of course, this meant coming out against Isaru without a formal declaration of war, but the hope was that the confusion this caused would delay Isaru from responding.

Done in this way, most of the local territory would fall under the Seekers’ direct control.

The Seekers, combined with the local population, was nowhere near enough to challenge Isaru’s army in full, but it would be enough that Isaru couldn’t ignore us. The flow of refugees fleeing from the north would also be put to a stop, and refugees bound for Haven would instead become an important source of manpower. Samalite men were well-drilled and would go a long way to creating an army to stand up to Isaru, if it ever came to a fight.

In addition, the Seekers were the most skilled dragonriders in the Red Wild. Combined with the Makai forces, and the Elder Dragons who wished to fight, we could at least match Isaru’s Mindless swarm.

Of course, I was hoping it would never come to a direct fight. If all went according to plan, Isaru would be turned back to our side and all the Elekai would band together to fight the true enemy: the Radaskim.

The challenge would be getting this patchwork of disparate forces working together – the Makai, the Sanctum, Kalear, and Prince Nabea’s eastern army, should they ever reinforce us from the east.

With the question of the Sanctum and Nava Village’s defense put to rest, we next focused our attention on the source of Isaru’s power and authority: the city of Haven. The road to the Annajen capital was less than a hundred miles southwest. According to the Elders, the city was lightly defended and could be taken easily, since his army was already on the march toward Colonia.

Such questions wouldn’t be discussed here in the Elder Council chamber, however, but a general council of war held in the Seekers’ Dome.

* * *

When evening came, not only were the Elders present, but most of the Seekers. I stood in the center of the Dome floor with the Elders, facing out to a crowd of some hundred men, all wearing Seekers’ white and the stoles of their various Sects. On the second floor, many more apprentices and initiates were watching the proceedings.

If there was any doubt about who was in charge, all the Elders looked to me to begin the council. All were silent as I began.

“Challenging Isaru will not be easy,” I said, “but it is necessary. With the passing of the late Elder Haris, the Elders have unanimously agreed to instate me as the true head of the Sanctum.” That sentence seemed so brash as to not even be true, but it was true all the same. “The old days have passed. The Radaskim and Odium have influenced our world at the highest levels of authority. Isaru has taken over Haven, possessed by a Radaskim Xenomind known as Odium, whom I’ve seen in my dreams. This is the same Xenomind that’s coming to invade us . . . the same one Anna warned us about all those years ago. Odium even turned Elder Haris against us, who used his influence to keep the Seekers’ Sanctum from acting against Isaru.

“The time for sitting back for the Seekers is over. We join with those already fighting: my personal forces in Kalear, the Makai who are under assault by Nova at this very moment, along with the Kingdom of Atlantea. Our forces are separated, but altogether, we are almost enough to challenge Isaru directly.”

I surveyed the crowd, and was surprised to find that everyone was listening, and everyone was accepting my authority.

“We can’t save the Makai from the Novans until Haven itself is taken,” I continued. “And now, while Isaru’s forces are on the march toward Colonia, we have a golden opportunity to strike.”

Elder Arminius nodded to Judge Lian, who spread a vast map of the Red Wild on an old, wooden table. Many of the Seekers’ couldn’t see it clearly, but the geography of the Red Wild was well-known by all. Elder Arminius pointed to the Sanctum’s position in the center of the map. “We have a few weeks to gather what forces we can in the area and give nominal training. I’m afraid we have time for little else. At a forced march, we can be at Haven before the month is out. Our last report places Isaru’s armies in the Blasted Lands just north of Colonia. It’s rough terrain between there and Haven, so we can reach Haven before they can. We have the benefit of the road while Isaru would have to go through the Selvan to reach the city. Furthermore, Isaru will not turn back for the city until he’s heard a report of us marching south. By then, it will be too late.”

Everyone murmured with each other about the plan, and were cut off when Elder Arminius continued. “With the seizure of Haven, it will cut the Annajen forces off entirely from their line of supply. Tons of cargo move up and down the Colorado beneath Haventree every day. Many of those barges will be floating downriver toward Isaru’s army. Isaru will be able to respond to us quickly with his dragons and whatever soldiers those dragons can carry, but he probably can’t respond with too many; after all, that would leave his ground forces open to attack by the Colonian dragonriders.”

The plan seemed good. It depended mostly on speed. If Isaru turned back from Colonia, the flanks of his army would be exposed to the Colonians, so once committed to the siege, he couldn’t respond to the entirety of his force.

“It isn’t as simple as that, unfortunately,” Champion Garin called out. I remembered all those months ago where Champion Garin had trained Isaru, Ret, Samal, and I as initiates. It seemed a lifetime ago. He had a new scar across this nose, but he still had the same ruggedly handsome face. “Isaru hasn’t called all of his lords to be in his levy, so we will be greeted by as many as one thousand men who will have time to garrison the city.”

“One thousand,” Shara muttered. “That’s a lot.”

“It is said that a Seeker can stand up to ten times the number that a normal soldier can, but we will be attacking a fortified position,” Garin continued. “My estimate is that we’ll take heavy losses in any direct assault.”

“If we can make quick progress, they may surrender quickly,” Shara pointed out.

“But only if we act quickly,” Fiona said. Everyone turned to listen to her. “We don’t have weeks to accomplish this, and we can’t count on Isaru taking that long to find out Haris is dead.  If I had to guess, he’ll find out within days.”

No one pointed out what that would mean; that there was someone here that was likely to get the message out. I saw that Fiona was right. We had to act very quickly or we would lose any advantage we had.

She continued. “Here’s my proposal. We take what dragons we have and our best Champions. We take the Odin and rush for Haven and take it in the dead of night. There will be little but the city guard then, and even the garrison won’t have time to fortify the city or draw in reinforcements. Doing it in this way, there would be fewer needless deaths. Isaru will be forced to respond, and we’ll have weeks to fortify the capital before he returns.”

Everyone considered her suggestion, and I could tell that the Elders seemed to like her idea better. I did, too. Anything that avoided more bloodshed was better in my book, and the plan seemed to be a lot more efficient.

“I like it,” Champion Garin, who had remained standing. “We take the initiative, and it forces Isaru to make a decision. Return and take Haven in a bloody battle, where he loses time and men, or to push into Colonia before he is truly ready. Either way, his lack of supplies will force him back or push him forward.”

“Could not Isaru resupply his army from the farms surrounding Colonia?” Shara said. “There’s certainly enough there to feed an army.”

“Our agents in Colonia report that they are gathering what food can be harvested and are scorching the rest,” Elder Arminius said. “There may be some food to be had, but whatever is there won’t last long.”

War had come to Colonia, and the burning of fields had been something I had never seen in my time living there. I didn’t like it one bit.

“So, we’re all agreed that this is the direction we’re going?” I asked.

Heads nodded all around. That meant it was time to get to the planning.

* * *

We planned the attack to happen at night, a few days from now when Isaru’s forces were more firmly entrenched in their position around Colonia. We couldn’t wait any longer than that, as the risk of discovery would go up. As much as I hated to admit the possibility, Isaru likely had eyes in the Sanctum. I knew Haris had been a subject of Odium, but surely Haris had not been working alone. It was hard not to wonder who it might be, or if I was just being paranoid.

Nonetheless, the plan was settled. The Seekers had twenty-five dragons being cared for in Nava Village by the townspeople, enough to carry every Champion currently stationed at the Sanctum, plus some of the better fighters from the other sects. Besides this, we could carry a few of our own on Odin, gathering reinforcements from Kalear, such as Seekers Deanna, Aela, and Amalia, all of whom were good in a fight, along with the strongest fighters among the Sphere Seekers.

But that would mean visiting Kalear one last time before the attack. After the attack began, everything would be set in motion, and all our cards on the table.

So, the day after the planning was completed, we set off in Odin, leaving the Sanctum in the charge of the Elders – as it always had been.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

WE FLEW QUICKLY FROM THE Sanctum to Kalear only to be greeted by a most unwelcome sight: a massive army encamped around and besieging the fortress. It was hard to get a count, but there seemed to be at least a few thousand entrenched around the hill the castle was built on, judging by the light of several hundred fires below. The woods at the base of the hill hid their true numbers, so for all I knew, there could be far more than that.

I called everyone to the bridge, so they could all have a good look and understand the situation.

“This is very bad,” Isa said, in a vast understatement.

No one had the heart to say anything else.

We were close enough to the besieging army that we could see them scatter for the shelter of the trees as soon as we swooped overhead. They were lost to view as our ship lowered and landed in the castle courtyard.

Almost as soon as we disembarked, we ourselves were besieged by the castle’s garrison, everyone who had chosen to give up their lives to follow me. Deanna and Aela were among the first, followed by many of the priests who stood looking on silently.

“About time!” Denna said, in a huff.

“How long have they been out there?” I asked.

“Almost as soon as you left,” Aela said. “Two days after you left, in fact. We’ve been holed up here ever since.”

“I want to see you, Deanna, and Amalia in the council room, along with my parents.” I paused, feeling a nervous weight form in my stomach. “Has my father returned?”

I knew it was a small chance, given he had two days to get back inside the castle before the army could have surrounded it. I was surprised to see Aela nod in the affirmative, but it was Seeker Amalia who answered, having pushed her way through the roiling crowd.

“He’s here,” she said. “We must discuss this at once.”

“We’re going now,” I said.

We forced our way to the great hall, ignoring the shouted questions of all the people who had taken shelter here from the surrounding countryside and town. Even the apprentices and initiates who had followed the Seekers here were shouting their own questions, while the priests held back. Among them was High Priest Markas, who I waved over to join us.

Together we made it inside the castle, the almost riotous crowd dimmed out by the slamming of the oaken doors.

* * *

The great hall was comparatively quiet. There were only a few people, two of which were priests standing guard in their white robes and hardened faces, and the other two being my parents, sitting at the high table and speaking quietly.

At the sound of our entrance, they turned and their faces lit up.

“Shanti,” my mother said, saying my name as if she didn’t believe I was there.

She stood and hurried forward while I ran to close the distance. I gave her a strong embrace while my father wrapped his long arms around us both.

We stood like that for a while before parting. I looked up into my father’s wrinkled, bearded face and felt tears come to my eyes. “You’re back.”

He nodded. “Just barely.”

All of us went to sit. My mother gave orders to one of the servants to bring out food for all of us.

“We have a lot to discuss,” I said. “A lot more than I first thought. Tell me who’s attacking us.”

“Lord Harrow,” my father said. “We didn’t see him coming until it was too late. He moved his troops quietly through the woods by little-used paths. We didn’t know until a few hours after you left. Of course, by then, it was too late.”

“Your father was the one who brought the news,” my mother said. “Several of his men died during their flight here.”

My father nodded that this was true.

“I’m glad you made it,” I said, wondering just how close things were.

“How many men?” Shara asked.

“We guess four thousand,” my father said. “Which means they outnumber us over four to one. It’s clear they don’t mean to breach the walls. They don’t even have ladders, and we could defend ourselves well here.”

“They just mean to starve us, then,” Shara said. “Only that can’t be right, because they must know we have the ship, which we can use to resupply the castle. So, what’s their true purpose here?”

“To keep us pinned,” my father said. “If we’re stuck here, there’s little we can do to help the Makai.”

“You’ve heard of that by now then?” I asked.

My father nodded. “I don’t know how much our numbers would help King Arius, knowing how numerous the Novan legions are. But we could certainly make a dent in their forces.”

“What do we know about Lord Harrow?” I asked.

“Little is known among those of us here,” my mother said, “but the townspeople say he has a reputation of being cold and calculated. The Harrow family has long been loyal to the Annajen, though they were not always so. They are the most powerful family in the southeastern portion of the Xenoplain, and are the suzerain of many lesser families there. More men come every day to bolster their ranks. They may be waiting for a greater number before assaulting the walls.”

“You said they have no ladders or siege engines,” Shara said.

“Not that we can see,” my father said. “It’s possible they are constructing them in the woods, out of sight.”

I had to admit that was smart. Even with the Odin, it wouldn’t be easy to drive the army from their position. We didn’t have enough bullets to kill four thousand men, though it might be enough to terrify them. And if they hid in the woods, no number of bullets could help that.

“Is his loyalty to Isaru firm?” I asked.

“He has refused to speak to any of us, waiting instead for your return,” my father said. “What news do you have of Isaru?”

“His army will be besieging Colonia within days,” I said. “Most of his forces are there. Lord Harrow’s army is but a small fraction, probably designed to keep us from marching on Haven.”

I realized that had to be it. Because of Haris, Isaru trusted the Seekers to be kept complacent. Harrow’s army was a preemptive measure to keep Haven safe. He expected us to use the Odin and whatever dragons we had to rescue Colonia, so Kalear was Haven’s only real threat in Isaru’s eyes. At a determined march, the forces of Kalear could be at Haven in under two weeks. A risk Isaru could not afford.

Somehow, by mere happenstance, we were one step ahead of him.

“As strange as this might sound,” I said, “Lord Harrow’s position may be the best thing we have going for us.”

My father frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

So, I explained everything – how King Arius of the Makai had formally agreed to work together with us, and how Elder Isandru had been instrumental in greatly weakening the power of the Hyperfold, though it was the cause of his death. Aela, Deanna, and Amalia lowered their heads at that, asking a few questions of the manner of his death, which I explained. I finished with his burial on the Sanctum grounds, which was followed by my duel with Elder Haris.

When I got to the part about Elder Haris shriveling to death in his cell, Seeker Amalia spoke.

“That proves it,” she said. “He was working for the Radaskim without a doubt.”

“You should have seen the way Shanti fought,” Shara said. “It wasn’t even close.”

“It’s not just that,” I said. “The Hyperfold truly is weakening. Odium can no longer concentrate his limited power on separate champions. All that power is being channeled into Isaru. Because of the power I inherited from Elekim, it’s the only way Odium can hope to directly challenge me.”

“Seeker Haris, though he was a Scholar, was the best fighter among us,” Amalia said. She was looking at me as if seeing a new person. “I can’t imagine him being defeated so easily.”

“It happened that way,” Shara said. “It was enough to prove to the Sanctum, once and for all, that Shanti is who she says.”

“So, we essentially left the Sanctum for nothing,” Aela said, with an ironic smile.

“Not for nothing,” Deanna said. “We’ve helped here. Without our counsel, things would be going worse for the Lady Roshar.”

I realized that she was speaking of my mother. It was hard to imagine her as a lady with land of her own, along with a castle under her stewardship. But seeing my mother’s face, how she accepted those words as if they had always been true, made me realize that the title fit.

“All of you have been of tremendous help,” my father said, whom they probably called “Lord Roshar,” though I had yet to hear it. “Lord Harrow knows there are Seekers within these walls. Not how many, but it’s enough to give him pause, or perhaps enough to make him realize that a direct assault on the walls is going to be costly. He’ll probably be content to sit back and keep us locked inside.”

“How can we arrange a meeting with him?” I asked. “If I speak to him, I might be able to convince him he’s fighting for the wrong side.”

Deanna looked doubtful at this prospect. “We shouldn’t abandon hope, but at the very least we can learn a bit more about him, and no doubt, he’ll be able to size us up as well.”

“The question is, when would you like to meet?” Amalia asked.

“Immediately,” I said.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

WITHIN HALF AN HOUR, I was standing outside the castle gates, which were hastily shut behind me, with a contingent of twelve Sphere Seekers along with my friends and the Sanctum Seekers who had come to the castle. About fifty crossbowmen manned the ramparts and gatehouse above. If anyone thought to attack us, fifty bolts would be directly shot at their leader.

Lord Harrow had far less men in his retinue, a sign of his confidence. All of them were on horseback, and all wore deep, burgundy capes that I took to be color of the Harrow house. Standing twenty paces further back were a squad of longbowmen, guaranteeing their lord’s safety if we tried anything.

Up close, I could get a good look at him. He had a long, pinched face, and was probably sixty years old. He had a short, trim gray beard, with dark brown eyes that appeared unconcerned, and even bored. The heaviness of the bags under his eyes wasn’t just due to age. He’d probably had them all his life, to the point where they were permanently etched onto his face. His jowls hung loosely from his face, like wax melting off a candle.

“Annara,” he said, giving an ironic bow that told me that he didn’t believe for a second that I was the reincarnated goddess. “A pleasure to meet you.”

I wasn’t sure if I could say the same, so I said nothing at all. I got straight to the point. “You will accomplish nothing with your troops out here. We have provisions for two years, and your lord is entrenched in Colonia and can be of no help to you. It will take him at least two months to come to your aid, because you can believe we will be harrying him every step of the way. Events have taken place in the Red Wild that you don’t know about yet, events that put you at a disadvantage that won’t be made clear to you for months.”

Lord Harrow chuckled. “What disadvantages? You could be lying for all I know. I won’t budge from this spot. I have my orders, and I mean to make good on them.”

I wasn’t about to tell him that the Seekers had switched sides, but Harrow would recognize the gravity of his error soon enough, when Haven was in our hands. “I can only say this. Take your levies and go home. Isaru committed patricide, and by rights, the throne isn’t his.”

“King Taris was murdered by none other than you, Shanti Roshar,” Lord Harrow said, his face twisting into distaste. From his venomous stare, I could see that he truly believed that. “It is my duty to bring you to the king for justice.”

“Isaru is lying, and is not of a right mind,” I said. “He’s been possessed by darkness, a powerful Radaskim Xenomind named Odium.”

Lord Harrow arched an eyebrow. “Really, now. This is such nonsense. How could you even prove that to me? You would say anything to get me to withdraw my armies. That’s the only thing I know for sure. Unless you are not going to waste more of my time, then we have nothing else to discuss.”

“Perhaps what I’m saying is so ridiculous, it’s true,” I said.

“King Isaru is Elekim’s Chosen,” Lord Harrow said. “And you, not he, are the one possessed by madness. It is said in the last days the Elder Dragons will follow Elekim’s Chosen.”

“No,” Fiona said, speaking up. “It says that of the Goddess Annara. You are changing the prophecy.”

“There are mistranslations,” Lord Harrow said, “and so many texts were lost during the Mindless Wars. Who’s to say what centuries-old prophecies do and do not say?” He shrugged his narrow shoulders, as if to emphasize the futility of such a thing. “I follow the evidence of my eyes, and the evidence of my eyes tells me that the Elder Dragons have chosen King Isaru Annajen as their rightful master.”

“But surely, you’ve heard of the destruction of Atlantea and Savannah,” I said. “Would anyone righteous do those things? Thousands died in those attacks, Lord Harrow. Many innocent people. I know, because I was there.”

“The kingdoms were false,” he said. “King Isaru, upon his ascension, declared himself Elekim Reborn and promised destruction to anyone who did not obey his summons for levies. To my knowledge, all the Eastern Kingdoms disavowed that proclamation. He destroyed two cities in the Eastern Kingdoms, yes, but he could have destroyed them all. To my mind, that is mercy.”

I shook my head, and it took every effort not to strangle this man by his chicken neck.

“Stubborn,” Shara growled.

“Here are my terms to you,” Lord Harrow said. “Open the doors of your castle now. Your parents will even be able to keep the territory they have a tenuous claim to.”

“You realize we can hold out here forever, right?” Shara asked. “We have the Odin, unless you failed to notice.”

For the first time, there was a small hint of uncertainty in the old man’s eyes, but it was gone as soon as it had come. “King Isaru wrote to me about that ship. He told me not to fear it. Yes, it can kill a great many men, but even its powers are limited. You haven’t enough bullets to slay every one of us, and even if you used every bullet, we would still outnumber you four to one. And my men are preparing for ways that we can do damage, even to your precious airship. Trebuchets will soon be ready to be aimed at the castle courtyard anytime Odin is landed. Perhaps it is futile, but one well-placed shot could be enough to cripple the ship completely. Know that if I ever see Odin land here again, in territory that my family has claim to, then I will not spare it.”

I knew that Harrow was right about this. Odin’s hull was strong, but one unlucky hit could put the ship out of action for good. We wouldn’t be able to use Odin easily to relieve the castle, but dropping food directly from above could work. I kept that point to myself.

“I think you overestimate your abilities,” I said. “I also think you will die of old age before you ever starve us out or breach the walls.”

Lord Harrow had a chuckle at that. “By the time the Novans are marching north to reinforce us, you should know that the terms of your surrender will be far harsher.” He gave a final smirk. “You have three days to decide.”

Harrow clicked at his horse, and turned around to walk back toward his army.

Once out of earshot, Shara said, “Well, that was worse than useless.”

“And it won’t matter in the end,” I said. “I thought it was worth a try, and we learned some valuable information.”

“Like how the Novans plan on coming north as soon as their finished with the Makai?”

I nodded. “Let’s get inside the walls first.”

* * *

Once back inside the great hall, we shared everything that happened with my parents.

Markas stroked his gray beard as he considered. “We still have the upper hand, in my estimation. If Haven can be taken quickly by the Seekers, then Lord Harrow will most likely be called to retake the city. At that point, we could sally forth and go south to relieve the Makai.”

“He doesn’t know about that plan, and he can’t know about that,” I said. “That’s why we’re leaving tonight.”

My mother and my father nodded quietly. It was sad to leave them behind again, but I saw little choice.

“Your presence is such an inspiration to the people,” my mother said.

“I’m sorry to leave so soon,” I said, “but with luck we’ll be reunited soon. As soon as Haven falls, we’ll have the initiative. I doubt Isaru will want to leave the city in our hands for long, and the only force of any size in the Red Wild is Lord Harrow’s.”

“He will recall Lord Harrow or be forced to split his own forces in the desert,” Amalia said.

“Or he could withdraw entirely to ensure he retakes Haven,” Shara said.

For some reason, I doubted he would do that. Isaru wouldn’t abandon the entire goal of his war, but it would probably force him to attack the city more quickly, before food and supplies ran thin. And then, there was his force of dragons that would literally be impossible to deal with. Even if I had inherited Elekim’s powers, I’d have to worry about fighting Isaru at the same time.

“We’ll leave as soon as we’re done here,” I said. I looked at my parents, who sat next to High Priest Markas. “All you have to do is hold out until Lord Harrow is forced to respond.”

“If what you told us is any indication, the man might prove more stubborn than that,” my father said.

“He’ll do as Isaru orders,” Fiona said. “At least, that’s the way it seems. He has honor, but unfortunately, that honor is dedicated to the wrong side.”

That honor could be his main fault. Something told me that even if Lord Harrow believed in my identity, he might stubbornly cling to Isaru, especially if he felt that he was promised land that was his right.

“We should probably get going,” I said, after a long silence.

We ate the food that had been mostly ignored during the earlier deliberations, and were soon standing outside near the ship. A crowd had gathered. I could hear them muttering their surprise that I was leaving so soon.

“I’m leaving,” I said. “But not forever. There’s a mission we need to accomplish that may very well lift the siege.”

There were exclamations, and even a few people applauding.

“But for this to happen, I have to leave the castle behind. I trust all of you to work as hard as you have been. I know this isn’t easy. I know it’s demoralizing, and from this one small part in the war, it seems hopeless. But I believe, in the end, we will be victorious. We are on the side of right, and without us, the Red Wild, and even the entire world, will fall into darkness.

“We are the only people who are stopping that darkness. And if you hang with me a bit longer . . . then I can promise that all of our efforts will be worth it.”

“Hail, Annara!” shouted one of the initiates, to several cheers from the rest of the crowd.

I nodded in his direction. “We’ll be back soon. Stand strong, and stand proud.”

We entered Odin and set course for the Seekers’ Sanctum.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

BY THE TIME WE EXITED the ship, there was a large gathering of Seekers in the courtyard, all armed with their katanas and many of them with short bows or crossbows, which could be deadly from the back of a dragon. Several carried long lances, used to counter other dragon riders, while the swords were for action once the dragon was grounded.

I waited as more Seekers came out. Once most of the Sanctum was present, I began.

“It’s time. Those of you who are coming, step forward.”

About fifty Seekers stepped forward, a good half of them bearing the sword of the Champions on their sash.

“We will meet in the village below an hour from now,” I said. “Bring enough provisions for three days.”

The Seekers rushed to obey my command. The three Elders eyed me, and I noticed they had been among the fifty to step forward.

Chief Elder Arminius approached me. “If you are to take Haven and hold it, you will need our help. Having every Elder of the Sanctum vouching for you and enforcing your rule will be enough for many people to second guess their loyalties to Isaru. Even if a few of his father’s lords defect, then it may be enough to turn the tide.”

I nodded. “That makes sense. I’ll leave Haven in your hands, but first, we need to take it.”

“That’s true enough,” Arminius said. “What’s the news from down south?”

I told him about how Kalear was besieged by Lord Harrow’s men, but had enough supplies to hold out for a few months.

“They will have to endure for now,” Arminius said. “We can’t think of lifting the siege until Haven is in our hands.”

“I agree,” Judge Lian said.

“The Novans worry me greatly,” Elder Draeus said. “If they’re able to take Sylva and push through the Webwood, we won’t have the numbers to resist them.”

“The roughness of the Red Wild is our greatest asset,” Elder Arminius said. “So long as we fight within it, we hold an important advantage.”

“We’ll have to take the fight to Colonia eventually,” I said. “I would do it while the Novan force is separated from Isaru’s. If they ever join up, there’s not much we can do against them.”

“Our success depends on our speed,” Elder Lian said. “And on that note . . . we had better go to Nava Village and mount the dragons, before word reaches Haven about our movements.”

The Seekers and priests we had brought from the Kingdom had left the ship while I was talking with the Elders. There was a tense moment as they faced across from their Seeker brethren. The white-robed Sphere Priests could have been mistaken for Seekers’ themselves, but for one difference: they had no Sects as the regular Seekers did, so their robes were pure white and without ornamentation, while the Seekers had the emblems of their respective Sects emblazoned on their sashes hanging diagonally across their chests.

I stood on Odin’s boarding ramp, and beckoned for everyone to gather round, so they could hear me shout above the idling of the engines.

“The time has come!” I called out. “The Seekers are no longer separated, but now form one body, as their founder intended them. The Sphere Priests have long lived and trained in the Ruins north of Colonia. They have joined us now, just as all of you joined me a few days ago. For the first time since the fall of Hyperborea, since before the Mindless Wars, the Seekers stand united.

“Tonight, we’re leaving to take over Haven. The garrison should be small, if the reports we’ve received are accurate. For the first time in many years, Elekai has turned hand against Elekai. Isaru has brought this upon us, and unfortunately, there will be more deaths before everything is settled. Those who follow Isaru do so more out of fear than willingness, so I ask you to remember that as we go into battle. Don’t strike to kill unless your own life is threatened, and if you are in doubt, then err on the side of caution and save yourself. Remember the Xenofold, remember the value of Silence in the moment of chaos. For long years, we’ve prepared for this moment, hoping it would never come.

“But almost every rumor you’ve heard in these dark times is true. Isaru is possessed by the Radaskim, Odium of the Dark. This will be everyone’s fate if we don’t succeed in stopping him. Our war is both physical and unseen. Battles will need to be won on the ground, and it will be important to take command of key positions and rally more troops to our cause. But beyond the physical, we are in a war that is larger than our world, a war that has been raging for eons, between the Elekai and the Radaskim.

“Four hundred years ago, we won that war . . . but just barely. Like that dark time, we are fighting not just for our lives, but for our right to freedom from Odium and the Radaskim.”

I paused and looked at all the faces looking up at me, hoping that all of this was sinking in.

“Each and every one of you dedicated your lives to the Seekerhood. You were called to lives of poverty and to dedicate yourselves to your Gifts, according to what the Xenofold has bestowed. That same Xenofold is now under attack, and if we do nothing, it won’t survive the year.”

I paused to let the words affect them.

“For decades, ever since our founding, our traditions have kept us from seeing the truth, have kept us from seeking our true purpose. The Seekers were an order founded by Anna, charged to never forget the fact that the Radaskim lurked out there in the dark, and that we were to protect our world from them.

“Today, we at last begin to fulfill that charge. Everything has been building toward this moment, ever since the close of the Ragnarok War, and even before that time. Earth is but one battle in what is our eternal war, one world of many that has stood against the Radaskim.

“As you go into tonight, remember that. Overthrowing the Radaskim is your duty. What you were born to do. And if we work together, I believe we can achieve what seems impossible on the surface.

“I was born Shanti Roshar in Colonia, but the Xenofold revealed me to be Anna Reborn. I’ve been inside the Xenofold multiple times, and have spoken with Elekai long departed, and have spoken to Elekim himself, who imparted his powers to me, even now as he fights Odium in a realm that is beyond our eyes to see. That power is how I was able to defeat Elder Haris. That power is how I’m going to be able to defeat Odium himself.

“But we have to get there. When we attack Haven, you have your orders given to you from the battle plans we formed. You know exactly where to go and what to do. Do this, and victory will be ours.”

“To victory!” one of the Champions shouted, thrusting a lance into the air. Several others took up his call, only quieting once again when I spoke.

“That’s all,” I said. “Let’s fly.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

WE GATHERED ON A XEN-covered field outside Nava Village under the light of the stars and a clear sky. The air was frigid, though there was no breeze. No one in the village seemed to notice our coming as we circumvented houses and went directly to where the dragons were kept in a wide, open field at the edge of the forest.

I watched quietly as the Seekers mounted the dragons and took off one by one, with the three Elders at the fore. They flew low over the trees and were soon lost to view.

My friends and I turned around to head back to the Sanctum, where we had left Odin. It was quiet on the walk back, and we wouldn’t be flying south until later, since Odin could make the journey much more quickly. The dragons wouldn’t arrive in Haven until tomorrow night.

The Sanctum felt empty and forlorn as we entered it. We didn’t encounter a soul as we made our way to the ship in the courtyard. There were a few men keeping watch on the ramparts, but fewer than usual. I remembered, what seemed so long ago, a conversation I’d had up there with Elder Isandru. He had talked to me about Hyperborea for the first time. So much had happened since then; he had passed away, and now, I oversaw two fortresses, the Sanctum here and the one in Kalear. People were beginning to recognize my identity, an eventuality Isandru worked toward his entire life.

Without that work, what would I be?

“Thinking of him, huh?” Fiona asked, while the others walked on board to go to sleep.

“Of course,” I said. “We’ll never know what he did in all the years leading up to this. We never had the chance to ask.”

“He risked a lot,” Fiona said. “But I’ve been doing some thinking of my own.”

“What thinking?”

“I think Isandru was . . . content,” she said. She seemed unsure of the word. “He accomplished what he set out to do. Without him, none of this would have happened. He sheltered you, gave you guidance when you didn’t know what to do. He did much the same for me, though to a lesser extent and with less world-ending consequences.”

“I could never repay him,” I said. “When I entered the Hyperfold, it was desolate. Isandru never gave Rakhim a chance to rebuild it. Because of Rakhim’s weakness, Odium was forced to abandon him.” I shook my head. “None of that would have been possible without Isandru. And it’s giving us a chance against Isaru now.”

“Yes,” Fiona said. “But we should both get some rest. Big day tomorrow.”

I nodded, and we walked up the boarding ramp into Odin.

* * *

My dreams were fraught with fear and pain, with visions that seemed to come from outside myself. A dark presence overhung me like storm clouds marking my every move, making me forget all the reasons why I fought. All I wanted to do was hide and get a moment of relief, but no matter where I ran, the cloud followed.

Somehow, I came across the bunker Isaru and I had found in the Northern Wild several months back, and squeezed into its narrow maw. I thought I could hide in the darkness, but I only heard screams and gunshots as people died by the score. I knew I was witnessing an event that had happened to end this place, a history Isaru and I, thankfully, never got to fully explore.

How did I have this memory? Was this something that Odium knew and was tormenting me with?

Resistance is useless, came a voice.

Another whisper came from a different direction. You cannot win.

Join me, another whisper said.

I put my hands over my ears, but it was no good. Elder Isandru materialized from the darkness, shaking his head in disappointment.

“You couldn’t save me,” he said, his eyes dark and accusing.

“I tried,” I said. “You have to believe me.”

“I don’t. Liar. Imposter. You are not Anna. You are a scared little girl. You will be found out, soon, and they will turn on you.”

“Stop,” I said. “You told me that I was her.”

Isandru smiled, and his teeth were long and yellow, like a crawler’s. He evaporated and was replaced with darkness.

I tried to run from the Bunker, but somehow, the door had closed, shutting me in with the dying.

When I turned, it seemed as if there were dozens of eyes, glowing bright in the darkness. The eyes closed in, and I reached for my sword, but when I pulled it from the leather scabbard, there was only air. It seemed a symbol for my uselessness. It was a fantasy that I could ever be powerful enough to defeat a Xenomind as dark and as ancient as Odium.

This is a dream, I thought. This isn’t real.

The eyes came closer, and I could hear the hisses of the dead. I felt cold hands grabbing hold of me as I was pulled into the floor.

So long as I live, came Odium’s dark whisper, you shall never sleep in peace again.

* * *

Something was shaking me.

“Shanti. Shanti!”

I bolted up in bed, placing a hand over my heart in a vain attempt to slow it. I fought to catch my breath as a whimper escaped my throat. I felt hands all over me, and they reminded of the dead people’s hands.

“He killed them,” I said, knowing I wasn’t making sense. I pulled away, not at first recognizing my friends’ faces. All of them stared at me, shock written on their expressions.

I felt a presence in my mind, calming me. It’s me. It’s Isa. There’s no reason to be afraid. You were having a nightmare.

I felt more people joining into the bond, until everyone was a part of it. Somehow, that bond connected me to the real world and seemed to drive the madness from my mind.

I sat there quietly for a minute, trying to calm myself down. The others kept their distance, and waited for me to say something.

“I’m fine,” I managed, my voice cracked. “I’m sorry.”

“What happened?” Fiona asked. “You must have been having a terrible nightmare.”

I nodded. Terrible didn’t even begin to describe it. “It was him. Odium.”

“What did he say?” Shara asked.

I shook my head. “I can hardly even remember. I remember he said that I wasn’t Anna, that none of it was true. Isandru was there, and he was disappointed in me . . .” I would have broken down and cried if I had not felt so numb.

“Now, we know all of that isn’t true,” Isa said, sitting down on the corner of the bed, a good distance away from me.

Hearing it out loud did make the dream seem a bit ridiculous, but still, the feeling was there. “He said he would never give me a moment’s peace so long as he lived, that he wouldn’t even let me sleep.”

None of them said anything. It seemed to me that there were at a loss on how to respond.

“The words could be empty,” Fiona said. “And if not . . . we can remain in the same room as you and wake you up if anything goes wrong.”

I was about to say that wouldn’t be necessary, but just the thought of sleeping alone was too much to bear. “What time is it, exactly?”

“Early morning,” Shara said. “You were screaming so loud that you woke all of us up.”

“Sorry,” I said.

Shara ignored the apology. “I second Fiona’s idea. Let’s all stay together. I can bring a couple of the cots in here, and there’s enough room for one of us to sleep on the bed.”

“You really don’t have to—”

Shara cut me off by holding up her hand. “No arguments. Just admit that we’re right.”

When she put it that way, I had a hard time finding a response.

“Sleep,” she said. “Take the chance, because you might not get it for a while.”

I figured that lying down and doing what she said would be easier than arguing, and besides, I was still exhausted, even more so than when I first laid down.

I felt a comforting presence as I closed my eyes, never feeling for a moment that my friends had left me. I slipped into a dreamless sleep before I could have another thought.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

I AWOKE NATURALLY SOME TIME later, with Isa still asleep beside me, snoring softly. Fiona and Shara had gone somewhere. Looking at the bedside clock, it was two in the afternoon. I had slept the entire morning away, and apparently, so had Isa. We were due to lift off in just a few hours.

I got up, showered, and got dressed, using the time we had to eat with those left behind in the Sanctum, and to do some forms outside in the courtyard. It had been too long since I’d done any sword work. All of us practiced together while Pallos watched, sitting on the boarding ramp while making notes in a journal.

We stopped before long to conserve our strength. I walked the grounds of the Sanctum one last time and went to visit Isandru’s grave with Fiona. Both of us said nothing, each of us silent with our own thoughts. When the sun had completely set and all that was left of the day was the faintest bit of light, we turned back under the glowing trees for the ship.

We walked up the ramp to find the crew already assembled in the wardroom. Pallos was sharing his notes with Shara and Isa, all of whom looked up at our entrance.

“It’s time,” I said.

With those words, I felt a nervous weight in my stomach, but did my best not to show it. Everyone followed Pallos and I to the flight deck, Isa and Shara sharing a jump seat behind me while Fiona got her own behind Pallos.

For some reason, it felt right for us all to be together in this moment. Many had come and gone on this ship, so the five of us were all that was left now. Isandru and his sister had both died, while Nabea, Tellor, Ret, and Samal were still busy in the east. By now, the four of them had probably fought a few battles of their own, and I wondered if they were any closer to undoing the influence Rakhim had fostered there, and if there was any hope of uniting the disparate Eastern Kingdoms into a single, functioning country.

But for now, that was not our focus. Several Seekers and their students watched from the distance of the Sanctum stairs, waving their hands in farewell.

“Setting course for the rendezvous point,” I said. “We should be there in under an hour.”

* * *

It actually took longer than an hour. The skies were clear across the Red Wild, forcing me to fly at a high altitude despite the short distance. While the ship would pass unseen to eyes on the ground, it was possible that Isaru’s dragons could be keeping an eye above and below. I didn’t want to take the chance.

When we reached the agreed upon location, we dropped in low, out of sight of Haventree and rushed quickly over the land. We swooped over densely-packed villages built alongside the shimmering Colorado River. It was too dark to see much besides the low lights of homes and buildings that were gone as soon as they were noticed. There was no question of our coming now, so we flew as quickly as possible to the rendezvous point.

At last, we made it to the high hill, situated northeast of Haven and far from the road. The area was sparsely settled, and with luck, anyone bearing news of the attack would find themselves too late by the time we flew into the city. We landed, finding the Seekers standing at the ready next to their dragons, most of which stood calmly while munching on the xen in the area. The beasts stiffened a bit at the clamor Odin made, but soon went quiet when the engines idled.

We disembarked. I held up a fist, the signal for all the Seekers to mount their dragons and to begin the operation at once. They took to the air, flying over the rocky hill, only to be revealed at the last moment as they crested it and flew the short distance to the edge of the Grand Canyon’s northern rim. The Sphere Seekers remained behind and boarded Odin, to be part of our attack group.

Once every dragon was away, I went back inside the flight deck, where the others were waiting for me.

“Go time,” I said.

We took off high and blasted for Haven, where we were to create a distraction on the opposite side while the Seekers took the aerie and the roots at the tree’s base.

But as we approached, I noticed that some of our dragons were already quite close to Haven. It took me a moment to realize that they weren’t our dragons.

“How many?” Fiona asked.

It was hard to tell in the darkness, but it seemed to be at least a dozen. While we outnumbered them more than three to one, it would be enough of them to slow us down.

That was, unless I could find a way to stop them.

“Pull us closer,” I said.

Alex had told me he had given his powers to me, and I saw what he had done outside the Thought Dome. Perhaps I was capable of the same thing.

I know you can, Anna, his voice seemed to say in my head. You must believe that you can! That’s the source of my powers. I believe it, and the Xenofold believes it, too. Belief becomes reality.

I reached for the Xenofold after settling my mind into Silence. I found there a ready torrent of power, far more than I ever knew, just waiting to be directed. Could I really control that amount of power?

Believe it, and it will become true.

“I believe,” I whispered. “I believe.”

I could sense the exactly sixteen dragons, each bearing a rider. It was but a remnant of the Annajen Dragonguard that Isaru had wisely left behind as a defense.

“Avoid them,” I said.

Pallos, who had taken the controls by now, shifted course to veer away from the dragons, not questioning the fact that I’d told him to pull in closer just a second ago.

“They’re close to engaging with the Seekers,” Fiona said. “We’re going to have to shoot them down.”

There would be no need for that. I reached out toward the dragon’s minds, forging a link with each one simultaneously. Instantly, I could see out of their eyes, and could sense the tether between each beast and its rider. The sheer amount of information should have been overwhelming, but time itself seemed to slow, and I knew exactly what I needed to do, even if I didn’t know how to do it.

All I had to do was believe. Whatever instincts and abilities Elekim once had, I had now. I took over each of these bonds, thereby assuming control of each dragon directly.

Fly to the ground! I said. Elekim commands you.

In perfect synchronization, each dragon turned sharply, nearly throwing off the riders upon their backs. They dove for the canyon floor far below. Holding the sixteen bonds simultaneously did take effort, even as Elekim. Sweat collected on my brow as I worked to maintain each individual hold, as each rider fought to regain control of his dragon.

Doing this would have broken me before. Without question, I had gained powers far beyond my former abilities.

“What are they doing?” Fiona asked.

“Shanti’s doing it!” Isa said, in awe.

I felt control slipping away as all of them looked at me in shock, but I held on as firmly as I could, keeping the dragons and their riders pinned to the ground while our own dragons flew in for the tree. If I could just keep the dragonriders down long enough, it would give everyone a chance to reach the city without having to fight them.

But, one by one, they slipped from my control. The grounded Dragonriders reformed in the air, and began to fly back toward the tree. I collapsed to the deck, catching my breath and keeping hold on Silence, no longer using any of my power. I had to have a chance to recharge before landing. I had done more than I had ever done in my life, but even Elekim’s powers, or perhaps my belief in those powers, had their limits.

“Most of the Seekers have landed in the aerie by now,” Pallos said. “And a portion have landed at the Roots.”

“Now, it’s our turn,” I said.

We flew toward the opposite end of the tree, where we were supposed to have landed minutes ago. We had only a few minutes before the forces aboard our ship, and the Seeker dragonriders, were due to link up in the center of the tree and take command of the palace.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

PALLOS DREW ODIN ALONGSIDE THE largest wooden platform built into the west side of Haventree. I and everyone else stood ready in the wardroom.

Pallos’ voice came out of the intercom. “Go!”

The door opened, revealing the empty veranda before us. Several screams sounded in the night, probably from the invasion happening on the other side of the tree.

All of us leaped out and onto the platform. As soon as we were out, Pallos lifted off, with orders to guard the tree from the air if the Annajen dragonriders tried to land.

Aside from the occasional scream, it was oddly silent as we ran toward the center of the tree. The city was far emptier than we had expected, and by the time we reached the wide trunk, there was no sign of any opposition.

I didn’t want to have to fight anybody, but I knew there would be some casualties. This silence, however, was unexpected and not sitting right with me.

We entered the trunk. Flanking either side of the entrance were two Seekers, who had apparently already secured the area.

“Anything?” I asked as we passed them.

The Seeker, a Champion whose name I didn’t know, shook his head. “No resistance.”

“Feels like a trap,” Shara said.

“They’re here, and we’ll find them,” the Champion said. “There were Dragonriders, so I know that can’t be all their defense.”

“Stay on guard, then,” I said. “Let’s get up to the palace.”

We ran up the interior ramp that spiraled round and round. We found Seekers posted at almost every exit point, while those in our party drew off to guard the exits that weren’t covered. By the time we reached the top of the tree, we found several Seekers already waiting outside the heavy palace doors.

“The doors are barred,” Seeker Garin said, stepping forward.

“Is it the only way in?” I asked.

Seeker Garin nodded. “As far as we know.”

“How are we going to get through?” Shara asked.

“We’re prepared for this,” Garin said. “Seeker Harl will be here soon with his dragon.”

“Dragon?” Isa asked.

As if the mention was a summons, a dragon flew from below, veering toward us.

“Everyone back!” I called.

We made space and the dragon landed on the wooden planks with a thud. Little time was wasted as Seeker Harl urged his steed onward at a trot, ending with the dragon slamming the underside of its claw against the doors with a high shriek. They were knocked clean off their hinges, revealing the interior of the palace and a contingent of black-armored pikemen, the city guard of Haven. Their faces were grim, but their widened eyes betrayed their fear.

Neither Seekers nor the guards made the first move. I took advantage of the silence to assume control.

“There’s no need for any fighting,” I said. “The Seekers are here to assume control of Haven. Lay down your arms. No one needs to die tonight.”

“Hold steady, men,” shouted their commander. “Don’t let a single one of them through!”

I knew charging into that hall would be slaughter, mostly for their side. A few Seekers would die in the engagement as well. I wanted to avoid that, if at all possible.

Seeker Harl urged his dragon back, and stood ready to receive my orders.

“Hold here,” I said. I faced down the guards in the palace. “Who is in command here?”

“I am,” the man who spoke earlier said, stepping in front of his men. He stood tall, and his black armor was heavier than those of his subordinates. His hair was graying and his head balding on the top. He had bright blue eyes and a strict demeanor.

“I have a group of one hundred Seekers out here,” I said. “However many you have, it’s not enough to stop us. The entirety of Haven has fallen to us, except for the palace. I command you to surrender the city to avoid any more needless deaths.”

“Annara, I presume,” the man said, not masking the skepticism in his voice. “My orders were to hold the city against all invasions to the last man.”

Some of the guards shifted uncomfortably at that.

“Then that means every one of you will die unnecessarily for a false king who’s currently possessed by madness. Instead of dying needlessly, see this as an opportunity to get things back to normal. I am Anna Reborn, proven by the fact that the Seekers have now confirmed my identity. As such, and as Isaru’s distant ancestor and the first of his line, I command you to stand down!”

The commander’s face contorted into a shocked expression, but he made no argument against that.

“Isaru isn’t here,” I said. “He’ll never retake Haven so long as the Seekers control it. You have nothing to fear from him anymore. Any of you who knew him from before know that he’s changed. He isn’t the same person he once was. He’s been possessed by something dark and evil, something we have to unite against if we are to have any hope of surviving.” I eyed the commander down, along with a few of his soldiers. “We need to work together. I’m not the enemy. On the contrary, I’m offering my friendship, because all of us need to stand together as friends to survive what’s coming.”

The commander hesitated, as if considering these words. I could see in his eyes that he knew the strength of his own men, and he knew just how much damage one hundred Seekers could do.

I just didn’t know how he was going to react to that information.

They were so close to breaking that even if we feigned an attack, they would probably throw down their weapons. These were the city guardsmen, after all, and not the actual army of the Annajen king.

But I wasn’t going to lower my guard. Men who were backed into a corner, even when afraid, often found courage in unexpected places.

“Then I surrender the palace to you,” the commander said, his posture slackening.

“Command your men to lower their weapons.”

They were already doing so before the order had completely left the commander’s lips.

The Seekers began to move forward to confiscate the weapons and gather them in a pile outside the palace doors.

As they were doing so, I was just beginning to think how this was too easy, when every one of us looked up at the sky, where shadows were passing overhead.

Those weren’t our dragons.

“Find cover!” I shouted. “Guard the palace!”

The Seekers moved to obey my command, even as a single, large dragon descended on black wings. It landed a good distance away, near the entrance of the theater.

When the figure slid off, no longer obscured by the dragon’s neck, I couldn’t believe who it was.

It was none other than Isaru, whose eyes shone brightly as he reached for his sword with a cruel smile.

* * *

Anna.

The voice, at the same time Isaru’s and not Isaru’s, entered my mind in a mocking tone. How had he gotten here? Was this his plan all along?

Surrender your forces immediately or face destruction, his voice came again.

I stepped forward, with my blade in hand. I assumed the opening pose of Treeform, my blade extended outward with both hands.

“Enough, Odium!” I said, loud of enough for all to hear. “Your time in this world is over!”

Isaru’s smile widened mockingly. We shall see about that soon enough.

At once, I felt a force push into me . . . but I was ready for the attack. Even as it caused all the Seekers around me to collapse to the platform below, I pushed back against that force, not letting it gain control of me. Isaru’s power was far more than it had been the last time we’d faced off.

But my power was greater. I had to believe it was greater.

I drew as much power as I could from the Xenofold. Everything seemed to go still, and the very air seemed to sizzle with energy. The surrounding boughs of the Great Silverwood in which Haven was built began to glow with inner luminesce, feeding off the power flowing through me.

And then, there was a colossal snap, nearly deafening in its volume. Isaru cried out and fell backward, his blade falling from his hand.

Above, the black dragons who had followed him screamed, and flew away, leaving the skies clear and their master alone below.

I ran forward to kick Isaru’s weapon away, using all the energy I’d gathered to probe his mind.

What are you doing here? Why did you come back?

The bond I developed between us could not be denied. On his knees, Isaru opened his eyes and looked into my face.

One . . . last chance to defeat you with this weak vessel. Then, a smirk. But this one was weak, as expected. I’ll be here soon, Anna. Just you wait.

Then, Isaru’s body went limp as he fell forward into my arms.

* * *

Odium’s voice was gone, and his presence departed from Isaru. I felt for Isaru’s pulse, and it was coming in slow and weak. He was fading quickly, so I knew then there wasn’t much time.

“We need to get him on Odin!” I said.

Isa was the first to run forward and help hold him up, followed by Shara and Fiona. Together, we lifted him and began carrying him back toward the ship. Our path took us past Elder Arminius and Elder Draeus.

“Secure the city,” I said to the both of them. “We have to save Isaru.”

Elder Draeus looked on, concerned. “Perhaps I might be of help.”

As we took to the inner ramp, he fell in alongside us.

“We need to take him to a place with direct access to the Xenofold,” I said. “Right now, no one is residing in his person. His consciousness is trapped in the Xenofold, but the body will die soon if the two aren’t reconnected.”

“I don’t know if I can help with that,” Elder Draeus said. “But I’m willing to do what I can. Even if we can revive him for a bit, we may learn something about his master.”

“Stay here, Elder Draeus,” I said. “There will be wounded to attend to. What’s happening with Isaru can only be done by myself.”

Elder Draeus’s face looked a bit flabbergasted, since he was the best healer in the Sanctum, but he had chosen to follow me and I didn’t have the time to observe niceties.

“Of course, Anna,” he said, formally, giving a slight bow. “We will secure the city and consolidate our forces here.”

“We’ll be back as soon as possible,” I said. “Thank you.”

Elder Draeus fell back as we continued down the tree.

“It feels strange how even the Elders obey your commands now,” Isa said.

As strange as it seemed, it was now reality . . . a reality I didn’t have time to reflect on. I reached into Isaru’s mind, hoping to find some spark of life there . . . a spark that would last long enough for us to find an opening to the Xenofold.

I had little hope of our success, but I still had to try. I was willing to try anything to have Isaru back . . . the real Isaru.

We ran faster than what seemed possible back to the Odin. The ship was thankfully there, apparently when Pallos realized the Annajen dragonriders weren’t going to be a threat.

Pallos was surprised to see us come on board, and even more surprised to see who we carried.

“Odium has fled him,” I said. “He apparently gave him up in the same way he gave up Haris and Rakhim.” I didn’t have time to question just why; now, it was a race against time. “We have to find a reversion as quickly as possible if there’s to be a chance of healing him.”

Pallos blinked in surprise, but didn’t ask any questions. “There is the one we just left to the north.”

I was about to agree, but then shook my head. “No. The one by Dragonspire is closer. If only by a few minutes.”

A few minutes could be enough to make the difference between life and death.

“I’ll take off immediately,” Pallos said.

I laid Isaru on the deck below, feeling that having him lie in a wider, open area would be more useful than my cabin. Everyone could stand watch here, on the off chance that all of this was a trick. But for whatever reason, I felt as if Odium had truly abandoned Isaru.

“Why?” Shara asked, speaking the question that all of us were wondering. “Why did Odium give him up to us?”

All of us quietly pondered the question, but no one spoke immediately.

Isa was the first. “There’s no way of knowing. If we can save him, then does the reason matter?”

“The reason always matters,” Shara said. “Not that I don’t want to save him. It just seems . . . altogether easy and convenient.”

All watched on in silence. Isa knelt as Odin lifted off, grabbing Isaru by the hand.

“It’s cold,” she said. “I’ll get him a blanket.”

She went to my cabin and brought back a blanket, and spread it over him. We stood ringed around him in silence.

“Perhaps we can reach out to him,” Shara said. “Maybe it’ll help him hold on a little while longer.”

I agreed. “We can’t heal him here. But maybe it would be enough to give him some strength.”

So, we reached out to him, forming a bond that connected us all. I took the lead in the bond. On the other end of that bond, Isaru’s end, there was only an uncomfortable void, a lack of consciousness.

Somehow, his heart was beating on, though as time drew on, I noticed that beat was weakening.

Isa seemed to notice, too, because her face was strewn with tears, while Fiona’s face seemed grieved, as if she was already fearing the worst.

I don’t know how much time passed like that, but before long, the ship shifted its trajectory downward, and we landed with soft thud. Quickly, we lifted Isaru from the deck and went for the door, which opened upon the same ichor lake the dragons had gathered around just a few days before.

Now, the lake was deserted, and there was no sign of the dragons’ whereabouts.

“He’s weak,” I said. “We have to hurry.”

Just as we were carrying him down the ramp, I noticed something within the connection we held to Isaru.

His heart had stopped.

Within half a minute, I was dragging Isaru alone into the lake. I swam, pulling him out with me with all my strength. The ichor glowed around us, sensing my power, but as of now, that power was latent and waiting.

I didn’t call it yet.

Disconnect from me, I thought, into everyone’s head. This will require a lot of power . . . power that could destroy you.

But none of them would let go.

Isaru is our friend, too, Fiona said. Though our power is as nothing next to yours, even joined . . . it’s still something.

Fiona . . .

I realized then that my arguments were futile. I could not sever them from the bond; that had to be done voluntarily.

So be it. Ready yourselves.

All of them closed their eyes, and the last thing I heard before the torrent took me was them crying out in shock, and perhaps even pain.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

I FOUND MYSELF IN THE desert again, right in the spot where I’d left Isaru. He was still sitting with his back against the rock in the shade of the mesa, as if he hadn’t changed positions in all the time I was gone.

At my sudden appearance, his eyes widened a bit. I assumed from his perspective, I had just appeared out of thin air.

“Back already?”

“I have your body in an ichor lake above,” I said, reaching out my hand. “It’s time to get you out of here.”

He looked at me, unbelieving, as if trying to decide if I were an apparition.

“Isaru.” I extended my hand further. “There isn’t time.”

“No,” he said. “There isn’t.” He took my hand. “Let’s hope we both make it out on the other end alive.”

I felt the power of the Xenofold flowing from my hand into his, and within an instant, the desert disappeared and we were following the tether that connected the Xenofold to the outside world. The Xenofold roared through me like a storm, and it felt as if I were burning inside the sun. I directed all that energy into the connection on which we were traveling, a distance which seemed infinite. Time crawled as we surged toward the light above, which marked the exit from this place.

And then, there was a snap, followed by a sea of pink flooding my eyes. Isaru floated there, too, the entirety of his body glowing with luminescence.

When I surfaced, I drew a deep breath and pulled his form from the ichor toward the shoreline, where everyone was waiting.

“Isaru!” Isa called.

“He’s still unconscious,” Fiona said.

I pulled myself out of the ichor, along with Isaru, laying him on the shoreline, naked as the day he was born. Embarrassed, Shara covered him with the blanket she had wisely thought to bring with us. His eyes were closed, and his silver hair outspread, while the ichor lapped gently at his feet.

Fearing the worst, I reached into his mind.

Isaru? Are you there?

There was no answer, not even a feeling that he could be there.

“Please Isaru, wake up . . .” Isa said.

His eyes remained closed, and his face empty of expression. There was no breathing, no heartbeat, no thoughts.

I reached inside his mind, channeling all the power I could into him.

Wake up! I know you’re in there!

His body began to glow, as it had when we first returned to the real world. I pushed with everything I had, my hands grasping each of his arms, until there was nothing left. No power. I fell to my knees, on the cusp of passing out.

Was it enough?

Just when I began to believe it was over, his eyes began to flutter.

Isa gasped. “Isaru!”

“He’s waking up!” Fiona said.

Shara came to support me, because I was on the verge of falling. But I broke into a smile when Isaru started coughing, expelling ichor and phlegm from his mouth, while drawing a series of deep breaths.

“Breathe,” Fiona said. “Just breathe. You’re safe. You’re with us, now.”

Isa was in tears, holding his hand, while Isaru came to. His eyes were on me. Those were his eyes – gray, inquisitive, fully himself.

“Welcome back,” I said.

It was all I could manage before I blacked out.

* * *

When I came to, I was resting on my back against the xen. I opened my eyes to see the others’ faces above me, all of them conferring softly. I couldn’t make out what was being said, until Fiona’s voice broke through above the rest.

“She’s awake,” Fiona said, and then on cue, every face turned to look at me.

“How are you feeling?” Isaru asked, now fully dressed in some of Pallos’ clothes.

I blinked, feeling as if I were in a dream. “This is real, right?”

“Yes,” Isaru said. “Of course it is. But you are greatly weakened. We kept you here by the lake, thinking its power would help to restore you. Even Elekim has her limits, it seems.”

The sentence sounded strange coming from his mouth. Apparently, there had been enough time for the others to give him that bit of information.

It was then that I realized that I wasn’t exactly on the xen; a few inches of warm, pink ichor surrounded me, its healing power flowing into my skin.

“Such exposure would be death for any of us,” Fiona said.

It hadn’t killed Isaru, though. Had it been because I was protecting him?

“No,” I said. “Any of you can enter without fear.”

This statement made everyone go quiet.

“If you are Elekim,” Isa said, “then I don’t doubt that.”

Isaru looked away, his gray eyes becoming distant. They still glowed with residual traces of the ichor he had previously been immersed in.

“How are you feeling, Isaru?” I asked.

“Me?” He chuckled softly. “What about you?”

“I feel fine, now,” I said, sitting up. The others helped me to stand on my own two feet. I nodded my thanks.

“I want to hear about you,” I continued. “Do you feel fully yourself?”

Isaru frowned as he considered. “My thoughts are scattered. It feels as if I’m more used to being dead than alive. I’m . . . conflicted about who I really am. I can still remember bits of it, being controlled by Rakhim, and then by Odium. I was never fully privy to their plans, but I saw enough of it. But I will reveal what I know as clearly as I can.”

“What is he planning?” I asked.

“The invasion is still coming,” Isaru said. “Xenofall . . . in the full sense of that word . . . is still coming. It will be here any moment. We must destroy the Hyperfold from the inside, and I know just how to do it.”

“How?” I asked.

“The answer will not seem to make sense at first. But now is the time to end it all, to give humanity its last hope against the coming storm.” Isaru turned around, looking at us all. “We need to order Rakhim to destroy the Hyperfold. He has the power and the ability to do so.”

“Why would he destroy his own creation?” Shara asked.

“I don’t know if he will,” Isaru admitted. “But he has been abandoned by Odium . . . just as I was. Odium no longer has a foothold in our world. That can only mean one thing. He can’t control us all with the Hyperfold, as weak as it is. That’s why he gave me up. It was a long shot, trying to kill you with the Hyperfold so weak, but he was already losing control of his Mindless dragons . . . the ones he gave to me. Already, they’re causing mayhem in Colonia.”

Already, Isandru’s, and now Alex’s work, was having real effects. Odium’s control was slipping. Something finally seemed to be working in our favor, and now we even had Isaru back.

“He might be convinced to end the Hyperfold for good,” Isaru said. “Either Shal destroys it, or else he exists in a barren wasteland for eternity.”

As did Alex, I realized. If Alex ever left the Hyperfold, then it gave Rakhim a chance to rebuild.

“I don’t know what direction to take,” I said. “All I can think to do for now is return to Haven.” I looked at Isaru. “You must end the war now.”

Isaru nodded. “The war is as good as over. As I said, the dragons were beginning to slip from Odium’s control when he commanded me to go to Haven and fight you. The Annajen army is at their mercy, along with the city. Many will die if we do nothing to stop their rampage. There is the question of just how to do it.”

“Do you remember everything that happened while he controlled you?” Shara asked. “Do you remember what happened to your father?”

Isaru’s body seemed to go stiff. “My father . . .” He went quiet and somber, his expression pale and pained. “I remember it having happened. I don’t remember doing it. I think I might have blocked it.”

He turned from us until his face was completely hidden.

“Isaru?” I asked.

“I . . .” He trailed off, unsure of how to proceed. “He’s gone, then. Really gone.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “We know it wasn’t you who did it.”

“I need some time alone,” he said. “All of this is so overwhelming.”

“Of course,” I said. “Take all the time you need. Just know that we’re here.”

I waved everyone back to the ship. After everyone had boarded, I turned back to see Isaru standing alone beside the lake under a sky full of stars. There he knelt, his shoulders shaking with sobs.

CHAPTER FORTY

IT WAS SOME TIME LATER, perhaps an hour, before Isaru boarded the Odin. He gave no sign of surprise at the ship. He must have remembered it from his time spent under Odium’s possession, or perhaps his mind was too distracted to concern himself with such trivialities.

“Can I get you anything?” Shara asked. “Food, tea?”

Isaru shook his head. “I’m not hungry.” He sat at the table, and then clenched his right fist. “I feel . . . weak. My body doesn’t feel the same as it once did.” He frowned. “Either that, or I feel weak compared to who I was with the power of the Hyperfold.”

“You’re back,” Isa said as she sat across from him. “That’s all that matters.”

“I’m glad to be back,” Isaru said. “Though I’m a different person than before. I feel . . . sad. Alone. Like a villain.”

“You aren’t a villain,” I said. “We understand that you went through hell. The way it happened was all a mistake.”

“Ever since that day when we went into the Hyperfold for the first time, I’ve been two different people. Who I was before, and who I became. The former self . . . the version of me you know . . . became trapped in the Xenofold when I crossed the bridge. I had no body to return to . . . that space was occupied by Rakhim, who used my thoughts and memories to directly touch the world, something he hadn’t been able to do since he himself had entered the Hyperfold all those years ago.”

“What did you do in the Xenofold?” Shara asked.

“Very little,” Isaru said. “Endless thinking. There was no sleep. There were no people. I wandered a version of our world, like ours in every respect aside from the fact that I was the only one walking in it. I walked alone until Shanti came. I didn’t dare hope that she could free me, but . . .” He then looked at me, forcing a smile, a smile that was trying to make the best of things, but still felt pain all the same. “Shanti proved me wrong. Rakhim Shal is no more . . . at least in my body.”

“Alex is keeping him from hurting anyone else,” I said. “He said his being there was the only way to keep Rakhim from causing further trouble.”

“That’s true,” Isaru said. “But it’s also . . . problematic.”

“Problematic, how?” Fiona asked.

We all waited for Isaru to answer. He appeared to be thinking.

“If the Hyperfold ends, it also means his end.”

“He didn’t speak that way,” I said. “He said that he would find a new world, along with the rest of the Elekai, if the Hyperfold were to end.”

“Yes,” Isaru said. “That’s exactly what I meant.”

“What do you suggest we do, then?” Shara asked. “You said earlier that we can’t destroy the Hyperfold unless we convince Rakhim to do it.”

I could see no solution, no solution at all, and the fact that the second Xenofall was still coming . . . a physical invasion of the Radaskim led by Odium himself . . . made finding an answer even more important.

“Forgive me,” Isaru said, standing without looking at any of us. “I’m . . . very tired. I need some space.”

Without saying anything else, he headed into the rear of the ship.

“Excuse me,” I said, standing and going after him.

* * *

Looking into each of the two cabins on my left, I could see that he wasn’t there, nor was he in the lavatory. That left only the engine room. I found him sitting there on the metal-grated deck, facing the fusion core. He was eerily quiet.

“Isaru?”

He turned suddenly, and I saw tears on his face. “I need space, Shanti.”

I tensed at those words, and felt the hurt from them. Something told me to stand my ground, though. “Isaru . . . I have no idea what you’re going through. If I could have saved you from all this, you know I would have.”

Isaru remained silent, wiping his face and not meeting my eyes.

“We’ve been through so much together, Isaru. From you rescuing me, setting in motion everything that’s happened, until now. Everything that happened after you entered the Hyperfold was a horrible, cruel mistake. You were used Isaru. All those things you did . . . none of that was you.”

“I no longer know the difference,” Isaru said. “At the time, it felt as if it were me. It felt as if I was the one who buried the blade in Mia’s back, the one who razed Atlantea to the ground, the one who murdered my own father . . .”

He broke down here, his whole body shaking. He was going through so much pain that I knew there was little I could do to stop it.

I stepped forward and knelt beside him, taking his hand and holding it. He only started crying more pitifully, letting out all the grief he couldn’t in those few months he had lived as Rakhim’s slave.

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” he managed, finally. “I can’t live in this world anymore.”

“Stop talking like that,” I said. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I have to give back somehow,” he said. “For all the horrible things I’ve done . . . only I don’t know how.”

“Things not committed by you,” I said. “It’s not your fault, Isaru. None of it is.”

“I know,” Isaru said. “I know, and in my mind, it doesn’t matter. More than that, to the world, it won’t matter.”

“I know it doesn’t make sense, Isaru. Evil is a senseless thing. You’re allowed to feel grief . . . for your father, for Mia, for anyone who died because of others’ evil. But that evil was not your own, Isaru. None of us here believed you had truly become a monster. All of us believed you were still there, ready to be freed. We didn’t know how that was going to happen, but we kept faith all the same. And look. You’re back, now.”

“I’m back, but broken,” Isaru said. “I don’t know how I can ever be human again. To be acceptable.”

I touched his face, forcing him to look at me. His gray eyes were filled with a haunting sadness and pain.

“I accept you,” I said. “No matter who you were, or who you are now. I accept you, and I want you to try. Because even if no one outside this ship needs you, we need you. Let that be enough.”

“You need me?”

I nodded. “Of course I do. Not having your guidance, your advice . . . even your presence . . . these last few months, has been so difficult. I didn’t know how I’d ever make it through.”

“And yet you did.”

“Just barely, Isaru. It would’ve been so much easier with you by my side.” I touched my hair, which was now a couple of inches long. “I might even still have my hair.”

Isaru chuckled, unable to help myself. “I noticed, only I never said anything. I suppose cutting it makes it easier to fight. A sensible choice.”

“If only you knew,” I said. “But there’ll be time for all the crazy stories later.”

He looked at me for another moment before nodding. “You’re right. I know you are.”

“Of course I’m right,” I said. “And it doesn’t all have to come at once.” I stood, keeping hold of his hand. “Welcome to the Odin, Isaru. It’s great to have you back.”

Isaru considered what I said for a moment, before pulling himself up.

“Elekim,” he said, giving a nod of respect.

“If you call me that again I’m going to punch you,” I said. “If I can’t be Shanti with you, then I can’t be Shanti with anyone.”

He gave a small smile that was gone as quickly as it had appeared. “I need to rest, though. What you said makes sense in my head, but I’ve lost so much. Even if I can come back, like you said . . . I will never be the same.”

“None of us can,” I said, solemnly. “But we fight so that we can keep that hope alive for others.”

Isaru nodded his agreement. “So, where can I go rest?”

“You can sleep in my cabin for now and we can figure out the smaller details later.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine,” I said.

Isaru was about to protest, but I just shook my head in preparation of that. “You need a comfortable bed, and I’ll be fine. Really. Besides, I’m the captain and that’s my order.”

“It’s not that,” he said. “I’m just a bit worried. About myself, I mean.”

“Worried about what?”

He hesitated here, but I waited patiently for him to speak. “What if this is all some trick on Odium’s part? What if I’m not really healed? What if Odium still possesses me, and is only making me think that I’m not, and fooling all of you?”

I shook my head. “No. That was you in the Xenofold, and that same presence is in you now. If you can’t trust your own feelings, then trust mine.”

“I suppose that’ll have to do.

“Isaru?” Isa stepped into the engine room, a bit sheepishly. Her eyes widened upon seeing his disheveled state, and then she looked at me questioningly. “I apologize if I’ve interrupted anything.”

“No,” I said. “Isaru was just about to go get some rest.”

“Oh,” Isa said. I could tell she was thinking the obvious question of where he was going to sleep. “Fiona and I are in the second cabin. There’s still a couple of empty bunks in there.”

“He’s going to be sleeping in my cabin for now, until we can figure out a more permanent sleeping arrangement,” I said. “I want to make sure he’s comfortable. I’ll be rooming with Shara tonight.”

“Really, none of this is necessary,” Isaru said.

“It’s already done,” I said.

Isaru faced Isa, and I could tell that he wanted to speak to her alone.

“I’ll be up front,” I said, leaving the two of them to it.

The hum of the engine covered their words before I could make out what they said. When I made it back up to the wardroom, Shara and Fiona were sitting at the table, talking.

“How is he?” Fiona asked, once I stepped in. “Isa went to check on you.”

“He’s struggling,” I said. “Overwhelmed.”

“Maybe what he needs is space,” Shara said. “That’s what I’d need.”

“Space is hard to get on a ship,” Fiona said.

“He’ll be going to bed soon,” I said. “Maybe he just needs time, and like Shara said, space.”

That might get him functional, but it would not heal the emotional wounds he had suffered. Sadly, that wasn’t something we could take time to address. Not now. All we could do was comfort him and give him whatever support we could.

“What’s our next move?” Fiona asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m overwhelmed, too, so the only thing I can think to do is sleep on it. Truth be told, it’s hard to believe he’s back.”

“I’m about to head to bed myself,” Shara said.

“Sleep well,” I said, as she passed out of the door.

“Maybe sleep is best,” Fiona said, once we were alone. “I feel as if I’m too worried to even do that. Where’s Isaru sleeping? With Pallos, I assume.”

“My cabin for now,” I said. “I’m going to bunk with you girls tonight.”

“Never seemed right that Pallos got that cabin all to himself,” Fiona said. “He sleeps in the bridge half the time.”

“I’m sure he suffers a lot being the only male member of our crew,” I said. “Maybe he deserves it. He’s High Vizier and a Guardian, after all.”

Fiona had a chuckle at that. “Well, I think Shara had the right idea. I’m off to bed.”

“Sleep well,” I said.

* * *

I headed for the bridge, and as expected, Pallos was there fiddling with the controls. He looked up as I entered and gave a wan smile.

“Where to now, Captain?” he asked.

I didn’t respond to that question, and instead sat down. “We need to talk.”

Pallos swallowed. “Of course.”

I faced him from my seat. “Be honest with me. If you had to choose between Shen, or us, which would you choose?”

Pallos blinked in surprise. “Well, I’d find a solution that meant I had to do neither. Most things aren’t an either/or proposition.”

I’d expected an answer like that. “That’s a cop out. You know exactly what I mean.”

He cleared his throat nervously. “I suppose you do.”

“Pallos, you’ve proven yourself every step of the way, and you’ve said you haven’t spoken a word to Shen since we entered the Hyperfold three months ago. That could be a lie, but for some reason, I believe you. Maybe that belief will be the end of us, based on information you could still be giving to Shen.”

“I’m not giving anything to him,” Pallos said. “For better or worse, my lot is thrown in with yours. I mean that.”

“So, back to my original question . . .”

“Yes,” Pallos said. “If I had to choose, I’d choose you.”

I hadn’t expected him to answer so quickly. “And why’s that?”

“Because I’ve learned that the world is bigger than Shen and his vision ever since following you. I used to believe Shen had a solution for everything. Now, I’m not so sure. Shen doesn’t understand the Xenofold, therefore, he wants it to end. I’m not so sure that would be best for this world. We would be losing a lot, not to mention that the Xenofold might have a chance to come back stronger. That is, if we successfully convince Rakhim to end the Hyperfold.”

Yes, there was that. “Then I want you to back up those words with action. An action which cannot be reversed, and will cut you off from Shen . . . forever.”

“What do you mean?” Pallos asked.

“Become an Elekai,” I said. “Become one of us.”

Pallos’ eyes widened; he clearly hadn’t expected me to say that. “Is that even possible?”

I nodded. “I did the same thing to my dad when I healed him in Haven. Unintentionally, of course. And as Elekim, I can open the Xenofold to whoever I choose. It’s also how I was able to restore Isaru’s consciousness to his body. If you do this, Pallos, there will be no doubt in my mind. And there will be no going back to Shen.”

“I understand that,” he said.

“If you believe everything you just told me, that the Xenofold deserves to exist, then that puts you at odds with Shen. That means you would have no place with him any longer.”

“I’m aware of that,” Pallos said. “But this is a very big step, Shanti.”

“I need you to decide before tomorrow morning,” I said. “That’s when we’re leaving.” Now came the hard part. “If you don’t agree . . . then I don’t think I’ll be able to trust you. Not fully, at least.”

“I see,” Pallos said. He thought for a moment as he considered what to say. “I’m not hesitating because I’m unsure. I am sure. I’m hesitating only because I never thought things would lead to this. But if it is possible, and I do become an Elekai, I would be much more useful to you and your mission. I can still be the liaison between us and Shen, even as an Elekai. I don’t know how he’ll react to it, but I meant what I said. If it were you, or him, I’d choose you and your mission. Because it’s become my mission, too.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Pallos.”

“So, yes,” he said. “Make me Elekai.”

“Right now?”

He nodded. “Right now.”

I looked into his eyes to see if he was sure. There was no doubt within them.

“Follow me, then.”

* * *

I led Pallos off the ship and to the ichor lake outside. The night was dark, and the only light came from the thousands of stars above and the glowing, pink liquid before us.

“What do I do?” Pallos asked.

“Step into the ichor,” I said. “It may burn at first, but you must be strong. Keep going until you’re completely submerged.”

“People die when they enter ichor,” Pallos said. “If it were anyone else, I would believe you were simply trying to get rid of me.” He turned to look at me. There was fear in those eyes, reflecting the pink light of the lake. “But I’m choosing to trust you.”

I felt a bit guilty that Pallos had placed more trust in me than I had in him. But this had to be done. “You can step in when you’re ready.”

“Should I remove my clothes?”

I shook my head, perhaps a little too vehemently. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Right.” He drew a deep breath, and looked at the stars, gazing at them for perhaps a full minute. Probably trying to get one last look in case they were the last thing he ever saw.

“I’ve had a strange life,” he mused. “Adopted into the Guardians when I was young, educated at the finest schools in Shenshi, all to apply that knowledge toward the restoration of Odin as my crowning achievement. As soon as that was complete . . . along you came, upending my life far more than any other event.” He chuckled. “And now I’m renouncing my people, the ones who rose me up and gave me life. Not because I don’t have a choice, but because I’ve come to believe in a world larger than Shen.”

He shrugged, seeming to have nothing more to add. Pallos moved forward into the lake, and as he made contact, I reached out to make a connection with the Xenofold and the ichor now touching his skin.

He cried out in pain, but as I’d told him, he only continued to wade deeper. My thoughts became the ichor, wrapping around his skin and ceasing to do him harm. I felt his pain subside while being conscious of the latent power of the Xenofold, awaiting my command.

He is one of us, now, I thought.

I felt acceptance from the Xenofold, and like that, the flood of power entered Pallos. His skin began to glow brightly as he cried out, not from pain, but from shock.

The glow began to fade after a minute or so, and all that was left was Pallos as he had been before. He looked at his hands, where the last trace of the luminescence still resided.

“Is it done?” he asked.

I nodded, feeling none the weaker for having done a task that would have utterly exhausted me before inheriting the powers of Elekim. “It’s done. You’re Elekai.”

“I feel different,” he said. “Warmer, if that makes sense.”

“The Xenofold has accepted you, Pallos. Like us, you are connected to it, but it will take training to learn how to use it. What do you feel?”

Pallos closed his eyes, and a frown came to his face. “It feels . . . sick. Weak. Yet it still gives its power to me.”

I nodded. “This is what we’re fighting to protect, Pallos. This is what the Radaskim want to destroy. Now, the fight will be as personal for you as it is for us.”

“I see,” he said. “I understand, now. I understand better, at least.”

“Your connection to the Xenofold is as it was in the old days,” I said. “Stronger and purer than any Elekai born today.”

He gave an ironic chuckle. “Then Shen will hate me all the more.”

A long streak of light cut across the sky at that very moment, striking us both silent. It landed somewhere far off behind some mountains. A great rumble sounded from the ground, followed by a thunderous boom, as if the very air were being ripped apart. The surrounding trees shook, and a great, hot wind gusted across ichor lake.

Pallos turned to me, his face fearful and questioning.

“Back to the ship!” I shouted, though my voice was lost to the din.

I waited for Pallos to rejoin me on the shore before running back to Odin.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

“WHAT’S GOING ON OUT THERE?” Isa asked as Pallos and I ran inside the ship.

The ground was no longer shaking, though the wind outside still roared around the hull of the ship. “Something fell from the sky. We need to get off the ground immediately.”

“The forest is on fire,” Pallos said.

Everyone had gathered into the wardroom from their cabins by now, including Isaru, who now spoke.

“It must be happening now,” he said, another aftershock rolling under the ship.

“What’s happening?” Shara asked.

This was no time for speculation. We needed to get airborne as soon as possible. I ran for the bridge and fired up the engines. It took only a moment for the thrusters to engage and push us off the ground. Two more streaks of light coursed down from the sky, lighting the horizon red first, and then later, giving resounding booms that penetrated even into the ship.

“The invasion begins,” Isaru said.

“They’re here?” Shara asked, joining me on the bridge as well.

All was quiet in the ship as we watched the destruction unfold with horror. Giant plumes of fire and smoke beat back the night, creating a second day.

“The dragons . . .” I said.

“Can you reach out to them?” Shara asked.

I closed my eyes, focusing my attention on just that.

Quietus? Askal? Are you out there? Are you safe?

Silence was my only answer. It wasn’t the silence of their not answering. It was a silence of being cut off, as if something was getting in the way of the connection. And then, in the quiet of Silence, a shadowy face appeared, grotesque and alien. The eyes shone like the fires now consuming the Sylvan forest.

Anna . . .

The voice was like a cold wind, hissing and hateful. I tried to sever the connection, but I couldn’t pull my mind away from it.

I told you that I would come.

I steeled my mind to fight back. If I said nothing, the power of his voice would overwhelm.

None of this world is yours, Odium! You have lost Rakhim. You have lost Isaru. You stand alone, and I am coming for you!

There was a moment of hesitation, and perhaps of doubt. Perhaps doubt was too much to hope for, but I was no longer afraid. I was angry.

I used that anger, that power, to break off the connection. The last thing I heard out of Odium was a seething hiss.

I opened my eyes to find myself on the deck of the ship, facing upward. Isaru reached down and pulled me up. I stood, dazed, while he and Shara supported me.

“Odium is here,” I said. “On Earth.”

“Then this is Xenofall . . .” Fiona said, after a moment of silence.

“I suggest we leave the area,” Pallos said. “More of these meteors could fall, and it would be bad luck to lose our ship.”

“No,” I said. “We’re not running from this.” The others turned to look at me, most of their expressions were of surprise, or even fear. “Odium has landed near here. I can find him. While we have this ship, and while he is relatively alone, is the best time to strike.”

“Where is he, exactly?” Isa asked.

“Somewhere beyond there,” I said pointing. “Among all the fires. Where the rocks dropped.”

“Doesn’t he want us to attack him?” Fiona asked.

“He landed here for a reason,” I said. “To attack the dragons. I’m afraid they’re in trouble. When I tried to reach Quietus and Askal just now, neither answered. We can’t abandon them now.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Isaru asked.

“Pallos,” I said. “Set course for Dragonspire.”

Pallos nodded. “At once.”

“Hey . . .” Shara said, seeming to notice Pallos for the first time. “You seem different.”

“I feel it, too,” Fiona asked, looking from Pallos, then to me. “Is he . . .?”

I nodded. “Yes. Pallos has become Elekai. No one can doubt his loyalty now.”

The bridge was struck silent as everyone absorbed this fact.

“I don’t know as much as everyone else here,” Isaru said, “but let me be the first to welcome you.”

“Me, too,” Fiona said quietly.

Isa nodded, along with Shara.

“It’s good to be here,” Pallos said, as he turned the ship toward Dragonspire, shining brightly under a storm of flames. “Though I wish the circumstances were better. Let’s just concentrate on the goal ahead. I’m picking up some flying objects on the radar, encircling the mountain. Friend or foe, I can’t say.”

“Let’s get in closer,” I said.

* * *

We flew closer to the mountain, but the glare of the flames made it difficult to make out anything.

Quietus? Are you out there?

Shanti . . .

Quietus? Where are you?

We fight . . . on the other side of the mountain.

“Go around the mountain,” I ordered. “The dragons are there.”

We waited as Pallos did so. Within moments, we had skirted the edge of the burning mountain and come upon a scene of madness. Two hosts of dragons, it seemed, were fighting, though it was hard to differentiate the two at first. Watching the scene unfold, I started to pick up on the little differences. The Earth dragons seemed to be smaller, and at a glance something felt different about them, their movements being calm and fluid. The other dragons were much larger, always black, and made jarring and unnatural movements with their wings, tails, and necks, as if possessed by madness. Their eyes shone brighter than the others.

Beneath the field of battle were three great, billowing masses, with large openings on top. Out of these openings flew more dragons, along with scurrying, insectoid creatures on multiple legs.

“Those are the vessels,” I said. “What they used to travel here.”

And, in the middle of it all, was the largest dragon I had ever seen, larger than Quietus and Askal combined. How the creature even managed to keep aloft was a mystery. Unlike the smaller dragons under its command, its movements were slow, yet powerful. In the light of the inferno, I could see two smaller, yet still large, dragons fighting against him . . . one pink, and one black.

“That’s them,” I said. “Askal and Quietus.”

“Fighting him?” Isa asked, horrified.

I knew that was Odium, or at least, the form in which Odium was manifesting himself. At our appearance, the massive dragon turned and let out a bone-shattering roar. Even through the hull of the ship, the volume was enough to get all of us to cover our ears.

“How do we fight that?”

“If we open fire, we risk killing the Elder Dragons in the process,” Isaru said.

“Can we get them to pull back?” Isa asked.

“Incoming dragons!” Pallos said.

“Engage the turrets,” I said. “Everyone, sit down and buckle up!”

As everyone rushed to their seats, Pallos veered Odin left and put on a burst of speed, the turrets opening fire on the dragons nearest our ship.

“Disengage!” I said. “Don’t want it to hit friendlies.”

“Turning off auto-engage,” Pallos said. “I don’t have time to reprogram the firing code.”

Shanti . . .

Quietus? We’re coming! We’ll find to a way to help you. Just hold on a minute longer.

It’s . . . a trap. If we die . . . there is still hope. If you die . . . all is lost.

No, Quietus. I won’t leave you here!

The ship suddenly jerked again, as something slammed into its side, causing the ship to dip toward the fiery tree line. Pallos pulled up just in time, and gained some altitude.

“We’ll be dead if we stay here!” Pallos said.

I turned on the automatic firing; the only dragons close to us now were Radaskim. The turrets engaged again, firing a stream of high velocity bullets. Several of the attacking Radaskim screamed as the rain of metal tore them to shreds and sent them spiraling toward the ground.

Then, suddenly, the bullets ended.

“Fresh out,” Pallos said.

We had absolutely nothing to fight with.

“Stay out of range,” I said. “I’m going to try something.”

When I reached to embrace the Xenofold, all I felt was fire and pain.

I need your power, I said. All you can give me.

I felt the power flow into me, but nowhere near enough to challenge what was facing me. Nowhere near enough to save Askal and Quietus.

Go, my child, Askal said.

Refusing to believe this could be the end for them, I used all the power I had to place a tether on every dragon nearby the ship. Their minds fused with mine, and I held onto control using all the power I possessed. They pushed back, hard, but I directed them to fly and attack Odium, who was busy beating back Askal and Quietus.

Foolish one, Odium said, his voice mocking. You will destroy yourself trying to defeat me.

The power of the Xenofold was failing against Odium’s power. Stubbornly, I clung on and drew more power, screaming in pain as my control slipped from the dragons, one by one.

Suddenly, I was pulled back to the reality of the bridge, Isaru shaking me. “Whatever you’re doing, stop! You’re going to kill yourself.”

“I won’t let them die,” I said. “I won’t!”

The six dragons I’d taken control of were now dispersing, attacking the other Elder Dragons, of which there were fewer and fewer every passing moment.

“We’re out of bullets, and we’re out of time,” Pallos said. “If we don’t move out soon . . .”

Then, a shrill cry broke the night. I screamed as I watched Quietus’s dark, black form fall from the sky, beaten down by one of Odium’s massive wings. Enraged, Askal flew straight for Odium’s neck, but the entirety of his body became clamped in Odium’s massive jaws. The giant dragon’s eyes glowed malevolently as the jaws clenched with tremendous power, crushing and shaking the Elder Dragon King beneath. Askal was tossed aside, and careened toward the fiery ground beneath.

Over the next, terrible moments, we watched powerlessly as what was left of the Elder Dragons fled from the wrath of Odium and his host. The Radaskim dragons gave chase to the fleeing Elders, catching the stragglers as they flew.

Next, they were coming for us.

“There’s nothing we can do,” I said, my voice heavy with defeat. “Fly for Sylva. Perhaps we can warn them of what’s coming.”

Wordlessly, Pallos turned the ship and we flew north, away from the carnage with Odium’s victorious roars urging us onward.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

THERE WAS LITTLE SAID OR done on the trip north from Dragonspire. Isa cried quietly in the wardroom. Isaru sat in the engine room alone, brooding. Fiona had gone off to one of the cabins. Pallos commandeered the ship, focusing only on getting us safely to Sylva.

Shara and I sat alone in the conference room, neither speaking.

“Has all hope left?” Shara asked.

I had no answer for her. It certainly felt as if it had. Whatever the case, we were here now, powerless to fight against the coming storm. We didn’t even have bullets, and couldn’t get more except from Shenshi, a place we couldn’t return to without indebting ourselves to Shen.

I shook my head. “I’ve ruined everything. I couldn’t stop the Hyperfold in time. No one is prepared for Xenofall. There isn’t anything on Earth powerful enough to stop a host of dragons like that. Even if everything were gathered together . . . hypothetically . . . what could stop them?”

“We need air power to match,” Shara said. “What about Isaru’s dragons?”

I shook my head. “Those dragons were loyal to Odium. At best, they become Mindless again. And with Odium here now, who knows what’s happening with them?”

“If they’re Mindless, they can still be controlled, right?” Shara asked. “You’re Elekim. You have powers now that you didn’t before. Perhaps if you tried to get to those dragons before Odium does, there’s a chance they would be led by you.”

Somehow, I doubted that, but even if there was a remote chance for that to be true, I’d be crazy not to try.

Before I could respond, Fiona appeared in the doorway. “We must go to Colonia.”

Her eyes were shining more brightly than usual, a sure sign that she had just been communing with the Xenofold.

“A prophecy?” I asked.

“Yes,” Fiona said. “I went into a trance. It’s time to gather your army, Shanti. It’s waiting for you at Colonia.”

“It’s true, then,” Shara said. “Those dragons will follow the first person powerful enough to command them. If we can grab them first, we’ll have something to challenge Odium with.” Shara paused to consider. “In fact, it’s where Odium must be heading now.”

“The Xenofold has revealed the way,” Fiona said. “We must take it.”

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin trying to control them . . .”

“Nonetheless, you have the power,” Fiona said. “You are Elekim. Didn’t Alex do the same for the dragons long ago? Didn’t he make them Elekai?”

Fiona was right; he had. “I need to tell Pallos to change course.”

As we walked through the corridor, the entire ship shifted from a massive impact in its hull. We all fell to the deck while the lights winked on and off.

“What the . . .?” Shara said.

Pallos’s voice crackled through the speakers. “We’ve been hit by something, I don’t know if I can . . .”

The sound cut out. I crawled forward to the bridge just to see exactly what was going on.

When I made it, it was to the sight of fiery rocks raining from the sky. It hadn’t just been localized to Dragonspire, but seemed to be hitting near every major population center. Sylva’s lights could be seen among the trees of the forest, and the fiery rocks kept falling from the sky, devastating the surrounding landscape.

“We’re losing power,” Pallos said. “Readout is showing something wrong with the engines. I can’t keep the thrusters going much longer.”

“But we need to get to Colonia!” I said. “Fiona has received a prophecy. If we can make it . . .”

“Shanti,” Pallos said, “as it stands, I doubt we even make it to Sylva. If we push Odin, then the ship will crash out of the sky. But if I can ground it now, there is a chance I can repair it later . . . small chance though it is.”

“If we’re grounded here, the ship will be destroyed in the fires, or by another rock,” I said. “Keep trying, Pallos. We can’t afford to land now.”

Just as I said that, the ship gave another jolt, its nose tipping toward the ground. The engines were struggling. While the fusion reactor still seemed to work, it was struggling to feed that power to the ship’s systems.

“It is hopeless,” Pallos said. “If we stay airborne, the ship’s going to fall like a rock.”

“Land it, then,” I said. “As close to the city as you can.”

Pallos nodded. “There’s no guarantee of that. But I’ll do my best.”

Pallos guided the ship sharply down. Odin’s design was such that it couldn’t glide; it relied solely on thrust in multiple directions to provide its lift and direction. Odin now slowly descended at a controlled burn, a burn that could end in all our deaths if the power cut out completely.

“I’m cutting off power to everything but the engines,” Pallos said. “Perhaps there’s enough juice to get us to the city outskirts.”

A meteor crackled right by the ship, displacing the air and buffeting against Odin’s starboard side. The ship shook and groaned from the force but steadied slowly as it neared the trees.

“There’s a clearing up ahead,” I said. “Just outside the city.”

“I see it,” Pallos said. “We’ll be out of power any moment now. Hang on a bit longer . . .”

The power went out just as we were about to land. The last command Pallos put into the ship was to open the doors.

The ship gave a final shudder as it thudded onto the Earth, perhaps to never rise again.

* * *

We piled off the ship and ran to the edge of the clearing, looking back to assess the damage. Odin’s hull still glowed red-hot from where it had been struck, its frame twisted. The meteor had hit right where the engines were, and the fact that the ship had been able to get us this far was a wonder in itself.

Pallos, however, had fallen to his knees and had tears in his eyes. “Ten years of work . . .” He covered his face.

“We have no time to mourn,” I said, though I wanted very much to do the same thing, only on behalf of Quietus and Askal. “Sylva is close, and I’m hoping they’ll have dragons to spare for us to get to Colonia.”

Isaru reached a hand to Pallos, who reluctantly took it.

“There may be monsters around,” Shara warned. “That might include things that crawl on the ground.”

Everyone nodded. Right now, the only threat seemed to be the fires, but from where we stood, none were visible, aside from the harsh red glow above the trees. The smell of smoke was harsh, though, and promised we would run into a fire before we made it to the city.

We started off at a run, sprinting through the darkness of the trees. Their ethereal glow barely provided enough light to see by, but the forest here was well-maintained, mostly free of hindering undergrowth or fallen logs and branches. It made it fairly easy to pass through.

There were small fires here and there, and once we crossed a burnt-out clearing, but the lack of undergrowth was doing favors for the trees. Some of the trunks were scorched, but the oldest and tallest still stood high, as they had for centuries.

We ran without pausing, all of us breathless as we arrived at the outskirts of the city, of which some of the buildings were aflame high in the treetops. We ran past streams of frightened people seeking shelter in the outer forests, and we were the only ones running for the city itself.

I saw from the fires that there was no way we could climb inside safely.

“Uncle Arius . . .” Fiona said, stepping forward. “I pray that you are safe.”

I reached out with my mind, searching for any sign of him, or of dragons. Arius’ whereabouts were inconclusive from my search, but I felt the presence of some dragons. Whether they belonged to certain riders or not didn’t matter much to me at this point. Elekim had need of them. If we didn’t reach Colonia before Odium, then all was lost. As of now, we had a head start, but we were losing that advantage.

Any dragon hearing this, come to me, receive your mind, become one of us. I am Elekim.

“What now?” Isaru asked.

“We wait, and we hope,” I said.

“Look!” Isa said.

Two dragons circled down from above, each of them landing right in front of us. They were small, their ages somewhere between dragonling and adulthood . . . but each could still bear us.

Is this all of you? I asked, as I walked forward to touch each of their snouts, which they were offering.

As I touched them, the power of the Xenofold left my fingers, entering them. Their eyes lit with power as they gained awareness of who, and what, they were. These Askaleen were no longer Mindless. In the space of a single moment, they had gained self-awareness, and they recognized me for who I was.

Elekim, each of them intoned. They lowered their heads reverently.

We need your help, I said. We need to reach Colonia to enlighten all the Mindless dragons there. Speed is of the utmost importance.

We will bear you, the dragon on the left said. But we cannot bear all of you. Choose one, and the rest must remain here.

I turned to the others. “I will go on alone to Colonia, along with one other person. The rest will have to stay here, doing what they can to help the situation. I’ll return when I have the dragons.”

“Who will go with you?” Isa asked.

Already, I knew the answer. “Isaru.”

He nodded. “Like old times.”

“There’s not much time,” I said. “Fiona is in charge while I’m gone.”

Fiona nodded. “We’ll do what we can here. Look to the Xenofold, Shanti. Let it guide you.”

“I will.”

Isaru and I mounted, and with one last look, we departed, fleeing the fiery scene. They all watched as we flew away, and I hoped I wasn’t leaving them to their doom. The rocks were no longer falling, and there was no sign of any Radaskim, but I knew that an assault on the city was only a matter of time.

Isaru drew his dragon alongside mine. “These dragons are quick, but it doesn’t seem right that they don’t have names.”

“They were never named by their mothers,” I said. “I suppose that’s how it is with the Mindless.”

What is your name? I asked the dragon I flew on.

His answer came quickly. I was awakened in the fires of the forest, so my name will be Flame.

“He wants to be called Flame,” I said to Isaru.

“Mine chose Falling Star,” Isaru said.

Welcome to the Xenofold, Flame and Falling Star.

I felt recognition and gratefulness from both of the dragons, reflected in the speedy beating of their wings as they left the city of Sylva behind.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

THE LAND BELOW WAS DARK and quiet, the xen and trees giving off a weak, pink glow that had little to do with bioluminescence and more to do with the full moon and stars shining above. The fires of Sylva and the forest were left behind, and all was quiet again save the cold breeze and the beating of the dragons’ wings.

Peering to the south, there was no sign of the coming Radaskim host. If all went well, we would reach Colonia far before Odium and his minions.

Isaru clung tightly to Falling Star, somehow feeling safe enough to sleep in that position. He had probably done so countless times on Jorla’s back, though Falling Star was much smaller than she had been.

I closed my own eyes, not knowing if I would get the chance to rest again.

When I opened them, the forest was gone and we were passing over wide, open plains. Below, I could see hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of fiery lights. They weren’t bright enough to be meteor impacts, and it was only when I saw moving shapes of men and horses among those fires that I realized that it was an army.

“Novans,” I said.

It was hard to get the full scale of that army, but I knew it had to be massive. They were further north than I had first guessed, opting not to push into Makai territory. Unless I missed my guess, they were on a route to either Colonia, or even the major population centers of the Xenoplain, the northern end of which being bordered by the Grand Canyon and the Annajen capital of Haven.

There was no telling what they would be up to, but as high as we were, we were most definitely safe from detection. Even if they did see us passing over the face of the moon, there was nothing they could do about it. I thought of the irony that Isaru, their former ally, was now flying over them. I wondered how they would react to the news when it finally reached them. Would they continue their assault on the Elekai and Colonia when they learned that Isaru no longer was on their side?

That would have to wait, however.

Over on Falling Star, Isaru was now stirring. He wiped his eyes and looked over at me.

“Any idea where we are?” I asked.

He looked at the hundreds of campfires below. “The Novan force. They were marching north to besiege Colonia from the south, using the farmlands of the Xenoplain to resupply. Assuming they are on schedule, then they are fifty or sixty miles from Colonia, by my guess.”

“We’re not far at all, then. Perhaps an hour.”

“We will see the city soon,” Isaru said. He gazed off to the south. “No sign of Odium.”

“How did you gain control of these dragons, when Rakhim was controlling you? Would it work the same for me?”

“My memory of the event is hazy,” Isaru said. “All I can say is you must trust in yourself and the power you hold. You are Elekim. If you give commands with the weight of your authority behind it . . . they will be obeyed.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“This is the turn of the tide,” Isaru said. “These dragons will become your Army of the Dawn.”

With the dragons, I’d have all the power Isaru and Rakhim had possessed. I could unite the Red Wild, gather everyone to form a resistance against Odium. Even if our power paled in comparison to the invading force, it might at least stand a challenge.

“I think I see something,” I said. “The Colorado River.”

Off in the distance was a shimmering line, the silvery sheen of the river reflecting the moonlight. At the extreme northern end of that line, hugging both ends of the banks, were buildings tiny with distance. As we neared, the wall next became discernible, along with the larger of the lights, including the campfires of the besieging Annajen force.

Isaru angled Falling Star down, and I followed him, asking Flame to go that way with my thoughts.

But as we drew nearer to the city, I could sense that something wasn’t right. I could see shapes flying above the buildings, unseen before because of the darkness. There were high screeches that could only come from dragons flying amok.

“They are Mindless,” Isaru said. “Just as I thought.”

I reached out with my own mind, looking to make a connection with any of them. I sensed madness, anger, and wanton violence. So many were already dead. They would destroy the entire city if it were in their power to do so.

I need the power to stop this, I thought. Grant it to me.

I flew straight for the city, feeling my hold on Silence deepen. I sensed something new in the chaos; recognition of my presence. I felt every latent mind, waiting to be awakened.

Connect, I thought. I have the power to do this, as impossible as it seems. I must believe.

There was a lull in the carnage, and the dragons flew upward into the night sky. They were waiting in expectation for one strong enough to lead them.

Connect, I thought again.

The dragons hovered, sensing that something was about to change.

This will end, I said. All of you will follow me now.

Every dragon in and around the city screamed, either in protest or in agreement. I flew forward on Flame’s back, going into the middle of them all.

Either I died here, or I came back with the army Anna had prophesied so long ago.

Fight for me!

We will not fight for you, Old One, came a voice, from the dragon closest to me. Your power is great, but the power of the Dark is greater.

I didn’t know what the title “Old One” meant, but I assumed it has some importance. The dark isn’t greater. Fighting with me is what you were born to do. This world belongs to the Elekai, not to the usurper!

There was a moment of hesitation. Isaru said to believe in my authority and my power. It was hard to do that against an army of dragons who said they would not obey my authority.

I am Elekim! I said. You will bow to me.

Make us, then.

At that moment, every dragon in the city flew straight for me. I wanted nothing more than to tell Flame to turn around and flee. It was one against two hundred.

There was no way I could win.

Run, while you still can.

Never.

You will die, Elekim. You will die terribly.

You are wrong.

Fool! There is no escape for you.

I saw that whoever was speaking to me was right. The black dragons that had been of Isaru’s old swarm now formed a cloud around me. Though close, none made a move to attack me.

You will die soon.

I’m waiting, I said. Kill me if you can.

I felt Flame’s thoughts connect with mine. Elekim . . . goading them on isn’t wise.

The Mindless continued to circle around me, and in the furious cloud, one dragon lowered itself and flew in front of me, hovering with me above the city. Its great white eyes stared out from a sharp, ebony face, and its mouth opened to reveal long, yellow teeth. It let out a horrendous scream, but its next move was one that was unexpected.

It flew away, and the dragons flying around me trailed after it in a black stream.

What are they doing? Flame asked.

I watched, unsure of that answer. I was unsure until they turned around, until I felt their minds calm. As they waited for me to say something next.

They are obeying, I thought in realization.

The dragons circled above the city, keeping Flame and I in the center. I urged Flame to join the stream, flying faster than the rest to get to the head.

Follow me! I sent the call backwards, so that it would reach every dragon.

Without waiting to see if they would follow me, I flew outside the city limits. Looking back a few minutes later, it was to the sight of an army of dragons. In the east, unknown to me while I was dealing with the dragons, the sun was beginning to the rise.

Isaru’s voice entered my mind. It looks as if you’ve found your Army of the Dawn.

I realized he was right. Yes. But the question is, what to do with it?

Isaru flew up from below, where he had been watching from a distance. Flying toward the sunrise above the distant Red Wild, I looked back to see the dragons following without any sign of protest. In fact, I felt a collective eagerness from the entire host. I had never seen so many at once . . . there were more than even when Isaru controlled them.

I had proven myself to them by not fleeing. They knew that they were following Elekim.

We need to secure the city, make things as right as we can. We need to give the Covenant a chance to join us.

They will blame you for the attack, Isaru said. And of course, they will blame me as well.

All the same, they deserve an explanation. They are alone, and Odium will destroy them if they don’t have our protection. They are people too, Isaru.

I’ll follow your lead, then.

* * *

Isaru and I flew our dragons down, landing them by the Annajen army. Most of the men were already up and preparing for battle. Several lay dead north of the city, mauled by dragons in these same sands that were not two miles from where I’d grown up. The Mindless had not been discerning in who they had attacked.

“This will be difficult to explain to the troops,” Isaru said.

“Explain it as best as you can,” I said. “You are their king, and they need you. The real you, not the king they feared.”

We landed our dragons on the sand next to the larger tents, while the rest of the dragons found a landing spot further away from the camp. The men gathered from all around, prostrating themselves before Isaru, begging for his mercy and favor.

In all, it was only yesterday since they had seen him . . . yesterday since the dragons had gone Mindless. I was surprised that the damage wasn’t more severe, given the circumstances.

“Rise,” Isaru said. “A new day has dawned, and everything changes today.” He turned to me. “This is Annara Reborn!” he called out, loud enough for all to hear. “She is the one who saved you from the dragons, and she is the rightful leader of the Elekai, returned from the days of old to lead us against the Radaskim. That is the real war, men. Already, an army of Radaskim dragons has landed in the south, beyond Sylva, and will be here soon enough.”

More men had gathered by this point, several hundred. All of them stared at their king in shock, as everything he was saying was the opposite of what they had been told. I had gone from being a criminal in their eyes to a savior. The dragons had gone from massacring them, to being on their side.

“The coming days will not be easy,” Isaru said. “But as king of the Annajen, I recognize before all of you the return of Annara to our world. Annara, the leader of the Army of the Dawn! As king of the Annajen, I pledge fealty to her,” he continued. “All the domain of my family and heirs are yours to command.”

The men were looking at Isaru as if he were insane. But looking at those dragons behind us, they knew better than to argue.

“I do not wish to fight any of you,” I said, raising my voice. “Everything King Isaru has told you is true. I am Annara, and I have the power to command dragons and the Xenofold. I’ve returned from the past to lead you all against the Radaskim. You are not the first to join me, but with you, our numbers are much greater and we stand a much greater chance at defeating what’s to come.”

By now, more troops were gathering, hundreds of them by now. They would relay my message to the rest who couldn’t hear.

“As your king has said, the Radaskim are here. You must have seen the fires falling from the sky last night. That is our world being invaded from above. That is Xenofall, a sign of the Second Darkness and the end of the current age. If we don’t rise to defend what is ours, there will be nothing left to call ours.”

All of the men were watching me, and listening. Not a word could be heard among the mass of hundreds.

“From this day forward, men will no longer fight each other so long as it’s in my power to stop it. From this day forward, Elekai and non-Elekai will work together for the good of all. Even the Novans, who you hate, will be persuaded to join us. Indeed, they will be the first ones attacked. If we focus on our differences, I guarantee you none of us will be alive a year from now.”

The men began to murmur at this, but I continued nonetheless. “Right now, I can only ask you to trust me. You may think I’m crazy, as well as your king. Maybe that’s true, but also remember that these dragons are following me. These dragons know what’s coming. When they broke free from Isaru, remember that I was the one who tamed them.

“Any man who doesn’t stand with me, will end up standing alone and dying alone. With me . . . at least we may fight, at least we may have some say in the matter, and with luck . . . we might even win.”

I looked out at the crowd. Every face was blank and impossible to read. What were they looking for in me? Did they really think I was insane? Would they even believe me, or did they think that I was the one ordering the dragons to kill them?

“I’m sure you’re wanting to know what this means for you. What our next steps are.” I paused, realizing that even I didn’t know that. “This pointless war with Colonia will be drawing to a swift close. I intend to speak with the Colonian government for terms of peace, and hopefully, of friendship and alliance against the threat to the south.”

At first there was applause, and then a halting of that applause as the second point of my statement was considered. The Colonians were the mortal enemy of the Elekai, a hatred nursed by two centuries of war and misunderstandings.

“Yes, the times are changing,” I said. “So, we must change, too. We must become who we always were, and what we’ve forgotten. We are Elekai. Our lineage is of the stars, and this is our home. We will fight to defend it to the last man, because the Radaskim will not stop until there are no more men, Elekai or not.

“When we have made peace with the Covenant, we will return to Haven.” The men cheered this. They quieted quickly so I could continue. “We will do everything to gather as many men and dragons in one place, to challenge the power of the Radaskim. There are threats, internal and external. We will be fighting a war on many fronts. An impossible war, perhaps. We will fight all the same, even if the fight is hopeless. We will find hope in hopelessness. There is no other reason to draw breath, no other reason to call ourselves human.

“Perhaps you don’t believe me, or don’t think that any of what I said is possible or true. If that’s the case, then I will be proven right, more quickly than you realize.” I gestured to the dragons behind me. “These dragons are no longer Mindless. Their attacks yesterday were due to the Radaskim entering our world, but I have gained control of them and they will never do such a thing again. I regret that stopping the attacks was impossible. But we must move on, such as we can. Bury our dead, and consolidate ourselves for the next test. Because that test is coming soon. To make the Mindless have a mind is the power of Elekim, a power I inherited from the Xenofold. If nothing else, let that be my proof to you.”

I found that I had nothing left to say. If what I said didn’t help my case, then nothing else would.

Seeing that I was done, Isaru stepped forward. “You may return to your duties. Ready yourselves as if for battle in the next hour.”

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

THE ARMY MARCHED TO THE Wind Gate in the north of Colonia, and messengers were sent with a request for talks of peace. One half of the dragons flanked the army, while the other half flew above as a display of power Colonia could not hope to match.

The old men of the city came out, richly robed with long, gray beards. The Grand Pontifex Valerian, looking older and fatter than ever, was carried on his sedan chair by four servants, while the Grand Council of the Nine High Priests joined the retinue, along with a retinue of some two hundred red-caped Peacemakers bearing their characteristic staves.

All the men’s faces were grim as talks began under the warm desert sun, with Isaru, his captains, and I on one side, and the leaders of the city-state on the other.

Colonia was to agree never to threaten the Red Wild with war again.

Colonia was to enter into a treaty of friendship with the Annajen, in defense against any and all threats to the sovereignty of both nations.

The Annajen would make restitutions for the damages caused to the city by the dragons as a token of friendship.

There were no other terms, and despite words of friendship, everyone remained stern and unfriendly. Forced friendship was not truly friendship, but even the leaders of Colonia would be fools not to see that the war was pointless, even if it was started by Isaru. All the reasons why Isaru started the war had to do with being controlled by Odium, which was probably beyond the priests’ comprehension.

However, Odium had done well in driving a wedge between disparate people, which would make his attempt to conquer Earth all the easier.

Among the priests I caught Hunter Valance’s cold, blue gaze. The man said nothing as he walked away, and there was no hint of superiority in his demeanor. It was strange how little more than half a year could change the balance of things.

“It’s a start,” I said to Isaru when the Colonians had withdrawn behind their walls.

“This is no friendship,” Isaru said, quietly. “They will stab us at the first opportunity.”

“Not if they want to survive this,” I said. “I think I explained the threat of Odium and the Radaskim well enough.”

“Yes,” Isaru said, “but will they listen?”

I was quiet, because I didn’t know the answer to that question. “Time will tell.”

* * *

That very afternoon, the Annajen army was on the march back to Haven, to garrison the city and its surroundings before the inevitable invasion. Whether that invasion would first come from the Novans, or the Radaskim, I couldn’t say.

Isaru and I entrusted the army to its leadership as we flew back to Sylva, where we found the half-burned city as we had left it. There was mass panic as people realized a swarm of dragons was descending on their city, and outright confusion when they did nothing more than roost in the giant Silverwood trees to Sylva’s west.

Isaru and I found our friends and explained everything that had transpired in Colonia. We found out from them that King Arius was alive, and they were doing all they could to prepare a defense in the forest while rebuilding their treetop city, the proceedings of which had been interrupted by the panic caused by the dragons.

They also informed us that there had been no sign of Odium or the Radaskim, which left us with the crucial decision of what do next.

“There’s Kalear up north,” I said. “Lord Harrow must be ordered to stand down, and he won’t do that unless Isaru orders it.”

“I’ll give him the same speech I gave the army outside Colonia,” he said. “Having his forces join up with yours at Kalear, and then coming down to help King Arius and the Makai, might be the best move. If the Novans aren’t willing to negotiate . . . and something tells me they won’t . . . then their army will be caught between the Annajen army in Haven and our other forces in the south.”

“It does put us in a good position,” I said. “But all of it means nothing if we fight the Novans and Odium comes to clean up the scraps. Even the Novans can be brought to see that the Radaskim are the main threat.”

“I mean it as a negotiating tool,” Isaru said. “Novans will be deep in enemy territory and surrounded on all sides. Even they would see the sense of making peace in those circumstances.”

“Not to mention when they realize their ally has turned into their enemy,” Shara said.

“That too,” Isaru said. “After flying on our way back, I’m convinced they are no longer going to Colonia. They probably believe the city is cornered, and until they learn otherwise, they will head to the Xenoplain, where there’s enough food to feed their legions. From there, they either go for Haven, if they learn of my betrayal, or they finish off Sylva. This is all assuming that they mean to maintain this war, despite the circumstances.”

“We need to move quickly,” I said. “What about the ship, Pallos? Is there any hope of repairing it?”

“It’s doubtful,” he said. “Not as isolated as we are out here. The parts I need can’t be manufactured without the Collective’s technology.”

It was as I had feared. “Is there a way to make it fly as far as Shenshi?”

“It’s possible,” Pallos said. “But any solutions I devise would be rather crude, and I would need full command of King Arius’ forges. With some rivets and the right molds, the hull could be repaired. The engine, however . . . I can’t promise anything.”

“It must get as far as Shenshi,” I said. “It must.”

“Perhaps further research will elucidate the problem,” Pallos said. “Needless to say, I will need a lot of uninterrupted time to focus on this. I don’t even know the full scope of the problem.”

“Do what you need to do, with my full authority,” I said. “We need Odin more than ever.”

“What now, then?” Fiona asked.

“We fly to Kalear,” I said. “And we pray that humanity isn’t stupid and crazy enough to fight each other at the worst time possible.”

“A tall order,” Isaru said.

“We have to hope for a lot of the impossible to even have a chance,” I said. “We’ve come this far. Why not a few steps further?”

“I like the positivity,” Shara said. “I still can’t believe the Colonians agreed to your terms, even under threat of dragons.”

“Times are changing,” I said. “I feel like all of this is a house of cards that will tumble at any moment.”

“We need to stack a few more cards before all is said and done,” Isaru said.

“Unfortunately,” I said.

At that moment, sheer exhaustion hit me, and hunger such as I had never known.

“I can’t go on,” I said.

“We could all use some rest,” Fiona said. “The palace was mostly spared the destruction. Why don’t we go up there and get some food and sleep?”

I was ready to protest, but I realized that she was right. I wasn’t going to do any good without sleep or food.

I stumbled more than walked up to the palace. Everything passed as if it were a dream. Makai soldiers keeping the peace. Hollowed-out shells of houses that had been scorched and razed by flames. An entire deck had crashed through the trees from a meteor impact. People milled about, directionless and homeless.

The crowds thickened at the three trees in which the palace was built; the guards kept them back, but allowed us to come in.

King Arius stood in the entry hall, talking to some other men who might have been noblemen or advisors. He excused himself and approached us.

“We need food and beds, Uncle,” Fiona said. “They’re exhausted, having just flown back from Colonia with the dragons.”

“Of course,” King Arius said, holding back his questions for now. “It will be as you say.”

Fiona led us herself to the guest rooms, laying me down on a bed so soft it was as if I were floating on a cloud.

“Close your eyes,” she said. “Food is on the way.”

I nodded, but even the promise of a hot meal was not enough to keep the exhaustion at bay.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

WHEN I AWOKE, MORNING AND afternoon had already passed. I could still smell smoke carried by the warm breeze through the open window. I got up and rubbed my eyes, opening them to see food on a table beside the bed – several slices of bread with cuts of chicken and some sort of pink sauce on top of it.

I was too hungry to care exactly what the sauce was, and ending up scarfing the whole plate down within a few moments. Once done, I drank from the glass of tea provided, watered down from the ice that had been melting for hours by now. I poured another glass, draining that one as well.

I wanted nothing more than a hot bath and clean clothes, and my hair was a complete mess, but nothing could be done about either for now. There were far more pressing concerns.

I went to the window, and gazed out at the burnt-out town. Many of the buildings and walkways were being repaired already, and for the first time, I noticed the sounds of hammers and saws. Sunset was perhaps an hour away.

There was a knock at the door, followed by it being slowly opened. Shara stood in the doorway.

“All rested up?”

I shrugged. “As much as I can be. Any news?”

Shara sat at the foot of the bed. “All’s quiet. The others are still resting, though Fiona is visiting her uncle.”

“Did the rocks fall elsewhere in the Red Wild?”

“No one really knows,” Shara said. “The dragon scouts King Arius sent out haven’t returned yet.”

“I see.”

I had rested, so all I could do was think of what to do next. There wasn’t time for any of it, and Odin being out of commission didn’t make things any easier.

“There’s something I have to do,” I said. “But it will mean leaving the rest of you behind.”

Shara raised her eyebrows. “Behind? What are you talking about?”

“It’s Alex. He’s still up there at Ragnarok Crater. I can’t leave him there like that. I’m afraid the longer he’s in there, the greater the chance he’ll get hurt trying to protect us all.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Shara said, with a frown. “I figured all that was pretty much taken care of.”

Not in the slightest, I thought. “Shal must be destroyed for good. Alex can only hold him off. I have to finish the job.”

“How?”

“Just like Isaru said. We must get Rakhim to end it. The Hyperfold has caused this world too much pain. With Odium here, it will only cause more. Its dissolution must happen soon, or not at all.”

“Then take us with you,” Shara said. “Take me, at least. I’m your best friend. I’ve always got your back.”

“I know that,” I said. “But there are too many things left undone here in the Red Wild. I’ll need everyone to stay behind, except Isaru.”

“Why him?” Shara asked.

Her voice seemed to say, why him and not me? Hopefully my answer would be good enough to satisfy her.

“He’s the only one who’s seen the other side. Perhaps he can find a way where we can’t.”

“I’ve seen the other side, too, in my own way,” Shara said. “For months, the Hunters kept me under their spell, and they used the power of the Hyperfold as well.”

Shara had a point there, one I didn’t give her fair credit for. “Let it be three, then,” I said. “Isa will probably try to argue her way to come with us, but . . .”

At the mere mention of her name, footsteps sounded from the hallway outside. Isa stood in the doorway with hands on her hips. Her blue eyes were not amused. “You weren’t going to leave me behind, were you?”

“We’re going to destroy the Hyperfold, Isa,” I said. “Once and for all. Its destruction could very well mean our destruction if we don’t get out in time.”

“I’ve already signed up for this,” Isa said. “I’m not going to stay here if there’s something I could be doing to help.”

“Staying here is an important role, too,” I said. “Are Fiona and Pallos to be left doing it all on their own?”

“Pallos is just tinkering with the ship, trying to get it worthy enough to reach Shenshi,” Isa said. “I can hardly help there. And Fiona is already making plans with King Arius concerning governance and the army. I’m just taking up space.” She looked at me seriously. “Give me five seconds and I’ll be back from my room, with my bow and all my stuff.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her tenacity. “All right. The three will become four, then.”

As good as her word, she was gone and back within seconds. Shara and I just looked at each other, amused.

“Well, we’re not leaving right this minute,” Shara said.

“Not until after I’ve had a bath at least,” I said. “Getting to Ragnarok Crater will take much longer than we’re used to. Three days as the dragon flies.”

“Still much faster than the original journey,” Shara said, reminiscing. “Hopefully we’ll never have to do that again.”

“Where’s Isaru?” I asked.

“Getting some rest,” Isa said. “I can go wake him and let him know.”

Isa left the room, leaving Shara and I alone.

“We can each take our own dragon,” I said. “The rest of the dragons can protect our border to the south, not allowing Odium to get any sense of the land.”

“And if they attack in force?”

“We’ll have to hope that they don’t, because we’re not ready for that.”

Shara didn’t have a response for that, so she kept quiet.

“We should go see the king and let him know our plans,” I said. “Isa and Isaru will know to look for us there.”

* * *

Fiona and King Arius sat silently around the dinner table at which we were gathered. The food had mostly gone uneaten, such were the discussions taking place.

“There’s nothing else to be done, I suppose,” King Arius said, slowly. “We will hold here, such as we have done since the founding of this city during the Exile.”

“The dragons will just . . . protect us?” Fiona asked. “They won’t go back to how they were with you gone, will they?”

I shook my head. “They are as Elekai as you and me, now. Until the death of the Xenofold.”

Which would come sooner than we all liked if we failed.

“Let us pray that never happens, by Elekim and the Goddess’s grace,” King Arius said.

No one pointed out the irony that both of those entities were sitting in the same room and were now the very same person. Judging by Arius’s glance toward me which seemed to ask forgiveness, Fiona had told him everything that had happened in the last few days.

“Old habits die hard,” the king said. “All the same, the meaning doesn’t change. You’re the only one who can save us from what’s coming. If indeed there is any manner of salvation.”

“I will do everything I can,” I said. “All of us will.”

“Stay the night at least,” King Arius said. “Though you slept through the day, you will need more rest for the long journey ahead. My servants can see that your dragons are packed in the morning.”

“I’m afraid that if we’re going to sleep, it will have to be in the air,” I said. “We’ve already spent too much time here, and Hyperborea is far. Enough time has passed that the Radaskim could be reaching our position, or even going around to pass undetected. We’ll have to fly out sometime in the next hour. Everything in the Red Wild will have to wait. I must stop the Hyperfold for good. There can be no failure this time.”

There was no argument against this point, only foreboding silence. Everyone recognized the gravity of those words, and perhaps even the futility of them.

* * *

The next hour was spent preparing for the final ride to Hyperborea. I had packed everything in my new leather bag given to me by King Arius. It was a welcome replacement over the tattered old one that I’d been carrying ever since I acquired it in the Sanctum as an initiate. I also got new clothes, including heavy winter clothing, gloves, a scarf, and a hat. Where we were going, it was getting close to winter, unlike the southern Wild, which was still balmy. The coat would also be useful flying several thousand feet above the ground, where the air was thinner and colder.

The four of us – Isa, Shara, Isaru, and I – walked outside King Arius’s palace, where his servants had gathered several more packs filled with food and other supplies we would need.

Waiting beside the packs were Fiona, King Arius, and Pallos, their expressions solemn. Fiona had come back from her meditation to see us off.

I called four dragons, and within a couple of minutes, they had landed on the platform from the trees of the forest to the city’s west. Among them were Flame and Falling Star, along with two others who had named themselves Redtail and Comet. The former had a tail reddish in hue, despite being black on most of its body, while the latter had a long, sleek form that looked built for speed.

I got on Flame while Isaru took Falling Star, while Isa got on Redtail and Shara got on Comet, looking a little queasy about it.

Fiona and Pallos handed us our bags, and helped us tie them down to the saddles. Normally I would have ridden without a saddle, but the packs made the saddles necessary, or else there would have been nothing to tie them to.

When all was ready, everyone stood back for the final goodbyes.

“Come back soon,” Fiona said. “I will work hard here to make sure Sylva is safe.”

“I will, too,” Pallos said, with a smile. “I can speak to the dragons, now. I wanted to tell you earlier, but there was no time.”

“That’s good, Pallos,” I said. “I’m sorry to leave all of you like this. I know it’s for the best, but that doesn’t make it any easier.”

Suddenly, it all felt very real. This could be the last time I saw either of them.

“We will meet again,” Fiona said. “We must believe in the possibility.”

“Goodbye,” Shara said. “We won’t fail.”

Isa wiped her eyes and said nothing. Isaru remained silent.

I waited only a moment longer before urging Flame skyward. Just a moment later, the others took off after me. Sylva fell away all too quickly, and at that moment, the sun set over the western trees. With its departure, the wailing of dragons could be heard filling the night.

They mourn your departure, Elekim, Flame said. They want nothing more than to follow you.

They must stay here. They know that.

Yes, Flame said. They know, but still they mourn.

I’m not dead yet.

Flame said nothing in response. They probably felt as if we were as good as dead.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

LITTLE WAS SAID DURING THE long journey north across the Red Wild. Smoke rose from the meteor impacts scarring the land – there was always at least one or two visible from the backs of the dragons. The land I was supposed to defend was being destroyed before my eyes.

Around early afternoon, we flew over a burning village not far past Kalear. We were powerless to do anything about it, and even if we could have helped, we wouldn’t have had the time.

As night fell, we continued on. Isa signaled that we wouldn’t be stopping for the night by being the first to fall asleep, wrapping her scarf tight around her neck while drawing up her hood and clinging tight to the neck of her dragon. Isaru soon did the same, followed by Shara.

I stayed awake far into the night, watching the glowing land smoldering with flames.

* * *

I woke when the sunlight hit my face, having fallen asleep at some point I couldn’t quite remember. The others were already up, and I looked down to see the land below wrapped in thick fog, through which the peaks of mountains poked through. The mist did not clear as time passed, even as the sun grew stronger. It was horribly cold, and without the heat radiating from the dragons’ backs and into us, I doubted we could have ridden for so long without going onto the ground for a reprieve.

I instructed Flame to land. We had to eat, and warm ourselves by a fire, and to wrap ourselves in more clothing. It would only grow colder as we flew further north. We found a copse in a misted valley in the Red Mountains, where there was plenty of firewood, though none of it was very dry. Isa was able to get a fire going nonetheless, which we sat around and ate in silence. We lingered a few minutes longer than we should have, all of us knowing the long journey ahead of us.

Within minutes we were back in the air, flying above the mist and mountains. It was clear that the mist was unnatural, stubbornly clinging on when it shouldn’t have.

It was late morning when Flame made a comment on it.

This must be the reversion in our memories, he said. It is greater than any of us have remembered it.

Though Flame had only been awakened two days ago, he still had access to the memories stored in the Xenofold, memories that told of a large reversion that dominated the majority of the Northern Wild.

It’s spread further south, I said. Much further.

When will it stop? Flame asked.

I thought about it for a moment, but I didn’t like the answer I came up. I don’t think it does stop, Flame. I think it just keeps going. If it keeps up, I’m afraid there won’t be a Red Wild to defend by the time we’re ready.

Then we must go on to the Cursed Crater, Flame said. We must go on to stop the Hyperfold.

Yes, I said.

Sleep, Flame said. I am young, and there is enough power in our wings to see us through to the end. It won’t be long now, and you will need your rest to face what is to come.

I didn’t feel much like sleeping, and wished I had an extra layer of clothing against the biting wind, which had grown colder despite the brightness of the sun. The mountains passed for hours on end, and fell into darkness with the setting of the sun. The sky above was streaked with shooting stars; though beautiful, I knew a few of them were destined to make impact with the planet.

Where did they come from? I wondered, though my thought could be heard by Flame.

The Radaskim’s vessels towed them from outer space, Flame said. Many burrowed inside the larger vessels, escaping them before they were thrown toward the planet.

That invasion force had traveled for centuries to get here . . . almost four hundred years. Who knew how much of that time they’d spent in our solar system, building strength.

It was scarcely imaginable.

We will arrive in Hyperborea soon, Flame said.

How soon?

Before the sun rises.

I wondered how the others were doing. No one had signaled that they needed a break. Then again, everyone must have been afraid to go down into the fog, save for short meals and quick warmth around a flame.

If I fall asleep, wake me about an hour from the city. You can feel when we’re close, right?

Yes, Flame said. I will know when we’re close.

* * *

It didn’t feel like long at all before Flame awakened me. The time was so short that I wasn’t even sure I’d fallen asleep. While Flame hadn’t said anything to me directly, I felt his presence in my thoughts. Dragons didn’t need to communicate with just words. Feelings and images could be transferred as well, and the feeling I received from Flame seemed to say, pay attention to this.

There’s a vale up ahead where the mist isn’t so thick, Flame said. It seems safe to put you down for a final meal before the city.

Sounds good, I said. Any sign of Odium or his dragons?

Nothing whatsoever, Flame said. Though it feels . . . dead around here. Once on the ground, you will no longer be safe.

I will also not be as cold, I thought, more to myself than the dragon.

We go down now.

As good as her word, Flame angled himself down. The vale that was clearly visible to her was still hidden from me, but human eyes were not as good as a dragon’s.

We plunged through the wet mist and landed next to a stand of tall trees bare of foliage. Whether their bareness was due to the cold, altitude, or the spreading reversion, I couldn’t guess. We checked on each other while the dragons went off in search of healthy xen to feed on.

“Everyone doing all right?” I asked.

“Cold,” Shara said, miserably. “Though I suppose I signed up for this.”

“The north is always cold this time of year,” Isa said. “You always need a layer or two more than you think.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Shara said.

“Isaru?” I asked.

He raised his eyebrows as he turned toward me. “Yes?”

“Doing okay?”

He nodded. “Physically, yes. Mentally . . . I’m quite troubled by what lies ahead.”

“What, in particular, is troubling?” Shara asked.

Isaru began to explain while Isa prepped a fire and I got our meal ready. “I don’t know what your dragons told you, but Falling Star was telling me how the land below is dead. We aren’t far form Hyperborea, true, but if the Northern Reversion has spread so far already, I can’t help but think just how many people have already died . . . whether that’s from the Mindless monsters, or the simple blighting of crops and forage that people rely on. Many Elekai don’t live in cities; there are dozens, if not hundreds, of tribes that live and call no man master.” Isaru looked at me. “We met some like that when we left the Sanctum the first time, Shanti.”

“The Avekai,” I said. “I remember them.”

“Basically, every tribe like that simply no longer lives in the north,” Isaru said. “Not unless they wish for death. This land is the domain of our enemy.”

Isa had finally succeeded in stoking a flame. “If this land is his, then why did he land by Dragonspire?”

“To catch the Elder Dragons by surprise, perhaps. He killed many of them.”

None of us wanted to be reminded of that fact, a fact so horrible that it didn’t even seem real.

“This land is his,” Isaru continued. “And he doesn’t even need his army here to conquer. The reversion is doing his job for him.”

I felt a sudden onset of weariness. In just hours, we would all be at the Hyperfold.

We ate our meals quickly and gathered around the fire. I looked into everyone’s eyes as they watched the flames. I wondered if I was leading them all to their deaths, or if this would be our last meal together.

“Whatever happens up ahead . . .” I began. All of them looked at me. I found I had nothing more to say.

“Everyone knows it’s a fool’s hope,” Shara said. “For my part, I’m willing to fight with you, whatever end may come.”

Isa nodded her agreement, and last of all, so did Isaru.

“This is the last chance we might have to defend our world,” Isaru said. “I don’t know what will happen up ahead. But I know that we will learn more, and perhaps learn enough to do something to stop our world from being consumed by the Radaskim. I . . . know what that feels like. I will do whatever I can to stop others from experiencing it.”

I looked into Isaru’s eyes and saw no doubt in them. We would need that resolve up ahead.

Soon, the dragons returned from their forage. It didn’t seem as if they’d found much, judging from the lack of vegetation in these heights.

Is it time? Flame asked.

It’s time, I responded.

We put out the fire and were in the air within minutes, back into the cold and dark. When the broken towers of Hyperborea at last came into view, we could almost reach out and touch them. The mist was so thick that we hadn’t seen their approach.

The city is empty. Isaru’s voice entered my mind. Truly dead.

And it would likely stay that way until the end of time. The towers were soon lost, and we flew blindly into the mist, until the dragons put us down on the long bridge leading to the entrance of the Thought Dome, where the Hyperfold was housed.

And standing outside was a figure I would have recognized anywhere. In another time, he had been the love of my life, and those feelings still burst to the surface.

But so did the fear, because I could see that he was clutching his side, and kneeling right in front of the entrance.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

FLAME SWOOPED DOWN, AND AS soon as he landed, I was sliding off her back and running forward.

“Alex?”

Even in the darkness, I could see that there was no blood where the apparent wound was, though Alex was quite pale.

“It’s done,” he said. “I sensed you coming, so I left it . . .”

“Hush,” I said. “Let me help you.”

“What’s happened?” Shara asked, running to join me. “Who is this?”

“This is Alex,” I said.

The others stood silently around me, gazing at awe at the one who had once been Elekim, but had since passed his powers onto me.

“I don’t have long,” he said.

“What happened?” I asked, tears coming to my eyes. “Let me heal you.”

“No,” Alex said. “I . . . wasn’t supposed to last there. It’s not where I belong. I’ve done my part.”

“Your part? What part? You’re just going to go as soon as you’ve come?”

I reached for the Xenofold as I took his hands. I searched within him for the hurt. There was no physical wound, but something was missing that had been there before.

“You’ve lost your connection,” I said.

His brown eyes gazed at me sadly, though his face was one of steely resolve. “I gave it to the Xenofold, Anna. It was the only way.”

“The only way for what?”

He closed his eyes, and though I tried to heal him with the power of the Xenofold, there was nothing to connect that power to. With great strain, he opened his eyes again.

“Rakhim . . . nearly overpowered me. To stop him, to hold him in place, I had to give that part of myself up. But when I pass . . .”

“Don’t talk like that,” I said. “This isn’t over.”

“No,” Alex said. “It’s not. It’s up to you to finish it.”

“Alex . . .”

But he was already fading. His muscles stiffened, but he choked out his final words as I held him in my arms.

“I love you, Anna. Always have. Always will.”

“Alex . . .”

And like that, his body relaxed into my hands as his full weight pressed down into me. Anna was in turmoil inside of me, and I couldn’t help but let out a scream.

“No,” I said. “No . . .”

As soon as Alex had come back to this world, he was gone from it.

“He will pay for this, Shanti,” Shara said. “This ends now.”

I wiped my face of tears, and clenched my fist. “I must go into the Hyperfold to deal Rakhim the final blow. All of you must stay here to watch Alex.”

“I’ll go, too,” Isaru said. “I want him to see me as myself. I have my own revenge to exact.”

I nodded. I had to give Isaru that, at least.

“We’ll take care of things here,” Shara said. “Go now!”

I kissed Alex’s cheek as a final goodbye before my anger took over. Isaru and I walked through the sheer barrier that separated the inside of the Thought Dome from the outside world.

* * *

The white shining walkway leading to the central shining orb was empty, as usual. The sheer interior curve of the Dome shone a faded pink, dimly illuminating the vast space. As we walked forward, I did notice one difference in the central orb. It had gone darker, now shining an orange hue instead of its usual white radiance. The light emanating from it felt weak and sickly. There was no need for any of us to shade our eyes.

The Hyperfold was weak, now. There could be no other reason.

When we neared the orb, I felt Anna losing it inside me. It was all I could do to keep control of her emotions. My own emotions were grieved, and I had never personally known Alex. Where did I end, and she begin?

“We should go in now,” Isaru said. “The longer we stay out here, the more opportunity Rakhim will have to play with time in there. We shouldn’t give him that, if we can help it.”

I nodded my agreement. “Let’s go, then.”

I reached out to the Xenofold, and found connection to the orb. It resisted a little against my power, but it was no match. A circle began to open, from the central point and outward, a black painting across the orb’s sickly light. Within the swirling blackness, I could see shapes of broken buildings amid lightning and falling stones. The world within the Hyperfold was in ruin, and it was a ruin into which we had to go.

With one last look at each other, Isaru and I walked through the portal, into the cold darkness.

* * *

The first sensation upon entering the Hyperfold was one of falling, and the second was of blindness. Just before I could scream, I hit the hard ground under me, somewhat clumsily, but otherwise unharmed.

I looked over to Isaru who had rolled onto his side.

“You okay?” I asked.

He gave a firm nod. “I can stand.”

We both got up and surveyed our surroundings. There was nothing here but brown dirt, endless plains, and a black, starless sky. We could see in the dimness, but it wasn’t apparent where the light was coming from. It seemed to shimmer from the very air. In the distance I could make out the ruins of towers and hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.

“Where will he be?” I asked, gripping the hilt of Katan.

“Somewhere by those towers, I imagine. The ruin of his city.”

I felt anger burn within me: both mine, and Anna’s. Alex had died, and would be avenged. He had given his powers to me, and I would use them to see this travesty ended.

We walked forward, and the distance seemed to melt away. The towers loomed ever closer, much larger than they had seemed at first glance. Before long, we were walking between them, down broken avenues, in the center of which stood long-dead trees that hadn’t been in bloom for almost two centuries. The dark windows were like lidless eyes, while the open cavernous doors like frowns in the melting faces of the edifices. Broken bridges that once spanned the streets by the dozens lay in ruin, bearing only ghosts if anything at all.

Though this Hyperborea was a dream, a fiction, I couldn’t help but feel it was reproduced exactly as it stood today. Even the Hyperfold no longer had the strength to maintain its illusion. The people were gone. Where to, I couldn’t say. I almost didn’t want to know.

“Rakhim!” I cried out, my voice echoing off the decaying walls. His name echoed several times until it was reduced to nothing. “Show yourself!”

“He has little power, now,” Isaru said, after we had waited a long moment. “He will hide and bide his time.”

I reached for the Xenofold, and too my surprise, found that its power was strong here, that it could even penetrate the veil of the Hyperfold. What had Alex done to weaken this place as he had?

“If he insists on hiding,” I said, “then I insist on destroying everything that can keep him hidden.”

Isaru watched as I walked to one of the central trees lining the avenue, one larger than the rest. I placed my hand on it, searching for any sign of life. Life did not exist in this place in the same way as the waking world, but it still obeyed the same rules.

There was a small kernel of life, of wakefulness deep in the tree’s dormant state. The power of the Xenofold flowed from my hand and into that kernel, willing it to life the way a fan fosters a flame. Before my eyes, as the life in the tree grew throughout its stony limbs, color returned to the bark and leaves, which bloomed one by one. Soon, hundreds of leaves were green with life, shining as if the full noonday sun shone down on them.

Last of all came the blooms of white flowers, opening their buds for a sun that didn’t exist, a sweet fragrance spilling forth, giving an aroma to a land that was bereft and dead.

I took my hand away and stood away from the shining tree. Its trunk was thick, brown, and hardy, and its boughs and leaves made a rounded top filled with wide white flowers.

“What did you do that for?” Isaru asked.

“The tree is now our anchor,” I said. “So long as it stands here, it’s a bridge between us and the outside world. If you couldn’t reach the Xenofold before, now you can.”

Isaru’s eyes sparked as I sensed him connect to the Xenofold, too.

The tree shone bright as the power of the Xenofold flowed into the Hyperfold. But still, there was no sign of Rakhim.

It was time to end this illusion once and for all.

Channeling the power flowing from the tree, the buildings began to melt away, crumbling at their foundations. There was no sound as they fell; it was as if the simulation of the Hyperfold wasn’t powerful enough to produce sound. As the buildings toppled and their debris rained down, they seemed to disappear into the very air. The image of the city swam before me, erasing itself before my eyes.

Leaving only an endless, brown field under a dark sky, the only source of light the white, shining tree.

“The city’s gone,” Isaru said.

“Nowhere to hide.”

I peered into the distance, able to see much farther than I would have in the waking world. I became aware of a figure in the far distance, standing alone in the darkness.

“He’s out there,” I said.

I reached with the Xenofold and found him. I felt his internal scream as I seized his mind.

Come here, Rakhim, I said. You have much to answer for.

Slowly, forlornly, Rakhim walked forward, and it wasn’t long before his ghastly, emaciated figure was lit by the light of the tree.

His form stood there shriveled, his gray beard scraggly and his robe a patchwork only hanging onto him by threads. His skin was white and ghostly, and his head was bald, as it had been in my very first visions of him involving Mia and Isandru. The only life was in those dark, brown eyes, which seemed to glow with hatred as they stared into me like two coals out of a flame.

“Your time here is done,” I said.

“Wait,” he croaked. “I have things to say.”

“Don’t let him speak,” Isaru said.  “Even as he is, in this place, his words can have power.”

I considered this for a second, but I didn’t have much time to consider. Rakhim took my hesitation as assent.

“You have defeated me, mighty Elekim. Odium of the Dark has proved faithless to me, though I was nothing but ever his faithful servant.”

“And you have caused a lot of destruction not just in our time, but in the past,” Isaru said. “Your crimes deserve condemnation.”

“That may be so,” Rakhim agreed. “But now, without my powers, without the Hyperfold . . .  you see me in my true state: a powerless, weak, and pathetic old man.”

“An old man who would have killed us all, and would kill us now, if he could,” Isaru said.

Of that, I had no doubt, but I decided to let Rakhim continue nonetheless. Perhaps he would say something that could help.

“You’re wearing my patience thin, Rakhim,” I said. “Get to the point.”

“I . . . repent of my actions,” Rakhim said. “And pledge my service to you, if you would have it.”

I almost smiled at that. “What value would I find in the service of the man responsible for the deaths of my friends? Of nearly killing Prince Isaru, and through him, killing Mia and Elder Isandru? You must answer for all the deaths of the people of Hyperborea you deceived into entering this cursed place, for using their sacred connections to the Xenofold to fuel your own lust for power. And you, above all, are responsible for the slow death of the Xenofold, our only defense against the Radaskim who, even now, are assaulting our world.” Then, there was the last thing. “Last of all . . . Alex left this place with a wound that I couldn’t see. He died in my arms outside the Thought Dome. You have to answer for that as well.”

As I said all these things, Rakhim only seemed to shrivel into himself further. He offered no counterargument.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t strike you dead now,” I finished.

Rakhim now shook, and he fell to his knees. Violent tears issued from his eyes – tears of anger, or of despair, I couldn’t say. Even when I embraced the Xenofold, his mind was clouded, hiding whatever feelings boiled within.

“That would be justice,” Rakhim said, “but it would not be mercy. I have a truly repentant heart.”

“Liar,” Isaru growled, drawing his sword.

Rakhim quailed at the sight, lowering his head.

“You have one more chance to speak and explain yourself,” I said. “I am your judge, jury, and executioner.”

And so, Rakhim spoke. “To give a full account of myself, I would have to return to my boyhood, but I doubt you have the time or patience for that.”

“If we were to listen to all of that,” Isaru said, “we would be trapped in here until the end of time.”

“Is he playing tricks with time in here?” I asked.

Rakhim shook his head vehemently, and even Isaru acknowledged this as truth. “He hasn’t done so. At least, I haven’t felt it. I think so long as the tree is here, it will protect us.”

At the mention of the tree, Rakhim cast it a venomous look . . . a look that was gone almost as soon as he made it. So fast was this flash of expression, I almost doubted whether I saw it at all.

“Speak,” I said. “You can talk about your past so far as it relates to your crimes today, and your motivations, but we don’t have a lot of time, and more than that, the patience. If you think you’ll win our sympathy with sad stories, you’re gravely mistaken. If I ever think you’re starting to do this, your judgment will be over. Is that understood?”

Rakhim nodded quickly, reminding me of a dog who had somehow displeased his master.

He licked his lips and began.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

“LONG AGO, I WAS CALLED Lord Rakhim Shal of the Northern Vale. My house was an old, though not wealthy one. My father was bad with money, and when he lost it all, he was forced to sell his son . . . to sell me . . . as a lordling thrall to the crown of Hyperborea, which in those days was the House of Farl. It was the highest honor I could hope for, for my house soon passed away into the dustbin of history and memory, and I became the last of my house, cursed to have no sons that would carry the name of Shal.”

As Rakhim recounted his story, his eyes became focused, and his countenance no longer fearful. I raised my guard, wary of any trick.

“Since I could win no renown through deeds to the benefit of my house, I saw that I must dedicate myself to my masters, to which I was no more than a slave. It wasn’t a slavery in the sort you might imagine, such is as found in lands of Colonia or Nova. I was fed well, as well as any lord, and had all the education I desired. But all the same, my will was not my own. It is the human will to be free, as you probably know. Even a cage the size of a world will still feel small, if a man knows it’s a cage.

“I saw that my only hope of salvation was to dedicate myself fully to the betterment of House Farl, and for all of my years in the waking world . . . that was my aim. For those were the latter days of Hyperborea, the Twilight, from which there would be no dawn. We did not know that then, but all the same, the unseen prospect haunted us all.

“It was about this time that it became known that the Sea of Creation could not regenerate itself quickly enough to feed Hyperborea’s expanding reach. Night and day, without abatement, it sucked the Sea ever drier, always filling its seven beautiful lakes, along with its springs and canals that fed the crops and trees to produce a harvest undreamed of in other lands.

“It was known among Hyperborea’s elite that this could not go on forever, though that knowledge was hidden from the population at large. But to even slacken our use of the Sea a little would mean the downfall of the empire. And in those days, Hyperborea’s reach was far, and the peoples it ruled over would rebel as soon as its armies were withdrawn. Stopping use of the Sea long enough for it to regenerate would take decades, and in that time, the line of Farl would fail.

“Of course, such an outcome was unthinkable. Power, once gained, will not be given up . . . not even for the Xenofold. Such is human nature.

“Though the scientists and sages and Seekers of Hyperborea saw the inevitable end, an alternative solution to the problem was sought after. And in that solution, I found my salvation.”

Here, Shal looked at the both of us to see if we had gotten the point. I simply waited, gesturing for him to continue.

“I saw that the man who could come up with the solution to the emptying of the Sea would be the most powerful man in the world. And so, I began my experimentation. For long years, I labored after proposing my plan of using the Sea of Destruction, the opposite Sea which was previously thought unusable, as a source of energy for our city. For in all the years of the Sea of Destruction’s existence, none could find a way to use black ichor, and it was believed to not have any use.

“Even as I labored deep in Hyperborea’s laboratories, wars began to wreak our nation . . . wars with the Eastern Kingdoms, who had been enlightened with our technologies, war with the rising Novan Empire to the south, and last of all, wars with the Shen in the east, who were newly colonizing our western shores. With the advent of the wars, the Sea was drained ever more quickly. Pressure to find a solution was at a height. I was coming to be seen as a charlatan full of empty promises and was treated most vilely.

“At last, though, I had a working prototype, though the answer to the riddle, I knew, would not be palatable to the city’s populace. Black ichor, I found, could only be used by one who was not connected to the Xenofold at all, or at least, a Xenofold not under the dominion of the Elekai. But no alternative Xenofold existed.”

“That’s when you created the Hyperfold,” I said.

Rakhim nodded. “Yes. You begin to see. A Xenofold cannot exist without the memories of the dead to foster it, as kindling is needed to build even the mightiest flame. When I shared my findings with the monarchs, they did not like it. The king was against it, but the queen overruled him, over whom I had much influence. Only she could see that my creation was the way forward in powering the future glory of the city, though none of us yet knew the full price.

“With her approval, we were given one hundred captives . . . all Elekai . . . to sacrifice to the Sea of Destruction in the name of Odium of the Dark. A pact was made. I would serve Odium and would administer his Xenofold on earth until the day of his coming. In return, I would have eternal life, a place at his side, and power untold. And the city of Hyperborea could freely draw on the Sea of Destruction and turn back its foes.”

“And everyone seemed to win . . . for a time.”

“Except for those who were sacrificed,” Isaru said. “It didn’t end there, did it?”

Rakhim didn’t answer; not at first. “It was . . . done. Never did this get revealed to anyone, not to Mia, not to Prince Isandru. Only myself and the king and queen knew, not to mention the captives. We were on our last legs at that point. It was believed that one hundred lives could save the many, and one hundred lives was but a small skirmish in those days . . . or so it was reasoned to hide the true evil of what we were doing.

“But our aim was achieved. The Hyperfold was breathed into life.” Here, Rakhim paused. “And the Hyperfold was very hungry. More were fed to the Black Sea. The Thought Dome was hastily assembled as a shield, both to protect the Hyperfold’s Point of Origin, and to the keep the captives trapped inside. Elekai prisoners of war were used to feed the flames, until well over a thousand had passed into the shining light. And with each death, it became stronger. Ever hungrier. Even the queen quailed at the amount of death, but only I could steady her resolve. Just a few more, I would whisper. Soon, they stopped protesting. Aether has many curious properties, one of which is to become more compliant. Soon, I found a way even to manufacture a cruder version of the stuff directly from ichor, which opened its abilities to the populace of the city at large.

“But I digress. At last, after close to five thousand souls had been fed to the Hyperfold . . . its flame could at last burn on its own.”

I had no doubt that what he was saying was true. It made me sick to my stomach.

Rakhim continued. “Deemed a success, Hyperborea saw the results immediately. Usage of the Sea of Creation dropped as many switched to the alternative. They gained powers untold, and such powers encouraged many others to abandon the Xenofold for the monstrosity I’d created. Faded Elekai saw the Hyperfold as their solution, a way for them to become fully-fledged Elekai with access to their natural Gifts. For the first time in my life, I knew the taste of being a hero.” Rakhim smiled bitterly. “But by this point, the damage was done, and I became aware of my own dark motivations. I was deceiving them all. I hated them all. I hated the ones who imprisoned me, my father for the lechery and greed that ruined our house, hated all the ones who mocked me for my servitude. Yes, even your dear Prince Isandru and Princess Mia. When they were young, those brats’ mockery stung the worst of all, and I never forgot it, even in my old age.

“Though no one knew it yet, I was the most powerful man in Hyperborea. I had deceived an entire city to my gain, a city who had done nothing but use me. And now, in their time of need, they wanted me to save them from their folly.”

Rakhim smiled bitterly here. “And I happily obliged. For I desired nothing more than the destruction of the city I despised. For long years after the city’s death, its ghostly ruins gave me nothing but utmost satisfaction. Its hubris, its pride, its lust for power. I fostered all of these in the minds of those in power, leading them ever onward toward their doom. Dark whispers I would hear in the Hyperfold from my master, Odium, the only one who seemed to understand my pain.”

Here, Rakhim became silent, his countenance grieved. “Back then, his words were my only hope. Dreams of power, of righteousness, were placed in my mind. Wanting these things above all else, all was fair and just . . . even the death of the innocents who fed the abomination I created.

“For its lust for souls never ceased, and it can be said that when the Shen Empire marched into Hyperborea for the first time, there was not a soul to greet it. For it was the Hyperfold that undid the city, and not the Shen, as is commonly believed. Anyone who touched the Hyperfold, willingly or by force, became a prisoner of it. Even Mia Farl, who wouldn’t ever touch it, was forced to in the end by her parents, and was thus poisoned. And therefore, all who enter here are doomed to be its slave. Yes, even me.”

Rakhim waited for us to respond. When we didn’t, he continued.

“Even Alex,” he said. “He destroyed nearly everything here, freeing most of the souls in the process, using his own power to bear them to the Xenofold and augment its ailing strength. Such is the reason for the Hyperfold’s current lack of power . . . and of course, my lack. The wound his sacrifice gave him was grievous. But he couldn’t wrest all the souls from here before I managed to drive him out. Though now I’ve long realized the error of my ways, and have seen the way Odium has used my past to deceive me to his unwholesome ends, back then I thought I was fighting a righteous battle. For my battle with the former Elekim took many years, and I have waited for many years in this wasteland for your return. Such is the way this place works; as my hold on it has weakened, time has become wild and uncontrolled. At times, I believed I would never see anyone ever again. Suffice it to say . . . I’ve had a very long time to think.

“But even if I was able to defeat the mighty former Elekim, I am now at the end of my strength. I know I am not able to better you.” Rakhim bowed his head low. “It is my hope . . . my vain hope, perhaps . . . that you will spare me and not strike me down. I have committed many sins, perhaps more than any other man who has ever lived. From my childhood, mine has been a bitter life of no respite, and all my attempts to do good were thwarted by powers beyond my reckoning.

“Hearing this, I hope you’ll agree, and consider it as you judge my case.”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

I WASN’T SURE WHAT TO say, though my heart told me that the greater part of his tale was true. The fact that it was the Hyperfold that killed the city ultimately and not the armies of Shen came as a surprise, if not a shock. All I could think about was the countless innocents who had been sacrificed to the Hyperfold. It comforted me that Alex was able to save most of them, before his end, though the fact that the Hyperfold still existed told me that there were many yet to save.

“It changes nothing,” Isaru said. “You have had an unfortunate life, and it’s true that a child who faces cruelty in the end can become cruel himself. But there is always a choice, and you have chosen poorly. You have been shown mercy before in your life, though you don’t speak of it, and that mercy didn’t inspire you to do good, as it would have many others. Why would our mercy do the same thing now?”

“So, you would end him here?” I asked.

Isaru nodded. “I have known his mind better than any other, besides maybe Odium, who knows him in full. There is little if any goodness in his heart. Who knows where the lies begin or end? He has given us no reason to believe him, and I don’t believe he can see the error of his ways in the short time between his killing of Alex and our arrival.”

“In that time,” Rakhim reminded him, “though it may seem short to you, I have wasted many years here, thinking on my past crimes.”

“Maybe so,” Isaru said. “Then again, maybe not. We would have no way of knowing.”

I thought for a moment, but only for a moment. I had come to a decision.

“There is only one way you can redeem yourself,” I said. “And I think you might be able to guess what that is.”

Rakhim looked at me questioningly, but his face seemed guarded and suspicious.

“End it,” I said. “As its creator, you have the power to destroy the Hyperfold.”

“I’m bound to this place,” Rakhim said. “If it ends . . . then so do I.”

“That would be a great justice,” Isaru said. “If you truly recognize your evil and repent of it, then you would do anything to see it through. Even your own death.”

Rakhim chuckled bitterly. “That’s what it’ll be, then. Even after all I have said, nothing would please you more than my death?” He stood now on legs stronger than they had seemed before. Instinctively, I reached for the hilt of my blade. “I could be a great aid to you. Take me with you, out of this place, and let it burn to ash. Give me life outside of here. As Elekim, it is within your power. If my heart is pure, then the Xenofold will accept me. If not, it will reject me. Let that be my test, but do not give me my death. Not when I still have so much left to offer.”

Could I really do that? Somehow, searching my heart, I knew that I had that power, as fathomless as it seemed. Elekim, after all, could grant any person a connection to the Xenofold, perhaps even Rakhim Shal.

“Not until the Hyperfold is dead,” I said. “You’re asking me to trust you when there is no place for trust. If you destroy this place fully, until not even a spark is left, and let free all the souls you have ensnared, then I will release you too, provided you are the last soul.”

Rakhim’s face remained neutral, and again, his mind was clouded. He hid his intent from me. “I cannot trust you. So easily you could let me slip into the darkness, aimless and accursed, in the bridge between worlds.”

“Those who are trustless find it difficult to trust,” Isaru said.

“The same might be said for you,” Rakhim said.

“The burden of proof is upon you,” Isaru said. “Not us. Take what is offered . . . it is the only way.”

Rakhim’s neutral mask fell away, and he was grieved.

“Trust, they say,” he said, raving like a madman. “Why trust anyone when all that has gotten me is bitterness and sorrow?”

“Rakhim,” I said. “I stand by my word. So long as you give every soul back to the Xenofold, saving yours for last, there will be a place for you, and redemption. Yes, you have to trust me.”

“Why not strike me down here, then?” Rakhim said. “Why take the risk?”

“In the off chance you aren’t lying to me. Maybe you truly do want redemption. Perhaps you really have thought for long years in between driving Alex out of here and my arrival. I don’t believe that for a second, but if you do as I ask, then I will believe you. And if I kill you now and end the Hyperfold in that way, then those souls that are still here are lost forever to the darkness, just as you would be.” I looked at him closely. “How many are left?”

Rakhim gave a small smile, that was erased as soon as it was formed. “Exactly one hundred . . . the amount that is needed to maintain the spark without it collapsing upon itself.”

“And I suppose Mia and Isandru are among them.”

Rakhim nodded. “Those who were closest to me, who I couldn’t do without.”

“Couldn’t do without torturing and gloating over, I imagine,” Isaru said.

To this, Rakhim had no response. He waited for me and my decision.

“I’ve told you my terms, and they haven’t changed,” I said.

Rakhim nodded. His face was pale, and after a long moment, he looked up from the ground. “Then I accept these terms.”

“Then show me where you keep these people,” I said. “And let’s free them, one by one. Send them to the tree.”

Rakhim went quiet, and stood there so long, grieved, that I thought he was about to take back his words.

But then, he raised his hand, and an ethereal door appeared, out of which walked a man, dazed, who I didn’t recognize.

* * *

The man was tall, good-looking, and wore a rich robe that seemed to belong to a place and time long ago. He stared confusedly at us, and then in fear at Rakhim. It was as if he was wondering what new torture this was.

“I am releasing you from the Hyperfold, Prince Imrahil,” Shal said. “There will be no real world for you to return to . . . this place no longer has the power for that. To the Xenofold I release you. Only touch that tree. I forgive all the crimes you’ve committed against me.”

The man looked at us, as if for permission or confirmation.

I nodded. “Go.”

The man, seizing his chance as if it wouldn’t come again, touched the tree, and was gone. I felt his presence leave this place, and the entire world seemed to wink and fade a bit.

“The Hyperfold is now collapsing on itself, without his soul’s energy, Rakhim said. “We must hurry with the rest. The more that leave, the faster it will collapse.”

Then, others left the door, Rakhim “forgiving” each of them and telling them to touch the tree. There were men and women, old and young. My heart nearly broke as a child of no more than eight walked out. What could a child have done for Rakhim to keep her here as one of the last ones he couldn’t do without?

As each person passed through the tree, the world around us diminished. The ground was translucent, showing inky blackness beyond. We began to float as gravity itself diminished, and the air thinned as it, too, disappeared. And still, they came on, one after the other. Rakhim’s words even quieted, as sound itself disappeared from the Hyperfold.

I counted until there were only ten left. Nothing of the world existed, only the tree, the door, Isaru, Rakhim, myself, and the last souls trapped in the Hyperfold. Six more came out, people I didn’t know or recognize, who gratefully went for the tree.

Then, there were four left. There was a hesitation on Rakhim’s part as a portly man floated out of the door, looking stunned and confused. I recognized him as the man in my visions of long ago, King Farl of Hyperborea. Rakhim bitterly nodded toward the tree, which the king understood and touched. A snap of thunder sounded, and the tree glowed bright, pushing back the darkness.

Next came a beautiful stately woman . . . the queen whose cold blue eyes I remembered. She stared angrily at Shal, defiantly, as if remembering some past betrayal. Rakhim looked at her without expression. Then, she left him behind and touched the tree, and was gone.

That left two. We waited a long while, but then, Mia stepped out, looking at both us and Isaru. I fought to hold back my tears, but they came anyway.

I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, I said.

Mia nodded, showing that she understood. Your world is not mine, anyway. I should have died many years ago, though fate wanted me here. Now, at last, I go on to peace.

She smiled, and touched the tree, as Shal watched with anger clouding his face.

There was only one left. The darkness deepened, so much that even the tree was having trouble fighting against it. I clung to the tree, feeding it all the power I could draw from the Xenofold. I felt the power of all the dead that now rested there, aiding me for the saving of the last soul.

Rakhim’s expression became twisted by rage and bitterness. His mouth screamed, though there was no sound. Out of the door came Elder Isandru . . . not in his old age, but as was in the days of his youth . . . a tall, handsome man of long gray hair not unlike Isaru’s, a sign of his power and strength in the Xenofold.

He looked angrily at Rakhim, as if he wanted to spit. Somehow, though both Mia and Isandru had escaped from the Hyperfold, some form of them had remained behind.

Touch the tree, Isandru, I said. All is done.

Relinquishing his bitterness, Isandru instead nodded, a tear coming down his eye.

Thank you, Elekim. Thank you, Anna.

But as he reached for the tree, Rakhim could not restrain himself. His face became a mask of anger, and he reached out to strike Isandru down with a sword suddenly conjured of light.

I shouted, but no sound issued forth in the darkness. Isandru was powerless, unable to dodge or turn in time.

But then the tree came to life, suddenly shining the power of all the Xenofold in defense of Isandru, all the power of the long-trapped souls defiantly fighting back against Rakhim Shal. A blinding ray of light shot out of the tree, the goodness against all the bitterness and power Rakhim Shal had fostered in this final moment, his final choice of betrayal. There was sound again as Rakhim screamed wretchedly, the light piercing him in an unending line as his body melted away and was claimed by darkness, his howling face and widened eyes staring at me with loathing all the while. There had been nothing but hatred in those eyes the entire time, and the eyes were last part of him to fade as all went dark, save the tree.

All of his hatred, as deep as it was, was as nothing compared to the souls of love now joined in the Xenofold.

But we didn’t have any more time to waste. The tree wouldn’t exist for long in this place of darkness.

Let’s go! I said to Isaru.

We took hands and went toward the tree. When we touched it, we were pulled from the void.

CHAPTER FIFTY

WE WOKE ON THE SHORES of the Sea of Creation some time later. I opened my eyes to see Isaru lying beside me. Our old clothes were gone, replaced with shimmering, silver robes crafted by the power of the Sea.

I stood and looked out to the Sea, more a pond at this point. But there was one change. For the first time in two centuries, the Xenofont delving into the Sea was dark and silent. It was no longer pulling life and robbing the Elekai of their future.

“It’s done, then,” Isaru said. “I can no longer feel Shal’s presence in my mind. And I escaped the Hyperfold without becoming ensnared.”

“It’s done,” I said, hardly believing the words as they left my lips.

I reached out to the Sea and felt its power. I felt hope, for the first time in a long while. “It’s growing. Slowly. It’ll take years, decades, for it to recover. But it’s growing.”

“Now, we must protect it,” Isaru said. “It gets stronger each passing moment. But the war isn’t over.”

The sickness was gone from the Sea, but it was still weak. Likely, its increasing strength wouldn’t even be detectable for a while. But with Shal gone, destroyed by his own wrath and bitterness, it meant we only had one enemy to contend with, an enemy that wouldn’t have the benefit of the Hyperfold to aid him.

“We need to get out of here,” I said. “Gather whatever strength we have and challenge Odium directly.”

Isaru nodded his agreement. “Yes. But how?”

I didn’t know the answer to that. I reached out with my mind, and the entirety of what the Xenofold reached was ready to access. I sought out Isa and Shara and found that I could detect them somewhere above in the city.

Isa . . . Shara . . .

Isa’s voice entered my mind. Shanti? You’re alive! The Hyperfold is gone! It went dark. We were afraid that you went with it . . .

No, I said. We are very much alive.

Where are you?

We’re at the Sea of Creation, I said. Come with the dragons. They’ll know the way. Once you’re here, I’ll explain everything.

Almost a month has passed since you went in, Isa said. We were talking today about leaving. If you hadn’t Called to us . . .

We’ll talk about all that soon, I said. Isaru and I’ll be waiting here, by the Sea.

I closed the connection and waited.

* * *

A few hours later, the forms of four dragons approached from the ceiling of the Caverns of Creation. Their wings billowed as they sighted us and let out mighty roars that echoed throughout the cavern.

Within a couple of minutes, they were landing on the rocky shoreline of the beach.

Isa and Shara dismounted, running forward to embrace Isaru and me. Upon seeing them, tears came to my eyes. Even if it was only a few hours for me, for them, they had truly believed we were dead.

We told them everything that had happened, of Alex’s battle with Rakhim that had left him almost completely spent, along with Shal’s story and his agreement that had broken at the last, and how the Xenofold overpowered him in the end, destroying him and the Hyperfold once and for all.

After I was done explaining, Isa was the first to speak. “I can’t believe you gave him a chance to redeem himself.”

“I think a part of him wanted to,” I said, “but he couldn’t bear the thought of Isandru going free. At that moment, his hatred betrayed him. It destroyed him.”

“But why Elder Isandru?”

“He blames him most of all,” Isaru said. “In life, and in the Hyperfold, he tried to stop him from achieving his aims. Mia started the resistance and won Isandru to her side, so he hated her for that. But between the two, his hatred of Isandru knew no bounds.”

“How long have you guys been waiting here?” Isa asked. “Those are the fanciest clothes I’ve ever seen!”

“We haven’t been waiting long,” I said. “But we should go. There’s a lot to do.” Then, I remembered Alex, and his sacrifice. “What happened to Alex?”

“We felt it was best to return him to the Xenofold immediately,” Shara said. “We laid him in an ichor lake not far from here. His body was absorbed and became one with the Xenofold.”

I nodded, and felt my throat clench. “That’s as it should be.”

We stood together there for a long while, admiring the beauty of the Sea. Even as small as it was, we were still struck with wonder.

“We’ll come back someday,” Isa said. “When we’re old, maybe. I imagine it’ll fill this entire space by then.”

It was a nice thought. “I hope so, Isa.”

“Where to now?” Shara asked.

I wasn’t sure. I looked out to the Sea, as if to find the answer. Somewhere in there, through the entrance to the Xenofold, was Alex, who had given his short resurrection to defeat the evil that was destroying all Elekai. His sacrifice meant hope for the rest of us, as did Isandru’s.

Thank you for all you’ve done, I said, in something like a prayer. I promise that Anna will return to you, which is only right. I’ll do everything I can to ensure that.

Though Alex didn’t speak back, it seemed his approval emanated from the Sea.

I turned to the others. “Everyone who was trapped in the Hyperfold is now free. They’re in the Xenofold where they belong. But all that’s for nothing if the Xenofold is attacked and destroyed before it can regain its strength. All that’s left is to challenge Odium directly. To gather our forces and strike before he can do more harm.”

If it had been one month, as Isa said, then I feared what we’d find when we returned to civilization. But when we returned, it would be with new hope and new strength. For all of Odium’s power, we had dealt him an important blow today. One that was sure to strike fear and doubt into his heart.

“Does anyone else feel like this is the turn of the tide?” Isa asked.

It did feel that way, but nothing was secure yet. I wanted to take nothing for granted.

“Before we go,” I said. “Follow me. Into the Sea.”

I walked into the Sea of Creation, the ichor glowing around my feet as I entered. The others tentatively followed, but the ichor did them no harm.

“Reach for the Xenofold,” I said. “Feel its power.”

All did as they were told.

“You will leave this Sea changed,” I said. “Baptized with its power. You will leave as full-blooded Elekai, as strong as the first human Elekai four hundred years ago. You will need that power. We will need that power to challenge Odium. I won’t be able to defeat him alone.”

“You won’t have to,” Shara said.

I turned to face her and the others. All their eyes were glowing, their faces shining with the Sea’s radiance. The dragons watched from the shoreline impassively. We stood like that as the Sea poured its strength into them.

“It’s too much,” Isa said. “I can’t control it.”

“Have faith in yourself,” I said. “The Xenofold is accepting you.”

She nodded, and after a short time, the Sea had no power left to give them; they were filled to their full potential. The glow on their skin faded, and their eyes returned to their normal colors.

We mounted and flew out of the Sea, sparing it one final glance as it fell away below, a small lake that had once filled this entire cavern.

One day, with luck, the Sea might fill it again.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

IN THE COMING WEEKS, THEY gathered. Wars were put to an end. Rivalries set aside.  They gathered on the fields south of Haven at the southern rim of the Grand Canyon. They gathered from the southern and northern fiefs, Seekers of the Sphere and Seekers of the Sanctum, the Makai in exile who were fast losing their lands to the southern scourge . . . even the surviving Novans who had been cut off from their forces by the expanding tide of Radaskim.

Though the Sea was beginning to heal, it was still too weak to affect all the Wild. Anything south of Sylva had fallen to Odium, coming under his direct influence. Refugees flooded north as the mists caused by the Hyperfold began to lift.

The dragons rallied to Elekim, Elder and Generational, knowing that the final battle for Earth was drawing near. And at their head was Tiamat, son of Quietus and Askal, with new resolve and a desire for vengeance. They came by the hundreds into an army that was larger than this part of the world had seen since the fall of Ragnarok.

But Odium’s forces were stronger yet, and the source of his power, just outside Dragonspire, became the great Southern Reversion.

All were being gathered for a final fight to save the world. A hopeless fight, perhaps, but if life was to be protected, if freedom was to be preserved, if evil was to be turned, then it would have to be a fight.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kyle West is the author of The Wasteland Chronicles, a seven-book post-apocalyptic series, and is currently writing The Xenoworld Saga. Kyle has always been a voracious reader of sci-fi and fantasy. He lives in West Palm Beach with his wife.

Also by Kyle West

Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian

The Wasteland Chronicles

Apocalypse

Origins

Evolution

Revelation

Darkness

Extinction

Xenofall

Post-Apocalyptic/Fantasy

The Xenoworld Saga

Prophecy

Bastion

Beacon

Sanctum

Kingdom

Dissolution

GLOSSARY

A.R.: After Ragnarok. The date usually used by the Elekai to denote the year. It’s a bit of a misnomer, because it really means after the Ragnarok War, and not after the impact of Ragnarok itself. The Xenoworld Saga begins in 398 A.R.

F.C.: Founding of the Covenant. The date used by the Covenant to denote the year, and it signifies how many years have passed since the Covenant ousted the Elekai from Colonia. The Xenoworld Saga begins in the year 248 F.C.

P.Y. Precursor Year. Corresponds to the Gregorian Calendar. The Xenoworld Saga begins in the year 2458 P.Y. – or 2458 A.D. It’s rare to use Precursor Years to denote anything beyond the year 2060, and even then is only used among academics and historians.

Annajen, The: One of the Three Tribes of the Elekai, the Annajen are the descendants of the gods Elekim and Annara. Their capital is Haven, a Great Silverwood growing in the Grand Canyon.

Annara: Annara is the matron goddess of both the Annajen Tribe and the Colonian Covenant; however, depending on the side, her character is entirely different. Among the Annajen, Annara is the wife of Elekim; she established Colonia and the Seekers and wrote the Prophecy of Annara, which has been lost, but predicts the eventual ascendency of the Elekai over its enemies – namely the Covenant. Among the Covenant, Annara is the goddess of pure-blooded humanity, and seeks to destroy all that is Elekai, promising her chosen people – the Annarans – that they will one day destroy the demon Elekai, who waged war against humanity during the First Darkness. According to prophecies on both sides, Annara is to lead her Army of the Dawn to destroy the other side.

Army of the Dawn: Annara’s army during the Second Darkness that is to destroy either the Elekai or the Annaran Covenant, depending on which version of the story one believes.

Askala: The Radaskim Xenomind that nearly enslaved the world using the xenovirus during the time of the Ragnarok War. These events have been almost forgotten in recent times, but the Covenant remembers Askala as the Elekai’s demon goddess. Among the Elekai, her true nature is better remembered as the Radaskim goddess who was imprisoned by Elekim in the Xenofold at the end of the Ragnarok War.

Askaleen: A male dragon. They are pink, with tiny scales, and a smooth, rounded frame. They are also rarer than Radaska, the female variety. Because they are the only kind of dragons that the Covenant or Elekai can tame, they are jealously guarded by the Radaska.

Atlantea: An Eastern Kingdom situated in the southeast. Its capital is of the same name.

Augurs, The: One of the Seven Sects of the Seekers, who specialize in the art of diplomacy. They serve as advisers for kings and rulers, not only in the Red Wild, but in the Eastern Kingdoms. In times of old, they also interpreted signs given by the Xenofold, though this responsibility has fallen by the wayside in recent centuries. They also recruit new initiates for the Seekers’ Sanctum among the nobility of different lands.

Bloodless: The collective term Elekai use to describe all non-Elekai. It’s not pejorative, though it can be used in that way.

Brevia: A city on the western coast, in southern California. Once a colony of Colonia, it was conquered by the Shen in 348 A.R. It is the only Shen city that outsiders are allowed to enter, and even then, permission is granted only sparingly. A large collection of books has been gathered there, in what is known as the Brevian Archives – the main reason for which anyone would want to visit the city.

Clerics, The: One of the Seven Sects of the Seekers, who specialize in ministry to the local Elekai population, anthropology, and Xenohealing. They are also responsible for recruiting initiates for the Seekers’ Sanctum among the general population.

Champions, The: One of the Seven Sects of the Seekers, who specialize in the art of combat. In times of old, they fought in battles to defend the Elekai from Covenant encroachment, but in more recent times, they serve as bodyguards for other Seekers, such as Augurs, Scholars, or Sages, whose duties take them far afield in places that might be dangerous.

Colonia: The city of Colonia was founded shortly after the Ragnarok War, as a colony of the First Empire, known of old as the Nova Roman Empire. It was ruled by the gods, and over the years, grew into the seat of an Elekai empire by the same name. Colonia’s history is divided into two periods: Old Colonia, which lasted from roughly 1–150 A.R., and Covenant Colonia, which lasted from 151 A.R. until the present day.

Old Colonia was ruled by the Elekai, and was originally their capital city. The true descendants of the heroes of the Ragnarok War formed an aristocracy, called the Godsblood. Below them were Wilders, the descendants of those who became Elekai in the years following the Ragnarok War. On the bottom rung were the Bloodless, commoners without Elekai ancestry. However, by the fourth generation of the Godsblood, the government grew corrupt, favoring the Elekai nobility over the Bloodless masses. This, in time, led to the Annaran Uprising. The civil war lasted twenty years, ending with the Elekai being defeated and ousted from the city they had founded, their numbers greatly reduced. The Annarans took control of the city, founding the Annaran Covenant, which vowed to destroy all Elekai in accordance with Annara’s will.

The Covenant ruled in Colonia for the next two hundred and fifty years, and at its height around 320 A.R., the Covenant controlled most of what used to be the Southwestern United States.

Colorado River: The main river flowing through the Red Wild and Colonia. The river is much wider than it was during the Old World, and nurtures the growth of both Elekai and Covenant society. The Colorado flows not only through the city of Colonia, but under the roots of Haven, the main enclave of the Annajen tribe, along with Coloso, which is built on its mouth.

Coloso: A Novan city at the mouth of the Colorado River. Over the centuries, it is has changed hands between Nova and Colonia numerous times. It is strategically important, because it is the gateway to Nova and it also provides a means to enter Colonia by river.

Covenant, The: The Covenant, or the Annaran Covenant or the Colonian Covenant, began as a resistance against the corrupt Elekai aristocracy that ruled Colonia. The goddess Annara became its figurehead, but instead of an Annara that was the heroine of the Elekai, this Annara was a champion of the Bloodless and reviled all things Elekai. In time, the Annaran rebellion took place, and after a twenty-year-long war, the Elekai were nearly wiped out, and what was left of them fled into the Red Wild.

The Covenant rules with a firm fist, using religion to control its population. It was the strongest power in the late Third Century, but by the Fourth Century, incursions by both the Shen and Nova made it lose much of its former territory. The Covenant has a policy of exiling or outright killing anyone who disagrees with its theology, and openly hunts Elekai within its borders. The Covenant is ruled by a Grand Pontifex and a Grand Council of seven members, officials appointed by the Grand Pontifex from each of the seven kinds of priests.

Dome of Annara, The: Constructed during Old Colonia, the Dome of Annara is one of the wonders of the world. It is composed of a large, golden dome and has four turrets on each corner. In days of old, it served as a pantheon to all the gods, but over time, Annara became its chief deity. The Dome was constructed about eighty years following the founding of the city.

Dragonriders, The: The Dragonriders are the Covenant’s elite fighting force. It’s unknown how many dragons they number, but estimates range anywhere from twenty to forty. They ride Mindless Askaleen, the only kind of dragon that can be tamed by humans. They cannot breed new dragons, but so long as the dragons are fed with steady supplies of xen and not mortally injured, they will live indefinitely.

Dragons: The Dragons have had a long and troubled history since the Ragnarok War. The two varieties, Askaleen and Radaska, are male and female respectively. There are many generations, but only the first generation are part of a group known as the Elder Dragons, the only ones to have lived during the time of the Ragnarok War. The Elder Dragons were never born of other dragons, but instead were created during the process of Xenogenesis, the thirty-or-so-year period during the Ragnarok War that the Great Blight grew at a rapid rate. After the war and the victory of the Elekai, Xenogenesis was greatly reduced, and dragons that were born entered the world naturally.

Besides Elder Dragons, there are Generational Dragons, which are the progeny of the Elders, and Mindless Dragons, which have no connection to the Xenofold. Mindless Radaska are volatile and dangerous, while Mindless Askaleen are docile and tamable. These Askaleen, while uncommon, are still used by the Colonians and Elekai as mounts.

Eastern Kingdoms, The: The Eastern Kingdoms collectively refers to any of the countries that lie east of the Eastern Range (or Red Mountains), known in former times as the Rocky Mountains (In the Eastern Kingdoms, the Eastern Range is called either the Western Range, or the Wild Range). There are dozens of kingdoms, most of them small, but a few are more powerful than others.

Eastern Pact: A Pact consisting of most of the nations in the Eastern Kingdoms. It was orchestrated by the Seekers as a way to prevent wars in the region.

Eastern Range: The Eastern Range, or Red Mountains, formerly known as the Rocky Mountains, makes up the eastern border of the Red Wild. Many wild Elekai tribes live here, and the mountains are dangerous to cross.

Elder Dragons: The first generation of dragons, who were created by Xenogenesis. They are the most powerful of the dragons, and following an unknown dispute, broke off their ties with human Elekai about one hundred and fifty years after the Ragnarok War. They have not been seen by a human since, though later generations of dragons still deal with human Elekai in a limited capacity.

Elekai, The: An Elekai is marked by their connection to the Xenofold, which is produced by the neural network of xen in the Red Wild. They are composed of humans and dragons, and an Elekai is marked by their possessing the xenovirus, though over the years, this began being attributed to having the blood of the gods. The virus changes the host’s genetics to grant them access to the Xenofold, the collective consciousness of the Elekai.

There are two kinds of Elekai among humans. Those of the Godsblood are direct descendants of the Six Gods, and form a ruling elite among the Elekai. Depending on their line of descent, they form one of Three Tribes: the Annajen, the Samalites, or the Makai. The Godsblood are the rarest kind of Elekai, and their abilities and connection to the Xenofold tend to be stronger than the other type, known as Wilders.

Wilders are Elekai that, for the first two generations following the Ragnarok War, were drawn to the Red Wild by dreams and visions, only to return as Elekai, albeit weaker versions than those descended directly from the gods. Many, in fact, remained in the Red Wild, forming tribes separate from the Three Tribes.

Included among the Elekai are also the dragons, both of Askaleen and Radaska varieties. The Elder Dragons, along with their successive generations, are also included, though they do not speak to human Elekai on account of the Sundering of the Dragons.

In the past two hundred years, Elekai blood has generally weakened in power for unknown reasons, resulting in newer generations having less inherent ability to connect to the Xenofold than past generations, a phenomenon known as the Fading. Whether the Fading is due to mingling with the Bloodless, or another factor, is not entirely known. Elekai children born without a detectable connection to the Xenofold are becoming increasingly common.

Elekim: The Great God and husband of Annara who gave his life to destroy Askala, the demon goddess of the Radaskim. Though he is remembered as such among the Elekai, among the Covenant, Askala is remembered as the Elekai goddess. Elekim, within the Elekai, is given an equal footing with Annara, while among the Covenant Annara reigns supreme.

Exile, The: The Exile refers to the ousting of the Elekai from Old Colonia around 150 A.R. They fled into the Red Wild, where according to the story, the three chief Elder Dragons, Askal, Quietus, and Tiamat, led each tribe to a spot where they were to found their cities. Askal led the Annajen to Haven in the Grand Canyon, while Quietus led the Makai south to a vast forest, where they founded Sylva. The Samalites were led north by Tiamat to Ragnarok Crater, where they founded the city of Hyperborea, which was destroyed nearly a century later.

Fading, The: The process by which Elekai Gifts have diminished over time. It was first noticed early in the Third Century. The cause is not entirely known, but many believe it has to do with the dilution of blood through intermarriage with non-Elekai. Only among the nobility is the blood still particularly strong, but even so, it has weakened. The true reason has now come to light: the weakening of the Sea of Creation due to Hypeborea and the power the Hyperfold it created.

Four Centuries, The: History since the Ragnarok War is categorized in four centuries, named the First, Second, Third, and Fourth. The history of the first three has often been reduced to myth, either through the passage of time or the loss of records. However, it has been reproduced below as best as the Elekai can recount it.

The First Century is remembered as the Great Dawn and the Golden Age of the Elekai. The city of Colonia was founded, the Red Wild was at its most powerful state, and dragons and Elekai had friendly relations. In the early part of the century, gods walked the Earth, ruling from the city of Colonia. In the latter half of the century, the Red Bastion and the Dome of Annara were constructed in Colonia, and Colonia was the most powerful kingdom in North America. The First Century ended in 100 A.R., or 2160 A.D.

The Second Century’s beginning was marked by corruption among the Elekai aristocracy of Colonia. This unjust rule led to the formation of the Annaran Covenant, which in time overthrew their Elekai rulers during the Annaran Uprising. This was followed by the Great Purge and the formation of the Hunters, a group tasked with killing any Elekai found within Colonia or Covenant lands. This led to the Exile, where surviving Elekai fled Colonia for the Red Wild. Depending on their lineage, each group founded a city in the Red Wild – Hyperborea in the north for the Samalites, Haven in the west for the Annajen, and Sylva in the south for the Makai. The Sundering of the Dragons occurred in this time, and due to the Elekai being greatly reduced in number and capacity, very little history was recorded. It is not without its hope, however. It is said that the city of Hyperborea grew powerful during this time, though its deeds have long since faded to myth. The Annajen and Makai tribes, together with the Wild tribes, fought for survival against the Covenant, which often attacked into the Red Wild. In response, the Selvan was planted along the western border of the Red Wild. The Samalites, during this time, gifted Haven and Sylva with Great Silverwoods, which they enchanted with ichor to grow far taller and more powerful than normal. The second century ended in 200 A.R., or 2260 A.D.

The Third Century is probably the most troubled of all for the Elekai – though it’s not too far in the distant past, little can be said of it with accuracy. Reversions plagued the Wild, and are said to have destroyed Hyperborea along with killing many Elekai. The Samalites were driven from the north, and the first half of the century was marked by constant warfare against Mindless dragons and monsters. The cities of Haven and Sylva served as bastions against the Mindless, and it was decades before the reversions could be restored. The latter half of the century serves as a bright spot, because the Seekers’ Sanctum was founded and much territory was reclaimed. The Third Century ended in 300 A.R., or 2360 A.D.

The Fourth Century, which is still ongoing, has been comparatively quiet. Its first half saw human Elekai growing to their former numbers, but the Fading, or the weakening of their connection to the Xenofold, was becoming more apparent. The Covenant, who had also suffered during the Third Century at the hands of the Mindless, blamed the Elekai and denounced them with renewed vigor. The Eastern Kingdoms were mostly immune from the Mindless, even if they were warring with each other. The Eastern Pact somewhat mitigated this, which allowed the Eastern Kingdoms to prosper in an unprecedented time of peace. Reversions were mostly contained to the north around Ragnarok Crater, where the great danger made any study of the Crater or its fabled city of Hyperborea nearly impossible. The Fourth Century has yet to end, it is nearly there. The current year is 398 A.R., or 2458 A.D.

Four Disciplines, The: The Four Disciplines of the Seekers are Stillness, Movement, Acceptance, and Resistance. By training and merging these Four, a Seeker is expected to develop his or her Gifts and forge their connection to the Xenofold.

Godsblood: The term used to describe any human Elekai who is a direct descendent of one of the Six Gods – Elekim, Annara, Samal, Retha, Makai, or Larana. They are less numerous, but more powerful, than Wilders.

Great Dawn, The: The fifty-year period following the founding of Colonia that saw it grow from a village on the Colorado to a large city ruled by the Elekai. It was during this time that Colonia’s walls, the Red Bastion, and the Dome of Annara were constructed.

Great Purge, The: Following the exile of the Elekai from Colonia, the Hunters were formed by the Covenant to track down remaining Elekai. Thousands were captured and killed over a ten-year period, and many Bloodless were caught in the crossfire. However, the effects of the Great Purge meant the possibility of an Elekai being born within Colonia’s borders was greatly reduced.

Great Silverwoods: Great Silverwoods are hybrid trees that are purposely grown to be much larger than they would naturally be by human Elekai, usually Seeker Sages. Haven is the largest one in the world, and measures about a quarter mile high. Two Silverwoods Trees joined in the middle make up Sylva, though neither is as large as the Haven tree by half. It is said that Hyperborea, when it existed, contained over a hundred Great Silverwoods in its groves.

Haven: The main enclave of the Annajen Tribe. It’s located deep in the Grand Canyon.

High Line: The High Line among the Annajen is believed to go all the way back to Elekim and Annara, and describes the lineage of Annajen royalty.

Hunters, The: The Hunters are an order of priests within the Covenant clergy that exists to hunt down and kill all Elekai, as well as pursue apostates and heretics. They also hunt for unguarded Mindless Askalaeen in the Red Wild to train as mounts. They are one of the seven orders of priests that make up the Covenant government.

Hybrids: Hybrids are either Earth plants that naturally evolved to grow in the xen, or were designed as such by Elekai. The Silverwood is one example, and many crops that grow naturally in soil were evolved to grow in the xen.

Hyperborea: Hyperborea was the capital city of the Samalites and the seat of the empire by the same name. Its history is mostly forgotten, even mythological, and many believe the city never existed at all. It is speculated the city existed for at least one hundred years in some capacity, and it fell sometimes in the early Third Century from an attack of Mindless monsters. It is now known that it was the Shen who destroyed the city, an attack which set the stage for the first Mindless Wars.

Ichor: Ichor is a rare, pink liquid that exists below the surface of the Red Wild in limited quantities. It has properties of creation and restoration, and is exceedingly rare.

Inherent: An Elekai who has the ability to manifest, even without training. These Elekai are usually only found among the Godsblood, but still rarely at that. About one in a hundred Elekai have the Gift of Inherence.

Judges, The: One of the Seven Sects of the Seekers, who specialize in the reading, interpretation, and formation of law. They not only oversee the Seekers’ internal affairs, but those of other courts, including those of the Bloodless with whom they have diplomatic relations.

Larana: The wife of Makai and the goddess of love.

Liberation, The: The Covenant’s term for their victory over the Elekai in Colonia. The Elekai call it the Annaran Uprising.

Lost Gifts: It’s come to light that Shanti has abilities that don’t fit within the bounds of the traditional Twelve Gifts. One of these Gifts, Consonance, describes her ability to connect a non-Elekai to the Xenofold, thereby making them Elekai. Another is called Bonding, the ability for several Elekai to link and possess a far greater ability to channel the Xenofold’s power than any of them could alone. Severance describes the ability to do the opposite of Consonance; cutting an Elekai off from the Xenofold entirely, either temporarily or permanently. Another is called Tethering, the ability to possess and control a being with a connection to the Xenofold; this includes Mindless monsters controlled by the Hyperfold, whose loyalties can be temporarily overridden if the one who is tethering is powerful enough.

Makai (The Tribe): One of the Three Tribes of the Elekai. Their patron god is Makai, the god of war. They have a martial society that emphasizes war and combat. They are aggressive, and are the only one of the Three Tribes to openly attack either the Covenant or Nova.

Makai (The god): One of the Six Gods, the god of war and combat. Makai is the patron god of the tribe of the same name, and the husband of Larana.

Manifestation: The process by which an Elekai first gains connection to the Xenofold. It usually happens at some point in the teenage years. The very strongest, during manifestation, will have eyes that turn completely white during the episode. For most Elekai with the potential to manifest, it has to be trained out of them, but for about one in twenty-five – called Inherents – it will happen whether they’ve been trained or not. Elekai of strong potential are sought for training at the Seekers’ Sanctum.

Mindless: Mindless refers to any plant or animal born within the Red Wild that is not connected to the Xenofold. They are typically born in Northern Wild reversions. Usually, they are violent and attack any who are not Mindless, and Mindless have been seen to attack each other at times. In respect to dragons, Mindless Radaska are wild and violent, while Mindless Askaleen dragons are docile and tamable.

Nameless One, The: A Xenomind whose identity is wrapped in mystery. He is beholden to neither the Elekai nor the Radaskim.

Nava Village: A village of some five hundred people that supplies the material needs of the Seekers’ Sanctum on Nava Mountain. It is the largest settlement of its size in the north, and it signals the beginning of the Northern Wild.

Nova: A powerful empire far to the south of Colonia. Its north is bordered by the Red Wild and Colonia. It is a land closed to outsiders, but it is said they have a strict caste system. Nova is not to be confused with the Nova Roman Empire, which existed three hundred years earlier. Nova considers itself the third iteration of that empire, hence its other moniker, the Third Empire.

Peacemakers, The: The Peacemakers are an order of Covenant priests and function as the city guard of Colonia. They are marked by their red capes, leather armor, and long staves.

Priests: Priests occupy the highest social tier in Colonia, and there are seven different kinds. There are the Fathers, who minister to the people, and there are the Hunters, who track down dissidents, heretics, apostates, and errant Elekai. There are also Aediles, who administer Colonia’s basic services, and Quaestors, who run the courts, along with the Peacemakers, who enforce the law. The greatest priest, known as the Grand Pontifex, rules Colonia together with his Council of Nine, chosen from among each of the nine orders of priests. The Grand Pontifex is a lifelong post.

Prophets, The: One of the Seven Sects of the Seekers, who specialize in visions and prophecies. Visions are viewings of past events, while prophecies are viewings of future events. The Prophets are the least numerous of the Seven Sects. They are often derided by the other Sects for not doing much, but interestingly, Prophets typically have the strongest connection to the Xenofold of all the Sects.

Purebloods: A term the Covenant uses to signify that a person is one hundred percent human blood, without a trace of Elekai descent. In the distant past, especially during the First Century, intermarriage between pureblood humans and Elekai was quite common. Their children would, or wouldn’t, have Elekai abilities, and often Elekai abilities would manifest in later generations. In the early days, it was also common for Godsblood Elekai and Wilders to marry, as well as for Wilders to marry pureblood humans. Beginning with the days of the Annaran Covenant, however, it was determined by the Grand Pontifex and Council that any of Elekai blood should be purged, which led to the Exile. Any who stayed behind were found and executed, and many innocents also lost their lives during the Great Purge. In later years, other purges took place on a smaller scale.

Radaska: A Radaska is a female dragon. They are larger than the Askaleen and more numerous, and unlike the Askaleen, the Mindless kind are violent and cannot be tamed. There are Elder Radaska dragons, such as Quietus, who have no dealings with humankind, and there are Generational Radaska, who are the direct progeny of the Elder Dragons and their successive generations. Then, there are Mindless Radaska, who attack anyone they find. The Mindless are mostly confined to the Northern Wild, and often war with Generational Radaska.

Radaskim, The: The ancient foe of the Elekai, the Radaskim were defeated by Elekim when he sacrificed himself to destroy Askala. It is said the Radaskim will return during the Second Darkness, though the time of this return isn’t known. The Covenant has all but forgotten the existence of the Radaskim, instead ascribing their deeds to the Elekai.

Ragnarok: According to the Elekai, Ragnarok was the fallen world of the Radaskim that crashed into Earth over four centuries ago. It created Ragnarok Crater in the north, and the event is what caused the Ragnarok War.

Ragnarok War: A war in which the world was nearly enslaved by Askala and her Radaskim swarm, but Elekim and the gods, leading the rest of the Elekai and humanity, made one final stand at Ragnarok Crater. A final battle was fought, won only because Elekim sacrificed his life in order to destroy the Radaskim host, as well as Askala. When the war was over, the surviving gods – Annara, Samal, Retha, Makai, and Larana – founded the city of Colonia, where they and their descendants would live and rule.

Rakhim Shal: Rakhim Shal was a noble and an advisor living in the time of the Hyperborean Empire, and was the chief advisor on the council of King and Queen Farl, the last monarchs of the Empire. He was obsessed with preventing the Fading, the phenomenon whereby the Elekai are losing their Gifts over time due to the weakening of the Xenofold caused by the Xenofont. Driven to near-madness by this quest,   Shal discovered and contacted the Void, the Radaskim’s counterpart to Silence, where he received messages from Odium of the Dark, the Radaskim Xenomind currently on his way to invade Earth. Odium promised to restore humanity to its former glory in return for obedience. With Rakhim’s pledge, Odium gave him the knowledge to construct the Hyperfold, to which he connected people through the use of a highly addictive substance of his invention, called Aether. Over time, many people in Hyperborea were taking Aether and connected to the Hyperfold, giving the Hyperfold all of their power and memories which, upon the destruction of Hyperborea, were enough to create a dream world. When the Shen destroyed Hyperborea, they could not destroy the Hyperfold, which was protected by an impenetrable shield called the Thought Dome, through which none but an Elekai or Radaskim could enter.

Rakhim has worked ever since then to weaken the Elekai Xenofold, in preparation for the Radaskim’s arrival, only recently growing powerful enough to gather an army of Mindless monsters and dragons to begin his assault on the Red Wild. At the swarm’s command is Isaru, who fell prey to the power of the Hyperfold when trying to escape it.

Red Bastion, The: The Red Bastion is a large fortress built on Red Cliff, the city of Colonia’s highest point. It is protected by two walls, not to mention the cliff itself, and has never fallen except to the Annaran Covenant during their revolt in 150 A.R. It is from the Red Bastion that the Grand Pontifex of Colonia and Grand Council rule.

Red Wild, The: A huge area marked by a vast spreading of xen, named because of its red appearance. It starts roughly in the center of what used to be Arizona, and spreads east as far as what used to be the Rocky Mountains, though its borders vary widely depending on latitude. It goes further north than Ragnarok Crater, though it’s unknown where it truly ends. To the south, it stops at the northern border of Nova, in what used to be Northern Mexico.

The Wild itself is divided into four areas – Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western – and each area is different. The Northern Wild is the most untamed and the most dangerous. Reversions are more common here, and the North is the abode of Mindless animals, including dragons. It is the least inhabited, though small enclaves of Samalites make their home here.

The Southern Wild is mostly forested, and its trees are the tallest in the world, many reaching hundreds of feet in height. The Southern Wild is also the most populated.

The Eastern Wild is mountainous and sparsely habited, though several sizable settlements exist among the Wild Tribes, especially in mountain passes that serve as trade hubs between the Red Wild and the Eastern Kingdoms. The Eastern Wild is also the coldest, and has many rivers, mountains, and forests.

The Western Wild is composed of wide xen plains, though xenoforests are also numerous. Many Wild Tribes make their home in this area, which is little bothered by the outside world.

The Annajen live in the Western Wild, and their capital is Haven. The Makai live in the Southern Wild, and their capital is Sylva. The Samalites once lived in the Northern Wild, in the city of Hyperborea, but when the city was destroyed, they mostly fled south.

Remembrance Day: A Covenant holiday celebrating the liberation of Colonia from the Elekai. It is marked by cathedral services that are attended by all, along with a distribution of free prayer candles. Each person is allowed one prayer to Annara. Following the service, there is no work, much like the weekly Sabbath, nor is any selling of goods or services allowed. It is a family holiday, and communities often hold a feast in remembrance of the victory of Annara and her people over the Elekai.

Reversions: Reversions are dangerous areas of the Red Wild that are caused by a weakening of the Xenofold. Reversions can be big or small, strong or weak, and they are most common in the Northern Wild. While reversions themselves are usually not dangerous, if left unchecked they can turn to Blight, becoming the abode of the Mindless, which are free of the directives of the Elekai Xenofold.

Retha: The goddess of wisdom and wife of Samal.

Ruins, The: The Ruins is an ancient, Precursor city north of Colonia, on the border of the Red Wild. The former site of Las Vegas.

Sages, The: One of the Seven Sects of the Seekers, who specialize in growing and maintaining the Wild. They are skilled in Agronomy, which allows them to direct the xen’s energy to the growing of plants with a set purpose. They are also skilled at healing reversions.

Samalites: One of the Three Tribes of the Elekai. Their patron god and goddess are Samal and Retha, and their patron dragon Tiamat. The Samalites are scattered throughout the Red Wild, ever since the fall of their city, Hyperborea. They are the least numerous of the tribes, though once they were the most powerful.

Selvan, The: The Selvan is a thick, impenetrable hybrid forest planted shortly after the Exile in the Western Wild. It guards the Red Wild from Colonia, and runs hundreds of miles north to south.

Scholars, The: One of the Seekers’ Seven Sects, the Scholars focus on the pursuit of knowledge. They study history and the Xenofold, and maintain the Seekers’ library in the Sanctum. They also do field work, exploring ancient ruins and collecting artifacts. Above all the other Sects, besides the Prophets, they seek the Prophecy of Annara.

Second Darkness, The: It is foretold in the Prophecy of Annara (one of the few details that is collectively remembered) that a Second Darkness is to come, far worse than the first. The time, place, and manner of this Second Darkness is unknown, but it is believed that its events are accurately predicted in the Prophecy of Annara, which has been lost for over two centuries. It is believed that Annara herself is to return, uniting humanity with her Army of the Dawn.

Seekers, The: The Seekers are a select group of Elekai whose strength of blood and training gives them a much stronger connection to the Xenofold than the average Elekai. This grants them unique Gifts, and depending on their Gifts, each Seeker belongs to one of the Seven Sects of the Seekers – the Champions, Augurs, Clerics, Sages, Judges, Scholars, or Prophets. At one time, the Seekers were numerous, at the group’s height numbering over a thousand strong, but over time their numbers have lessened, when those born with the potential to manifest a connection to the Xenofold became less common. Today, the Seekers number some quarter thousand, though only about half of that number will be present in the Sanctum at any one time. Along with the Seekers are apprentices and initiates, who outnumber the Seekers themselves; but a high turnover due to the rigors of training means that initiates that quit or don’t make the cut are replaced almost as quickly as they leave.

Seekers’ Dome: A domed chamber that makes up most of the western wing of the Seekers’ Sanctum. Constructed in 280 A.R. along with the rest of the Sanctum, the Dome is the main meeting place for the Seekers to debate and enact resolutions. Judgments are also pronounced here, of Elekai, of distant personages such as rulers, and of the Seekers themselves. A mural on the domed ceiling depicts the final battle of the First Darkness, and is considered to be the finest of its kind in the world.

Seekers’ Grove: The Seekers’ Grove lies within the Sanctum’s outer walls, taking the majority of the space within the courtyard. It is larger in the front than it is on the sides or in the back, and it covers a large area in which there are trees – both native and hybrid varieties – along with gardens, streams, and xen. Different areas of the Grove contain different types of flora. Several Great Silverwoods are grown here, but as with the rest of the Sanctum, the Grove is only a little over a hundred years old, so the Trees haven’t grown to their full height. The Sages and their apprentices are responsible for growing and shaping the Grove, and much of its plant life can be seen growing along the western face of Nava Mountain.

Seekers’ Sanctum: The Seekers’ Sanctum was founded in 280 A.R and serves as the Seekers’ home. It is constructed at the foot of Nava Mountain, which none but Seekers may climb.

Seste: The smallest denomination of currency in Colonia. One thousand sestes is worth one talent.

Seven Sects: The Seven Sects of the Seekers are the Champions, the Augurs, the Judges, the Scholars, the Sages, the Clerics, and the Prophets. Depending on the Sect, they serve different purposes within the Order (see their individual entries for details).

Shenshi: A large, domed city on the Californian coast. Controlled by the Shen, it is inaccessible to any but those who live there.

Silence: The meditative point of stillness where an Elekai harmonizes and connects to the Xenofold. Silence is the conduit which allows an Elekai to channel his or her Gifts. Battletrance is a form of Silence. Normally, it takes years of training and discipline to attain this state.

Silverwood: Silverwood is a hybrid tree that grows naturally in the Red Wild. It is used for construction because its trunk grows straight.

Six Gods, The: Elekim, Annara, Samal, Retha, Makai, and Larana are the Six Gods who led humanity to victory at Ragnarok Crater. Elekim sacrificed his life to deal the final blow to Askala, the demon Radaskim goddess. Following the war, the five remaining gods founded the city of Colonia. After establishing the city and having children of their own, they departed to join the Xenofold. Annara, during her time on Earth, wrote the Prophecy of Annara, which predicted the coming of a Second Darkness and what humanity needed to do to prepare. Though the Prophecy was lost, another detail that is remembered, according to the story, is that Annara would return to save the Elekai when the Second Darkness came.

Shen, The: A mysterious people who have little contact with the outside world. They live in various domed enclaves on the Californian coast, the largest of which is Shenshi. About fifty years ago, they conquered Brevia, a Colonian city, in what is known as the Short War, because the Shen ceased attacking as soon as the city was taken.

Subura, The: The Subura is a large area of slums attached to the northern and western section of the city of Colonia. It expands outside the city walls for about half a mile, ending in desert. It is here where Colonia’s poor and most of its gangs exist. It’s not technically a part of Colonia, so the Peacemakers rarely patrol its streets. It’s easy for anyone not familiar with the area to get lost, because its many streets are a virtual maze; no planning was made for them. Most buildings are low and crude, but closer to the city, tenements are common.

Sundering of the Dragons: An event that occurred sometime in the Second Century. The Elder Dragons severed their ties with humanity, along with many Generational Dragons. Some have said they did so because of humanity’s training and breeding of Mindless Askaleen, while others have said it was something else entirely. Regardless, the Elder Dragons no longer speak with the human Elekai, and not a one has been seen in over two centuries. This event has faded into myth, so much so that many don’t even believe Elder Dragons exist. Some Generational Dragons have contact with humanity, though most of it is fleeting. Most Elder and Generational Dragons greatly distrust humanity, for reasons humanity itself has long forgotten.

Talent: The largest denomination of currency in Colonia, and also a standard of weight. One thousand sestes equals one talent of gold.

Three Tribes, The: The Three Tribes is a bit of a misnomer – there are far more than three Elekai tribes. However, the name refers to those Tribes whose nobility is of the Godsblood – that is, direct descendants of the Six Gods. Elekim and Annara gave rise to the Annajen, Samal and Retha to the Samalites, and Makai and Larana to the Makai. Not to be confused with the so-called Wild Tribes, which refers to any Elekai tribe that isn’t one of the Three.

Twelve Gifts: The Twelve Gifts are Dragonspeech, Inherence, Calling, Telepathy, Agronomy, Insight, Prophecy, Visions, Battletrance, Silence, Sustenance, and Xenohealing. A Seeker’s Gifts strongly influence the Sect they belong to. It is suspected that there are many Lost Gifts, all record of which were lost in the sack of Hyperborea or during the Exile from Colonia.

Wild Tribes: The Wild Tribes refer to any Elekai tribe who isn’t one of the Three Tribes. Their lack of the Godsblood is the main distinguisher between the two. The First Century, also known as the Great Dawn, saw the creation of many Elekai, particularly in the earlier part of the century. While the descendants of the gods became known as the Godsblood, many typical humans were drawn by the power of the Red Wild, entering and living in it and becoming subject to the process of Xenogenesis, thus transforming into Elekai. It is said thousands of people were so drawn. While many remained in the Red Wild, forming the Wild Tribes, many yet returned to Colonia, where, over time, their descendants formed an aristocracy within Colonian society.

The Wild Tribes have lived in the Red Wild almost from the beginning, but traditionally, those of the Godsblood have a stronger connection to the Xenofold. However, in more recent times, there is no difference in power between those of the Godsblood and those of the Wild Tribes.

Xen: Formerly known as xenofungus, the xen is the term given to the vast spreading of fungus that forms the basis of the entire Red Wild. From it, trees, plants, and crops grow, and all Elekai live in harmony with it. Furthermore, any with the ability to manifest can connect to the xen, which collectively forms a consciousness known as the Xenofold, at the head of which rule Elekim and Annara alongside the rest of the gods. It is the xen and the Elekai’s connection to it that forms the basis of all their abilities, called Gifts.

Xenofold: The Xenofold is the collective conscious of the vast neural network of the xen. It is the collective mind of all that is Elekai, and an Elekai’s strength of blood determines their ability to connect with it. This connection either manifests naturally through the Gift of Inherence, or it must be trained. The vast majority of Elekai, however, cannot train a Gift, but they still enjoy small boons offered by the Xenofold, such as being able to receive Xenohealing, or being able to eat certain plants grown from the xen without succumbing to sickness.

Xenofont, The: The Xenofont was one of the wonders of Hyperborea, and the first to be constructed. It was a deep well, made from directing the xen to grow deep into the earth, until it tapped the ichor of the Sea of Creation, which made possible the construction of the vast city.

Xenogenesis: Xenogenesis occurred mostly in the early First Century and during the Ragnarok War. It was an era marked by explosive growth of the xen, characterized by many ichorous lakes, rivers, and streams, and the absorption of many forms of native Earth life into the Xenofold. The process of Xenogenesis can obey either Elekai or Radaskim directives, and it was the victory of the Elekai over the Radaskim during the Ragnarok War that made it possible for the Elekai to take control of the process. During the Great Dawn, many humans, who later became the Wild Tribes, became Elekai when they were guided by dreams and visions into the Red Wild. It was during this time that Elekai humans enjoyed a very close connection to the Red Wild, and first began learning how to direct its energy to grow trees and plants, while also learning to evolve new ones.

Xenogenesis began slowing during the second half of the First Century, and the Great Blight’s multicolored hues began to subside into a subtle red, apparently a sign of maturity. It was around this time that the Great Blight began to be called the Red Wild. It no longer expanded; ichor existed only beneath the surface except in rare circumstances; and no more human Elekai were created from among humanity. Creatures native to the Wild, such as dragons, also were no longer created within the ichor, meaning any dragons that were created had to come about naturally.

Xenoplast: The biomolecule within all xen-based plant life responsible for the absorption of light. It absorbs colors in all spectrums but red, which is what gives xenolife its naturally red hue.