“You could talk to them you know,” I told Nora inside my head, as I sat by the fire. “They might stop staring at you like you have two heads.”
“I have nothing to say to them at the moment,” Nora replied, talking aloud, so anyone who walked by gave her an odd look.
I grinned, watching it all happen on the boulder TV as I called it now.
Nora added, “Besides, I don’t care what they think.”
“Now that makes you sound heartless.”
“Then so be it. We came back to end this war, not to be liked by every person we meet.”
“Wouldn’t hurt for them to know you cared about their lives though,” I reminded her lightly.
Nora sighed heavily. “We do care, Everest, you of all people should be able to feel that.”
“I do, but then again you are currently inside my head and possessing my body,” I reminded her. “Just, you know, be a little more human.”
I sensed her aggravation, but I was right. It had been a whole day since she killed Fredwin.
Slade hadn’t spoken to her since, and most everyone else avoided her, too, as if scared to approach her in case she decided to attack them, or slit their throats.
I know I’d told her to kill Fredwin, but I hadn’t expected her to do it quite like that. I was thinking something less bloody. He was dead, though, so I did my best to move on from the moment.
I was more worried about Slade. I wanted to see him, but every time I asked Nora to track him down, she refused, saying it would only make me pine for him more.
I’d argued I wasn’t pining. I was honestly more worried about him emotionally taking this hit. I’d lied to him, and then I’d gone and almost died, again. He was pissed, and I wasn’t there to set things right. Nora told me time, and again she wasn’t about to be my go-between.
“Why don’t you sleep?” I asked her, watching as everyone else started to tuck in for the night.
“I don’t need sleep.”
“Won’t my body suffer?”
“No, it will not. Our power is enough to sustain us right now.”
“Then I suggest you stand somewhere different than you did last night, so you stop freaking everyone out,” I suggested. “You’re acting like a creeper in the corner.”
She rolled her eyes. “Where do you suggest I go then?”
I grinned. “There’s a balcony that overlooks the main living quarters. You can keep watch up there, and no one can really see you. Does that work at least?”
Last night when I learned she wasn’t going to sleep, but would rather watch over the base to ensure its safety, she’d stayed there by the cots, and I sensed everyone’s unease throughout the night.
If she was up and out of the way at least, the people here could get some much-needed sleep.
Slowly, she climbed the stairs, following the directions I gave her to the balcony, but when she turned the corner, she paused, and I was back on my feet.
“Slade, I’m sorry if I disturbed you,” Nora stated.
He turned to face her, those blue eyes narrowing in frustration. “It’s fine.”
“I’ll go and leave you to your thoughts,” she said, and I could’ve kicked her for not trying to talk to him.
“Nora, wait, please.”
She stopped, and I held my breath. “Did you need something from me?” she asked, turning back around.
“He probably just wants to talk to you… or well, try to talk to me,” I told her.
“I told you, I am not doing this,” she said aloud.
Slade frowned. “Is Everest talking to you?”
“Yes,” I said the same time Nora answered, “No.”
Slade smiled, and I relaxed to see a bit of his usual self back. “Nice to know she’s giving you a hard time, too, instead of just me.”
“She is doing just that.”
“What does she say?”
Nora leaned against the railing beside him, and I wished I could be there, in control of my body, able to tell him exactly what I wanted to.
“She wishes she could speak to you directly and reassure you that this will end well.”
“And that’s why you’re aggravated?” he asked confused.
“No,” she sighed, “she also wishes for me to be more… human.”
Slade laughed lightly. “Well, she’s not wrong. You’ve got everyone on edge since you… arrived. Walking around this place like you’re some all-powerful being doesn’t help. You say you’re here to help us, but then you don’t speak to anyone. You just stand there, watching.”
“I’m keeping my senses open in case Radnak draws near.”
“Or you’re scared to get close to these people in case you lose them,” I whispered, and she stiffened.
“What did Everest say now?” Slade asked, observant as always.
“Nothing, it’s nothing. I will try as you both suggest, but there are no guarantees. For hundreds of years, we’ve merely been spirits wandering the worlds, unable to move on, unable to interact with anyone,” she said, and I felt her sadness like it was my own. “It’s hard to be around living beings again. It’s hard to be around war again, too.”
She picked at her nails, and for the first time since meeting the six, I sensed their unease and their guilt at the part they played in the original war.
“Nora, you can’t blame yourself,” I told her softly.
“You can talk to me, you know,” Slade told her at the same time. “I’ll admit, I have no idea what’s really going on with you or Everest, but I’m here all the same.”
“You don’t trust me,” she replied.
“No, no, I don’t. Can you blame me? You took over the body of someone I love, and there’s a chance she might not survive. So, I’m not sure what you expect me to do,” he stated bitterly.
“I can’t blame you, but there is no other way. I need you to understand that.”
“Easier said than done.”
Nora pulled back from the railing even though I begged her to stay for a bit longer and keep talking to him. She refused, and after telling Slade good night, she wandered higher up the base until we stood out on the platform.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“Nothing, Everest, get some rest.”
“I don’t exactly feel tired in here,” I said, not about to give up just yet. “There’s a reason you don’t want to get close to everyone. What is it?”
Nora said nothing, and I threw my hands up in the air, walking around my campfire as she stared out over the mountainside.
Eventually, I plopped down, ready to pass another lonely and boring night here in my brain, but then she sighed.
“I’ve been through this once before, Everest,” she whispered. “It nearly broke us the first time, and now to be back here, to watch so much suffering happening… it’s either I keep my distance, or I let myself be dragged down. I will lose focus, become too emotional. We failed, we know that now. We cannot fail again. So yes, I must remain emotionless and distant. It’s for the good of all here.”
I rested my hand against the boulder, her grief weighing on me. “I understand, I do. You should tell Slade.”
“No, I will not burden him more. He has enough on his shoulders.”
“Right, tomorrow morning.”
They already made plans to invade the first dimension controlled by Radnak in the morning, wanting to keep up the momentum the army had from taking over the encampment without too much loss of life.
Slade had told the Council and clan leaders exactly what they were going to face and none of it was good. Slade wanted as few Shadowguard casualties as possible. They were fighting to keep their families alive. The mission was to get in and rescue those held captive before launching a full-scale attack, so we could assure the Shadowguards they were truly safe from Radnak. It wasn’t impossible, but it did complicate matters.
“What do you think will happen once we’re there?” I asked Nora.
“Death,” she replied roughly. “Death is what always happens in this situation.”
“That’s not exactly comforting.”
“I did not come back to be a comfort, my child.”
“No, no I guess not.” I poked at the fire after I sat down again, watching it sputter and crackle before my eyes.
As the minutes ticked by, I found myself thinking of Slade, wishing I could be there to comfort him tonight.
Entering the dimensions again would not be easy for him. But if we could get more Shadowguards out, make a dent in Radnak’s forces, it would all be worth it.
Smoke filled the air, blurring Nora’s vision and my view of the fight—well the end of the fight.
She had gone in with the first team to rescue the Shadowguards being held hostage and had stayed with them once the real fight started, taking out the Black Diamond guards when they came to try and kill them off.
A pile of the dead rested at her feet, and her hands still crackled with magic, waiting to cast another shield if necessary.
All we needed was the signal, telling us it was all clear.
The minutes dragged on, and I was digging a deep rut in the sand in front of the boulder.
I needed to see Slade, so I could know he was alive and had survived another battle. I wasn’t even sure how bad it was anywhere else. Nora’s job had been to keep the Shadowguards safe, nothing more.
A sharp yell made her turn right, and the dragons behind her cowered and gasped in fear.
“You’re safe,” she whispered to them. “Keep your heads down, stay quiet.”
“What is it?” Nora?” I asked, but she didn’t say anything except to start moving forward, waving the dragons to go with her. “What are you doing?”
“Trust me,” she replied.
I groaned in frustration.
The more she walked, the more anxious I became, fearing she was leading them all into a trap, but then I heard Slade yelling, along with Jared, as more furious voices shouted back.
When we were able to see through the haze, Slade and his fighters stood on one side of a dirt road, while Shadowguards, those forced to fight over the years for the Black Diamonds, stood on the other, clearly not trusting Slade’s word.
“We can’t leave. They have our families,” one man shouted, refusing to drop his sword.
“And I’m telling you, they’re safe,” Slade yelled, clearly losing patience. His lip was split, and his shirt covered in blood, but otherwise, he appeared to be fine. “I won’t let Radnak harm your families, not anymore. You have my word.”
“Yeah? And what good is that to us, huh? Where have you been all these years?” another snapped. “Off fighting with the other clans who want us dead.”
“They were told the war was over and have admitted they were wrong. They’re here to help you now. And I’ve been fighting,” Slade explained, but another cut him off.
“Been fighting for who? Not us, not here. You can say you’re the Lost Heir all you want, but I’m not going to follow you.”
“And what if I could show you he speaks the truth,” Nora called out.
The dragons glowered at her until she stepped to the side and lowered the shield that had been protecting the innocent. They cried out as they rushed to embrace each other.
Tears of happiness slipped from my eyes out to see so many families reunited with their loved ones. The dragons dropped their swords and looked to Slade, but he was too busy walking toward us, sheathing his sword at his back.
“Did you save them all?” he asked.
“Every last one,” she declared. “But I suggest we do not linger here long.”
“We won’t. Just have a few of our own dead to take back.”
My heart fell to hear that news, but from his face, I could tell it wasn’t anyone too close to him or me. He turned back to stare at more of his rescued clan, but his shoulders were tense, and he seemed off.
“I saw what you did,” he said quietly. “Is using that much power a good thing?”
“I know what I’m doing, Slade. The innocent were saved, and your army has grown. Take the win. I will see you back in town.”
She left him standing there, moving through the ramshackle village that these people had been forced to live in for decades. I asked her what she was doing, but she kept on walking, not stopping until she was back in town and ducked into a nearby building. As soon as she shut the door, she sagged against the wall, and a wave of weakness hit me, too.
“What’s going on?” I asked her, holding my head as she stood upright again, but it wasn’t easy.
“We are running out of time, and I’m afraid the blood magic used against you may still be at work.”
“What? I thought the mark was gone.”
“It is, but there are still traces of the magic within our blood.”
“That’s bad, right?”
She took a few deep breaths. “It’ll be fine, Everest, everything will be fine the sooner this all ends.”
Great. Now every time she used her powers, I’d be waiting to see if we suddenly dropped dead.
One more dimension to clear, and then the Fell Gates, and onto Radnak’s stronghold.
The optimism I’d been holding onto that this plan would work out well for us had started to fade. I figured accepting the realization that I might die now was better than it coming as a shock later.
If Nora paid attention to my current line of thinking, she said nothing to me.
All that mattered was Slade living and Radnak dying.
I waved my hand over the boulder, not wanting to see what Nora could see at that moment, and I walked down to the beach, letting the waves rolling in soothe me for a while.