“In the end, you will have what you take.”
—Myriad
Ten
A few minutes earlier
I love ye, lass.
Killian’s words echo in my head as I continue planning with Archer, Raanan and Reed and stuffing my pockets with leaves.
Something about Killian’s tone begins to bother me. Minutes pass as I await his return, tensing more with every second. Nine. Fourteen.
Every year, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14th. It’s a day for romance and love.
I rub the words tattooed on my forearm, a new nervous habit, I suppose. Loyalty. Passion. Liberty. Loyalty to my realm, passion for the truth—and Killian—liberty for all.
The realm resets, which means I gotta go get myself captured, but there’s still no sign of Killian. Until—
“Ten,” he shouts. “Come find me.”
I vault to my feet. “Killian?” What’s going on?
A bird squawks, and a growing sense of dread has my gaze jerking up. Horror gut-punches me. No, please, no. But my eyes do not deceive me. My husband is hanging from a bird’s claws. Despite the distance, my gaze locks with Killian’s for a split second before he disappears in the dark storm clouds that are rolling this way.
A brilliant green leaf flutters from the sky, falling between branches to land on the ground somewhere in the distance. He’s leaving the necessary trail.
“What’s wrong?” Archer asks, but he reads the answer on my face, or maybe he senses my emotions on the Grid. “I should have known he’d want to steal all the glory for himself.” He tsks.
I’d slap him silly, but I know he’s trying to lighten the severity of my mood.
Trembling now, I strap on as many weapons as I can. “Let’s go.”
“Sorry, Ten, but we have to wait,” Reed says.
“No way.” I shake my head with so much force I’m surprised when my spine doesn’t snap. “Earlier you claimed we needed to leave the second the realm reset. Well, it’s reset. We’re going.”
“I didn’t know there would be a storm—”
“In Many Ends, there’s always a risk of a storm,” I interject. “Killian risked his life for ours. We’re going to do the same for him. And if a storm does appear, it could blow away his trail. We won’t be able to follow. So we go now. Or I do. If you want to wait, fine, but nothing is going to stop me.”
Peering at me, one of Raanan’s dark brows wings up toward the arch in the center point of his hairline. “You give good pointers. And honestly, hanging out with you is never dull, that’s for sure.”
As the others strap on their weapons, I pat my pockets to double-check I have as many leaves as possible. Guaranteed, we’re going to need sustenance and medicine at every turn.
Fear yanks me into a mental boxing ring, ready to go head-to-head. Over the last year, I’ve overcome so much and faced so many tragedies. Now, everything is about to reach the ultimate climax.
“Monsters know whenever a spirit has reached the Tree of Life,” Reed says. “They’ll be waiting for us.”
“Feel sorry for them,” I say. “They took Killian. Now they die.”
I lead the charge, determination and menace in every step, a thousand thoughts rolling through my mind. In the Everlife, it doesn’t matter how much money we made as a human. It doesn’t matter if we built an empire, or collected rare items or convinced everyone of our special awesomeness.
Human = soldier in a war, whether we know it or not. It’s what we do as a human that affects who we are as a spirit. Who we loved. How we loved. Who we helped. People matter, not things.
I made the mistake of coasting through my human life, floating on the waves of indecision, and because of that, I lost that life far too soon. Now, I’m a spirit, and even though I’m in Many Ends, I have what I thought I’d never have again: another chance. Another chance to live and love and help, and not necessarily in that order.
We reach the edge of shade offered by the Tree of Life, and, ready for us, our enemy steps into view. Too many monkey-spiders to count, and that’s saying something.
“Where are the gorillas and birds?” Dior asks, and Archer wraps an arm around her waist.
“Probably followed after Killian. Fresh meat,” Reed says. “Even the creatures here are at war. The gorillas steal from the birds, the birds steal from the monkeys, and the monkeys steal from the gorillas.”
“How do you guys want to handle—”
Raanan goes quiet as I swing my spear at one of the creatures. Contact! The wood nails my target in the face, and I gasp with shock. The monkey-spider explodes, but not into pieces. Into shadows. Those shadows blow away in a wind I do not feel.
“What the—”
“How did—”
“Do that again!”
We look at each other for a moment, and laugh.
Dior throws her arms around Archer. “We can do this!”
He’s so large, and she’s so small. They share a stolen moment of connection and perhaps even communion, and it’s beautiful.
“When we get through this, and we will, we’re going to celebrate. Hard. Until then, stay behind us,” he tells her. “We’ll need you if we’re injured.”
A very nice way of telling her 1) she’ll slow us down and 2) she has no battle skill.
She flinches only to accept her lot with a nod, tenacity burning in her eyes. There’s no changing what is, only what can be.
All right, then. We’re as ready as we’ll ever be. There’s a clock in my mind, and it begins to count down to the next reset—when Killian’s sacrifice means nothing.
Unacceptable! We will reach him, no matter the obstacles before us. I will not lose hope now.
“We attack on my count,” I announce. “Three. Two. One.”
In perfect harmony, we rush forward. Nope, spoke too soon. Dior hangs back, as requested.
Focus. One touch. That’s all it takes to utterly destroy a monkey-spider. Which means victory should be easy as pie, but the creatures come at us en masse, desperate to rid us of our weapons.
Strike. Spin. Strike. Spin. I never pause. The moment I do, I’ll be felled. Then Archer presses his back against mine, and Raanan and Reed take up positions at our sides. Together we slay one monkey-spider after another.
By the time the last one explodes into shadows, we’re panting and soaked in sweat. Thing is, I know we’re not even close to being done.
“Not a second to lose,” Reed says. “Let’s go.”
We plow ahead and finally find the leaf Killian dropped. The first of many. It’s a lovely shade of emerald, the only bit of color amid a sea of gray and black.
“What’s that?” Dior points to a spot ahead.
I narrow my focus…and frown. A separate sea of black seems to be moving in our direction. It’s—realization hits. It’s an army of insects, and it is headed our way. Intermixed with countless bugs? Countless snakes.
Cold fingers of dread tickle my spine. I’ve dealt with my fair share of bugs. While locked inside Prynne Asylum, I lived with creepy crawlers and even ate them when Dr. Vans decided to starve me. Spiders taste like shrimp, and cockroaches taste like greasy chicken. Not exactly helpful information in this situation.
“We should go back to the Tree,” Reed says, a tremor in his voice. “The bugs won’t venture under its shade. We’ll wait until they pass.”
Hardly. They might not pass. “No.” I am resolved. “If we go back, they could keep us trapped. Killian needs us.”
“What do we do, then?” Dior croaks.
I…don’t know. I don’t how we’re going to survive this. I’m used to having answers, but this…this is a little beyond my wheelhouse. “I need a minute to think.”
“We don’t have a minute,” Raanan snaps.
“Shut up, just shut up for a second.” How do you fight millions of tiny critters that can crawl all over you? You can’t bat them away with a branch, or punch or kick them. You can’t stop, drop and roll. You can’t even outrun them because they form a wall in front of you in the direction you need to go.
“You guys listen to Reed and go back to the Tree. I’ll let the bugs eat every inch of my skin, if that’s what it takes, but I’m getting to Killian. If I die, I die. I’ll resurrect somewhere in the realm, and I’ll continue my journey.” At least, that is how I think things work in Many Ends. When you die, you come back to life, but remain in the realm. Hence the name: Many Ends.
Great risk, great reward.
Loyalty, passion, liberty.
The warhorse will ride.
The bugs speed up, coming closer…closer still…
“I’m getting a little tired of you telling us to stay safe while you rush headlong into danger, Tenley Lockwood.” Archer blows me a kiss. “You’re not the only one who wants to save Killian. He was my best friend once.”
He’s right. “I’m sorry. I only hoped to save you pain.”
“Pain is pain. Friendship matters more. We’re in this together.” He sheaths a branch behind his back and reaches for Dior’s hand. “If we die, we die as one.”
One heart. One soul. One body.
Together we will rise.
A trembling Dior accepts Archer’s grip and reaches for Reed, the guy on her other side. Reed reaches for Raanan and Raanan reaches for me. We form a line, a wall of our own. Strength and love and Light flow between our joined hands. Heads high once again, we march forward…
So close—
We continue marching forward. Only a whisper away…
The bugs reach us at last. In a spilt second, we’re covered head to toe. Can’t see… Sharp stings register all over my body. Dizziness overtakes my mind, and my limbs quickly weaken. And yet, somehow, I remain on my feet. Marching forward, marching forward. And…
No, surely not. But…it’s true. The bugs begin to fall off of me. Off of everyone—suddenly I can see. We’re covered in red welts, but not bugs. Not any longer. They bit us… and they died?
Again, we’re amazed.
“How—”
“Why—”
“What—”
“The Light,” I say. “It has to be our Light.” Death and life cannot coexist. Light = love. Love = life.
More confident by the second, we continue on, maneuvering through the bugs, unimpeded. Our hands drop to our sides and we spread out, though we remain in shouting distance of each other as we search for the leaves Killian dropped. We find the second and third and adjust our route accordingly.
As soon as we pass the last of the bugs and snakes, we pick up the pace. Running, running. Tree limbs reach for us, but we dodge and dive, avoiding capture. When we reach a darker part of the forest, however, thorny vines stretch from bushes, and those we can’t dodge or dive. The thorns snag our clothing and embed in our skin.
As I pull at the vines, thorns prick my fingers, and I hiss with pain. Blood wells, and my fingers throb.
“Ten,” Reed gasps out.
“I’m stuck,” Raanan calls.
I don’t… I can’t…
A scream practically rends the air in two. My head whips to the side, and I groan. One of the vines is wrapped around Dior’s throat, squeezing. The goal is clear: Take out the weak link to weaken the strongest.
Archer fights to escape the vines twined around his wrists and ankles, Lifeblood pouring from different wounds. “No!” he snarls. “Stop!”
I put every ounce of my strength into reaching the girl, no longer fighting my capture but allowing the thorns to rip through me… Lifeblood pours from me, as well.
Dior’s knees give out, and she sags to the ground. Archer is there to catch her and ease her down. Finally, I reach her. Her eyes are open and locked on Archer, her lips opening and closing as mewls of pain escape.
“Save your strength, doc.” He yanks at the vines around her neck, but they only squeeze harder, causing her eyes to bulge. “I’ll get you out of this. I will. I—”
“Love…you.” A final breath escapes her. Her head lulls to the side, those wide eyes dulling, staring at nothing.
“No. Don’t you die. Don’t you dare. I love you. We’re going to make plans.” Frantic, he feels for a pulse. He stiffens, his watery gaze lifting to meet mine, revealing a mix of rage, torment and sorrow in their copper depths.
“Archer—”
“No. This can’t be. The monkey-spiders exploded. The bugs died. How did the thorns thrive when they touched us?”
Even as he speaks, the thorns begin to wither.
When Archer realizes what’s happened—too late, far too late—he looks up at the sky and roars with pain and rage and sorrow.
He must have left a spark of Light inside her when he cleansed her of Penumbra. Light = love, love = Light. Light is poison to the creatures here. She saved us. She gave up the little Light she had to save us.
“This doesn’t matter,” I say, but my chin trembles. “She’s going to appear somewhere else in the realm, and we’re going to save her. We’re going to save them all.” I won’t believe anything less. “That’s why we’re here. We have to keep going. Okay? All right?”
“How do you know she’ll appear elsewhere?” he demands. “How?”
“I just do.” Because I have to. Nothing else is acceptable.
“Ten,” he says, and his whole body shudders. Grief encompasses him, a dark cloud—a sign of another impending storm. “I just got her back. I just cleansed her of Penumbra. She was going to defect. I would have been her Barrister, and this time she would have succeeded. We were going to talk about our future, make things official. I love her. I’ve never stopped loving her.”
Tears sting my cheeks. “I know you have every right to be upset. I know your pain.” I know he failed to save her once before, dying when she needed him most, and he thinks he’s let her down again. “But suck it up. Wallowing will get us killed. And we have to move on. Now fight!”