Wheezing, I came back from my outer-body experience. I eagerly clung to Caspian, desperate to feel someone real, my fingers tingling with strange sensations. I’d just pulled off something that only Vesta and a few other fae had been able to do—I’d reached out to a specific Hermessi, and I’d participated in the most incredible conversation ever. I’d been a fly on the wall as the rogue Hermessi had gathered to discuss the fate of their worlds and ours, given their brethren’s determination to wipe us all off the map.

“Are you okay?” Caspian asked, worriedly watching me as I took deep and greedy breaths, relishing the sensation of having a body again. It felt weird without it, I thought, in hindsight.

I nodded. “Babe, there is some crazy cosmic power at work out there.”

“You found Ramin?” Fiona asked, her eyelids somewhat droopy. Judging by the looks on her and Zane’s faces, they’d been close to falling asleep prior to my awakening.

“Yeah. And the other rogue Hermessi, too,” I answered. “It was weird. Ramin took me in, quite literally. Without a body, a spirit-walker can hide inside a Hermessi’s elemental manifestation, it seems. Add that to the list of things I never thought I’d learn myself.”

“Is he one of the good guys, then?” Zane asked.

I nodded once more. “And all of Earth’s Hermessi. Which was extra shocking because I didn’t think the elements from our dimension would wander into the In-Between like this.”

“With cult members infiltrating The Shade, I’m not surprised they’d want to help the other Hermessi,” Caspian said. “These evil elements are sending their servants to Earth’s turf. There was bound to be some kind of retaliation.”

“Makes you wonder if there would be other Hermessi willing to interact with the In-Between from our dimension,” I said. “Then again, Earth is still the only inhabited planet we know of in our dimension.”

“It wouldn’t be the only one with the conditions for life,” Zane replied. “Anyway, I think we’re too early in the game to explore that. Besides, if there are other Hermessi in the earthly dimension besides Earth’s, there’s no telling what their mindset would be. Best not poke the monster.”

“What did Ramin say?” Caspian asked me.

I took another deep breath, then proceeded to tell him everything about what Ramin had said to me, about his plea for help in return for his support during our war with Shaytan, and the extraordinary meeting of rogue Hermessi I’d listened in on. By the time I was done, they were as stunned as I was.

“Okay, so, first off, I feel I still have to say this. Kudos to our Earth Hermessi for pitching in. It cannot be easy to jump from one planet to another, let alone skip across dimensions,” Fiona said after a second’s worth of pause. “Second, the rogues are clearly in danger for working against their kind. They must have strong motivations to keep doing this, regardless of the risks.”

“The Hermessi don’t have any sense of morality, of good and evil,” Zane reminded us. “They’re not heroes or villains; they’re neutral and primordial. However, some obviously have compassion. They care about the living creatures that they, themselves, have helped spawn. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s how I’m seeing it.”

“You’re right,” I replied. “I’m most worried about those creatures they mentioned. Tampering with the natural order to create the perfect hunters. The baddies are determined to take down Taeral and his crew, and, at the risk of repeating myself, that’s great—we’re definitely on to something here. But it’s also terrifying, because I can’t help but wonder, what sort of creatures would we be talking about? Would they be worse than Ta’Zan’s Perfects and Arch-Perfects, for example?”

Caspian scoffed. “Ta’Zan’s work was purely mathematical and science-based. Clipping and connecting different DNA strands, carefully designing the ideal humanoid specimen. If the Hermessi were to do something similar, I doubt there would be such artistry involved. Nature is raw and powerful and serves to secure the survival of the species. I’d think their ‘creations’ would be more focused on hunting supernaturals rather than displaying a pristine physiognomy, for example.”

“So, freaks of nature.” Zane chuckled, though the bitterness in his tone didn’t escape me.

A sense of urgency came over me, and I pressed the call button on my earpiece and reached out to Lumi, first. She was with Emperor Tulla and Trap Mellon, stuck in a nerve-wracking vicious circle as they struggled to come up with a mass evacuation solution for Cerix—one that would avoid Inalia’s sacrifice. They weren’t making any progress. The process was too ample, and it required too much energy. Cerix didn’t have that much time left before people started to die from the decreasing temperatures.

“I’ll let Tae know,” Lumi replied once she was briefed. “You should let the rest of GASP know as well. Whatever it is that the Hermessi will throw at Tae’s crew, they might try it on other planets too. We should be prepared for anything, including freakish anomalies created solely for the purpose of hunting our agents down.”

“Yeah. Our main priority would be to figure out how to kill them,” I said.

“The Hermessi do not lack resources,” Lumi muttered. “They’d just send more. The stakes are rising, Harper, but you’ve helped us make significant progress. It’s good to know we have Hermessi allies from Earth, Calliope, Purgaris, and even Strava to work with.”

“Maybe one of them might be able to find out more about the intervention that stopped the Hermessi’s first five-million-fae ritual,” I said. “I think I’ll stick around here for a while longer, in case Ramin has more information to give us.”

“Yes, that’s interesting, to say the least,” Lumi replied. “I’d certainly like to know what was powerful enough to overthrow the natural elements and even destroy some of them. From what I remember during my communions with the Word, the universe itself is a living organism. The Hermessi are just a part of it, much like the Word. We’re mere particles, compared to them. It makes sense that there would be a force out there that’s able to stop the Hermessi when they reach such… extremes.”

“True, but the rogue Hermessi seemed worried,” I reminded her. “They’ve not seen anything to point to a repeat of that previous scenario. Whatever did them in the last time might not be around to help us.”

Lumi paused for a moment, before exhaling. “Then we’ll have to dig a little deeper, Harper. But you’re right, you should stay on Neraka for a few more days. Perhaps Ramin will have something for us. Something that might help us tip the scales in our favor.”

After our conversation ended, I reached out to Great-Grandpa Derek and Great-Grandma Sofia. They told me about the increase in affected fae, including Caia, Lucas, and Kailyn. It killed me to think of them suffering like that, reduced to dormant bodies, locked away in charmed crystal casings while the rest of the GASP federation struggled to make sense of all this and fix it before it got out of control.

Once I brought them up to speed regarding my encounter with the rogue Hermessi, hope blossomed in their voices. I didn’t need to be there reading their auras in order to realize they’d found something to hold on to.

“Then we still have a fighting chance,” Great-Grandpa Derek said.

“It’s a long shot, for now,” I replied. “Until we figure out what or who caused the interference all those eons ago. Hell, we don’t even know when that happened!”

“True, but it’s proof that the universe can still surprise us,” he insisted. “It’s something we need to take into consideration. If we find a Hermessi that’s informed and willing to tell us about that incident, we might be able to do something about the ritual now.”

“Like I told Lumi, I’ll be standing by for an update from Ramin. He did promise he’d tell me more once he found out what happened during the first ritual,” I said.

A crackling sound caught my attention. It was followed by Lumi’s voice. “We’ve got a problem.” She sounded alarmed and shaky. “I can’t get a hold of Tae or anyone else in their crew.”

Caspian looked at me, his brow furrowed. He’d patched into the general comms line, and he’d heard everything we’d said so far, including Lumi’s interjection. Without taking my eyes off him, I spoke to Lumi.

“When was the last time they checked in?” I asked.

“Right before they entered Lemnos Woods,” Lumi answered. “Nothing since.”

“When was that?” Zane asked, also patched into the general line.

“About four hours ago, more or less,” Lumi said. “They were due to persuade the Brotherhood of the Shadow into giving them access to the original library. And I doubt that a bunch of rebellious Cerixians would do our crew in, even with Raphael and Taeral’s fire abilities on mute, since Brann’s death.”

Dread gripped me by the throat, as the worst thoughts began snaking their way through my already-frayed mind. Caspian felt it, too. We were deeply connected, after all. We experienced each other’s emotions, and that wasn’t always a pleasant feeling.

“You’re thinking the Hermessi got to them,” he murmured.

“They can teleport themselves out of harm’s way,” Lumi cut in. “It’s our only advantage against the Hermessi, as far as Taeral and his crew are concerned. It’s why the elements are pulling out all the stops to chase them—oh, crap.”

I could almost hear the wheels spinning in her head, as she reached the same conclusion as me. I pinched the bridge of my nose and took another deep breath, in a bid to restore my temper and keep my head clear.

“If they’re dealing with the Hermessi’s monsters, it might explain why we can’t reach them at all,” Lumi mumbled. “I mean, we don’t know what those creatures can do, but… one could easily assume they were made to stop Taeral and the others.”

“Keep trying to contact them, Lumi,” Great-Grandpa Derek said after a tense pause. “It might just be a fluke. If you still can’t reach them, try going after them, but please don’t go alone.”

“There’s no other GASP agent for me to work with,” Lumi replied.

“Take Cerixians with you. It doesn’t matter. I just don’t want you alone anywhere with the Hermessi,” he said firmly.

Lumi scoffed. “You want me to use the Cerixians as temporary shields in case I’m attacked, huh?”

I didn’t like the sound of it, either, but I knew my great-grandfather well enough to understand his reasoning. He voiced it, as well. “It’s not like you have another option there. We could send an additional team out there, but by the time they get there, it might be too late for Tae and his crew. Time is of the essence, Lumi, and I’m sure that a swamp witch as powerful as you can go after them and hold her own against the Hermessi, if necessary. And with minimal loss of life, I might add.”

“Did you ever think you might be overestimating me?” Lumi replied dryly.

A second passed before Great-Grandpa Derek answered. “Not in a million years.”

The uncertainty of Taeral and the crew’s fates was drilling holes into my stomach and sending crippling aches through my heart. But Great-Grandpa Derek was right. Lumi’s options were limited, and we were already stretched too thin out here with the ritual and the fallen fae. He was right to trust her, though. Lumi could move mountains and do a lot of damage, if she had to—maybe enough to get the Hermessi off Taeral’s back, even. I knew it required a lot of energy, too.

My only hope was that Lumi was now aware of what the Hermessi were up to. Maybe that would help her with some kind of foresight in whatever decision she made, going forward. In the meantime, I was left to wait for Ramin, simmering in the fiery heat of Infernis and praying he might be able to tell us more about the cosmic event that had stopped the Hermessi’s first ritual attempt.