I found Ruby in our bedroom. Her back was to me, and she didn’t turn around as I entered, too engrossed with staring at a dark, military-style outfit laid out on the bed.
“What’s that?” I asked.
She jumped, evidently surprised that there was someone else in the room with her, and then relaxed when she saw who it was.
“It’s a GASP uniform. My mom brought a spare in her pack. She says it will fit me.”
“Have you tried it on?” I asked, wondering why she seemed so distant and thoughtful.
“No,” she replied, letting out a huge sigh.
I walked over to get a closer look. The outfit didn’t look too daunting to me—aside from all the blackness. Just pants, a top, boots and a belt. It looked entirely bizarre from my point of view—the material seemed weird, but I guessed this was modern stuff from her world and all the other members of GASP were wearing it.
“What’s wrong with it?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“Well, something’s wrong. Is it the battle?”
She looked at me directly, surprised by the question.
“No, it’s not that. I guess…Well, I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life. I just thought I’d be better prepared for it—like, more training and stuff. The way it normally works is that the younger members start off on small cases and then work their way up. I suppose this feels like diving in at the deep end…and…I don’t know! I feel like I’m not ready—I’ve not earned it, how am I going to do it justice?” she cried, her face becoming redder and redder as she made her speech.
“I heard that Benedict and the others are going to look for the jinn. If you don’t feel ready, then maybe that would be a better plan?” I asked hopefully. I was having second thoughts about Ruby joining the battle—I didn’t want her to endanger her life, not again.
“No,” she replied stubbornly. “I want to go. I just don’t want to let my family or friends down by not being good enough—”
“You won’t,” I replied firmly. “You’ll be amazing. You always are.”
She nudged me.
“Thanks, Ash.”
“I would like to say something though, and I want you to listen.”
She looked at me, her glance open and willing.
“I’m listening.”
“I don’t want you to fight today.” She opened her mouth to protest, but I continued, “I don’t want you in harm’s way. What you were saying about GASP is true—you would have had training, and more importantly, you would be supernatural. And you’re not. You’re very much a human, and breakable. Will you at least consider what I said about the hunt for the jinn?”
I thought she would argue with me, and I prepared for the onslaught. Instead, she wrapped her arms around my waist, leaning her head against my chest.
“I have to do this, Ash.”
“No, you don’t,” I replied desperately. “Everyone would understand—be relieved, even. Hazel too.”
“No, I have to do this for me. For Benedict, Julian, Hazel and the rest of the kids who were kidnapped from Earth. I lived through all of this… I want to be there at the end.”
I kissed the top of her head, smelling the sweet fragrance of her hair. I had half known that my plea wouldn’t work, but I had to say it anyway.
“Are you angry?” she asked tentatively.
“No.” I smiled. “I didn’t expect you to say any different—you’re just one frustrating, stubborn lady.”
“Who you proposed to.” She laughed, prodding me.
“I did. Hence why I want you safe. You’re my future. I want to safeguard you as best as I can, so that after all this darkness there will be a light to guide me back.”
She held me tighter, not breaking away until I lifted her face gently upward into a kiss.
“Why don’t you try it on?” I asked, a little breathlessly a while later.
She grinned.
“Okay, be back in a second.”
She picked up the clothes and ran into the bathroom. I didn’t hear anything for a long time.
“Ruby?” I called. “Are you all right in there?”
“Yeah,” she called back, her voice faint.
I was about to open the door when she stepped back out into the bedroom. Her blonde hair was tied up into a high ponytail, her back straight, her slim but muscled arms complemented by the top and her long legs encased in the black fabric that outlined her taut frame. The outfit was tight, fitting her proportions perfectly.
Wow.
“Um,” I stuttered, “you look amazing.”
“Thanks!” She blushed shyly, giving me a self-conscious twirl.
I wanted to applaud whoever’d made that outfit—maybe send them a handwritten thank you note.
“We should get going,” I said reluctantly.
“I’m ready,” she replied, squaring her shoulders.
We left the room together, our hands entwined as we made our way back downstairs to meet the rest of the army. I didn’t want to let her go.
Tejus and Hazel were waiting for us at the bottom of the stairwell. Hazel grinned as she laid eyes on Ruby, nodding appreciatively at her outfit, and then glancing down at her own. She was wearing the same get-up, her dagger held in a sheath at her side with another broadsword swung over her back. She held out another sword and dagger to Ruby.
“Here, I got you these.”
“Thanks,” Ruby replied, hugging her friend. “How are you feeling?”
“Hungry,” replied Hazel, looking guilty and breaking away from the embrace.
“It’s a good thing,” Ruby replied. “Hopefully we’ll bump into Jenus.”
“Let’s not hope that,” Tejus muttered, “not if he’s been given powers by the entity—he could actually be dangerous for once in his life.”
“Have you and Derek worked out the formation yet?” I asked Tejus. He nodded, focusing in on me, but leaving a hand on the small of Hazel’s back. He obviously didn’t want her out of his sight. I knew exactly how he felt.
“The dragons and Hawks will lead a small division of ministers on vultures. The rest of them will be joined by the jinni queen and her team as well as the witches and warlocks. Their only job is going to be to try to get close enough to close the portal back up so neither the entity nor his army can escape. The guards will be split into four regiments: one with you, another with me, and then one each with Ben and Derek.”
“The villagers?” I asked.
“Staying with the kids,” he confirmed.
Good. I didn’t want them anywhere near this.
“Jenney too?”
Tejus shook his head. “Jenney’s insisting on fighting, Ash.”
I grimaced. “Where is she?”
“Outside with the guards. She wants to be in your regiment. But if you want her back here, I can insist on it.”
“I’ll deal with it,” I muttered, moving my way through the crowd and out onto the entrance steps. I scanned the grounds for Jenney, and found her at the far end of the gardens, chatting with some guards.
Furious, I stormed out.
“Jenney!” I yelled once I was close enough. “What in Nevertide’s name are you doing?”
She glared at me, color rising in her cheeks. “Ash!”
“Don’t ‘Ash’ me! What are you doing? You’re meant to be staying behind with the kids. This is ridiculous!”
“I’m fighting—and you can’t stop me.”
“I’m EMPEROR, of course I can stop you!” I bellowed.
First Ruby and now this! Why was everyone so eager to go out and meet their death?
“Ash,” she replied, trying to keep her tone level and reasonable, “I’m doing this. You can’t stop me—really you can’t. I deserve a chance to help. These are my people too, you know, and I want to be beside them when we face the entity. It’s been great looking after the kids, but now it’s time that I did my bit for Nevertide.”
I practically growled at her.
&nbs
p; She was impossible.
“I’ll look after her, Emperor Ashbik—on my life,” one of the guards said, stepping forward.
“Me too,” replied another.
“And me.”
“As will I, on my life.”
Four guards knelt before me.
“With your lives,” I barked, glaring at Jenney, who was looking irritatingly smug. I stormed off, vowing that I’d be watching her throughout the battle. Two people, then, whom I would be constantly worried about as we marched against the entity. It made me feel far from comfortable.
“Did you speak to her?” Tejus asked when I returned to the palace.
“Yes. She’s coming with us.”
Tejus nodded, looking at me with concern.
“Let’s just get going,” I snapped.
Derek and Ben met us by the terrace, and we all walked together over to the stables. We mounted the bull-horses in silence, each of us focused on the task that lay ahead.
“Tejus.” Derek broke the silence once we’d left the yard. “You lead the first regiment. If there’s any sign of it becoming…difficult—please send my granddaughter back.”
“You know I will,” he replied quietly.
We rode down to the barriers, the armies ready and waiting behind us. Ruby and Hazel trotted up a moment later, followed by the rest of GASP.
“Ready?” Tejus asked me.
I nodded.
“Open the barriers!” he called to the ministers. A split second later they were torn down, leaving the pathway open.
The battle was about to begin.
Tejus
We set off at a quick pace, the bull-horse beneath me quivering with anticipation. I could hear the thundering of hooves behind me and the fast steps of the guards who weren’t riding. Just ahead of us, but keeping pace, the vultures, dragons and Hawks soared through the ripped sky.
Hazel rode next to me, but I hadn’t forgotten her grandfather’s request. The moment it looked like the shadow army might be approaching, she would be sent back. Already I felt wary; the trees either side of us were so still, not even a breeze strong enough to sway the topmost branches. It felt like we were the sole survivors of this land—that there was nothing around us but death and destruction.
I wondered what would happen if we were to fail. Would Nevertide become home to these creatures? A dimension that was nothing more than an empty dark graveyard that bore little resemblance to what it once had been—all evidence of the sentries’ time here destroyed completely? And if that was to be the case, would our kind die out and cease to exist?
“Tejus?” Hazel spoke my name, bringing me back to the present. I glanced over at her, seeing concern in her wide eyes.
“Sorry,” I replied. I must have looked brooding and tense. “I’m fine,” I reassured her. “Are you?”
“Scared, but okay.”
“I won’t let you be harmed,” I promised.
She gave me a small smile. “You can’t guarantee that, but I’m not just scared for myself. It’s everyone else I’m worried about—you, Benedict, Ruby, Ash, my parents. The list goes on.”
I opened my mouth to tell her that she needn’t be worried, that she should focus on the task ahead, but I thought better of it. It was too hypocritical given my own thoughts. She would worry anyway, and she would be scared—and there was nothing I could do about it, no matter how much I wished I could.
The main road that ran through Nevertide appeared ahead, and I pulled my bull-horse to a stop.
“It’s time for Benedict and the others to leave us,” I told Hazel. She nodded, dismounting from her saddle. I joined her on the ground, and a few moments later we were met by her and Julian’s parents, and the small group of humans, jinn and half-Hawk boys that would be going off to find the mysterious jinni—the only creature to ever gain control over our enemy.
I watched as they hugged their children goodbye. It must have been hard for the parents to watch their children leave, not knowing if they’d ever see them again. I had never been overly familiar with such a bond—such easy familiarity between children and parents. My own mother had loved me greatly, but we were royal sentries—there wasn’t often the warmth between us that these creatures shared.
Benedict and Hazel were last to say their goodbyes, Hazel’s eyes bright with unshed tears.
“Be careful,” she told him.
“You too. Remember that you’re already a hero for killing Queen Trina, so I figure you can take it easy on this one,” Benedict replied.
“Right,” Hazel agreed, trying to smile.
To my surprise, Benedict turned to me.
“Tejus, I know you’ll look after my sister, but make sure you don’t die. You’re all right, really, even if you did kidnap us and then turn my sister into a sentry. I’m kind of glad it all happened, so, yeah.”
As soon as he finished, he flung himself forward, his small human arms wrapping around my waist in a brief hug. Not knowing what to do, I gently patted him on the head, looking to Hazel for direction.
She just smiled, delighted.
A moment later he released me, his face slightly pink from embarrassment, and turned on his heel to leave with the others.
“I think I would have been less surprised if he stabbed me,” I murmured to Hazel.
She shook her head. “He likes you. He looks up to you.”
I doubted that very much, but if it made her happy to believe it, then it was fine with me.
“Let’s get going.” I turned to the others. The vampires quickly dispersed back into the ranks, Rose’s eyes looking bright with unshed tears. Hazel and I returned to our bull-horses. The children and supernaturals quickly vanished off from the path, using the undergrowth for cover till they reached the northern parts of Nevertide, as I’d instructed earlier. The only truly uncharted territory of Nevertide was the Dauoa forest, and the mountain range that lay at the back of it. I had my misgivings about sending the children that way, but had confidence that the Hawks and the jinn would protect them. I really didn’t see another way.
We continued the journey, slowing our pace a little as we reached the main road. I felt like we were more exposed here, and though the forests still provided cover on each side of the track, I couldn’t escape the feeling that we were being watched.
I glanced over at Hazel, wondering if it was paranoia on my part, or if others could feel it. She was looking out into the depths of the forest on her right, her body rigid.
“Something’s coming,” she whispered.
“True Sight?” I asked, looking in the same direction. I could see nothing but acres of dense trees, gray tendrils of mist winding their way along the bottom of the forest floor.
“No,” she replied, her eyes still fixed in the distance, “just a feeling.”
The bull-horses were becoming jumpy too. I scanned the sky over the trees, looking for a shadow looming in the distance, but I saw nothing.
“Let’s just keep going,” I replied. “It might be because we’re approaching the cove. Maybe it knows we’re coming.”
I steadied my bull-horse, placing a hand on its neck, and then dug in my heels. The pace picked up, and I could hear the army behind me following suit.
Suddenly, the bull-horse reared up, whinnying in fright. Hazel’s did the same, and I leaned over to pull hard on the reins. We both came to a standstill. A few moments of silence followed, then I heard the hoofbeats of Ash riding to the front of the line, followed by Derek, Ben and Aiden.
“What’s going on?” Derek called.
“I don’t know,” I replied. There was nothing to indicate why the creatures behaved so oddly—the sensation of being watched remained, but other than that, the land was still.
“I can’t see anything,” Ash replied, turning his bull-horse around on the path. “Has there been anything—”
He broke off suddenly as we all heard the sound of undergrowth being whipped back—something was headed toward us, moving fast. Before Ash or I h
ad a chance to use True Sight, there was a loud shriek and a creature appeared before us, coming from the left-hand side of the pathway, staggering into the middle of the road.
It was a woman, naked, covered with a thick black liquid the consistency of tar. As I took in the spectacle, I noticed that the tar was seeping from crude rune carvings on her skin.
“Abelle?” Ash whispered.
The apothecary?
She was unrecognizable, her face distorted in sheer terror and rage, her mouth gaping open and her eyes bulging as she stared at us, unblinking, trapped in her own madness.
“The master!” she cried, holding out her hands toward us in a silent plea…for help?
“Oh, my God,” Hazel murmured next to me.
“The master is evil! Dark! H-He was promised as a benevolent power,” she screeched at us. “He LIED! They all lied! He is coming for you, and you won’t survive. He will DESTROY!”
Her wild eyes met mine. She vomited, black tar spilling from her mouth. Her body spasmed, twitching grotesquely. Then her eyes closed, and she dropped, collapsing into a heap of flesh on the ground.
“Abelle!” Ash cried, leaping toward her.
“Ash,” I warned, not wanting him to touch the body.
He ignored me, dropping down next to her.
“Forgive me,” he murmured in anguish. “I should have known—I should have stopped you.”
“Ash.” Ruby approached him slowly. “There’s nothing you could have done!”
He looked up at her, his face pale.
“How did I not know about her being an Acolyte? About any of this? I knew her my whole life. I was so sure that she…” He stopped, unwilling to finish the sentence.
“I think she did love you,” Ruby replied gently. “She just believed that this was the best thing for Nevertide. She got it wrong.”
Ash stood up, his head bowed, almost as if he was ashamed to face us.
The jinni queen moved forward, breaking the ranks. She shook her head sadly at the sentry on the floor. The other two witches and the warlock, Ibrahim, followed.
“This is dark indeed,” she whispered, crouching down to get a better look at the seeping runes.