Tired at the end of the day, Verim, Shin and Wendell got a hotel room almost as soon as they arrived at Westbrook and turned in for the night without making further discussion. They then got an early start the next morning, with the Holdians purchasing a couple pairs of cheap coats to fit in better with their surroundings, despite their visit likely being a short one. As the temperature had dipped overnight, they also needed the coats just to keep warm, while Wendell and Scud seemed used to the weather.

  “This is a small town,” Wendell said over an outdoor restaurant’s breakfast. “The kind of place where everyone knows each other, at least to some degree. I’d say there’d be quite a few people who know of Harmony.”

  “So where should we look?” Shin wondered as she finished off her French toast. “We have to keep questions easy, and the sooner we get an answer the better. We’ll stand out if we go around asking everyone we see.”

  “We can try a library again. I am used to finding people, so perhaps you should just leave it up to me for the questions.”

  “Another library?” Verim replied. “Maybe we should find some old librarian. Chances are they’d have lived in this town for quite a while.”

  “Possibly. And as Shin said, I’ll keep the questions as casual as I can, if simply to not compound our situation. If Harmony is still in this town, I do not think it’ll be difficult to find her.”

  After breakfast, the three walked over to the nearest library, which had just opened for the day. Before going inside, they watched the early risers as they went about on their daily routines. Many greeted one another, and the local atmosphere became fairly apparent.

  Like even the biggest Cities in Aurra, the town still had a sense of community. It might make finding someone easier, but it likely would also make the three noticeable as total strangers.

  After Wendell dropped off Scud in a hedge again, they continued into the library, where it was much warmer. Opting to settle in a bit first before they began with the questions, they flipped through a local news archive for any more information about Harmony.

  “There’s a chance we could find some last names,” Shin realized as they went through the town’s small newspaper. “A good chance, actually. If Harmony was something of a story in all of Maine, then I’d expect the local paper of a small town like this one might publicize her adoption.”

  “Good point,” Verim agreed. “Even if we don’t see anything outright, we might track down her foster parents through other articles.”

  “And I think I might’ve just found something,” Wendell said.

  Shin and Verim scooted over and read off the frontpage article he had found. Above a picture of a young pair holding a baby were the words, “Local Couple Adopt Baby Harmony”.

  “Just looks like a blurb to me,” Shin said. “But the two had their photos taken. Probably felt more comfortable about just keeping it local. A Mr. and Mrs. Carthy, huh…”

  “Pretty standard last names,” Verim sighed.

  “Yes, but if you actually read the blurb, you’d see that it gives their first names too. The father is Louis Carthy, a high school history professor. See how easy that was? We can probably find this guy within hours.”

  “But we don’t know if they still have a house here,” Wendell reminded. “And we still have to find out where Harmony actually lives.”

  “Yeah, but I’m more interested in finding the father first—which should also be easy, don’t you think?”

  “What are we going to tell him?”

  “I don’t know, but we can’t just steal his daughter. We may not even need to. If we at least see her and know where she is…”

  “This child could be of vast importance, Shin…” Wendell replied.

  “Yeah, she can create a demon with claws the Guard could use to take over this world,” Verim added. “Might they be after her, as well?”

  “Likely. Let’s see if anyone knows this Louis Carthy,” Wendell said. “Actually, if he is still in local education, this library might be all we need.”

  “All right, why don’t we start with the head librarian, at the desk right over there? Bet she’s heard of him.”

  Wendell and Shin looked over to see the elderly, spectacled woman who fit right into the typical small-town library very well.

  “Even though our sacred quest is easier now, I’ll still leave the questions up to you, Wendell,” Shin said wryly, sporting a small grin.

  “Yes, yes, fine. Shame that it might be so easy, though… I really had a good series of inquiries prepared.”

  They walked over with Wendell in the lead. As soon as he was up to the desk, the librarian looked up from her computer. Wendell removed his hat and held it at his side in a gentlemanly manner.

  “Yes? Can I help you?” she asked kindly.

  “Ah yes, hello. Um… I was wondering—does a Louis Carthy still teach at the high school?”

  “Last I’ve heard, yes. He has something of a reputation in Westbrook. Were you looking for him?”

  “He’s my… cousin. And these are my, ah, children…” he added tactlessly. “We haven’t seen each other for years. I’m looking for him.”

  “You can try the school, though classes just started for the day.”

  “If I may ask, how’d he earn a reputation?”

  “Oh, it’s not him really, it’s his daughter.” She lowered her voice to just above a whisper and continued, “Poor dear. They took her to a doctor, I believe, but as far as I’ve heard, she never really improved. But when you meet Louis, you’d never expect it. He hasn’t changed much at all.”

  “What kind of doctor?” Shin replied. “Is she really that ill?”

  “I really shouldn’t go into details—it’s none of my business, of course. And I’m not a gossip. But if you’re related to Louis, then I suppose it’s something of a family matter for you.”

  “Thank you,” Wendell said. “I suppose we’ll go and see if we can catch him after school is out. Do you know what class he teaches, and when the day ends?”

  “World history, if I’m not mistaken. The school day ends at two.”

  “Okay. Thank you for the information.”

  “Not a problem, dear.”

  Keeping their smiles, the three coolly left the library, Scud running up to his partner almost as soon as he stepped out.

  “Did you really have to add in that bit about us being your kids?” Verim sighed. “I mean, you’re up there sure, but Shin and I are adults, you know. If just young ones, appearance-wise.”

  “Thanks for reminding me of my age. I just thought it’d be better to make up something before she started asking.”

  “We probably took this all too seriously.” Shin relaxed and laughed a little. “It’s a small town with carefree people. We acted like the feds were going to come after us. And, you know, part of my training is to always take a step back while running missions on Earth. I guess it’s just the stress.”

  “Our mission here may seem small and easy, but for Aurra, much more is at stake here,” Wendell replied. “This is what Earthen agents often keep in mind. In any case… I suppose we have time to kill, don’t we?”

  “When are we going to see this Carthy guy?” Verim wondered.

  “Let’s catch him as he’s leaving. We don’t want to interrupt his class, right?” Shin noted. “But I doubt he’s just going to let three strangers follow him home and talk to his kid. I really don’t want to get aggressive here if I don’t have to, especially since there’s a child involved…”

  Wendell looked at his shoulder cat. “I may have a solution.”

  “Oh, that’s right—you could send kitty to follow him home, couldn’t you?” Verim replied. “But won’t that take a while? He’d have to come all the way back to us after finding where Harmony is, right?”

  “I can see what he can. That is the ability our group developed.”

  The two looked at him curiously, Shin asking, “Wait, really?”

  “I will explain the Watchers Elite over lunch. Where shall we go?”

  “Um, Wendell… we just ate an hour ago,” Verim reminded.

  “Hunger finds me again easily. Let’s eat somewhere fancier this time. I will leave Scud outside again, seeing as how Earthen humans have not tightened their bonds and trust with animals as Aurrians have.”

  “Geez…” Verim whispered to Shin. “This guy reminds me of an older Garder, who likes animals a whole lot.”

  “Yeah, I see what you mean.”

  “Let’s take our time and find some place nice. By the time our food arrives, two hours will have passed between the meals,” Wendell continued.

  “You don’t have to keep buying us food,” Shin sighed. “And weren’t you in a hurry to see your supervisor?”

  “A hurry, yes, but I can afford another day or two of waiting. I find your objective more interesting than most of the assignments I’ve been on.”

  “You want to be with us, because we’re interesting,” Shin groaned.

  “He’s paying for food and lodging, why complain?” Verim replied.

  “Fine, fine—but Wendell, you’d better tell us all about yourself. I don’t like having someone I still consider a stranger as a part of my team.”

  “Ha, okay. I will share, but prepare for disappointment. I’m not that interesting. Heck, Scud probably has a more intriguing story than I do.”

  Shin couldn’t think of a way to continue the strange conversation, so she simply bowed to Wendell’s wishes of another meal.

  “The Watchers Elite, yes…” Wendell began, his large, fancy lunch already half gone. “We were an animalect group, as I’ve already told you…”

  “Were? Are you still around?” Verim wondered.

  “Not as an organized company. We still know each other, but we all work mostly freelance. The Guard doesn’t have much use for us now.”

  “And what was it that you did to begin with?” Shin asked, just slightly impatient after waiting to hear Wendell’s story.

  “We acted as advanced surveillance throughout Aurra, like living CCTV systems, which have become widespread in Earth cities. We had developed the ability to share eyes with our animal partners. Using a mind technique, we can tap into their optical nerves. No one ever really considered being spied on by animals, so it was a good partnership.”

  “Oh, wow,” Verim replied. “Something like that would really complement an animalect-animal relationship.”

  “It did, and our partners were no ordinary beasts picked up from the streets, either—they were bred for the position, and had to be taught how to use the ability on their end, as well. We would work with the local military, and on occasion with the Guard, to capture criminals. Aurrians rarely attack animals, and with all kinds occupying a City at any given moment, we accept them as creatures we share space with. Our partners would even be petted or fed by the very people we sent them to spy on.

  “Naturally, crime in Aurra is easier to prevent. Murder is obviously almost never a problem, and theft is mostly pointless outside of credits, so it leaves most crime to organized groups and their usual activities. Making propaganda against the Guard, illegally installing alchemagi pebbles, taking up the position of an eraser, et cetera. We did our jobs well, and were never revealed to the public. Animals became a great resource for the Guard for a while. Although those times are gone, there are many of us left, some of whom have raised their children in the art. That was over twenty years ago, when the Guard let go of the project. I’ve been an Earth agent since.”

  “What about your old cat Twig?” Shin asked.

  “Ah yes. The Guard, in a show of appreciation for our service, bred a few animals for us—which turned out to be more refined than even our own, making them valued commodities. Scud here is the offspring of the cat handed to me directly from the king, back when he didn’t take up something of a power-hungry, insane Howard Hughes personality.”

  “Oh, trust me, he was always rotten even before he decided to put it out there in public, and we still don’t know what his real goals are. From what our friends who had a chance encounter with him earlier told us, he is in possession of both nova alchemagi and a pair of the claws we have.”

  “My, my… Sometimes I wish I could visit Aurra more often. I’m in a position where I can find information on the Guard, too.”

  “You’d make a favorable addition to the rebellion,” Verim replied. “I think you should join.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think I really understand this war in Aurra. What is it for, exactly? Does Rivia even truly know?”

  “What isn’t it for?” Shin said. “Think about it. We’ve been building up reasons for thousands of years. This was bound to happen sooner or later. But sending people to the Fragmented… That was the spark.”

  “New Aurrian transfers are really going to be confused about the state of affairs, aren’t they? Newsouls would never expect a war is going on in what they first conceive to be the afterlife, and returners would come back to an Aurra they don’t recognize.”

  “But it’s all hopefully for the better. We could end judgment and bring about a unity… I don’t know how exactly or in what ways everything will operate, but I think humanity has progressed past the old ways.”

  “I’ll have to get back to Aurra before I decide anything, and see if my supervisor is still alive and if he is, what side he’s fighting on. In any case, that pretty much sums up my story and that of the Watcher Elite. Told you there wasn’t much to tell.”

  Verim shrugged. “It was somewhat interesting. Kind of makes me want to pick up a permanent animal partner. There’s another, younger animalect in our group who has a dog now.”

  “Problem is that we’re Holdians, Verim. Can’t really keep an animal at your side if you’re often going back there.”

  “Yeah, I know…”

  “I suppose we should get to the school,” Wendell said and quickly finished his lunch. “If we miss him now, we’ll probably have to wait until Monday to see him again. A waste of time and money.”

  “Finding a high school professor before the school week ends… Are all your Earth assignments this exciting?” Shin wondered.

  “Usually, no.” Wendell laughed lightly as he paid the bill.

  After asking for directions, the travelers headed over to the school on foot, still having plenty of time to intercept the man who was hopefully the one they were seeking. Following the small tour of the town, Wendell hid Scud under his jacket, and they entered the central school building. The halls were emptied, but by peering through the doors’ windows, they could see the students, most of whom were ready to leave for the day.

  “Oh, wait. I forgot about winter break,” Shin noted. “This is probably the last day of class for, what is it in this country… Two weeks?”

  “Two weeks?” Verim groaned. “Do you know what that means? If we don’t see Mr. Carthy now, we might have to wait around for that long, Shin! T-this is a disaster—if we fail here, we may return to an Aurra which lies in ruins, ruled only by the demons a young girl can manifest!”

  “… Um, your friend—is he joking around again?” Wendell asked.

  “What do you think? I told you he has a tendency of acting like this,” Shin murmured.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Verim sighed. “Well, you have to admit, all of this is kind of silly. Aurrian warriors reduced to reporters in search for a story.”

  “I see what you mean, but you should think about the real gravity of the situation. If this girl can make another demon, then we’re—”

  The bell rang, ten minutes before the time the librarian had given.

  “Better get back,” Verim suggested. “High school students starting winter break? Together, their power is capable of destroying the Guard.”

  “Verim, sometimes I worry about you,” Shin groaned as the three took ‘defensive positions’ against the hallway walls.

  Students rushed out, and the noise level went from a quiet wind to a loud squall within seconds. Few paid the three strange visitors much notice as they went through their lockers, talked about their plans for the break, and made individual efforts to not spend a moment more at school.

  After five minutes, the halls were mostly empty again, and staff and faculty were beginning to come out from hiding. The three waited patiently by Mr. Carthy’s door, peeking in occasionally just to make sure he was still at his desk. When he finally stepped outside and locked his door, he took notice of the Aurrians before they introduced themselves.

  “Can I… help you?” he asked, looked at Wendell, then back at the Holdians. “You two aren’t students, are you? I’ve never seen you before.”

  “Actually, Mr. Carthy, we wanted to, well, talk to you about something,” Shin said.

  “But who exactly are you three?”

  “I know how this is going to sound… and we really don’t have any right to be asking about your… Well, first of all, I’m Shin, this is Verim, and this is Wendell. I think you should at least know our names before we talk.”

  “What is it that you want?”

  “Sir, we were wondering about your daughter,” Wendell explained.

  “What about her?” He had turned somewhat defensive.

  “Her name is Harmony, right?” Shin asked.

  “Are you reporters or something?”

  “No, we just—”

  “Because if you are, you’re not doing your job very well. Her name is Rayna. And I’m getting tired of people asking about her. They want to know about her past, and then they hear rumors about how she is now and want to find out about that, as well. Can’t you people just leave us alone?”

  “Sir, please… We’re not reporters, and we’re not trying to prod into your family’s personal life. I wish we could tell you everything, but the truth is… Well, we know where she came from. We’re keeping it from the authorities right now, but if we could just see her, I’m sure—”

  “I don’t know what you want or what you’re saying. Rayna is our responsibility, and I won’t have anyone question our parenting. Especially some strangers from out of town. I’m sorry, but I can’t continue this discussion. Please, don’t send anyone else after us.”

  Mr. Carthy, still keeping some of his composure, all but stormed past them and headed off to the parking lot.

  “That… went pretty well,” Verim commented. “We’re just making friends left and right, aren’t we?”

  “Verim, please, not now,” Shin muttered. “Really, how was this going to go well? At least we got to meet the father before having to take matters into our own hands.”

  Wendell opened up his jacket, and Scud leapt out onto the hall floor. He knelt down to his partner, shared a few words, and tapped Scud’s head with his index finger. Scud then ran off, following Louis at a distance.

  “Okay, I’ve got everything he sees in my left eye,” Wendell said.

  “Will he really be able to chase after a car?” Verim wondered.

  “He should be able to keep track of it easily in town. We’ll let Scud do his work and follow at a further distance. Mind you, once we get to Mr. Carthy’s house, we’re just going to end up having a much worse meeting. Are you really going to take his child away from him, Shin?”

  “Only if I have to. I’ll make that call after I see the child myself.”

  Ahead, Scud had slipped through the doors after Mr. Carthy right before they closed, and the humans began their own pursuit. Wendell focused his alchemagi on his connection with Scud to boost the optical signal. He watched as the cat followed Mr. Carthy to his car, and then began running after it while minding the traffic.

  “Ha, Scud can still make an effort despite his age,” Wendell said as the three left the school. “We have to keep within about a half-mile’s distance, or else the signal gets a bit weak. Let’s try to keep up.”

  “Should we run?” Verim asked.

  “Have you ever tried keeping up with a cat? Fast little buggers.”

  Shin and Verim followed Wendell closely, leaving the school grounds and going over the town’s streets. Scud was nowhere in sight, but Wendell assured the two that the connection to the cat’s good eye was clear, and that his partner was doing a good job tracking Mr. Carthy’s compact car. They picked up their pace to a sprint when no one was looking, and walked briskly whenever they went by other pedestrians.

  Soon they had ventured out of the downtown area and found themselves on somewhat of a rural road among trees and rolling hills. The distance was still enough that Scud nor the car he tailed could be seen, but after a few minutes, Wendell slowed his walk and relaxed a bit.

  “He’s found the house,” he reported. “He’s hanging back now and taking in the scenery to help us find the exact place.”

  “Okay…” Shin took a breath. “We’ll make it up as we go along.”

  They stopped at the end of a driveway after spotting Scud panting at the side of the road. Wendell picked up his tired companion and placed him on his shoulder. Mr. Carthy’s parked car was ahead—as was a young girl in a red jacket, sitting on porch steps. The door behind her was open, but her parents weren’t visible through the windows; they weren’t nearby.

  “That has to be her,” Shin said as they ducked behind a bush. “Wendell, can you get a reading on her, or whatever you call it?”

  “Yes, one moment.”

  He closed his eyes and took in the surrounding space. From his distance, he could just barely pick up the parents, but the child on the porch… something was already different with her.

  “I… can’t explain what I’m seeing,” Wendell murmured after opening his eyes. “That girl… it’s as if there’s something… not human that’s part of her. Like a swirling dark mass of something.”

  “Sounds scary, but it’s definitely the kid we’re looking for,” Verim replied. “I say we open a tear and run up and grab her.”

  “Don’t even joke, you know we can’t just do that,” Shin argued. “Let’s just… see if we can’t introduce ourselves. Maybe she’ll feel some kind of connection to us. From what the librarian said, I got the feeling that the demon was affecting her in some way, in this world.”

  Wendell and Verim nodded in agreement, and the three slowly made their way up to the house, each trying to look as friendly as possible.

  “She’s going to think we’re a bunch of freaks…” Verim muttered.

  “Shut up…” Shin growled back.

  Once the three came close enough to her across the front yard, Rayna noticed them suddenly and jumped a little.

  “W-who are you?” she asked, startled.

  “Didn’t mean to scare you,” Shin replied. “You’re Rayna, right?”

  “Y-yes…”

  “Rayna, my name is Shin, and these two are my friends. Now, I don’t really know how to say this, but… We’re…”

  Rayna noticed Scud. “Your cat doesn’t look well, mister.”

  “Well, he’s blind in one eye,” Wendell replied.

  “Is that why he’s like a pirate cat? But he also looks sick.”

  Wendell looked over at the animal on his shoulder, and saw that his good eye was frozen in place, the pupil fully expanded as if he were terrified of something—and his body was completely stiff.

  “Scud? You okay, boy?” Wendell asked worryingly.

  A bursting pain tore through Wendell’s head. The feeling was so great that it felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him, and he fell to his knees. He quickly realized that Verim and Shin were feeling the same thing. The pain peaked and scrambled their thoughts, all while a blinding flash of white overtook their vision. The agony was greater than even the worst of migraines, and it was completely debilitating.

  “What is this?” Shin managed to get out through the unexplained attack. “My head… I can’t even stand…”

  Rayna stood up and watched the three strangers, feeling worried about them despite their inexplicable appearance.

  “Feels… like a mind blast attack…” Wendell moaned. “But… where’s it coming from?”

  Directly in front of them, a glowing line appeared and expanded into a portal opening. Shin thought for sure that it would be the king, but it was perhaps someone even worse. She’d heard the stories, but never really believed them. Could the robed figure that had just stepped out from Aurra really be so powerful that his alchemagi permeated the fabric of the worlds?

  As the portal closed, the attack ended, although the lingering pain was still strong enough to keep the three on the ground. They looked up at the tall figure with the long, dark brown hair and the mechanical eye cover on the left side of his face. He looked down at them, expressionless.

  “Don’t resist, and I won’t kill you,” his voice came from behind his collar. “I know that won’t matter much here, but I can still make the deaths so agonizing, that you will feel pain for a very long time.”

  “Drides…” Wendell moaned. “How the hell…”

  The lead pretorian looked over towards Rayna, still only slightly frightened by the spectacle going on in her yard. Drides took a few steps forward, aiming his left arm back at the three in a threatening manner.

  “Don’t try anything…” Wendell whispered. “He’s too strong.”

  “Why is he here? How?” Verim replied. “He just… appeared…”

  “Wendell… if you’ve been working for him…” Shin glared at him.

  “I’m not, I swear. I don’t know how he…”

  Wendell looked at Scud, still on his shoulder. His tail was swishing, but he had returned to normal and hadn’t been affected by Drides’ attack.

  “Oh, no…” he murmured.

  “What? What is it?”

  Wendell didn’t respond, instead turning his focus back towards Drides, who was slowly advancing towards Rayna.

  “Hello, little one,” he said as kindly as he could manage. “I’m guessing that you’re seven years old. Am I right?”

  She nodded and took a step back up the stairs.

  “I’m afraid that you have to come with me now. But don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. I’m trying to save my world. Would you like to help me save it? I can protect you from these bad people over here.”

  “I don’t know who any of you are…”

  “I can be your friend, and show you a beautiful, dreamlike place.”

  At that moment, Rayna’s father came out of the house, her mother behind him. He looked over at the three that had visited him at school first, and then to the taller figure now just a few feet away.

  “Who are you people?” he shouted. “I thought I told you to leave us alone! What do you want from us?”

  “Are these the ones you saw at the school?” Mrs. Carthy asked.

  “The same. More people with sick curiosities. Rayna, get inside.”

  “Who are they, Dad?”

  “Just, please, go in the house.”

  “Ah, yes… the parents,” Drides muttered. “We can’t really have them getting in the way, can we?”

  As Wendell, Shin and Verim watched but were still too weak to do anything, Drides shut his eyes, brought four fingers to his face, and then opened them again. The mechanical cover popped open, revealing both eyes—that were now glowing a gold color behind triangular pupils.

  “Oh my God…” Shin gasped. “Someone… d-do something…”

  “Phoebe, get inside and call the police,” Louis said, now fixated on the two bizarre pupils staring into his own.

  “You two will only prove troublesome,” Drides said. “I am sorry for this, but I don’t have much of a choice in the matter.”

  A portal exploded into existence right on the front porch, to the left of Rayna’s parents. It was solid black, with violent, swirling dark mist around it. It grew quickly, sucking in outdoor décor and tearing into the side of the house. Rayna’s parents were stunned and couldn’t move.

  “Rayna! Run!” her mother called out desperately.

  She could only back away in fear. Drides concentrated, making the portal stronger and larger. Louis grabbed onto the porch’s railing in effort to keep himself from being pulled in, but his wife was flung in by another force before she could grab ahold of anything.

  “Mom!” Rayna cried and turned to Drides. “What are you doing?!”

  The railing Louis was desperately clinging to broke apart, and he too was promptly drawn in. Drides then closed the portal, and it vanished so quickly that the splinters trapped in the vortex around the space swirled for a few seconds more before dropping to the ground. A portion of the front of the house had been destroyed. Rayna was completely still, staring in disbelief at the spot where her parents were just a moment ago.

  “Don’t worry. Your parents are okay, but just in a prison of sorts. If you’re a good girl, I’ll let you see them again. I actually want to help you, child. You can make a… a creature, can’t you? Does it give you terrifying visions, or dreams? I can make those stop. I can help you.”

  Rayna trembled. “What did you to my mom and dad?”

  “They are safe. If you come with me, I’ll let you see them again.”

  “No! You’re all strange, and I don’t have some kind of monster inside me! Just bring my parents back!”

  “Children… shouldn’t tell lies.” Drides’ tone had suddenly turned to a quiet anger. “You must come with me, before these three hurt you.”

  Rayna froze, before turning to face Drides in a mechanical movement. Shin recognized the look; he was taking control of her mind. She tried getting up, but the pain still lingered too strongly. If she tried anything now, the pretorian would easily counter her.

  “Shin…” Wendell murmured and took out the storage disc. “You have to act… You’re a lightning adept—you’re the quickest of us. You can’t let him take her away…”

  “Come with me,” Drides repeated and took out his pair of claws.

  Shin felt for sure that Rayna would step forward under Drides’ command, but she didn’t move at all. Drides didn’t seem to know what was going on, either. After a few moments, Rayna’s eyes darkened, and Drides stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. She was released from his spell right away, and her eyes returned to normal.

  “W-what?” Drides exclaimed, his voice unexpectedly shaken. “H-how could it do that…?”

  “Shin, now! You have a chance to take him down!” Wendell brought out her sword, which she grabbed with a tight grip.

  Her alchemagi felt drained from Drides’ attack, so she could only charge forward at a human speed, blade outward. He saw her coming, and regained just enough composure to messily open up a portal with the claws. Right before Shin’s sword came down hard on the spot where he had fallen, he had managed to roll through the portal and immediately close it.

  Shin muttered a curse and fumbled around trying to find her own pair of claws, but Wendell argued against it.

  “Don’t do it, Shin. He’s probably already recovered on the other side. We’ve got to get out of here right away—before he comes back.”

  She silently agreed and instead took out the demirriage scroll. She let it form before grabbing Rayna, who was in almost total shock, either by Drides’ mind invasion, or the events that had just unfolded in front of her. The beach with the lighthouse was the first thing that Shin thought of, so she brought everyone there simply to get to safety.

  After exiting, Shin gently placed Rayna down against a large rock, where she tried to process everything. The three then huddled together to go over what all had just happened before making any further decisions.

  “Okay, so… that was Drides,” Verim surmised. “Holy hell… He got us with that mind blast… from the other side. How is that even possible? It’s like his alchemagi is so strong that it just plowed through the fabric.”

  “I’ve never seen him in person. I’ve only heard the rumors,” Shin added. “And how did he know exactly where we were?”

  “Scud…” Wendell sighed and looked at the cat on his shoulder, now gazing out at the ocean. “Drides must’ve known how to tap into the same optical connection we share.”

  “Wait. Does that mean that he can look through the eyes of… any animal in the world? Maybe even humans?” Verim questioned.

  “No. Remember how I said that animals with this ability were specially bred? I think… Well, I don’t think—since there’s only one answer. The animals that the king gave us long ago must’ve been bred so that they could access the connection as well. Damn it, I can’t believe he used all of us like that, and we never even found out.”

  “Wouldn’t that only have affected Twig?”

  “The connection must’ve passed on to Scud. It wouldn’t surprise me if Drides and Lontonkon have thousands of animals they can see through by now. I’m sorry… I unwittingly led him straight to you.”

  “And we brought him straight to Rayna,” Shin muttered. “What are you going to do? Can you remove this ‘bug’ from Scud?”

  “No, I can’t. I really don’t have any other option, I’m afraid. I’ll have to… part ways with my feline friend.”

  “Oh, Wendell, I’m sorry,” Verim sympathized.

  “As long as he’s with us, Drides will see everything we do. And trust me—if we meet with him again, we probably won’t survive. That’s why Scud’s looking out to the ocean now. I don’t want him to reveal our position again. I guess I’ll just have to leave him here.”

  Scud turned to face his owner, looking up at him with his good eye.

  “Don’t look at me like that, buddy. This place isn’t bad, right? All the fish you want. Besides, you’ve earned your retirement, don’t you think?”

  Scud growled deeply.

  “Come on—I don’t like this, either, but you’ve got to…”

  Scud started rubbing his face hard against Wendell’s shoulder.

  “Look, you have to just accept it. You’ve been a good companion, but I can’t be your partner anymore… Will you stop with the affection?”

  Scud looked back up. To Wendell’s surprised, he had switched the eyepatch; it now covered his good eye, leaving his white, blind eye exposed. He purred and swished his tail. Verim and Shin watched in amazement at the almost bizarre bond Wendell had formed with the animal.

  “Oh, Scud. You would give up your sight just to stay with me?”

  The cat nudged against Wendell’s face, then turned around and took up his usual position on his shoulder as if nothing had changed.

  “Ya don’t have to sacrifice your eyes just to stay with me, you dumb furball. Why would you want to do such a thing?”

  Scud hissed and lowered his head to rest.

  “Um, Wendell…” Verim started, trying to keep a straight face. “Your cat… he, uh, really likes you, huh?”

  “He can’t even see anymore,” Shin added. “How much use is he going to be?”

  “His other senses are strong enough to get him around,” Wendell replied. “I… just won’t be able to share sight with him anymore.”

  “And Drides can’t tap into his hearing, right?”

  “No, no. We only ever managed to develop the optical feed. I can’t really understand why this mangy feline would want to stay with me, but I guess he does.”

  “I’m glad you’ve mended a relationship on the brink of coming to a tearful end, but what about Rayna?” Verim wondered.

  Shin looked over at the child. “We have to take her with us,”

  “What happened to her parents? Do you know?” Wendell asked.

  “Mm, pretty sure they were sent to the Fragmented City. Rivia described his encounter with Drides, and it sounded just like what we saw.”

  “Fragmented City?”

  “We’ll explain later. I do actually believe Drides—at least about her parents being unharmed. We could even take her to see them ourselves, so long as we know Drides isn’t still following us. We now know that he’s actively looking for her, so we need to keep moving.”

  “What do you think will happen to her when she returns to Aurra?” Verim questioned. “What if she turns into a datastone again?”

  “I… don’t think that’ll happen. Listening to how Drides was talking to her, he must know she won’t. It’s not like she’d be useful as a datastone again—one too complex for any instrument to translate.”

  “But we can’t be sure?”

  “Not until we try, no. I think we should speak to her now and return to Aurra. Wendell, is your sunlamp still working in case we’re out of O’s protection, or not opposite an animal farm?”

  “I have two, both in operational condition,” he replied.

  “Good…”

  Shin knelt down to Rayna, who looked back up her. Shin offered a small smile and was about to try and explain what was going on, but Rayna spoke up first.

  “You’re from that other world… The world you go to when you die, I think. With the really big cities.”

  “How… how do you know about that?”

  “The demon shows me. The demon is… very angry. But it’s not alive right now, and Dr. Leanne says that I’m getting better.”

  “Is Dr. Leanne the person who was trying to help you?”

  “Yes. When I slept, the demon would… I would see through its eyes. I could feel its anger. It hated being alive, so it destroyed everything it could. I would also black out sometimes when I was awake, and when I came out of it, my parents always looked… scared of me.”

  “I’m sorry that it’s troubled you so much.”

  “But then there was a desert. I remember it… A loud, buzzing sound brought us into a desert, and then we… it was killed by this boy with a sword. There was a girl that looked like him, too.”

  “That would be Garder and Milla,” Shin said with a smile. “They’re friends of ours. Did you get better as soon as they killed the demon?”

  “Yes, but… it never left me. It wants to be brought back to life, even though it hates being alive. Just so it can destroy again.”

  “We’re here to help. There’s a lot for you to take in, but we want to be your friends. This is Verim, and the man with the cat is Wendell.”

  They greeted her with quiet little waves. Scud leapt off from Wendell’s shoulder and let Rayna pet his back. Despite being completely blind, he could still keep his bearings.

  “Where are my parents?” Rayna asked.

  “We think they’re safe,” Verim replied. “And hey… don’t listen to the guy who tried to take you away. He’s the bad one.”

  “He tried to take over my mind… but the demon fought back. It didn’t like what he was doing. So… it attacked his mind instead.”

  “You seem to be very intelligent for a child your age,” Shin stated. “And you’ve been very brave through all of this, so—”

  Shin stopped after realizing that Rayna was hugging her as tightly as possible. It came as something of a surprise that the child trusted them so quickly. The demon must have terrified her to such a point where she became desperate for answers or real help from others, maybe someone from that place she had only seen in her dreams.

  “That’s… a nice shell necklace,” Shin said of the dangling object.

  “Please, take me to this world. I want to see it with my own eyes.”

  “We were going to—I mean, that was the plan…”

  “Right now. We have to go right now.”

  Compassionately, Shin nodded, then passed the claws to Verim and signaled to him to go ahead and opened up a portal. He cut a nice straight line into the air, and pulled it open to see that they were right outside of City O. Shin carried Rayna in her arms, and without looking back, the four stepped through to the other side.