Page 245 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
A new pang of terror struck when she reached for the memory and encountered only flashes among cloudy gray, like lightning flickering through a storm cloud. Hadn’t those memories been crystal clear only hours ago?
Navara rubbed her chin in thought. “Maybe you could use your Essence power to work it. It would be difficult without the Essence of Keys, and it would be a gamble even with them, but with enough concentrated effort…it may be our best chance.”
“I’m not certain where the Nether Gate sword is, but Kainadr, the one for the Aurora Gate, is in Kyvena. I…well, I took it from the Gate not too long ago. It sort of gave it to me? But I didn’t have it with me when I went through the Nether Gate.”
Navara touched the antique amber broach at her throat. “We might could send you back to Kyvena through the Aurora, but the timing would be tricky, and we are without the Essence of Keys. Time is a powerful yet unreliable friend. If you were to survive, you could very well end up thousands of years in the wrong direction, but attempting to send you back may very well be our only option.”
They made it to the edge of the village before Hallie could muster a response. She didn’t know if she could do that, risk that. The panic built with each step they took into the village. Souls milled about, abuzz with the events and the quaking. They reminded Hallie of a scattered ant hill.
While Navara spoke with a few of them, a golden dust cloud popped into existence in front of Jack. He waved it away. “Gran, more souls through the Nether Gate. Stars, I thought you said it was barely used.”
Navara finished her conversation with a woman, squeezing her forearm softly, and looked over. “It is because I closed it, andthe only person or people who would be able to open it would be whoever discovered the secrets of my journal or found the missing sword guardian. I was given the words of power by the Essence of Keys in my day, but that’s another story altogether.”
Jack paused a moment. “So you gave me the locked Gate because some old curmudgeon didn’t want to talk to me?”
Navara sighed. “Not now, dear.”
Jack grumbled something under his breath, but the older woman ignored him.
Navara led them into the center of the little village square and stood up onto the edge of the fountain. She was already quite tall, but now she towered well above everyone. Hallie estimated a few hundred souls assembled—not as many as Hallie would’ve thought. She vaguely wondered if there were more souls scattered throughout the realm, but she had to tamp down the scholarly part of her brain. Not everyone could’ve been in the village.
Once they figured out what to do with Loffler, she could satiate her burning curiosity.
Navara raised her hands and shouted above the din. “We are aware of the disturbance earlier, and I can understand that you might be frightened and confused. If you feel that you are ready to move forward to the beyond, Jack will record any last words you’d like to leave to anyone who comes after you. May Toro bless you all.”
And then she got down and gave Jack her notebook and glowing Zuprium quill. “Prove yourself here, and we’ll talk later.”
Jack made a disbelieving noise. “Do you not want to watch over my shoulder just in case I unleash some sort of ancient power on the place? Seems like I have a track record, if you count Hal.”
Navara just patted his cheek. “You have a line, dear.”
She was right, about fifteen or so people had lined up in front of Jack. He saluted her and turned around. “Hello, Mrs. Cartwright. I see you’re ready to leave Souls Meet, which is wonderful to hear, though I will miss your muffins, I’ll say.”
Navara took Hallie’s arm and pulled her to the edge of the crowd. “You and I will see what souls might have entered through the Nether Gate, and after that, we need to head up into the mountains and assess the situation.”
Should Hallie mention the Lord Elder and Saldr’s plan? Should she admit to Navara that all she was good for was losing control of her power?
Instead, Hallie numbly nodded. Dread pooled in her stomach with each step she took away from her brother. It might very well be time to save the world, and she had no idea how to do it. She didn’t have the swords. The Aurora Gate was dying, and supposedly, there was another one in the mountains housing what was left of a god.
Her lungs squeezed as she wove through the throng of people. If she could keep herself together long enough to make it back to the cottage, then she could fall apart before she went to her possible death. The air was taut with unease, yet Hallie couldn’t understand a word of the murmurings as she passed. She couldn’t focus on anything except putting one foot in front of the other. Each step she took was another whispered prayer lost in the storm of her heartbeat. She bumped into a few people, a soft apology on her lips before they even turned. She blindly followed the tall Yalven woman who towered above the rest.
She was going to reset the Gates.
It was the only thing she could do now, and now she would never get to tell Kase goodbye. Panic crawled up her throat.
“Hallie!”
Her heart stopped. The air in her lungs froze with such sudden ferocity that she wasn’t certain they’d ever thaw.
That voice.
She whipped her head around, trying to find it. She needed that voice. Navara kept walking. Was it all in Hallie’s mind?
“HALLIE!”
Palms sweating, she pushed through a few people, mumbling more apologies she wasn’t sure they heard, but she didn’t care. There were too many people barring her way from the edge of the square.
Like a breath of fresh mountain air, she made it out. She whirled frantically around, praying she wasn’t dreaming. Surely, she’d been through enough in the last few days that her mind wouldn’t choose a cruelty such as that.
