Page 249 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
She looked up at him, questioningly. He didn’t answer. It wasn’t the right time. He wouldn’t spoil this happy moment for the Walkers. Kissing the top of her head, Kase nudged her toward them.
Her mother grabbed her hand and tugged her forward. Stowe pulled them all into a large family hug.
Kase stepped back, giving them their moment. He nodded at Skibs when he joined them, holding both swords. He subtly shook his head. No Eravin. Finding him so soon after they’d entered this strange realm would’ve been too easy, and Kase had never been that lucky.
Still, he looked around, hoping against hope until he realized he’d stopped looking for a man with dark veins and hadstarted seeking a blonde girl, a tall soldier with hazel eyes…and a man with a steel gray mustache and pristine military uniform.
But among the people assembled, he still couldn’t spot his family anywhere. Maybe they were in a different part? A darker part of him wondered if they didn’t want to see him.
An older woman joined the group, dressed in something he was certain his grandmother had worn in her portraits in Shackley Manor. There were two of them, both hung in one of the lesser-used corridors near the solarium. This woman didn’t look like her, though; she looked to be around his parents’ ages.
No,parent. He no longer had two. It wouldn’t be his parents’ ages, his parents’ home, his parents’ motorcoach. It wouldn’t behis parents’anything. They would be his mother’s.
Kase clenched his teeth against the somewhat unexpected flare of grief. He’d hated Harlan. He’d never understood how someone could be so cruel to their own children, but now Kase had begun to understand. Harlan Shackley never stood a chance of being a good person, and that darkness lived inside Kase whether he wanted to admit it or not.
But even with that darkness, his father had still saved him.
Hallie was right. He was like his father. But did that mean he had to do the same terrible things? Or could he choose something nobler, like his father had in the end—even if Harlan had chosen too late to change anything?
He shook his head to dispel the unpleasant thoughts. Find Eravin. Stop him. Then deal with the consequences.
The older woman dusted off her blue skirts. “Jack, were you able to finish working with those souls?”
Jack pulled away from his family, only a little—and even that much distance made Zelda’s white-knuckled grip tighten. “The ones that wanted to go. Took their letters, then asked them if they appreciated my service and if I could improve their experience in any way—you know, looking for feedback—andthey said I did quite astars-blasted good job. Mrs. Cartwright’s words, not mine.”
The woman sighed. “Jack…”
“I can do this, Gran,” the boy interrupted, suddenly serious. “I promise.”
Stowe didn’t take his hand off Jack’s shoulder, but he looked over. “Gran?”
The woman smiled. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” She gave him a hug, even if he was still a little slack-jawed. Turning to Zelda, she held out her hand. “I’m Navara Walker. You must be Zelda. Jack has told me so much about you.” She tipped her head in greeting. “You and Stowe have raised quite the young man, and he does you both proud here in Valora, though it grieves me you had to lose him so early.”
Stowe put an arm around Zelda and pulled her close as the tears spilled forth once again.
It was Jack who broke the tension. “Well, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me, Gran. I’m touched.”
Navara laughed, as did the others. Hallie returned to Kase and wrapped an arm around his. Skibs stepped forward and handed Kase his father’s sword. It felt heavier than it had earlier. Hallie held out her hand. He gave it to her, and she read the inscription on the blade. The early afternoon sun glinting off the metal nearly blinded him.
“Their specific runes meantime, healing, soul, andlove.” She twisted it to and fro, studying it with curiosity sparkling in her eyes. “Where did you find Xera’s sword?”
“It’s quite a long story,” Kase said, taking it back and holding it loosely at his side. “but in short, my father had it.”
Hallie looked at him questioningly.
“The important part is, I have it now, and Skibs helped us get here with it.”
Hallie eyed him, and he knew she wanted to press him, but she only squeezed his arm softly before addressing Skibs. “I assume that this time, you aren’t trying to kill us? Or should I take Kainadr’s sword from you?”
Skibs rubbed the back of his neck. “Whatever you did when I was falling, it healed me. I thank you for that.”
A soft rumbling began in the distance, slowly making its way toward the village square. Each successive quake swelled and surged until the ground itself shook in fury. Kase held onto Hallie and the sword until he couldn’t hold both. He wrapped both arms around her, shielding and cushioning her as they collapsed. The sword slipped from his hand.
Then the quaking stopped just as quickly as it had begun.
“Are you okay?” Kase asked, untangling himself and assessing Hallie for any injuries. He ignored the twinge in his side. It wasn’t nearly as horrible as it had been before—a testament to Saldr’s healing.
Hallie’s freckles stood out on her bloodless face, but she nodded. “You?”
