Naavah Ora reminded herself to breathe. She hadn’t made a mistake. She didn’t know what had happened, but it wasn’t her fault.
“Nothing followed me, Doran. I couldn’t even get through it myself.”
Levi put a hand on Doran’s arm. “Then what happened?”
“That’s what worries me.” Ash snorted, apparently worried about a great deal more. “They waited. They couldn’t have come through after the gateway collapsed, so why did they wait? It was like they ambushed us.”
“Shouldn’t they be able to do that?” Levi asked. “If they can make the decision to attack, then doesn’t it make sense if they plan ahead?”
“That’s my problem,” Naavah Ora said. “Spirits have no concerns after they’ve passed on. They don’t want anything, they only know peace. That they’d conceal themselves first, then wait until we’re asleep, and then attack shows sentient behaviour. They’re smart, but they have no reason to plan anything like this. It’s just not in their nature. Why wait until we were asleep? The last ones attacked immediately.”
“You’re saying they wanted to catch us by surprise to make sure we were dead?” Ash asked, eyes wide.
“No,” Levi said. “She’s saying they want to make sure she’s dead. They don’t care about us.”
Doran crossed his arms. “That’s ridiculous. Why would they target you?”
If only she knew. “I’m no threat to them. I can’t even open the portal correctly, much less keep it open for long enough for me to step through. The Dread King has nothing to fear from me.”
“Maybe not, but you’ve annoyed him somehow,” Doran said. “Enough to send his angry undead army after us.”
“I think it’s for the best if I don’t try to open the portal for a while. When I was close to stepping through earlier I felt like someone was watching me.” She shivered at the memory. Had the Dread King always planned this? Had he watched every corner of the spirit realm in case she surfaced? The thought that there was a whole spirit army just waiting for her to walk through the front door dizzied her. She’d never felt threatened in Dunhă before. She had always been safe.
For reasons beyond her comprehension, her gods had abandoned it.
But Naavah Ora could try.
“I think he wants me to come through so he can kill me. Someone can oppose him while the Suf’afir live.”
“But why?” Doran asked.
Naavah Ora wanted to pull her legs to her chest and hug herself. She hadn’t needed such a comfort in a long time, but these were unusual days.
“There are other Suf’afir. They could walk through too, and see the corruption he’s caused. I can’t be the only one.” A terrible darkness filled the depth of her stomach. “Ellasan save us. He can’t have killed the others, could he?” She had only met the other Suf’afir twice in her life, but they were like family. They were rare. It had been a comfort to know there were others with the same gift as hers, even if they weren’t many. The thought that she was the last one left was terrifying.
Ash placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Ora. As you said, he couldn’t have killed all of you.” She wanted to pull away, but chose not to. The gesture was nice, even if it wasn’t the comfort she wanted and even though the words didn’t quiet the discomfort she was feeling.
“It makes sense,” said Doran. “The Suf’afir are the only ones who can enter Dunhă, right? If he spreads his corruption from there it’d be logical that he would kill you first. You are a threat to him.” What a strange time this had to be when Doran was the voice of reason and she needed reassurance.
“But I can’t—”
“Not yet, but one day you will. He wants to eradicate the potential of a threat as much as he wants to get rid of the threat itself.”
Levi nodded. “You can’t become a threat if you’re dead.”
They were right. The little comfort Ash offered her was nice, but she needed to hear Doran’s and Levi’s words, too.
She brushed Ash’s hand off her shoulder. “He’d have to stop me from becoming a spirit if he doesn’t want me to be a threat.”
It had been meant to lighten the mood, but her heart wasn’t in it enough to make it work, and her voice was too dark and too serious. Even Doran refrained from commenting on her poor attempt.
“We should get going,” she said. “The clan we’re going to has a Suf’afir. I need to know she’s still alive. I have to warn her if it’s not too late.”
“We should get more sleep first,” Doran said. “We won’t get far if we’re too exhausted to move.”
She pulled her staff from her back. “I’ll spell the area. I don’t think there’ll be any more spirits now, but I’d rather make sure.”
They were all tired. Setting up enough protection spells to warn them of any intruders and sense any other danger would take a lot more energy from her, but they couldn’t afford to stand watch. They needed the sleep, at least for one night.
I never thought we deserved the title. It wasn’t a popular opinion with my family, but it’s the truth. We weren't divine, just more skilled than the others. But the people saw only our power, and the extent of our talent when we created and protected, and so they loved us for it and called us gods.
Chapter 42
Doran
The following morning, they packed their belongings in grim silence. None of them had got a good night’s sleep after the fight, which left them with an oppressive darkness closing in around them. Doran didn’t know enough about the spirit realm or what lived there—he wasn’t even sure he could call it living—but Ceallach an Eòlas watching Naavah Ora and waiting to pounce was a terrible turn of events.
He should have stayed in Ceidir or that tavern in Dìrlein. He was a thief and a pickpocket, not a hero or murderer. He’d need to be both before this fight was over, and it scared him. Maybe this was his chance to atone. Nothing would ever be enough, but stopping the Blood King from overrunning the world with his corruption sounded like a good start. At least it was something. Something good.
He wanted to tell Levi what he’d done, but he didn’t want Levi to think less of him. Teasing Levi to make him blush was the most fun he’d had with anyone since—he couldn’t remember. He tried, but all he could find was Rhys’s smug face grinning back at him.
He’d tell Levi. One day. Maybe once all this was over—if he was still alive then—he’d take Levi to Ceidir and show him where he’d grown up. Maybe his parents were still there. Maybe they’d even forgive him—not that he deserved it.
He scoffed. Look, Ginger, this is where it happened! This is where I committed my biggest crime!
Maybe he wouldn’t show him, but he’d tell him. Levi had told him so much. He hated that he couldn’t do the same.
Ash punched him in the arm. “Stop dreaming about that girl in Dràbheinn, Doran, she’s not interested.”
Doran smiled. “She’s probably married by now, don’t you think?” He hadn’t thought about her in a long while. Ancients, he couldn’t even remember her name.