“What a wonderful sight of our god!” the Dainians shouted in return.
Unending reached out through our telepathic connection. “He’s on edge, you know. We’ve rattled him.”
“Because he kept one hand behind his back at all times, huh?” I replied, and she nodded slowly, a faint smile testing her lips.
“He was ready to cut us with his scythe if the situation demanded it. One thing’s for certain at this point, though… Death lied to us.”
Yeah, that much was obvious. And now I was eager to hear Shezin’s sermon. I wanted to see what nonsense he spouted to charm his worshippers. Few things irked me as much as a false god, and I had a feeling there were darker, nastier things lurking beneath this pleasant surface. Shezin had secrets. He’d hidden an entire realm from the Reapers, and Death hadn’t done a thing about it.
It had to mean something, and only by talking to Shezin could we hope to find answers. Considering the nibbles of intel we’d gathered from Embry, however, I worried the truth would make my stomach turn. Dain was lovely, but it was overseen by a swindler.
Sofia
As the hours passed, I could tell that we were making progress. It was slow. Incredibly slow. Frustratingly slow. But we were getting somewhere with this. There had been no sightings in over twelve hours, and every original Shadian had been marked by the Reapers in a way that the clones would not be able to reproduce, thanks to the Time Master’s knowledge of death magic and a little help from Death. Of course, there had been no doubles spotted anywhere, either. As if they’d all just vanished.
There was no sign of Thayen or his crew yet, but I still dared hope for the best. The same could be said for Isabelle, Viola, Richard, Chantal and Voss, who also remained missing. The island and its extensions had been combed repeatedly, with no sign of them. It only reinforced our suspicions that they’d ended up in whatever foreign realm the clones had come from. We had no way of helping them yet, but we were actively working toward a solution.
Derek and I stood outside the reconstructed Great Dome, the redwood forest rising around us with its giant trunks and thick, deep green canopy. It seemed peaceful again, the woods whispering their usual song in the nocturnal breeze. But it was empty. Without Thayen and the others, it felt bare and lifeless and worthless. I felt awful for thinking such things, since everyone else was safe, including our first two children and their families.
This was the downside to motherhood. I loved all my children, and when one of them was hurt or had vanished… I crumbled on the inside. I broke down, and the world was simply the worst place. These emotions would pass, I knew that, too. But instead of resisting these emotions, I let them run me over. It got easier with each hour that passed, but it would not be better until I saw Thayen again. I could almost imagine him in some unknown realm, not sure where he was or what to do next.
“He’s strong, you know,” Derek said, noticing my heavy silence.
I gave him a curious glance. “Thayen?”
“Mhm. He’s strong. He’s the curious type, too. I imagine he’s turning the whole place inside out, wherever he might be.” My husband chuckled lightly, but I could see the pain in his eyes. He was just as miserable as I was—and just as hopeful.
“When are Rose and Ben coming back?” I asked him, since he’d been the last to liaise with GASP’s executive branch. There wasn’t much left for us, the “retirees,” to do in these trying times since the federation was so well put together, but we still stuck around, asking questions, checking on the others, making sure everything was running smoothly. We couldn’t help ourselves. We were of no use to anyone if we stayed back at our treehouse, pacing around the living room like wounded lions.
“They’re still in the Vale, retracing the kids’ steps,” he said. “We’re manning the fort here. Corrine and Ibrahim are with the other witches and warlocks doing their own magical investigations. Everybody is doing something, poor Phoenix included. I can imagine his state of mind right now, with both Viola and Astra missing.”
I sighed, settling one arm around his waist. “Astra is incredibly capable. In some ways, I think she even surpasses her mother.”
“Might be the sentry genes,” Derek replied, slightly amused. “We’ve always theorized that hybrids could sometimes be stronger than both parents put together. Astra is clearly one such extraordinary exception. Usually, one’s supernatural abilities are passed down genetically. Look at Jericho, for example. Half dragon, half fae. He’s nowhere near as big or fiery as Blaze, and not as strong as Caia, either. He’s got a little bit of both, and he’s exceptionally talented, but power-wise, I think we can both agree he falls somewhere between his parents.”
“I agree,” I said.
“Astra, on the other hand, is half Daughter, half sentry. You’d expect the genetic package to be similar to Jericho’s. Half of the Daughter powers, and half of the sentry. Yet Astra is a weird mix of both but at a higher intensity than other hybrids. While she may not have all of Phoenix’s sentry abilities, she’s obviously doing better on the Daughter side.”
I felt my head move with a soft nod. “I see where you’re going with this.”
“Right now, she’s teamed up with Thayen, who is on a different level of his own. Soph, who’s as much a warrior as her father, the daemon king. Dafne, a rare gem as well. And Jericho. They’ve got an excellent crew against an unknown domain,” Derek said. A muscle ticked in his jaw. He wanted to believe what he was telling me, but I understood that he wasn’t saying it solely for my sake. He was also comforting himself with this idea that our son was in the best of company—that was the truth. We only had to hope it would be enough to get them through whatever nightmare they might be battling. “I have faith in our son.”
“As do I, my love.”
Safira came out of the woods. She was alone. I’d seen her walking away with her sisters a couple of hours ago. They were supposed to work on a method for detecting the shimmering portals, so seeing her on her own didn’t sit well with me.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“It is. We have figured something out,” Safira said as she reached us, wearing a confident smile. “My sisters and I have spread across the island. I’m at the center of it, while they’ve taken key points along the shores.”
“Why?” Derek asked, slightly confused.
She looked at him. “To implement a spell. It took some discussion and some testing of theories, but I believe we have found a way to detect any shimmering portal, past and present alike.”
“Oh. Please, tell us,” I said, almost breathless. My heart was skipping beats already.
“It’s a veil of sorts,” Safira replied. “Once my sisters and I cast it over The Shade, it will reveal every portal that was ever opened in your world. We’re tapping into the very fabric of the universe for this, and it’s a delicate work of elemental magic, but I believe we can do it, especially since the witches have agreed to feed it with their own energy in order to help it. They’ve made no headway on their own, so they were glad to hear we had something that might work.”