“All of them together in one place? You don’t see how that puts everything and everyone in danger?” Storm asked, rolling her eyes.
“Neither the Army of Light nor the demons can enter the Between,” Nightmare said. “The artifacts have been together, excluding the missing ones, for centuries.”
“Really? You don’t think demons can enter the Between? Why don’t you tell that to Balance?” Storm snapped, clenching her jaw as she turned to me, shaking her head. “The Balance before you, that is.”
I stared at her for a long moment, absorbing her intensity. “I figured.”
“This is all just a mess,” Storm said, throwing her hands in the air. “I knew we never had a chance to stop this. All these years of planning and searching for the missing artifacts, and we’re no better off than we were then.”
“Except we have her now,” Nightmare said, jerking his thumb at me.
I shook my head vigorously. “I told you, I don’t know how to stop the war.”
“Do they know Balance is back?” Storm asked, tapping her finger to her chin.
“I imagine they’ve known for years, which is why they were hunting her,” The Oracle said.
“But did they know exactly what she was?” Storm asked, biting her lip. A smile curled her lips. “I bet they didn’t.”
I shook my head. “How does that help?”
“I’m not sure it does, but I suppose it’s just one more thing to have in our arsenal.” Storm shrugged. “Anything to tip the scales.”
“But is tipping the scales keeping things in balance?” I asked, raising a brow.
“Tip them in our favor,” she added. “Everyone here knows that as long as the Between keeps things in order, no one side, good or evil, can take total power over the realms.”
The Oracle’s steps thundered as she stomped to the door. “I must leave.”
She wrenched the door open, the violent creak echoing through the room, then slammed it shut with a resounding boom. Nightmare began to pace, haphazardly running his fingers through his hair.
“What are we supposed to do now?” Nightmare asked.
“It’s not like she was helping anyway,” Storm said, flopping down on the velvet chair and crossing her legs. “Perhaps she served her purpose.”
Nightmare turned to her, taking an angry step in her direction. “How do you expect to stop all this without her guidance?”
“Maybe it’s not going to stop,” Storm said, pressing her lips together.
“You’re ready for the world to end?” Nightmare asked.
She met his gaze and held it. “Please, the end of the world has been speculated for as long as I can remember. Why would you think it’s actually going to happen this time?”
“It is happening,” I said, straightening my spine. “I saw it when I went back to my realm. Er, rather, what I thought was my realm. Whatever it is.”
“What do you mean?” Nightmare demanded, his arms crossing tightly.
“Natural disasters, people turning on each other, my aunt fell down the stairs—”
“Bad stuff like that happens all the time. Demons and angels messing around with people,” Storm groaned.
I shook my head. “No, this was different. Wildfires and tsunamis. Sinkholes are opening and swallowing people. I’d never seen anything like it.” My head moved slowly up and down as I realized. “It’s already started. I… I can’t explain it, but I… I can feel it.”
Storm and Nightmare exchanged a quick look. My eyes frantically darted between them.
“What?” I asked.
Storm’s smile grew.
“You’ve accepted your role,” Nightmare said, beaming.
“I’ve done no such thing,” I said, sticking my chin in the air.
“The reason you can feel it is because you have accepted it,” Nightmare said, releasing a breath. “Somewhere, deep inside, you’ve accepted it. What happened when you held the orb?”
I twisted my fingers. “It was just flashes of memories, not all mine, though. Then I talked with her for a moment at the top of a cliff somewhere.”
“Talked to who?” Storm asked, leaning forward.
“The Bringer of Balance before me,” I said.
Her eyes widened. “You talked with Calista?”
“She didn’t tell me her name. She just mentioned she was Balance before me,” I said, swallowing hard.
“How is she doing?” Storm asked, her voice quivering as she brought her hand to cover her mouth. She coughed and drew in a slow breath, her attempt to regain her composure evident.
“She was happy and breathtakingly beautiful,” I said, smiling at the image of her still fresh in my mind.
