He didn’t stop, snaking between the few inches of space we had, his shoulders occasionally scratching the rough stone walls. Oh, I miss my subtle form already, I heard him grumble internally.
When will you get it back? I asked.
A few minutes, maybe. It’s a short-term spell, but these few minutes might be the end for us right now.
The darkness swallowed us, and all I was left with was my hearing—the incessant scraping and tapping of original ghouls’ feet and claws as they climbed through the crevice to catch us.
Light burst ahead, and I prayed to all the gods that we’d survive this. Images of Caspian and my parents and my siblings flashed before me as the light grew bigger. We got out of the crevice and bolted to the right, higher up the ridge that stretched in front of us now.
“I need a higher altitude,” Herbert said, panting. “I can’t just jump from here, as malleable as space is for me.”
I understood that. He needed a certain velocity with which to pierce through the many holes in space he’d told me about. And that wasn’t helping, given that the ghouls were hungrily chasing after us. Herbert glanced back for a moment and spotted them—mere ripples through the air, invisible, as they were on the hunt.
“You’re not getting out of here with that soul,” Kill said from somewhere in front of us.
It brought Herbert to a sudden and dusty halt. The air shimmered lightly about ten yards up the ridge. Kill lunged at us, and Herbert’s body was paralyzed. He was no match for these original ghouls, and we were in so… much… trouble…
A distant bang made Kill stop just as he revealed himself to us, his long black claws out and ready to slice Herbert in half. It was quickly followed by a fireball—it came down and swallowed Kill whole. The ghoul screamed in agony and managed to scramble away from it. The fireball grew larger, the flames licking at the sky.
It was enough to scare the others back, as well. Herbert and I were equally confused, until a familiar voice beamed from the blazing manifestation. “Harper, you were supposed to go straight to Neraka,” Ramin said, and I almost cried with relief.
The original ghouls hissed and snarled at us, but Ramin moved around and positioned himself between them and Herbert. He assumed his humanoid figure, the flames burning menacingly hotter. It made Herbert move back, too, his body heating up beyond his comfort limits.
But it worked in keeping the original ghouls at bay.
“You don’t get to just walk away with a soul, you mangled little worm!” Kill bawled, frustrated and enraged, his chest swelling with every breath.
“I don’t understand what he’s saying,” Ramin said calmly, “but I think he will understand me when I say that he and his friends had best be off and on their way.”
As a Hermessi, Ramin didn’t speak the ghoulish language. “It doesn’t matter what he’s saying,” I said, knowing that Ramin couldn’t hear me anymore. We couldn’t really communicate, but Ramin’s intentions were clear.
He’d taken a great risk coming after us, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. Maybe he was worried about me. Or maybe he didn’t trust Herbert. Either way, I was beyond thankful to see him here.
“I suggest you and Herbert get away, as well,” Ramin said, advancing toward the original ghouls. He was well aware that I could still hear him, and that Herbert understood him. “I may not be able to kill them, but I can keep them busy for a little while.”
Herbert didn’t wait to be told twice and dashed up the ridge. As soon as we reached the top, he turned around, and we both saw the original ghouls trying to slip past Ramin. But the Fire Hermessi spread out like an angry forest fire.
“This is our chance,” Herbert said. “They’ll evade him eventually.”
He took the plunge into the abyss that stretched beyond the cliff, black and quiet and eager to swallow us. A moment passed in heavy silence, until Herbert opened his eyes again, and we found ourselves drifting in that little slice of space between Neraka and its moons.
The illuminated marbles orbited quietly around Neraka, but I could still see the small fire burning on the white moon. “We were stupidly lucky,” I managed, fear constricting around me like a hungry snake.
“I’m sorry,” Herbert replied. “We’re good, now. We’ll feel Neraka’s pull in a few minutes.”
I was closer to my body. I could hear my own heart beating, louder than ever.
Green light swooshed past us, headed straight for the white moon. It looked like a spear made of pure energy. A blue light joined it from behind. “Oh, no…” I breathed, realizing what was happening.
A white light shot from our left, coming from Neraka. These were the planet’s Hermessi, flying toward the moon. They’d sensed Ramin’s presence nearby, and they’d instantly reacted. They were going to destroy him.
Streams of pink stardust swelled around Neraka, and more lights separated from them, all aiming for the moon. Horror chilled me to the point where I couldn’t even speak, as Herbert and I watched the disaster unfold.
Dozens of Hermessi, not just the Nerakian ones, converged on the white moon, determined to catch and destroy Ramin. Brendel had likely instructed them all to be on the lookout, to wait for him, knowing he’d come back eventually.
“It’s not your fault,” Herbert said, picking up on my thoughts.
I felt guilty, of course. Had it not been for this detour, Ramin wouldn’t have had a reason to intervene. He’d probably been watching us from a distance. Oh, what a stupid thing we did…
“No, I did it,” Herbert replied. “This is on me, Harper, and I am truly sorry.”
Explosions tore into the dark side of the moon, where I’d last seen Ramin. The light spectacle would’ve been a beautiful sight to any amateur astronomer, but to me, it was a dreadful thing to see. Ramin had risked his own destruction to make sure I’d be safe.
Like clockwork, Neraka’s pull could be felt. It was as if a magnet was sucking us farther away from the moons, from the sparkling flashes. “You’ll be home soon,” Herbert said. “And I hope, someday, you will forgive me. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
I sensed his remorse. It was genuine. I found it difficult to blame him because, in the end, we’d learned about Thieron. And as the darkness crept around and consumed me, my entire being relaxed. I heard my own blood rushing, the heart pumping stronger than ever.
Slipping into unconsciousness, all I could do was hope that, by some twist of fate, Ramin would survive that encounter. That Neraka’s Fire Hermessi wouldn’t perish. His son would replace him, then… and that meant one more enemy to add to our increasingly long list of elemental foes.
“Harper, baby… Can you hear me?” Caspian’s voice came through, like the sweetest music to my ears. I’m here, I wanted to say, my heart breaking for Ramin. I’m coming, my love.
Caspian
I held Harper close, her heartbeat drumming louder in my ears. We were both submerged in the hot water pool in the royal palace of Infernis. The heat seeped through my skin, my pulse racing as hope began to burn inside me.
“Come on, Harper,” I said, pulling us both back to the surface of the pool. I’d made a habit of holding us both down for as long as possible to make sure every single part of her body was warmed up. Zane was quick to remove the oxygen masks, while Fiona sat on the edge with baby Sophia in her arms.
“Any change?” she asked.
