I nodded. “I think so. Her heartrate is picking up.”
“Attagirl.” Zane grinned with delight, gently touching Harper’s wet hair.
I’d been feeling her closer for the past hour or so. At first, I’d thought it was just my imagination, but it quickly became apparent that I wasn’t dreaming any of this. That Harper’s spirit was somewhere nearby, as she tried to make her way back to her body.
My very soul ached for her, and I prayed I’d see her open her eyes soon. Fiona reached out with one hand and gently pressed it against Harper’s face, while I settled her in a semi-seated position on the upper step of the hot water pool. Her lower body was still submerged, the bubbling spring foaming around her waist.
“Her temperature is okay. It’s not dropping anymore. On the contrary,” Fiona breathed.
“She’s coming back,” I managed and looked at Harper. “Come on, baby. I’m here, I’m waiting for you. Follow my voice, if you can. Please…”
Silence reigned supreme for the following five minutes, until her eyes snapped open, and I gasped. She sucked in a deep breath, after having been out cold for so long. Wheezing and panting, she nearly jumped out of the pool. I held her close, my arms wrapped tightly around her as she came to her senses.
“Harper… Are you okay?” Zane asked, his voice low and endearingly filled with concern.
“I… Yeah, I think so,” she murmured, looking into my eyes. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I cannot describe how happy I am to see you awake again,” I replied and kissed her with all the love and longing I’d bottled up inside me. The sublime taste of her made my lips tingle. It filled my heart to the brim with nothing but joy and relief, to the point where it hurt. She welcomed me, her tongue slipping through. I deepened the kiss, and we held on to one another as if the end would come soon, and we’d never have a chance to feel each other like this ever again.
I covered her face with soft pecks, grateful to have her with me again. My life was empty and meaningless without her, and the worst part was that I’d actually contemplated what such an existence would be like, while waiting and praying for her to return.
“I’m so glad to feel this again,” she gasped, raising her hands and stretching her arms. She began to shiver, her teeth clattering, and I helped pull her back into the hot water. “Ugh… bit of a shock there.”
“You’ll be okay,” I replied. “You’re adjusting.”
“Where the heck have you been?” Fiona asked. “I mean, Ibrahim and Phoenix gave us the rundown after your surprise visit, but girl, there are gaps you need to fill for us!”
“I… Oh, man, have I got a story for you,” Harper mumbled.
Zane stilled, his eyes fixed on something across the pool hall. “Harper, what is that?”
She turned her head, her eyes widening. I followed her gaze and found myself frozen by a flurry of sharp chills. There was something here, something invisible and big and quiet. “That’s a ghoul,” Harper said.
I was the first to jump out of the pool and head straight for the creature, capturing its movements as the air rippled around it. I drew my sword, the blade screeching wet against the scabbard, determined to capture and kill the ghoul before it did any harm. We’d heard about them circling the fae sanctuaries, but I hadn’t expected to see one down here. Harper’s voice made me stop. “Don’t! Caspian, leave him alone. It’s Herbert!”
In a second, Phoenix’s words rang in my head, reminding me that Herbert was a friend, not a foe. Herbert was the one responsible for Harper’s return. I put my sword away and my hands out in a peaceful gesture, staring at the slightly shimmering figure. It revealed itself, drawing a gasp from Fiona, who instinctively tightened her hold on little Sophia.
Harper pushed herself into a standing position inside the pool.
“Sorry, Herbert,” I said. “Forgive my reaction.”
The ghoul straightened its hunched back, becoming significantly taller than me. It blinked several times, watching me curiously, while I took a few seconds to wrap my head around its appearance. I’d never seen a ghoul before, except in various illustrations in GASP manuals.
“How are you feeling?” Herbert asked Harper.
“What is he saying?” Fiona asked. “I know he’s saying something. It’s that whispery language of theirs.”
“What do you mean? Don’t you understand him?” I replied, not immediately realizing that Harper and I were the only ones who could make out what he was saying. Fiona gave me a confused look.
Harper smiled. “You’re a sentry, Caspian,” she said. “Well, a Mara-sentry. And Herbert chose to let you hear him, like he lets me. Everyone else will hear their whispered words, unable to make sense of what they’re saying,” she said and looked at Herbert. “I’m good. A little cold, but I’ll be okay. Thank you, Herbert.”
The ghoul nodded slowly. Zane took a moment to reach out to Phoenix through his earpiece, letting him know that Harper was back and awake. A second later, Herbert purred like a giant cat, lighting up from the inside. His veins glowed white as he smiled, revealing his long fangs.
“The spell… Ibrahim released me,” he said, as the shine faded within. “I am free.”
“You’ve earned it,” Harper replied. “I wouldn’t be here without your help.”
“I’m sorry the same might not be said for your Hermessi friend.” He sighed, his shoulders dropping.
I didn’t follow. “What do you mean?”
Harper told us what happened, from the moment she and Ramin made it to Yahwen, to their temporary reunion on Neraka’s moon. It pained me to hear that he’d been attacked by his Hermessi brethren. That was an ally lost, and a powerful one, too. However, glancing around at the wall torches in this pool chamber alone, I could tell that Ramin wasn’t dead.
“But the fires are still burning,” Fiona said. “Surely, we’d feel it if something happened to him, right?”
“I suppose so, yes,” Harper replied.
“There were many Hermessi coming at him,” Herbert told me. “Not just from Neraka. We could see them, coming off the stardust streams that flow by.”
“It means Brendel was waiting for him,” I concluded. “But she didn’t kill him. So, either he somehow managed to escape or she captured him.”
That brought on another question from Zane. “If she captured him, what would that be for? It’s not like she can reeducate him into working for the ritual. She literally took his son, and he still went in there and figured out where she’s keeping the children.”
“Speaking of which,” Harper said, “I know where the twenty-planet solar system is. I know where Yahwen is, where they’re keeping the children. And the Hermessi have no idea.”
That was, perhaps, the single most valuable piece of information about the Hermessi that we’d gathered so far. It opened up a throng of new possibilities, because it could also help draw Kabbah to our side. If he knew where his daughter was being kept, he’d be more likely to help us against his evil brethren. On top of that, it gave us two new missions to focus on—finding a way to get the Hermessi children out of there and figuring out whether there was a way to render that solar system useless for the Hermessi’s ritual.
Herbert purred, blinking slowly. “This feels so nice and warm. It’s a shame I’ll have to leave this behind.”
