It was that night all over again. The sky was so black it was impossible to see more than an inch in front of them, even with the huge, spiraling orbs of light that Jon had conjured; the winds were so heavy that every gust threatened to send them hurtling off the ventus’s back and into the murky abyss; lightning tore through the clouds with such force that the air around them felt like it was vibrating. But this time, Tim had not taken Lauren for a joyride on the other side of the city. They were all together, thankfully not being chased by a flock of metallic birds this time.

  Instead something far more grotesque was on their tails: Erymithia’s remaining hellhounds were clawing furiously through the storm behind them, their terrible growls sending chills down Jon’s spine.

  Skylar was whinnying nervously, her hooves flashing against the air underneath them as she desperately tried to flee, but the elements were once again their enemies, slowing their progress to little more than a crawl. The dogs, on the other hand, were advancing as easily as if it were a clear summer day, totally oblivious to the tumult around them.

  “This isn’t working!” Haley yelled. “They’re right behind us!”

  Jon whipped the reins, trying to make Skylar go faster, but it was no use. With the wind and rain lashing them from every angle escape seemed a vain prospect.

  “We’re going to have to fight our way out!” yelled Tim. Jon, taken aback, whipped around to look at him and saw sheer terror marring his rainswept face. But there was also a sliver of fierce determination, highlighted by the flash of scarlet that suddenly blazed through the gloom. From it emerged his vast hammer. Haley followed suit, slipping her bangle from her wrist and conjuring her shining twin fans. Lauren and Oscar readied their weapons too, which emitted flashes of emerald and violet.

  Well, Jon thought, as his sword materialized in his hand with a streak of sapphire, this was the deal. If we go down, we go down together.

  A blaze of lightning tore suddenly through the sky in front of them, blinding them. An enormous weight crashed into them and they lost balance, tumbling off of Skylar’s back and plummeting to the ground below. Jon could hear the faint screams of his siblings as they were pulled to the floor, and for a fleeting moment the irony seemed almost humourous: they were divine beings, yet still enslaved by gravity. One by one they crashed into the ground… but the landing was much softer than it should have been.

  Producing yet another mobile orb of light, he saw that they had fallen on a thick mound of soft, springy vines. Haley had clearly conjured it at the very last second, intending to break their fall.

  She had succeeded, but falling from that height still left its mark. Jon groaned, rubbing his temple, then he immediately stiffened. “Skylar!” he breathed, for the ventus’s terrified brays had just echoed through the air above them. He had just climbed to his feet when it happened again: in less than a second, the temperature of the surrounding environment had dropped to a point so low it was beyond supernatural. Every breath they expelled emerged in clouds of bluish frost. Orpheo was close….

  And sure enough, as they drew themselves to their feet, readying their weapons, they saw him emerge through the dense gloom, surrounded by his sister’s enormous necroforagers.

  Every time he took a step forward the ground underneath his feet was instantly coated in a layer of ice.

  “Pestilent gnats,” he said, in a voice as cold as the ground beneath his enormous feet. “How you dare… His eyes were glowing, his axe curling with dark blue energy.

  “Kill them!” he spat, and the necroforagers surged forward. At the same time, the hellhounds swooped out of the sky like giant, misshapen birds of prey. Jon moved at once to the front of the group, his hands blazing.

  Two enormous beams of light, bright as fog lights, burst from his palms and struck the hounds, who were thrown back into the gloom with howls of agony. The necroforagers managed to evade, closing in on them in an instant. One of them had come to a halt directly in front of him and thrown up its huge hand, swinging it down like a club. Haley reacted just in time, throwing up her hands beside him.

  The ground around them shook, and two huge flanks of rock erupted from the ground around him to form a vast shield. The impact of the necroforager’s attack was so powerful that it shattered the stone barrier effortlessly; Jon and Haley were catapulted backwards, sliding through sheets of water and landing roughly in a pool of mud.

  “Look out!” he heard Oscar yell from far away. He looked up, and the immense silhouette of the necroforager was standing mere feet ahead, ready to strike once more. Again it was Haley who raised their defense. Fresh vines rose from the ground and wrapped themselves around it, constricting it like dark green cobras. The necroforager seemed immobilized for a mere moment, then it ripped its floral constraints apart as if they were nothing more than cobwebs. It swung out again, but just before the great stone mass collided with them Jon felt himself being whisked away by the wind. A mere moment later he found himself on the pavement several feet away, watching as the monster’s hand carved a giant crater into the floor.

  “Thanks,” he said to Tim.

  “I wouldn’t thank me just y —” His sentence ended in a scream as a second Necroforager appeared through the gloom, barreling into him with the force of a bullet train. Tim was lifted off his feet, soaring through the air and landing headfirst on the concrete with a nasty, resounding crack.

  Jon summoned a piercing white light in his palm, but before he could move a muscle, the monster’s huge hand shot out and clamped itself around his neck in a vicelike grip. He heard a scream somewhere to his left that could have belonged to either Haley or Lauren, but then he lost focus. He could barely make out the figure of his assailant. It was shrouded in rain and mist; for all he could see, it was as if the very rain itself had attacked him. He could feel the giant hand closing more tightly, crushing his throat.

  And then it recoiled. A flash of purple caught his eye as Oscar leapt at the monster, his clawed gauntlet slashing away at its stone hide. Through the heavy rain he could see his older brother bobbing and weaving around its attacks, retaliating viciously, but his counterattack was short-lived.

  The back of its hand smashed into him and he keeled backwards, the gauntlet falling from his hand.

  To Jon’s horror, the necroforager picked it up and squeezed.

  Even with the relentless booming of the thunder and the rain hammering away around them, there was no mistaking that awful crack. The necroforager opened its hand and the fragments of Oscar’s weapon slid out, clattering to the ground. The shards glowed with a very weak purple light, then the light extinguished like a candle being blown out by the wind.

  The necroforager was still applying pressure to his throat. His mind was reeling, his chest felt like it was going to burst. Then the ground beneath them rumbled and split apart.

  The creature sank to its knees and Jon collapsed, finally released from its grip. Haley hurried over, pulling him to his feet.

  “You okay?”

  He nodded, for he was still unable to talk, though he could already feel the damage healing. The two rushed to Oscar’s side, helping him up as the monster struggled, trying to heave itself out of the hole. They were moving back to the others when Oscar suddenly pulled away from them.

  “What are you doing?” he rasped.

  Oscar didn’t answer. Instead he rushed to the discarded fragments of his locket, picked them up and loaded them into the pocket of his jacket.

  “Let’s go,” he said. They could see Tim and Lauren fending off the other necroforager. Lauren was shooting lightning bolts at it while Tim sped around it, smacking it with his hammer.

  Orpheo, who had withheld from the fight so far, seemed to be drawing closer, but a sudden shout echoed through the grounds and he fell still.

  “Orpheo!”

  It was Valarok, sounding panic-stricken.

  “Brother, please!”

  Orpheo glared furiously at them, then he backed away, disappearing into the storm. A whistle sounded out from the direction he had come, and the necroforager halted, then lumbered away after its uncle. The second, which had finally managed to escape Haley’s trap, followed suit.

  “What are they doing?” Tim asked.

  “Retreating,” said Oscar. “I bet Erymithia’s not in great shape.”

  “Neither are we, so can we get out of here now please,” Lauren said insistently.

  A loud neigh sounded close at hand, and Skylar materialized out of the storm in front of them.

  “Go! Go!” Jon shouted. They broke into a run, fighting against the terrible winds forcing them back. They had almost reached their destination when a sudden cry stopped them cold.

  “Wait!” Haley shouted. “Stop! Stop running!”

  “What?” Jon demanded, looking back at her as though she was crazy. “They’re right behind us!”

  “I feel something strange. It’s like…” She did not finish her sentence, but instead threw herself to the ground, pressing her palm into the sodden grass.

  “Haley, we don’t have time for this,” Lauren pleaded.

  “Shh!” Haley snapped, closing her eyes as she dug her fingers into the roiling mud. They all looked at each other, confused, scared, wondering what was happening.

  “Oh my God,” Haley whispered, her voice barely audible over the pounding of the raindrops all around them. “Tim, I need your help. Get over here!” she said more insistently, when he simply stared bemusedly at her in reply. He hurried over to her side and she stood, tracing a path to the lower section of the manor with her fingers.

  “Over there, the basement. Hurry, before they get the chance to recover.”

  “What are you —?”

  “Just go!”

  Tim looked at the other three as though wordlessly requesting help, but none of them could think of anything to say, being just as confused as he was. Seemingly deciding that it was easier to comply than argue, Tim raced off, leaving faint streaks of blue light staining the air as he vanished. They remained for only a second, and in the blink of an eye were gone.

  The seconds crawled by. It was as though every millisecond had stretched into ten. Then at last, Tim returned, kicking up a spout of water as he came to a halt. It was a few moments before Jon realized he wasn’t alone.

  It was difficult to make out the person accompanying him at first, not just because the rain and gloom were clouding their vision, but also because he was caked in blood. Every inch of visible skin seemed to be tattooed with some kind of gruesome injury, and the face was battered and bruised, but instantly recognizable, mainly due to the familiar scar that traced itself down his face. Gasps erupted all around.

  “Sytris?” Lauren yelped.

  He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His brain almost seemed unable to process it. Regaining his senses Jon rounded on Lauren, like a shark scenting fresh blood. “You — you said he was —”

  “I thought he was!” she said in total disbelief. “The vision — I saw — that hag —” Her words lost their coherence as she struggled to take in what she was seeing.

  Tim looked just as stunned as everyone else, despite being the one who had brought their caretaker before them. Staring transfixedly at Haley, he asked, “How did you know?”

  “I felt it.” Haley must have known that none of her siblings would understand anything she meant by that, but she did not elaborate.

  “He’s been alive this whole time?” Oscar said, his bright green eyes as wide as golf balls.

  “Yes,” said Sytris, speaking for the first time in a voice that sounded more like a croak. “It was a trick, by the sister. To lure you out of hiding.”

  “What do you mean, ‘a trick?’”

  “We can’t talk here,” Haley said firmly. “We have to get back to the cabin.” Oscar opened his mouth to protest but Haley had spoken not a moment too soon. No sooner had the words left her mouth than the bellow of one of Erymithia’s hounds tore through the night, uncomfortably close at hand. Jon and Oscar rushed forward to help Tim settle their apparently not-dead caretaker onto Skylar’s back, then they all climbed up around him and took to the skies once more. Anxiety rolled over him, cold and unpleasant as the sheets of rain hammering against their skin.

  His eyes whipped from left to right, then flickered in front of them and finally behind.

  His mind was on those horrible, metal-beaked birds and the ugly little gargoyles that had accompanied them the last time they had traversed through the clouds. But this time miraculously — astonishingly — they made their way across the sky unimpeded.

  Not a single creature, neither magical nor mundane, crossed their sight as they waded through Valarok’s storm, which seemed to have grown rather weaker compared to when it had begun. In what felt like half an hour, the sky ahead of them began to lighten and finally the afternoon sun speared through the blackened clouds as they finally emerged from Valarok’s stormy canvas and broke out into a clear evening.

  It was rather disconcerting at first. Mere minutes ago it felt as if they had been traveling through the dead of night under a vicious downpour, and now the serene image of a picturesque little town lay out before them.

  The sight didn’t do much to calm Jon down. On the other hand, it merely stoked the flame that had been burning since the previous night when they had been formulating their plan of attack. The residents of the town they had just fled would have been enjoying a perfectly ordinary evening just as their neighbours were, had it not been for the Harbingers.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Within another few minutes they arrived back at the cabin. It was empty, not that Jon had expected it to be otherwise. They had been very clear that when rescuing their parents, they would have stationed them elsewhere, where they could be safe until they were sure they wouldn’t have a repeat of what happened at the mansion. The boys ushered Sytris up the stairs and through the door, then laid him out across the sofa with a groan. Lauren disappeared into the back room at once and returned moments later with several towels, which she began to distribute among them. Jon was the only one who refused; he could tell that Haley was seconds away from scolding him for it, until she realized that he didn’t need it. A faint pearly glow was emanating from his skin, which was quite literally steaming.

  Instead he took the extra towel and draped it around Sytris, then everyone crowded around him, waiting for him to speak.

  He opened his mouth to speak twice but no words came out, only brutal rattling coughs.

  “I don’t understand,” Oscar said, breaking the silence. “How is this possible? Lauren saw you — you know —” He drew his thumb across his throat, making a rather silly face, eyes closed and tongue lolling out.

  Sytris let out a deep sigh of wistfulness and disappointment. “I’m sorry, all of you. When I arrived at the manor I sought to cover your escape, even if it resulted in my death, so that you could make it to the second safehouse with no obstacles. But to my disdain, they didn’t kill me. They captured me, held me hostage for days. The sister and younger brother were quite keen to torture me, but I never yielded. I swore, eons ago, to protect your family even at the expense of my own life. I was more than willing to pay that cost and the siblings were eager to complete the transaction, having grown bored of me. But the eldest brother stopped them.

  “He…” Sytris hesitated. He swallowed, then continued, “He had the idea that if I would not submit through physical anguish, then he would try to extract the information from me in a different way.

  “Mind games. With my defenses weakened, I fear he managed to breach my mind several times.” He spoke in a tone of utter revulsion, as though disgusted with his weakness. “They didn’t manage to glean much from me, because weak as I was I still fought them with everything I could muster. But what they did get from me was more than enough.

  “The intel they retrieved from me included the knowledge that Lady Mnemosyne is the goddess of Memory.

  “Erymithia thought that by creating a false memory of them executing me and forcibly implanting it into your mind, then you would be consumed by vengeance and return to the manor for revenge.”

  A horrified silence filled the room. They all knew the Harbingers were powerful opponents, but creating false memories?

  If they could manage to hack into the mind of the literal Goddess of Memory, could they trust anything they thought had happened to them so far? What if everything that had happened to them today had been another fabrication, to lull them into a false sense of security?

  “So it’s my fault?” Lauren asked in a very quiet voice. She looked terrified, like a child caught in a naughty act, afraid of being reprimanded.

  “No, no!” Sytris said at once, looking aghast. He tried to sit up but the pain of his wounds brought him down again. “Of course it’s not your fault. It’s my own entirely. The protection spells I placed on the cabin should have been enough to prevent Erymithia’s mental assaults, but they weren’t. That is my shortcoming, and mine alone.”

  Hot, bubbling guilt surged up in the pit of Jon’s stomach, a look he saw reflected on the faces of his siblings.

  “Actually,” said Tim, his eyes cast towards the floor, “we never made it to the cabin.”

  Sytris’s eyebrows drew together to form a single line. “I don’t understand.”

  “Zippy here had the bright idea to rush off into the night before we had a chance to regroup,” Jon said, the spite in his voice almost acidic. It seemed that regardless of what he had believed, he still hadn’t gotten over what happened that night.

  “What?” Sytris looked at Tim, appalled.

  “You can skip the lecture,” said Tim, eyes still fixed on the floor. “I already know I screwed up.”

  “You can say that again,” Jon said, rubbing it in. Haley threw a nasty look at him but he ignored her.

  “Placing blame helps no one,” Sytris said, holding up a hand and wincing. “But if you didn’t make it to the safehouse at the time, what became of you?”

  Looks were exchanged around the room once more. Bad memories surged to the forefront of Jon’s mind like a flood, obliterating his mental defenses.

  “We got separated,” said Lauren, breaking the silence. “Tim and I ended up in another section of the city, house-hopping every time one place got flooded. Jon, Oscar, and Haley managed to take shelter in a centaur camp. We only just got back together.”

  “You were on your own for all that time?” Sytris asked. “With no trouble?”

  “Well I wouldn’t say no trouble,” Jon said. “But in the end, we managed.”

  Sytris blinked, looking both surprised and impressed. “That’s incredible. Even in the manor I could feel the devastation Valarok’s storm did to the city. The fact that you all made it through as you did, found each other again, and then made it here all on your own is beyond words.”

  Jon said nothing. He let his words wash over him, trying to ignore the image of dozens of rotted, greying corpses flitting through thick white mist rearing in his mind. After all that Sytris had been through in the past week, they didn’t need to cause him any more anxiety with the details of what they had seen

  “We had a great teacher,” Haley said, smiling earnestly at him. Sytris smiled in return, although he winced as he did so.

  “Look,” said Jon, unable to restrain himself any longer, “I know you’re injured, and I know you should be resting, but I can’t stall any longer and I don’t think anyone else can either. We have questions.”

  “Jon —” Lauren began, annoyed.

  “No,” Sytris interrupted her. “Lord Orus is correct. From the very beginning, I have not been completely honest with you. I see now that was a mistake. If the Harbingers really had succeeded in vanquishing me, then my single greatest regret would have been dying without any of you knowing the full truth. That is a mistake I must amend.” He paused for what seemed to be dramatic effect. Then he continued, his voice somber, “Do you remember when I told you, when you were all under the same roof again, that fate is what had called you back together?”

  “I don’t think any of us will be forgetting that conversation any time soon,” Tim said quietly.

  “Yes, well, what I said was true in a sense. The Goddess of Fate would have brought you back together in time, had she not been killed in the Harbingers’ first raids.”

  The entire atmosphere changed dramatically. Where a split second before it had been mildly anxious, curious, now tension ran through the air, taut as a dropwire.

  “Come again?” Jon said.

  “Lord Orus, you will remember on the day that you were reunited with Lord Lenos that you were struck by several odd inconveniences during your trip. Losing luggage, roads being blocked, the vehicle failing...”

  “I remember,” Jon said through gritted teeth. “Where are you going with…” His jaw went slack as the realization struck them, one by one, until the whole room was staring at Sytris, aghast. “You caused those accidents?”

  Their caretaker sighed. “I am not proud of it, but there was a very small loophole in the terms that I laid out for your mortal parents all those years ago. The five of you were to be kept apart for your own safety, but what they didn’t know was that all of you didn’t have to be in the same vicinity for all of that to come undone. Even if only two of your paths crossed, the magical accessories you all wear would react, causing the other three to flare as well, even if they were halfway across the world. Once that signal went up your parents had very strict instructions to bring you to the appointed safehouse immediately. That is why the Gibsons knew to bring Lady Iduna to the manor at once, despite not encountering any form of danger along the way.”

  “But I don’t understand, why would you do this?” Haley demanded. “You’re the one who told us about all the potential dangers we would have to face, why would you willingly force us into this life when we were all happy where we were?”

  Sytris took a moment before answering. “Selfishness,” he said simply. “I know you were happy, because I was there with all of you, hidden in the background. Watching you grow, making friends, causing mischief, completely unaware that you were destined for much greater things. I could tell that the Harbingers were getting closer with every passing minute, and I wanted you to be ready when they finally arrived.

  “But at the same time it was in part due to my own weakness. I thought I was strong enough to watch you grow up under the guise of being mundane — ordinary. But I had sworn an oath to maintain your family’s legacy for as long as I lived, and the fact that all of you were were completely ignorant of your family and its history, it seemed unfair. And, I must confess, it was a rather lonesome existence.”

  “So you ruined our lives because you couldn’t deal with the fact that we were happy without all this crap going on?” Jon said in disbelief. He scoffed. “You know, maybe you should have stayed in that basement, then I probably wouldn’t have regretted mourning you,” he added viciously, and he pulled off his ring and threw it down.

  “Jon!” Haley said reproachfully. “That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

  “Is it though?” Tim piped up. He looked directly at Sytris, which was surprising in itself given how furiously he tried to avoid eye contact. “That is extremely messed up. Turning our lives, and our families’ lives by extension, upside down just because you were feeling lonely isn’t okay.”

  “No,” Sytris said heavily. “No it is not. And I suspect you may have noticed too that I had some reluctance to help you master your abilities.” He was looking at Lauren now, who was staring at him, taken aback. “That is why. I was ashamed of my actions, and I feared that by tapping into your latent gifts you would discover the secrets I held. Another shortcoming of mine.”

  “Wow,” Oscar said, mouth hanging open in a wide ‘o.’ “I don’t see how any of us can defend you anymore, man.”

  “You shouldn’t. I deserve everything you have to say and more.”

  “Let me guess,” Jon said loudly. “The reason you were trying to get our parents out of the house, it wasn’t really because you were concerned about their safety, was it?”

  Sytris held his gaze for several seconds, then slowly hung his head.

  “Oh my God,” Haley breathed. “Are you serious?”

  “Your parents have been wonderful guardians to you throughout your respective childhoods. They gave you homes, names, love. But they weren’t your real parents. They were placeholders, and when I brought you back together I was trying to help you embrace the true family you were born into.”

  “You’re a nutcase.” Jon spat the words at him. “They are our real parents. Blood doesn’t automatically make you family!”

  “A realization I am starting to understand. I truly am sorry for all that I have put you through. I know it doesn’t mean much —”

  “It means nothing!”

  “Even so,” Sytris continued in a quavering voice, “you did not deserve the wrongs I have inflicted upon you. I have had much time to reflect, and I understand now the severity of my transgressions. I don’t seek your forgiveness, because I know I don’t deserve it. But —”

  “Spare me the pity party!” Lauren snapped suddenly. Their caretaker stopped talking, his mouth hanging open in midair, looking as though Lauren had just slapped him. “Just tell us this: what is this ‘nexus’ the Harbingers keep asking us about, and what’s your connection to the Harbingers in the first place?”

  It seemed that, for all he had said about being honest, Sytris seemed rather hesitant to answer. He looked temporarily dumbstruck. But after a few moments, he seemed to regain the power of speech.

  “The nexus… is the result of a very complicated mistake.”

  Jon mimicked the sound of a loud, harsh buzzer. “Wrong answer, Scarface. Try again.”

  “I believe I explained to you once that the Harbingers came from a realm very close to Algyria. We never lived on good terms, but for the most part it was a peaceful existence. We knew of their aggressive natures but they seemed to pose no threat to us, and we to them. But the Prismatic Council, who governed Algyria, decided that they wanted to develop a stronger bond with our brethren. They reached out to them and after several months of discussion, decided to send a delegate to their homeland, Shangri-La. It seemed a vain effort at first, but it worked well. Surprisingly well, in fact.

  “Among the Algyrian delegates were your father, Lord Razen, and your mother, Lady Cyclomene. Naturally, as their trusted servant, I accompanied them.

  “I tried not to attract attention, seeing as though I wasn’t even meant to be there at all. But as hard as I tried I ended up catching the eye of one Harbinger in particular.”

  “Erymithia,” Haley said automatically. Her siblings turned to her, eyebrows raised. “Oh come on,” she said defensively. “It wasn’t that hard to figure out. It’s the plot of almost every romance book ever printed.”

  “Yes, Erymithia.” Sytris was looking in the direction of the cabin wall, but it appeared he wasn’t really seeing it at all. There was a reminiscent gleam in his eyes and a small smile played on his lips. “The Goddess of War. Although at the time, she was probably the most peaceful of all her siblings. Orpheo never liked me much, and Valarok was quite indifferent to me, which was to be expected, given that they hailed from a noble family and I was a mere servant.

  “Lord Razen found out and discouraged me from pursuing anything with her. It wouldn’t work, because we were from two different worlds — quite literally. So I fell back into the shadows and simply watched.

  “As I stated before, the plan seemed to be working well for the first few months. But over time I noticed a kind of rift forming between the delegates. I couldn’t understand why, as I was not privy to the full details at the time.

  “Until one night when a fight broke loose. I recognized Lord Razen at once. I could never forget the radiance he produced: pale and delicate, with shades of pink, orange, even grey. But this time the light was darker than I had ever seen it, more aggressive. I dropped everything and ran, but before I had even reached the scene, the delegates were heading my way. Lord Razen and Lady Cyclomene instructed me to turn back and I never questioned, but I noticed they were carrying something new.

  “It was a misshapen clump of greyish stone, infused with dark jewels. I could sense power like no other emanating from it. Harbingers began to spring up all around us, but we managed to make it back to our Ventuses. Most of us,” he amended sadly. “Some of us never made it that far.

  He took a deep, shaky breath. Jon noticed his eyes seemed rather bright. He had a feeling this was the first time he had recounted this story in a long time.

  “There is a river that connects the two lands together. A river that shines with the colours of the rainbow, which flows upwards into Algyria. When we crossed back over the Prismatic Council was there, waiting for us as if they already knew what had happened. And they destroyed that river, cutting off access between Algyria and Shangri-La. And then they lied.

  “They told the general population that the Harbingers had made a valiant effort, but at the end of the day were unable to repress their brutal natures any longer. They attacked us, claimed the lives of several of our people, and to defend our land we had to destroy the river.

  “The miracle stone was born as a result, the last vestige of the river. And its power would be used to advance our planet. That was what they peddled to my people. The delegate, the peace treaty we were pending to sign, it was all a facade so they could steal the source of the Harbingers’ prosperity. We were sworn not to tell anyone of anything we had learned, and we continued on for several years as if nothing had happened. They thought they had gotten away with it,” he said bitterly. “Until we learned that the Harbingers had found another way to access our home. No one expected their return, and we were wholly unprepared to deal with it.

  “They slaughtered us like lambs. The Prismatic Council and their delegates were first, incl — including your parents.” Tears sparkled in his eyes now. It seemed to be taking everything in his power to continue. “They fought valiantly, but they knew they didn’t have long. So they sent me to take you and flee, and never look back.

  “I was the one who stole the nexus back from the Prismatic Council. I was hoping to use it to strike up a truce, but the Harbingers were out for blood. There was no reasoning with them. So I took my own Ventus and brought you here, to this place. While everyone I knew and loved was being massacred behind me.”

  A deeply charged silence fell. Jon said nothing. He couldn’t speak even if he wanted to. A ghastly chill was spreading from his spine to the rest of his body, paralyzing him. His siblings looked equally horrified. Whatever they had been expecting to hear, it certainly wasn’t that.

  “So…” said Tim. He swallowed, his face blanching. “So… we’re the bad guys in this story?”

  They all looked at Sytris, who seemed unable to speak again. His silence was their answer.

  “This is the legacy you were so desperate for us to embrace?” Lauren said, shaking her head in sheer incredulity. “That we’re supposed to be proud of? Stealing, lying, war?” Her breath hitched and she stumbled backwards. Steadying herself, she pulled her butterfly clip from her hair, which tumbled down around her head. “You can keep it!” she said forcefully, throwing the clip into his chest. He let out an “oomph” of pain, but otherwise made no protest.

  “Why do you even still have the nexus?” Tim asked. “Just give it back to them. Who cares what they do with it, they weren’t hurting anyone. You did this to yourselves, we shouldn’t have to suffer because of it1’

  “While that is true, I fear the damage has already been done. Even if we return the nexus now, there’s no guarantee this will all be over. I suggest —”

  “We don’t give a damn about your suggestions!” Haley shrieked. “Where is the nexus now?”

  “Hidden in my forge,” Sytris said heavily. “On Algyria. The only way to access it —”

  “Is through your magic mirror,” Oscar said. “We know, we’ve been there before. So let me get this straight, the only way to get the nexus and try to resolve this catastrophe, is to go back to the house that the Harbingers are currently staying at, after we pissed them off even more today?”

  “If your decision is to use the nexus as a bargaining tool… then yes.”

  “This day just gets better and better, doesn’t it?” Jon said with a mirthless laugh. He rose from his chair and walked off towards the door. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to call my dad and check if he’s okay, then tell him we’re planning another suicide mission.” He slammed the door behind him so hard that a crack ran through the dark wood.