take it all in, to marvel at the wonders of the In-Between, many of them yet to be discovered by GASP.
Worlds on colorful planets, orbiting small or giant stars, joined by moons and asteroids in this seemingly eternal dance of cosmic objects, their rhythm dictated by gravitational mass. Maybe some, if not all, of those we’d seen so far were inhabited. Personally, I was dying to find out. We had the magic and the technology to reach this far into the In-Between. But first, we had to make sure we had a future in which to do all this. We had to defeat the Hermessi’s ritual. In order to do that, Ramin and I had to get back to Neraka, so I wouldn’t die, and… what a vicious circle this was, since Ramin couldn’t return home anymore.
“I agree. We need a place to just sit down, so to speak, and put our heads together,” I replied. This wasn’t over. Not even by a long shot. If anything, our current situation only made me want to fight the Hermessi even harder. They were supposed to be elements of nature, not gigantic, indoctrinated foes willing to wipe us all off the map because their lore dictated it. They were supposed to nurture and protect life, not squash it.
“I’m not sure I know where we are yet.” Ramin sighed. “This could be hostile territory.”
“If we’re to land somewhere here, how soon before the local Hermessi would recognize you?” I asked, trying to cook up an action plan. I’d found this whole drifting-in-space thing quite relaxing for an hour or two, but the charm had already worn off. I wanted to be back in my body, in Caspian’s arms, with the physical capacity to retaliate against Brendel and her horde of loyalists.
“They’d be quite quick to spot me, especially if there’s an alert out on my name,” Ramin explained. “It’s difficult to convey in words, but let’s just say our knowledge of one another is common. We almost instantly recognize other Hermessi, and they’re just as quick to know who we are. Our identities, our colors, our actions are recorded into the very fabric of this universe.”
“I suppose your fellow Hermessi on Neraka are stronger now than, say, Leb, Sebbi, and Acquis were on Cerix when Brann went back,” I said. “Given the increase in affected fae.”
That much we knew for sure. The more fae fell under the Hermessi’s influence, the stronger the Hermessi became—rebels and loyalists alike. “That is correct. The moment I set foot on Neraka, I’m done for.”
“What if you take me to Calliope, instead, once you figure out where we are?” I suggested, my mind whirring into motion. I wasn’t one to dwell in the despair caused by a problem. I sought the solution, always.
“That’s doable. But I won’t be able to stay for too long,” he said.
“Minutes?”
“Probably, yes. As a foreign Hermessi, I wouldn’t be immediately detected, but… I don’t know, if we’re going to stop somewhere and do something about our situation, it might as well be a place like Calliope,” Ramin conceded. “The risks will still be there, but at least you’ll have your GASP people with potential ideas on how to get you back to your body.”
A thought crossed my mind then. “Can’t we just get them to bring my body over from Neraka to Calliope?”
“I’m afraid not. There’s an invisible bond between the flesh and the soul. If you move the flesh, the soul won’t know how to come back to it. It’s a rather abstract concept, if you ask me, but that is how soul-walking works. I told you there were risks.”
“I’m not disputing that. I’m just trying to figure out a way to get me back into my body without putting you at risk,” I replied.
We passed a supersized moon that orbited around an even bigger planet—a mastodon of the In-Between, about as big as Neptune from the Earthly dimension. All the others in its system looked like tiny marbles, compared to it. For a moment, I was blinded by the sun around which they revolved. The bright white light shot through my very soul, warming me up on the inside.
“Getting one’s soul lost while soul-waking doesn’t happen often. In fact, I’ve never heard of it happening before,” Ramin said. “Which is why I’m wary of trying new things, like moving your body. I’d rather we just get you back to Neraka, one way or another, than test untried theories and make irreversible,