believe you will destroy Damascus only to step in and control us all, maybe in worse ways than even she does.”
Blue nodded, the shrugged. “She’s the devil we know. You understand.”
“Yeah,” Rune said. “I do. Damascus is an unimaginable horror, but she’s familiar.”
“And you could go bad,” Nadaline said. “You may. But we trust in your goodness. Some people wonder how you could be any different.”
“I’m a monster,” Rune said, suddenly angry. “Don’t expect goodness.”
“Rune,” Z said. That was all. But he smiled.
“Damascus is the beginning,” Blue said. “It all starts with her.”
“Yeah.” Rune curled her lip. “And it all ends with me.”
“We’ve been preparing for this forever,” Blue said. “Things are in place. We are ready for you, Prin…Rune.”
“It’s time,” Nadaline said.
“It won’t be easy,” Z added. “Not even close.”
Rune shrugged. “That’s okay. Easy confuses me.”
She’d have been happy lying in Z’s arms for the rest of forever, but there was no more time to waste.
She couldn’t think about what it might mean to leave him again. Not right then.
So she trotted with them through the woods, toward her destiny.
The woods were suddenly behind them, and Rune slowed to a walk as she surveyed the area.
A gravel road lay between her and several cabins on the other side. The homes were unpainted and small, and had been built in neat rows. The yards were barren and uncluttered.
Chickens scratched in the dirt, and she saw two goats inside a small fence. A couple of dirty cats ran toward the arriving people, chased by three young, skinny dogs.
There were no children.
The rough cabins sat against a backdrop of distant silver mountains over which rose a vividly blue sky. It created such a peaceful, beautiful picture that Rune forgot, for a second, where she was.
“Doesn’t look dangerous,” she said, suspicious of the serenity.
“This entire world is dangerous,” Z told her. “Nothing is as you believe it. You can trust no one.”
“Not even you?” She tried for a smile but couldn’t raise one.
He cupped her cheek. “I’m not of this world, sweet thing. Even if I were…you can trust me. Always.”
Rune gave him a nod, but said nothing. She knew she could trust him. He might have been the only person ever born that she would completely trust. With Z, she had no doubts.
Not about trust.
“It’s not the world that’s dangerous,” Nadaline said. “The world is lovely. But those who rule it refuse to let us live in peace.”
Blue sheathed her blade as they walked toward the coarse houses. “It’s because of the witch.” Then she looked at Rune. “May I ask—”
“No,” Rune said. Then she took a deep breath and stared at a flickering, translucent curtain between her and the houses. No one else mentioned it. Perhaps it wasn’t even there.
But when she walked through it, she felt the difference between the sides of the curtain.
“You feel it.” Nadaline wasn’t asking.
“What is it?” Rune shook her head. “I took a step and the world changed.”
“In Skyll there are shimmers,” Z said, then he gestured at Blue. “You’ve been here longer than I have.”
Blue took over the explanation. “There are four shimmers in Skyll. Each shimmer space is ruled by a different leader. Shimmer lords, they are called.
“Shimmer One is ruled by blood, and is assisted by immortality. Damascus’s shimmer—Shimmer Two—is ruled by magic and is assisted by perception. The third shimmer is ruled by death and is assisted by…” She trailed off, then shrugged. “By death, of course.”
“And the fourth?” Rune asked.
“Shimmer Four is ruled by flesh,” Blue said. “Humans. Or as close to human as one can truly be here. It is assisted by mortality. And,” she continued, “by love, some believe.”
Rune knew her smile was mocking. She couldn’t help it. “Love?”
Z looked at her. “Love is powerful. More powerful than evil.”
Yes. Yes it was.
“Which is your shimmer?” she asked them.
“We are of Shimmer Three,” Z told her, his voice somewhat stilted.
Rune stared at him. “Death Shimmer?”
He refused to meet her gaze. “This is where I…appeared.” Finally, he did look at her. “I did die, sweet thing.”
“It means nothing, really,” Blue said. “So we belong to the shimmer that’s ruled by death. Here, we’re not dead.”
“Damascus has taken three of the four shimmers,” Nadaline said. “She won’t stop until the fourth is hers as well.”
Rune swallowed past the sudden dryness in her throat. “What happens if Damascus conquers all four shimmers?”
Nadaline shivered and rubbed her arms, but remained silent.
“She’ll rule all that is,” Blue said, a hand over her heart. “She’ll