gold hair and incandescent blue eyes. Her gold and steel armor captured every bit of light around. Regine was the smaller version, a petite creature but just as fierce. Her sword was almost as tall as she was, a splendid piece that drew infinitely more gasps when she took it out and had Astra touch the blade for a quick demonstration of how the sword worked.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Myst. The way our paths had crossed in the midst of chaos—it had to mean something. I knew it. I’d have to figure out what, eventually.
Brandon explained his role in the entire operation, along with Haldor’s. Naturally, that drew some frowns. A few of the Shadians weren’t at all in a forgiving mood, considering where they’d been brought by magical force. “You’re a danger to us,” one of the vampires said.
“We’re a danger to evildoers, and now, my friend, we are free,” Brandon replied serenely, motioning around us. “Hrista and the clones. They’re gone. Our fellow Berserkers, too. I can’t feel any of them anymore.”
“The replacement is complete,” Haldor announced sadly, lowering his gaze.
The more I looked at him, the less intimidated I felt. He was nothing like the nightmarish creature we’d repeatedly fought in the woods. He was surprisingly gentle and noble in nature, yet he’d played his part well as the antagonist. His shadow hounds were close by, but he kept them at bay and out of sight, knowing the psychological effect they would have on our people. We’d dealt with them before, but the Shadians needed a little bit of calm after this peculiar storm.
“How do we undo it?” Phoenix asked. Like father, like daughter, I thought to myself.
Mom and Dad flanked me on both sides. It felt nice to have my family back despite our situation. Rose and Caleb. Ben and River. My many nephews and nieces, cousins and friends. We were in this together, and that gave me the kind of strength I’d thought lost not too long ago.
“I think the better question to ask is where did Hrista and the clones go?” the Time Master said, his service ghoul huddled by his right leg.
Haldor sighed. “Isn’t that obvious? To your island. They took over.”
“That’s insane!” Dad exclaimed. “It’ll never fly. It’s not just The Shade anymore. It’s the entire GASP federation they’ll have to deal with. Hrista will never get away with this.”
“You don’t know what she’s capable of,” Myst interjected politely. “I say this respectfully, sir. You’re of the living. You have limits that would never even cross our minds. Meanwhile, my sister has proved that she, as an entity of Purgatory, has mastered not only both light and darkness, but we now know she has also excelled at death magic.”
“Death magic?” the Soul Crusher replied, genuinely alarmed. “How?”
“The Spirit Bender,” I said. “Remember the mention he made about peeking behind the curtain? About ‘her,’ from that realm? I think he was talking about Hrista.”
As the new reality settled, we understood the complexity of our problem. We did not yet have a solution, since the shimmering portals had vanished long before we’d opened our eyes again. The enemy had spilled into the real Shade, and while Dad expressed valid doubts regarding Hrista’s odds of success, I had also seen how insanely resourceful and determined she was.
“Logic dictates that she will move to replace as many of GASP’s originals as possible,” Brandon concluded after a lengthy discussion on the topic of Hrista. “It will be a lengthy and careful process. She has learned from this place. From this experience.”
“Then we need to find a way out of here and back home,” Dad replied. “We have to stop her.”
The entire Shade was in agreement there. There was no way around it. Hrista had done something insane and incredible, and we were stuck in this fake Shade while she traipsed around in the real one, further pushing her agenda. We hadn’t figured out the ultimate endgame yet, but she’d already beaten us to the next spot on the game map. It was our duty, our solemn duty, to catch up.
“Technically speaking, I’m your way out of here,” Astra said. That was true. We were only stuck in this fake Shade until she could harness her ability to open shimmering portals, and the half-Daughter explained this to everybody. “It’s why Hrista wanted me dead.”
“You’ll figure it out,” I told her. “I’ve got faith in you.”
Phoenix smiled, hugging his daughter again. “We all have faith in you,