Wish upon the Stars (Original Superhero cultivation sci fi litrpg)

[Malcolm Tent]

I thought Belsara might attack me for a moment, her eyes lit with incandescent rage…and then it passed, and her smile, which hadn't actually changed during the dangerous moment, warm and inviting. "Why, what a peculiar question," she said airily. "Though I suppose hardly a surprising one, considering the obvious resemblance. Very well, why don't you all sit down. Calliope, darling, would you like something to eat? I have these DIVINE finger sandwiches I can whip up."

She didn't seem to care that I hadn't mentioned Callie's name, and with a flick of her fingers, she conjured a pair of chairs behind my wife and Terry, knocking into the backs of their knees and depositing them in the seats. In the blink of an eye, a cup of tea appeared in one of Callie's hands and a plate of tiny sandwiches with the crusts cut off in the other. Terry got tea too, but it just appeared in the air in front of him and he had to fumble to keep it from spilling all over him. But hey, at least she wasn't biased.

Callie watched warily, scooting her chair over so it was next to mine, instead of behind me where she'd ended up due to my protective stance. She took a sandwich, biting it gingerly, but her eyes lit up as she offered one to me. If Belsara wanted us dead we'd be dead, and poison would be pointless, plus my Danger Sense wasn't warning me about the sandwiches, even if it WAS going apeshit right now.

I took the offered sandwich and bit into it, impressed by the depth of that flavor despite only really tasting cucumber and cream cheese. "These are amazing," Callie gushed. "What's in them?"

Belsara preened, and I frowned internally. I didn't think Callie was as aware of the danger here as I was. Possibly because she wasn't IN any danger from Belsara, but I didn't think she could sense my emotions through the bond if she was this relaxed. Which meant Belsara could not only SHUT the bond, she could probably tinker with it. That was VERY bad.

"The secret is finely chopped watercress mixed into the cream cheese," Belsara said modestly. "It was my daughter's favorite summertime snack as a child. I'm so glad you like it."

Callie swallowed hard, her face apprehensive. "Your daughter…Alara?"

Hot rage swam through Belsara's eyes. "My lucky star," she said roughly, her teeth clenching like she was in incredible pain. "Dead too soon because her failure of a father couldn't be bothered to pay attention."

I blinked at that. Right. Alara had been presumed dead when we found her. Even Atlas hadn't expected her to come back. I tried to decide how smart it would be to tell Belsara that…but unfortunately my wife was having a very different experience right now, and she didn't have that reservation. "But Alara's not dead!" she said excitedly. "She DID die, but there was an accident, and she came back as a vampire!"

Belsara, who had been taking another casual sip of tea…froze. Now, some people would use that term to mean that she went very still, but that wasn't what happened. Belsara FROZE. Not into ice, but almost in time. In fact, everything that wasn't US froze. It was like the world just stopped. "What did you just say?" she asked calmly.

"Alara is alive!" Callie gushed. "She was in stasis for a long time, so she's still pretty young, too. She ended up sealed in the Chaos Chasm!"

Belsara's hands shook slightly, the only sign of disturbance on her serene face. "That is…you're telling the truth. I can hear your honesty," her voice was shaky, despite the complete lack of facial expression, and I couldn't say I blamed her. I didn't even HAVE a daughter yet and the idea of something happening to her broke my heart. Maybe my premonition of doom didn't take this into account? Maybe things were turning around.

"What happened, exactly?" I asked her slowly. "Between you and Atlas? What happened to Alara?"

It wasn't too big of a leap to assume she and Atlas were an item if she was Alara's mother, not that I'd had much doubt before. But the sheer MALICE she expressed when talking about him gave me a not so nice feeling.

"My daughter was always daddy's little princess," she said in a shaky voice. "Ever since she was a little girl, she was Adam's pride and joy. I loved how close they were, of course. We were a family. But we were never his first priority. Not really. You see, Adam hated the Void far more than he loved either of us."

Callie looked confused by that. I didn't blame her. Atlas was an attentive father, even to Callie, who he had adopted later in life. He doted on Alara too. But then, if this story was going where I thought it was, maybe that was the point. Maybe he'd lost his family because of his hatred and tried to change. It would explain why he was so resolute about claiming Callie as his after giving her the archangel trait. "How did Alara die?" my wife asked in a small voice. I could tell she had never considered the question before. Honestly neither had I until today. I knew Alara, and she was still around, so I never bothered to ask.

"Treachery," she said coldly. "Adam was blinded by his hatred and trusted someone he should not have trusted. My husband was always far too emotional. We drifted apart after that, I'm afraid. I never could forgive him for letting her die."

That was truth, I could smell it. But it wasn't the WHOLE truth. I could almost feel the unspoken words behind that statement. The tragedy, the anger, the betrayal. How had she gone from that situation to this one? How had she been shattered and then trapped here? I somehow doubted she was the kind of god that any old divine being could destroy. And she had been very careful just then to change the subject when the fallout came up.

If I had to guess, I would have bet that Atlas himself had killed her. And I was willing to hazard a guess that she wasn't exactly blameless in that incident.

But I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't tell Callie, not with the bond being interfered with, and if I said something out loud she would probably just kill me. So I decided to play along until we could get out of here. "Well, I'm sure you're excited to see her once you're free," I said cheerfully. "I'm sure she missed you terribly."

Her face shut down, going blank. "Perhaps," she allowed. "But who knows what stories her father has been filling her head with? After I lost my lucky star, I was inconsolable." She reached out to take Callie's hand. "I'm afraid I did some things that I regret. You're going to be a mother soon, Calliope, surely you can understand my pain." She lowered her eyes in shame. "I'd love nothing more than to reunite with my daughter, but I'm not sure she would want to see me."

Callie, being one of the kindest, most empathetic people I've ever met, naturally melted. She squeezed back, offering Belsara a comforting smile. "I think you're underestimating my sister," she said softly. "When Alara came back, and found out that dad had adopted me, she didn't hesitate to embrace me as part of the family. If you're truly sorry for the things you did and work to change, I'm sure she'll forgive you. Family means everything to Alara. And I'm sure dad will be happy to see you too-"

"No," Belsara snapped, breaking the spell (metaphorically, I was almost positive). "I refuse. He can't be trusted. It was his fault. I warned him his crusade would end her life, and he ignored me. It was his fault she died. I wouldn't have needed to betray him to the Void if he had kept her safe!"

And there it was. I had kind of figured it would be something like that. Callie's face went pale, and she tried to pull away, but Belsara's hand clamped down on her wrist like an iron vise. I didn't hesitate, I blurred forward, calling on Bennu, pushing him to S-rank, flooding my body with as much power as possible as I funneled that five colored fire, now enhanced by my new flame, into and through my Domain, hurling the power into a seal designed to clamp down on Belsara and hold her long enough for us to escape.

I made it five inches before I froze in place. I raged against the binding, throwing every ounce of power I had at her, but it wasn't enough. Not at A-rank. Even with the boost, I could only barely breach the S-rank threshold. She was a god, even if only a fragment, and even my grandfather was helpless to do anything. I screamed and twisted and pulled, calling on every demon I could think of, but the solid hold of a god's Domain was beyond my power.

Callie, for the first time since she saw I was ok, looked afraid. "What are you going to do to me?" she whispered.

Belsara reached up with her other hand, cradling my wife's cheek. "Oh my child," she crooned. "I'd never hurt you. You OR your baby. Blood of my blood. I can see your spirit, how strong and beautiful it is. All I could ever ask for in a child. Alara will forgive me in time, I'm sure, but you said it yourself, she'd do anything for family. For her new little sister. I won't return you to Adam. Won't let him twist you the way he did her. Won't let him fail you. You OR your daughter."

"So…you'll let me go?" Callie asked hopefully. "You won't hurt anyone?"

"Of course I won't," she purred comfortingly. "I won't need to. After all, you're going to be a good girl and come with mommy, aren't you? I'll take you somewhere wonderful, where you and the baby will be safe."

My mouth was full of blood, I was clenching my teeth so hard they had cracked, my bones were groaning under the strain as I hurled every ounce of power inside me against the hold of her Domain. I couldn't let this happen, I couldn't let her take my wife, take my baby. My blood was blazing, all my bloodlines ignited, my soul was screaming, my demons were raging, Gehenna boiled inside my skin to explode into reality and rain down hell on anyone who threatened my family. I was blazing with more power than I had ever even considered possible…and it did nothing.

Callie turned to me, tears in her eyes, and I could see the trust, the love, the faith she had in me. I heard her whisper through the bond, telling me to find them. To be safe. That she loved me.

And then the house was gone. The table was gone. And both of them were gone. We were alone, kneeling on hard brown stone in the library, everyone except my wife, and the goddess who had stolen her.

The seal was gone, the fire erupted, and I screamed in loss and unbearable agony as I drove my fists into the floor, smashing through the stone as I unleashed every ounce of stored energy I'd failed to use to save Callie into the rock below. I punched, and I punched, and I punched. The energy faded, the power left me, my hands shattered, but I kept punching, like I could smash my way through the floor and into a tunnel that would take me to her.

A hand landed on my shoulder, then the other, my grandparents comforting me, but I never looked up. I fell forward into the crater I'd made, into the slurry of my own blood and the dust of the shattered stone, and I started to cry. That was the last thing I remembered before the darkness swallowed me. Mercy at last.

 

[SilverEagle2121]

Eh. I have to say, I do not like this chapter and how it ended.

 

[Quenster06]

I've never been fond of the "abduct someone close to the MC for dramatic tension" trope. Most often it takes away a character I like and twists them in some way against the MC, which is frustrating story telling for me, personally. Malcolm writes well, so I'm hoping it doesn't last long or result in a depression spiral.

 

[Vongrak]

I think the frustration of this sort of thing comes with the whole "Callie had one job and it was to not run into danger... and thus she immediately ran into danger". I'm not saying it's out of character in fact it's incredibly IN character. Still kind of frustrating though. The kid should change things. It doesn't because well, changing habits is hard and Shane was RIGHT THERE and needed help but... yeah.

On the other hand, I'm mostly ok with it because we have a really good reason for Callie to be both kidnapped and safe... ish. Alive at least. There's long term risk with corruption and whatnot but if acted on swiftly it shouldn't be a problem. The real concern would be this taking too long and missing out on seeing the kid growing up and repeating the cycle of absentee parents. Though if that did happen I think I really would be annoyed. Shane has tried so hard to avoid that for his kid and it's not really his fault in this case.

Anyway, point is, I don't like it for obvious reasons but it's not a bad narrative decision and I'm ok with it as well.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

"Shane," Benny's voice washed over me, but I didn't pay attention. My eyes remained locked on the ceiling, staring up at a single spot on the stone like it held the secrets to the universe. Or a universe. Any universe but this one. "Shane," he said again. "I need you to respond, man. Say something. Anything."

I didn't move. Didn't speak. I just stared. "Damn it Shane," snapped my sister as she stalked over and grabbed me by the breastplate, yanking me upright. "What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.

"Who knows," I said dully. "What have I ever done? Really? Callie's gone, Chelsea. A fucking GOD took her. I don't even know where. I've been trying to use the bond, but it's been shut down. I can't find her. My wife and unborn daughter just got kidnapped and I have…nothing. No leads. No heading. No idea where to go. So what am I doing? Nothing. I'm doing nothing. Which is all I'm good for."

It wasn't reasonable. I should be getting up, getting ready to charge off on another quest. I should be preparing to go punch a sun or something until it told me where she was.

But I couldn't. I couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't BREATHE. She was gone. Callie was GONE. Not in the sense of being missing, we'd been away from each other before. But I couldn't FEEL her. Her soul and mine were constantly connected. Even if the bond was closed, I could still feel it pressing against my spirit, but I didn't. I was alone. Truly alone for the first time in years.

And I couldn't deal. Callie was my heart, my motivation, the source of my strength. I could sit through literal torture if I had her, had done so a dozen times. But this…I didn't know how to do this. How to process her and the baby being gone.

"Shit," my grandfather muttered. "He's in a recursive loop."

My grandmother sighed. "There's a reason people don't usually have soulmates. Not that I suspect it would be much better without the bond. She's carrying his child. Can we break it?"

"From the outside?" he said warily. "Maybe? But given how wrapped up their souls are I wouldn't want to try. Better to have him do it." He knelt down in front of me, grabbing my chin and jerking it up to meet his gaze. "Shane, you need to get up. It's a lot, I know. Your stats are heavily wrapped up with Callie, nullifying your bond unbalanced your recursion. You're spiraling. You need to pull up if you're going to find her."

I froze. That was…right. Find her. I should be finding her. Callie was ok. She was just lost. I needed to find her. I staggered to my feet, heading off…somewhere. I'd figure it out. I started to call Dantalion, but my grandfather's hand cut me off. "Whoa there," he said quietly. "Calm down, kid. I get it. It's scary. But we both saw what happened. That crazy goddess won't hurt your girl. She WILL hurt you if you push things. Which means we need to do two things. One of them is obvious, and the other won't take much thought. What are we doing? Think it through."

I clamped my eyes shut, forcing my brain to work. It wouldn't. So I triggered Piece of Mind. And again. And again. I filled my mind with parallels, with noise that could distract me from the pain and the fear.

My eyes opened, calm and rational. "We need to find out where she went," I enumerated. "And we need to learn more about Belsara. The second one we can solve by going to find Atlas. What about the first?"

"Judgement," he said immediately. "Belsara might be able to mess with your link, but there are deeper ties than skills. She won't be able to block your Karma. Especially not to the baby. That's your blood. Judgement CAN help. But that's just a direction. We need more than that. We need Atlas. Which means we need Alara. Unless you plan to make the trip over the Void Roads down to the Chasm again. I'm sure she had some method of contacting him."

I nodded quickly. "Yes," I said in relief. "Yes. Alara. She can help." I forced myself to focus, trying to shake off the fog in my head. "Shit. Recursion can BACKLASH? Why the hell didn't anyone tell me that?"

"Because most people don't build their recursion around material things," he said wryly. "Paired Ascendants aren't common. But it's not just you. It's obviously to a much lower extent, but you see similar spirals from swordmasters who lose their sword, or tamers whose bonded companions die." At my glare, he held up his hands. "I'm not comparing your wife to a pet or a weapon, Shane, I'm just telling you how the mechanism works."

"Sorry," I said after a moment. "I'm just…my blood feels like it's on fire. I need to be doing something. Anything. This isn't enough. I already wasted who knows how long spiraling-"

Benny cleared his throat. "About an hour," he informed me. "Wasn't that long. I don't…" he trailed off. "Shit, man, are you ok?" He sounded unsure of himself, and not at all like the Benny I knew, but I understood. Seeing me break down like that must have been weird for him. Hell, it was pretty weird for me and I'd been the one doing it.

"Not really," I said bluntly. "But I'm filling my brain with noise to make it easier to focus. Kind of glad I didn't manage that Perception balance yet. This would be way worse if I couldn't distract myself so easily." I turned to Terry. "Look, I need to go. With Song of Arcadia and Celestial Fabrication working together I should be able to get those timepieces going soon. Is it ok if I have yours delivered later?"

"Of course," he said firmly. "Family first. Go take care of it. You've gotten what you needed."

Nodding, I turned to my grandmother. "Speaking of going, can the Acheron get us back to the battlefront faster than the trip here? I need to get in touch with Atlas as soon as possible."

"It makes more sense to consult Judgement first," my grandfather pointed out. "We're in the Holy Dominion as we speak, and his lodge is nearby. In fact, we might not even need the ship to get there." He glanced at Terry. "Can we borrow the Starcannon?"

"To TRAVEL in?" he said uneasily. "I mean, maybe? I guess your Domain should be capable of withstanding it. Are you really that concerned?" At my sharp glance he shook his head. "Of course, my apologies. Yes, you can use the cannon." He shot me a sympathetic smile. "It'll get you where you need to be fastest. We use the cannon to launch flame fragments into nearby stars to test them. It's a complicated process, but barring a Domain like Nicholas's, I wouldn't recommend using it as a means of transport. I was simply concerned for your safety, I'm well aware of what's at stake."

Nodding, again, I let him go ahead, leading us toward this 'Starcannon'. I frowned at my grandfather as we walked. "Ok, what did he mean seeding stars?"

"The Starcradles aren't just called that because they make fire," he said as we hurried along behind Terry. "Those spheres you saw ARE stars. Or at least prototypes of them. They're suppressed to that state by the formation, but the actual manifestation process involves firing those small flames, called 'Starseeds' into nearby stars. If the seed takes root, it begins to convert the star, consuming its flame as it alters its core properties. Then it's harvested with the formation and condensed into an orb like the ones you've seen around."

"So, we're about to climb into a cannon that can fire small seeds of flame at a high enough velocity to drive them into the heart of STARS in neighboring systems?" I asked cautiously.

He nodded. "We are. Unless you'd rather take the long way."

"No, the cannon is fine," I said immediately. "But we need to be ready to head back as soon as we're done. Can we have-"


"Your grandmother meet us there?" he cut me off. "Of course. I was planning on it. Our arrival and consultation with Judgement should provide enough time for them to arrive to pick us up, and if not it should be close."

Swallowing hard, I nodded. I was having trouble processing everything, even with all the parallels running to distract me. I had shifted tactics to try to improve my response times, stacking my parallels to have them all repeatedly run through each thought so I could process them faster. It seemed to help a bit, grinding away some of the fog the distraction wasn't doing much about.

I didn't care too much about the cannon. If my grandfather thought it was safe I was sure it was fine. I just needed something to latch onto to keep me going.

My grandmother followed behind us, her face pinched with worry. "Nick, are you sure-"

"He'll be fine," he assured her. "My Domain is more than up to the strain. And it IS the fastest way there. I can exert control as we approach and land us safely, but the distance will pass almost instantly."

She frowned. "If it were anyone else I wouldn't allow it," she said bluntly. "Even I wouldn't be confident, and you know how much I've researched stellar travel. As a Demigod, you should be up to the task, but be careful. I want our granddaughter and great grandchild safe as much as you do, but not if it costs Shane his life. Urgent but not reckless, Nicholas. Please."

His expression, which started so resolute, softened a bit. "I know," he said quietly. "I won't take any stupid risks. But I WILL help him get his family back. If it was you, or Sasha…I don't know what I'd do, but it wouldn't be safe, that's for sure. With me there, he'll be better off."

She stepped forward as we came to a stop. Wrapping her arms around me, she pulled me into a tight hug. "She's going to be ok," she murmured into my ear. "They both are. And so are you."

I squeezed her back, then stepped away while she hugged my grandfather. "Watch out for him," she warned him again. Then she turned to Terry. "Can you set the vectors to pass Delraune? Nicholas can derail their passage easier than he can slow an atmospheric descent."

He nodded quickly. "I can do that. Should I adjust the parabola? With a Domain descent it should be feasible to curve the shot. Would cut down on deceleration trauma, even with a Domain to soften the blow. I'll have to rework the flight path slightly to account for the curvature, but it shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

"Too long," I said bluntly. I called out Dantalion, triggering the staff to push him to S-rank. He emerged solemnly, and I didn't even need to speak for him to know what to do. A jerk of my chin and he followed Terry off towards what I assumed was the control room for the cannon.

Speaking of which, the doors to the room we'd arrived at opened not long after they left, admitting us into a huge metallic chamber. The rooms was in the shape of a cylinder, and looking up the barrel I could see a faint gleam of light. It was WIDE too, almost a mile across at the widest point.

"Be safe," my grandmother said as my grandfather led me to the center of the room. She stepped out and he manifested his Domain around us. I waited for a moment or two, and felt Dantalion return to Gehenna. I tapped his shoulder to tell him to get ready, and we prepared for launch. There was a countdown, off in the distance, almost out of earshot, and then, with an almost physical roar, the room dissolved into a sea of fire.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Space is big. Now, one might consider that an obvious statement, given the place in question, but you don't really get a grasp on HOW big until you travel via Domain. Ships are enclosed, it's like a building, and while you can look outside to see what's going on, you're not ACTUALLY in the middle of the cosmos.

Domains are different. My grandfathers Domain was huge, to be clear, at least a thousand miles wide. But even THAT was so insignificant it was basically a speck in comparison to the void between stars. Seeing the endless dark of space flash by outside the Domain's boundaries was, quite frankly, deeply unsettling. We were moving so fast that I could occasionally catch glimpses of stars in the dark, moving like comets shooting over the skyline of a planet. Only they weren't moving, we were, and probably faster than I'd ever moved before.

While we traveled, I took the time to look around my grandfather's Domain for the first time. I'd never been inside of it, or even seen the inside. I had expected something grandiose like mine of Lark's or even Callie's, but shockingly, it was mostly just…empty. As in literally empty, his Domain appeared to be a huge open canyon.

"So…" I said slowly as I looked around. "What is this place?"

"Canyon of cleansing," he grunted, eyes still fixed on the distant starline. "I found that purification didn't lend itself so well to construction. Rather, I felt more in tune with the idea of stripping away layers bit by bit as I grew stronger. I DID build a small cave mansion at the bottom, if you need to sleep or anything, though I doubt we'll be mobile for that long."

I nodded and flopped down on the ground, leaning back on my hands. "You need me to leave you alone while you steer, or we good to talk?"

He shook his head. "Nah, it's not complicated. Just hard. Like lifting something heavy. I don't need to concentrate on how, I just need to do it. Besides, I won't deny I'm worried, I've been hoping to check in with you a bit. How is your head?"

"Empty," I admitted. "But not like nothing is inside. More like it's full of nothing, if that makes sense. I tried to take up some of the lack of space with parallels, but now that we're moving like this…it's sneaking up on me. Don't suppose you can purify some of this recursion for me so I can focus better?"

He shook his head. "Not how it works. I can't purify just any old thing. Recursion is tied to stats, and if I could purify THAT…well, let's just say people aren't so friendly to those kinds of abilities. They call those 'refiners', and they're considered pretty dangerous."

I made a mental note. "So what do I do?" I asked him tiredly. "I just can't focus. My head is a mess."

"No advice for that, I'm afraid," he said with a sad sigh. "I've been where you are. Celia in danger and unable to do anything. It's not a situation I envy, but you never know how you're going to deal until it happens. Everyone processes it different. Some people need to rage, some people need to calm down, some people need to get distracted, some people need to swim in it. I can't tell you which one you are, much as I'd like to."

I sighed, not having expected much. "It's fine. I get it."

"The older I get," he said. "The more I realize that all the worst fights of your life you don't get any backup for. I thought when I got to the top I'd be untouchable, that I could fight anything. That's why I created my Fist of the Final God. It was a statement. A call to arms. I would impose my will on the world, cleanse anything that stood in my way. I'd be the strongest and keep everyone safe."

I nodded along to his rant. "Yeah, I get that feeling. I'm the same way."

"Except the really scary stuff, you can't fight," he said sadly. "It feels like there's always higher to go, like you can keep growing and improving until you can handle anything. But once you run out of room, once you finally slow down, you realize there's just as much to be afraid of when you're strong. More in some ways."

I scowled at him. "You suck at making people feel better," I said bluntly. "If this is a pep talk, it's not working."

"It's not," he laughed. "Just honesty. Because you need to know what's coming for you. You're a lot like I was, you know. I know you look like Eli, but you take after me in terms of attitude. Your father was always a cold bastard, no matter what his little buddy or your mother tell you." He frowned. "Truthfully I never much liked him with Sasha. But when those two met…well, you get your stubbornness from Celia, and Sasha puts her mother to shame. So I put on a smile and played nice. Even if your dad is mostly a smarmy little twit I'd like to slap in the mouth."

I let out a surprised laugh. "Really? You always seem so…relaxed. Even around him. I didn't take you for the type." I didn't point out how similar that sentiment was to my OWN feelings about my father for most of my life.

He snorted. "I'm not made of stone, kid. I'm just more centered than most. Function of my abilities. Cleansing my mind and all that." He shrugged. "Plus there's no point in making things awkward with the brat. Sasha's crazy about him, always has been. Making a fuss would have just pushed her away, and I love my daughter. If I had to smile and play nice with him to make her happy it was hardly the end of the world."

"Do…do you think I'll be a good dad?" I asked after a moment. "You seem to have it down. Do you think I could be like that?"

"Can't say," he said gently. "It's not something you can predict. There's nothing quite like being a parent, you know. No way to prepare. No way to be ready. You can't train for it, at least not the first time. It DOES get easier after you've had a few tries. Samuel and I butted heads like you wouldn't BELIEVE when he was young. It's harder with sons, I think. Too much like you. Celia was always better with the boys. She and Sasha have their friction, of course. You've seen as much."

I nodded. "I remember. Nothing crazy, but they like to argue. So if there's no way to be ready, how do I…prepare? Like I can't just do nothing, right?"

"There is a secret to parenting," he said after a moment. "Well, not really a secret. It's pretty obvious. But it's a good thing to hold onto. If you want to be at least a decent parent, just remember one thing. Love your kids, and let them know it. Don't assume they can tell, don't keep it to yourself, don't let pride stop you from saying it out loud.

"Love doesn't fix everything, of course," he warned. "But there aren't many ways to screw up your kid that can't at least be mitigated by really loving them. At least in my experience. Try to do right by them as best you can, make sure they know you're trying, and try to listen to them when they tell you something. Do those three things and maybe, just MAYBE, you'll manage to raise a kid as amazing as I did. Though, to be honest, your mother turning out the way she did was about ninety percent dumb luck."

That drew a surprised laugh from me. "Aren't you supposed to take credit for everything?" I said mildly. "That's Ascendant 101."

"Being an Ascendant doesn't have much to do with being a parent," he said gently. "That's another thing to keep in mind. Your kids don't need power. They don't need skills or weapons or tools. Not at the start. Giving them those things is great, but if you do it too early, you're just passing the buck. Keeping them safe is your job. You're the one who needs to be strong. Their job is to be whatever they want to be. That can be tough to remember."

My face flattened, the smile fleeing as I remembered the circumstances of this trip. "Yeah," I said quietly. "I get that too. Seems like maybe I won't be so good a parent after all. My kid's not even born yet and I'm already fucking up."

"I could tell you that you didn't," he said bluntly. "But you wouldn't care. So I'll just ask the obvious. What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to get them back," I said, a cold, dark anger bubbling in my gut. "And I'm going to tear apart anything that gets in my way. I've killed gods before. I don't care how far they ran, or where they hide, or how many people they have. They took my family away, and I'm going to get them back."

He nodded approvingly. "Damned right you are. And we should be ready to begin the process shortly."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he chuckled, pointing up into the sky. "That you were so distracted talking about the meaning of life you didn't notice our approach. We're coming up on Delraune now. Judgement's lodge is in a forest on the east side of the planet. As long as we come in gently and land in the right spot, finding it won't be much of an issue."

I watched in awe as a shining mass in the distance came closer, enlarging as we approached. A huge sphere of landmass, mostly covered in water. I hadn't even been able to tell it was a planet when I first saw it. The whole planetary body was wrapped in some kind of shimmering golden mist that I'd never seen before. My grandfather noticed me looking and chuckled. "You can see it, huh? Most people can't. It's the mist of gathering Karma."

We approached the planet in a streak, not heading AT it but slightly to the side. As we did, my grandfather stood, cracking his neck and narrowing his eyes. As we were flying past, he stepped forward, drew back his fist, and PUNCHED. The Domain stopped on a dime. There was a loud crack and the whole thing froze completely, like he'd just LITERALLY shattered the momentum keeping us going. Then he reached up and grabbed the air. The motion revealed a deep crack in space, and with pure, brute force, my grandfather slipped his fingers between the fragments and PULLED.

There was a sort of strain on the air, like someone trying to suck something through a straw, and the whole Domain shuddered. Then we lurched forward, through the cracks in space, and with a pop like a soap bubble bursting, we were suddenly on the ground in a clearing among a whole bunch of very tall trees.

I gaped at him, but he was too busy doubling over, wheezing lightly with hands on his knees. "I forgot," he panted. "How deeply unpleasant doing that is."

With a flicker of will, his Domain vanished, recalled into himself, and he groaned and stretched like a cat waking up from a sunbeam nap. "Ugh, holding that for so long was NOT fun. But we're here now. If my heading is right, we should be going…" he scanned the horizon, then pointed off to the left. "That way," his tone was firm and confident, though I was pretty sure he was guessing. Either way, I just sighed and set off walking. If we were going the wrong way, we'd figure it out quickly enough. Better than sitting around doing nothing.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

"So, how is this a lodge?" I asked gruffly as we stopped on a hilltop, staring down at what was the least lodgelike building I'd ever seen in my life. Huge and made of crumbling stone pillars, moss overgrowing the sides, the building looked like nothing so much as a-

"He doesn't like the word temple," my grandfather shrugged. "He feels it's disrespectful to my teacher."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "He…knows the point of being an Ascendant is to reach godhood, right?"

"He disagrees," my grandfather said bluntly. "In fact, I suspect if he wanted to, he'd already have done so. Moon is the strongest of my teacher's students, but besides being the oldest, Judgement is by far the most talented. I firmly believe the only reason he isn't a god is because he doesn't want to be. In fact, I suspect he's spent quite a few centuries finding other ways to gain power. I'm not certain Moon or I could beat him at this point."

That brought me up short. "You can do that?" I asked. "Just…find another way?"

"You can do almost anything," he confirmed. "Judgement has an almost unhealthy amount of reverence for our teacher, and believes godhood to be his sole purview within the church. He considers the fact that no other member has reached Divinity to be proof of that fact. As such, he's never tried to reach it himself. Despite his complete lack of stat gain over the last few centuries though, I can never shake the feeling that he's getting stronger every time I see him. Harder to see through."

I frowned at him. "Are you sure we can trust this guy? Everything I've heard about him is kind of shady."

"Judgement is easily the most trustworthy of the lot of us," he shrugged. "He doesn't play the same games as the others. No need to compete for renown or resources. Not sure what exactly he DOES compete for, but he always comes through when we need him."

I nodded tiredly. Honestly, I normally might have pushed, been a bit more suspicious, even if just because it was my first instinct, but now…I didn't care if he was shady. My wife and unborn child were missing, I'd work with Morwenna herself if I thought it would get them back. "Then lets go and ask our questions," I said grimly.

We made our way down the hill, climbing the small mountain where the temple rested with purpose but no haste. I considered just flying up, but my grandfather stopped me. "It's a pilgrimage," he said gently. "A karmic bond that connects you to all those who have come before and will come after. Even we don't get to skip it. Not if we want his help." I could tell he was aware of how frustrating that was for me, but he didn't budge.

So we climbed. One step at a time, up the side of the mountain, along the steep and winding path. I had to admit, it felt…weighty. Not like Impact did. But like every step brought me closer to my destiny. It was the spiritual equivalent of a massive spire towering over us, expanding in the horizon as we drew closer to it. Of course, there was no actual spire, but that's how it felt.

Finally, after what felt like hours, we reached the top, arriving in a flat, overgrown courtyard of mosaic glass. The platform was beautiful, red and gold and white glass mixed with obsidian and dark blue. The tapestry of color swirled and blended into a dizzying and barely recognizable image. Beyond the mosaic lay a large stone door, cracked and faded with age, but thrown wide to reveal an interior that was in much better condition.

The inside of the temple was like another world. Not by virtue of magic or ascendant nonsense, it wasn't bigger on the inside or an open sky. It was just…maintained. Well cared for and cherished.

At the door, waiting, was a tall, willowy young man with a black cloth tied over his eyes. His clothes were worn and battered, but sturdy, and his hair was long and as dark as the cloth, likewise tied, but in this case back into a ponytail. He stood motionless, hands behind his back, as we approached, and then nodded. "Nicholas," he said in a soft, ethereal voice.

"Percival," my grandpa said with a nod. "It's good to see you."

"There's no need for lies, Nick," the Judgement Pope said lightly. "But you're welcome all the same. And this must be your grandson. A strapping lad, but carrying more weight than one would hope. Lay down your burdens here, young man. There'll be time enough to shoulder them again once you've gone."

I grimaced. "It's not that easy to lay down a burden," I said bitterly. "And I don't have time to lay this one down. I need your help. My wife is missing, taken by a fragment of an ancient goddess. I need a way to find her."

He stared at me. Or at least, I think he did. It was hard to tell with the blindfold. "You have the tools you need," he said softly. "If you learn to use them properly."

I frowned at the cryptic answer. "Tools I don't know how to use aren't exactly helpful."

"Truth," he nodded simply. "We are all equipped for so much more than we think. But it is only the tools for which we have understanding that show their worth. You have many tools, and very little understanding."

"Fuck you too," I snapped back, annoyed at the dismissal. "Look, I don't have time for this dime store wisdom bullshit. Normally I'd play your games and bow and scrape, but my wife is in trouble, as is my unborn child. If you can't help me find them how about you do me a favor and say that so I can stop wasting my fucking time."

My grandfather winced, but to my surprise, the Judgement Pope didn't get angry. "Haste makes waste," he said sadly. "The fire that burns you now is consuming your reason. I said to lay down your burdens, but I think perhaps you aren't carrying them at all. Perhaps your burdens are carrying you. Despite what you may think, I am not wasting your time, I am showing you a path. Your ability to walk it depends entirely on yourself."

I almost snapped back, but my grandfather put a hand on my shoulder. I paused, turning to look at him. "Listen to what he's SAYING, Shane," he said gently. "Listen to the words he's speaking, not just the ones you want to hear."

Forcing myself to calm down, I reached for Piece of Mind. What an ironic name. The more parallels I ran, the easier it was to distract myself. I really could give myself peace of mind. I closed my eyes, splitting off multiple parallels. Finally, I opened them slowly. "Karma," I said in a serene voice. "You mean I'd need to use Karma, and that my emotional attachments were going to make it harder."

He smiled proudly, nodding his confirmation. "Well reasoned," he said simply. "Many think the intricacies of Karma require a lack of attachment. They do not. Connection is the heart of Karmic communion. That said, certain types of connection are harder to see past than others. With rage predominant in your spirit, finding the links to the ones you love would be much more difficult. The Karmic connections of rage carry the Karma of vengeance, of hatred. Emotions are part of Karma, and to find the connections you seek, you must find the emotions they carry."

Having calmed myself down a bit, I could understand that somewhat. Still, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do here. "Well, that's good to know, but I don't have any Karmic abilities. Like I can't see the threads of…" I stopped.

Threads. Lines. Arrows. I blinked in stupefaction, then reached out with my mind, calling up Owen's power. My Overlay was the first of my powers, and it involved time and fortune in ways I didn't understand. But thinking it over, those arrows were…distinct. The lines of probability, yes, but also of connection. I should have known that, I'd created a timepiece for that one already. It seemed that my timepieces could still improved as I learned more, even beyond just adding complications.

I triggered Overlay, and then Dantalion, pushing both of them to the next rank. Then, considering my strategy, I triggered Azazel. Oz had access to some fairly obscure divination powers, and if anything would let me tap into Karmic lines, it would be his nonsense.

I didn't think that Overlay WAS Karma. I'd have realized that sooner. But I didn't think the lines were a coincidence. I opened my eyes to take in the world, trying to see beyond the Overlay, beyond the data, beyond even Oz's divinations. To the spot where it all collided, where every ounce of information swam behind a sea of possibility, swirling through tides of destiny and potential.

A hand landed on my shoulder, and I heard Percival's voice. "You seek what need not be found, young man. Karma is always with us, always part of us. It clings to us, transposes us. Karma is not something you discover, it is something you accept. Tear away the veil of convention. Accept what is."

His words were like a lever, wedging themselves under my perception of the world and hoisting it up and over. Shifting my worldview JUST far enough sideways that the shape of my power clicked into an unseen divot, slotting into place and unlocking a whole new world.

It wasn't an Archdemon. Not on its own. I hadn't created the timepiece mounts to do that. But Percival's gift helped me force a resonance, create a simulacrum of that process and unlock a new form that could help me find my wife. "Archdemon:" I intoned as I felt the world open up."Yama."

Before me spread a tapestry, an endless weave of golden lines, shot through with streaks of black and red and grey and a few other colors I couldn't even identify. There were so many types of strand, so many types of bond. Every one was different. Some were thick like chains, some thin like strands of golden silk. Some wrapped back on themselves, forming strong ropes after years of steady reinforcement, and some were frayed, rotting away over decades of disuse, on the edge of snapping entirely.

But one of them stood out above all the others. An unbreakable white shackle that anchored itself into my chest, stretching off into the distance uncaring of the space between us. Inside the chain, a smaller, more delicate chain of silvery white metal threaded through the links, shielded and supported by our unbreakable bond. Callie. And the baby.

I only got a second of it before the whole thing collapsed and I stumbled forward, falling to my knees with a groan as I clutched my head. "Owww," I groaned, hissing through my teeth. "Gods that sucked."

"All knowledge comes with a price," Percival said simply. "Did you pay enough to receive your answers?"

"Yeah," I grunted as I staggered to my feet. "Yeah I did. Thank you. It'll take me some time to get back to that state on my own with a little work. I'm sorry, for earlier. For yelling at you. I didn't realize what you were doing. But I appreciate it."

He nodded solemnly. "Children need not find their own wisdom," he said with a warm smile. "But only accept that which adults have earned through hardships of our own. The only thing we wish in this world is that our young do not have to suffer as we have suffered. I sense that you've known quite a bit of suffering, but perhaps my wisdom might save you a bit more." I nodded thoughtfully as I considered his words. "Now, come inside, I'll pour some tea while we wait for your ride. I am not SO wise that I can't benefit from a little gossip. I want to hear all the latest news from back home."

If it had been before, I might have declined, too agitated and impatient. But seeing that diamond chain in my heart, seeing what the bond looked like between my wife and I with my own eyes…I wasn't feeling better, exactly. But I was more at peace. It would take more than some punk ass god fragment to break a bond like that. The rest I could figure out as I went.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

My first order of business when I got on the Acheron was to get back to work. Tea with Percival and my grandfather had been…less of an imposition than I'd have expected. Knowing I could find Callie and being able to see she was alright were both powerfully soothing factors, and it allowed me to calm down enough to have a civil conversation, since I was waiting for the ship anyway.

But once my grandmother arrived and I boarded, all that impatience came flooding back. At the very least, Yama was necessary to properly keep track of the karma, and I threw myself into my research with a vengeance as soon as we were underway.

I wasn't sure how many hours I spent working, Celestial Fabrifaction getting a serious workout as I poured all my fabrication knowledge (boosted a rank, of course), into adjust Azazel, Overlay, and Dantalion to allow them to connect together and create my Yama form properly. Eventually, though, I finished my work, and began to take stock of all my other demons, beginning preliminary designs for all the rest of their timepieces, as well as upgrades for what I had.

Power. I'd thought I had it, enough to protect the ones I loved, but I'd been so damned helpless when Belsara had trapped me and taken Callie away. I knew it was stupid, getting angry at myself for not being able to defy a god, but I WAS. I was so angry. Not just at me. At my grandparents, at Belsara, at Atlas. It wasn't fair of me. To any of us, but I couldn't stop that bubbling cauldron of rage from boiling away in my gut.

So I'd get stronger. Train harder. Perfect my power. Because next time, I HAD to find a way to fight back. To do SOMETHING. I'd helped defeat an Overgod, I shouldn't be so helpless against a pale imitation of a deity. Belsara was just a fragment. I had to be better. Do better.

The knock on my door shook me out of my spiral, and I frowned, getting up to walk over and open the door. I wasn't too surprised to see Benny on the other side. He wasn't looking at the door, having turned away to wait, but when he turned back…he flinched when he saw my face, uncovered as it was by my mask.

"Gods, Shane," he spat, his face horrified. "You look like death warmed over."

"Gee, thanks," I said dully. "You look nice too. Now do you need something? I've got work to do before we get back to the palace."

He snorted, shoving past me as he entered the room. I blinked in surprise that he'd managed that, being a rank lower. Maybe I was pushing a little hard. He stalked over to sit on my bed, turning his eyes to me, his expression torn between frustration and worry. "You need to slow down, Shane."

"Sorry I'm concerned about my family, Benny," I snapped. "If you can't handle me ignoring you for a few hours-"

"Days," he cut me off.

I blinked at that. "Soort, what?"

"Days," he reiterated. "It's been four DAYS. You haven't eaten. Haven't slept. Haven't stopped working. Judging by how pale you look, you haven't even stopped to get a boost from Zagan. I get how scared you are, man. I GET it. But you won't be helping Callie or your kids with anything if you kill yourself before you even get to Atlas."

Kids. That word brought me up short. The baby…or babies. We'd never actually confirmed if it was twins. Callie hadn't wanted to know ahead of time. She said she could tell the baby was a girl, and we'd been treating her that way, but we still didn't know if we were having multiples.

It was such an inconsequential thing for my brain to trip over, such a small detail compared to the absurd stakes of everything going on. My thoughts stuttered, grinding to a halt for a second and Benny sighed, standing, grabbing me and dragging me over to an overstuffed chair nearby. I groaned, feeling the energy drain from my body. A second ago I'd been fine, animated by ignorance and anger and desperation, and now…I was empty. So empty.

"What did you do to yourself, Shane?" my best friend asked in a soft, sad voice. "This isn't healthy, man. You're no good to them like this."

My head hurt. I reached for Yama. I needed to see the bond again. Just for a minute. But when I did, my vision went fuzzy and I started to topple over. "Shit!" Benny spat as he dove to catch me. "Stop that!" He stalked over to the door, yanking it open. "JESSIE!" He yelled down the hallway. "Get in here, we need you!"

He whirled on me. "Don't DO anything else. Not even calling demons. Jessie will patch you up, and then you're going to get some fucking sleep."

"No," I mumbled. "Gotta work. Gotta-"

"I will knock you unconscious if you don't sit the hell down," he snarled at me. "Don't push me, Shane. You're going to kill yourself. Look at you, I didn't realize it was possible for you to strain yourself like this. It's not physical, either. Is this soul strain?"

I shrugged. "Dunno," I slurred. "Ignoring it."

"Well THAT'S brilliant," he snapped. "You realize that you're not at S-rank yet? Mercury souls can't be recovered if they shatter." There was a brief lull in the conversation, until the door opened and a familiar if blurry form slipped in. "Thank the gods, Jessie, he needs energy. Not much you can do about the soul stuff, but his body is completely wrung dry too, I think."

"Damn it, Shane!" Jessie snapped as she stalked forward. My head had started to tilt, but she caught me under the chin. "What is wrong with you?"

I groaned slightly as life energy poured into my body, soaking into my muscles and bones like warm water. It felt like my flesh was a desert and Jessie's power was a timely rain. Even the blurry vision faded slightly. Though I wasn't particularly happy it had, because it let me see the red rimmed eyes of my healer friend as she stared at me like I was about to implode.

"Shit," I rasped. "Don't look at me like that. I'm fine."

"Bullshit," snapped Jessie, to my surprise. "I'm not Benny. I know what exhaustion looks like and how close you are to it. I'm an experienced healer, so don't try to placate me. Benny, go get me some of that soup from dinner last night. The heavy stuff with the cream base. And some bread."

I grimaced. "I'm not hungry," I protested.

"You're starving," she said bluntly. "You've just been ignoring it so long your stupid body is pretending you aren't because it doesn't think hunger is doing any good. You DO know we still need SOME sleep and food, right? Even with your Vitality, your body requires more energy to function. You can sleep LESS, but you still need to sleep."

I let my head loll back, resting the back of my skull against the top of the chair as she continued pouring in energy. At B-rank, Jessie's energy wasn't exactly up to standard for my body. Granted, with her bloodline and focus, her Vitality WAS actually at the A-rank standard by this point, but there was still an Impact difference. If her trait wasn't so overpowered I doubted she'd have even been able to make a dent.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I just…I can't sit still." I had a moment. A single moment when I first saw that bond back on Percival's planet, where I felt hope again, felt like everything would be ok. But it hadn't lasted long. Because there was still a hole in my chest. Callie had been a constant presence in my life for years now. She was with me every day, even when we didn't talk or see each other. She was always there, and now, she was just gone. I couldn't feel her. It was like missing a limb.

Jessie must have seen it on my face, because she sighed and leaned forward to wrap me in a tight hug. "Well?" she demanded of Benny after a moment. "This is a group hug, moron. Team effort. Get in here."

Snorting, Benny leaned down to grab me in a hug of his own. I let my head slump, unsure what to do. I just felt so helpless. So pathetic.

"You need to rest," Jessie said softly. "And eat. And sleep. Do you think Alara is going to bring you to Atlas looking like this? Do you think he's going to tell you anything about Belsara if you can barely stand? But most of all, you need to let us HELP. You're not alone Shane. Callie is my best friend. I love her like a sister. I'd do ANYTHING to help her. And it's not just me. Bethy has been on call with Lark since we got back on the ship, convincing him to come with you when you go off to rescue her. Chelsea has been in touch with the Red Revenant, and your grandmother called Black Sorrow. They've been searching for any and all information about Belsara."

I blinked. "I…I hadn't even considered," I said slowly. "I mean I know Atlas knows-"

"See," Benny said in exasperation. "Tunnel vision. I told you. He always hyperfocuses when he's having a problem. He did the same thing when we were fourteen. He got jammed up fighting a field boss and spent three weeks trying to beat it with the exact same build. He was ready to quit the game before I told the idiot to try respeccing and he killed it in one try. Took him less than five minutes."

I scowled at him, my foggy brain clearing enough for me to automatically retort. "Who the hell gives a fish LIGHTNING RESISTANCE? And there was no notification about it either. It was just a passive skill. That chain lightning build should have been a hard counter."

"The fact that it wasn't dying didn't tip you off?" he asked dryly.

"I just thought it had way too much health!" I snapped. "You only figured it out because you looked up a walkthrough, and SOME of us have more dignity than that."

Jessie let out a giggle. "Now that's what I like to see. You two idiots bickering like five year olds."

The smile slid off my face. Callie would have said the same thing. Jessie sighed when she saw my expression fall. Benny put a hand on my shoulder. "Look," he said slowly. "I don't know what you're going through, man. I can't. I'm not going to pretend like I understand, because I can't even imagine. But I DO know you. Better than anyone except maybe Callie herself. And I know that if I don't derail this self destructive bullshit you'll run yourself off a cliff."

I wanted to argue with him. To scream and rant and rave about how I deserved to feel like this…but I didn't. Because in the end, he was right. Callie needed me. More than I needed to wallow. I closed my eyes, took a long, slow breath, and nodded.

"Good," Jessie said warmly, her power still pouring into me. "Benny, where the hell is that soup?"

"Group hugs or soup, woman?" he complained as he stood to go search for food. "Pick one and stick with it." Jessie just laughed, tossing a nearby bottle at him, and he caught it casually as he strolled away.

She snorted, looking back to me. "It'll take him a while to heat that up and get back with it, and I need some time to finish rejuvenating you. Why don't you take a nap. We'll wake you up when it's time to eat." Despite the warm power flowing into me, I was too exhausted to protest. I just closed my eyes and let the dark take me.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

I felt…not better, but human at least, by the time we reached the palace at the battlefront. I'd slept, eaten, and done a modicum of supervised research with Elonwy, who had strict instructions from my family to keep me from going overboard. Still, I did get some work done, and having an S-rank research assistant was actually pretty cool. I'd laid a solid groundwork for a bunch of my timepieces, which was better than nothing.

Three days went by faster than expected, and the thirty scrolls I condensed went right into the stockpile. It was almost relaxing. Almost.

Except I couldn't relax. I could rest my body, and distract my mind, but my soul was still in knots. Stepping off the ship to stare into a face VERY similar to my pregnant wife didn't help that sensation at all. I winced visibly when I saw Alara. She noticed, and I saw a bit of sadness flicker through her eyes. "Apologies," she said softly. "I hadn't considered…"

"It's fine," I grunted. "I forgot too. Just didn't seem important enough to register in light of everything else. I take it you know what happened?"

Her jaw clenched. "My mother," she said tightly. "I hadn't realized she'd survived. But I suppose it is to be expected. Gods are difficult to kill. I had been warned of her condition, but hearing that she's degenerated to such an extent…I am sorry." She bowed her head, clearly devastated by the news just as I was.

"Don't even," I said bluntly. "You think I take credit for all the shitty things my dad has done? You're not responsible for your mom. But I do need to know more about her. About where she might go. I don't suppose you-"

"Unfortunately not," she said quietly. "Her death took place quite some time after mine. According to my father, my loss caused her to become heavily disillusioned with him as a person. She didn't reveal her distaste immediately, but colluded with his enemies to exact what she believed to be vengeance on the one responsible for my death."

I nodded. "Thought it might be something like that. So she won't hurt Callie or the baby?"

"She will not," she assured me, no doubt in her tone. "Based on what I was told, she wants to use Calliope as bait. She'll have heard of our good relationship, and will seek to hold my sister and niece as leverage for my, as she would view it, safe return."

"Guessing that's not on the table?" I asked tiredly.

She shook her head. "I would be more than willing," she said apologetically. "But my father would crack the universe in two. Mind, he's not far off doing that right now. I've barely convinced him to remain in the chasm. He isn't recovered yet, and things would get…complicated if he emerged too soon. But still, he isn't handling my sister's abduction well."

"He can join the club," I said flatly. "I'm not thrilled with him right now myself."

Sighing, she just shook her head. "I can understand that point of view," she allowed. "But I ask you to reconsider it. He's beside himself with worry, and he didn't cause this. I know it may FEEL like he caused it because he brought my mother into your life, at least in some way, but given my sister's appearance, I suspect this outcome was inevitable from the moment she entered my mother's sphere of influence."

That…that was probably fair. Atlas had been one of my primary targets for anger, even after I had to take my downtime. But honestly, the week off on the way here had cooler my rage all on its own. It was HARD to stay pissed off for a solid week. I could have done it, but it would have required an actual effort, which would have meant questioning why I was doing it to begin with. In the end I'd let my anger fade, and while it had flared up a bit at the mention of him, I was honestly just too emotionally exhausted to maintain that kind of rage for no benefit.

Alara smiled at me, and it sent a knife through my gut how much that smile reminded me of Callie. "You are not a hateful person," she said gently. "That isn't a failing. It's a virtue. It's one of the things my sister loves most about you. When she comes home and finds out you didn't take your frustration out on our father, she'll be proud."

That hit me like a punch in the gut, and I had to take a second to catch my breath before I nodded. "I need to speak with him." I said simply.

"Of course," she smiled. "I expected as much. As did he. He sent transport to escort us to him. But this might not be a quick trip. If, as he suspects, you enter the Void to follow her, you may not return quickly. He suggests you settle your affairs before we depart. Perhaps check in with your parents, your mother is rather distraught."

I winced at that. Another person I'd ignored because I was too caught up in my own grief. Of COURSE my mother would be worried about her daughter in law and grandchild. I felt like such an asshole. "When is our ride getting here?"

"Tomorrow night," she said with a wan smile. "You have time."

"Thank you," I said sincerely. "I don't know what to say other than that. I just…I don't know what to say."

She leaned forward, giving me a light hug. "It will be alright," she said firmly. "We'll get her back. You have my word. And until then, she'll be safe and well taken care of. I'll make sure of that, too." Her eyes hardened and she turned and stalked away. I wasn't sure what she was going to do, but I had a feeling it would have a big impact. I couldn't bring myself to worry about it.

Turning, I headed inside the palace. I knew where to go. Knew where my parents would be. I found their door easily, knocking with purpose, trying to psych myself up to deal with my crying mother. When the door opened, I DID find my mother crying. Just not in grief.

My mom's jaw was clenched, her eyes red but hard as steel. When she saw me though, it was like a dam broke. She leapt forward, wrapping her arms around me. "Oh Shane," she murmured. "I'm so sorry." Her voice was rough, clear signs that she'd been not just crying, but screaming. I just hugged her back.

"Hey ma," I said hoarsely. "I'm home."

"Come in," she said, turning to look into the suite. "Eli, Shane is here. Come say hello." I chuckled as she bustled inside, getting back to doing…something.

I looked around the room. "Are you…organizing you room?"

"No, dumbass," my father said as he walked in carrying a basket of socks. "We're packing. This is the difference between seasoned Ascendants and newbies. We prepare for travel, don't just subsist on whatever dregs we've got floating around our spatial rings."

My mother reached out, fast as lightning, and smacked him on the back of the head. "Your son is a WRECK you insensitive twit. Show some compassion."

"Don't baby the boy," he complained, rubbing his head. "He knows she'll be fine, he doesn't need his mommy to coddle him and tell him it's going to be alright. He's the Wishmaster, damn it. He can handle more than you give him credit for."

She snorted. "I give him ALL the credit," she said imperiously. "But I'm his mother, and he's hurting. Just because someone doesn't NEED support doesn't mean they can't use it. This is why you two have no relationship, you know. You dole out affection like some kind of reward system instead of honestly communicating your feelings."

He groaned, shoulders slumping. "I'm just not BUILT like that Sasha. Besides. He knows I'm…you know. That."

"That?" she demanded. "You can't tell your grieving son you're proud of him? Can't even say the word? How stoic. How manly. Maybe I should start being stoic. You don't NEED me to show you affection, right? You know that I'm, you know…that."

I couldn't help it, I snorted a bit, laughter bubbling up, then it leaked out. More and more laughter until I was cackling, then I was sobbing, and my mom stepped forward to hug me again. My dad just stared at me, a look I'd never seen on his face before. It took me a minute to realize he looked…sad.

"It's alright, love," my mom said soothingly. "Let it out. I'm here."

I did NOT cry on my mother's shoulder. For more than a few minutes. And when I was done, I noticed my dad had gone back into the room to keep packing, giving me space. I kind of appreciated it. Mom didn't seem annoyed, so I suspected the bickering had been partly for my benefit. "So, why are you packing, anyway?" I asked, clearing my throat to brush away some of the cobwebs from totally not crying.

She shot me a puzzled look. "Well, I assumed we would be gone for a while. Your father, is right about this, dear. It's always best to prepare specifically for a journey."

"But where are you going?" I asked in confusion.

She rolled her eyes. "We're GOING to save your WIFE, dear. Obviously. Did you think we'd let you run off to the Void alone? You're barely A-rank. Eli, Ezekiel, and I will obviously be accompanying you on the trip. Samuel wanted to come as well, but my parents are staying here to hold down the fort in your absence, which means he's needed back home."

I gaped at her. "Wait…what? You're coming with me? All three of you?"

"Of course," she scoffed. "This isn't some political quagmire you need to navigate on your own. This is family business. That's our grandchild that girl is carrying, and besides that, I'm VERY fond of your wife. She's a wonderful influence and a kind and intelligent girl. I'd never allow anything to happen to her if I could prevent it."

I was stunned. I didn't even know how to process this. Because I just…had never had this kind of support. My mom had always felt guilty about not being around, and she was affectionate and caring, but the divide between ranks had always been such a hard limit for what people could lend assistance with…except I guessed now it wasn't. Because I was A-rank too. The WCP could limit them from lending aid when I was lower ranked, but now that I was the Wishmaster and we were all equals (and didn't THAT feel weird), they couldn't stop them from helping.

It warmed my heart a bit. Knowing they were gearing up to move out on a journey into the unknown. And for Callie's sake. I knew my mom was a fan, but my dad was too cold to really develop a fondness for anyone. Most of the time I wasn't sure he liked ME.

"Thanks, ma," I told her sincerely. "Seriously. Thank you so much. I couldn't begin to tell you how much that means. And I'm sure Callie will be just as honored."

"Please," she snorted. "You don't need to thank me for supporting my own child. Speaking of which, your sister will NOT be coming along, obviously. She's still at B-rank. We can't afford to slow down."

I nodded. "Elonwy needs to stay because her contract stipulates she be training people, and Alara says there's no way Atlas will let her go. But Bethy was on call with Lark the whole way back. She says she's convinced him to come with us. Black Sorrow and Revenant said they can't do much. Fully manifested realspace gods need to be careful about entering the Void."

My mother smiled warmly, putting her hands on my shoulders. "That's more than enough, Shane. Don't you worry. We'll have her back before you know it." And somehow, for some reason…I really believed her.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The next morning, I called everyone together. All my friends, my cabinet, my allies. I called them all and I laid down the law. I told them what I was doing, where I was going, and why. And I was humbled by the fact that every single one of them volunteered to go with me and help. Unfortunately, while I WAS honored, I was also realistic enough to acknowledge that a lot of them shouldn't be going.

"No B-rankers," I said bluntly. Everyone had been chattering excitedly, but my words cut off the talk like a boulder tossed into a pond, the ripples silencing the dissent before it even started. Not that they looked HAPPY to be silenced, but they waited to hear my logic. Well, most of them.

"Oh go to hell," Benny snapped. "I'm not letting you run off to pick a fight with an actual goddess without me."

I grimaced. I had expected that. And honestly I was so grateful. But I wasn't willing to take that risk. I held up a finger. "Gods are out," I said to start. "Because of the way they manifest in realspace, following us in would risk getting them stuck in the Void. If one of the Void gods decided to slip through while they were away, they'd be stranded and we'd be screwed."

Raising another finger, I ticked off my second point. "S-rankers are covered. Lark is coming along, and he's worth a hundred. He's ALSO the only one we can really spare, because S-rankers are a strategic resource. Independents like Lark are rare, and of all of them, he's the only one we know of who is strong enough to be worth bringing. At least from realspace. I'm planning to stop off in Mourne Kayze and try to leverage the Lady for help, but whether it works is up in the air." In fact, even the stop depended on how close we ended up to the place when we entered the Void, but I didn't want to worry them.

I raised my third finger. "B-rankers aren't strong enough." He flinched, but I kept going. "I know you want to help. I wish you could come. But the fact is that even if we boost you up to fight up ranks, we're going to be fighting the kind of A-rankers who can already do that, and probably some S-rankers to boot."

He glared at me hotly. "You're telling me I'm too weak to help my best friend save his wife."

"I'm telling you that I can't take the risk," I said bluntly. "I'm telling you I need my friend here where he's safe so I can concentrate on doing whatever I need to do to help the woman I love. And that I need you to be ok with that, because it's the best possible thing you could do to help me do that. You want to help Callie, I get that. She's family to you. Like you're family to me. So the question is, can you take a step back. Can you put her needs before yours? Or before mine? Because I need you to?"

He clenched his teeth so hard I worried they might crack. "You're an asshole," he said acidly.

"I know, man," I said sadly. "But I don't have the luxury of being nice right now. I hope you don't hold it against me. But I'd do it anyway even if I knew you would. Losing you would devastate me, and I'm going on this trip to SAVE someone I love, not to make a trade."

It was harsh, but I knew I was right. Benny was my brother in everything but blood, but he wasn't ready for this. Not at early to mid B-rank. If I'd had more time I might have been able to push him up to A. Might have been able to bring him anyway. But I didn't have that time. I was leaving today, and he wasn't coming with me. I wasn't wearing my mask, not for this, and I stared into his eyes, hoping he could see how badly I needed him to be ok with this.

"Fine," he spat, falling back into his chair. "But I'm going to be busting my ass to hit A-rank, and once you're back with them, and I make sure Callie and the kid are ok, I'm going to kick your ass so you can see how 'weak' I am."

I could see from the glint in his eye that he got it, and I grinned at him. "That's the spirit. Shoot for the stars. Nothing is impossible."

"Your mom is impossible," he snapped automatically.

Chelsea coughed loudly. "Hey," she said in an offended tone. "Also she's right there," she gestured to my mother, who waved at him in amusement.

"Sorry," he winced. "Sorry everybody, that was my bad, ignore me!" He called around the room like he was making a public service announcement. My mom was laughing, so I don't think she minded, but Celine was rolling her eyes in a way that I was pretty sure meant he'd be getting yelled at later. Hah. Nerd.

I looked over to Jessie. "Am I going to have to give that speech again? Because I'd actually feel really bad if I had to talk to you like that."

She giggled at Benny's outraged yelp. "No," she said with a laugh. "You can do most of what I can do on your own, as long as you're not being stupid. And I don't think your mom will let you be stupid."

I looked over at Abel, but to my surprise, he didn't back down. He just grinned. "I'm going with you," he said bluntly. And then…something shifted. I blinked as I felt a wave of power roll over him, into him, and through him. A very familiar wave of power. He sat through it without much trouble, and when it was done, he was looking very smug.

"Really?" I said flatly. "You waited until NOW to bind your last page? When did you hit your stat cap?"

He chuckled, buffing his nails on his chest. "A while ago. I spent the last four months out on the battlefront racking up pages. I don't think I'm the only one, either." He frowned over at Bethy. "Am I?"

She pouted. "You're the worst, Axel. You always ruin my fun. Biggest killjoy I know."

"But you DO know me," he said smugly. Sure enough, Bethy sighed and repeated his words, using her decision to join the team as her final page and ascending to A-rank. That was less of a shock, considering her position in the Frozen Moment Academy, and the fact that it was known for providing page binding opportunities.

So, Bethy and Abel were at A-rank. That was a surprise, and not an unwelcome one. They were two of my most formidable friends, and I was glad to have them along. Similarly, I glanced over at Crell, Alanna, and Fade. "What about you three? I know you said you'd go, but I need you to confirm it. This is a volunteer only mission. We're going somewhere we might not be coming back from."

From their flat looks, I could tell that I didn't need to ask, but they all confirmed anyway. "Grandma and Grandpa will be staying behind to mind the shop," I said, glancing to them for confirmation. Once they gave it, I looked at my parents. "Mom and dad are coming along, and Zeke, you're sure you want to come?"

"Boy, I'm still stronger than you," he said archly. "If you try to give me that speech you gave the kid, I'll show you how 'weak' I really am. Don't go thinking hitting A-rank means you've caught up to us old timers. We've still got a few tricks."

"Don't lump yourself in with me," my dad snorted. "I hit A-rank years ago. You BARELY beat him here."

Zeke raised a snarky eyebrow. "Go ahead and comfort yourself with that knowledge while you can. Once he hits S-rank you're going to be making just as many excuses as me." He snickered at my dad's sour expression, and even my mom got a bit of a chuckle.

She reached out for my dad's hand. "Both of you stop it," she said gently. "You've both been part of helping Shane become the man he is. He did most of it, granted," she said, shooting me a proud smile. "But his success is thanks to you too. You should celebrate how strong and brave he is. I know I do. I don't know if I ever really thanked you, Ezekiel, for being there for my son when I couldn't. But I will now. Thank you. From both of us."

"See what she does?" my dad said with a soft smile. "Can't even let me act tough in front of my friends. Has to be all sentimental and wonderful." He raised the hand she was holding to his lips. "Don't ever stop doing that for me, love. It's why I need you most."

I smiled at the byplay. It wasn't often I saw my dad sincere. My mom was just kind of like that, she was a kind person with a strong moral compass and she felt it was her job to let people know she cared about them. But he wasn't the type to wax sentimental. Not when she wasn't around. That was what she did for him. Kept him human, horns and all.

My eyes closed for a moment, opening on a world of strings and wires, following a shining white chain from my heart into the distance. I stared at it for a moment, then closed my eyes again, and opened them back on the world I'd left. The one with a hole in it that I needed to fill.

"So, that's the team," I said, looking around. "Abel, Bethy, Mom, Dad, Zeke, Crell, Alanna, Fade, Lark, and me. Small, elite, and hopefully with a few more helping hands from the Order of Mercy if the Lady is feeling generous. I considered recruiting someone from the family, but I don't trust any of the council enough for this kind of job. No offense, dad."

My father shrugged. "None taken, I don't trust those old bastards any further than Benny could throw them."

"Hey," Benny whined. "Why is everyone taking shots at me today?"

We all chuckled at that, even Benny. "Anyway, everyone get your things ready and talk to whoever you need to talk to before we go. Alara says Atlas is sending someone to pick us up tonight, so that's when we leave. Bethy, is your dad going to be here in time?"

"Oh daddy's been here for days," she shrugged. We all turned to stare at her. "He agreed on the trip over and he beat us here. He's been skulking around in people's shadows for the last couple days for fun to see if anyone would notice. I think he was testing Ansel today," she smiled at Abel sweetly. "You pick up on anything?"

"I think I'd have noticed if the old man was-" he turned and screamed in fear as Lark's pale, aristocratic face appeared in front of him, emerging from the darkness.

Lark smiled darkly. "You were saying something about noticing me? And about my age?"

"What?" Abel said in a high pitched voice. "I would never. I have the deepest respect for you, master."

Lark nodded to the rest of us. "I'll make my appearance among you when it's time for us to depart. Until then, I'll be borrowing your training room. My apprentice appears to have forgotten his training now that he's a powerful A-ranker. I suspect I'll need to remind him of his fundamentals."

He stood and began to walk away, Abel floating weightlessly in the air in his hand, struggling to get free. "No, I didn't mean it, I was wrong, please, somebody HELP ME!" That was the last sound we heard as the door slammed shut.

"So before we go, does anyone have any requests for snacks," I said, clapping my hands enthusiastically. As it would happen, people did.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The pickup we'd had arranged wasn't what I'd expected. I'd figured it would be a teleporter, or maybe a ship, but when we arrived to meet Alara, neither of those things were present. Instead, sitting next to her, gleaming white against the void of space, was a tall set of magnificent double doors.

I blinked in surprise at the sight. "So…that's a door," I pointed out, admittedly a bit obviously.

"Excellent catch," Zeke said with false enthusiasm. "Unrelated, we're standing on rocks, wearing shoes, and are all Ascendants."

I rolled my eyes at my uncle. "I meant where did it come from, ass."

"For shame," he gasped, putting a hand to his heart. "What kind of disrespectful child speaks to their lifelong guardian in such a manner. I am shocked and appalled at your behavior, and demand satisfaction from the rapscallion who instilled it in you."

My mom rolled her eyes. "You're BOTH children. Honestly."

"Nope," he cackled. "You already said those nice things about how grateful you were to me. Can't take it back now."

Alara sighed. "The door," she said, cutting through the banter. "Is on loan from one of my father's…guests. Vorinder the Door god. There's only a fragment of him left, but my father has been exploring the necropolis to dig up some of the remnants of some of their objects of power. The door was one such artifact, and with Vorinder's…let's say cooperation, its use can provide a direct link to our home in the Chasm."

"Magic door," I said appreciatively. "Nice. Can we get a magic door? Because I don't LOVE using ships to get everywhere. I know ours are good, and teleporters are an option, but I feel like doors like this would be pretty useful."

Unfortunately, Callie was our spatial expert, and she was the one I'd have normally asked about this, which wiped away my good humor somewhat. Still, I added to the mental list of things to ask her about when we got her back as we approached the door. Crell, who was following behind me, nodded with interest. "I might be able to work with Elonwy and make something happen. She can do that space and time thing with her car. And my Doubt skill makes limitations…negotiable."

"Interesting," I said slowly. And it was. I wondered if Celestial Fabrication could be used like that. I imagined making a door of clockwork. It wasn't called Celestial Watchmaking. Callie would be excited to look into that with me when she got back.

We stopped in front of the door, staring up at the towered barrier. "So…am the only one who is slightly worried about what the hell might have needed doors this big to pass through?" Abel said grimly.

Lark let out a bark of laughter. "Yes," he said bluntly. "Most of us have seen things at least this big out among the stars. Giants, beasts, some of the devils are around that tall, even. You might be strong enough, boy, but don't forget that you've hardly scratched the surface of this universe. Power and wisdom are far from synonymous."

"Daddy," Bethy sighed. "You aren't going to give boring speeches the whole time we're on our trip, are you?"

To my shock, Morgan Lark, The Vampire, the strongest mortal in existence, the scourge of the universe, actually flinched back, looking wounded. "You love my speeches," he protested. "You always used to say that they were your favorite part of your day. Sharing wisdom with your dear old dad."

"I DO love your speeches, daddy," she said gently. "But I think my friends might not be quite as enthused by them. Let's try to keep it to a minimum, at least."

He scowled at me. "She was never this rebellious before she started traveling with you."

"That can't possibly be an accurate statement." I said dryly. He glared at me for a moment. Then another.

Finally lips pulled back into a too wide grin, baring his long sharp teeth. "Oh, I like you. Yes, I think I'll be very pleased to help you find your family." He glanced at Bethy. "You were right about this one. He DOES have spine."

I snorted at that. Mostly I just didn't have the energy to be afraid of him. If Lark wanted me dead I'd die. Probably. Actually, Alara might be able to take him. She seemed convinced she was strong enough, at least she had been, so maybe I'd be fine. Either way, his poking just seemed so petty at this point, I couldn't bring myself to bother reacting.

Not that I'd ever SAY that. I wasn't stupid. Passing Lark's test meant he'd be more willing to lend a hand, and that was priceless, not just now, but in the future.

We finally arrived at the doors, which to Abel's credit WERE actually very tall. The reason we'd walked so long was because the sheer size of the things made them seem closer. When we arrived, Alara put her hand on the nearest door and pushed. The door swung open, revealing a familiar dining hall.

All of us started forward, but Alara held up a hand. "Just Shane," she said quietly. "I'll open the other door and escort you to the residential quarters."

I nodded to the others, stepping through without bothering to worry about potential dangers. Atlas could snuff me out like a candle if he wanted to, so there was no point worrying. As the door slammed behind me, I headed toward the table. It took me a moment to see where Atlas was, given the whole hall was dark, but eventually I did.

He looked…bad. The tall, dark haired god was leaning back in his chair. His long hair was messy and limp, his eyes dull, and I could smell the alcohol from where I stood. He looked up at me blearily.

I glared at him. "Really?" I demanded. "You're DRUNK?"

"I'm not drunk," he sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I'm drinking. It's not so easy for a god to get drunk I've been waiting for you. Please, come sit."

Sighing, I made my way over to the chair next to him, sliding into the seat before turning to regard him steadily. "You know why I'm here," I said tiredly. "Are you really going to make me ask you about it?"

"I won't," he sighed. "But I need a moment. I'm feeling…morose. Not just because of Calliope, though of course I'm worried."

"Belsara," I filled in the blanks.

He nodded sadly. "We were a happy family, once," he said quietly. "Alara was our whole world. I took it as badly as she did, you know? Losing my girl. But where she broke under the pressure, I put it all into the fight. I became the best warrior I could be. I fought everything. Gods, Void Children, if it existed I did battle with it. I was fighting so hard I didn't even realize I was already in a war for my marriage. I lost that one."

"So what, because you loved her you'll just let it go?" I demanded, my anger rising.

"Did I say that?" he snapped. "I'm not done yet. All I'm doing is explaining how we got here. Just…let me speak. Please?"

I nodded, and he continued. "That was why I chose to adopt Calliope. Because she looked so much like Alara. And I really was so proud. She was just like my girl. Strong, brave, caring, and with that light deep down that you can't put out. It felt like fate. Like a second chance. To do it right and be a better father."

"Even after Alara came back," he said fondly. "And I will owe the both of you forever for that, by the way. Even after that, I still considered her my child. I still felt that pride in her accomplishments, in her decisions. Even her choice to marry you made me proud. You two are such a good match. It's important to remember that. Important to understand how much I want to see you two back together."

I frowned at him, dread churning in my stomach. "Why is that important?" I said quietly. "What's going on."

"I heard you saw the lodge," he said, taking a long sip of his wine. "That you entered her forest. But that's not really her Domain. It's just the edge. A piece of the whole that doesn't mean anything. Belsara's Domain is so much more than just that. So much more complicated. And if Calliope is there now, it's important for you to understand what you'll find when you reach her."

My stomach was a black hole now, a bottomless pit of pressure and gravity. "What will I find?" I said softly. "Is she…will she be ok?"

"Oh, of that I have no doubt," he reassured me. "If anything, the Domain will ensure that. Belsara's realm of endless summer isn't built for torment or captivity. But it is built to…dull the senses. To change the passage of time relative to experience. A week in the realm of endless summer is a day outside."

I understood what he wasn't saying. "It'll be longer," I said slowly. "Longer for her than for me. Months. Maybe years if I take too long." How long had it been already? It had been a week for me. So what? Nearly two months? And that was just a week. I made to stand, but his hand lashed out, gripping my wrist.

"Not yet," he said sharply. "You don't understand. I know you want to rush, but if you're to get her out of that place you need to grasp how it works. It's not meant to be escaped. If it helps, she might have taken a day or two to find the hanging land she needed to reestablish her realm in the Void. If so, it might have been a bit less time. But it's important that you don't run off blindly and ruin your attempt at rescue. Rules are the most important thing in that Domain, and knowing them is how you succeed."

I forced myself to calm down. Time differences weren't ideal, but they weren't unknown to me. I'd studied temporal mechanics at the Frozen Moment Academy, after all. I nodded firmly, letting him know I was focusing, not letting my emotions get away from me.

And so he began to talk. He told me about Belsara, about her nature and her past and her dreams and the reasons she did the things she did. He told me about her Domain, her Path, her Chronicle, and even more complicated aspects of who she was that I wasn't sure would be useful, but that I refused to discard just in case.

Eventually, I joined him in drinking, though not much. Just a small glass of wine to sip as we spoke. Something to do with my hands.

Finally, we finished talking. "One more thing," he cautioned gravely as we were about to adjourn from dinner. "Belsara is, at her core, a decent person. She's done things we may consider wrong or ruthless, but she does them with good intentions. This is a fundamental fact you need to internalize, because it means that at any given time, she WANTS to be the good guy. Give her a way to look good. Make her the hero, and she'll do your whole job for you."

I nodded. I didn't know what he meant, exactly, but I suspected I would soon enough. Over the course of the conversation, I'd really allowed myself to process my anger toward him. Not let it go, like I had before, but sort of…couch it. Save it and nurture it. Not to use on Atlas himself, mind, but to use on Belsara.

Whatever she thought of herself, she was not, in fact, the good guy. And if she got in the way of me getting my wife back, I wasn't going to be a very good guy either. I just hoped it didn't come to that. If she was really treating Callie as well as Alara thought, I doubted she'd want to see the woman hurt. Whatever happened would depend entirely on that.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

"So, we have a few problems," I told my friends as we left the chasm. "The Realm of Endless Summer, as Atlas calls it, is…complicated. The entire thing is built on very esoteric principles, ones of emotion and disconnection and-"

"It's a webworld," my dad cut in. "Isn't it?"

I raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged. "I've spent time in the Void, Shane, I know about Hanging Lands and the different ways they manifest. Based on what you told me about the fragment you saw and that description, it wasn't exactly a leap."

Abel frowned. "What's a webworld?"

"It's…complicated," I said slowly. "Webworlds are built using spiritual foundations. They're harder to construct, but also harder to break. Your normal Domains are built using a Chronicle as a base, build on top of the legend and into the Void to create a sort of self actualized shallowing. Webworlds still do that, but the construction involves the soul. It's almost impossible to do unless you're born with a freakishly strong one. My grandmother could have made a webworld, for instance."

"She didn't," my mother said with a sigh. "Because they're inherently unstable, and so are the people who make them. The closest thing I've seen to one is the WCP. Your ancestor used webworld concepts to create the absurd accessibility of the Palace. But it's not the same as a real webworld. A REAL webworld can be accessed from almost anywhere when it's properly constructed."

I shook my head. "Not when it's been shattered. Atlas says a broken webworld loses a lot of functionality. Basically entering a fragment can lead you into a shared space where they all connect, but it's not cohesive. Certain fragments connect to certain others, so you have to move through them in order. He says it's going to make Yama less effective, though not INeffective."

"Makes sense," my dad nodded. "And I'm guessing that means we need to enter in specific places. Which is going to be a problem. Do we even know which Hanging Lands we're supposed to be looking for?"

I nodded. "He had some ideas. Webworlds don't break the same as normal realms. When they shatter, they carry through the emotions they're woven out of. The fragments drift to places of meaning to the god in question. Or at least close as they can get in the Void, in this case. I have a list of locations to check, and Yama should help narrow it down, at least."

We stepped out of the chasm and onto the Void Roads without incident. I'd gotten a heading and been eager to be on my way. Knowing Callie would be experiencing a week for every day this took was hell for me. Was she ok? Was the baby? How long would this take?

A hand landed on my shoulder and I looked up to see Zeke smiling at me. "It's gonna be fine, kid," he said quietly. "We're doing well. I've been on a lot of jobs, and a lot of rescue missions. You've kept your head, kept your focus, and assembled a team and the tools you need to succeed. Don't lose it now when we're finally underway."

"He's right," my mom said in her warmest, most upbeat voice. "I mean, remember the time Eli got kidnapped by that fae sorceress and locked in that enchanted tower?"

My dad froze, whipping around to glare at her. "You promised not to mention that ever again!"

"No, that was me," Zeke said, raising his hand. "You didn't ask her to swear because you assumed she was too nice to bring it up."

"Sorry, hon," my mom said apologetically. "But it's for a good cause."

I couldn't help my grin as I saw him sulk. "So dad was a damsel in distress, huh? Why did she kidnap him anyway?"

My mom grimaced and Zeke burst out laughing. "The sorceress in question was obsessed with him. She thought Sasha was a bad influence and was keeping him from his full potential. She wanted him to run away with her, and when he refused she locked him in a tower and tried to force him to be her dark lord boyfriend. He had one window out onto a square she would regularly fill with peasants. The peasants would make wishes, but they were all "evil" wishes."

"They weren't EVIL, they were just STUPID," my dad hissed. "One of them wished that hamsters on that planet could make revenge plans. What does that even MEAN?"

I blinked at him. "Did you grant it?"

"Of course I granted it," he shrugged. "He paid for it. Besides, it wasn't the dumbest wish I granted there. One of them wished to have crab claws for hands. Weirdly, he did not consider all the uses he had for opposable thumbs before asking. I granted that one too, but that was much less annoying. Especially when I had his friend untie his shoe laces."

"You know, I could kind of see you as a dark lord," I said contemplatively. "I'm surprised you didn't just go with it."

He flinched. "Your mother would have plucked out my toenails one by one." My mom glared at him and he coughed, backpedaling. "I mean, that woman was completely ridiculous and I had no desire to engage in that sort of reprehensible behavior, especially not with her."

"Says the man who became a LITERAL devil," I said dryly.

"The devil thing isn't as big of a deal as people make it out to be," he shrugged. "We're mostly just a type of fae. I mostly made the switch for the symbolism, though Sasha WAS unhappy about the transformation. We weren't really around each other at the time, unfortunately, but she made her displeasure known with a strongly worded letter."

Zeke snickered. "Like she needed to do anything else. Your dad has always been a sucker for your mom. Anytime she's upset at him he tears his hair out trying to fix it. For someone as disaffected as he is, the idea of his darling wifey being upset with him has a surprising amount of influence over his mental state."

My dad just glared at him. "You know, I can still kick your ass. Just because we're the same rank doesn't mean you're as tough as I am."

Zeke just snorted. "As if I care. If I was worried about that I'd never make fun of Lark."

"You know," the Vampire said dryly. "Someday, I AM going to do something about that. It's not like I leave you be out of fondness. It may surprise you to know that I've never actually liked you."

"Yes, you've always been very clear about that," Zeke said dryly. "In fact, I think your first words to me were 'you, know, I don't think I like you'. But you respect the fact that I'm not afraid of you like everyone else, because they're all, and I quote 'whimpering little sycophantic lickspittles'. Until everyone else stops being afraid of you, you value my input too much to crack down on me."

That had been a surprise to find out. I knew Lark knew my dad, but I hadn't been aware he knew Zeke. They weren't very forthcoming on HOW, but apparently they'd been acquainted for a long time. It was interesting to hear about their pasts, even if I knew they were only bringing it up to distract me. Still, I did need to focus. "Alright, time to pick a direction," I said grimly. "There are a few possibilities, so we'll go with whatever Yama pulls me towards."

The Void wasn't exactly easy to traverse when you were looking for realspace matchups. Space over here was complicated and twisty, often not lining up with realspace properly. This enabled easy travel on the Void Roads if you knew the paths (which basically no one did because the Void was huge and the Roads were absurdly complicated), but it also meant trying to match up the two locations could be difficult if not impossible.

Atlas was able to point me in the general direction of a few places he considered to be likely to be close to one of the fragments we needed, but there were a few of them, and he only had a general heading. Sure enough, when I manifested Yama, I saw the familiar glittering chain stretching off into the distance, turning to point off down the Void Road. "We're going that way. Which, based on Atlas's directions means we're probably headed for Bloodcrest."

"That's unfortunate," my dad grimaced. At my surprised look, he shrugged. "I've been in the Void before, and I do know some general information. Bloodcrest is a particularly attractive hanging land for exiles and criminals. I've visited it myself, and it is extremely dangerous, though admittedly an excellent place to find desperate people to make deals with. I have a few friends there, but there's a small problem. Bloodcrest isn't JUST a hanging land. It's stable, and there are access gates inside it to other realm fragments. No one is quite sure HOW, but it's one of the reasons it's remained so popular."

I grimaced. "Ok, so we'll have to search inside Bloodcrest to find the right gate. Not ideal, but doable. Yama should-"

"It's not that simple, unfortunately," he interrupted. "The Void is huge and dangerous, keeping hold of a hanging land is nearly impossible from the outside, you can only enter and conquer it internally, but Bloodcrest-"

I groaned. "Bloodcrest is a stable independent space full of other stable independent spaces," I groaned. If I knew one thing about Ascendants, it was that they LOVED claiming ownership of things. Especially worlds. With Bloodcrest allowing gate access, I could already guess what my dad was about to say. "The gates are all under the control of other forces, aren't they?"

"They are," he said grimly. "And whats worse, I suspect that there might be more than one gate connected to the lands of endless summer in Bloodcrest. It's an expansive kind of place, and there are a LOT of gates. Your connection is leading us to the right general area, but since we don't know how many gates may be inside, we don't know which of the gates it might be leading to. Bloodcrest might be acting as a sort of signal booster."

"It doesn't matter," I waved him off. "We'll know once we're inside. It might make accessing them more complicated, but it's hardly the end of the world. Do you know anyone there we might be able to hit up for information?"

He grinned. "Oh yes," he chuckled. "A great many people. The Wish Devil was quite popular in Bloodcrest. The WCP doesn't deal with exiles most of the time, but the devils are less selective. Not to mention my power to make unbalanced deals means places like Bloodcrest are excellent sources of desperate people looking to make deals. I made quite an impression on the populace, for good or ill."

I expected my mom to be unhappy, but weirdly she didn't seem bothered. I remember how ruthless she could be sometimes. My mother was a good person, but she was still an Ascndant. You didn't reach A-rank by being squeamish.

"Well, it doesn't matter who knows who until we get there," Abel pointed out. "And the Void Roads aren't exactly safe to travel."

I blinked at that. They'd seemed safe enough to me. But then I remembered a conversation I'd overheard on my last trip. Everyone who was anyone had been at the warfront last time I'd been here. With the tower's descent, the war had cooled somewhat. It had heated up when we got back, but there was no telling if the residents of the Void, spawn or not, had gotten the memo.

Sighing, I shook my head. "Well, we'll see how it goes. Only way to know for sure is to make the trip. Everyone get ready, we move out in ten minutes. We're heading for Bloodcrest." No time to waste, I didn't want Callie waiting for me any longer than necessary.

 

[Deathbun]

Nvm, apparently the site I use to find fics just didn't recognize that this fic had that tag already

 

[Malcolm Tent]

We were attacked six times on the road to Bloodcrest. None of the attacks were particularly successful, and Lark didn't even need to get involved, but it was still a stark contrast to my relatively peaceful journey on the Void roads not too long ago. It didn't bode particularly well for…well, anything.

Still, over a span of five days, it wasn't TOO crazy. It was, at the very least, a good distraction from the fact that my wife had now been waiting for another month plus. It was frustrating and scary, but I kept my eye on Yama to watch the chain, and I was able to confirm that she and the baby were both safe. In fact, the baby was growing like a weed. The chain looped through Callie's had been getting thicker over time, and I could see how strong she was becoming.

I wondered if the fact that there was only one chain made twins impossible, but given how weird twins could be in terms of souls and abilities, it was also possible there WERE two of them and they just shared one link. Or it could be a factor of them not being born yet, it was hard to say this early.

Still, distraction could only do so much, and when we came within sight of the entrance to Bloodcrest I couldn't help but be relieved.

"Oh hey, another door," Bethy chirped excitedly. "I wonder where this one goes? Maybe to a secret garden full of flying fish? Or like…a mountain of candy." She paused. "Actually, I feel like logistically a mountain of candy would be a problem. Like there would be no way to keep it all clean, it would probably mostly go to waste. You'd need a special environment."

"True," I said with a chuckle. "One of our honeymoon destinations was a candy planet, I think. I didn't think to ask how that would even work."

We arrived at the end of a long line. I was kind of shocked to see so many people out here, given we were in the Void. We hadn't really spotted many humans on the Void roads up to now, just a few stragglers in the distance who made a point not to get close. Here though, there were dozens of people lined up and waiting, so we could only queue up for entry with all the others.

My mom laughed as she got in line behind us. "It's an ecosystem thing. On a fully candy world all the particulates are candy. The dust, the rain, the oceans. A fully enclosed candy ecosystem remains untainted as long as outside factors don't pollute it. Most places like that take measures to prevent visitors from dirtying the place up, purification artifacts being among them. My dad actually does business with some of them."

Bethy perked up. "Can you schedule me a visit? I want to make CANDY wine! It'll be my next big thing. I can sell it at my concerts, delicious candy wine that you can only get while listening to me sing!"

I paused. "That…actually doesn't sound bad," I admitted. "I don't like wine much, but candy wine might be ok. I do like sweets."

Zeke sneered at me. "Philistine," he snorted. "Your childlike palate simply can't appreciate the complexity of a sophisticated vintage. Unlike those of us with more refined tastes. Where did I go wrong?"

I rolled my eyes. "I once saw you accidentally drink drain cleaner because you put your whiskey bottle too close to it on the counter," I said dryly. "You don't get to play the sommelier card you crusty old drunk. Although…how the hell did you even GET drunk on Callus? There's no way you had B-rank booze lying around."

"I didn't," he snorted. "I got lightly buzzed at most. I just pretended to be drunk to give you the freedom to gain life experience."

To my complete shock, scent of truth…detected honesty. Kind of. I was pretty sure that was at the very least shaded in his favor, but still, if there was ANY truth to that statement it recontextualized a lot of my childhood. Zeke hadn't been an absentee guardian, really, but he'd mostly left me to my own devices. It had worked out and he was always there when I really needed him, but I was shocked that had never come up before.

I was snapped out of the confusion by a hand waving in front of my face. "Toll?" demanded an impatient voice.

Blinking, I looked up to find a pair of beefy men in heavy armor glaring at me. One of them had absurdly long hair and a clean shaven face and the other had a huge bushy beard and was bald. It was quite the contrast. I looked at my dad, who reached into a pocket and withdrew a familiar stone. Infinity crystal. He tossed it to the nearest guard who literally bit down on the stone to test its authenticity before waving us in.

"Infinity crystal?" I asked him as we entered.

He nodded. "Bloodcrest is in the Void, and space is in short supply here. Or at least they always need more of it. Infinity crystals are currency here. I always carry some on me just in case, as well as every OTHER type of currency I've seen. Always pays to have a full wallet."

I made a mental note of that. Keeping various currencies on hand for traveling did seem smart, given how much space I had in my Domain. My ring was convenient still for transport… I froze. Everyone turned to look at me, standing just through the door and into the city. "The rings!" I sputtered.

Dashing over to the wall, I tore free a piece of paper and a pen, scrawling a message and dropping it into the paired ring. I stayed stock still, waiting for a second before a message popped up in return. I held it aloft, checking the paper. "I forgot about these things," I read aloud. "I love you too, and obviously you're coming to save me. Good to know about the time difference, I'll be waiting."

I grinned at the others triumphantly. "Our wedding rings," I said excitedly. "They're connected. A shared space that works between dimensions. Even divine artifacts can be put through them. It's how we got the scythe to Black Sorrow after Rackham!"

With a one week to one day time dilation, she had minutes to respond on her side when only seconds passed on mine, which was a relief, but just knowing that she was safe, even discounting Yama, was enough to make me weep with gratitude. I didn't even remember where we GOT the rings, a wedding present I was pretty sure, maybe from my mom, but knowing they provided a connection still was too comforting for words.

My mom was at my side in an instant. "She's alright? Thanks the gods, here give her these!" She started digging out items, shocking them towards me. "These will be good for the baby, and these will help with morning sickness, and this is to help with her feet swelling." She piled items into my arms frantically, and I couldn't help the warm smile. I knew she was worried about Callie for my sake, and because she cared for her, but seeing how much effort and time she put into helping her through the pregnancy.

I tossed it all into the ring, along with a note for my wife. Naturally, she responded in moments, and I smiled as I passed my mother the note. Shaking off my new state of jubilation, I turned to the others. "Alright," I said cheerfully. "We got some good news, but we have a job to do. Dad, who are we meeting up with first? I'd prefer not to break out Yama in the city's front porch. I doubt anyone will be able to tell what I'm doing, but doubt isn't fact."

"Agreed," he said after a glance around. "I think House Ralkyne is probably our best bet. We left things on good terms and they were pretty powerful. Which is nice because it means they're useful AND I didn't take advantage of them too badly. Some of my contacts may be…less than thrilled with me."

"I don't think I want to know what you did," I said, vividly remembering him forcibly conscripting souls on the heirworld. "These Ralkyne people DO actually like you, though?"

"They paid up front," he shrugged. "Too powerful to bully or threaten. Too stable to tempt."

I snorted. "Good to know you have standards. Do you remember where they live? Or do we need to ask around?"

"Nah, I know where they are," he assured me. "Though we need to head to an old haunt of mine first. All my directions are relative to that place, I have no idea how to get anywhere from here. It's not too far though, I don't think. I want to say…that way?" He pointed off to the left uncertainly.

"Oh, well if you're sure," Zeke said acidly. "I'm glad we're not leaving this up to chance."

My dad smiled sweetly at him. "How I about I leave YOU up. On the moon."

"We're in the Void dipshit," Zeke taunted. "There isn't even a moon HERE. Maybe instead of stealing souls you should have charged one of those suckers you conned some common sense."

Lark sighed. "This is truly fascinating interplay," he drawled. "And while I would LOVE to see Elijah send Ezekiel on a lunar sabbatical, we ARE on a job here."

My mom rolled her eyes. "Just tell us where we're going, Eli. What is this old haunt of yours?"

"The Hollow Pumpkin," he said immediately. "It's not far from here. I can't actually see it from here but it's not hard to recognize. Follow me." He gestured in the same direction he'd been pointing, and we all trailed after her. I'll give him credit, he did seem to navigate the streets smoothly, finding alleys and turning down side paths I hadn't noticed. We walked for about ten minutes, before stopping in front of…

I glanced at my dad. "You're kidding me," I said dryly. "I assumed it was a BAR called the hollow pumpkin."

"It is," he shrugged. "It just happens to also be housed inside an ACTUAL hollow pumpkin."

"Well, at least they don't need a sign," I sighed. "You know how to get to our destination from here, then?"

"I do," he admitted. "But it would be smart to check in there. You can look into the link once we're inside. Then once that's done we can use it to pin down which gate we need to access and contact the Ralkyne with all the information. It'll make negotiations easier."

Sighing, I nodded as Bethy squealed with delight. "I bet they have PUMPKIN wine! I bet pumpkin wine tastes so good. I'm totally going to grow pumpkins to make wine out of. Vampires have a natural affinity for pumpkins, you know. There are always pumpkins around when people dress up like vampires."

I opened my mouth to respond, but Abel clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Just…let her have this one," he said dryly. "Plus once she actually tries it she'll change her mind. I've had pumpkin juice before. It's not great. I can't imagine the wine is any better."

Since she heard him, Bethy just huffed and started telling him off, the two of them heading into the building with my parents following behind, accompanied by Lark, Crell, Alanna, and Fade. As I watched them go, I couldn't help but smile. This was far from over, and obviously I wasn't feeling completely better, but the relief of making contact lifted a heavy burden from my soul. Beyond that, all my friends had been doing their best to keep me engaged and upbeat, and I appreciated it. I had the best family in the world. Now I just needed to go make sure it was complete.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The Hollow Pumpkin was surprisingly crowded. I don't know why the word hollow had convinced me the place would be completely empty, but when we stepped inside, I was shocked by just how noisy and energetic it was.

Groups of Ascendants at tables, doing shots, playing cards, occasionally doing something crazy like breathing fire. Once group was playing darts, trying to get the projectiles through moving smoke rings blown by a nearby witness. I winced as one of the darts went stray and hit someone in the face, though he seemed more annoyed than injured.

"I missed this place," my dad grinned. It was honestly weird to see the expression on his face. He smiled sometimes, but it was usually either malicious or the soft kind he rarely sent at my mother. I'd never seen him look so…wild and free.

"Well, well, well," came a lazy drawl from behind the bar. "If it isn't the wish devil himself. I thought I recognized that handsome scarlet mug of yours, Eli."

My dad rolled his eyes, turned to smile back at the woman behind the bar. "Surprised you can recognize anything Serena, given your penchant for dipping into your own product. You still have to order an extra three kegs a week for your own abuse." He snorted, nodding over to us. "Shane, Sasha, come over here and meet a friend of mine. Serena and I go way back. I'm the reason she owns this bar, which is why I drink free here. Serena, this is my son Shane and my wife Sasha. Don't be yourself."

She flipped him off. "I'm so sorry you two have to put up with this insufferable ass. I only knew him for a few months back in the day and I was already sick of him by the time he left. And I never said you drank free here. I have a business to run."

My mom snickered. "Don't let him bully you," she advised. "Eli will push and push until you set some boundaries. We'll be happy to pay for drinks."

Serena shook her head. "I was just giving this idiot a hard time. I'm not gonna charge you. I wouldn't have been able to build this place at all without him." She glanced around fondly, taking in the building.

I followed suit, studying the place, and I had to admit it was kind of cool. The interior of the pumpkin had been hollowed out, but rather than just leaving it to dry, it seemed like they'd coated the walls in some kind of varnish. The texture and look reminded me a lot of dark wood, and it really brought the inside of the bar together.

Along the walls, big iron lanterns hung burning, casting a flickering glow across the slate grey floors (which I was pretty sure had been made with ACTUAL slate), and the furniture was built in a strange boxy design aesthetic with rounded corners that seemed to compliment the pumpkin shape.

"Where did this place come from, anyway?" I asked with interest. "Like, where do you get a pumpkin this size?"

"The Garden of Coloss," she said with a frown. "One of the nearby gates. It used to be the realm of some giant plant god. Everything in there grows huge, but the larger plants are sentient. My family fished this thing out after a huge fight about three hundred years ago. My brother was set to inherit, but Eli…took care of it."

Bethy lit up. "Oh! Did he kill him?"

"What?" Serena asked in confusion. "No, he just helped him get a job working for another local family. Honestly, what's wrong with kids these days?"

I chuckled at that. "Just Bethy being Bethy, she doesn't mean anything by it."

The bartender snorted. "Whatever. My brother needed help acquiring some skills that helped him land a job. Eli hooked him up and he made room for me to take over this place. It was a favor I appreciated, though I doubt Eli himself thought twice about it. He probably only warned me it was coming out of habit. Why reap one benefit when you can reap two, right?"

"That does sound like him," my mother chuckled. "Well, I won't insist if you're sure. I suppose we'd like drinks then. Bethany, I believe you wanted to ask about pumpkin wine?"

"Pumpkin wine?" the bartender asked in confusion. "Who would make pumpkin wine?"

Bethy slumped. "Oh," she sighed. "I really wanted to try that. But I guess pumpkins aren't great for making drinks or whatever."

"What? No we have pumpkin drinks, they're just not WINE," Serena scoffed. "We have pumpkin BEER. Does this look like a damned vineyard to you? The only wines we keep on hand are the local specialties and that weird mushroom wine my brother tried to market before he handed me the place. I've owned it for years and not a single cup of that stuff has ever sold. I spilled a bottle of it once and I think it ate a hole in the floor."

My dad winced. "I remember that stuff. He kept trying to pay me with a case of it. Liquid shouldn't LUNGE."

"It doesn't do that anymore, to be fair," she added brightly. "Well, not unless the mice get too close. But I think I'd consider that to be more like pouncing at this point. We keep it in the basement now though. The cold keeps it docile."

"No," I said immediately as I saw Bethy's contemplative expression. "Under no circumstances are you allowed to buy any of that."

Bethy glared at me, stomping her foot and turning to pout at her dad. He just shrugged. "You swore yourself to his service," he said casually. "Means he's the boss of you. If he says no mushroom wine that means no mushroom wine."

I shot him a deadpan look. "Gee, thanks. I'm so glad to have you here to immediately pass the buck as soon as she gets upset. Truly, I see the courage of the strongest mortal in the universe."

"True strength is knowing when to turn and walk away," he said sagely. "Also my daughter can get very loud when she's upset and she sulks for weeks. Not worth it. But hey, now it's your problem. You and your sister. I just get to spoil her rotten and leave you to deal with all the annoying parts. Thanks for that."

I just stared at him. "Aren't you supposed to be some menacing figure of mystery?"

"Menace and mystery are overrated," he shrugged. "I usually only bother in public. Right now, I'm on vacation."

Chuckling, I turned back to the bartender. "I'll take a…" I glanced at the scrawled menu hanging behind her. "Wizzlefisker?" I frowned. "What is that? And why does it sound like it's covered in gears and probably steaming?"

She snickered, turning and grabbing a large bronze mug. Stepping over a series of taps behind the bar, then started pulling, mixing about a dozen liquids together. Then she grabbed a stick or something out of a nearby barrel and plopped it into the drink. The stick had a metal pinwheel on it, and when she flicked it, the pinwheel let out a high pitched shriek and sparks erupted out of it.

I gave her a blank look, then shrugged and took the mug, taking a cautious sip. "This…what is this? I don't know what the hell I'm drinking."

"Pineapple, orange, grape, apple, a few other assorted fruits cut with brandy and a dash of rum. My own personal blend. The secret is the ratios. If any of the juices are too dominant or not dominant enough it unbalances the taste. If you do it JUST right it combines into something that doesn't really taste like anything else you've ever had." She winked at me. "I'm a Mythic Mixologist."

I chuckled as I took another sip. "This is weirdly delicious. I kind of can't stop. Anyway, you have a place I could use for a bit of quiet self reflection?"

She snorted, then tossed me a key off a nearby hook. She pointed across the building, to a door under a set of stairs bolted right into the outside of the pumpkin, ones that led up to a smaller second story. "We rent that room out for private parties. Should work for what you need."

I nodded as the others ordered their drinks, scooping up the key as walking over to the door. I pushed it open, bumping it closed with my hip, and then set my drink down on the well crafted carved wood table. Then, without hesitation, I triggered Yama. The word was consumed with strings and threads, karmic ties and chains and bonds covering the space around me. The most important was exactly where I knew it would be, right in my heart, strung through with a single ch- I froze.

The red chain within Callie's larger shining chain. It wasn't a single chain anymore. It was two. The two chains were wrapped around each other tight, so I barely noticed until I looked closer. But it had split. I just stared in awe as I processed what I was seeing.

Twins. We were actually having twins. A lot of people had made jokes, comments, even predictions. Hell, I'd made them. But seeing the single chain I'd convinced myself we'd all just been off base. Now though, now I could see it, definitive proof we were going to have two babies.

I reached for a piece of paper, about to send a note through the rings…but I stopped. Callie had said she didn't want to know. I didn't want to ruin the surprise. It wasn't like she was going to be more protective of two babies than one. She'd do her best for our kids no matter how many there were. I smiled mischievously and put my hand down. She'd been the one who asked me not to confirm it. I was just doing what I was supposed to. Eventually though, I snorted and wrote a note anyway. Then I folded it and wrote "Baby secret: spoilers", and dropped it into the ring.

This way she could make the decision for herself, and the worst that could happen was that she figured it out from context based on the tag. I also debated on sending over some juice or something for Callie, maybe the same drink I got minus the brandy and rum. I decided against it because I was worried Belsara might notice the cup so in the end…I just sent her a video.

Picking up an old scan ring, hit the record function. "Hey Cal," I said softly. "I'm sorry it took so long to get in touch, I know it's been months for you. I realize I explained the time difference but I still feel bad. I'm sure you'll be careful listening to this, just like you are with the notes, probably checking them in the vault, but I wanted you to see my face and hear my voice. I wish I was there with you guys, and I will be soon. Just…be safe, be careful, and I know I love you so much."

I slipped the scan ring into the paired rings and waited. To my surprise, it reappeared within about thirty seconds. Which made sense given the time difference, I guessed. When I took it out, I saw a new video saved.

Hitting the button, I watched a holographic screen appear, and almost melted with relief as my wife's face appeared. "Hey hon," she said softly. "We can't do too many of these, because I DO have to watch them in the vault and I can't be in here too much. But I got your notes. ALL of them. Thanks for ruining the surprise, you jerk. All three of us love you too. You be safe too, and we'll see you soon. Love and miss you." The recording cut off, and I stared at the ring for a moment…then I watched it again. I played the video four more times before tossing back my drink and double checking the heading. Then I headed back out to the others.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

We spent a while at The Pumpkin. Bethy DID, in fact, try pumpkin beer, and she drank way too much of it, and we all universally agreed that Bethy wasn't allowed to touch beer ever again because whatever Maenad nonsense made her immune to wine didn't work on the stuff apparently. We weren't kicked out, but we WERE asked very firmly to leave and come back another day, and none of us could really argue.

Rather than head right over to House Ralkyne, we decided to stop at a local inn my dad knew to rest before meeting our potential allies. If it had been before, both the stop and the rest would have been unthinkable to me, but after actually hearing Callie's voice and knowing she was ok, I was more willing to take my time. I was still determined, but I wanted to go in as deliberately as possible. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, as Abel had said to me more than once during training when I was starting out.

When we woke up the next day, we headed right over to meet them, and it didn't end up being a long walk. The place we arrived at was…unsettling. It was carved from the stone of a cliff, one that had been pared down over time into a huge hulking building that seemed to all be one big piece. Built right into the side of a mountain, the walls and entrance were formed from dark, jagged stone shot through with veins of flickering ruby gemstone. It was gorgeous to look at, but something about it seemed almost malicious, like the rock was watching and waiting for us to turn our backs.

"This place is creepier than I remember," my dad said, squinting up at the towering edifice. "Suddenly this feels less like a good idea."

My mom smacked him upside the back of the head. "Don't say that out LOUD in front of Shane," she scolded. "It's way too late to back out now." She shot me a warm smile. "It's fine, honey, we'll be out of here in no time, tracking down Calliope and my TWO GRANDBABIES!" she all but squealed the last part. Or rather, she did squeal it, and I had to wince at the volume, even as the sentiment made me smile.

My mother had been ecstatic when she found out that we were having twins, and had been at least partially responsible for Pumpkin Beer Bethy when she INSISTED on making multiple toasts to the babies. It had been sweet and deeply appreciated, at least until it resulted in our expulsion from The Hollow Pumpkin when Bethy somehow bit the building and started draining it of Impact, causing the roof to partially collapse.

"Can I help you?" came a quiet, almost whispered voice.

We all jumped, turning to find a massive, pale man with long dark hair looming over us. His eyes were deep set and surrounded by dark circles, and his back was hunched, as if he was bending over to avoid some invisible doorway that was too short for him to walk through. His gaze was weirdly intense, and his eyes burned with a strange dark light that reminded me of way the red glow reflected off the stone behind him.

My dad grimaced at him. "Dawkins," he said distastefully. "You're still here. Lovely. I'd hoped you were dead by now."

The tall man's eyes flicked to my dad, who he'd been studiously ignoring. "Ah, the peddler. Come to sell more of your snake oil? Why, it feels like it was only yesterday you were here, making a general nuisance of yourself and being a bad influence on the young lord and lady. I confess, I too had prayed for your demise, I suppose my pleas for divine mercy went unanswered."

"Then I should probably thank you," my dad said sweetly. "Given how unpleasant you are there's a strong probability at least one or two of my miraculous survivals in the last fifty years were the gods spiting your prayers."

"Hello," my mom said, stepping between them. "Apologies for my husband, we've been trying to house train him but he's having some trouble learning to go outside. Please don't take any offense. We're here to speak to House Ralkyne." She waved sheepishly. "My name is Sasha, and this is my son Shane and all his friends."

One thing I hadn't really consciously noticed about my mother up to this point was how…persuasive she could be. She was a warm, caring, charismatic person, and she just had this sort of natural charm to her that made it impossible to ignore her.

Most of the time it wasn't obvious, but when she actually turned it on, it was easy to see why she was the only person I'd ever even heard of who could influence my father. It was impressive to see her dazzle a random person in real time though, and I wasn't really prepared to watch the conversational whiplash as Dawkins shifted gears from vocally hating my dad to being charmed by my mom.

"Oh, well…I suppose that's alright," he said uncertainly. It's hard to be pissed at someone who is being genuinely friendly to you, and my mom had always managed to sound incredibly sincere whenever she spoke. It was definitely coming in handy here. "What are you looking to discuss?"

"We need a guide," my dad cut in. "Specifically, we want to hire Stanley."

Dawkins whirled to glare at him. "How DARE you! The young lord is not some…servant for you to employ at your convenience! He is an honored and dignified member of House Ralkyne and far beyond such petty concerns as your nonsensical errands."

"Well damn, Dawkins," my dad said acidly. "I didn't realize you'd been adopted into the family. That IS what happened, isn't it? Because you MUST be a member of the Ralkyne line to be making definitive statements like that on behalf of the heir apparent. You must be pretty high up, too, if you expect him to listen to you."

The big man's mouth snapped shut, and he glared at my father. "I will…" he bit off his words, grimacing like he was physically forcing them out. "Alert the young lord to your presence," he hissed. "And defer to his judgement."

"Of course you will," my dad said with a smug grin. "Because you're a very good dog, aren't you? Who's a good boy? You are! Yes you are!"

Dawkins looked seconds from lunging across the gravel at my dad, but eventually forced himself to calm down and then whirled and stalked away. My dad grimaced as he left. "I REALLY don't like that guy." He said idly.

"We noticed," I glared at him. "But what the hell, dad? We need these people to help us, why are you antagonizing their doorman?"

"Because he's not a doorman," he corrected. "Dawkins is more like a butler. And he's not THEIRS. He works exclusively for Culver Ralkyne. Culver is the nominal lord of the house, but he's a recluse and is rarely around. Dawkins does odd jobs for Stanley and his sister Violetta, but is mostly a spy for their father. Neither of them can stand the man, and they take a special joy out of seeing him angry."

I blinked at him. "Wait…that was a show for the people we're here to see?"

"No," he said bluntly. "I just really hate that guy. But it will also most likely amuse Stanley. As for Dawkins himself, I could care less what he thinks or wants to do to me. If he tries anything I'll turn him inside out and drown him in a tub of lemons. Seriously, I cannot begin to describe how deeply unpleasant of a human being that old man is. I've met actual slimes that are less slimy, and cuddlier cacti."

My mom nodded. "Noted. I'll keep an eye on him. Do you think I played that wrong, then?"

"Nah," he waved her off. "Your instincts were good. Dawkins isn't completely ineffectual, and having someone in his good books won't hurt. I doubt Stanley and Vi are going to hold basic politeness against you. This way, we get the best of both worlds."

I blinked at them. "Wait…you guys did that on purpose?"

"Your father was being aggressive," my mom shrugged. "Which meant I could be passive. You'd be surprised how many situations require both carrot and stick. Why do you think I smacked him. It was one of our signals, telling him how I planned to proceed. There were a few verbal responses that would have changed my trajectory, but he let me run it my way, which I always appreciate."

That was actually really impressive. "How many scenarios have you guys gamed out like that?" I asked carefully.

"More than a few," she smiled. "We've been married for quite a while, Shane. We might not have a soul bond like you and Callie, but we know each other about as well as two people can. Chances are good that if you catch us bickering or interacting in a way that seems odd, there's a reason for it."

I thought back to the number of times I'd watched them snipe at each other. My mom being occasionally pushy, my dad being a grump. Thinking back, almost all of those times had been when something else had been going on. Maybe I'd needed distracting or maybe the situation was tense. Maybe they'd ALL been for other reasons and some of them were just ones I hadn't been able to put my finger on.

Seeing my silent contemplation, my mom just smiled. "Trust, Shane," she said warmly. "Is the most important bond a husband and wife can have. Remember that. Your connection with Callie is magical and special, but it's not all you need. All the empathic sensing in the world is useless without trust. Your marriage doesn't work so well because of the soul bond, it works because of how you use it. To open up to each other. To communicate. That's what makes the two of you such an amazing couple, and it's going to be what makes you even better parents." Her eyes took on a sad shimmer. "Better parents than we were, by far."

My dad put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, and she gave us both a forced smile. I could tell she didn't want to burden me with her guilt. Her wish was granted by the most unlikely of accomplices. Dawkins.

Returning in a huff, the butler stalked out of the opening in the cliff house angrily. "The young lord and lady await you in the solar." He said stiffly.

My dad nodded casually to him, then grabbed my mom's hand and tugged her along behind him as he strolled inside. Shooting a glance at Abel, I gestured my friends to follow as I trailed behind them. Abel caught up pretty quickly. "So, your dad was right, this place IS creepy."

"I know," I admitted. "But there's not much to do about it at this point. We're here, and my mom is right. We need them. We don't have time to do this the slow way. My heading from Yama tells us where to go generally, but there are quite a few gates around here and most of them are protected."

We needed Stanley as a guide to tell us which gate we were looking for. If we just followed the chain, we might stumble into one that was just between us and where Callie was, or run into one we couldn't access at all. The Ralkyne were power players here, and they were exactly what we needed to find the right gate. Which meant I'd play whatever games they wanted and go into the creepiest houses they had if it got me this meeting and their help. Callie was waiting, and I was going to be there as soon as I could.