“So, you were trying to protect me. Again.” Lizzie folded her arms and glared at Nicole.
Nicole slumped in her saddle. “Yes, but for good reasons.” She hopped off the horse, wanting to be on the same level with her best friend. “Their entire kingdom is full of humans they’ve enslaved. A monster made up of hundreds and hundreds of human bodies nearly killed me—they would not have released you.”
“They let you go,” Jacob said, the purple in his face fading to a light pink.
“Not really—they’ll probably call me right back once we help them win the war.”
Lizzie tilted her head. “Help them? Why would they need help? Wasn’t that the whole point of getting them to come—because they could do it and we couldn’t?”
Nicole nodded. “Yes, but I’m afraid Keitus is too powerful. Right as I was leaving the Great Ones’ city, monsters began disappearing left and right. I think the Great Ones were pulling them to the battle. And if they need recruits, they’re not winning.”
Jacob’s eyes clouded over as he Time-Saw through the dimensions, probably looking for evidence that what Nicole was saying was true. It didn’t take him long to come back. “You’re right. It doesn’t look good. I was only watching you—I didn’t even think to see what was going on with Keitus once the Great Ones had gone. I just assumed they would take care of him.”
Lizzie turned to him. “What’s happening?”
“It looks like Keitus has relinquished his hold on all the worlds but earth. Unfortunately, he’s somehow staying ahead of the Great Ones there. I think he may have killed some of them. Only one is left fighting him.”
Nicole’s eyes widened. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know. We should go, though I don’t know how we’re supposed to help.”
Nicole could only shake her head. She didn’t know either. “Let’s head back to Sanso’s. See if anyone can come fight with us—we’re going to need as many magical people as possible.”
Lizzie nodded, then turned to follow the path, but Nicole stopped her. “Get on Abel’s horse, Lizzie, and Jacob, hop up with me. The horses know these paths well—we should let them do the work while we rest.” Nicole wished she could ride with her best friend, but Jacob and Abel were too close in weigh, and Lizzie practically weighed nothing.
The others did as she suggested, and they headed out.
“What I can’t understand,” Lizzie said, “is why Keitus relinquished his hold on Eklaron. Why is he only controlling earth? Isn’t he from Eklaron?”
“Yes,” Jacob said. “I suspect it’s because he was still on earth when the Great Ones found him. It’s easier to protect a place when you’re physically there.”
“Where on earth are they?” Nicole asked.
Jacob and Lizzie both laughed, and Nicole chuckled. “Okay, I wasn’t even trying to make a joke. You know what I’m asking, though.”
“It looked like somewhere in Kansas or maybe Oklahoma,” Jacob said. “The Great Plains, for sure.”
The four hours back to Sanso’s were agonizingly long, even with Nicole drifting off every now and then. Since Azuriah had been the one carrying the food, and Lizzie and Jacob had been too mad to think about packing supplies when they started out after Nicole, they were starving as well.
Nicole was relieved to see Sanso’s cabin. She gasped when she saw Austin standing in the doorway, a worried expression on his face.
Throwing herself from the horse, then immediately wishing she hadn’t done so, Nicole lurched and limped through the stones to her fiancé. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but couldn’t—not until she knew how he was feeling.
His arm was in a sling, and a huge bandage was on his head. Nicole felt tears pool in her eyes as she inspected him.
“How are you doing?” she asked, hoping he wasn’t going to yell at her too.
Austin grunted. “Better, now that I know you’re not dead or dying in the Great Ones’ dimension somewhere.”
He didn’t seem mad, and Nicole placed a kiss on his lips. “They need help. We’re going to get a bunch of healthy people to go fight.”
Austin glowered, catching the meaning behind her words. “I don’t have to be physically strong to fight with magic.”
“I know. But just in case. You’ve lost way too much blood—you’re very pale.”
“If I feel sick, I’ll play dead, I promise. If I don’t come now, I’ll just have Sanso help me find a different way.”
The expression in his eyes told Nicole there was no way he’d stay behind, and she smiled at him, a bit relieved to know she wasn’t going to be separated from him again. She glanced behind him as Hayla walked down the hall. “How’s your husband doing?” she called to the woman.
Hayla proceeded to give updates on everyone. Coolidge was still unconscious, but his condition had stabilized. Dmitri was awake and cracking jokes, but a broken leg prevented him from going anywhere. Arien had been stabbed in the shoulder but was also doing fine—nothing important had been cut. Most had been wounded, some gravely, but none had actually lost their lives.
After a brief counsel with Dmitri, Austin, Nicole, and Lizzie, Jacob started creating links to all the different dimensions and worlds where they knew they had allies. Apparently, Dmitri had been sending messages everywhere, contacting friends, asking them to gather together so Jacob could key them to earth to help in the battle. Supporters were waiting on Renforth’s planet, Eklaron, and in Anna Morse’s dimension. Even the Fire Pulsers’ world had a few people willing to fight.
Jacob kept those links open, letting people pour from their worlds and dimensions and congregate in Sanso’s little house. It quickly got too crowded, and he opened links to the castle in Eklaron too, which had been deserted by Keitus’s armies when he’d pulled out of that world. While people continued gathering, Nicole walked to the kitchen, knowing she needed food and to rest before she could go to earth. Jacob, Austin, and Lizzie followed her, and they sat together to eat. Conversation was short—no one was in the mood for small talk.
Once he’d finished eating, Jacob Time-Saw to earth and came back with good news—Keitus and the Great One had momentarily stopped fighting and were regrouping, which meant that Nicole and the others would have a little time to sleep.
Nicole stuffed herself as full as she could, hoping the extra food would induce a sleep coma, then she and Lizzie went to their little room to rest.
Chapter Twenty-Six
What felt like only moments later, Austin was shaking her awake. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
“Jacob says it looks like Keitus and the Great One will start fighting soon. It’s time for us to head out.”
Nicole pulled herself to a sitting position. “You should have been sleeping,” she said.
He shook his head. “I’ve had plenty of it lately.”
“Good.” She got to her feet and gave him a hug.
Lizzie was awake by then, and the three of them met Jacob back in the kitchen. He’d found an old wheat factory a few miles from where everything was happening back on earth. He opened a link from the bone dimension and from Sanso’s home to that location.
While watching volunteers stream through the links to earth, he turned to Nicole and said, “By a few miles, I really mean fifteen.” Worry lines deepened on his forehead. “If we make it there before Keitus destroys that last Great One, it’ll be a miracle.”
Nicole frowned, doing the math in her head. “Fifteen miles will take us three hours to walk. We can do it, if we hurry.”
She watched for a moment as tons of creatures poured through the links, then she turned to her friends. Austin put his good arm around her and sent her a smile. Lizzie had already gotten over her frustrations. The girl never held grudges for long—Nicole was so grateful for that.
Nicole and her friends went through the link to the factory. The place was teaming with magical people. She could sense all kinds of magic flowing through the air. It was invigorating.
The link to Sanso’s world had only been closed for a moment when the building shook, and Nicole heard the sounds of battle outside. She and the others stepped out, ready for whatever would greet them.
Her eyes widened as she took in the scene. Many of the people Jacob had brought were already battling—she hadn’t even realized they’d left the wheat factory. Apparently, Keitus had sensed their approach and sent monsters to stop them. The entire countryside was covered with monsters, Aretes, humans, Shiengols, and all sorts of other creatures, fighting. There wasn’t even a tree or house to block the view of the raging battle.
Nicole and Lizzie looked at each other. Would they have to fight the entire fifteen miles? If so, how long would that take?
“Let’s go,” Jacob said to Nicole. “I already know you plan to attack Keitus directly. We need to get to him as fast as we can.”
Nicole nodded, then she, Austin, Jacob, and Lizzie rushed through the fighting monsters, knowing that their allies would stay behind and take care of the lesser beings. Nicole didn’t want to have to run the entire fifteen miles, but she also didn’t want to fight and turn those miles into two days.
Lizzie used the umbrella and focused on stopping and starting fires to the best of her ability while Austin dumped huge mud piles on monsters or formed rocks around their ankles. He also flung stones and sharp sticks at the beasts, clearing a path. Jacob used his magical shield to protect their group from attacks while Nicole used her Wind and Water powers to push and fling away monsters. Fighting like this, they charged on.
The farther they went, the more Nicole realized her powers had changed significantly. She still hadn’t reached her threshold. Did she even have one anymore? If so, where was it? Or had her powers changed so much that overdoing it would produce a completely different symptom? Had she already overdone it, and was she doing permanent damage in some way? She didn’t think so. If she was, wouldn’t she have collapsed or experienced a loss in power?
The battle raged on either side of them. It was so deafening, Nicole could no longer hear when her friends talked. Guns were firing, swords clanged and flashed in the sunlight, and people roared battle cries or screamed in pain.
Lizzie’s magic gave out ten minutes after they started running. Then Austin’s. Nicole and her group were forced to slow—they couldn’t run the entire time. She pushed out with her powers, still using her abilities to keep monsters away, and sensed that those who fought against Keitus were tiring, faltering, unable to keep up. She had to do something!
Austin touched her arm as they walked. “You still haven’t reached your magical threshold, have you?”
She shook her head. What a difference from when she’d first Restarted! “I’m a Silver now, and it’s Keitus’s fault.”
A wide grin spread across Austin’s face. “That’s fantastic. I’ll bet he didn’t expect it.”
“Definitely not.”
Nicole slowed, trusting Jacob to keep the shield around her and the others while she did something to help the people who were fighting. She followed the magical prints around her, recognizing the ones who were tied back to Keitus, then singling out those who weren’t. Once sure she had a hold on the good guys, she lifted them by their clothes and armor, pulling them out of reach of the monsters and demons. Several screamed, not knowing what was going on. Nicole caved in the earth under the evil monsters. Before the demons could climb out of the hole, she sent a massive wave of dirt after them, covering them.
Then she flattened the ground again so she could put the people down, allowing them to rest or find more monsters to fight.
Once finished, she started running again. Nicole smiled sheepishly at the expressions of awe on her friends’ faces. She herself was a bit in awe over how much her powers had improved.
She had to lift and smash several more times before they neared Keitus and the Great One, alternating running, walking, and resting the whole way. Eventually, they were barely able to walk at all. And still, the battle raged. How was it possible that there were so many monsters and creatures available to fight?
Finally, several hours after they started, Nicole and the others reached Keitus and the Great One. Nicole sensed the mental print of this being immediately. It was the one who always communicated with her, the most powerful of them all. But he was smaller now, much smaller—only a little bigger than Keitus. What had happened?
The Great One was weary and barely recognized Nicole as she and her friends arrived. She figured that if he had chosen to comment at that point, he probably would’ve scoffed at the meager help they offered.
But Keitus recognized the threat immediately. He turned to them, saw Jacob and Nicole, and growled loudly enough that the monsters around them stopped fighting. The area was so full of dead bodies. How were they even fighting at all?
She recognized the advantage this gave her, though. She might be able to use those bodies against Keitus. Not like zombies—she couldn’t give them life—but as a way to hedge his movements.
Keitus had other plans, though, and Nicole had to wonder if he could read her mind. Before she was able to do anything to stop him, Austin grabbed her by the throat.
“Don’t you dare go through with your plan,” he said.
Nicole choked, trying to get his hand off her neck. He wasn’t the only one Keitus was controlling. Lizzie and Jacob were both lifeless, the light gone from their eyes. Why was Keitus controlling them and not her?
When Austin responded, Nicole knew for sure that Keitus could hear her thoughts.
“The sphere protects you from my control.”
Nicole was surprised at first that he would tell her something like that, then her eyes widened as she considered his words. Had Onyev known the sphere could protect her from being manipulated by Keitus? He must have.
“If you do anything,” Austin said, “I will kill him.”
Nicole knew Keitus was referring to Austin. “It doesn’t matter. You have to be stopped—regardless of the consequences.”
Not waiting for Keitus to respond, Nicole grabbed all the dirt she could carry, mixing it with dead bodies and shrubbery and weeds and everything that was within her magical sight. She lifted it, then slammed it on and around Keitus. The Great One joined her, smothering Keitus with debris and wind and rain.
Keitus didn’t fight back nearly as much as Nicole thought he should for how powerful he was. He was just as exhausted as the Great One. The fact that both of them were still standing was a miracle.
Austin’s grip around Nicole’s neck tightened, but she reached up and grabbed his fingers, trying to pry them away while using her power to yank him from her by his clothes. She cried out as his hand slipped off her neck.
No longer being held back, Nicole focused all her attention on stopping Keitus. She stepped forward, her body so exhausted that it wanted to collapse. But she couldn’t stop now, not when they were so close.
She needed to protect her thoughts from him. What could she do? Did Shonlin have a magical item that functioned like that?
The sphere appeared in her hand. Nicole created a huge windstorm, spiraling it tightly around her to protect her from attack, then she imagined herself in Shonlin.
“What do you need?” the guardian asked immediately, his face strained—did he know what was going on? He had to.
“Something that can protect my thoughts from outside influences, including the ability to know what I’m thinking.”
The guardian nodded, then took her to the appropriate shelf. The item wasn’t at all what she expected—it was a sheet of stickers. She raised an eyebrow, looking at him.
“Put one in a secure location. It’ll do what you need.”
“I only need one?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll leave the sheet here.”
She didn’t want to risk ruining the others—not when she was in the middle of a battle.
Nicole chose a little bluebird sticker and put it near her heart, under her shirt. Then she exited the room and dropped the whirlwind.
She was ready to face Keitus.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Nicole sensed it the moment his mind was torn from hers. She didn’t even realize how much he’d invaded her head. A sense of aloneness nearly overwhelmed her for a moment before she was able to shake it off and press forward with her senses, searching for the talisman.
She left her friends behind, trusting they would be safe, but realizing that even if they weren’t, she had to continue.
Where was that stupid talisman? Her magic couldn’t sense any of it on him. Why hadn’t the Great One already removed it? It had to be because the Great One couldn’t get close enough. But she could—she was small and fast.
She was fifteen feet from him, but that was still closer than she’d ever been, and he was much more grotesque and disgusting than she’d seen earlier. His skin was so swollen and stretched so tightly and thinly that it was ripping in places.
Keitus held a huge sword in one hand while trying to dig himself out of the mess Nicole had created with the other. He sent occasional jabs at the Great One. His attempts were pathetic, but the Great One’s attempts to defend himself were just as pathetic.
Both ignored Nicole. The Great One continued attacking Keitus with magic, and Nicole finally got close enough to sense the talisman. It was tied around one of his ankles. She hesitated. Why was it there?
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