Cassidy let out a gasp. “That’s it – darkness and earth. That’s you. Alice, that’s you to a T,” she said with a confident laugh.

  Though Alice appeared to have most of her concentration locked on the crossbow, she still had enough left over to arch an eyebrow. “Excuse me? Darkness and dirt?”

  I let out a soft laugh, but it was more of a relieved breath. “She’s right. You’re more of an earthy personality than anyone I’ve ever met. And as for the darkness? It’s not a problem with you,” I said with a confident smile. “It doesn’t mean you’re evil – just means you’re uniquely skilled to plunge into the dark. You’re not someone who has ever been scared of the shadows and what they hold.”

  Though I’d never thought my words could have much of an effect on Alice, I’d been wrong. For several seconds, she melted away – that stiff mask of strength she always wore lifting until I saw the woman beneath.

  I took a breath and smiled. True, it couldn’t reach all the way up to my cheeks. True, it couldn’t push my eyes high. True, it couldn’t really warm the coldness that had sat in my heart since the gates had started to appear – but it was there. This was important.

  Cassidy grinned. “Now we’re armed, we have a chance.”

  “And a hell of a lot of work to do,” Alice said as she let her crossbow drop. It transformed back into a dark dagger.

  She pulled the magical gun from the holster around her hip, shrugged, discarded it on the floor, and then shoved her dagger into the holster. Though the dagger was the wrong shape for the holster, that didn’t matter, as it locked against her hip anyway as though it had always belonged there.

  “So what the hell do we do next?” Cassidy also chucked her standard-issue magical handgun to the side and put her new gun in her holster.

  All eyes were on me.

  For several quiet seconds, I returned my attention to the tree, looking at each branch in turn. Every part of me wanted to stay here as I interrogated this tree and tried to glean from it the secrets of reality – but the rest of me knew I simply didn’t have the time.

  “We have to figure out our priorities. Unfortunately, right now, everything is a priority.”

  “So we have to split up,” Cassidy said pointedly.

  Though Alice looked as if she wanted to disagree with that, she took a heavy sigh and nodded. “You’re right.”

  “You guys need to investigate who stole my box,” I said, finally coming to the point where I made difficult decisions.

  “What are you going to do?” Alice asked.

  “Me? I need to… I need to go back and talk to Bradley.” The thought popped into my head with undeniable certainty.

  Alice and Cassidy now knew exactly who Bradley had been to me and what had happened to him.

  Alice frowned. “What are you going to do to him?”

  I shook my head. “I’m not seeking revenge – the exact opposite. I think… I think he can help me figure out where Vali’s gone.” I tried every trick in the book to keep my voice even, but even it was not. It shook so badly, I sounded like a startled child. Yet I stood like a strong woman.

  Cassidy and Alice didn’t exactly look thrilled, but Alice was the first to react. She took a step toward me, reached a hand out, and placed it on my arm. “I know you love the guy. I know you want to do everything to pull him back, but do we…”

  “Have time?” I choked on the word time. “This isn’t me being selfish,” I said. “This isn’t me being selfish,” I said again, as if I were trying to convince myself that it was true. “I just…. Wherever Vali’s gone, I know it’s going to be key to saving everyone.”

  “What do you mean?” Alice went back to crossing her arms.

  “We still don’t know enough about the realms to understand how the gods are going to push their way through. We know the gates are key – and we have several days until another one opens up. I’m pretty sure I know how to read the storm now, and I’ll be able to predict just before a gate opens. But the key – the key to stopping this is to figure out how the realms work in the first place.” My voice was stuttering. I kept falling over my thoughts as they popped into my head, but as I uttered them, I realized they were right.

  The key to winning wouldn’t be these weapons – though they would give us an unquestionable advantage. The key to victory would be finding out what was really happening. The true facts of this case had always been what had defined my journey more than anything else. Every decision I’d made – every mistake, too – had been because of what I’d believed. Now? Now it was time to find out what was truly happening.

  Neither Alice or Cassidy questioned me again. We gathered up the weapons and armor, I placed them into a Drift pocket, and we strode out.

  I left Cassidy and Alice at the car, wished them luck, and told them to track down any leads they could.

  I tilted my head up one last time, stared at the storm, half-closed my eyes, and transported. Thrusting a hand to the side, I spread my fingers wide, and let magic leap over my skin.

  I was half a Drift goddess, and there was little I couldn’t do. It was time to truly find out why.

  3

  I appeared back in front of Vali’s door. I couldn’t open a Drift door inside. I knew that of everything Vali had done on Earth, he’d pumped most of his magic into this office. It was his haven, his heart. Though I faced it, longing to return to it, if only to experience his lingering presence for a few sweet seconds, I quickly shook my head, turned, and strode away.

  I didn’t get far before Megan appeared.

  Though I’d already come to a decision that she was no longer a threat to me, that didn’t stop my back from itching with nerves.

  She strode up and took a stiff breath. “Where have you been?” Her voice sliced through the air like a whip. Before I could tell myself I’d been wrong – and she’d turned right back into the enemy I’d always assumed she’d been, she took a breath, “And what do you need?”

  … My grandmother had always told me that I had a problem reading people. I usually saw only what I wanted to, and I built an inaccurate picture out of it to satisfy my ego.

  I developed simplistic explanations about people all to make myself feel better.

  Megan had been no different. She’d been the vapid, sexy secretary who’d been there to throw herself at Vali, and who now was crazy jealous of me since I’d taken his affections away from her.

  That wasn’t the Megan who stared back at me. This woman was stiff-lipped, severe, angry, and willing to do anything she could to save reality.

  I took a breath and washed away what I’d always thought of her. In its place I let her actions define who she would be.

  “I need your help,” I said, realizing I had more resources to draw on other than Alice and Cassidy – I just had to figure out who I could trust and throw my belief at them with all the power I had.

  She tipped her head to the side, her eyebrows narrowing low over her eyes. “What with?”

  “I need to question Bradley again. I… don’t want to do it alone.”

  She looked at me, and though I was sure someone like Megan would never be able to sympathize with my position, I swear she did. She nodded.

  Then the two of us turned around and strode down the corridor.

  We passed plenty of other people as we shifted through the bowels of the office block toward Bradley’s cell. Everyone was hurrying, yet they all had the time to stare my way.

  Though at first, a relic of my past self wanted to shrink back from their gazes, my strength told me to face them. They needed me now more than ever. I was the backbone of this operation, and without me, it would fall apart. So I strode with my head held high, and I let my power amass around me. I didn’t call on my magic, but I settled my mind on the belief that I could do this, and I didn’t let another thought distract me until we reached the door to Bradley’s cell.

  “This will be dangerous,” Megan warned.

  “What do you mean? Isn’t he still chained up?” I half-closed my eyes and spread a hand toward the door as I tried to communicate with the room within to check if the protections that Vali had put in place were still there. They were.

  “We’ve been observing him. Ever since… Vali left,” Megan chose her words carefully, “he has been… disturbed.”

  “Disturbed?” For the first time, I let the strength shake from my tone as it wavered.

  “As you have explained to us, Bradley is an antenna – a barometer for what the… fake gods are doing.”

  I’d told everyone I could the truth. I knew they only believed me because of the power I had, and I couldn’t afford to abuse that power. I wasn’t like Vali – I knew I couldn’t fix this situation if I kept everyone in the dark. Every single contracted sinner under Vali’s control now had to know exactly what they were, what he’d been, and what was going to happen. Without that knowledge, they wouldn’t measure up to their true worth, and without that knowledge, I would be leading them to their deaths.

  Megan sucked in a tight breath and continued, “The frequency of activity he’s been picking up has been increasing.”

  I frowned.

  “Gods are continuing to possess him erratically, and though it only happened once every hour yesterday – from this morning onward, the activity has increased. Every five minutes, another god possesses him.”

  My stomach kicked. It twisted with regret, shame, and pity. Yeah, I know I’d gone over this a million times and I didn’t need to say it again, but I’d never really wished Bradley ill. Now I’d gotten over my crush on him and had seen him for what he truly was, all I felt for him was pity that he could never push past the pressures of his family and his greed.

  For that greed had led to this.

  “Stand back and be ready,” I said to Megan.

  She didn’t need to be told twice. As she stood back, she flicked a hand to the side and got her magic ready.

  I extended my fingers and called to my Drift sword.

  That would be when I felt the other weapons I’d taken from the tree.

  I half-closed my eyes, brought up the impression of Megan in my mind, and called for something that would help her. Concentrating on it with all my heart, I pushed away every last question I had about her, and I concentrated on her fundamental energy.

  Something replied to that question and formed in my hand just as my Drift sword popped out and started floating by my side.

  It was a whip, and it was made out of pure fire.

  Megan’s eyes locked on it, her cheeks paling and her mouth parting. “What is that?”

  “Your new weapon.” I handed it to her without hesitation as I made unflinching eye contact. I hoped it could say as much as Vali had always been able to convey in a single glance.

  Megan didn’t hesitate. Though we were only just starting to trust each other, obviously she too felt some kind of fundamental connection to this weapon. Despite the fact it was crackling with powerful fire energy, she didn’t flinch as she grasped it from my hand.

  She couldn’t wrench her gaze from the whip, but finally she darted her eyes up to meet mine. “What… what is this? And where did you get it from?” Her voice wavered with awe.

  “I found it in one of Vali’s storerooms. I’ve only found a handful of these weapons, and some armor too, but I want to give them to the right people before the battle begins.” My voice dropped down low in a deep rumble.

  I didn’t know what she would do next. This was Megan, and despite the fact we had a new understanding between us, I was sure she was still loyal to Vali. I’d just admitted to breaking into one of his storerooms, rifling through his stuff, and nicking it.

  Thankfully, she didn’t accuse me of stealing. With one hand still locked protectively but respectfully around the whip, she nodded down low. “Thank you.”

  I smiled. “It’s all good. Do you think you’ll know how to use it? Do you want some time to practice?”

  It took several seconds for her to refocus her attention – it kept being stolen back by the whip. “I think… I think I’ve got this.” She nodded at the door. “We cannot afford to waste any more time.”

  She was right. Though it had been important to give Megan this weapon and to forge a new friendship between us, I couldn’t forget what was waiting for me behind this door.

  I took a solid breath. I rammed it all the way down into the center of my chest and further as I willed it to give me the strength I would need for what would come next.

  Despite all the achievements I’d made, Bradley still had a unique ability to undermine me.

  I flattened a hand on the door and removed the magical locks one-by-one. They were some of Vali’s strongest magic, which was all the warning I needed. Bradley, despite his weakened state, was getting more powerful. Or rather, the fake gods using him as a doorway into our realm were.

  The door swung open, and I walked in. Instantly, I felt two things – the darkness and the silence. Both were more stifling than anything I had ever been able to imagine. The darkness was so thick it was as if in this room light would never shine again. As for the silence? Though it sounded paradoxical, I’d never heard anything like it. It seemed to have this peculiar… sound. It made my back tumble with nerves, my stomach clench, and my heart skip into a sprint. At least Megan was beside me, and she took a step closer as I walked into the room.

  There was one thing I could be thankful for – Vali’s magical chains were holding. I could feel them, despite the fact the darkness was so damn thick, even with a fog lamp, I wouldn’t have a hope of actually seeing them.

  My Drift sword was in my hand, and my grip naturally tightened around it, my fingers twitching as if they’d been struck by a hammer.

  It was then that I heard a hissing breath. I swore it bypassed my ears and stabbed me right through the heart. It spoke to the cold in my sternum. In a flash, I was reminded of how uncontrollable my power had once been. Back when I’d first stumbled into this world, without my bangles, my magic had been too chaotic to control.

  That hiss somehow spoke to the chaos which had once marred me, as if it were inviting it to return. I would not let it return, and I clenched my teeth, locked my hand into the tightest of fists, and strengthened my grip on my Drift sword.

  That hiss turned into a laugh. It arced up high and teetered, growing louder and louder until it sounded as if Bradley would split reality with nothing more than his voice.

  I could let him go on, but I wasn’t in the mood.

  I strode forward, and I slashed with my sword. I didn’t intend the blow to split Bradley’s skull. I let the blade sing with the certainty of the force of the Drift. It was enough to push back some of the darkness.

  It was the same darkness I’d already experienced on several occasions now. It always preceded one of the gates opening. Despite the fact I didn’t want to believe it was possible, there was nothing stopping a gate from opening in Vali’s building. Not if the gods pushed enough power into it.

  The laugh ended abruptly, and I heard scampering footfall and the unmistakable sound of a chain being dragged across concrete. I didn’t jerk back, even though I knew Bradley was scuffling toward me. Neither did Megan. Though I could tell her questioning gaze was on my neck as she wondered if I knew what I was doing, she stood her ground.

  I kept my sword raised as I pumped more magic into it. I released myself into its power. Though I’d surrendered to the Drift many times, I hadn’t done it as mindfully as I was doing it now. For now I was letting myself question what the Drift could truly be – and I was letting myself believe that it could be more than I’d ever imagined.

  I saw his face.

  I could have gagged. It was only my inner strength that stopped me from jerking back and screaming. Even though Megan was one of the strongest practitioners Vali had, she recoiled, but only for half a step.

  Bradley didn’t have a face. By that, I didn’t mean that the gods had scoured off his flesh and left him with nothing more than blood-filled muscle attached to bone. It was just the look in his eyes and the constant twitching of his lips and cheeks and brow and jaw – they weren’t human anymore. Nowhere close. The expressions he made were possessed of so much darkness they belonged to the realm of Hell itself.

  He began to speak to me, but I couldn’t understand. The noises he made – the garbled hisses and gurgles and spits – weren’t a language, or at least not one recognizable by human ears.

  The more he focused on me, the more that fervent hatred grew in his eyes like a flame from the most violent fire.

  At first, it looked as if his facial muscles were trying to make every single expression in reality – as if he were being possessed by every single god all at once. But finally, he grew still. Or at least, a measure of still.

  He smiled. I shouldn’t need to say this, but it was categorically the most horrible expression I had ever seen. It went beyond the hatred a mere human could create. Hell, it went beyond that which a demon or a denizen of Hell could manage. The precise look in his eyes was too intelligent. It spoke of creatures who had decided with their full heart and full will to destroy others. “Drift witch,” I heard thousands of gods speak at once, their voices rising and punching through the room, echoing against the walls and shaking them, “you have no chance, for you have already lost. There is nothing you can do to stop us from amassing our power, nothing you can do to prevent us from pushing through and harvesting the cattle.”

  On the phrase ‘harvesting the cattle,’ even more voices joined in until it sounded as if an entire civilization was speaking at once.

  It was unquestionably terrifying, and though my whole spine tingled, begging me to recoil and get out of here, I tightened my grip on my sword, brought it forward, and leveled it against Bradley’s neck. “I’m not a fool. You’re prevaricating, wasting time, trying to make me give up. But I’ve got news for you,” despite Bradley’s terrifying face, I leaned forward, bringing my eyes close to his as I stared into his gaze with all the force of a laser guidance system, “I am not going to give up. I will stop you.”