Page 126 of Swords of Soul and Shadow (Gate Chronicles #3)

The boy took it with shaking hands. Gran rubbed the boy’s arm. “Would you like me to read it to you?”

Her voice was melodic and soft but had an underbite of steel. It was so familiar to Hallie that she no longer had any doubt: the woman in front of her was Navara, the daughter of the Lord Elder. The woman who’d run away from her destiny…and had left Hallie to bear it instead.

Seemed she and Jack were both picking up the woman’s slack. In two different worlds.

Her power responded to her frustration and resentment, but it was difficult to stay irritated with Navara when she opened the folded parchment and read:

“To my family who may come after me,

I love you, and I’m waiting for you just beyond.

Nana”

The boy gave Navara a watery smile before he faded away in the morning light as if he never was.

Hallie gasped and reached out, but her fingers met only air, not even a hint of the corporeal boy who had been standing there with tears on his cheeks seconds before.

It was as if he’d become the morning mist, only existing forevermore in her memory.

Jack stood and dusted off his hands. “Well, that was real easy.”

Navara waved long fingers at the parchment, and as it had appeared, it vanished in a cloud of glittering dust. She stood and stretched a little. “Children usually are. That’s why there aren’t too many of them who come through Valora.” She brushed off her skirts and then turned to Hallie at last.

Jack grabbed Hallie’s hand, tugging her forward. “This is Hallie, my twin, though it’s hard to tell now. I’ve been able to maintain my good looks. Poor girl wasn’t so fortunate.”

Hallie held out her hand to Navara so she wouldn’t use it to slap Jack upside the head. “Pleasure to meet you, finally.”

Maybe she should be cold toward the woman. She was half the reason Hallie was here now. She should retract her hand and demand answers.

But she might also be Hallie’s way home.

Navara bypassed her hand and pulled her into a hug.

She smelled of jasmine, mint, and a hint of cinnamon.

It was a scent Hallie only knew from the memories stored in this woman’s journal, though she hadn’t realized it until then.

It spoke of soft mornings and nights spent sewing beside a generous hearth.

She couldn’t help relaxing in the woman’s grip and hugging her back.

“I’m sorry,” the woman whispered in her ear. She pulled back and cupped Hallie’s face. “You have done so well, my girl.”

Despite reading her journals, Hallie had never interacted with the woman before her—she hadn’t expected to be recognized in return. “I’m sorry…I’m not sure how you…”

Navara let go of her face and held out her hands for her notebook and golden quill.

Jack handed it over, and Navara put both into the satchel at her side.

“I did not take on my father’s Essence power, but I can recognize it in you.

You still radiate with it, which tells me you’re not here to move on, but for another purpose.

The prophecies foretold of a day such as this, and if the power has chosen you, then I am certain you will succeed.

” She glanced back at the Gate. “It also tells me the Aurora must be set back to rights soon, or we shall fade to nothing.”

Hallie’s stomach clenched. She knew. She knew what her father had planned with resetting the Gates. What did that mean? Did that mean she wouldn’t allow Hallie to return?

The ground shook so hard that the only reason Hallie didn’t fall over was because Jack caught her and Navara. The sun winked out, and the land plummeted into darkness. She thought she heard screaming, but before she could scream herself, it was over.

It had only been a moment, but it shook Hallie to her core. It reminded her of the quakes she’d experienced in Myrrai, but the darkness…that was new. Whether that was because she was in Valora or because something terrible was happening, she didn’t know.

Once everything had stabilized, she looked back at the Gate. Maybe it had sensed Hallie’s presence, like it seemingly had when she’d been in the Yalven city, and had reacted to it.

But it looked the same. Towering Zuprium bricks, a transparent, glassy center. It was entirely unaffected.

Jack gasped and pointed up toward the mountain.

Thick, bulbous black smoke floated from one of the faraway peaks.

Hallie’s stomach roiled. It reminded her of the Yalvar fuel after the quake when she’d returned to Kyvena, the one that had hit while she stood in the Stradat Lord Kapitan’s tent.

Saldr had said something about Jagamot then.

A knowing sort of terror shone in Navara’s eyes. She turned to Jack. “Did anyone else come through the Nether Gate?”

Jack’s ears turned pink. “I thought so, but when I checked, no one was there. You know how the Gate is.”

Navara shook her head. “I’m afraid the Aurora is the least of our worries now. Let’s get to the village and check the souls.” She sighed. “I do not believe it is your fault, Jack, but I have a feeling that the man you tried to help the other day is the one causing the issues.”

She started back toward the village. Hallie and Jack hurried behind her. Hallie asked, “Who was it? Do you know?”

Jack’s face was missing some of its spunk, but he answered, “One awfully rude old man.”

“What did he look like?”

Her twin eyed her oddly. “Why?”

“Just tell me, would you?”

He sighed and waved a hand. “Long beard. Brown-gold eyes. Thought he might be a bit like Gran here.”

It was like a punch to the stomach. Loffler. It had been Loffler. He was trying to bring back Jagamot, and now he was here in Souls Meet. She was a little out of breath and also trying to keep the panic out of her voice, “That man, did he say anything? Like where he came from? Or how he died?”

Jack shook his head. “Refused to speak to me, but when I tried to lead him to the village, he ran off.” Jack snorted. “Wish he’d come at night. Then Addi would’ve had to deal with him. He’s better with the grumpier types.”

Hallie hated to be the bearer of bad news, but she was the only one who might be able to stop whatever horror was heralded by that tarry smoke. “I believe the man was Abram Loffler, an Essence wielder who somehow brought back Jagamot.”

Navara muttered something in Yalven. It was too quiet for Hallie to hear.

“Gran?” Jack asked uneasily.

They were almost back to the village. Navara took out her notebook and quill. She scribbled something before stuffing it all back in. She picked up her pace. “If he’s up in the mountains, he’s looking for the Chronal Gate and the remnant of Toro that resides in this place.”

“Are we too late?” Hallie asked, pointing back at the smoke, dread starting to bleed to terror at the sight of it.

Navara shook her head. “If he was, we’d already be gone.” She stopped and turned. “We need to combine the Essences into the swords. It is the only way. I’m not sure I can access either of them from this side, but you might could…you said you came through the Nether Gate? You didn’t pass first?”

Hallie shook her head. “I don’t…I’m not sure. I used your journals to get here. And somehow the last one opened it. I was pushed in…by someone, and I couldn’t get back.”

A new pang of terror struck when she reached for the memory and encountered only flashes among cloudy gray, like lightning flickering through a storm cloud. Hadn’t those memories been crystal clear only hours ago?

Navara rubbed her chin in thought. “Maybe you could use your Essence power to work it. It would be difficult without the Essence of Keys, and it would be a gamble even with them, but with enough concentrated effort…it may be our best chance.”

“I’m not certain where the Nether Gate sword is, but Kainadr, the one for the Aurora Gate, is in Kyvena. I…well, I took it from the Gate not too long ago. It sort of gave it to me? But I didn’t have it with me when I went through the Nether Gate.”

Navara touched the antique amber broach at her throat.

“We might could send you back to Kyvena through the Aurora, but the timing would be tricky, and we are without the Essence of Keys. Time is a powerful yet unreliable friend. If you were to survive, you could very well end up thousands of years in the wrong direction, but attempting to send you back may very well be our only option.”

They made it to the edge of the village before Hallie could muster a response. She didn’t know if she could do that, risk that. The panic built with each step they took into the village. Souls milled about, abuzz with the events and the quaking. They reminded Hallie of a scattered ant hill.

While Navara spoke with a few of them, a golden dust cloud popped into existence in front of Jack. He waved it away. “Gran, more souls through the Nether Gate. Stars, I thought you said it was barely used.”

Navara finished her conversation with a woman, squeezing her forearm softly, and looked over.

“It is because I closed it, and the only person or people who would be able to open it would be whoever discovered the secrets of my journal or found the missing sword guardian. I was given the words of power by the Essence of Keys in my day, but that’s another story altogether. ”

Jack paused a moment. “So you gave me the locked Gate because some old curmudgeon didn’t want to talk to me?”

Navara sighed. “Not now, dear.”

Jack grumbled something under his breath, but the older woman ignored him.

Navara led them into the center of the little village square and stood up onto the edge of the fountain.

She was already quite tall, but now she towered well above everyone.

Hallie estimated a few hundred souls assembled—not as many as Hallie would’ve thought.

She vaguely wondered if there were more souls scattered throughout the realm, but she had to tamp down the scholarly part of her brain.

Not everyone could’ve been in the village.

Once they figured out what to do with Loffler, she could satiate her burning curiosity.

Navara raised her hands and shouted above the din.

“We are aware of the disturbance earlier, and I can understand that you might be frightened and confused. If you feel that you are ready to move forward to the beyond, Jack will record any last words you’d like to leave to anyone who comes after you. May Toro bless you all.”

And then she got down and gave Jack her notebook and glowing Zuprium quill. “Prove yourself here, and we’ll talk later.”

Jack made a disbelieving noise. “Do you not want to watch over my shoulder just in case I unleash some sort of ancient power on the place? Seems like I have a track record, if you count Hal.”

Navara just patted his cheek. “You have a line, dear.”

She was right, about fifteen or so people had lined up in front of Jack. He saluted her and turned around. “Hello, Mrs. Cartwright. I see you’re ready to leave Souls Meet, which is wonderful to hear, though I will miss your muffins, I’ll say.”

Navara took Hallie’s arm and pulled her to the edge of the crowd. “You and I will see what souls might have entered through the Nether Gate, and after that, we need to head up into the mountains and assess the situation.”

Should Hallie mention the Lord Elder and Saldr’s plan? Should she admit to Navara that all she was good for was losing control of her power?

Instead, Hallie numbly nodded. Dread pooled in her stomach with each step she took away from her brother.

It might very well be time to save the world, and she had no idea how to do it.

She didn’t have the swords. The Aurora Gate was dying, and supposedly, there was another one in the mountains housing what was left of a god.

Her lungs squeezed as she wove through the throng of people.

If she could keep herself together long enough to make it back to the cottage, then she could fall apart before she went to her possible death.

The air was taut with unease, yet Hallie couldn’t understand a word of the murmurings as she passed.

She couldn’t focus on anything except putting one foot in front of the other.

Each step she took was another whispered prayer lost in the storm of her heartbeat.

She bumped into a few people, a soft apology on her lips before they even turned.

She blindly followed the tall Yalven woman who towered above the rest.

She was going to reset the Gates.

It was the only thing she could do now, and now she would never get to tell Kase goodbye. Panic crawled up her throat.

“Hallie!”

Her heart stopped. The air in her lungs froze with such sudden ferocity that she wasn’t certain they’d ever thaw.

That voice.

She whipped her head around, trying to find it. She needed that voice. Navara kept walking. Was it all in Hallie’s mind?

“HALLIE!”

Palms sweating, she pushed through a few people, mumbling more apologies she wasn’t sure they heard, but she didn’t care. There were too many people barring her way from the edge of the square.

Like a breath of fresh mountain air, she made it out. She whirled frantically around, praying she wasn’t dreaming. Surely, she’d been through enough in the last few days that her mind wouldn’t choose a cruelty such as that.

There.

At the corner of the tavern stood Kase, his curls windswept and messy, his eyes shining so brightly they burned like new stars. Even with the thirty feet and people between them, he was the clearest thing she could see.

He was here.

She zagged in and out of the crowd, some joining the line to speak with her brother. She forgot about Navara and focused solely on reaching him.

And then she was in his arms. They crushed her to him. She still couldn’t breathe, but she didn’t care.

He’d found her. Even here in the realm of souls, he’d kept his promise.