Page 27 of The Shadowed Oracle (The Bonded Worlds #1)

Ingrid considered, shuffling through everything from the night before, glad to be given time to speak.

“Besides your brother, I’d have to say the worst thing is the uncertainty.

For all I know, this is the most cinematic hallucination of all time.

And if it’s not, then that means the serial killer stalking me is only like number three on my list of concerns, so there’s that. ”

“Yes,” Tyla said through a laugh. “There is that. And what else?”

Ingrid’s eyes flitted about the room. “I’m stuck in a cabin in the woods with people I barely know, sleeping right above a jailed monster. Oh, and tomorrow I might die.”

Tyla’s arms went slack at her sides. “Feel better?”

“No, actually. One more thing.” Ingrid paused, wanting to cycle back now that she’d had her fun.

“Speaking of dying, you gotta tell me more about this bulletproof thing.” When Dean had first told her, almost throwing it away at the end of the night, she just assumed he meant Wranes.

But if it went beyond that, if Viator were unaffected, then Dean had faked what little fear he showed last night regarding Ingrid’s threats.

“Wait,” Tyla protested. “You held a gun at Dean all night?”

Ingrid nodded. “When you put it like that, I sound crazy,” she said, her hands up innocently.

“But I promise, there were very good reasons for it. I thought he was stalking me! Then he flat out admitted that he was stalking me, okay?” She huffed, crossing her arms. “Besides, if you’re telling me what I think you’re telling me, then the gun hardly would’ve done anything to him. ”

“Right. All viator flesh heals rapidly so?—”

“So Dean would’ve been fine?” She cursed under her breath, thinking of how tough she’d felt with the weapon in her hands.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Tyla jested. “The only weapon that can cause real damage to Ealis-born Viator has to be made from material mined and forged there.”

Ingrid looked down at the sword in her hand.

“And that goes for all Viator? All of us ?” It had only just occurred to Ingrid that this discussion directly pertained to her.

That her flesh was also Viator flesh. It would take a while for that to sink in.

Among the mayhem, she’d forgotten to really consider what this immortality development meant.

She glanced down at herself as if not recognizing her skin. Her hands, her palms, her forearms, even her tattoos looked different.

It seemed a short leap, segued easily, but Tyla shook her head in confusion as Ingrid suddenly changed the topic to the ink embedded in her skin.

“How did it stay?” Ingrid repeated.” If my flesh can handle a bullet, then surely?—"

“Sorry,” Tyla said ruefully. Once she’d realized where Ingrid was going with this line of thought, she spoke so fast she nearly stumbled over her words.

“You’re getting ahead of yourself. Dean told me it’s likely you were born on Earth, so we don’t get the same privileges as he or any Viator that have been to Ealis.

I would highly recommend you avoid any bullets for the foreseeable future. ”

“Right, of course. More delightful advantages to growing up in a world you’re not supposed to be in.”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid?’ Tyla’s nose crinkled.

“Because you shouldn’t be. You’re a fucking Oracle, Ingrid.

If we ever get you to Ealis, you’d be able to eat bullets for breakfast in just a few days.

Hell, if for some reason we’re thrown into the fire over there—” Her tone here indicated a joke, but Ingrid didn’t find it funny.

“It’s possible, under the right circumstances, you could have your full power within a week. Or, so the old texts say.”

“A week?” Ingrid gripped the back of her neck. “But if being stranded on Earth all my life stunted the awakening of my apparent power, then how would being in Ealis affect me so quickly?”

“It’s not an exact?—"

“And inversely,” Ingrid cut off her new mentor. “If living here siphons power, then wouldn’t Makkar’s minions be weakened by being here on Earth too?”

Tyla shook her head. “Doesn’t work like that.

Viator born and raised in Ealis basked in its power at pivotal ages.

They are nearly immune to Earth’s effect.

As for us, think of it like… like a time change,” Tyla said it like she’d stumbled upon a brilliant analogy, but then frowned after seeing Ingrid’s expression was still contorted by questions.

“It’s not that complex, really,” she beat on, swatting away her student’s concern.

“A world-walker who’s spent even a day in Ealis wouldn’t start to run out of their base abilities—regeneration, heightened senses—for years on Earth.

But for an Earth-born that’s never been, to tap into any special powers they might have, then that Viator would need to spend a good amount of time in Ealis.

Anywhere from a few months to a few years. ”

“Unless that Viator is… thrown into the fire?”

“Correct. Survival instincts can speed up the process. If Ealis senses you need it, she might provide.”

“Great.” Ingrid let out another heavy breath. “Not complex at all.” At this rate, she thought, she would never be informed of the basics by tomorrow. She’d need weeks, months. Years, preferably.

Slimy, sickly futility infected her now, and as a defense mechanism she continued to fixate on what was right in front of her. Her fingers, hands, arms, legs—and again, the tattoos.

“Let’s make this simple,” Tyla said, sensing her student’s frustration.

“Forget about guns. We don’t need to worry about them, even while your power is still Earth-withered.

You’re more likely to run into a Viator wielding a kitchen knife than a gun.

” She rounded herself to look at some of Dean’s mother’s machines.

“Ealis is nothing like Earth. The people raised there have never seen technology, even old shit-boxes like these. Viator have, let’s say, a strong distaste for modernity. ”

Tyla paused here, noticing Ingrid wasn’t exactly riveted.

“Am I boring you?” Tyla asked mawkishly.

“Yes—I mean no. What was the question?”

Tyla palmed her face.

“Sorry, Ms. Tyla,” Ingrid said jokingly, but almost immediately thought better of it. “That was rude. You’re trying to save my life, the least I could do is listen. Please, go on. The distaste for guns and all that.”

With sloth-like speed, Tyla removed her hand from her face and sat down on one of the shorter filing cabinets nearby. Despite her obvious exhaustion, that glowing grin was still emanating from her.

“It’s not just guns,” she said with a sigh. “Any technology, modern warfare, they consider it all to be below them. Their world is like a God to them, so human inventions are considered sacrilegious.”

Detestable things.

Ingrid had another involuntary flashback, recalling the Wrane’s words right before it crushed her phone to bits. It made sense now, how disgusted it was that she owned a phone.

“Holy shit.” A realization snapped together like a puzzle piece. “So, if they see using technology as heretical, then whoever was sending me the messages must’ve been different than the average Viator. We could use that, right?”

“Definitely. It’s safe to assume that any Ealis-born wouldn’t resort to it.

You can probably cross them off your list of suspects.

” Tyla considered. “I mean, an argument could be made for one of the younger, more rebellious soldiers who’ve been here on Earth before.

But even then, that wouldn’t explain going after that man. ”

“Kyle. His name was Kyle,” Ingrid cut in, an odd sympathy for the victimized man overtaking her. His demise, after all, had been partly because of his association with her.

“Yes, Kyle,” Tyla corrected herself. “It would be odd for any Viator soldier to stray that far from their mission. My guess, it was someone born on Earth who sent you those messages. Makkar took a page from Karis’s handbook and began recruiting world-walkers some time ago, so there’s your perp profile.

These are people, like you, who had no idea where they came from, no answer for why they felt so misplaced, so miserable.

People that, for lack of a better term, are fucked in the head. ”

Ingrid didn’t need any further explanation on why that might be. “Are we all followed by Shades?” she asked. “Even you?”

“Even me.” Tyla reached for the bun she’d tied her hair in, tightening it.

“There’s no easier target for a Shade than a wandering Viator disconnected from the source of their power.

And sadly, most of them are all too willing to give up their bodies to escape from the torture.

If only they knew that formless, shadowy thing that made them suicidal…

sought life above all. Right at the moment a Viator decides to end it, to give up, the Shade can move in.

But Dean probably told you all this, right? ”

Ingrid cocked her head, trying to recall. Dean had told her about the Shades and what they wanted, but he hadn’t gone into detail about how they achieved it. “So they need a willing participant?”

Tyla nodded somberly.

“That’s horrible,” Ingrid said, although a complicated exhilaration, like the first moments descending into cold water washed over her. She’d always felt the dire need to hold on to her sanity while under attack, but she hadn’t known how dangerous it really was.

“But you made it,” Tyla said. “Feels good, doesn’t it? Beating something like that?”

“I was thinking something along those lines, yeah.” She paused, a slight weariness overtaking her. “It’s a little insensitive, though. After talking about those who couldn’t fight it off like I did.”

“It’s awful. It really is,” Tyla concurred. “Don’t let it take away what you went through, though. What you contended with was much worse considering your powers.”