“I’ve also got a better way,” Jalen said, sticking his hand into the air like a schoolchild. “Pick me. Mine is definitely better.”
“Somehow, I doubt that,” Moxie said, sending him a sidelong look.
Noah couldn’t help but agree. It struck him that Jalen had been uncharacteristically silent the last few minutes. What he’d seen of the Line must have seriously rattled him. That didn’t make Noah any more eager to take his suggestions. Anything that he thought to be a good idea was liable to end with a dart lodged in someone’s skull.
Not that I dislike playing games with Jalen. It’s fun. But we kind of need to get moving. There will be time for games and catching back up with each other once we’re all safe.
“What?” Jalen asked. He looked around at everyone. “Why are all of you looking at me like that? My idea is perfectly fine.”
“Let’s hear Tim’s idea,” Brayden suggested, clearing his throat into his fist. “It’s best to respect your elders and all, you know.”
“I’m older than Tim,” Jalen said.
“But you aren’t older than me,” Sievan said with the thin, measured smile of a father whose children had been pushing from amusing into ever-so-slightly annoying territory. “I can take you to where you all need to go.”
“Wait, what?” Noah did a double take. “You can send us right to the Lost Citadel?”
“No,” Sievan replied with a shake of his head. “That place is sealed, even to me. But I can get you close to where you want to be. You will have to deal with the rest yourself.”
“What’s the catch?” Moxie asked. “Is it going to come at a cost?”
“No, I wouldn’t imagine so,” Sievan replied. “Not one of any real significance.”
“If you could do that this whole time, why’d you wait to say anything?” Noah asked, throwing his hands up. “I just exposed everyone to the Line! Any other option would have been vastly—”
“A few bad experiences are a small price to pay for the knowledge that can be gleaned from the truth,” Sievan said sharply. Then he waved his hand in the air. “But it is to no matter. I could not have taken all of us out of Aqua Terra without disrupting Yoru’s plans. She has put a great deal of effort into establishing your position, Noah. How do you think it would have looked if I was the one who ferried you and your people out of the city rather than allowing you to do it under your own power?”
Noah hesitated for a second. He glanced at Yoru. The demon’s expression was blocked by the ceramic mask she always wore, and her translucent arms of moonlight where nowhere to be seen. The eye painted onto the surface of the mask gazed at Noah as if in a shrug.
He scratched the back of his neck.
“Okay. Fair enough. That does actually sound pretty convenient, then,” Noah admitted. “I think we would all deeply appreciate you ferrying us over. The closer we are to where the Beyond connects this world and the Lost Citadel, the safer it’ll be for everyone.”
“What about me?” Jalen asked. “I could get everyone there too, you know. And we’d probably have much more fun doing it my way.”
“We’re in. Thanks for the help” Moxie said to Sievan, as if she hadn’t heard Jalen. “Anything you need from us? The faster, the better.”
“There are two options in the running. Don’t decide so fast,” Jalen said crossly. “But fine. Be like that. I’ll just take volunteers! Raise your hand if you want to come with grandpa Jalen!”
He looked around.
Nobody moved.
Aylin edged closer to Sievan.
Sticky looked at Jalen with a sympathetic wince. She hesitated for a second before slowly starting to lift her hand. Violet caught her by the shoulder. Then she pushed Sticky’s hand back down.
“Unfortunate,” Sievan drawled in a way that made it entirely impossible to tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
“Spoilsports,” Jalen muttered. “Come on, then. Boring bastards, all of you. Let’s get this over with.”
Sievan smirked. “Hold still. I got a good enough glimpse into Noah’s mind to know where it is that we need to go. This won’t take long at all.”
He lifted his hands. Darkness bubbled at his feet. Tendrils spread out across the ground. They wound beneath Noah and all of the others in utter silence. Magic prickled against Noah’s domain. He could feel Sievan’s power twisting through the air, growing and thicker, even though there wasn’t anything else visibly happening.
Noah mouth was halfway toward opening so he could ask how it was that Sievan would transport them when the earth fell out from beneath him. His sentence was swallowed by a surprised curse as he dropped into the shadows like a rock.
It couldn’t have lasted for more than a second. By the time he realized that he was falling, his feet had already hit solid ground again. Noah let out a grunt, stumbling as loose stone shifted beneath his feet.
Then he blinked.
He was elsewhere.
All around him stretched a iridescent sea of rainbow colored stone. This was where he’d first set foot in Obsidia, at the outskirts of the Coral Empire.
One by one, everyone appeared at his side. They popped into being in bursts of shadow, looking around in just as much surprise as Noah felt. It had been one of the smoothest magical trips he’d gone on.
The last of them to come was Sievan, rising up from the ground in a cloak of shadows that melted away once his form had fully taken shape.
“We have arrived,” Sievan said.
“Bah,” Jalen said, arms crossed in front of his chest. “That was horrible. Lame. And don’t think that I missed you showing up with the cool magic while the rest of us got popped out like turds. Zero points for equality to you.”
“What would you have done, had you been the one to take us here?” Aylin asked, sending a sidelong glance at Jalen.
“Good question! Now you can know what you missed out on. No take-backs, by the way. What’s done is done,” Jalen said with a shake of his head. “I call it a temporal lob. It involves shunting you through space-time as hard as possible, kind of like a slingshot. You kind of bounce off the ripples of reality until you land where you’re headed. Ever been on one of those fancy wind-powered boats that bounce on big lakes? It’s like that, but rougher. A lot rougher. It’s great fun.”
Everyone exchanged a glance.
“Right,” Alyin said. He cleared his throat. “That’s… good to know.”
“Yup,” Jalen said. “And you missed out on it.”
“A tragedy,” Sievan said. “I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to take you up on it at some point in the future. But I am afraid this is where I will take my leave of you all.”
“Wait, what?” Noah asked. “You’re leaving?”
“I am,” Sievan said. His lips curled. “I am. Tim will remain. There are tasks that I must still tend to within the Damned Plains. I have spent more time here than I planned, and this is not my body. It is about time I return it to its proper owner, who has so graciously allowed me to use it this long. Occupying it for longer will start causing issues. Channeling even a fragment of a Rank 8’s power anywhere near a Rank 5 body for an extended period of time is not safe.”
“In that case, thank you for your consideration,” Noah said. “I very much prefer Tim alive and in good health.”
“As do the rest of us,” Moxie said. “It was nice seeing you again, Sievan.”
“Likewise, my dear apprentice,” Sievan said. He smiled. “Continue your studies. I am most curious to see where you will find yourself when the future finds itself on our doorstep. We will all have ample time to speak again in the future. For now, I would suggest you all do as Noah wished and make your way to safety soon.”
The darkness drained from Sievan’s eyes. He blinked, and then there was only Tim.
“Hello again,” the elderly man said with a wide smile. “It’s a pleasure to re-see you all. I’ve been paying attention since Sievan took over, so don’t you worry about filling me back in. I’m with the times.”
“Then let’s get out of here,” Moxie said. She looked to Noah. “This is the place we need to be, right?”
Noah nodded, a frown already crossing over his lips. “Yes… it is. But a rather concerning thought has struck me.”
“And what would that be?” Silvertide asked. “Because I must say, hearing that after we have already arrived and with a potential group of rather displeased mages at our heels is not my preference.”
“It’s a long explanation, but the reason the Citadel is isolated from the rest of the world is because of an alternate form of magical power. It’s basically anti-magic,” Noah said slowly. “And I have just reminded myself that this magic is incredibly hostile in certain situations.”
“What does that mean?” Isabel asked.
“Can you use the Line again?” Todd suggested. “We made it through that one already.”
“I would like to opt out,” Fist said. “I’ll walk.”
“There’s no walking where we’re going,” Noah said. “I’m afraid that isn’t an option.”
Fist sighed. “Of course not.”
“What do we do, then?” Aylin asked. “Just risk it? We survived the Line. I’m sure you’ll protect us. It’ll be fine.”
Several people glanced at Yoru.
She didn’t say anything.
Noah didn’t wait around for her to. He was already shaking his head.
“No. I’m not gambling with anyone’s life. I think the passage should technically be safe for everyone, but I won’t risk it. So I’m going to consult with the source directly. Can I ask you to all wait for a short while?”
“That depends,” Moxie said. “How long?”
“A few minutes,” Noah replied. “One way or another, I’ll be back after then.”
“We’ve survived this long waiting,” Brayden said. “We’ll make it a bit longer.”
The others all nodded.
“Good. I’ll hold you to that.” Noah lifted his hands, letting the Beyond flow through his soul. He could feel the strands of anti-magic that made up the passageway back to the Citadel practically waiting for him to call on them. Opening the path would be easy.
He just wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
“Be careful,” Moxie said.
“Don’t die where I can’t eat the body,” Lee advised.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Noah said. He took a few steps forward, bringing himself up to where the presence of the Beyond felt the strongest.
It wouldn’t have been accurate to say it was waiting. Noah was still pretty sure that the Beyond didn’t truly have emotions or feelings. It was just power. Power with a very aggressive self-defense mechanism. Power that really hated when anyone tried to control it.
Not exactly the traits of something without at least some degree of sapience.
Noah pushed that thought from his mind. And, with what he hoped to be a reassuring grin, he stepped into the Beyond.
The infinite white void swallowed him whole.