Jonah’s expression is still solemn, but he tips his head in acknowledgment. “We should get moving. We’ll need to fill in the people who’ve arrived at the other ends of the city.”
A sly grin curves Mirage’s lips. “They heard Peri’s instructions too. I made sure of it.”
Well, that might have confused people who couldn’t even see who was speaking more than it guided them, but at least it’s a start.
The group of us surges toward the city. As we get closer, my long-time companions veer away from me.
I watch them drift around and through the crowd of humans with a tug of loss. But enough gratitude and pride is welling up inside me to overcome my worries.
I brought all these beings together, shadowkind and mortal. I’m showing that wecantackle our problems together. That there’s a place for all of us in the world, a way to coexist.
Now I just have to convince the rift of that before it decides to up its takeover-by-murk to another level.
I join the swarm of humans near the factories, which are now completely draped in shadows. Seeing how far the deluge has grown in just the past couple of days, a lump clogs my throat, but I gird myself against the discomfort.
It all stops here. We’re going to show it a better way.
A furry body brushes my ankles. I look down to see Falkor curling around my legs, peering up at me with those big puppy-ish eyes that won me over to begin with.
He’s ready to follow whatever orders I give. Even the lesser creatures among us are giving their all.
I lift my head and hold out my hands toward my new human companions. “We’re going to start now. Remember, just keep thinking about all the ways you fit together with other people. The ways you can make something better with each other. The ways you make each other happy. Think about how we’re all coming together right here to fix the craziest mess you’ve ever seen!”
A few laughs break out amid the crowd. With renewed confidence, I focus on the churning shadows in front of me and open my mind.
My mates aren’t in place yet, still traveling around the edge of the city as quickly as they can, but that’s all right. It’s good to warm up, or I might sprain something.
My collaborators—most of them, anyway—have followed my instructions. Buttery affection and molasses-tangy delight flow from all around me, filling me with a different sort of flood.
I couldn’t contain all that emotion even if I wanted to. I simply channel it into the glow of my own warmest feelings, the welcome I wish I could extend to every shadowkind who longs to spend time in the mortal realm, to all the energies twisting and contorting with the impulse to fit in.
The struggle between humans and shadowkind has been going on for so long without most of us even being aware of it. From the organizations that tormented shadowkind like Mirage to the individuals who caged me and tore apart Hail’s mentor, from the powerful beings who tried to bend the whole world to their whims to Raze simply lashing out in anger—we’ve tangled and clashed and wrenched at each other.
All because being a part of this place mattered so much to us.
Is it any surprise that all that conflict ended up affecting the very atmosphere of our realms and, particularly, the portals that connect them? There’s something magical about the way our different worlds exist alongside one another to begin with.
And magic can be bent and tainted, like sorcery can be used for evil no matter how much people like Jonah use it for good.
My blue-green glow washes over all the buildings in front of me and beams through the shadows. I send a silent but emphatic message with it.
It’s so good to see you. Thank you for trying to work something out with us. We can all live here together. All these people want to see mortals and shadowkind existing side by side. Do you feel the love they have that they’re sharing with you?
It’s all right. You were confused and hurt, and you tried to grab what you believed should be yours. You don’t have to claim or cling to anything. We can simplybe, existing next to one another, in harmony.
My light spreads so much farther than I’ve ever managed before. I sense with a tingle through my nerves when Mirage, then Raze, then Hail, and finally Jonah find their places: five points around the ring. The current of shimmering warmth coursing out of me streams even faster and farther when it can reach out to them.
We’re enveloping the city, the murk, and the rift above us in one massive embrace.
The edges of the portal twitch, and the impression of shrinking echoes into me. Some of the murk is thinning, brightening, but other whirls are rolling back up into the shadow realm where they came from.
It’s really working!
I drag in a giddy breath—and a bang splits the quiet from somewhere behind me.
My nerves jump, and my glow falters. Splashes of acrid anxiety hit me from all sides.
A few more thumps and a faint impression of shouting reach my ears, but they’re far enough away that I firm my stance.
