Killing the Whisperer's current host was one thing, but what was to say he wouldn't find another and begin again.
There was no shortage of Lowland and Highlanders angry at the Trateri. As long as the creature tapped into their desires, there would be no end. The Trateri would have to fight a constant battle.
Eventually, they would lose.
"I don't know how to stop the darkness," Eva confessed.
Phillip started, looking between Eva and Orion. "Is something coming?"
Yes, you do.
Not getting an answer, Phillip muttered a curse and drew his blade before facing the mist with a ready stance.
Orion's gaze was knowing as it held Eva's.
Slowly, she nodded. The ancestral lands.
Their call was growing deafening as they told her everything would be fine if she could lead the Whisperer there.
"I'll do it," she promised Orion.
Approval shone in his gaze.
Eva started for the mist then stopped. There was one last thing she had to do before she went off to do battle with an ancient entity.
"Protect them for me."
If she didn't come back, she wanted assurances that the people she left behind would be fine.
Orion bowed his head.Consider it done.
Phillip took his attention from the mist, watching the two of them with suspicion. "What are you talking about?"
Eva didn't answer as she walked toward the mist.
Alarmed, Phillip tried to catch her arm. "What are you doing? Answer me."
"Those people made a bargain with the Whisperer. He's now trying to come here. I have to stop him in a place he can't easily leave."
Phillip frowned in confusion. "Why you?"
Eva didn't answer as she looked over her shoulder at Orion's expectant gaze. "Because I'm the Caller, and this is one of my responsibilities."
Phillip watched her silently for a long moment before he scrubbed a hand down his face in frustration. "Why do I always get stuck with the strange ones?"
Eva paused on the mist's border. "But we're the ones who make things interesting."
Before he could answer, a person tried to push out of the mist.
Eva was ready, laying one hand on the creature's arm. The mist swallowed them in the next second.
When it receded, their surroundings had changed to a vast plain, mountains far in the distance. The tall grass reached to her waist under a violet-tinged sky. Butterflies took to the air, dancing on the wind currents.
It was a place Eva had only ever visited in her dreams. The ancestral lands.
Eva let go of the Neil-shaped monster, allowing him to stumble away as she took in this place. Peace settled in her soul as a Kyren joined her.
"Orion?"
