“Taz, you can’t seriously be considering opening a rift on your own,” Necia says.“That goes against every rule?”
“They TOOK LUTHER!”I shout, finally looking at my friends.“That blasted dimension took EVERYTHING from me!I won’t just stand here while it takes another person I LOVE, and if you won’t help me, then get out of my way!”
Funneling energy into my palms, I direct my magic at Necia.No one will stop me from doing this, not even the agents.The gravity of the moment seems to hit her, so both Max and Necia raise their hands in surrender.
It’s so quiet in the forest, I can only hear the crackling sounds of the distant torches.We’re at a standstill, but I’m not backing down.
“Taz.I’m not going to physically try to stop you,” she says slowly.“I understand you’re hurting.”
“You have no idea,” I say through gritted teeth.“And if you’re not gonna help me?”
“Think clearly for a moment.If you’ve studied the Other Side, you know that every rift is random.”
Taking deep breaths, I recall that what she’s saying is true, and I think I know where she’s going with this.After a beat, Necia continues, “There’s no guarantee that space and time will work properly if you open up a portal.”She nervously glances at Max and steps forward with her hands up, knowing I won’t depose her.“Now I want to get Luther back, but we need to be smart about this.I don’t want you bending the rules just to let out a bunch of monsters.”
She’s right?there’s no telling what will happen if I cut a hole in our universe.My mind spins with ideas, but I can’t think of a way to guarantee a path to Luther.Even using this potent relic and breaking every policy, I’m not sure of a solution.
And that truth breaks my soul.A sob escapes my lips, and I rasp, “I can’t lose him, Neesh.”
She gives me a sympathetic look as I power down my hands.After a tense moment, Max steps forward and says, “Why don’t we go back to HQ.I’m sure the High Council can come up with a solution.”
“That’s not fast enough,” I reply, wiping the tears from my eyes.“I don’t have time to convince them to even try.Every moment that goes by…”
Images of Luther getting tortured by monsters flood my heart.I shake my hand and put on the bracelet.“I have to do this now.I have to risk it.I’m sorry.”
My hand glows, but before I can infuse the metal with all the magic I can muster, we turn our attention to the steps approaching us.Max quickly lifts up his fist, ready to fight any more cultists.However, the person holding the flashlight is someone I recognize.
“And…that is time,” he says.
“Girish?!”We yelp in unison.
“What are you doing here?”I ask, putting my hand down.
“I’m, um, not sure.”He turns off his flashlight and steps closer to me.“You see, I occasionally do my own scrying.I get visions of what I’m going to do, or rather, what I should do.Sometimes it’s fragmented, but if I’m lucky, I can get some important stuff.My vision told me I needed to be here in this exact place and time, not a moment sooner, so I set my alarm.And well…”
He hands me a scroll, and after sharing perplexed looks with Max and Necia, I take it.
“This is a really obscure spell I found in the library.It’s about finding someone you’ve forged a love bond with, which I guess is like sex?But it only works across a distance via the astral plane, so you can’t, like, find your lover all around the world.”He shifts up his glasses.“It’s pretty useless.”
My heart speeds up, and hope fills my soul.I grin at Necia as my breathing picks up.“This…this is exactly it!”I exclaim.
“See, you said that in my vision, while holding that scroll.”Girish shakes his head.“I find it hard to trust my premonitions, really, but hopefully…”
“Girish, you beautiful wizard,” Max says, tapping my friend’s shoulder.“You couldn’t have arrived ten minutes ago?”
“My vision was explicit to the exact minute I had to arrive, no sooner or later.”He shrugs shyly.“I really don’t get why you would need it.”
“It’s exactly what we need!”I take out my geo arcanum, and Necia does the same.
“Why?”Girish asks, pushing up his glasses.“Hey, wasn’t Luther here on your mission with you?”
Five minutes later, we’ve drawn runes with conjured chalk into the grass.I’m seated in the middle, legs crossed, and the scroll and the gauntlet piece are before me.
“This is a huge risk,” Girish says.
“You came here at this very moment for a reason,” Necia says.“And that’s to save Luther.”
“I still think you should have come sooner,” Max murmurs.
