“Whoa. Where’d you get that idea—” He spoke over me, firm in his approach despite my horrified expression, since everyone else could hear him, too.
“Listen to me. The Valkyries and the Berserkers are not made for romance. We don’t understand sentiments like love. It doesn’t belong to us, so we don’t know what to do with it when we experience it,” he continued. “The Valkyries in particular, can be very intense. Ultimately, you wouldn’t be able to handle someone like Myst.”
The silence was heavy for several seconds, and painfully awkward. My face burned, and I would’ve liked nothing more than to throw something blunt and heavy at Brandon’s head. Who the hell had said anything about love? Myst was, at best, an ally.
“I see the way you look at her,” he added, further prodding me, though he sounded honest in his approach. “You’re in over your head, kid, in more ways than one.”
“And you’re a colossal jerk,” Astra muttered. The Berserker gave her a confused look, but she didn’t deign to clarify her statement. Maybe he’d figure it out on his own. Or maybe someone would explain it to him, but it certainly wasn’t going to be me.
“Okay, just to prove I’m not a colossal jerk, but rather just a monumental one,” he chuckled, then turned serious in the blink of an eye, “here’s me giving you a valuable piece of intel. Your invisibility magic only works to hide you from the living, not from those of the spirit realm.”
“We kind of imagined that already. Our invisibility magic never worked against Reapers and ghouls, either,” I replied. “It makes sense.”
“So, use it wisely. Freely against the clones, of course, but watch your hinds nonetheless,” he insisted, raising an eyebrow.
A minute later, Myst returned with a sour look on her face, while we got our collective breath back. I hadn’t heard anything that suggested danger, but my nerves were still stretched beyond their usual limits. This place was wearing us out in more ways than one. It pushed me and kept me struggling too close to the edge, often threatening to throw me over and cast me into the black pit of death. I wasn’t even sure what would become of our souls if we somehow found our end here. Were there any Reapers in this alt-Shade? I doubted it. Surely Myst or Brandon would’ve said something. They probably had the power to see what we couldn’t.
“Well? What is it?” I asked the Valkyrie as she rejoined us around the black powder schematic. I noticed my heart beating faster again.
She shook her head faintly. “Nothing. I thought I heard something, but… nothing.”
“Are you sure?” Astra replied, eyeing her curiously.
“I am. Perhaps I’m anxious. My mind less sharp. I don’t know.”
It wasn’t uncommon in this place. We each felt different in our own way. Angry and nervous. Walking on pins and needles while we struggled to survive and make some sense of this complicated madness. We’d yet to find the answers we’d come here for, but I had faith in us.
My friends had faith in me.
We’d get through this or go down swinging. Our enemy was not unbeatable. Once we found out more about them, we could figure out how to bring them all down and burn this place to the ground. For me, for Astra, for Myst and her lost sister, for Richard, for my friends and family… for our beloved home.
Thayen
The alt-Shade’s extension was identical to the one back home, aesthetically speaking. It stretched out onto a dark blue ocean beneath the starless, vapid sky. It was made of black steel beams and thick glass, each pane fitted with a frosting feature that offered full privacy within. The houses were mostly one and two-level villas lined along the massive metal walkway, and there were potted palm trees and waxy ferns growing between each residential structure.
Toward the center of the extension, the buildings grew taller, but then descended back to one or two levels near the far end, which happened to be our destination. I felt uneasy just looking at this place. The sand was diamond-white and smooth, the wind brushing over it and combing sparkling dunes beneath the peculiar glow from above. The ocean lapped lazily at the shore. It looked both inviting and luxurious.
Yet out came clone guards with pulverizer weapons on their shoulders and silvery bracelets with incandescent purple displays, which they checked every five minutes. Their ammo had to be limited, considering we’d destroyed their armory. I counted at least a dozen posted along the main entrance to the extension—a giant archway made of black steel in the shape of swirling, tangling vines with glass shards for leaves. They moved in a simple circular pattern, ensuring the archway was never unprotected. It was the only access point into the extension, aside from a swim through the ocean. But the latter would make too much noise.
Wearing our invisibility magic and red lenses, Astra, Viola, Jericho, and I crouched behind one of the last redwoods that overlooked the beach before the extension. We had a good view of it from here, and we could see the guards’ locations across the entire strip of white beach. Brandon and Myst stayed with us, unseen to the clones. They watched and listened for a while.
“Seems like a busy office building,” I muttered.
“Yeah, I’m expecting middle management to come out with their lattes and complain about Sheila from accounting,” Jericho replied, and I had to stifle a chuckle while both Brandon and Myst gave us confused glances.
I shrugged away their confusion. “It doesn’t matter.”
“How do we go about this?” Viola asked, looking at me. Brandon opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to it.
“We know where they’re keeping our friends. For now, we need to observe guard
