“Nexus, Sailor and I. I…I think I’m in love with her,” I say.
Nexus’s eyes widen, and I keep going before she can stop me.
“I don’t care about the rules, Nexus. They’re not going to kill the Paradox. And I’m willing to take whatever consequences they throw at us.”
“Don’t be so sure about that, Rye. You have no idea what they’ll do,” she says.
She pats the bench beside her and I reluctantly walk over to have my heart ripped out.
***
I am angrier than ever when I come back to the cabin after Nexus drops her bombshell on me. I stalk through my room and head down the corridor. I need to get outside and get some air. I need some time to get my head around what I just heard. Sailor and I can never be together. That much is obvious now. I have to find a way to move on, but I really don’t think I can do that.
“Shit man, you look rough,” Sunday says, popping out of the kitchen with a can of soda in his hand.
“Shouldn’t you be at school?” I snap.
“Sorry, Dad.” Sunday laughs.
I roll my eyes.
“Seriously, Sunday. Why are you still here?”
“I’m waiting for you,” he says. “I came back to your room to talk to you and you were gone. As was the dagger to open the portal to Nexus. Did you find a way?”
I shake my head slowly.
“No. Well yes. But Sailor and I being together comes at a price. A price I’m not willing to pay,” I say.
Sunday raises an eyebrow.
“What’s the price?” he asks. “Surely they wouldn’t kill the Paradox?”
“No. They won’t,” I say. “They’ll kill her father instead.”
I’m getting ready to visit Nexus again, this time with Sailor in tow. I have the tiny dagger in my hand and Sailor is eyeing it curiously. I know she wants to ask what it is, but I also know she still hasn’t forgiven me for my date with Felicity, so she’s staying as quiet as she can, not wanting to talk to me unless she absolutely has to. I hum to myself and mess around with my shoes for a moment. If she wants to play it that way, then I’m at least going to make her work for it.
When I’ve stalled about as much as I can without it being obvious, ignoring her sighs and eye rolls, I run the dagger through the air and Sailor gasps as she watches the air in front of me tear open.
“Come on,” I say and step through the tear.
She doesn’t hesitate. I really do admire Sailor. She’s been thrown into this world, a world that has sent far older people than her running for the hills, and she just quietly accepts things. She just stepped through a tear with no idea what’s on the other side without even questioning it.
She looks around at the bare stone walls and smiles.
“I wish I found this door instead of the slide down to hell,” she muses.
“You have the dagger?” Nexus asks from the shadows.
“No. We have a piece of ugly jewelry,” Sailor says bitterly.
I bite the inside of my lip to keep from smiling and pull the medallion out of my pocket and hand it to Nexus. She smiles when she sees it.
“This isn’t a piece of ugly jewelry,” she says. “Well actually, that’s a lie. The thing is extremely ugly. And I guess you could wear it as jewelry. But it’s actually much more than that. It’s a scribing tool.”
I grin. This is it. The key to finding the dagger. Sailor frowns beside me.
“A what?” she asks.
I keep forgetting how little she knows about this world. She fits in so easily that I often forget she isn’t one of us. It’s dangerous to let myself forget.
“A scribing tool,” Nexus repeats. “It’s a map and a key wrapped up in one neat little package. It will lead you to the dagger. When you activate it, Paradox, it will glow and it will get brighter while you’re following the right path. Once you find the location of the dagger, a shape will appear that matches the medallion. Simply place the medallion into the shape and turn it until it clicks and you will unlock the door to the dagger. It’s simple really.”
“Yeah, it sounds like it,” Sailor huffs. “And what exactly do I need to do to activate it? Walk through fire? Sacrifice a lamb?”
Nexus laughs and looks at me.
“She’s funny. Try not to get her killed.”
She turns back to Sailor.
“You just have to be holding it. While it’s in contact with your skin, it’s activated. To deactivate it, put it in your pocket or bag or somewhere it’s not in contact with you.”
Sailor holds out her hand for the medallion and Nexus places it on her palm. It instantly begins to glow faintly.
“We’re pretty cold then. So Nexus, any idea where we might find this door? I’m guessing it’s nowhere near Starbucks because I couldn’t be lucky enough to get decent coffee too, right?”
Nexus laughs again.
“See, I told you she was funny. You’re going to need that sense of humor, Paradox. Things will get hard from here.”
“Because they’ve been easy up until now?” Sailor says.
Nexus nods like this should be obvious.
“Well yes. But now, I suggest you make the most of the next couple days while I get some intel on potential starting points. I suggest you stay the weekend for extra training.”
“Stay here?” Sailor exclaims.
“Heavens no, the last thing I need is you getting under my feet. Stay at the cabin,” Nexus says.
Worst idea ever.
I glare at Nexus, who gives me a wide-eyed look of innocence.
She’s totally playing me.
She knows how I feel and she knows
