“What happened with the Slip Demons?”
“We made short work of them,” Sunday says. “No demon is going to get in our way now.”
“Let’s get out of here before a new pack arrives to call Sunday’s bluff,” Ya-Ya says.
She doesn’t wait for us to agree with her, she just opens a portal and steps through it. We all follow her through and arrive back in the cabin, where Nexus is sitting waiting for us.
“Did you get it?” she asks me as soon as I step through.
I nod my head and grin at her. She grins back for a moment and then her smile fades.
“And now the hard work starts. But I think you guys deserve at least a short break first. There’s pizza and beer in the kitchen.”
This gets a cheer and the team heads for the kitchen, but Nexus puts her hand on my arm and stops me.
“We need to talk, Sailor,” she says.
I nod my head. “Okay,” I say.
“Save me some pizza,” I shout after the team.
I don’t think they’ve heard me, but Nexus laughs.
“There’s enough pizza out there to feed about thirty people. You’ll be fine. Come on. Let’s go for a walk.”
We leave the cabin and I follow Nexus into the woods. At first she doesn’t talk, we just walk through the woods enjoying the last of the sun. We don’t go too deep, but I understand what Nexus is doing. We do go deep enough that birds chirping and leaves rustling are the only sounds. If anyone had followed us out here, it would be almost impossible for them to stay quiet enough to not give themselves away.
I open my mouth to ask Nexus why we’re out here when I think we’ve gone far enough, but I know Nexus. She’ll talk when she’s ready and not a moment before, so I bite my tongue, wondering what she’s pulled me out here alone for.
She stops going deeper into the trees and turns right. After a couple of minutes, we come to a little clearing and Nexus finally stops walking. She sits on the ground and indicates I should do the same. I sit down across from her and she smiles at me.
“You did well getting the Spear of Alveron, and I don’t think you need me to remind you of the power of the weapon or of how dangerous it could be if it fell into the wrong hands,” she says.
I shake my head.
“No. I understand,” I say.
“Good, because you can’t let that thing out of your sight for even a second. Whenever you go, it needs to be with you. When you sleep, it needs to be under your pillow.”
“I get it, but Nexus, this isn’t like the dagger. How am I supposed to take a spear to school?” I ask.
Nexus smiles. “Like this.”
She holds her hand out, and I pull out the spear and give it to her. She takes it and marvels at it for a moment and then she pulls a small pouch out of her pocket. She sprinkles some light purple dust over the spear and it instantly shortens. I watch, my mouth open, as the spear shrinks down until it’s no longer than the palm of my hand.
Nexus laughs softly at my shocked face and hands back the tiny spear.
“When you need to use it, grip it firmly in one hand and touch your tattoo with the other,” Nexus says. “As soon as you touch the tattoo while holding the spear, it will become its normal size again. To shrink it back down again, just repeat the process.”
I get to my feet and put the spear in my jeans’ pocket. I reach in and pull it back out, running the fingers of my other hand over the tattoo on my chest. I smile as the spear pops instantly back to its full size. Growing it won’t even slow me down. By the time I hold it out in front of me, ready to use, it’s full size again. I touch my tattoo again and it shrinks back down, just like Nexus said it would.
“Thank you,” I say. “That’s going to make the logistics of this a whole lot easier.”
“But not the actual act. Have you given any more thought to what you will do when the Horseman makes himself known?”
I nod slowly. I know Nexus will try to talk me out of this, but I don’t want to lie to her.
“I’m not losing another team member, Nexus. I’m going to save them. I know it’s a big risk, but it’s one I have to take,” I say.
Nexus surprises me once more by smiling at me.
“I knew you would make the right decision, Sailor,” she says.
“But you told me I would be crazy to try it.” I frown.
“Oh I know. And part of me still thinks you are. I wanted to make you aware of the risks, and I had to let you decide for yourself if you were willing to risk the consequences, but I was always hopeful that you’d choose hope over death. And you did.”
“It was a test?”
“No. Just a genuine choice that I didn’t want to push you into making,” Nexus corrects me. “Now, do you have any theories on who the Horseman is?”
Jinx’s face flashes through my mind, but I don’t say his name. I don’t want to get this wrong again.
“I thought I knew who it was, but I was wrong,” I say.
“Obviously now you have the weapon, the Horseman is very much aware of you, and he won’t hold off for long. He’ll make a move and try to kill you, but I think you’ll find it easier to be ready for that if you already know in your own mind where the attack will come from. There are some signs to watch out for.”
“Wait,” I say, starting to get to my feet. “Shouldn’t Rye be here for this?”
Nexus shakes her head,
