Chapter 141
- Evan -
I found myself holding two swords—my own snarling wolf and Kaysi's soaring crane—cold sweat beading on my palms. The blade had answered me. Hers pulsed against the palm of my hand, warm like she just held it. The thought alone was a violation, twisting the air with an unnatural foulness.
Her sword—Kaysi's sword—now at my side, its purple glow faint and tired, like it's dreaming alongside her. James and Micah stood behind me, whispering, confused. All I could feel was this pull in my chest. A tether. A heartbeat that isn't mine.
Kaysi.
I looked over at her. James and Micah guard over her unconscious body, still unresponsive after the shockwave. Her aura drifted up from her in soft violet ribbons—thin, frayed, almost translucent. Her hair was spread out around her, her fingertips twitching in random spurts. She'd overexerted herself. Again. Protecting everyone but herself.
I should've been by her side.
She is unreachable because of him!
But the Collector stepped forward from the rip in reality he'd opened, smiling like someone admiring a painting only he understood.
My pulse spiked—an electric sting under my skin.
"I won't let you near her," I growled!
He tilts his head, sliding towards Kaysi.
"Your souls are tangled together. You carry her memories, don't you? I have never seen a bond like this before. It shouldn't exist, nor should it be allowed. Can't you feel it?"
"Allowed?" I snarled. "What bullshit are you trying to feed me?"
I admit his words left a storm of questions inside me, but I refused to let them in.
Before I could respond, he raised two fingers.
Splitting reality.
The world tore open. A thin slit appears in the air, like reality is paper he's slicing with a scalpel. Behind it is nothing. Cold, hungry nothingness that pulls at my skin like it wants to peel me open.
Wind rushes past me, and dirt swirls upward toward the tear.
James growled.
Micah's hand clamps onto his jacket, steadying both of them.
I took a step forward—
And the collector appears right beside my ear.
I don't even see him move.
His lip almost brushes my skin as he whispers.
I froze from the sound wrong and scraping in my mind. It's words I couldn't describe, a feeling. A memory I never lived, like a threat from a place older than human fear.
"You look just like her, you know," he murmured. "Just before she screamed."
My stomach turned. "Don't. Say. Another. Word."
Pain slices behind my eyes. My aura lashes out on instinct, blue lightning exploding from my spine.
He leaned back, satisfied. "You understood enough."
I don't know what he meant.
Just something recoiled like it knew what he whispered, words like only my mind recognized.
My grip tightened around the hilts of both blades—Snarling Wolf in my right, Soaring Crane in my left. They hummed their pulses in unison, blue lightning crawling across one edge, and purple sparks dancing across the other.
My hands shook. Not from fear, but fear that I understood.
This was something else. Something older. Something buried in my bones is trying to claw its way out.
The collector's whispers clung to the inside of my skull, a smear of meaning that didn't fit in this world. Or to me.
Snarling Wolf—growled in my grip—blue lightning surged down its grooves like veins, lighting up.
Soaring Crane—purple sparks flared, snapping into thin violet lightning that flickered across its curved blade.
Twin lights twisted around each other, climbing my arms—blue and violet spiraling together. The resonance wasn't sound; it was pressure—like both souls in the blades were pushing back against the Collector.
They weren't warning me.
They were protecting us.
The collector gasped at their beauty.
"Two blades responding in unison," he said, "A bond like yours should not exist. It will have to be corrected."
My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached.
He moved towards Kaysi.
But I moved faster.
Blue lightning blasted out from under my heels, propelling me forward. The floor cracked from the force. I slashed upward with snarling wolf and angled soaring crane to guard my ribs.
The collector's arm twisted in a direction no human limb should move, deflecting my strike with two fingers. The impact alone rattled the metal like a tuning fork; the resistance shot up my bones.
But I didn't stop.
I spun—lightning and violet sparks carving a circle around me. The lightning snapped with each hit, the crackling growing louder as I got angrier. Soaring crane sliced clean and controlled, its purple aura pulling into ribbon-like trails behind each arc.
He ducked under one strike, eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Ah. There it is—the piece of you that remembers."
I slammed both blades down.
Blue and purple energy erupted in a shockwave that shoved him back several feet.
"Shut up!" I roared.
The air thickened.
The rift behind him widened.
The pull intensified, dragging dust, debris, and a few loose papers right off the ground.
Behind me, Micah shouted, "EVAN—THE TEAR'S DESTABILIZING!"
James anchored her back. His boots are scraping on the concrete.
Kaysi's aura drifted higher—violet ribbons lifting from her body. Sparks are building at the edges. Her fingers twitched again. Her lips parted like she was trying to breathe through a nightmare.
I stepped in front of her, blades crossed, shielding her with everything I had left.
"It doesn't matter what you think you know," I growled. "She's not yours. And you're not touching her—or any of them."
The collector blinked. Delightedly. "You hold her blade as if it were your own. I want to study this."
"I am holding it until she wakes up."
"Do you want to know something?" He purred, "Why did your soul cling to hers before either of you was born?"
My heart stopped. What does he mean?
The swords reacted before I did.
Both blades screamed—pure resonance.
"The moment either of you remembers—if she remembers," he said softly, "you will unravel."
I lunged, slashing over and over, backing him into a corner. The final strike landed—Soaring Crane's violet lightning drilled straight through his shoulder.
He hissed.
I spun, realizing why—
Kaysi is standing, breathless, aura floating around her like woven light.
The collector slid into a portal to escape. I grabbed his shirt as he closed slowly, half in, half out.
"If you touch her again," I growled. "I don't care what dimension you crawled out of—I'll make sure it's the last one you see."
For the first time, his smile faltered.
Just a fraction.
"Enough."
The tear behind him pulsated.
He stepped backward into it—slowly, gracefully, like easing into a warm bath.
"We will finish this another time—you did well." He said, pleased, as he cut his shirt, sending me backwards, and snapped the tear shut.
The air stilled.
Kaysi's breath shook.
I lowered both swords as the Soaring Crane pulsed weakly, fading in my hand.
I rushed forward, catching Kaysi just as she fainted.
"Kaysi?" Micah shouted.
I placed two fingers on her neck. She opened her eyes for a second and smiled at me the way she used to. She put one hand on my face. And mouthed thank you again before passing out the second time. But she was breathing.
Micah woke Josh. He only had a few scrapes. The second he saw Becky in the chamber, he snapped awake, fury boiling, though thankfully, she had oxygen circulating.
We hit the release.
Josh carried Becky.
I carried Kaysi.
We headed straight for the shelter hospital.
When we got there, we were met by the angry nurse, who had been actively watching over the girls.
They took Kaysi back to her room and gave her oxygen. Her wounds weren't any worse, but she had more energy drained from her than ever.
The nurse quickly had Josh put Becky back on the bed and refilled the already refueled ventilator.
"Thankfully, the vent shut off right after you left," she said. "I know you're trying to find whoever caused this dome, but the harder you push, the harder they come after your group."
The nurse sighed. "Now I can provide as much security around here as I can, but as you see. They already got you kids more than once. We have the resources here to keep Becky alive, but not for much longer. Our two-day limit remains, since none of the generator's gas was used while she was gone. But—I know I am asking a lot, since you're only kids are barely close to adulthood. But these villains you're facing, be careful—"
I nodded my head. "We are doing our best with what we can."
"I can see that you are." Her expression changed. "Kick those bastards' asses and get this dome down as soon as possible—for all our sakes."
Micah's mouth dropped. "On that note, let's go let Uncle know things are safe and how the collector was not really after the kids.
Once back at the bakery, Baby and Duke got the rundown. Uncle and Tomo began separating the children—half to Jennifer's orphanage, half back to the shelter. The plan was the same as before: escort both groups carefully. With any luck, the Collector wouldn't return immediately.
As we had everyone ready and were starting to leave, a police car swerved, blocking our path.
"Hands up," an officer barked. "Mr. Monk, you're under arrest for housing a criminal. Tomo, you're charged for negligence of the three minors under your care at the gym."
The kids burst into tears as the uncle got handcuffed.
"No, I ran towards them."
"Evan, stop," Uncle said, steadying himself. "I will be alright; we will figure this out."
"Hands up," an officer barked. "Mr. Monk, you're under arrest for housing a criminal. Tomo, you're charged with negligence of the three minors under your care."