Wali sat and tried to breathe through the stress that weighed on him. How could he fight twenty-six more monsters of this caliber? And nine more of a much higher power level.

Yacob came and sat beside him, “You doing okay, buddy?” The big man asked Wali.

“I’m scared, to be honest,” Wali replied.

“Scared of what?” Yacob asked.

“Look at all of this destruction. Look at all of the damage we did to fight one of the heralds,” Wali replied forlornly.

“We won. We saved the people. That’s the part that matters, right?” Yacob asked.

“I guess we won. What happens when we are too late, though?” Wali replied.

Yacob shrugged. “It’s like when foxes got into the chickens back on the farm. We killed the fox and saved the chickens we could. Nothing else you can do. Feeling bad for the dead chickens don’t fix nothing.”

Wali chuckled, “When did you become so wise?” He looked at his friend quizzically.

“I’m not wise. This is just the same thing. We got to the chickens before the foxes. Yeah, we wrecked the coop killing the fox, but that fox won't be coming back.” Yacob said blithely.

Wali reached over and gave his friend a side hug. “I wish I could see things from your point of view sometimes. You have the right of it.”

Reiki came and sat on Wali’s other side. Sas’cha and Vinny sat nearby. Reiki said, “You guys need to go back to my sister’s little house and get some rest. You did well here, and you deserve it.”

Wali looked at her sideways, “This was good?”

“Yeah, far and above the least casualties I’ve ever seen when dealing with a herald.” She replied.

Wali waved a hand out over the floating bodies of sea life that littered the bay. “What about them?”

“Nothing to be done for that. Some of those were Spirit beasts, but most of them were just animals. I’m sorry for their loss, but I’ll not be mourning a fish, nor a million of them.” She said coldly.

“At least they weren’t people, is that it?” Wali asked.

“Yup. People are floating out there, no doubt. But they picked that fate. They were warned. I’ve seen what destruction the heralds caused last time, and these are but one hair on Sas’cha’s tail.” Reiki said.

Wali knew she was right. The loss of the city was nothing when compared to what might have happened. He climbed to his feet. “Yacob, can you make me a spot to make the circles to take us home?”

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Yacob nodded, and a few meters away, the rock smoothed out into a flat area large enough for the teleportation circles. Wali knelt and began to draw.

Vinny turned to Reiki, “You have that dagger, right?”

She nodded in response, looking a bit suspicious.

Vinny asked her, “What happens to that?

“I’ll take it to a safe palace and build a new obelisk. Far inland, I think. That should neuter the threat of Jemna if it is ever freed again.” She replied, taking the crystal dagger out from inside her shirt. It throbbed in the sunlight, pulsing with dark power. “This dagger won't last very long and can’t go through a teleportation gate.”

Vinny looked at her curiously, “Why not?”

“The power that moves you across the world will break the enchantment on the dagger. Jemna would get freed in the Void between. Then it would reform somewhere else in the world. No way to know where that may be. I have to carry it with me instead of sending it on with you to my sister.” She stowed the dagger away again.

They sat and waited for Wali to do his thing. They all heard and felt the ice shift and crack a short time later. The dam shattered and was carried into the bay. Water thundered through the inlet. They watched as the bay began refilling clean ocean water into the toxic waste-filled bay. Eventually, the bay would recover, but it would remain a site of powerful death energy and corruption for years to come.

The portal opened a couple of hours later, and they returned to Marsai’s basement. Thankful to be home and safe, they all headed to their rooms and the bathhouse. Marsai chose not to debrief them that day. They had been through a trial, and Reiki had communicated much to her already.

***

Wali sat sweating in the steam room. He had scoured his body, trying to clean away the guilt that hung over him. It was pointless, however. He felt better for being clean, but the weight around his heart had not washed away. Yacob had been right. They had saved the chickens per se. Reiki, too was correct. Animals were necessary but not like people.

Wali sat and sweated, meditating on clearing his mind when the door opened. The steam was too thick to see exactly who it was when Sas’cha’s voice came to him. “Are you all right?” Her voice was filled with concern.

“No, not really.” He replied quietly.

“Do you want to tell me about it?” She asked as she sat next to him.

He breathed in as if to speak, but nothing came out. She waited as he gathered his words. “I don’t know if I can do this.” He said, still quiet. Speaking only for her.

“What do you mean? She prodded gently.

“I’m afraid of failure. I don’t know if I am enough to accomplish this. We have fought two heralds and only trapped one. Thousands have died because of that already. How many more will die? How many will die if we fail?” He said sadly.

“That’s not something to dwell on. No one knows the future or how things are going to go. People will die. We can only work to make that as few as possible.” She said, taking his hand in hers. “You also said something wrong there.”

He looked at her through the steam.

“You said you didn’t know if you were enough. You aren’t strong enough, and that’s the hard truth. But you are not alone. The prophecy didn’t say ‘one man saves the world’ but Nine beings do. Did you fight Rags by yourself?” She said sternly.

Wali shook his head, “No.”

“The marshal and Neferu fought him. Did you fight Jemna alone?” She said, looking him in the eyes.

“No, I didn’t,“ He said.

“That’s right, we all fought him. You were not the only one injured. You were not a singularly heroic warrior clashing against the demon. We all fought. We fought Jemna and won. Jemna nearly crushed you. You were close to death and would have died without Vinny.” She said firmly. “I’m going to be sore for a nine-day from wrestling that thing. Vinny has weeks of potions to remake, Yacob…well, Yacob will be fine. But what about your totems? Only Gulli didn’t do battle, and that’s only because he couldn’t swim. Gale was instrumental in that battle. What about them? Are you ever alone?” She prodded him with a claw to make a point.

He hung his head and smiled ruefully, “I am not alone in this fight. You’re right.”

---End Book 1----