“What are you going to do?” asked Lucy.

Elijah leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as he stared at the floor. He and the others had returned to Seattle to find it unchanged. Palpable tension still hung in the air, and everywhere Elijah looked, he saw drones, cameras, or black-clad guards who looked like they were wearing police-issue riot gear. More than once on his way to Lucy’s apartment, he’d seen those tensions erupt into brief spurts of violence. Sometimes, the fights were between the hunters of Ranier and the residents of Mercer Mesa. Other times, the guards fought against the well-equipped warriors from Lake City, which was where the local tower was located. None of the battles lasted long before they were broken up, but to Elijah, it was clear that the city was on the verge of exploding.

And it wasn’t difficult to see why, either. Water – and many other supplies – were scarce, and each faction contributed something vital to the city. As a result, they had no choice but to work together, even if they hated one another. The only thing holding it all together was Isaiah and his government, though they were only so effective as each faction’s willingness to listen to reason.

In short, Elijah did not envy Isaiah the task before him.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “In the short term, all I care about is the safety of my family. After that…”

“You’re still going to kill the guy, right? This leader of Easton,” Lucy said.

“Definitely.”

“Have you thought about the ramifications of his death?” she asked.

Elijah shrugged. “Not really,” he lied. Indeed, he knew that killing the man who’d helped create a safe haven for thousands of people would have consequences. At best, someone else would rise up and take his place. Perhaps they would be better, but there was just as much chance that they’d be worse. And in the worst-case scenario, a bloody struggle would come, leaving everyone vulnerable to the very real threat represented by the environment.

Or other people.

“I know you’re smarter than that,” Lucy said, practically reading his mind. “There’s a chance that he’s the best of a bunch of bad options.”

“I don’t care.”

That was true enough. When weighed against his desire for vengeance, the fate of a bunch of strangers was inconsequential. He would let a thousand people die if it meant making his sister’s killer pay for his betrayal.

“What if he was right?” she asked.

“He wasn’t.”

“According to Carmen, who’s not exactly impartial.”

“I believe her,” Elijah said, looking up to see Lucy wringing her hands.

“What if Alyssa really did pose a threat to him? What if she truly was putting everyone in danger? What if –”

“I don’t care,” Elijah repeated. “If Alyssa intentionally challenged his rule, then she had a good reason. If she murdered a bunch of people, I would assume that she did so because they were a threat. She has…had my full trust.”

“She wasn’t infallible.”

“Close enough for me,” Elijah said. “She was my sister. Family means that she gets the benefit of the doubt in every situation. It’s the same with Carmen and Miguel. If they kill someone, I’ll say, ‘They probably had it coming.’ Maybe that makes me a bad person, but I don’t care. That’s who I am.”

Lucy just shook her head, clearly unsure how to respond to that kind of certainty. “What about me? Would you support me like that, too?” she asked.

“Once? Definitely. I probably still would, but I’d be lying if I said it was unconditional,” he answered.

She sighed, then tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “I guess that’s better than nothing. It’s been a long time since we were together.”

“It has. I used to think about you, you know,” Elijah admitted. “I almost quit school and came home. It was my sophomore year in college, and I was having a rough time. Too much drinking. Too little school. You know how it goes. I knew I needed to make some changes, and I thought you’d be a part of that.”

“What stopped you?”

“I got on Facebook and saw that you were with someone else. I guess I should be happy. I mean, if you were going to move on with anybody, I’m glad it was with the man you eventually married,” Elijah admitted. He sighed and leaned back in the chair, looking around the room. “Kind of like losing to the eventual winner of the Super Bowl. You’re upset, sure. But if you’re going to lose, at least you lost to the best.”

“It wasn’t a competition, Elijah,” Lucy said.

“I know that now. I’ve matured.”

“Have you?”

“Some.”

She laughed. “So, what happened when you realized that you couldn’t swoop back into my life?”

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“I dedicated myself to school. I stopped drinking so much. I got back in the gym. You know, normal self-improvement stuff. And it would’ve worked, too, if it wasn’t for that dastardly cancer!” he said, shaking his fist dramatically. “Or, you know, the apocalypse.”

Elijah knew he was all over the place, emotionally speaking, but that was by design. If he let himself wallow in his own grief – or his pending vengeance – he would make some seriously unhealthy decisions. He was self-aware enough to recognize that that wouldn’t end well. And he had responsibilities, after all.

To that end, he glanced back toward where Carmen, Miguel, and Colt had gone to meet with the others. “What is taking them so long?” he wondered.

“They might not want to go,” Lucy said. “Seattle isn’t perfect, but it’s relatively safe. After what those people have been through, that’s much better than going off with a mysterious stranger who doesn’t wear shoes.”

“That’s…fair.”

Truthfully, Elijah didn’t care much if the rest of the refugees came to Ironshore. The only reason he’d even offered was because Carmen cared about them. Perhaps they would be more comfortable in Argos, which was the third option he’d given them. It was much smaller than Seattle, but the Greek city wasn’t nearly as volatile, either.

Elijah and Lucy continued to catch up on old times – notably avoiding any serious topics – until, at last, Carmen returned from where she’d been speaking to her people.

“Most of them want to stay here,” she said. “So, it’s just me, Colt, Miguel, Theresa, and Byron.”

“Five,” Elijah said, scratching his beard. “Less than expected, but more than ideal.”

“Why?” asked Carmen.

“It’ll just take longer,” he said. “An extra six days.”

Lucy asked why that number made a difference, but Elijah didn’t elaborate. As much as he wanted to trust Lucy – and he did – he also knew that she had her own situation to worry about. Her fate was intertwined with Seattle’s, and there was a good chance that she could reveal Elijah’s secrets to people like Isaiah or whoever was in charge of the hunters.

And that wasn’t a danger Elijah was willing to accept, so he didn’t tell her the details of his teleportation abilities. Even though she clearly wasn’t happy about him keeping his cards close to his chest, she accepted it.

As it turned out, Carmen volunteered to stay behind at the oasis with Elijah and Miguel. So, when they set out for the Circle of Spears, they did so with the plan of splitting the group into two. Both Theresa and Byron – the first of which was a Chemist, while Byron was a Geologist – would go ahead with Colt, while Elijah and his family remained in the oasis until the cooldown was up.

When they reached the oasis, the two newcomers were awestruck by the circle of sandstone monuments as well as the verdant oasis. Fortunately, they didn’t have the chance to meet Snappy, which probably would have been quite alarming.

Once everyone was gathered, Elijah said, “Alright, so – my grove is a little different than anywhere else you’ve been. The first thing you’re going to notice is that the ethera is unimaginably dense. I’m told that it takes a few days to get used to it. Otherwise, it’s like walking around in a hundred-percent humidity, but with the added effect of being extremely magical.

“The second thing you’ll see is that my grove makes this oasis look like the desert,” he went on. “You might see my deer there, as well. They’re not exactly friendly, but they won’t bother you if you don’t bother them. But stay in the grove, just in case.

“And finally, there’s Nerthus. He’s kind of like my groundskeeper,” Elijah explained as he ran his hand through his hair. “He’s a tree-man, so don’t be too alarmed by his appearance. He’s a good guy, and very polite. He’s also the person who’ll show you where you can stay until we get there.”

“A tree-man?” asked Theresa, suddenly nervous.

“Well, a spryggent. Looks like he’s made of roots and branches. Huh. I just realized that he might know where the root raptors came from. Or the idea of them, at least. Maybe the system just thought them up from scratch, but I think it usually takes inspiration from real things. And those monsters looked a lot like Nerthus.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Carmen.

“Oh. Sorry. I sometimes go off on tangents. Occupational hazard. Spend a few years alone, and it takes its toll on your conversational skills,” he answered. “Anyway – my point is that Nerthus is a cool dude.”

“A cool dude?” asked Miguel, trying not to giggle.

“What?”

“Nothing,” the young man said innocently. “I’m sure everyone talks like that where you’re from.”

“I think you just called me old and out of touch,” Elijah said. “Ouch.”

With a shrug, Miguel pointed out, “I didn’t say that.”

It was good to see him joking around. Upon their reunion, the young man had been extremely reserved. He still was, but the two weeks in the oasis had helped him come out of his shell. Of course, he’d had years to deal with his mother’s death, while Elijah’s loss still felt fresh. Either way, the attitude was infectious and at least diverting, which was something Elijah desperately needed.

“My point is that Nerthus is in charge of the grove if I’m not there. So, you need to do what he says until I get back,” Elijah stated. Then, he handed a note to Colt, adding, “Give that to the tree-man. He’ll get you sorted out until I get there.”

“Gotcha, chief,” Colt said, taking the note in his lone hand. “Anything else we need to know?”

“Not that I can think of. Other than the fact that I can sense everything that happens on my island. So, don’t do anything you wouldn’t do right in front of me,” Elijah said cheerfully. Then, he cast Roots of the World Tree. As soon as the spell completed, sucking almost half of his core dry of ethera, a series of vines grew out of the ground, snaking together until they’d created an arch. When it was complete, the air inside the gate shimmered, and the view shifted.

Suddenly, he could see through to his grove, which looked little different than before. Still, the people gathered around him gasped – at least as much because of the sudden appearance of a gateway to what looked like another world as it was due to the verdant grove on the other side. That put on a smile on Elijah’s face, and he gestured toward it, saying, “Go on through. We’ll be there in six days.”

Colt immediately led the way, not hesitating as he covered thousands of miles in a single step. The other two glanced at Carmen, who gave them a reassuring nod. To their credit, they both marshaled their courage and followed the slim swordsman into Elijah’s grove.

Elijah let the spell wink out, though he kept an eye on things. Sure enough, Nerthus quickly responded to their presence, but he clearly knew what the gate meant, because he wasted no time in getting the three settled. That gave Elijah an opportunity to spend some more time with his family.

The next six days passed without incident. For a few hours each day, Elijah worked on the intended map of his Soul, but for the most part, he simply enjoyed Carmen’s and Miguel’s company.

It was a relaxing week, and one they clearly needed. They’d been through an awful lot, and they obviously needed a break. Especially Carmen, who, by the end of the cooldown period, had begun to resemble her old self.

Finally, six days after he’d first opened the gate, Elijah cast Roots of the World Tree once again, and after the arch formed, led his family through to his grove. Nerthus greeted them a moment later, and Elijah said, “Nerthus, this is my family. Carmen, Miguel – this is Nerthus. He’s family, too.”

And though he hadn’t realized how he felt about Nerthus until he’d described the spryggen to the refugees, he meant it. The tree spirit wasn’t just the castellan of his grove. Nor was he simply a friend. Nerthus was family, and in all the best ways.