Faith, Riley, and Vallen left for the lake. Holtby waited at Riley’s house. He had seemed nervous, and Faith thought it might have to do with Riley and Vallen’s appearances. The rain came down harder, and messengers were everywhere. The messengers were all heading for the lake and didn’t seem to notice Faith, Riley, and Vallen.

Silverfield was eerily familiar. It was strange to think they’d only been gone for a few days. It felt much longer, as though months had passed. Faith, Riley, and Vallen ran through Destiny Park with the messengers, and along the forest path to Gray Lake. The water of the lake tossed against the shore relentlessly. The messengers were walking into the lake, how they had when Ninivus had almost woken up before. Faith didn’t see Altunei or Hew.

“Altunei could already be down there,” Vallen said. He drew his sword from its sheath at his belt and slid the blade across the palm of his hand. He looked at Faith. “Our blood will weaken them. It’s the only way we’ll have a chance against them.”

Faith hesitated, then drew the sword. It was heavy, and the blade looked sharp. She gently pressed the blade into the palm of her hand, creating a shallow cut. It stung in the cold rain. Vallen headed for the shore, sword still drawn. Faith and Riley followed. The waves calmed a little as more messengers went into the water. Vallen took his coat off and let it drop to the ground. The three of them followed the messengers in.

The water of the lake was warmer and calmer beneath the surface. Faith didn’t see Altunei or Hew, but it was dark. It was darker further down, where Ninivus was. The three of them swam toward the bottom of the lake, Faith and Vallen leaving a trail of red behind them. Faith felt that strange warmth inside of her, filling her lungs with air she should have already run out of. Faith, Riley, and Vallen stood on the rocky base of the lake.

Vallen took a step closer to Ninivus, his wings spread wide behind him. The darkness of Ninivus stirred, but his eyes didn’t open. His tentacles moved toward them slowly, as though feeling their presence. Faith looked up and saw Altunei and Hew swimming toward them fast. Vallen handed his sword to Riley.

Altunei and Hew reached the rocky lake bed. Vallen pulled his wings close, swimming almost as fast as they had. Ninivus’s tentacles were getting closer. Faith moved closer to Riley. Hopefully Vallen could hold off Altunei and Hew long enough for her and Riley to do this. A dark tentacle, as watery as the messengers, stopped right in front of Faith. She held out her hand with the cut and the tentacle pulled back sharply, the others writhing in the dark of the water.

Faith and Riley moved closer to the main mass of Ninivus. A tentacle shot toward Faith. She swung the sword, holding the hilt with both hands. It was hard to swing it in the water, but she cut straight through. The tentacle became a part of the water, but another was coming at her. Faith’s muscles and lungs burned. Swinging the sword would just make her run out of air faster.

Riley struck at the next tentacle, cutting through it just as Faith had done with the other. Faith moved closer to Ninivus and thought she saw a hint of blue in that darkness. He had almost opened his eyes. Faith moved as fast as she could, the water feeling thicker, as though it was pulling her back. Maybe the messengers were a part of the water. Faith glanced back. Vallen was still fighting Altunei and Hew, and Riley was fighting off Ninivus’s tentacles.

Ninivus’s eyes almost opened again. Faith reached the dark mass that was him and swam upward, thrusting her sword into his darkness, near the center. She hoped that was where his heart was, or close to it. Ninivus’s eyes opened. The darkness writhed, the tentacles thrashing. One caught Faith in the chest, throwing her back to the bottom of the lake.

Faith stood, the water a heavy weight all around her. She sheathed the sword with shaking hands, then pushed off from the bottom of the lake, swimming for the surface. Ninivus had knocked out what little air she had left. The surface seemed impossibly far away. Riley swam beside her. He grabbed her shoulder, pulling her toward the surface quickly. Faith breathed in sharply as soon as the water broke over her.

Vallen surfaced next to her and spat water far across the still surface. The storm was gone, leaving the lake entirely still. Faith didn’t see Altunei or Hew. She looked down and the dark mass was gone. Ninivus was gone. As the three of them swam to the shore, Faith didn’t see any messengers.

“Altunei and Hew escaped,” Vallen said. “I wounded Altunei badly. He’ll go back to Holden, to the sea to heal.”

“And Ninivus?” Riley asked. “It looked like the water swallowed him, how it did with Elaita.”

Vallen nodded. “He and his power are gone, power Quivis will never get back. Unlike Ninivus and the others, Altunei still has his own body. He will be much harder to fight, even wounded.”

Faith and Riley gave Vallen the heavy swords back, then all three of them headed back into Silverfield. There were a few dark clouds in the sky, but the sun almost made it through them. Faith, Riley, and Vallen didn’t come across anyone on the way back to Riley’s house. Back at the house, the door was still unlocked.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

They went inside, stopping on the other side of the door. Holtby was on his knees on the floor. Willet stood beside him, with a gun to Holtby’s head. Willet looked much the same as before, only he wasn’t scaly and the blue mark on his neck was gone. He had also traded the tan uniform of the Silverfield police for a white shirt and old looking jeans.

“This won’t stop Quivis,” Willet said, wild desperation in his eyes. “You may have killed Ninivus, but he did wake up. Quivis will wake up. It’s only a matter of time.” His finger tightened on the trigger.

“And will killing this man speed that up?” Vallen asked.

Willet stared at Vallen with a slight frown. “What are you?”

Vallen ran at Willet. For a moment there was fear in Willet’s eyes. Faith saw his finger tighten on the trigger further and she dived, pulling Holtby to the ground. An explosion rang out next to her, her ear ringing furiously. Something burned across her shoulder, but she barely felt it. She and Holtby hit the ground hard. There wasn’t a bullet in either of them. Vallen had drawn one of the swords and impaled Willet.

The pistol slipped from Willet’s hand, landing on the floor with a thud. Faith flinched, but the gun didn’t go off when it hit the floor. Vallen pulled the sword from Willet, the former sheriff collapsing onto the floor. Willet tried to say something, but only a horrible rattle came out. One last gasp left him. Vallen cleaned the blade on his coat, then sheathed the sword. Faith helped Holtby to his feet, her hands shaking.

Vallen was staring at Faith’s right arm, just below the sleeve of her shirt. She looked at it too. There were two red scales there, much like Vallen’s. Maybe the bullet had grazed her and the scales had stopped it. She looked away. Holtby was breathing hard, staring down at Willet.

“How long was he here?” Vallen asked. His voice sounded muffled, and Faith’s ear throbbed.

“Not long,” Holtby said. “He just ran in here and told me he was going to kill me, but he wanted all of you to be here. I think he knew I was here, and he knew Ninivus was gone.” He looked at each of them. “The storm is gone. Is Ninivus really gone?”

Vallen nodded. “He won’t be bothering Silverfield again, but there are others like him. This isn’t entirely over yet.”

Holtby frowned. “The world’s gone mad…” he muttered.

“We should be going,” Vallen said. “There’s somewhere we have to get to, quickly.”

“Good luck,” Holtby said. “Though I’m sure you’ll be needing a lot more than luck.” He glanced at Willet. “I’ll call a few to help me get Willet out of here. We’ll all rest better knowing he’s not still lurking around Silverfield.”

“We should leave for Billen,” Vallen said. “I don’t know how quickly Altunei will heal.”

The three of them got back in Riley’s car. Faith drove this time. Her ear still rang, but she felt less off balance. They stopped briefly in Baylis for food and gas, then they were off again. They didn’t stop in Sills. The sun should have been setting when they reached Holden, but Faith couldn’t see it through the rain. The sea would be stormy.

She parked out front Roy’s old house. Faith, Riley, and Vallen headed for the harbor on foot. Would Quivis still wake up if they defeated Altunei? All the beings had woken up, but if they were gone, could he still wake up?

“Altunei won’t be alone,” Riley said.

Vallen shook his head. “At least now he won’t have messengers.”

Hew was the only one at the harbor, standing where the docks began. He still had white hair and scales. Where was Suzie? Waves tossed against the docks and the harbor wall, but they weren’t as wild as they had been at Gray Lake or in Billen. Vallen handed Faith a sword.

Hew stared at them with a hard frown. “Quivis will wake up. You’ve only delayed it. Altunei’s death won’t delay it further.”

“Quivis will be short another ally,” Vallen said.

Hew smiled a bit, but there was no energy in it. “He told me about you, that you thought you could save him. He wondered if you lost that foolish hope.”

“I’ve seen the truth,” Vallen said. “Altunei is right where he wants to be. He’s what he wants to be.”

“And so am I,” Hew said. He glanced at Riley. “Perhaps it was always going to end like this. I should have known you weren’t one for choosing the winning side to save yourself.” He frowned. “Though I hadn’t thought that of myself either.”

“Quivis doesn’t have to win,” Riley said. “You could help us stop him.”

Hew looked away. “Quivis cannot be stopped. He’s stronger than any of us, even without Vibis, Ninivus, and Elaita. He will always be stronger than us.” He ran at Riley, striking with his sharp nails.

Riley moved, Hew missing him by a lot. Riley looked at Faith and Vallen. “Go, I’ll hold him off.”