KaitheHotHead1: Iam is one of Cyrus' lieutenants. :) And I knowwww. Nephilim makes me really sad. I wish you luck with your story; it's great to know that I inspire you. ^_^;

Tea

To Besai's surprise, Kai was the voice of reason in those first minutes after Ronin and Merv were taken by Overlord.

"We're sitting ducks out here!" Cole argued, Blade glowing agitatedly in his fist. "We need to get to safety."

"Where is safety?" Kai asked. "We already covered this, didn't we? We're in danger wherever we go, be it huddled underground, or in a rowboat in the middle of the lake. All we can do is keep pushing toward our goal."

Cradled in Kai's arms, head still pressed to Kai's chest as if to keep out the rain, Besai could feel Kai's heart. It pounded with the same fear that she knew they all felt. His whole body trembled, but he impressed Besai by managing to keep his voice steady.

"Cole, we don't have much time left. We need to get to Overlord's Blades and destroy them. This was your plan, and until now you've been driving us along with a bullwhip to get it done. What changed?"

"What changed?" Cole scoffed. He pointed his Blade upstream. "Jay is dead. Pixal and Wu are probably gone too. And then Merv and Ronin? He's picking us off, one by one."

"Overlord is lying," Kai said. "Jay is still alive. I can feel him, and Ronin. Things-"

"We need to get out of here," Cole interrupted. His eyes were beginning to have a wildness all too similar to Kai's that morning as he'd tried to run off with Besai.

"How?" Sage asked.

Cole ran a hand through his wet hair, thinking. "Overlord has a…a shipyard where he holds Lord Keith's ships. There's only one ship in the water right now, but we could take it and sail away." He looked up at the sky. "What I wouldn't give to have my Black Bounty..."

"He would catch us before we got one hand on the rudder," Kai said. "You know it. And we don't have enough hands to sail a boat in calm weather, let alone during a storm. Our only chance is Overlord's Blades. Even if we can't destroy them, they may give us an edge against Overlord."

"We…" Besai's voice came soft and distant, even in her own ears. She felt sick to her stomach, and her heart was in her throat. "We could take Sunseeker."

This silenced the others. They thought about it for a few seconds.

"Take Sunseeker?" Kai repeated. "And…what? Use it to go back to Ninjago?"

Besai nodded. The movement caused her head to throb.

"That's assuming any of us can use it," Cole said, sounding skeptical, but Besai could see the eagerness springing into his eyes. "If we managed to escape with that, Overlord would be unable to reach us until he sailed to Ninjago himself. We would cripple him!"

"But that would only bring this same fight to Ninjago," Kai countered. "There are a lot more people for Overlord to hurt over there. There would be a lot less casualties if we continued fighting here in the middle of nowhere."

"There are plenty of places in Ninjago to fight without other people around," Cole argued. "Kai, we could hide Besai and Sage! If we had Sunseeker, we could teleport instantly to Overlord's other Blades, and take them with us to Ninjago! We could find new Blade wielders to help us fight! Why didn't we think of this sooner?"

Kai went quiet. Besai shivered, closing her eyes. She felt ashamed, having to be carried during such a time as this. But her belly twisted with an unusually savage bout of nausea and cramps, discouraging any thoughts Besai had of standing on her own. It was all she could do to focus on keeping her breathing steady.

Why was the pain so strong? So intense? She hoped it was just because of her close call, and that the baby wasn't hurt.

"All right," Kai acquiesced. "That sounds like our best shot. But if one of us is able to use Sunseeker, we have to find Jay and the others and bring them with us."

The others. Besai felt cold as she thought of her sister. What if they didn't find Merv and Ronin in time? What if they were both dead? Kai seemed to notice her growing agitation, and he pressed a soft kiss into her wet hair as Cole spoke.

"Agreed." Cole looked around himself. The trees quivered in the wind, and the river seemed to be growing higher by the minute. "We need to move," he said. "The water is-"

Below their feet, the ground shook suddenly. Kai slipped and fell; Besai landed on top of him. They both grunted surprise and discomfort.

"Sorry," Kai said to Besai. Then he looked up at Cole, who had managed, along with Sage, to stay on his feet. "What was that?"

"An earthquake," Cole said dryly. But he looked worried. "What are the odds that one would happen today, of all days?" As he spoke, the ground quivered again, as if an explosion had detonated beneath them. Birds fled their nests in trees, careening in the gusty wind with alarmed cries.

"Get up!" Cole said as the second quake faded. He helped Besai to her feet. She bent over double, but her cramping belly was the last thing on Cole's mind. He pulled Kai upright. "We need to get away from the river before it floods!"

Kai took Besai's hand and followed Cole into the trees.

Despite the warm fire, the library felt a bit chillier than usual, and the sky was dark outside the window as Varasach and Josi sat together on a couch. Misako sat in an armchair across from them, reverently and reluctantly closing the small, worn book she had been reading from for about half an hour.

"I wish I could read," Varasach said, unconsciously touching her hand where her fingers had been amputated; the bandages had finally come off for good today, and she couldn't get used to the way her hand looked- not to mention felt, with all these phantom pains. "I would never stop reading that book."

Misako managed a chuckle and sipped her tea. Her voice had gone hoarse from reading so long. "I've spent countless hours in the Book during my lifetime," she said, and coughed lightly. "I've read it so many times that I could recite most passages from memory. Yet, it seems that every time I go through it I learn something new. It's a comforting read."

"It's a complicated read," Josi added. "Especially as a Nindroid that's only been activated for a few weeks, it's difficult to comprehend a being that has always been. Everything in life has a beginning, and an end. Even the alleged First King had a beginning, when he was said to have been gifted the power of the 'Retired God'."

Misako nodded slowly. "In a world where everything we see has a beginning and an end, an eternal being is a difficult- no, impossible- thing to wrap one's head around."

"It's not difficult at all," Varasach said, grinning broadly. "I saw God."

Misako mirrored the smile, a hint of sadness in her deep blue eyes. "Though the means by which you met him were not pleasant, and your road to recovery afterward has been harsh, I believe you are very privileged."

Varasach's smile did not wane at the mention of her death. It had been unpleasant, yes. But even the memories of her past fear and loneliness faded in the light of her all too short and wondrous experience afterward.

"What was it like?" Misako asked. "Meeting God."

Varasach's belly fluttered just thinking about it, and she closed her eyes, pulling her shared blanket with Josi closer to her chest. "There are no words," she said. "Not in your language, and not in mine. He was…big."

"He was a giant?"

"Well…that ees not what I meant." Vasasach opened her eyes and thought for a moment. "Everything about him was large. Larger than this whole world. Larger than the sky. Brighter than the sun. And he looked at me and…" She couldn't help it when her eyes filled with tears, and she laughed breathily. "I could have stood and stared back for a hundred years and not gotten tired of the way he made me feel."

"Loved," Misako murmured, and refilled her teacup from a porcelain pot on the low table in front of her. "You felt loved?"

"I am so unworthy," Varasach said. "I knew I had done so much that should not have been forgiven, but he treated me as though I were his best friend. If I-"

She cut herself off at the sound of the door opening behind them. She poked her head over the back of the couch, smiling.

Iam smiled back, and walked into the room. Peran followed close behind him, acknowledging Varasach's wave with a polite nod.

"Hey," Iam said. "The General and I came to grab some maps."

"Go right ahead," Misako said warmly, and gestured to the aisles of books behind her.

Iam and Peran rounded the couches, boots making hardly a sound on the carpeted floor, and went to the wall on the left. They said a few quiet words to each other, and Peran selected a few rolled-up parchments from a cubby above the small fireplace. Misako and Josi stayed quiet, the elder sipping at her tea, the younger pretending to find something interesting in the flower patterns on the blanket over her legs.

It was almost as if they were embarrassed to continue their conversation with the two men in the room, Varasach realized. But why? Their God was nothing to be ashamed of!

At last Iam and Peran seemed satisfied with their gatherings and moved away from the fireplace, papers and books tucked under their arms.

"How are the accommodations here, Misako?" Iam asked. "I'm sorry that we did not bring you to Cyrus. He thought you would be of better use here."

Misako set her cup on the table and smiled. Perhaps the embarrassment had been imagined, because she seemed happy to converse with Iam. "Sheshin is perfect, Iam, thank you. How is your family?"

Iam's grin slipped. "Lania fell to the plague," he said.

Misako's eyebrows pinched with sympathy. "I'm so sorry. How old was she, seven?"

"Eight," Iam said. "Time flies…"

"How many children do you have?" Varasach asked.

"I have none," Iam answered with a bittersweet smile. "Lania was my littlest sister."

"Did she know the Way?" Varasach asked. She noted how Josi stiffened in the corner of her eye and glanced at Peran, though the General seemed unaffected by the question.

Iam looked surprised, blinking at Varasach, his arm tightening around the books. Then his smile deepened, and he relaxed. "Yes," he said. "Yes, I believe she did."

Varasach released a breath. "That's good," she said. "I'm glad that she is there now."

"Indeed." Iam chuckled. He checked his pocket watch, then turned to Peran. "I'm gonna stay here for a few minutes, if that's okay, General."

"You may," Peran said crisply. Varasach had never heard him speak outside of that cool tone to anyone. "I will be waiting across the hall. My lady." He bowed to Misako, then turned to leave.

"Do you have a family?" Varasach found herself asking suddenly.

Peran froze mid-step and turned to stare at her with those pale gray eyes. Eyes like the old Overlord, and Nephilim, Varasach realized in a moment of surprise and fear. Hadn't she heard once that Peran was the younger brother of Colvyr, the first man to be possessed by Overlord fifteen winters ago?

"I…suppose," Peran admitted. "Why do you ask?"

Varasach shrugged, her smile returning. "You are so quiet," she said. "I was just curious. What is your family like?"

"You don't have to tell us anything, General," Josi said quickly.

"No." Peran seemed surprised, but not at all upset. He shook his head. "She asked, so I'll tell you." He captured Varasach's eyes with his calm stare. "Either from old age, various epidemics and plagues, or by Overlord's own hand, all of my family is dead."

"You never married?" Iam asked. "No children?"

"No wife," Peran said. "I had a son, Makeri, but the plague took him."

He left the room with the trained step of a soldier, not giving anyone a chance to respond to his offhanded testimony as he shut the door. Everyone stared at the closed door for several moments before Varasach finally dared to speak.

"He is a sad man," she said.

"Peran was one of the three High Generals," Misako explained. "I sent him here as General Rin Malian's temporary replacement after Peran's son- who was nineteen winters old- died, thinking it would be good for him to have a quieter job as he grieved." She smiled ruefully. "But then the South seceded. Be kind to him, please. He was not always like this."

"It'll be good for us to work together," Iam said as he poured himself a cup of tea. His eyes were distant with thought. "We share a mutual pain. Maybe I can help him."

"Yes, that would be good," Misako said. She sighed. "I have already tried to apologize for bringing him here, and he tells me that what's happened is no fault of mine, but… Well, I will keep him in my prayers."

"Me too," Varasach said softly. Coming from a childhood such as hers, it was all too easy to forget that people in this freer country had their griefs as well. Misako had lost her son, Zane and Iam their sisters. Driniah and Peran had lost their whole families.

Varasach shifted on the couch and felt her leg brush against Josi's. And we have lost Kyle. Though they had known each other a very short time, Kyle had become a large part of her life. He was the foundation she'd relied upon before learning about the Way. And while he had seemed a decent foundation at the time, she knew now that if she'd continued to rely solely on him instead of her God, she would be far less emotionally stable at the present, now that he was missing.

The door burst open, and a servant rushed in, breathing fast. "Lieutenant Iam," he said.

Iam stood, his full cup of tea in hand. "Yes?"

The servant bowed quickly. "Lord Zane sent me to inform you that there was a riot in Sheshin. General Peran already left to investigate. Lord Zane requests your company as well."

"I'll be there," Iam said. "Thank you."

With one more bow, the servant left the room.

There was another quiet after his departure.

"Why would he want both Peran and me?" Iam pondered aloud.

"He doesn't quite trust you yet is my guess," Josi said. "He doesn't want to leave a strange military man alone in his house while he's gone with Peran."

Iam's smile was as wry as his chuckle. "That's probably it." He looked at the cup in his hand regretfully, then set it on the table. "Thank you for letting me join you, ladies. I'll take my leave now."

While Nephilim ran and Merv followed, Jay and Overlord both stood silently for several moments, Blades gripped in useless hands at their sides.

Hosts! What was Jay supposed to do? Chase Merv down the tunnel? But then Overlord would be on their tails, and Jay was not keen on fighting and running at the same time- especially since Overlord had a Gem with powers like Stormstrider's, a fact made evident by their fight on the cliffs earlier that day.

Jay looked at Overlord warily. The shorter man's attention remained on the dark corridor, not his opponent. If Jay jumped him now, could he hinder- or kill- him?

Probably not, Jay decided regretfully, remembering how he'd stabbed Overlord through the heart just a minute earlier. If Overlord had a weakness, it likely wasn't physical.

Which means what, exactly? That we need to beat him at some sort of mind game, and he'll disappear in a magical cloud of smoke? Jay's blood boiled with frustration. Why weren't they able to figure this out?

…What if there really was no way to defeat him?

"Nephilim!" Overlord cursed and ran into the darkness after her and Merv.

He cares more about Nephilim than about finishing you off, Stormstrider remarked as Overlord swiftly disappeared in the near-darkness. We could use this to our advantage. Then the Blade grumbled. You shouldn't have let her go last night. She would have kept you all safe as long as you held her captive.

"This really isn't the time!" Jay said, flying over the surface of the water, using his enhanced speed to dodge falling debris as the mountain shook. Whether or not Overlord had a weakness, Jay had to catch up to Merv and protect her from him.

A thought hit Jay and he paused, looking at the shallow but dark depths beneath him. Jay had left Ronin unconscious and pinned under a rock somewhere near here because Merv and Nephilim had been in trouble. But now, with the rising water…

Jay rushed to the spot where he'd last seen Ronin and landed in the shallow, murky water, searching the bottom with his hands. Nothing but rocks. He fumbled with his pockets until he found his little floating light. Moons, he'd never been so glad that he always carried the gadget with him than in this moment. "Follow me," he said hastily, and tossed it into the air. The light caught itself and came down to hover by his head, emitting yellow light as he continued his search.

Ronin wasn't here. Jay stood straight, the light following his head, and turned in a circle. Could he have gotten the place confused? He could have sworn he'd seen Ronin right here.

A jagged boulder the size of a horse came loose above him, and he jumped out of the way with a burst of speed, grabbing his light out of the air as he did: it was not fast enough to follow Jay when he used his Blade's power.

I don't see Ronin either, Stormstrider said as the boulder struck the ground, causing the to walls shake. Water splashed violently around his boots. He must have come to and gotten free on his own. Get to Merv! Quickly!

Jay held the light between two fingers and harnessed Stormstrider's power to move quickly over the water's surface- but not too quickly. He didn't want to miss her if she'd been trapped under a boulder.

That didn't happen, Jay told himself firmly. Even still, he moved slowly, keeping his eyes on the water as much as on the path ahead of him.

Then he came to a crossroads. He stopped there, listening intently. He heard sloshing footsteps going left and saw a faint purple light. Overlord. Jay moved to follow him, but then he heard a voice from the right. The walls shook, and the voice was lost in the rumbling and splashing of rocks and water. But Jay had heard it, and when the debris stopped falling, he listened again. A woman's voice. He couldn't quite make out what she was saying, but Jay was almost certain it was Merv. He hoped it was, at least.

But then, why would Overlord have gone left?

Just go right! Stormstrider urged him. Perhaps we were confused. Overlord might be going to retrieve something else he doesn't want destroyed by the water, not Nephilim.

Jay went right, spurred on by what he fervently hoped was Merv's voice. He stopped at another crossroads, looking ahead and to the right.

Right again, I think, Stormstrider said. Do you hear that? She's-

Again the mountain trembled. Rocks fell, and daylight poured in from growing cracks in the ceiling. He avoided it with his Blade's powers.

There's no way that Merv could have avoided all this, Jay thought, heart beating fast in his growing panic. He turned right. The top of his head scraped rock, and he looked up, realizing that he'd nearly run out of space to fly above the water. Merv and Nephilim could be under all of this, pinned down by the debris!

Filling his lungs with air, Jay dove into the frigid water and looked about, holding out the light. He'd never used it around this much moisture before, and he was surprised to find that it seemed to shine brighter underwater, cutting through the murk. Thank you, he prayed, and pressed on.

Please, please let her be safe! Jay could not bear to lose her; not after he'd just found her again.

The water had to be at least eight feet deep now. Precious few feet from the ceiling. He dove to the bottom, using Stormstrider to propel himself around the large boulders, searching for any sign of Merv, or Nephilim, or anyone else who might need his help.

Is anyone else even here, besides us? he wondered. It seemed strange that the fortress was so empty. Had Overlord evacuated all of his slaves out before taking Merv and Ronin here?

So…this was all rigged ahead of time, Jay realized, remembering Overlord's comment about being "done with the place", or something along those lines. So Overlord's plan the whole time had been to bring it down. But why would he do that? Did he have another fortress prepared somewhere?

Jay's lungs burned, and he rose to the surface for air as yet another quake hit. There were only a few feet left between him and the cracking ceiling. Did Merv know how to swim? The poor woman was terrified of water! How was she dealing with this?

Under the water to his left Jay caught some movement. He paddled in that direction, then dived. Merv, he thought, heart beating so fast that his lungs started to burn prematurely. But he pressed on, reaching blindly for the body, then pulled it to the surface. No, no, no…

The body was heavy, and took a great deal of strength to lift partially out of the water so Jay could see its face.

It was Nephilim.

Hosts. She was already dead. What about Merv?

Jay dove again, gripping Nephilim's dress so he could drag her along. It felt wrong to leave her here: Merv had loved the girl, despite her cruel character. Merv would want her to have a proper burial. If it was within his power, Jay would do so.

Jay finally saw something inside the crumbling remains of a cell on his left: a rippling length of auburn hair; a scarred hand floating limp, attached to an arm crushed under a boulder.

Jay was brought back to that night fifteen winters ago when she'd run down that burning alley, and the building had crumpled on top of her. Her scream, abruptly cut short as she was buried. Young John's cry for help as he tried to get her free. He'd only succeeded in burning his hands before spotting Overlord through the smoke, coming down the alley toward him, a sword- a Blade with a green Gem, Jay now realized- glowing at his side.

And then, like the coward John had been, he'd run away, leaving Merv to burn.

Now Jay was being confronted by the same scenario; the difference this time being that Merv had run after her daughter, not her sister, and was being crushed by earth and water, not fire.

Necessity jolted Jay from the memory. Merv's body was trapped a few feet beneath below the surface. For how long had she been under? Could Jay save her before it was too late?

Jay swam up for air- there was a lot more space here than out in the hall because of the collapsed ceiling- and dove again, releasing Nephilim with some reluctance so he could push against the rocks with both hands. He planted his feet between a couple boulders and hooked his hands under one of the rocks pinning Merv, lifting with all his strength. The rock moved easily enough beneath the water. He threw it to the slow current, and he went for a larger, heavier one crushing Merv's chest. He shouted, bubbles rising to the surface, lungs screaming at their abuse. He thought the water had a bloody aftertaste, but he didn't dwell on that.

I'm not leaving you again, Hrymerv. Come on!

The rock rolled in slow-motion down the watery slope. Jay refused to look at her crushed body, refused to believe that she might be too far gone to save. Because that's what he'd done last time, and look where it had landed her. Fifteen winters of horror beyond anything Jay could imagine. So many years spent just trying to survive another day while Jay had been safe in Ninjago, living his ascetic lifestyle out of self-pity. Self-loathing. Selfishness.

Really, was it any wonder why she'd run after Nephilim instead of staying with him?

Jay cleared away the rubble on Merv's lower body and lifted her carefully but quickly into his arms. He'd have to leave Nephilim behind. But there was no more time for debate or regret: he swam to the surface, alarmed to find the water even higher than before. Could he make it to the entrance quickly enough with Stormstrider's powers? The front doors probably weren't open. Because if they were, the water would be draining outside instead of filling the fortress like a massive tub.

What if Overlord had locked the front doors? What if Merv couldn't survive the distance underwater?

Fly up, Stormstrider said. You're skinny enough to make it through.

Jay squinted at the distant, cloudy daylight leaking through wide cracks in the ceiling. The muddied water had made his eyes hurt. Skinny enough, he said. That's something I never thought I'd be glad to hear.

He flew up carefully, twisting his body in such a way that he could wiggle into the deep crack without moving Merv's body too much- she surely had a number of broken bones, and Jay was not inclined to make her condition worse.

However, he soon realized she was not breathing, and Jay had to choose between bones or getting her out speedily and resuscitating her. So he repositioned her in his arms, holding her lolling head to his shoulder. His other hand gripped her waist. Her legs dangled loosely as he flew- or rather, wriggled- at a faster pace, rain beating the dirty water from his stinging eyes, helping him to see a little better. He had maybe another ten feet until freedom; so close, but Jay had never felt more confined: seconds counted now, with Merv's life on the line. But despite his best efforts, they were still trapped.

The fissure steadily grew narrower as he climbed. Once Jay had to readjust his grip on Merv and beat the rocks above his head with his elbow until they broke free, allowing him enough room to get through the narrow bottleneck. Another time the mountain shook again- what was causing that, anyway?- and the fissure began to close on them. He was forced to backtrack to avoid potentially being smashed if the opening closed too much.

Merv's body was far too cold. As he waited for the mountain's tremors to cease so that he could press on, he lifted Merv's head and pressed his mouth to hers, breathing air into her lungs. Come on, Merv… He felt her crushed chest expand, then deflate, but otherwise there was no reaction. Water and blood dribbled from her parted lips. Her clouded blue eyes stared unresponsively beyond their stone prison.

No, no-! Please hang on, Merv. We're almost out!

The shaking stopped, and Jay pressed on again, desperately. The fissure was smaller, but they would still fit. Jay would make them fit. They had to. You'll be fine, Merv. We'll get free, I promise. Jay grit his teeth and pushed ever-upward with Stormstrider's power, squeezing through the tight opening. His shirt caught on rocks and tore, scraping in his back and arms. He bled, and the rain beat down on his wounds, stinging like cold vinegar in the deep rents. But Jay didn't care about his injuries: after all he'd put Merv through over the years, the only thing that mattered was that she got out.

Overlord had rigged his fortress to fall on top of them. He intended to kill them. Jay prayed fervently that the beast would not succeed. That they would get free. That he would be able to save Merv. That they would all be safe, and that Overlord would be defeated.

Just let me save Merv, please! Jay felt a few tears prick his eyes. Tears borne from the pain as he scrabbled toward the thin crack of sky. Tears borne of fear for the lives of his companions. Tears borne of regret.

Had Ronin escaped? However slim the chance was, Jay hoped that Ronin would find a way out, and that Overlord would not.

Jay's outstretched hand caught a gust of wind. He retracted it to grip Merv's body tighter and, hardly pausing to consider the consequences of his actions, used a powerful burst of his Blade's energy to shoot back-first through the rift, protecting Merv from the jutting rocks.

Jay was momentarily stunned by the force of his body against the boulders- which, already loosened by the rain and tremors, broke free easily enough. A strong gust of wind tried to fling him back into the mountain.

Heaving, limbs shaking and bleeding and hurting, he resisted the wind and flew upward with immense speed. He crested the rocky mountain, landing inside the grove in the center of the compound. He could feel Stormstrider's reserves running thin.

Gingerly setting Merv on her back in the grass, Jay took her face in his hands, breathing into her again. And again. Once more. Then he set his palms above her heart- a practice he'd never used before in his life, but was glad that he'd learned from a few of his books- and pumped her chest. Was it still okay to do this when so many of her ribs were broken? It made a grating, popping noise that was quiet, but terrible.

Jay screamed, rain pelting his bleeding back as he bent and breathed into her again. Once, he'd read books to fill the gaping hole in his soul when his parents, and Merv, and then Cyrus' sister's whole family died in part because of him. But what was the point of having the knowledge of hundreds- thousands!- of books if none of it was able to save even one soul?

"So you made it out," a calm voice spoke behind him. "Well. I half-succeeded, at least."

Jay's rage erupted suddenly, so hot that it seemed to turn to cold, pumping ice through his veins.

"You!" Jay was on his feet in an instant, flying toward Overlord, winding back an arm to strike the foul beast's impassive face. "You killed her!"

Overlord stepped out of the way and continued walking, hands behind his back, toward Merv. Then he paled.

"Nephilim," he whispered. "She wasn't with you?"

"She's gone!" Jay whipped his Blade free from his belt. "Hosts consume you, Overlord, she's dead!" He wasn't sure if he was speaking of Merv or Nephilim. Maybe both.

Overlord froze in his tracks, staring at Merv's mangled corpse as if seeing it for the first time. His hands unclasped, slowly falling limp at his sides.

"Neph…" he murmured, and knelt to caress Merv's face, his touch so tender that for a moment Jay didn't know what to make of it.

The moment lasted no longer than a few seconds. Overlord was on his feet again quickly, turning toward Jay, eyes glowing white with fury. From under his cloak he pulled free a Blade with a yellow Gem. Sunseeker.

Fear- or maybe relief?- washed over Jay as the full weight of his predicament hit him. Overlord was going to kill him. Kill him for interfering too much and stealing Nephilim from him after she'd taken Kai's life; kill him for not interfering enough and saving Nephilim from the trap that had been meant for Ronin and Merv alone.

"It's. Over." Overlord hissed the words so they carried on the keening wind, ringing in Jay's ears with unsettling clarity. A yellow mist gathered around Overlord's feet. In an eye-blink the mist thickened, swallowing his body.

The portal closed in on itself, and Overlord was gone. To where, Jay did not know or care. What he did know- and what he did care about- was that he was alive, and Merv was not.

A fist tightened in Jay's throat. All of his pains, physical and emotional, drove him to his knees. He felt like he'd been pulverized by an avalanche of stones, like the ones that had crushed Merv and Nephilim.

Delicately Jay took Merv's cold head on his lap, pushing her hair from her face, closing her eyelids. You brought Kai back when I asked, Jay prayed, shoulders shaking with an oncoming surge of sobs. He touched one of the larger scars on her face- a deep pink splotch across her left eye and cheek, like spilled paint- like a cluster of fallen cherry blossoms- as the tears began to fall.

"Where are you now?" he whispered, face twisting in agony. "Why aren't you bringing her back to me? I prayed. I-I'm…still praying! But you're not here!"

She's not here.

Maybe Cole was right. Kai's resurrection had something to do with Besai, and an Implant, whatever those were. Not a so-called god.

I believed, he thought, lightly kissing the scar, right above her eye. I fought, and believed everything would be okay. I had confidence because Overlord stabbed a book! He closed his eyes against a flood of tears.

Until recently, he had not cried in a good many years. Crying was weakness, he'd told himself. He had to be better with his emotions. He had to be more disciplined. He had to be smarter.

Crying is weakness. Jay finally released the soft kiss and pressed their foreheads together, inhaling sharply as he tried to rein himself in. It was no good. The knot was still tied tight in his throat; the tears still burned his eyes. He wanted to vomit.

The chilling scene branded his heart, searing its too vulnerable flesh. He'd lost her again. This time for good, and he knew it. He felt the biting heat of outrage- some directed at Overlord, yes, but mostly at himself- for failing, yet again, to keep her safe.

Because keeping her safe had been the last command his father had given him before he was killed.

Jay had disobeyed that command, not once, but twice. And he hated himself for it with the same passion he thought his father might be hating him right now, wherever he was in the afterlife.

Jay knelt over Merv's body, weeping and bleeding, for a very long time after Overlord left him.