“It’s now or never. Based on what we saw in Itzarriol, we should act immediately,” Dorian added. The arbiters tensed for a moment. Did they even recognize their old creations—the ancient ancestors of the rulers that the arbiters themselves designed—in those bloodthirsty beings preparing to slaughter my friends?
“Irrikus waits for nobody.” Ruk glared at the image with a cold hatred that I understood too well. “They’re right. There is no time to hammer out all the trivial details of our plans. As we speak, Irrikus is setting his own plan in motion, and that is to destroy everything in his path.”
The Games had allowed me to feel adrenaline despite the stasis. Now, I felt the hot rush of urgency coursing through me again. My muscles needed to move. Already, I replayed the scene of the enemy troops hiding in secret in my mind, analyzing the formation of the hidden troops lying in wait for our friends. Perhaps two dozen by my count, but they could have more waiting in the wings. It wouldn’t be hard for them to vault over that wall with their hunter strength. The last time we attacked the camp, we had the advantage of surprising many trainee hunters. I had the sinking suspicion that Irrikus had sent experienced soldiers for this wave of the attack.
“We don’t have time to deal with Irrikus ourselves,” Krysh pressed. “I want to take a crack at our own problem now. The vortex in our plane needs taking care of. If the lower beings need their friends, they should have them.”
Xiu hesitated as she looked around the room.
“I agree with Krysh,” Un muttered. “For what it’s worth, I think the lower beings have a better idea of what’s going on. We made it our business not to know. Why not send them?”
“Not unlike proxies,” Sen chirped. Okay, not exactly the metaphor I want, but I’ll take it if they agree.
Finally, Xiu exhaled. “Let’s do it.”
The arbiters, decided, launched into action. Xiu took the necklaces. She and Krysh hovered over them while Un turned to us. For a moment, there was something like approval, or even respect, in his apprehensive gaze.
“Can you offer us eyes on our enemies, if we need it?” I asked Sen. “Fighting invisible enemies would be nearly impossible. If there’s more hunter tricks out there like that, we’d be better off with a heads-up from the Higher Plane.”
“It’s possible,” Sen offered. “Remember, I’ll be there with you. We need to fix your necklaces before you go, though. We have to add the curse’s cure, or else you two won’t be much use to your friends.”
“You’ll be able to communicate occasionally through Sen and Ruk, if they have the energy to spare,” Un said. “But Ruk needs to make it so that others can come through the Higher Plane barriers.” His tone was devoid of animosity. It was clear that he wanted to help us.
They’d promised Ruk his power back, but we had yet to reach that point. Would they give it to him now?
“With enough energy, I can create a permanent portal,” Ruk said. “It’s true that there are a few weak spots in the barrier, but there’s no time to find those places. I can create a permanent gate right here if you loan me the energy. That way, we can find each other throughout this journey. Changing the whole barrier is far too large a task at this point. I have a suspicion that it might adversely affect the growing tear, as well.”
Xiu pulled her hands back from the necklaces while Krysh finished them off. “Are you willing to contract yourself to us for that?”
“I am. I’m willing to submit to a pact for this task.” Ruk bent his elegant head in a sign of submission.
Xiu hesitated for a moment and appraised the other arbiters for their opinions. It seemed almost automatic for the arbiters to hem and haw over every last detail, and it made me want to pull out my hair and scream. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
“I’ll offer the energy,” Un said impatiently. I stared at him in disbelief. You?
Xiu hesitated. “Are you sure, Un?”
“I have vast amounts of energy from playing the Games all this time. Their single win against me had a negligible effect on my wealth,” he said with a note of stubborn pride. “Consider it an apology for my missteps.”
“We acknowledge it,” Xiu said with a nod of thanks. “Ruk, please accept Un’s donation. We’ve seen what needs to be done. Let’s just get on with it, so that the lower beings can accomplish their task. Sen, I want you to be careful not to interfere too much with the balance, but help them when they’re in dire need.”
We’re going back. I wished I could manage a sigh of relief, but my mind burned with the memory of the window. There was no relief yet, not until we got boots onto the ground and made sure our friends were safe. Invisibility technology in the hands of the rulers terrified me. Even our strongest fighters couldn’t expect to fight what they couldn’t see.
“Here,” Krysh said, and presented the necklaces to us. “Snap them on. They shouldn’t drain your energy when you’re not using them, but you might feel a little electric shock every so often… I’m not used to designing for your kind.” She shrugged in an odd jerking movement, likely the extent of an apology from an arbiter. Unlike Ruk, they’d never quite gotten the hang of body language.
I raised a concerned brow, but static shocks were the least of our problems. Dorian and I obediently took our necklaces. I placed mine around my neck. It felt a bit tighter this time and a touch warmer against my skin. There was a faint buzz of energy left over from whatever magic Krysh and Un had worked on the necklaces.
Ruk took a deep breath. His lavender eyes focused on Dorian and me. “I’ll create the portal, but I can’t join you on this mission just yet.”
What? My shoulders drooped with disappointment, but then I remembered… Aurora still floated above us. I gave him a knowing look, and he nodded. He squared his shoulders with determination.
“I need to heal her before I return to the lower planes, but I’ll work as quickly as I can. Trust me. I’ll be at your side before you know it.” His words were loaded with worry but teemed with a new hope. I liked this side of Ruk. Our mission seemed possible now, with the support of these mighty beings.
Sen stared at us. Her sea-green skin looked eerily bright against the curling gray mist in the room. For a moment, I almost smelled the scent of the Immortal Plane again.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
We were. Ruk positioned himself in front of the wall.
Un brought his hands up toward Ruk. The group closed their eyes. A fine mist of light poured from Un’s palms and into Ruk. Ruk trembled for a moment. I felt so proud and happy for him, watching his full strength being returned to him at last.
Ruk straightened, braced himself, and put his hand on the wall. For a moment, the clear image of his dragon-like form breaking through the sanitarium wall danced through my mind. Energy coursed through him. His skin shifted to a darker red as the gray mist nearly enveloped the room.
The wall trembled lightly beneath his hand, not unlike the training camp’s own shaky ground. The rainbow light came. Light abruptly shone before and behind us, wrapping us in a tunnel. The arbiters leapt aside to escape the portal’s path.
“Go,” Xiu whispered, and then lifted her voice with more spirit. “Fight!”