Rift

Chapter 1: Come Back to You

The distance it took to reach Eutria was far greater than they had thought, but maybe the time just felt longer in mere anticipation of getting home, at least Naomi's home. The closer they got to the continent, the more bug-eyed Nisha, Corb and Todo got. It must be a strange sight for people who have never before seen things like streetlights or cars, all of the technology surrounding them is admittedly a little overwhelming, but Corb doesn't seem to care all that much.

Then Malachi is a whole other story. Since the moment they set foot on the continent, in Nerawin, he's been physically incapable of sitting still. None of them can blame him. He's never been this close to fulfilling his life's mission before. He's never been this close to finding Colin.

But Naomi made it clear that before they do anything else, they need to go talk to Kitty and Oliver. According to what Kitty said a while ago, she has met the woman from Athemar's 'prophecy'. That, given what Nisha has cleared up about her 'friends' from another continent, this woman was probably accompanied by Colin Lee. Therefore, Kitty and Oliver might be their best chance at finding him.

Finding Colin is about more than just Malachi at this point. After hearing the broadcast, the entire continent is in a panic. But from what they can tell, the people are actually following that man, Regan Angevin's example.

They're standing up to the Imperium. The panic is from the Imperium trying to figure out what to do about it.

And they seem bent on finding the man who caused all of this.

According to Nisha, Regan is a friend of Colin's. With any luck, finding Colin will mean finding the people who are aiming to bring down the Imperium. After everything that happened in Aramora, with the Dev'al Ordon, Athemar, and Sarabeth Blackwell, the last thing any of them want is to go through that again. Regan was right. The Imperium needs to be stopped before any more damage can be done to the world.

And with the Imperium gone, that will be the end of the entire conglomerate. The world will be free.

But then there's the half of the continent that is opposed to Regan's talk of humans and Hexes working together to stop the Imperium. Namely the Hexes who are devoted to the people who gave them their abilities.

Since learning that she's a Hex, Naomi has had all sorts of questions. Like, why wasn't she allowed to know? What makes her ability different from most, and why does it matter that it's apparently wired into her head instead of her heart or whatever is 'normal' for most other Hexes?

They make it to the apartment, Naomi leading the way to the elevator and down the hall to the door that she has knocked on numerous times before, and for the first time ever, she hesitates. Her hand shakes a little and her heart starts beating faster.

Nisha smiles and steps up beside her, affectionately bumping their shoulders together.

"You can do this."

Malachi is following behind them, trying his damndest to keep the centaur boys under control. Corb is the most rowdy, but at least Todo has been maintaining some level of composure. But still, the new 'everything' is definitely riling them up, making them want to explore and see all the new things.

Naomi takes a deep breath and steps up to the door. She forces herself to knock before allowing her mind a chance to talk her out of it.

She steps back as she waits, when she hears the arsenal of locks beginning to click on the other side. Then there's a loud thud, followed by the familiar voice of Oliver saying, "Still opens in."

Naomi feels a small smile pull at the corners of her mouth at hearing his voice again, and not through a phone. The door swings in with Kitty standing in the entrance with a frantic look in her eyes.