Webb's a dead guy with no memory of his life, and that's how he likes it. He'd sworn he'd protect After, the city of the dead, from monsters, but the monsters have all been killed off. Now he has only one thing left to do: go through the Gate and fi...
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Jacob cast me a worried glance from where he sat next to me. "You okay?"
I took a few more breaths until my pulse stopped. These damn memories were getting more intrusive. "I'm fine. Just got a heart condition, is all," I answered while I slung my scabbard back over my shoulder. My hair was still wet from the cave stream I'd dunked myself in, but at least I returned it to its normal golden sheen instead of inky black. My old clothes, however, couldn't be saved. Fortunately, Ryder had been generous enough to share some garments from his hoard of treasures, all of it no doubt stolen from other ghosts. My new black tank top, dark camo pants, and black knee-high combat boots were clean of bloodstains, but I still felt dirty. "Anyway. What was I saying? Right. I think we can save all of Void's little voidlings."
Somehow, I'd temporarily weakened Void's hold on Aluki. If I could do that, then there was hope for the rest of the ghosts Void possessed. But Aluki was just one soul, and I still couldn't save her in the end. Could I really save multiple city's worths of souls? I glared up at the crack in the earth above us at the starry sky. Somehow, the sight reminded me weirdly of the Toronto skyline.
I turned back to the kid. "I think Void can be killed." I explained to him how skin had spread, and, for the briefest of moments, Void had become just another mortal ghost. "If we kill him, maybe all his voidlings will be released from his control." I curled my lip. "That bastard still has his heart inside him somewhere, and that's his weakness. That's where he keeps all his emotions—his humanity. If I can release that, he'll be mortal again."
I touched my chest where my own heart lay dormant for the moment.
Jake grinned at that. "And then we can kill him!"
"Right." I nodded, face grim. "Then I'll kill him."
But first, we had to find him.
I wiped blood from the red lenses of my leather mask, making them gleam again, then hung it from my belt. My hand lingered over the woven bracelet on my wrist, thankfully spared by the rain. Long ago, Vale, Skye, and I set out to hunt down a monster that plagued After. In the end, though, we'd all united with that monster and it was through him that we—Skye and Vale, really—had been able to save our city from the real monster.
I shrugged, adjusting the weight of my sword on my back, as I skulked from the cavern and made for the exit of the gorge—a tunnel of starlight carved between two cliffs.
I couldn't help scowling when I saw Ryder out in the desert grinning at me and holding onto the reins of a nickering horse.
I supposed a necessary alliance with a criminal low-life wasn't the stupidest thing I'd done.
"Should've guessed you were blond," said the thief. Weirdly, he still had those stains around his eyes. I considered letting him know his mascara was smudged.
"Shut up," I said as I shoved my hands in my pockets. I kept a good distance from the horse that flicked its ears at me in curiosity. Its black coat with warm brown undertones almost looked purple in the luxlight. The leather saddlebags were brimming full of supplies, suited for a long journey. I eyed the horse, braced to flee should it suddenly decide to break away from Ryder and stomp me into dust. "So, uh...How we getting to the fallen star?"
