Fall of the Spectrum

Chapter Twenty-Seven, Part One

Forneus had never been more worried about Gwen than he was at present. Horus's news from three days before notwithstanding, the shock Gwen had gone into since—as though she were on auto-pilot, moving and speaking with a sort of terror-filled vacancy in her eyes—was more than he could bear.

The return to the Spectrum had come and gone without incident. Once they had made their report to the council, telling them all that Horus had in regards to Gwen's newfound powers and the concerns attached to them, Forneus and Phenex had spent all of their free time trying to coax Gwen back into a state of normality. Nothing seemed to get through to her. No matter how often they promised her things would work out, that they would seek out the Moirai as Horus had instructed and that the Moirai in turn would offer them a solution—Gwen would only nod in response.

"This is getting to be a bit much," Phenex confided as they waited outside Gwen's room. He paused, casting a furtive glance toward the newly-repaired door, as though he'd heard something beyond it. Then apparently satisfied that he'd only imagined it, he continued, "Don't get me wrong—I'm worried about her, too. I just wish she'd snap out of it already."

Forneus followed Phenex's gaze, straining his ears for the sounds of movement within. It was faint, but he could hear the shower running, and quieter still, muffled sobs. A lump formed in his throat, and it took him a moment to get the words past it. "I can't say I'm surprised that she's taking it so hard, but I'm glad Horus told us. To think, if we hadn't known and we'd gone after the Amethyst..." He trailed off. The result wasn't something that bore thinking about.

"I know, I know." Phenex released a pent-up breath, tilting his head back so that it met the rock wall behind him. "But we're running out of time. The new moon is less than two weeks away, and we still don't have the first clue as to how we're going to stop Apophis's next attack. Our best bet is to get the artifacts back before Reeves can finish his ritual, but even then... We're spread too thin. If we try to infiltrate his base again, it'll go up in smoke. Just like last time."

"I understand your concern," Forneus said, eyebrows drawing together pensively. "Nevertheless, we must be patient with Gwen. It will be hard enough on her, being forced to train after hearing such distressing news. The last thing she needs is to have yet another burden on her shoulders."

"You're right." Phenex pushed away from the wall, stuffing his hands into his pockets with a weary sigh. "Sorry, I'm just on edge. It feels like our backs are against the wall. How can we hope to defend the realms when we can't even take care of our own?"

Forneus released a sigh of his own, shoulders sagging as some of the tension left them. "Sadly, I must agree. There are not enough of us to protect the other realms and the Spectrum at the same time—and there certainly isn't time for us to seek out the Moirai. Fortunately, now that the council has ruled out restoring the Amethyst until afterward, we won't need to."

"Let's just hope we don't stumble across it by accident," Phenex pointed out. "Reeves managed to block Gwen's tracking sense when he had that shadow seal implanted in her. Who's to say he won't pull something like that again?"

"Then we'll have to remain on our guard at all times," Forneus said. "In the meantime, all we need to concern ourselves with is the problem directly in front of us. We need to prepare for the battle to come, and to do that we must—"

Gwen's door opened then, cutting Forneus's explanation short. She stepped into the corridor, clad in her usual training attire with an ethereal blade holstered at each hip.

Forneus studied her closely. Though she still had that same faraway look in her eyes, there was something different about her expression, something he couldn't place. Before he could speculate further as to what it might be, Phenex spoke, Forneus's thoughts evaporating like mist at the forced eagerness in his voice.