“Invitations are dumb,” Jupiter said, scribbling the last lines onto a card and then tossing it onto the pile in the middle of the table around which they all sat.
“I think it’s fun to make them,” Mercury said, happily drawing suns and hearts, stars and moons with a variety of colors on her cards. “Even if they’re not getting sent out, they’re still fun to make.”
“But that’s just the point,” Jupiter whined, slumping forward, resting her head on the table. “We’re not inviting anyone to our show, so why bother making invitations?”
“It’s protocol,” Fae said. She’d been keeping her mouth shut, because she’d already had this discussion about ten times in the last hour. But she couldn’t bear to listen to it all over again. “Revue told us. We can’t put on our show unless there are invitations prepared. We’re just going to put them on the welcome desk in the main lobby when we’re done. It’s one of the last things we have to do before we can start the show.”
“But no one’s coming,” Jupiter said. “Protocol’s stupid.”
“Let’s hope no one comes,” Sonya said. She finished off an invitation and laid it on the pile. “Remember the rules of challenge? Delilah and her team went through that when they had to face the Sons of Night in their show. We don’t want someone coming here and stepping all over what we’ve rehearsed so carefully.”
“Revue would just kick any bad guys out if they tried to get in,” Jupiter said.
“She’s too busy,” Madeline said. “She warned us about that, too. She can’t stop singing the dual songs of the Lost Bell until the Key of the World is turned. She’s the one lowering the seals so we can actually get to the Key and turn it. It’s hard to find this place and get in, but if trouble does manage to find us, she can’t help us.”
“Don’t say that!” Jupiter cried, throwing up her hands. “No trouble’s coming for us. We’ve got enough trouble just trying to put on this show ourselves. We don’t need anyone messing with that!”
“True enough,” Neptune said. “So. Let’s finish these invitations, and trust to our rehearsals.” She finished off an invitation and placed it on the pile.
One by one, they finished off their invitations. Neptune and Madeline did the heavy lifting, making up for Jupiter’s lack of productivity. Mercury took her time, happily drawing and coloring away, decorating each invitation completely uniquely.
With the invitations complete, they carried them to the main lobby, stacking them in organized piles, arranging a few as decorative signposts that a show was imminent.
“It feels like this is really happening, doesn’t it?” Mercury asked, hands on her hips, smiling at their handiwork. “Just a few more days and we put on this show for real.”
“Feeling nervous?” Neptune asked.
Mercury giggle. “Maybe a little. But I’m excited, too!” She turned in a circle, smiling at all of them. “It’s a great show, right? It really came together in the end.”
“It did,” Sonya said, a swell of pride radiating from her to the rest of them. “We’re not perfect, and we had a lot of hiccups along the way, but we finally pulled it together.”
“Fae?” Mercury asked. “Are you excited?”
“I… don’t know,” Fae said. “This isn’t something I ever would have chose to do on my own. And even though our only audience is Revue Palace itself, I’m still somehow nervous. It feels strange to do something like this out of necessity, too — like a means to an end, rather than for its own sake. But…” She let out a sigh, and then managed to smile. “For all the mistakes and the struggles along the way, we really have come together in the home stretch. It feels… good. I don’t think I’ll ever do something like this again, but I’m proud of what we accomplished. I hope the actual show goes as well as the last few rehearsals.”
“Better,” Mercury said. “You hope it goes even better than our last few rehearsals.”
“Don’t correct her,” Jupiter said, rolling her eyes. “She said how she really felt.”
“We have time, now, before it’s time to put on the real show,” Olivia said. “What should we do?”
Fae sighed. The answer for her was an easy one, though not one she looked forward to. Why she’d ever agreed to their suggestion…
But she knew why. For once, for the first time in a long time, and the last time before what, if they failed, could be the end of everything, she and all of her siblings would spend time together. As a family.
She just wished that the way in which they were going to spend time together was different.
——
“I got it!” Caleb called out, dashing across the court and reaching out. He bounced the ball up with his forearm. Chelsea followed through spectacularly, leaping high and delivering a powerful spike across the net — a spike that both Shana and Delilah, for all their best efforts, failed to block.
“That’s another for us,” Chelsea said, grinning.
“Your team’s unfair!” Shana said, pointing accusingly at Chelsea and Caleb.
“It’s four against two,” Shias said from Shana’s side of the net. “That evens the odds a bit.”
“It should be all of us against Caleb,” Shana said with a pout. Delilah returned with the ball, offering it to Fae.
“Me?” Fae asked.
“It’s your turn to serve,” Delilah said.
Fae sighed, but took the offered ball. “I can’t keep up with this game.”
“It’s the perfect team sport,” Caleb said, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. “You technically have positions, but playing like this with only four players on one side and two on the other, we can’t really get that fancy. Liberos, setters, outside hitters, it all kind of blends together. But even with six players in proper positions, you still need to remain flexible and communicate and coordinate with each other. It takes flexibility and trust to win.”
“I don’t even know what those terms you just said mean,” Shana said.
“How many of my games did you go to?” Caleb asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Two hundred and ninety-nine,” Shana said, not missing a beat. “But watching the sport doesn’t mean I know the lingo! I just like watching you be awesome.”
“Then you’re having fun now, right?” Caleb asked, grinning.
“Can I serve yet?” Fae asked.
“Go for it!” Shana said, pumping her fists in the air. “It’s the Greyson-Four against the Lovebirds. Thirty-zip! Time for the comeback to begin!”
Caleb laughed, and didn’t correct her terminology. This was just a fun game, after all, just a chance to spend time with his siblings while they still could.
Fae tossed up an easy serve, Chelsea set it up, and Caleb… decided not to launch the easy spike, but take it a little easy on the rookies. He gave it an easy bounce over the net, and watched as Delilah, Shana, and Shias called out to each other, coordinated, and set up a return that ended in a Shana… attempt at a spike. She didn’t jump high enough, misjudged her aim, and ended up spiking the ball right into the net, only for it to rebound and hit her in the face. She fell flat on her back, and Caleb rushed under the net, joining Shias, Delilah, and Fae in checking up on their fallen sister.
But Shana wasn’t bleeding, wasn’t bruised, and though there were a few tears in her eyes, she was laughing. “Somebody’s gotta be the class clown, right?” she asked.
“You sure you’re okay?” Caleb asked, offering her a hand and helping her to her feet.
“It hurt,” Shana said, rubbing her nose, sniffling once, tears still glistening in her eyes. “But nothing’s broken. I’m okay.”
“Can that be the end of the game, then?” Fae asked. She brushed a loose strand of hair off her forehead and sighed. “I’m not a fan of all this sweating.”
“I guess,” Caleb said, laughing. “Thanks for indulging me, guys. I needed that. Now we can do something a bit more relaxed, like…”
“A boardgame!” Shana said, bouncing with excitement. “Alexandra has a huge collection of games!”
“Oh, are we too late to join in the fun?” asked a new voice. Caleb turned to see Anastasia, Bronn, Stride, Sieglinde, Hestia, and Artemis enter the gymnasium, all of them in loose athletic clothing.
“Please say yes,” Fae murmured.
“You guys came to play?” Caleb asked, receiving the ball from Chelsea and bouncing it once, grinning at the newcomers. “Six-on-six, just like it should be. If you’re up for it.”
“We thought it would be a nice change of pace,” Anastasia said. “We’ve recovered enough for combat training, but something more recreational like this will really help us loosen up.”
“Guys?” Caleb asked, grinning at Chelsea and his siblings. “Whaddaya say? The Greyson Six against the Grimoire Guard?”
“I’m an honorary Greyson, huh?” Chelsea asked, smiling, a hand on her hip.
“You’re gonna be an actual Greyson when this is all over,” Shana said, beaming. “So why not? Greyson Six has a nice ring to it, too!”
“Oh, boy,” Fae said with a sigh.
“I’m in,” Delilah said.
“Looks like we’re going one more match,” Shias said, starting some shoulder stretches.
And so they played, six against six. No magic was allowed, which was essential. Anastasia and Bronn’s absurd Enhancement Magic would have made them unstoppable, assuming they didn’t destroy the ball. Even so, their base athleticism was astounding, even if their unfamiliarity with the game itself showed from time to time. The teams were, at first, fairly even. Delilah, for all her surprising strength, speed, and stamina, was very much on the short side for a game like volleyball. Fae didn’t have the athleticism to keep up with the rest of them, and certainly didn’t have the enthusiasm to try. Shias was sharp, picking up on the game and strategies quickly, but he struggled to keep up athletically. And Shana made up for both ignorance and skill with abundant energy and enthusiasm. Chelsea had occasionally done various recreational drills with Caleb, so she had a familiarity with the sport, and they were both athletic and an excellent team.
But while the Greyson Six had an expert of the game leading them, the Grimoire Guard made up for all their unfamiliarity with the game with unparalleled athleticism and skill. Anastasia, Bronn, Stride, and Artemis were fast, strong, and sharp, with stunning reflexes. Hestia and Sieglinde slipped into more supportive roles, holding down the back line and backing up the four main players.
The Greyson Six won the first game pretty soundly. But volleyball was best two out of three, and the second match saw the Grimoire Guard step up in a big way.
And in the end, they won, by the skin of their teeth. Caleb and Chelsea made a valiant effort, but Caleb could only carry his team so far. They went to one final set, and Caleb psyched up his team. He, Chelsea, Delilah, and Shana rallied, with Shias playing the support, and helping Fae get a bit more engaged with the game.
It was another close set, but in the end, the Grimoire Six were beaten. Caleb sat in the center of the court, sweating and breathing heavily, but grinning from ear to ear.
“Impressive sportsmanship, being so happy after a loss,” Anastasia said with a smirk.
“He’s always been happy, even when they lost the state championships in seventh grade,” Shana said.
“I just love playing,” Caleb said, laying on his back, gazing at the bright lights on the ceiling, basking in the post-match endorphins. “Thanks, guys, for indulging me.”
Anastasia and the other newcomers remained in the gymnasium afterwards, playing several other games and doing other drills, but the Greyson Six left, cleaning up, changing, and then reconvening in the western lounge. Of course, Shana had a better name for that room.
“Welcome to the Game Vault!” Shana said, gesturing widely at the shelves full of board games. “Come on in! What should we play? There are so many great possibilities!”
“Maybe take the volume down a bit,” Fae said, gesturing with her hand to emphasize the point. “I had enough loudness from all that sports nonsense. This is a good time to relax.”
“Ooh, yeah, that’s a good point,” Shana said, speaking more calmly and gently. “So? Where should we start?”
They narrowed down their choices to a handful of games, which was voted down to four, then two, and then finally to a winner. Together they played, but at a leisurely place, chatting now and then, often getting up to grab snacks or drinks, just taking their time and winding down after their earlier exertions.
Caleb was so grateful for this. This time with his family, this fun with the people he loved most. And it wasn’t just the “Greyson Six” the whole time, either. At some point, Alice and Addie found them and joined in on the fun. Deirdre came to join them, and Ingrid, and Annabelle and Isabelle, too.
Soon, very soon, the final battle would begin. So moments like these, moments of light and joy, were more important than ever. They helped to anchor all of them in what mattered, in what they were really fighting for. And they helped them to be able to look forward, to have hope for a future where they could enjoy these moments without the threat of an Endless Night looming over them.
——
Sonya stood in a quiet room on the far side of Alexandra’s mansion, alone. She held up her hand, and a flickering magenta flame-like aura appeared, enveloping her, warm but never burning or harming her.
Wellspring. Her power. The power she’d long feared, the power she thought Wasuryu had cursed her with.
But she knew, now. It was her power, a power that had slept within her, awakened by the trauma forced upon her by Wasuryu. Through her, this power had caused such pain for so many.
But now…
This is my power.
I mustn’t fear it. I must control it.
And one day…
A promise. A promise she made to herself, in the quietest, most secret place of her heart. She didn’t know if the others knew that promise through the bond she shared with Fae, Olivia, Madeline, and the Star sisters. She wouldn’t be upset if they did know, but… for now, at least… she wanted to keep that promise a secret if she could.
It was personal for her. And she didn’t want her personal desires to get in the way of the show they needed to put on, the show she’d put so much effort into organizing and finalizing. Her right hand she held up, continuing to balance, control, and understand her Wellspring power. In her left, she held the hard-cover script for their show. A script that had come only partially written.
A script she had been granted the privilege — and challenge — of completing. She had to fill in the missing pieces, and she believed that she’d done the best job that anyone could. She’d never written something like this, but she was proud of her work.
And she needed to stay focused. Not much longer now. Not much longer until the final show, the final mission, the prevention of the Endless Night.
Footsteps sounded in the hall. Sonya extinguished Wellspring’s glow and turned to leave the room. But before she could, the footsteps came to her door and entered.
Coppery skin. Sapphire hair. Emerald eyes. Cheeks that reddened slightly, and eyes that closed, whenever she smiled.
Mineria.
“I’d hoped I’d find you before it was time for the final mission,” Mineria said in that warm, comforting voice.
“You were… looking for me?” Sonya asked.
“Yes,” Mineria said with that rosy-cheeked, closed-eyes smile of hers. “I have often thought of you since our talk at Eventide Archive. You seem to be in a much better place than you were then.”
“I am, thank you,” Sonya said with a nod. Silence stretched between them, Sonya feeling caught, nervous, and Mineria seeming ever so kind, pleasant, and patient.
“Wellspring,” Mineria finally said. “Have you come to understand it?”
“I… have come to accept it as my own,” Sonya said. “But I don’t fully understand it. Perhaps I never will. My friends have… been a great help.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Mineria said. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to help you. Just a little bit. I believe there’s something I can show you that no one else can.”
“You mentioned something like that before,” Sonya said. “That you understood my dilemma. As if you also…”
Mineria smiled, nodding, confirming Sonya’s suspicions. “I know what it is to feel cursed with power,” she said. “If you’re willing, I’d like to help you.”
Sonya had made strides on her own. She no longer feared her power. But even so, she’d been fumbling blindly, trying to make sense of things on her own. Given the opportunity, her answer was a foregone conclusion.
Finally, someone who could help her. Finally, someone who could help her make sense of her power.
And, perhaps, someone who could help her follow through on her secret promise to herself.
——
Preparations came to an end. Their roles had been decided, and teams organized. Delilah would enter the Fallen Bastion with the team she’d been traveling with this whole time: Alice, Marcus, Maribelle, Isabelle, along with Terevalde and Emmeryn. Shana and her Dawn Riders would go to Dreamworld, to the Palette in the Clouds, and turn the Key there. Fae and her team would be in Revue Palace, putting on their show to reach the “Key in the glass.”
Then there was the “strike team.” Caleb, Chelsea, Will, Gwen, and Lorelei were on it, along with Mister Midnight. But that wasn’t all. This was the team to take on Sal on his home turf, and they needed all the fighting power they could get. So along with them came Anastasia, Bronn, Stride, Sieglinde, Artemis, Athena, Galahad, Desmé, Jacob Crowley, Oscar Greyson, Hagen and Mercedes Rook, Jackson Redburne, and Thalia Koichi.
Backing them all up was the coordination team, headed by Deirdre Greyson and Alexandra. Combining the minds and talents of Isla, Selphine, Oliver, Gerick, Twelve, and a few others, with Adelaida, Andrea, and the “Flower Trio” — Hayden, Botan, and Camellia — on deck to protect the mansion if it came under attack, this group was the connective tissue holding everyone together. Deirdre and Isla had spearheaded the development of in-ear communication devices that could help them speak with each other across realms, even into the deepest lands of Darkness or the marvelous wonder of Dreamworld. They’d devised that device to work with what the rest of the coordination team had developed in advance, a wide pool that they called the Font of Sight. This Font could display images of any of the various teams wherever they were, allowing the coordination team to observe their progress and help them coordinate with each other.
Fae and her team headed off to Revue Palace to suit up and prep the stage. Delilah’s team and the strike team went to board Maxwell’s study for transport to their destinations, and Shana and the Dawn Riders saw them off with heartfelt farewells.
It was time. They were off, on their way to the final battle.
Caleb, Chelsea, and Delilah stepped out first onto the shores of the Edge of Night. Here was their crossroads, the threshold of their final battles. Dark sand was soft beneath Caleb’s feet. Interspersed across the sandy shore were strange, warped rock formations, cracked through with thin veins of inky black darkness, pulsing and writhing. The sky above was strangely light, at first — it grew even lighter behind them, a pale blue, but ahead of them, towards the horizon…
Darkness. The deepest dark of night loomed ahead of them, across a vast, dark ocean.
Two paths diverged from this shore. To the left, a whirling of the sea, waters avoiding a stairway that descended into the unknown. To the right, a narrow road, with the crumbling ruins of train tracks, winding its way towards the horizon.
Behind Caleb, Chelsea, and Delilah, the others assembled. The strike team started towards the right, faces set in grim determination. Delilah’s team assembled around her, waiting for her lead.
“This is it,” Delilah said. She and Caleb shared brief, encouraging smiles. Then she raised a hand to her ear. “Delilah, checking in from the Edge of Night. All teams, check in.”
“We copy,” came Fae’s voice. “We’re ready to start.”
“We copy,” came Deirdre’s voice. “Watching your every move. We’ll back you up.”
“Copy!” said Shana. “Looks like it’s time to go to sleep.”
“And we copy,” Caleb said, giving Delilah a thumbs-up. “Everyone’s in position. We’re moving out.”
“Good luck,” Delilah said. She raised her hand in a fist, and Caleb grinned, bumping his own fist against hers. Chelsea joined in, and so did Alice, four fists joined together for a moment.
“Let’s go turn the Key,” Alice said, turning away. Delilah gave Caleb one last, lingering look, and then turned as well, starting across the shore towards the stairway. She heard Midnight call to Caleb, and heard the retreating footsteps across the sand of Caleb and Chelsea.
This was it. Delilah led her team to the stairs, and then started down them. Her heart fluttered now and then, a strange sort of nervous excitement.
Daybreak.
That was the word that the Bellkeeper at the Lost Bell had said, the time that would come if Delilah turned the Key of the World. Light, breaking in against the Darkness, dispelling the night.
That’s what she was fighting for. And that’s why she was so excited, nervous, and yet strangely calm. This was it. The time had come, after all of them had walked such long, often dark roads…
They had all led them here. On the edge of night, but more than that, on the edge of something greater.
They stood at the edge of Daybreak.
——
Fae turned to her team, wondering what she should say. What was left to say? They’d talked together about this plenty of times, had rehearsed over and over. Times like this probably called for a speech of something, but…
It just didn’t feel like her.
“Ready?” she asked.
“As we’ll ever be,” Mercury said, flashing a grin.
“Then let’s begin,” Sonya said, she and Fae exiting the backstage area and walking across the stage to introduce the show.
But just as Sonya was about to speak, a door opened at the top of the theater. High above the empty stands, in strode…
No.
Four Dragon Cultists in their green robes. One raised a hand and snapped it forward, throwing a card that shot down to the stage, sticking into the floor at Fae’s feet. She knelt down, hand trembling, heart pounding, and picked up the card.
It was an invitation. One of the invitations made for Fae’s show, invitations made as part of protocol, nothing more. Sure, they’d set them out. It was just what was required, but…
“With that, we invoke the laws of Revue Palace, and the rule of challenge,” came a voice she’d hoped never to hear again.
The wicked, evil voice of Wasuryu.
The four Cultists parted, and in strode Wasuryu himself, once more in a grotesque physical form. Human height, clad in a green robe of his own, he was more solid, more put-together, than he’d been at the Silver Star Sanctuary. Green reptilian eyes glittered with glee — and anger — as they glared down at Fae and Sonya. “Now then, Vessel. Let the show begin.”
——
Shias gave Shana’s hand a squeeze. Together with Kathryn, Rae, Ben, and Annabelle, they lay on a massive bed in a circle, as they always had to enter Dreamworld as a team.
“You’ve got this,” Shias said, looking at Shana. She looked back at him, and he could see the nervousness, the anxiety, the worry in her eyes. But she smiled, and nodded.
“Let’s go, everyone,” she said. She closed her eyes, and Shias closed his.
He felt the familiar lure of sleep, the strange backwards-tug on his heart that preluded entry to Dreamworld. He was ready for the familiar warmth, the gold-and-magenta skies, for the world that he’d come to know so well.
But that didn’t happen. Something… shifted. He felt himself slip into oblivion, into deep, real sleep, with no dreams.
For a moment.
He woke up, as if only a second had passed, but feeling as if he’d slept a lifetime. He was tired, groggy, and most importantly…
Confused.
Something had gone wrong. He fought against drowsiness, against the pull of sleep. His eyes opened, then closed, then opened again, and he rubbed at them, fought for wakefulness, and sat up.
He wasn’t in a bed that he recognized. This bed was shabby, drab, done up in ratty, dark sheets. The room itself was bare and dark, but huge, strangely huge. No furniture or decorations adorned this room save the bed. Walls, floor, and ceiling were stone, old stone. Shias could feel the age of this place, its ancient nature.
But how had they ended up here?
He shook off more sleep, then turned back. Shana, Kathryn, Rae, Ben, Annabelle… they were all still asleep. When he took Shana’s hand and shook her gently, she didn’t stir. But she breathed easily, and was still warm. Just sleeping. Still sleeping.
She must be in Dreamworld. They all are.
“Then why am I…?” Shias murmured.
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
A new voice. A stern, powerful, commanding voice. Shias turned, watching as, at the far side of the room, through a dark doorway entered a man clad in black armor, carrying a huge black sword. His face was scarred slightly with small, narrow burn marks. And while Shias didn’t have to see his back, he knew there would be a gaping hole in the back of his armor.
Sen.
Shias had never met him, but he’d heard enough about Sen to know that this who he now faced.
The strongest of the Sons of Night. The monster who had nearly single-handedly wiped out the Grimoire Guard.
And now he was here, and Shias was facing him.
Alone.
“Why do you wake while the Dreamer and the rest of her companions slumber in blissful ignorance?” Sen asked. He cocked his head to the side, studying Shias. “What kept you awake?”
Shias didn’t have the answer to that question. But he was grateful. If he’d slept, too…
It would be all over. For Shana, and for everyone else.
Sleep was the farthest thing from Shias’ mind, now. He slid off the bed, planted his feet, and stood, placing himself between Sen and Shana. In his hand he held his pen Talisman at the ready.
“You will not touch my sister,” he said.
Sen cocked an eyebrow, a glitter of amusement in his eyes, though he didn’t smile. “Interesting claim,” he said. “And a faulty one. But you are welcome to try.” He seemed almost to smile, then. “Apparently I share my Father’s desire for surprises. This is a welcome twist in the expected tale.” He shifted his feet, adopted a ready stance, his massive sword pointed at Shias. “Let me see what challenge you can offer, child.”