When LoVelly awoke it was dark and quiet. In that quiet though he recognized the gentle hum of an engine. He felt the subtle sway of a tevvy hovering just over the land, little hiccups as they cruised over bumps and dips. He tried to stay still, to pretend to still be asleep, and listen for any indication of who might be driving.


    His head hurt.


    Finally, when he still heard nothing, he decided to turn his head and peek around himself. He appeared to be in the cabin of what was probably considered a small TVE. He could see a ladder-staircase at the back of the cabin that meant there was probably an actual sleeping quarter upstairs. He was lying on a bench seat against a wall at the front. The drivers seats were probably through the small door just behind him. The curtains were all closed, keeping any light out but also maybe keeping anyone from seeing inside.


    Across from his makeshift cot, in the middle of the cabin there was a low table top and set on that was what looked like a stretcher and despite the dim light he recognized Mezalie right away.


    She was so still- not breathing, not moving. but he knew better. As he shifted his weight to his feet as silently as he could, crossing the room to her, he noticed that she wasn’t just lying on the stretcher, she was strapped down to it. He didn’t know why he was free to move and she wasnt but he wasn’t going to question it when it was to his advantage. He quickly scanned the small room to make sure they were alone, that the door to the cabin was closed, before he reached down to start unbuckling the straps that held her arm down.


    He had only just released the strap over her wrist when her eyes snapped open. He wasn’t prepared for the full body convulsions she had when she was disturbed. Her arm, now free, flailed violently and in the surprise of it all she caught him across the cheek, just below his eye. He recoiled in shock and a bit of pain, sending something behind him spilling to the ground. Thankfully the other restraints kept Mezalie firmly in place and avoided any other damage. After just a tes of violent struggle against the restraints her body went completely limp again, unmoving.


    Before he could take a breath or relax her mouth opened and an awful wailing spewed forth from her mouth. LoVelly winced against it but he recognized it was not Mezalie’s voice.


    The door to the cabin flung open, letting light pour in from the adjoining cabin. LoVelly did not have time to even assess the commotion that was not happening behind him. He didn’t see Briha rush in. Mezalie’s free hand shot out to grab a hold of his hair where it had fallen over his shoulder. With her grip like a vice, drawing him in close, and now with the added light he could see her eyes were completely black. She was shouting at the top of her lungs, nearly spitting with rage by the time LoVelly realized someone was pulling him back, out of her range..


    “Don’t touch her!” A voice chastised him, a voice he recognized. LoVelly took a moment to pause, to collect himself despite the noise. He didn’t remember how they had gotten there in the first place. Briha was standing between LoVelly and the door, hand still on his shoulder, casting a long shadow across Mezalie’s screaming form.


    “Doctor Briha?” LoVelly asked, rightfully confused. The tall man visibly relaxed when LoVelly stepped back, getting a hold of himself. LoVelly’s head whipped back and forth between the man and Mezalie, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. “What’s going on?”


    Surely drawn by the commotion, another person appeared in the doorway. They quickly rushed forward, hands held out toward Mezalie. They made several motions, finally sweeping their arms down and the horrid shouting from Mezalie’s mouth stopped. LoVelly watched as they quickly moved to re-tie the bindings holding Mezalie’s arm down. They spun on LoVelly.


    “Do not untie her.” the woman said firmly. LoVelly could see her face now, covered in freckles. “It is hard enough to keep her still.” LoVelly spent several tes looking between the people present and Mezalie.


    “What is going on?” He asked again, slowly. He was still tense, unsure what would come next. He didn’t know if these people were there to help or hinder. Briha took a step toward him, toward Mezalie. LoVelly stayed firmly in place between them.


    “Once Mezalie killed Teramyn the barrier came down. We were able to rush in and grab you both before anyone else could get to you. You were both unconscious by that time.” Briha explained. LoVelly’s face scrunched up and a look of confusion crossed it.


    “Mezalie killed Teramyn? Barrier? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Where are we?” LoVelly placed a hand to his temple as his headache flared, pounding beneath his eye. “Ugh, my head.” he complained with a wince. Briha looked to the woman beside him.


    “Vitra, can you get LoVelly some painkillers? Should be some in the kit.” He asked in a soft, easy tone. Vitra nodded and quickly stepped out the way she had come. Once she was gone Briha moved to sit on LoVelly’s makeshift cot, clasping his hands together with elbows on his knees. He looked blank for a moment, thinking, before he turned to LoVelly.


    “We weren’t there when it happened but Teramyn must have thrown up some kind of barrier. When it fell Vitra and some others were able to create a distraction while we went in to grab you. Both you and Mezalie were unconscious. Teramyn’s body was next to Mezalie and so was the knife that presumably killed him.” Briha briefly glanced at Mezalie’s motionless form. “We got you out as fast as we could and now we’re heading to another friend of Datsa to hopefully help us sort some of this out.”


    “Friends of Datsa? We’ve been looking for you!” He looked at the man with new eyes now, with relief instead of suspicion.


    Vitra came back through the doorway then, a water flask in one hand and pills in the other. She offered them to LoVelly and he took them gladly..


    “We’ve been looking for the two of you too.” Vitra told him. He took a gulp of water and swallowed the pills down. He looked back at Mezalie once more. Briha scooted to the end of LoVelly’s makeshift cot.


    “Why don’t you come sit down? It’s been a long driev.” he offered the space next to him. LoVelly gladly took it, settling in. “Why don’t you tell me about what you do remember?” the man prompted.


    LoVelly sighed but gave the two of them what he thought was the short and easy version of their last several driev. He started with waking up in the field together, what happened at the temple the first time, then the second. He might have omitted the farm house but he didn’t think he wanted to talk about that. He explained how they’d been doing their own research in the city archives, looking into their cryptic visions and dreams. He told them what they’d been doing when Mezalie had sensed Teramyn in the city, how they’d tried to run. He told them everything, right up to the point that he couldn’t remember anymore.


    “Okay…” Briha said once he was done, unsure what to even say.


    “So,” Vitra cut in, “what exactly is Mezalie then? She doesn’t even breathe but we had to restrain her to keep her from hurting anyone. Or herself.” She looked at Mezalie with unease. LoVelly shook his head.


    “We don’t actually know. After her pod was attacked and she…died I guess?” He shrugged because he still wasn’t sure about that. “She came back with that thing.”


    “Can she controll it?” Vitra asked. When LoVelly just winced and shook his head slowly Vitra took two steps back toward the door. “Great. That’s great. Briha, your thoughts?” She turned to the man, who still seemed to be contemplating something staring at a spot on the floor. He looked up at the other two finally.


    “Well. I’ve met Mezalie personally and I’d just like to say that I was right. I knew something was off about her when we met but she wasn’t going to talk to me about it.” He nodded once. “That said, whatever that is,” he pointed to the one in question, “Is not Mezalie. At least not the woman I met. Nimel told me what they knew about Teramyn’s plans and I think that is the Vott.”


    “Vott…” LoVelly repeated. “That sounds familiar, yeah. I think someone in a temple might have said that.” He pressed a hand to his forehead, wincing again though this time in actual pain. “Ugh. Head still hurts too much for this.”


    A gasp drew all of their attention to the bed. They all watched in tense anticipation as her chest rose and fell once, then rose again. When her mouth opened it was with the voice that sounded like a chorus of voices speaking together, strangely melodic for something that made the hair on the back of one’s neck stand on end.


    “Let.”


    Another breath.


    “Me.”


    “Out.”


    Another.


    “Of this wretched body.”


    Mezalie’s body struggled against the restraints again before going limp. Once again an awful wailing began. Vitra moved in, hands raised and ready to silence the creature but LoVelly stepped between them.


    “What are you doing?” Vitra demanded.


    “Wait. Just…wait. Let me, please.” He held his hands up between them, eyes pleading. The noise did not help his argument as it grated on all of their ears. Vitra waved a hand at him finally and he blew out the breath he’d been holding. He turned to Mezalie and went to stand near her head. He reached a hand down to place it on her forehead and she began to thrash.


    “Do not touch me.”


    He managed to get his hand on her forehead despite her thrashing. He tried his best to hold her still until she gave up.


    “Get your filthy hands off of me.”


    LoVelly did not let up his grip on her, forcing her face to turn and look at him. The black void eyes made him feel flayed open at the contact but at least the wailing had stopped.


    “Where is Mezalie?” He demanded.


    “I’m right here.”


    Mezalie’s face twisted into a sneer at him.


    “I know she’s in there.” He said leaning down just a bit, just a tiny bit closer. “Let her out.” The creature did not have a response for him, just stared, unblinking, unmoving.


    “You said ‘let me out’, are you unable to leave her body like you were before?” he asked. He had noted the the creature seemed aware and agitated but it had made no move to manifest externally and attack them like it had in the past. It seemed to have a great power when manifested so it was strange it did not use it.


    Once again the creature did not answer him. He waited but then, unnerved he finally stepped back, pulling his hand back as well. She just stayed there, staring at him with empty dark eyes and he had to look away. He hated that she actually looked dead like this. He moved to sit back down next to Briha, head in his hands. He took a long, deep breath.


    “Where are we going again?” he asked because he didn’t want to think about what he was going to do about Mezalie right then.


    “To see a friend. If anyone can help, it’s them.” Vitra answered. “They live out on the pellard coast. We’re taking the long way out in case we were followed.”


    “Who else is with us?” he asked. Someone must be driving the TVE but again, it wasn’t a big craft. There couldn’t be too many people on board.


    “Just my partner Fehrin.” she said. LoVelly nodded several times, rolling it all over in his head.


    “How long until we reach your friend?”


    “About four driev.” Briha answered. LoVelly thought to himself then, that he had four driev to get Mezalie back. Somehow he would dig her out of the darkness the Vott had buried her in.


    “Okay,” he finally said. “four driev.” He was hopeful now that they had allies, people that were there to help them instead of hurting them. It was a big deal for them, based on their track record.


    “I’m going to try to get Mezalie back. Wherever she is in there.” he told them. Vitra looked a bit skeptical but she smiled at him anyway. Briha clapped a hand onto his shoulder.


    “I wish you the best of luck with that.” the man said. “But before you do, why don’t we get you cleaned up and settled. She’s not going anywhere.” His eyes swept over Mezalie’s still form. He hoped that was true.


    “Oh it’s okay. I’m fine.” LoVelly tried to tell him but Briha gave him a look, eyebrows low and flat, mouth pursed,


    “You have blood on your face and you’re covered in dirt. At least change. We have a couple changes of clothes upstairs.” Briha told him. LoVelly instinctively reached to touch his face, where Mez had caught him and sure enough his hand came away with dark, wet smudges. “Come with me.” The man stood and crossed the tiny cabin to the ladder-stairs that led up to the tiny bunkroom. LoVelly dutifull followed after him, casting one last glance back toward Mezalie. Vitra disappeared back into the driver’s cabin, sliding the door mostly closed but leaving it just barely ajar.


    The bunkroom was even smaller, with a ceiling low enough that Briha had to duck just the teeniest bit to move freely. There was an upper and lower bunk against each wall for a total of four in the room. There was just enough room to move between them. Briha went straight to one of the lower bunks where a travel bag sat open on the end of the bed. He dropped down to the floor there, starting to rummage through the bag, pulling things out and setting them on the bed. Finally he pulled what he was looking for with an ‘aha’.


    “I’m stealing these from Vitra because nothing of mine or Fehrin’s is going to fit you. Catch.” Briha wadded the clothing and lobbed it across the small room at LoVelly. He didn’t so much catch it as much as it unfurled and landed on him. It counted though.


    Truth be told Lovelly was happy to have something else to wear at this point. He and Mez had been making due with literally the bare minimum right from the start. Again he reveled in how nice it would be to have help, to have people on their side. It allowed a relief to wash over him where up until now there had only been anxiety that something bad could happen at any moment and they had no way to prepare for it. He needed to get Mezalie back so that he could tell her the good news.


    LoVelly quickly changed into the pants he’d been given, they were a loose style but made of a thick, woven fabric sure to keep him warm. Briha also brought him a shirt to change into, long sleeved and soft.


    “Go ahead and sit down on one of the bunks. I’ll be right back with the kit.” Briha told him. LoVelly plopped himself down on one of the low bunks, his legs straight out and nearly reaching the bunk across from him. He laid back across the bed and spread his arms out to the sides. He let out a whiney sound on a long sigh while he waited.


    How was he going to get Mezalie out of her own head? He couldn’t imagine that the Vott would go quietly based on what he’d seen so far. He knew she was still in there though, he could feel it. If she were gone he knew he’d be able to tell. They were connected through lifetimes. When Mezalie had been in his head she’d found memories of their lives together before. She had unlocked several pieces in the mysterious puzzle of their circumstances.


    And then he realized, a loop.


    Mezalie had been able to get in his head and help him. Perhaps he could do the same thing? Was it safe with the Vott in there too? Who could tell but it was maybe his best chance.


    Briha came back up to the quarters with a small latch box in his hands. LoVelly sat up and pulled his legs back to allow Briha enough space to get by and drop the kit on the bed next to LoVelly. He flipped the latch so he could rummage through the basic medical supplies.


    “Alright. Let’s clean that up.” He had LoVelly scoot to the very edge of the bed and lean out for the best light. He used a disinfectant wipe to clean away the blood. “She got you pretty good.” he said somewhat absently.


    “Doesn’t hurt at least.” he shrugged. Briha put a tiny amount of fragrant ointment on a swab and dabbed it over the wound before he placed a bandage over it all.


    “So,” Briha began, scooting back so that he could sit on the bunk across from LoVelly. “We never did get to do that follow up. It feels silly to ask this given the circumstances but how are you feeling?” When LoVelly huffed out a little laugh he felt the bandage on his cheek pull just a bit.


    “Oh, you know. Just about as good as you can imagine.” he shrugged again. It seemed like that was all he could do, shrug it off and keep going. “Just relieved to have your help I suppose.” Briha nodded at that.


    “Of course. I can’t even imagine what you all have been through.” His face and tone were serious. “I don’t know what exactly we’re going to do just yet but we’re going to find some way to help.”


    “Tari bi ov.” LoVelly thanked him and he meant it. “I have an idea.” he said finally. “To get Mezalie back.”


    “Okay, let’s hear it.”


    “A loop. A cerebral loop.”


    Briha looked properly surprised by that.


    “A loop? I mean, theoretically…but I don’t know anyone who can do that. Those are incredibly difficult and require so much fen.” he looked rightfully skeptical.


    “Me and Mez have done it before though.” LoVelly told him flat out. That, somehow, made Briha look even more surprised, eyebrows creeping up his forehead.


    “Oh.” was all he said at first. He looked LoVelly over, like he was seeing him for the first time again, with new eyes. “I dont know how to react to half the things that come out of your mouth.”


    “I don’t know how we’re going to keep her still enough though. It seemed like just touching her disturbs the monster.” LoVelly barreled on. Mez had told him that it would hurt to break the connection during the loop and there was no way he could focus on the loop and keep her hands still.


    “We’ll need help to keep her subdued so we’ll have to wait for now. When we get to our destination we’ll try it.” Briha told him. “You may as well settle in and get comfortable. It’s going to be about four driev.” He told him.


    “Four driev?” He asked, surprised.


    “Yes. It’s all the way on the coast and it’s somewhat remote. You can take one one of the bunks up here.” They weren’t especially comfortable but they were probably better than the bench seat.


    “That’s okay. I’d rather stay close to her.” he said anyway.


    “Suit yourself. There are some books downstairs in one of the drawers if you get bored.” Briha offered.


    “I actually can’t read.” LoVelly told him. He couldn’t really identify the look that Briha gave him then.


    “Okay. Well, you’ll have to come up with your own entertainment then. There’s a travel toilet at the very back. It’s the only door. You’ll find it. I need to go double check we’re still going the right way.” Briha told him. “I’ll be back though.”


    “Okay. Thanks again.”


    LoVelly did just sit on the bunk for a while. He couldn’t find it in him to move. He was so tired. At least his head no longer hurt.


    He thought about what he was going to do. He wasn’t even sure he knew how to do a loop. He remembered the symbols Mezalie had written on the paper, he wasn’t sure what they meant but he could see them clearly in his mind. He really could remember things just fine since he;d woken up and now he was starting to remember snippets from before.


    He had this nebulous memory floating around in his mind of someone brushing his hair; a mother, or perhaps a sister? Whoever she was, she was humming a song. He recognized the song somewhere deep in his mind, he’d heard it so many times he knew it by heart. He found himself beginning to hum along with a memory. The melody began to soothe something in him that felt tight enough to snap.


    The door to the main cabin opened and closed and LoVelly was drawn back to the present as he listened to footsteps shuffle about. He heard them walk to the back, another door- the toilet surely. When the door opened and closed again he listened to the footsteps come closer until they were climbing up the steps.


    A face he didn’t know yet popped up over the edge. They smiled at him and gave an awkward little wave when their eyes met.


    “Hello,” they offered. “I’m Fehrin. Nice to see you up and about.”


    “Thanks. I’m LoVelly.” He offered a smile in return.


    “Briha said you want to do a loop with…whatever that thing downstairs is?” they asked with a nervous edge to their voice.


    “She’s not a thing. Mezalie is in there and I’m going to get her out.” LoVelly said stiffly. Fehrin waved their hands.


    “Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way but I know how it sounded. It’s just, I can’t imagine wanting to go in there with whatever is holding her hostage in her own body.” They came to sit on the bed next to him. “What if you can’t get back out either? What if you both get trapped in there?” This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    LoVelly hadn’t actually considered that.


    “I won’t.” He sounded a lot more confident when he said it than he felt about it. “Mezalie told me once that the monster is a little bit afraid of me. I’m hoping that’s still true but either way I’m getting her back.”


    “I hope so too because to be perfectly honest she creeps me out as is.” LoVelly laughed at that.


    “Yeah, yeah. I get that.” he agreed.


    “I’m gonna try and get a few lof of sleep in before I’ve gotta drive again. I don’t mind if you stay up here but I’m gonna kill the lights.” Fehrin told him, moving to crawl into the other lower bunk.


    “That’s okay. I’m gonna go back down and sit with her,” he told them. He stood and lowered himself back down to the main cabin. It was darker still with the lights upstairs off and he found his way back to the bench seat half by touch and half by the tiny sliver of light coming from the driver’s cabin door.


    Four driev. He just had to wait four more driev and then he could get his best friend back. And he would get her back.


    The memory of that ethereal being of light, of someone he once was, drifted through his mind. He also remembered the memory he’d had driev’ ago, of seeing catastrophe from somewhere above- of someone who Mez was asking him, “can you feel the convergence?”. It was all connected in the way that the two of them were drawn to each other in every lifetime.


    He couldn’t help when he looked at her now but feel that something was wrong. This wasn’t supposed to happen. How had this happened?


    The last one was supposed to be the last one.


    The thought jumped to the front of his mind and it made his head pound, right behind his eyes. He winced and hissed at the pain. He steered himself away from those thoughts and decided he needed a distraction. He stood slowly as his head rushed and made his way to the cabin door, sliding it open.


    The cabin, like the bunkroom, was built for four. There were two seats at the back by the door, one on each side. There were two small steps down to the front seats and the steering columns and dashboard that held the other functions, a few buttons and mostly gauges. At the very front was the great big navigation window. Briha and Vitra were in the front seats, bickering playfully about something when they both turned to see him closing the door behind him.


    “Can I join you?” He asked, standing there awkwardly.


    “Of course!” Vitra waved him in. “Do you know how to drive?”


    “Vitra no. He’s been through enough.”


    “Maybe he wants to drive Briha, had you considered that?” Vitra looked back at him expectantly. He laughed and stepped closer, dropping down onto the step between them.


    “I’m not a good driver. And I’ve only driven a tevvy. Nothing this big. I wouldn’t let me drive this thing.” He told them.


    Conversation with them turned out to be easy. It was nice to talk about things that weren’t about horrible things happening directly to him for a while. The other three switched out driving every few lof so they never had to stop. Apparently Briha was the only one who actually knew where they were going so he spent more time than any of them in the driver’s cabin. He slept in the chair. He told LoVelly it was just as good as one of the beds to him anyway since he was too tall for them. LoVelly spent his time rotating between the driver’s cabin, talking with whoever was up, and dozing off into a fitful sleep on the bench seat. They ate cold packed rations whose flavor left something to be desired but they lasted forever and travelled easy.


    There were two occasions in which the Vott suddenly flared to life, struggling against the restraints and screaming like it had when LoVelly had touched it. The first time Vitra had easily subdued it and they were able to carry on. The second time however it had managed to get a hand free taking them by surprise and managing to give Vitra a black eye in the struggle. She was rightfully sour for the rest of the driev, sitting upfront with an icepack held to her face. She made LoVelly take her driving shift, pretending to be stern and angry but she was a surprisingly gentle teacher and it didn’t take him long to get the hang of driving the large vehicle.


    After that Briha came down and announced that they were getting close and that he would take over driving. He folded himself into the drivers seat and took them straight out towards the sea. When they got close LoVelly could see how high the cliffs they were on were and it made him nervous how close they were getting to them. Briha only turned off at the last moment, LoVelly’s heart already pounding in his chest when he saw the narrow, rocky road that appeared to lead down the cliffside.


    “I’m guessing there isn’t an easier way…” Vitra said when she saw the obvious direction they were taking.


    “Oh, it’s much easier by boat.” he answered easily. “But given our circumstances, no.” He slowed the craft down considerably as he eased it onto the cliff road. LoVelly could see that it switched back some ways down but all he could think about was the severe tilt of the TVE as it began to descend. Vitra elected to go upstairs rather than enjoy the view from the front window. Fehrin had come to look and continued to stand and stare with morbid faschination.


    Aside from the anxiety in the air from the passengers they managed to get over halfway down the cliffs before anything started to go wrong. It was when they were on a long straight stretch and the road suddenly dropped out beneath them in a hidden dip there was a crash from the back and then screeching.


    LoVelly of course jumped up, doing his best to make it to the door despite the fight of gravity pulling him down. When he threw the door open he saw that the makeshift stretcher Mez was fastened to had slid down, stopped by the wall, and now sat at an angle. The creature was making its displeasure loudly known and LoVelly barely heard Vitra’s, ‘on my way’ from where she had gone upstairs.


    LoVelly did his best to right the angle of the stretcher but there was only so much he could do against the weight of her being pulled by the angle. Until they leveled out it would likely slide again. LoVelly found himself laid over her, one arm over, trying to at least hold her in place. Instinctively he tried to project a feeling of calm, a feeling of softness, out and toward Mez through his fen. He still felt that tingly zip down to his fingertips and toes when they touched, He recognized it now as something that carried over from lifetimes long past, something he would always be drawn to.


    “Lov’…?” Her voice was so small that he thought he imagined it. Still, he held his breath for a moment, waiting to see if it came again. It was then he realized that she was no longer screaming, nor was she struggling. Hesitantly he leaned back.


    “Mez?” he whispered down to her, hoping. Praying to whatever gods might listen.


    “Yeah. Yeah it’s me. For now. Listen-”


    “Oh thank the gods. I’m so happy-”


    “No LoVelly listen to me.” she insisted, head lifting up off the table. He stopped dead, mouth clicking shut. “I don’t really have any control anymore. I don’t know what happened but when Teramyn tried to, I don’t know, take it or something, he didn’t get to finish and now it’s locked in here. It can’t get out of my body like it could before and it’s mad.” Her head thumped back down.


    “I’ve been aware since we’ve been on the TVE but I’ve been trapped behind it. I’m not sure how I finally got ahead of it but I think you helped me find my way.” LoVelly hadn’t even realized Vitra and Fehrin were present, absorbed only in Mezalie. When Vitra spoke it startled him.


    “So this is actually Mezalie.” she said. Mezalie’s focus shifted to her over LoVelly’s shoulder.


    “I’m so sorry, about earlier.” Mezalie apologized. Vitra waved her off.


    “No hard feelings. As I understand it you were not driving then.” There was a long pause where everyone tried to figure out what to do next.


    “Should we untie her?” Fehrin finally asked.


    “Well of course we should.” Vitra said.


    “Actually,” Mezalie quickly shook her head. “I don’t know that I trust myself to keep this control.”


    “We can’t leave you like this?” Vitra insisted.


    “I don’t want to accidentally or on purpose hurt anyone.” Mezalie paused, thinking it over. “I suppose I wouldn’t hate being able to sit up.” she relented.


    “We’ll keep you partially restrained and LoVelly will stay with you.” Vitra offered then. “That way if something changes we can get a hold of you right away.”


    They managed to get her off the stretcher and seated at one of the stationary chairs around the table. It swiveled somewhat so once she was tied to it, it sort of spun her around back and forth very slowly. She still proclaimed that it was an upgrade. LoVelly did not leave her side, always a hand on her shoulder or her arm. Vitra quickly excused herself to inform Briha of the situation when he yelled from the cabin for an update. Fehrin excused themself as well behind her and it left Mezalie and LoVelly alone for a moment.


    LoVelly had taken up the other seat next to her, the only two at the table, and sat facing her. He locked legs with hers to keep her from spinning away despite the gentle sway of the TVE. She could tell he had something on his mind. Something he was figuring out how to say. So she waited for him to work it out. Finally, finally, he leaned in close and she leaned as far as her bindings would allow.


    “Did you really kill Teramyn?” he whispered. He watched her face go blank, expressionless as she stared back at him. She didn’t answer for a long moment, then finally, her gaze swept to the cabin door, still open and they could hear the others’ voices, muted but still clear. Mezalie looked back at hime, and he could see something in her eyes, something he couldn’t identify. Very slowly, she spoke.


    “Yes.” Just the single word was all she said and LoVelly did not push for more. He knew there was more to tell but here wasn’t the place to tell it. He trusted her and he nodded, understanding.


    With a final jolt and a thump, they felt the TVE level out as their equilibrium shifted with it. Vitra came rushing back into the main cabin.


    “Good news. We’re here.” She told them, not stopping as she rushed up the stairs and disappeared. Mezalie and LoVelly looked at each other, unsure what that meant for them next. They both hoped that it was, in fact, good news.


    They felt the TVE come to a gentle stop and then the subtle hum of the engine cut. Finally Briha came shuffling out and Mezalie’s eyebrows shot up.


    “Dr. Briha?” she asked in disbelief.


    “Oh. Yeah.” LoVelly jumped in. “Briha is a friend of Datsa.” he explained.


    “Hello,” Briha waved and smiled. “Good to have you back. I don’t much care for the other thing.” he said and Mezalie released a huff of laughter. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to let our friend know we’re here before she comes out shooting.” He said, backing toward the door on the side of the vehicle, just past the bench seat, before he turned and disappeared through it.


    Once the door was open they could hear the rush of the waves outside, the whip of wind rolling in off the sea. LoVelly thought it was nice, to smell the briney air filter into the somewhat stale air of the TVE. He felt Mezalie stiffen and when he looked up and saw the stricken look on her face, tears welling up already, he realized the problem immediately.


    The sound of the ocean, the smell of the shore, the last time she’d been in a similar position.


    He immediately jumped up and began to wordlessly undo the bindings. He didn’t care what the consequences were, they would deal with them as they came. He wasn’t going to let her relive that trauma. Vitra came down the stairs then, a hefty looking bag slung over her body. She saw LoVelly and opened her mouth as if to say something but when she took in the state of the girl she hesitated. She came to a stop beside them as LoVelly got her to her feet and wrapped her in a tight embrace. Vitra placed a hand gently on her back, rubbing soft circles there.


    Briha found them like that when he came back through the door, out of breath.


    “Alright, we’re good to come in.” He announced to them all with glee. The tears had dried up and Mezalie extracted herself from the group hug, wiping her face. They were all happy to shuffle out of the TVE one at a time onto the rocky shoreline. It was mid-driev and with the light of both Ahraan and Dhelarly they could see the rocky spit that led out into the bay. There was a path that led all the way out to several buildings that sat on the end of it but it certainly wasn’t big enough to take a TVE through.


    “I’m really glad you’re back Mezalie. I thought we were going to have to carry you out literally kicking and screaming.” Briha called from the head of their little grouping.


    “I still could, if you want.” She called back at him and LoVelly snorted out loud. He was so relieved to hear her snarky response rather than more tears.


    It took them several dib to pick their way to the end of the spit but when they finally did they were met by a rightfully ancient woman. In one hand was an old wooden cane that she leaned on, in the other hand was a long barreled gun propped against her hip. The gun should have drawn more attention but the womans burnt orange puff of hair was so striking that it was all they saw at first. There was an old shaggy greshgen sitting happily at her feet but they could see another one lying on the porch of the stone house nestled there. Beyond that there was what appeared to a be an old, old temple. The sea and time had worn the stone but the pillars and the face of the building remained intact.


    “Hello weary travellers!” the woman rasped at top volume so they could hear her over the sea. “I hear you have some exciting news for me.” When they got close enough to her that they didn’t have to yell Briha stepped up and held his arms out to the woman. She sort of shrugged, motioning to the gun and cane so he just wrapped his arms around her gently in a one sided embrace.


    “Yomi. It’s so good to see you.” He released her, turning to the group. “Everyone, this is Yomi.” He pointed to each of them, introducing them one by one. “Yomi has been a friend of Datsa for a very, very long time. If anyone can figure out what to do with you Mezalie, it’s her.”


    Yomi foisted the gun off to Briha before approaching Mezalie, cane first. LoVelly’s fingers tightened around Mezalie’s own as the old woman regarded her. She held her free hand aloft, up to Mezalie’s face, not touching, but close. She took several long, deep breaths and closed her eyes, humming on her exhales.


    “Oh this is quite something.” she finally said, voice gravelly and low. She dropped her hand into then and reached into her pocket and after a tes withdrew a smoke, placing it between her lips before producing a shining flip-top lighter, lighting up. She took a long drag and turned away from them before releasing it and heading straight toward the old temple. “Come with me children.” She waved them on with the smoke in hand.


    Briha made a motion for the two of them to lead them on. Vitra and Fehrin followed behind them and Briha brought up the rear as they dutifully followed the old woman and her equally ancient greshgen. It was a little bit…rotund, resulting in a slight waddle as it followed by her side. Mezalie pointed it out silently to LoVelly, a smirk on her face and he rolled his eyes at her but laughed silently anyway.


    Yomi carefully took the short steps up to the main entrance of the temple. Briha ran ahead of the rest of them and helped the woman pull the enormous stone door open. It groaned as it went but it went nonetheless. As they stepped in there was some light coming in through the windows but Yomi felt along the wall for a tassled end of a rope. When she gave it several sharp tugs a series of light orbs shook on their hooks, beginning to glow. They would brighten to full force in a dib or two. Yomi took them to the main hall, easily recognised by the blue tile floor leading up to.


    LoVelly’s eyebrows were furrowed as he looked this way and that, around them, at the building. It was dusty and smelled like stale sea side, as one might expect. There were only a couple of desire paths carved out of the fine layer of grime that stretched from corner to corner. One of them led right where they were going: to a staircase leading down. LoVelly paused before they reached the staircase, placing a hand to his head.


    “What’s wrong?” Mezalie asked, concern clear in her voice. Yomi stopped and turned back to them.


    “Sorry. I just. I feel like I’ve been here before and it feels weird.” He looked down at his hands.


    “I’m sure you have. Both of you, probably.” Yomi said, surprising them.


    “I’ve never been here.” Mezalie told her.


    “Maybe not in this life.” Yomi shrugged and took another drag off her smoke.


    “How do you…?” LoVelly’s eyebrows drew in even more.


    “I can see you.” the woman told him bluntly. “I can see what you are.” She leaned over on her cane, one eyebrow raised.


    “You can see?!” he gasped. “Do you know what we are?” He asked with hope tinged in his voice. Answers were so close he could taste it. Yomi shook her head though.


    “I can see. Doesn’t mean I know what I’m looking at.” LoVelly deflated a little bit and Mezalie gave his hand a squeeze in response. She waved them all on to follow her down the stairs.


    They went down.


    And down.


    And down, when finally the stairs ended in great big stone door like the one outside. This one Yomi pushed open herself and it seemed to go easily with hardly a touch. This chamber was completely dark at first. Like before Yomi lit the room by disturbing the orbs that hung along the ceiling. The room itself was mostly empty save for a handful of floor cushions, some boxes pushed up against one wall and a big, metal, half circle contraption that gave LoVelly the same weird feeling.


    Yomi had them all take a seat, situating Mezalie right in front of her. Mezalie knelt before her, finally letting go of LoVelly’s hand but she looked visibly nervous as the old woman appraised her again.


    “Calm down.” Yomi snipped at her. “I can feel your anxiety and it’s clouding up my vision. We’re in control here. Whatever this is,” she waved her hand in a wide arc around Mezalie, “It’s contained. Did you do some kind of binding ritual? The being trapped is a new thing, I can tell.” She finally stubbed her smoke out on the stone floor. Mezalie shook her head.


    “Not that I know of.” She paused with a ‘hm’, then took a deep breath. “The man, Teramyn…he did something but I don’t know what. It made me feel weak and…tired. Very tired.”


    “I see. I see.” Yomi nodded. “That explains it.” She said in a way that seemed like that settled things but they were all still very confused.


    “Can you tell us what, exactly, that explains?” LoVelly finally asked, thankfully.


    “Sorry, sorry.” Yomi croaked. “I’m still sort of formulating this.” Then she quickly licked her thumb and leaned forward, placing it on Mezalie’s forehead, between her eyebrows. Mezalie went crosseyed trying to follow the motion.


    A low purple glow began where the woman’s thumb was and then quickly spread out, all over her face. They were symbols, the rest of them realized finally. LoVelly recognized the characters right away, Kargeine IB. The words quickly covered her entire body and Yomi reached out and took her arm, seemingly reading the print along and around her arm first before moving on to the other.


    “As I suspected, your body is harboring too much potential energy. Too many souls in not enough space. And yet,” she took a long deep breath, eyes closed again as she placed her fingertips against Mez’s face. “None of them belong in this body.”


    “What? It’s my body.” Mezalie protested.


    “Not anymore. You’re meant to move on and yet here you still are.”


    “No. No.” A sniffle escaped and LoVelly quietly shuffled closer, pressing into her side. “That’s not fair.” She whined.


    “I’m not saying that I’m in any position to pass judgement. It’s not up to me if you continue to inhabit this place.” She motioned at Mezalie as a whole again. “What concerns me is that now you’ve got three entities all fighting for control over an ungodly amount of power. And a soul bond to something even I’m unqualified to define.” To which she circled her finger in LoVelly’s direction. LoVelly pointed at himself.


    “Me?” He asked, for clarity.


    “Yes, you.” She repeated. “I’ve never seen anything like you.”


    LoVelly thought back to that time in the bathroom at the library. At the thing he’d seen looking back at him in reflections of windows. He wondered if that’s what Yomi saw when she looked at him. At whatever Mezalie had seen in him all those times she’d noticed something strange about him.


    “Wait, you said three? Three entities. What’s the third one?” Mezalie asked. “Me, the monster…?” She listed them off on her fingers. Yomi looked surprised, eyebrows raising up.


    “Teramyn, obviously. Can’t you feel all that boiling anger and righteousness?” Yomi chuckled.


    “Oh no,” Mezalie said miserably. “No. I don’t want to be stuck with him too. Is there anything we can do?” Mezalie asked. “There has to be something.” She begged.


    “I brought you down here for a reason. I already had a pretty good idea. I’m not an oracle for nothing.” She scoffed. “Teramyn had this nasty habit of thinking his visions were the truest version of events.” Yomi told them, leaning back on her hands. She looked at Mezalie intently and Mez already knew the woman could see more than the eye could. She could see the truth, she was sure of it.


    “You did the right thing.” Yomi said carefully and Mezalie puzzled over what she meant by that as the old woman pushed herself to her feet and hobbled over to the huge metal half circle. It was some kind of contraption and she pulled a sheet back from the control panel to its side. She flipped several switches and suddenly everyone’s hair felt static-y. The air had a charge to it. Within the half circle an iridescent, shimmery light began to ripple. The machine hummed.


    “We brought you here specifically because I’ve got one of the last two fenoperable gates left.” Yomi told them, stepping back over to them. Her hair that sat around her head like a golden cloud and it seemed alive with the static as she spoke. The ripple in the ring began to grow stronger, looking like ripples in a pond.


    “A fenoperable gate?” Mezalie asked incredulously. “I didn’t think there were any left anymore!”


    “Well, of course. That’s what we want everyone to think. The only two left are under control of the Friends of Datsa. This one and one in Joura.” She explained. “We’ve kept them operable in order to carry out special prophecy missions. Like this one.” She gestured to Mezalie.


    “Where does it go?” she asked.


    “To Kep.” the woman said simply then pulled a face, “That’s actually the only place it goes, as far as I know.” she added.


    “To Kep.” Mezalie repeated.


    “To Kep.” Yomi repeated.


    “Sorry. I know after everything nothing should surprise me anymore but somehow it still does. Kep is a fairytale place my anana’s talked about their anana’s telling them about.”


    “And yes. We were essentially cut off from the other realms due to the wars but we have these two tiny beacons of hope that we can someday restore that access.”


    “Wow.” the voice startled Mezalie as she’d all but forgotten there were other people with them, so absorbed in what was happening. Briha took a deep breath, waving them off. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. There’s just so much I didn’t even know.”


    “You’re a good man Briha. I’m entrusting you when I’m gone so you’d better be taking notes.” She teased. Briha’s jaw went slack in shock at the woman’s words.


    “Tari bi ov.” He said reverently but Yomi waved him off. She came over to take Mezalie’s hand.


    “The last time we had something anywhere near this kind of messy we had to have our friends in Kep help us clean it up. I’m confident they have the resources and tools for the job.” Yomi led Mezalie up closer to the circle, LoVelly in tow. She positioned Mezalie in a specific place in front of of the shimmering portal charging in the semi-circle.


    “Say your goodbyes and step back LoVelly.” Yomi told him and they both looked back at her round eyed.


    “Say goodbye?”


    “I want him to come with me.”  They both said. Yomi shook her head.


    “He’s not cleared.” Yomi told them bluntly, crossing her arms.


    “Can we clear him then?” Mezalie insisted.


    “I can’t clear something like him. He might fracture.” Yomi argued like it made all the sense in the world. The hum of the machine picked up an octave and the shimmering brightened and began to open from the center outward, condensing around the metal bars that made the half circle. “LoVelly you need to step back.” She warned again.


    “I can’t. I can’t lose her again.” He told the woman, taking Mezalie’s hand. Yomi shook her head.


    “I don’t know what that kind of machine will do to you. You might not even end up in the same place! You might end up in pieces.” She insisted again. The light concentrated on the bars shot straight out around them, bathing them in a tunnel of light and shifting colors. They could both feel the pull of the vortex it was creating, pulling them in.


    “Don’t let go!” Mezalie yelled over the roar of the light as it dragged them inward. She adjusted her grip on his hand, lacing their fingers tightly together. The light became unbearably bright as they were pulled across the threshold and then it was just like being in LoVelly’s portal that time before they ended up in the sea. That gentle, floating, freefall kind of feeling that felt like slow motion. She closed her eyes against the harsh light. She felt the tears squeeze past her lids because it was so, so bright.


    She felt a squeeze around her hand and her eyes snapped back open because, LoVelly! Was he okay? Did he make it through? And what she was looking at was not LoVelly but some strange amalgamation of colors and shapes and movement. He was something otherworldly she couldn’t otherwise describe.


    And just like that he unwound like a ball of string and slipped right through her fingers, carried on a wind only he could feel. She reached and flailed, scrambling trying to get her hands back on him but it was no use. She couldn’t alter her freefall and she couldn’t catch up with the quickly disappearing slithering string.


    When her eyes squeezed shut again several tears slipped past that had nothing to do with the light. No sooner had her eyes closed did she feel herself come to a halt and it took her several tes to orient herself enough to know she was lying on her back. When she blinked her eyes open the light level was tolerable and the ceiling was blue. It was a nice color. She sat up, wobbling a bit, to find herself alone. Immediately the grief welled up in her.


    LoVelly.


    What happened to LoVelly?


    She turned to look around herself. She was in a small room but she recognized the markings on the floor for what they were: a convergence marker. A little one, just big enough for her to lay across really. She was shocked to find that all of the writing that Yomi had made appear on her skin seemed to still be there. Was that permanent?


    And then she noticed that the the wall behind her was not, in fact, a wall. It was a window. And there were people standing on the other side of it, gawking at her.


    Unsure what else to do and feeling suddenly very awkward, Mezalie gave a little wave and then all the people began to scramble. All she could think while she waited was that somebody there had better have some answers for her, finally. Starting with what happened to her best friend. Starting with what in all the realms was happening to her.


    A door hissed and then slid open to reveal a young woman in a long, gray coat, crisp and clinical. She approached Mezalie slowly and Mezalie noticed that she too had markings all along the skin that was visible.


    “Hello.” the woman smiled at her. “Welcome to Kep.”