Copyright Ⓒ 2018 by B. Bailey All Rights Reserved

Sera

Life is strange. Each day seems to become more and more unreal. I would think that this a nightmare if the tension in my stomach didn't convince me that I'm here, in this moment, which means that this is happening.

At some point, my target is going to walk down this hallway. I just must get to her before anyone notices us. That won't be the easiest matter considering how packed the common room is. Even out here, in the outer hallways, there a lot of people walking around. Most of the students have large families and they're all excited because of the Tournament of Heroes.

Deides'family walks by, laughing as they leave our commons room, all of his cousins smiling as they say goodbye and part ways for the night, two Guardians escorting them out of the Academy. Then I see a familiar blonde head walking past them at the end of the long hall, her face buried in a hologram with statistics she isn't bothering to conceal.

Waiting until she right before me, I walk out quickly, cutting her off. "We need to talk," I whisper, holding my hands up. "Come on," I nod, pointing down the opposite hallway.

Donaldas head shoots up, her turquoise eyes wide with shock at seeing me standing before her. "What are you doing here?" She snaps, her eyes wide and wary.

"Come on! We need to hurry up! You owe me at least five minutes to talk."I whisper, not breaking eye contact.

As much as I dislike her, I know that she's smarter than I am. If anyone can hack the G.U.A.R.D system again and set it up with what I need, it's Donalda. She's never backed down from what she believes she needs to do and follows through until she succeeds. If I do the same, then maybe I can be just as successful as her.

Her turquoise eyes flash with anger but she keeps her eyes on mine, frowning darkly. "Five minutes!" She snaps, walking down the side hallway, peeking through the wall to make sure the room is still empty before we open the door.

You never know. Sometimes students and family members sneak into rooms. And, of course, there is the traitor to worry about, although I wonder if we'd see them with how skilled they were, clearly possessing powerful magic to break into the Academy before.

Using a stone to seal the door, soundproofing the room, we turn to look at each other, both nervous and more than a little uncomfortable.

"Iknow that this sounds crazy, but you need to hear me out," I explain, standing in front of the door. "I need you to set a matrix to alter data outflow from my MSRB."

Her mouth drops open as she stares at me, her eyes wide. "You want me to hack the system and alter the data?!"

"Yes. I just need a mainframe and then I can program the rest myself. It's important. I'm using it to find out what's going on. We both know that the attempted theft of the Spear and the ICU's flood of violent Refugees here on the same day can't be a coincidence."

Her eyes narrow as she sits down on the teachers' desk, evaluating me."You never voiced that opinion at the meeting."

"Neither did you. The Guards didn't want us to talk about it, remember? All they said was that I got hurt. I figured that the others have enough to worry about without knowing about the Spear. All they know right now is that the Guardians ordered us to sleep in the Academy every night."

"And how do you propose to investigate this matter? I thought that you would be happy sitting back and being a civilian."

"I can't sit back and do nothing while bad people try to hurt others. It's not right. As for my plan, that's none of your business." I state, frowning at her as I cross my arms. "I just need you to make a mainframe. You took me out of the Tournament and took both of my hands," Lifting my silver gauntlets, I hold them up before her face, making my position clear. "If you do this, you don't have to worry about me competing in any of the other events during the rest of the Festival– not even the strategy competitions."

She doesn't say anything as she stares at me, probably remembering the night the thief attempted to steal the Blazing Spear of Blood, hiding it in the Warp Gate closest to our commons room, where I had the unfortunate luck of running into it and then another stroke of terrible luck when she showed up and forced me to grab the cursed weapon or have her hurt Hemming and Aisling.

My friends or my hands. Cruel intentions all at my sacrifice. Since I have to wait another 7 weeks for my hands to regenerate and can't compete, then yes, Donalda definitely owes me a favor.

"No. I am not making a mainframe blindly. I'm already in a world of trouble and must spend the rest of Summer digging for Tellus Spheres in Asgard. If you get caught, I'll get busted again. You tell me the whole truth or I'm walking out the door."

I walk over until I'm standing right in front of her, arms at my hips."You don't get to tell me what to do. If I get caught, I'll handle it on my own."

"And you think that the Guardians will believe you made a mainframe on your own?"

"I'll convince them that it was me."

We stare at each other, waging a silent battle of wills.

"If you do whatever it is you're doing it will have a better chance of succeeding if I know what's going on. I can-" Her lips pucker as if she's sucking on something sour. "I can help you to succeed."

Did Donalda just offer to help me with her own free will? What planet did I just drop onto?

Looking into her eyes, I'm shocked that, for the first time in a long time, I don't see any malice. If she were to help me make and program the mainframe for what I need that would be incredible. I can make a program that works; Donalda can make a program that soars.

"Alright, I'll tell you to the whole truth, after you swear on the Styx not to reveal anything." She's the one who said she only honors the highest of promises.

Her mouth tightens into a tense scowl. "No way. I'm done swearing by that river. It's totally bad luck for me. Maybe Lifs just aren't meant to decree anything from the Underworld. I'll give you a blood oath if you promise to be unrelenting, just like you are in some of those Sims. Don't act like you don't know what I mean – you have plans that work, and you rarely act on them. You promise me you'll use the smarts you've been holding back, and I'll be your ally."

Blood Oath. That's a powerful bind.

"If there is a connection somewhere you have the time to look into it. And you better find it. I'm not marrying a schmuck with an ego to rival the sun while being told what to do by EVERYONE from the scummiest of backstabbing humans in Midgard to the snobbiest of Elves in Alfheim. If you give your all, I will do the same. The Guardiancouncil won't get any more control over our lives, got it?"

She holds her hand out to me, waiting for me to shake on it.

Sweat pours down the side of my face as I stare at her outstretched hand. Can I trust her? I trust any oath made on the Styx – not even the Godscross that power. I look up, meeting her eyes. If there is one other thing I trust, it's Donalda looking out for herself. When it comes to trusting the power-crazed Leaders of the Realms and the equally scheming mortals of the ICU or her, I think that I would find more comfort in Donalda at my back.

If I can help her, she has no reason to betray me again, which is more than I can say for the other Realms right now. If she seals it with her blood.

Nodding my head once, I reach into my Vault and pull out a small blade, bringing it to my right arm, making a small cut on the upper part of my right arm, a couple of inches above the crook of my elbow since it's the closest area of real flesh to my hands. Then I hand the blade over the Donalda, keeping my eyes on her as she matches the cut.

We hold our arms together at the elbow, our entwined hands held between our faces as we bring the wounds together, mixing our blood.

"I, Seraphina Aingealag Aigńeis Aibhlin, hereby agree to work with you in every way I am capable of to discover the truth of the matters regarding the Blazing Spear of Blood and crisis facing Ubhal Òir and Albiones."

Her eyes burn into mine as she watches me, not blinking. "I, DonaldaAudun Gumborg Gustav, hereby agree to work with you in every way that I am capable of to discover the truth of the matters regarding the Blazing Spear of Blood and the crisis facing Ubhal Òir and Albiones."

We keep our hands locked together as two streams of blood wrap around our arms in a double helix, binding our bodies to our will. The bind tightens around our arms before sinking into the skin, or in my case the silver prosthetic, yet I know the bind is bonding to my body even though it's not flesh.

Energytingles up my arm as the blood merges into my bloodstream.

"So, what's the plan?" Donalda asks, rubbing her arm as she looks at me.

"I have to hack the MSRB system to cover my absence for up to three months."

"THREE MONTHS?!" She shouts, shocked.

A series of five knocks on the door alerts me that Aisling and Hemminghave finally showed up. Rushing over to open the door, I usher them inside, immediately shutting the door after they've entered and double up on the Seals.

"Whatis she doing here?" Hemming asks, jerking his thumb at Donalda, whose still staring at me with her jaw hanging open.

"She's going to help us."

"Help us with what?"

"Have her explain everything to you before agreeing to anything!"Donalda exclaims, furious. "What do you mean three months?!"She yells, walking up and jabbing my chest. "That's not a hack –it's massive alteration!"

"What hack?" Aisling asks, her eyebrows still up in her hairline as she looks between the two of us.

"Oh, fantastic! They don't even know about that!" She shouts, throwing up her hands and spinning on her heels before slamming her fists down on the desk. "Work together and this is what I get roped into," she grumbles darkly, pummeling the desktop.

"What? You two, working together?" Aisling laughs, pointing at us like we're the funniest thing she's ever seen, elbowing Hemming in the ribs, finally stopping when he doesn't join in.

"Whatis going on Sera?" He asks, crossing his arms as he glares atDonaldas back. "Tyr told us what actually happened that night with the Spear. Why are you in here with her?"

"She agreed to help me with a plan. Come on," I walk to the back of the classroom, where the couches are, sitting down on the smallest one so I can look at the others, waiting until they've all situated themselves before continuing.

"I'm the only person who doesn't have any commitments right now. I have a Soul essence powerful enough to enter the Tasglainn. It's not violating the Taboo if I go in person. I can get to the fifth floor and hold communion with the Recollections of a few Founders to find out more about the Spear; get guidance on how to counteract the accusations of the ICU; have them help figure out what is going on."

"You want to leave Ubhal Òir? That violates the Accords." Aislingstates, placing her hands on her knees. "You have to get permission to leave here. There's no way they'll approve that right now."

"Exactly."I shake my head, lifting my hands to cut off any questions. "We don't know much about the Spear. I've studied it extensively and never knew about the Incorporeal effects of the Seals. The Lifs andLifthrasirs have their hands full right now – everyone has their hands full with politics and planning the events of the Tournament. The Founders are great at giving advice and they know more about the Spear than anyone else. I think that the ICU is working with a Guardian, maybe more than one."

Hemming and Aisling stare at each other, not saying anything. "That would explain how they got into the Academy and put the Guardians on duty to sleep without being caught," Aisling admits, rubbing her arms. "I don't want to think that it is possible but...it makes sense."

"But why are you two looking into the Spear? All of the Guardians are investigating it and they can't all be corrupt."Hemming asks, frowning at me.

"The Guardians are already infiltrated and," I admit, lifting my hands. "they have to deal with arguing with the Realms leaders. The investigation will be pushed aside until the Armistice is renewed. I think the ICU helped make a smokescreen to keep everyone distracted while the Spear was stolen. Everything that has happened created enough chaos to keep us from making any progress in the investigation. The ICU is doing everything they can to halt gathering evidence at the Refuge. And the Leaders arguing with the Guardians? They're not just attacking us – they're buying time, burning up the clock on peaceful meetings. It's all too convenient for me to ignore."

"I want answers," I continue, "and I think that if we solve who was trying to steal the Spear than we can help resolve the matter with the ICU faster and detour this threat. The Spear might be the goal of the ICU, not just the Apples."

Hemmings'eyes go wide as he considers that. "All of this drama is a cover and a failsafe to act as a backup plan in case the theft failed. It's creative and versatile. We can't do anything against someone that brilliant Sera."

"I think that we can," I argue. "We just need more information, information that the Founders can provide."

"You want Donalda to hack the G.U.A.R.D. system, don't you?" Hemmingasks, looking over at Donalda, who is sitting in one of the tufted chairs with her hands crossed over her chest.

"Obviously. Why else would I be here?" She snaps, looking irritated.

"You can't even make it up to the fifth floor for a communion," Aisling argues, her hands knotted in her loose blonde hair. "You would need a Spirit to guide you and you can't have a spirit guide during Comharrachadh Beatha. We not allowed to ask questions and get answers from Spirits right now. Besides that, you won't have the power to remain on that floor."

"The Tasglainn doesn't measure power, it measures the strength of a Souls essence. I can get in and stay on the fifth floor. The trouble is getting down to Nifleheim and then coming back home."

"Nifleheim?!" she shouts, jumping up and grabbing my shoulders, forcing me to face her. "No way! That's on the whole other side of the universe! The complete opposite side of the Realms!"

"It's the entrance with the least security. I can get in and out easy."

"TheTasglainn is constantly flowing with energy. Your Soul is damaged –you can't handle it in this condition, not without risking having it tear you to shreds. You'll die!"

"I've been there plenty of times Aisling. I can get to the fifth floor without a guide and get back out before facing any damaging effects."

"It takes me two weeks to get to the fifth floor with a Guide! That means you would be in there for over a month!"

Biting my lip, I'm not sure how to answer. I've fallen behind in a lot of areas but there are other areas where I'm still considered to have amazing performance. The Tasglainn is one of those few areas.

"I've visited it many times over the last two semesters. I don't need aSpirit Guide Aisling. And I'm not at risk of having my Soul torn to shreds – I can feel when I need to get out. My Soul is stable enough for this. I can get up to the fifth floor and back in three days with my astral form. My body will take twice as long do it, so roughly 6 days up and back down. I won't push it past one week so I have one day to commune with the spirits, the maximum I can manage with my current condition."

Donalda sits up, uncrossing her arms to grip the sides of the chair as she scoots forward. "There's no way you move that fast through the Tasglainn. It takes me 5 days to finish a visit to the fifth floor."

I shrug, feeling my face heat. "I've gone there often to get more information that the Tellus Spheres don't have because the beings who recorded their memories didn't know that information or didn't think it would be important enough to record. It was one of the few places I could escape where Skadi wouldn't harass me."

Because she doesn't like spending time in the Void. It creeps her out. Yet she let me spend as much time there as I wanted, recognizing the potential all that stored knowledge has for a Hero.

"So, you want to travel the whole expanse of the Realms to enter one of the most dangerous Realms on your own without your Prime Guardian or any Guard if this conversation has been an indication, and without any of the Guards being aware. Then you want to go into the Tasglainnalone, get out, and travel all the way back, on your own?"Hemming asks, glaring at me.

"Thatis the gist," I admit, meeting his angry green stare. "There are some other details that are a part of it but yes, that is the general outline of my plan."

"No! That's stupid" He says, standing up.

"How could you agree to be involved in this? You won't give up until she's dead, will you?" He shouts, turning to Donalda.

"What?"She asks, startled. "I didn't know about any of this! She just asked me to make a hack for her!"

"Why would you agree to hack for her?" He retorts, looking angry at the both of us.

"I made her promise to help me figure out what is going on with the attempted theft and put an end to the proposed changes to the Armistice," I admit, standing up and crossing my arms. "She agreed that we should do whatever we can to stop it."

"As long as you take on the dangerous part," He grunts, turning back to Donalda.

"I'm the only person who can do this Hemming!" I shout, losing my temper. "Everyone else is too busy with the Tournament and renewing the Armistice. Do you want to help me or not? Because I'm going with or without your assistance."

Hemming stops glaring at Donalda to turn back to me, running a hand through his hair. "You can't be serious about this! You can get into so much trouble!"

"And if I stand back and do nothing then we will all be in serious trouble. We have to save ourselves because no one else will."

Hemming paces the lounge area, holding his chin. Aisling stays on the couch, rubbing the sides of her head in a comical switch of stamina.

"I'm not giving up without a fight and neither is she. That's all there is to it." Donalda says, crossing her arms and leaning back into the chair, glaring at the back of Hemmings' head. "So, don't go blaming me. Some people know how to stand up and face opposition. You had courage during our fight in the arena. It looks like it was an anomaly."

Hemming stops pacing and glares back at her. "I have courage! I'm just not reckless like you. Or you!" He turns back to me, waving his hands in the air. "You can get hurt again! And then you could lose any endorsements you have from the Leaders if you get caught! This is jeopardizing you-"

"I know Hemming. I accept those risks." I look between him and Aisling, letting them know that I'm serious about all of this. "I can't sit back and do nothing. I understand if you don't want to be apart of this, but I would feel better if I had your help."

Aisling looks at me, her mouth a straight line of worry.

"Fine. I'll help." Hemming relents, sighing heavily.

Surprised, Aisling turns to Hemming before focussing back on me. "Well, I don't like this plan, but, if you're going to go anyways, then I will support you."

"What's the plan for your double?" Donalda asks, waving at me. "Are you looking to Cast, use a form and transfigure something?"

"Synergistic Spectral Clone," I admit, holding my head up. "I saw the page for that in my Halls Grimoire - Eanraig had it open on the table and I stole a peak. Essentially, I just need to provide a tie to my soul and that can act as a tether.

If that connection stays intact, and the Hack reflects my data intake within the boundaries of Ubhal Òir I should be okay. That should buy me a few months away. With everything going on and my energy being so depleted by family won't notice the difference."

"Do you have any idea how much power that Cast uses?" Donalda asks, rising to her feet. "Or the ingredients we would need?"

"Yes, I know all of that. I already gathered the excess energy from my clans Estate and have all the pure stones necessary for channeling the seals. If I use my Ethereal Silver Gauntlets as conduits it will work. But I can't cast it very well on my own. I only have enough for three tries. That leaves one trail to get it right and then it has to work for Gissele and I."

"We have to clone you and your dragon? Of course. The Warp Gates aren't an option, so you'd fly to Nifleheim on her and no Hall would be without it's Protectors," Donalda mutters, holding her forehead.

"Which means you need a LOT of supplies to complete two clones. Some of those aren't standard either. Banshee vocal cords are restricted to the Advanced Alchemy students and full-fledged wizards and witches. We can't get it without an official seal-"

" I already have it."

She stares at me, her eyebrows raised.

"I played poker with my cousins while my parents and brother were out of the Hall. We started playing for items that weren't strictly allowed, not that they knew that," I rush, not wanting them to get the wrong impression of my clan. "It's not like they were going to ask me for an official seal from the Guardians to see if I'm allowed high-end ingredients," I admit with a shrug.

"I'm an Adhain. They treat me like a kid on all other matters, mostly to harass me, but when it comes to magic, I'm considered atop-notch Caster. And if you turn them in, I'll never be able to get anything again. I'm only telling you don't think I stole those ingredients."

"It must be nice to come from a family of hunters and traders," Hemming admits with a grin. "You can get all of the coolest stuff."

"I have enough for three attempts. Just three. The only issue is that Casting for Synergistic Spectral Clones must be done during a full moon. Which is tomorrow night."

"Jeeze!" Aisling cries, jumping up from the couch. "That's not much time. I'll ask my parents if you can sleepover tonight. We'll go over the details and smooth this plan out."

"It has to be Cast tomorrow. We can't wait until next month. It will take me three weeks to get down to Nifleheim and another three weeks to get back. That's 7 weeks where I will be gone, assuming I don't have any issues on the way or in the Tasglainn. I'm leaving myself a five-week buffer with the hack, but I can't be gone for 12 weeks. We need to solve this before the end of the Tournament. That's just over 13 weeks from now."

"We'll need to make some powerful Seals to keep you from being discovered as you travel on the Root out of Asgard," Aisling mutters, arching her brows as she stares off into the distance with some vision only she can see.

"And you have to be gone by the end of this week to make sure you can fulfill this with the buffer zone counted in," Donalda adds, tapping her foot.

"You're all going to help me?" I ask, amazed. "Really?"

"Don't make it into a big deal. We don't have time to waste standing around." Donalda argues. "Do you even have any weapons? Your standard-issue sword and bow will be a dead giveaway as to who you are."

"Of course I have weapons! My family has a huge armory. I borrowed various weapons my dad made and covered his stamp before putting them in my Vault. I'll leave my standard gear with my clone – those have centuries of my aura seeped into them."

"And your gear? Your issued field armor doesn't have a high rating for Nifleheim because you're in the introductory curriculum." Like Hemming is saying something that I don't already know. I feel like I'm freezing anytime I spend more than three days down there. I have amber, containing a captured fire, to keep myself warm.

"I have a spare armor set you can borrow. I accidentally blasted a hole through the pants and the rest of the armor's beat up so I'm using my back up pair. The Guards are almost finished with my new backup set so you can have it. It's not pretty but it will keep you from freezing after we patch the hole."

"You'll need the purest stones if you plan on enhancing the channeling with Ethereal Silver," Hemming warns, rubbing his hands. "anything less and they'll break into pieces from the intensity."

"I know. Eanraig bought me a whole new collection from Marco for Sparrow. I don't think he'll notice if I don't play that game over the course of the Tournament. Those were the best stones Marco had and they came fully charged. I took all my other stones and charged them from my estate. It should be more than enough energy."

"You need a lot of Opal," Donalda argues, leaning against her chair."A pure stone is the best but, if you drain all of your energy from it, it won't be as effective for warding off Incorporeal beings and, even though you hardly have any energy," She ignores the pointed glare I level at her," they'll still be drawn to you because you're a Half Blood. The Roots are filled with monsters at this Season with all the travelers which means that you must stay off the center to avoid detection, forced to the edge with all the things that go bump in the night. Having spare stones for a secondary perimeter is essential."

"I have a few leftover. They're not in bad shape."

"It doesn't sound like they're in good shape," Hemming argues, frowning. "We need to go over all of your supplies before you leave."

"I'll scrounge through my stones. I've got a ton of spares that my Prime Guardian chucked from my approved supplies for the Tournament."

"Thank you." I didn't think they would help me this much. It feels like we're a team again. Just like old times.

"I can program the mainframe tonight and initiate a program to match what you need. You just make sure you find out something useful and come back without getting caught." But this isn't old times. Donalda never helped me out in the past. I look around the room to my friends and Donalda, realizing just how much our lives are changing.

"Thank you, Donalda," I admit, embarrassed.

"Just call me by twenty-four hundred hours tomorrow. I should be done with it by then. Now is this everything or is there anything else we need to discuss?"

"No, that was all," I admit, running over the list in my head again.

"Then let's get to work. You three do whatever you need to do. Come on," She gestures towards the door. "The longer we stand here the closer we all get to becoming Lord and Lady Doormat. No one is walking all over me, got that? Get out of here before I blast you!"

"Compelling work ethic," Aisling grins. "Way to lift the team spirit."