The Nost

Chapter Twenty Four: In the Flames

Jack screamed in frustration as Jessica's accusing eyes stared at him through the flames.

"Jack!"

He heard Ann's voice and clamped his mouth shut. Jessica's face drifted away like smoke.

"Where are you?" he asked.

He felt her settle into his mind once more, reclaiming her space.

"I don't know," she said.

"Are you out of the box?"

"I'm out, but I don't think I'm awake."

"You are on your way to sleep, or coming back from it, child." Millae's voice this time, confident and compassionate.

"Millae," Jack said. The flames retreated, blown back by an unseen force, and Jack found himself in a massive room surrounded by towering windows. The flames lapped at the glass, struggling to break through. Large tapestries hung from high gilded ceilings.

"You are in my realm for the moment," Millae said.

He stared at the two women before him. Millae, on the right, wore a dark green dress with golden embroidery. A modest neckline revealed the pale, smooth skin of her throat. Her black hair shifted to blue in the dancing light of the flames. Her brilliant green eyes studied him. Next to her, Ann stared at the raging fire out the window with wide eyes. Her auburn hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. A pale silk dress clung to her curves, the black dragon twisting around a low-cut back, ending in a snarl at her thigh. Shen power pulsed behind her eyes. The glowing eyes of a slave, Jack thought.

"So our masters know when we touch the source code," Millae said.

"Or the minds of others," Jack said.

"Yes, child," she said.

"But that was before my time," Jack said, taking Ann's hands in his. "We're coming for you."

"I know," Ann said, pulling her gaze from the flames outside. She studied his face. "You've changed."

"We have a lot to talk about," he said.

"It's a trap, he knows you're coming," she said.

"I have help," Jack said, searching her eyes as if the answers to his questions lay in their depth. He wanted to ask her if she was Tara, the goddess of mercy. Did she save him on the Isle of Song after the burn? But how could he? She wouldn't remember.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"The In-between child," Millae said, "on your way to waking, I assume." She looked at Jack with a puzzled expression. "And you are traveling through a gateway," she said. Her voice was silk with a steel edge beneath. "How are you here?"

"I don't know," he said, glancing at her.

"The In-between is the layer between life and death," Millae said. "A reality some can touch on the way to and from sleep, but only briefly and rarely with intent. What have you learned, Jack?" She pursed her lips.

"I have intent," Jack said, giving her a hard stare, trying to keep his tone steady. "And Saeb has taught me many things." Millae returned his glare with a steady gaze.

"You have the journal," Millae said. "Which means you have your totem."

Jack stared at her without replying.

"Trust no one, Jack, not even yourself," Millae said. The corner of her lip twitched.

"And you think you know who I am now?"