Instinctively, Det’s pace increased, forcing Vessa and the others to actually jog to keep up with him, even with the leg injury he was trying to ignore. The closer he got, the more voices became clear as every person in the small town had to be gathered around the town square. Little more than a large, packed dirt section of town about the size of four homes side-by-side, it was where the merchant mistships would lower their lifts full of goods. It only made sense the Mistguard would do something similar.

  Somewhere, two-hundred or so feet above Det, the mistship would be sitting on the top layer of the mist, unable to go any deeper. Most people on board wouldn’t be ReSouled, after all, and wouldn’t be able to risk entering without sealed suits. Instead, one or two would come down on a lift attached to the mistship by thick, metal cabling to pick him and Calisco up.

  And… speak of the devil…

  “We should just leave,” Calisco’s voice rose over the general hubbub of the crowd even as Det and the others crossed the boundary of the town. “You’re not missing much. I’m good enough for the both of us.”

  If there was a reply to her words, Det didn’t catch it—her shrill voice had a real talent for carrying—but he wasn’t going to give them the chance to even consider the option. With no way to know how long they’d been waiting for him, his steps quickened even further. Reaching the back of the crowd within a few seconds, he none-too-gently began to shoulder his way through. If he had use of his arms…

  His eyes settled on Kels still nestled up against him. He’d forgotten about her the minute he’d seen the mistship. She needed the doctor… and the best way to get her to him was to get to the center of the square. He’d never find the man in the crowd, so Det would make himself obvious. The doctor would come to him.

  “Excuse me,” Det said over and over, pushing through the crowd. After the first three people, others began to turn, noticing who it was. Thankfully, either because they knew he was in a hurry or because they wanted to get rid of him, people made a path. “Thank you,” he said quietly. Behind him, he could hear Vessa slipping through the opening to keep up with him.

  “Det!” another voice—Jezz, his ‘mother’ in his world—said as she spotted him.

  “I’m here,” he announced, voice carrying above the murmur of the crowd.

  Calisco rolled her eyes in disappointment, not even bothering trying to hide the fact. Dressed in her outfit—leather pants, knee-high boots, tight tunic with baggy sleeves, and a wide-brimmed hat—all dyed red, she stood in the sixty feet of empty space in the center of the crowd. Next to her and the heavy lift taking up the majority of the town square, she had a pair of men who clearly stood out turning their eyes Det’s way. Men whose attention she would’ve preferred to stay on her from the daggers she was glaring in Det’s direction as he continued toward them.

  “And the missing hero arrives, just in the nick of time. And, is that a damsel in distress I see cradled in his arms?” a man beside Calisco said. With a sword on each hip, three more across his back, and his tanned skin exposed to the mist, he had to be ReSouled. His right arm was covered in what looked like a white combination of ceramic and metal, while the rest of him stood protected in more standard armor. His hair had a too-perfect curl to it bouncing in front of his eyes as he spoke—Is that his magic?—and Det could’ve sworn the man’s teeth literally sparkled.

  On the opposite side of Calisco, a second, larger man stood, this one dressed in a full-plate version of the same white material. Attached to his left arm, he carried a matching, massive tower shield, though it looked far too… futuristic compared to anything else Det had seen. It was almost something out of a sci-fi movie, with a blue, diamond-shaped gem the size of Det’s head in the middle of a series of overlapping plates. Overall, the shield was kind of like an elongated hexagon, and it would have to weigh a ton, even for a ReSouled. Not to mention the fact it was nearly seven-feet tall.

  The man, however, moved toward Det like the shield weighed no more than a large sheet of paper. Under his other arm, he carried the helm for his armor, while a full, braided, blond beard like some kind of legendary Viking hung from his chin. There was an easy smile on his face, but his piercing blue eyes spoke of having seen things. He was also the largest man Det had ever seen, and he had to look up to meet the eyes of the man that had to be over seven-feet tall himself. From the bulk of how the armor was filled out, this guy was built like a mountain.

  “By the looks of you,” the bigger of the two men said. “You have a good story for why you’re late.”

  “Since I was never given a time you’d be arriving, I’d argue I’m not late,” Det said. “But, yes, I’ve got a story.”

  “One I’ll be happy to hear,” the man said, those blue eyes going to the ink-bandages leaking blood, and the unconscious girl in Det’s arm. “She yours? We don’t allow…”

  “That’s my girl!” Bivac said, pushing himself free of the crowd. “What have you done to her? My Lord,” he turned to the man in white armor. “I demand you punish him for attacking her!”

  The big man looked from Bivac to Det.

  “Village asshole,” Det said simply at the same time he spotted the doctor stepping into the open space in the middle of the crowd. Without waiting for a response from either of the ReSouled, Det turned and headed in the doctor’s direction. “I think she took a blow to the head. I did what I could to stop the bleeding, but she’s been unconscious since I found her.”

  “Don’t you ignore me!” Bivac shouted, stomping over.

  “How long ago?” the doc asked Det, obviously ignoring the girl’s father.

  “I found her about an hour ago,” Det said. “I don’t think she got hurt much before that, but I can’t be sure.”

  “An hour?” the doctor said, gently rolling Kels’ head on Det’s shoulder so he could look into her eyes. Then his attention went from the bandage on her head, to the matching set on Det’s shoulder and leg. “I take it this all wasn’t caused by a fall?”

  “Her? Probably not. Me? Definitely not.”

  “Hey!” Bivac said. “I’m… urk,” the man’s words cut off abruptly as a huge, white-gauntleted hand closed on his shoulder, practically covering the whole thing beneath the fingers.

  “If your daughter is as important to you as you say…” the armored man said, only a few sniggers coming from the crowd at the statement, “… you should let the man examine the girl. Interrupting won’t help.”

  “But, he…” Bivac said at the same time he seemed to be trying to pull away from the grasping hand on his shoulder. “He did this. There needs to be justice.”

  “Did you do this?” the big man asked Det.

  “No,” Det answered simply.

  “There we have it. Now, be quiet and let the man work.”

  “Who are you to…?” Bivac started, then cut off again as he half-crumpled-half-tried-to-escape from the pressure on his shoulder.

  “This is General Vans of the Mistguard,” the man with the swords said with a flourish, despite the general’s helm now under one of his arms. “He is the first in, the last out, and has been protecting you and yours for five cycles, whether you know it or not. His allies call him The Wall, and his enemies don’t call him anything. Because they’re all dead.

  “You’d do well to show him some respect.” The last words came out without any of the flair he’d spoken in up until this point. Instead, there was an edge to them, much like the many swords the man carried.

  “Now, now, now, Simmons,” Vans said. “We’re all friends here, aren’t we?” His blue eyes turned on Bivac, and the man could only give a pained nod. “See? Now, why don’t you go stand quietly over there?”

  “Yes… sir…” Bivac said when General Vans finally let him go. One last glare in Det’s direction, and he moved off.

  “Definitely a concussion,” the doctor was saying. “The skull doesn’t feel fractured, but that’s a nasty lump. We should get her to my home and lie her down. I’ve got a poultice that will help with the swelling, a cream that should keep whatever cut is under that bandage from scarring, and…” he trailed off as General Vans towered over them and held out a small vial filled with red liquid in the doctor’s direction.

  “Give her this,” Vans said. “Should patch her right up.”

  “Is that…?” the doctor said, eyes wide.

  “A healing potion, yes,” General Vans said without fanfare.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “One of those is worth a fortune, even if it’s a minor one. It’s…”

  “Worth less than a young girl’s life,” Vans interrupted. “Now, are you going to give it to her, or am I?”

  To his credit, the doctor only considered it a second longer before he took the small vial from the general’s hand. Leaning Kels’ head back against Det’s shoulder, the doc pulled her mouth gently open, then carefully poured the liquid down her throat.

  “Make sure you use all of it,” the general said.

  “I know,” the doctor said. “I don’t want her to choke on it.”

  Almost immediately, Kels seemed less like a puppet with her strings cut in Det’s arm, her small body curling up like she was just sleeping.

  “Good,” the general said. “It looks to be working. She should be fine within a few hours at most. If you could take her, we’re already a bit behind schedule.”

  Det stiffened slightly at the words, but handed Kels off to the doctor. “Take care of her,” Det said, looking from the doctor to Bivac. “Since he won’t.”

  “You little shit, I should…” Bivac’s words stopped at just a look from the general.

  As soon as he was sure there wouldn’t be another outburst from Bivac, General Vans turned his full attention on Det, looking him up and down once more. “For the sake of formality—and to avoid some embarrassment later—you are the second ReSouled of Radiant, are you not?”

  “I am,” Det said, forcing himself to stand straight, despite the pain radiating down his left arm and his leg.

  Generals Vans looked again at the unnatural ink-bandages, the dried blood, and the torn clothes. “You want to tell me, then, what could do that to a ReSouled?”

  “Wish I knew,” Det said. “Something attacked us in the mist. Killed a dozen sheep in the pasture…” a chorus of groans, gasps, curses, and statements of disbelief or lies came from the crowd at that… “before I threw it off the pillar. All I know is it was about seven feet tall, stood like a person does, and had glowing red eyes and claws.”

  “Red eyes and claws you say?” General Vans said, free hand coming up to stroke his beard. “Ever seen anything like that before?”

  “Didn’t even really get a good look at this thing,” Det pointed out. “But, no. First time. Any idea what it is?”

  The general didn’t answer, looking around at the crowd listening in at every word. “What do you usually get around these parts?”

  “Wolves, mostly. Occasional bear.”

  “Could it have been one of those?” Vans said, looking again at the blood-soaked ink-bandages. “I assume those have something to do with your particular magic?”

  “He’s a painter,” Calisco said, coming over to lean against Det’s right side, then poke him in the side. Only coming up to his shoulders, she wasn’t a tall girl, but she had enough of an ego to fill somebody twice her height. “It could’ve been an angry housecat and done this to him. Like I said, we could’ve just left when you got here an hour ago. I’m the only one you need.”

  General Vans and Simmons both let Calisco talk without interruption, but neither of the men’s eyes left Det. Calisco seemed to notice the same thing with a huff.

  “It wasn’t a wolf, a bear, or a housecat,” Det said. “I’ve dealt with those before. This was something else. Something dangerous.”

  “And you killed it?” Simmons asked.

  “I sure hope so,” Det said. “Like I said before, I tossed it off the side of the pillar. Unless it had wings…”

  General Vans clapped his hands together with a sound like a thunderclap that made half the gathered crowd jump, while a smile spread across his face. “Then I guess that’s handled. It is about time we get going. We have a pair of medics up on the Sun Chaser. That’s our ship,” he pointed straight up as he spoke, “if you can make it that long.”

  “Won’t be a problem,” Det said. He’d made it this far, a short ride up a lift wouldn’t kill him.

  “Then why don’t you say your quick goodbyes,” Vans said, eyes gesturing to where Huck and Jezz stood. Det’s ‘father’ had a packed rucksack in his hands, while his ‘mother’ held what could only be a lunchbox. “We can’t give you long, I’m afraid.”

  “A moment will be all that’s needed,” Det said quietly.

  The general’s smile didn’t falter, but he gave a small nod, like he understood. “Get to it then.”

  With the permission given, Det turned and strode over to his ‘parents’, each of them looking both nervous and sad.

  “Det,” Jezz started, lifting the lunchbox wrapped in a colorful cloth. No, not a cloth, it was the blanket she’d made for him when he was a baby. She’d kept it all these years, repaired where he’d worn through it, and fixed the frayed edges. “I…”

  “Jezz,” Det cut her off gently. He’d thought a lot about what he needed to say to them before he left. Maybe a bit about what they deserved to hear. “Huck. I’m sorry I wasn’t the son you wanted. Or the one you should’ve gotten.” Huck opened his mouth to say something, but Det held up a hand to stop him. “Let me finish, please.

  “I’m also sorry I was never really a child. Or that you never really got to be parents. You would’ve done a great job, and I’m saying that from one parent to another. You were there for me when I needed it, and kept your distance when I had to be by myself. Probably too much of that latter than was healthy for any of us.

  “I’m sorry I never called you mom or dad, but we both know that would’ve just been me faking it. And I’m a terrible liar.”

  “You are,” Jezz said, her voice cracking a little.

  “There is one thing I hope you understand, though. Family isn’t something we can choose, and some people put too much value in the word. At least I think so. To me, friends are a lot more important. They’re the ones we choose to be with. I’ve never had a lot of those, even in my old life. You two,” Det stepped forward and put one hand on each of their shoulders, even though it sent a spike of pain like a lightning bolt through his left arm. “Are some of the best friends I could’ve asked for in either lifetime.

  “I may not love you as family, but I do love you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me over the last twenty years. I know it couldn’t have been easy.”

  Jezz couldn’t stop her tears, but she was shaking her head. “It was,” she said. “It was easy. It was also strange having my two-year-old son teaching me how to cook dishes I’d never heard of. Or being able to read without going to school.”

  “Or talking in full sentences before he was one-year old,” Huck added, with a laugh. “Det, I’m glad you think of us your friends, but we will always think of you as our son. We don’t care what the others in Radiant say, you didn’t kill our baby. It’s you. It’s always been you. Even if you didn’t need us as parents, we loved every moment of watching you grow.”

  Despite a well-earned reputation for being cold—he just considered himself focused—Det couldn’t ignore the building pressure in his chest. The tightness behind his eyes. The clenching of his throat. It wasn’t like Huck or Jezz to be emotional either. Probably because they’d all just treated each other like adults since Det was a toddler.

  “Because of me,” he said quietly. “You never got to have another child.” Being the mother of a ReSouled meant the woman couldn’t bear children again. Something about the process made it impossible.

  “We never wanted another child,” Jezz said. “You were enough for us.”

  “Thank you,” Det said. “For saying that. And… for… for not hating me all these years.”

  “Who’s being the asshat how?” Huck said, quoting one of his favorite words he’d learned from Det. “Didn’t we just spend the last two minutes telling you how much we loved you.”

  “Yeah, I guess you did,” Det said. “Still, thank you. I’m going to miss you two.”

  “Will you come back to visit?” Jezz asked, a combination of hope and heartbreak in her voice. “No, don’t answer that,” she said immediately, steeling herself. “We know where you really want to go. Who you really want to see. I hope you get back to them, Det. I really do.”

  “But,” Huck said. “If by some miracle you can come back and say goodbye to us before you return to your wife and daughter, we would appreciate it.”

  Det had to close his eyes to fight back his own tears. He hadn’t talked much about Nat or Yumi to his ‘parents’ in this world—it just didn’t seem fair to discuss how much he wanted to leave—but here they were, still supporting him. Always having his back. Even now, they wanted what was best for him, even if that meant they would never see him again. Hell, if he’d had his way a few hours ago, he would’ve already left… without telling them.

  He would have just suddenly… been gone.

  I really am an asshat.

  “I’ll find a way to let you know,” Det promised. “And, if I have the chance, I’ll come back and visit, too. I don’t know what being part of the Mistguard really means, but there must be leave or something.”

  “We’d love that,” Jezz said.

  “We would,” Huck said, his eyes flicking over Det’s shoulder. “Looks like they’re waiting for you. Here, we packed your things when the mistship came and you weren’t around. Figured you were out looking for Kels.”

  “Thank you,” Det said, taking the full rucksack with his good hand, and throwing it over his shoulder.

  “Don’t want to check what we put in there?” Huck said with a forced chuckle.

  “I trust you,” Det said, and really meant it.

  “I thought you might be hungry,” Jezz said, handing him the wrapped lunchbox. “A few of your favorite things, including a couple sweet potatoes.”

  “Thanks, Jezz,” Det said. “Are you two going to be okay? You must’ve heard me talking about the sheep…”

  “We’ll be fine,” Huck said, thumbing over his shoulder to a stack of crates Det didn’t recognize. Then he blushed. “The Mistguard pays the family who raised ReSouled. Most pillars, it’s paid in coins, or even bars.” There was a bit of awe in Huck’s voice talking about that much money. Had they even had a halfbar pass through their hands—let alone a full bar—in the last decade? Probably not. Maybe a pair of coins, at most.

  “Most pillars?” Det probed.

  “We don’t have much use for money here,” Huck finally said after shaking his head. “Not enough traders or merchants come by here for us to really buy things. The Mistguard—or maybe just the general there—knew that. Instead of money we couldn’t spend, they brought supplies we could use. Or trade, I guess.”

  “We’re going to share it with the others,” Jezz said. “Especially Kels,” she added in a whisper. “I know she reminds you of your little girl. We’ll take care of her after you’re gone. We’ll have extra, after all.”

  Another stab through Det’s heart at how good the couple in front of him was. Radiant had been a shithole of a place to be reborn, but he had gotten lucky with this couple. So, he did something he’d never done since he’d been reborn as a ReSouled, he stepped forward and wrapped the two people in a tight hug.

  Yes, he’d let them hug him through the years, but he’d never been the one to initiate it. And he hated himself a little bit right now for that.

  In his arms, Huck and Jezz stiffened in surprise at the gesture, but that lasted barely a second before their arms encircled him. For just that one minute, Det let them be friends, family, and three people who cared for each other.

  A cough behind him told him that was all the time he had, though.

  One more squeeze, from each of them, and they stepped away from each other. Huck and Jezz weren’t even trying to hold back their tears anymore, but they were smiling.

  “You’ll find a way home,” Huck said, voice husky with emotion. “If it’s you, you’ll find a way.”

  “And make sure you hug your little girl like that when you get there,” Jezz said.

  “I will,” Det said, his voice low to make sure it didn’t break. “Take care of yourselves.”

  “We will,” Jezz said. “Now, go. Go see the pillars above the mist. Go see the suns. Then tell us all about them when you come back to visit.”

  Det nodded, took one more look at the two people who’d raised him in this second life to make sure he’d remember them, then turned and started for the lift where the two Mistguard and Calisco waited.

  After twenty years trapped on that pillar, it was finally time to leave Radiant. Finally time to venture to the wider world. Finally time to find a way back to where he needed to be.

  closest to healthy in any of my books (except for Tempest Born) ??