The portal Tommy thought he created wasn’t his. He didn’t know where it led. He wasn’t going home. They weren’t going home—not tonight.
They landed far from the Maze Jail—at least a week’s walk from where they’d started. And yet, none of them had taken a single step.
Where are they now?
A dark room lit by a torch on the wall. Curtain-covered windows. Barely decorated. Minimally filled.
Ginger, Tommy, and Benjamin lie on the floor, unconscious. The first to wake is the half-fox Ginger.
The half-fox props herself up on her elbows. One hand comes up to rub at her eyes. Her eyes slowly scan her surroundings like a habit that won’t die.
Where am I?
Her eyes take notice of Tommy and Benjamin nearby.
Where are we?
She scans the room again, slower this time.
This room is practically empty.
With tact, Ginger rises to her feet. She wobbles a tad before spreading her arms a little.
Stuck somewhere new. What a day. To think we were going home.
Ginger tiptoes over to the door on the other side of the room. She’s careful as to not wake the sleeping men up.
Other than for the half-fox moving around, the energy in the air is still.
Gripping the handle, she turns the knob. The turn of her wrist smooth and seamless.
Haha! Someone forgot to lock the door!
She cracks a smile.
We lucked out. I thank you, Fate.
The half-fox looks back, her ears twitching. Tommy and Benjaim remain unconscious.
I should wake them up so we can leave, but I’d hate to wake up Tommy. He hates being woken up, and he’s getting a rare moment of rest.
She looks at the unlocked door, then at Tommy.
I’d feel bad if I did.
Bringing a hand to the hilt of her sword, she taps her nails on the handle—tik-tik-tik, soft and sharp like ticking clock hands.
What do I do?
Her hand stills, a lightbulb moment goes off in her mind. Quietly, she walks over to Benjamin.
I won’t tell Benjamin, and he’ll be the target for Tommy’s annoyance and upset when he’s woken up. I just have to wake up and ask Benjamin to do it.
Ginger lets out a quiet fox laugh, grinning to herself.
Now standing in front of the sleeping Benjamin, she taps on his head three times with the nail of her right index. His eyes flutter open.
“Hm?” He hums.
“Hey, Benjamin,” Ginger whispers. “Can you do something for me?”
Benjamin takes a moment to wake up a little before answering her. “Sure, what is it?”
The half-fox’s grin imperceptibly widens.
He doesn’t know what he’s in for.
She points to the door. “Can you wake up Tommy for me while I go see if that door is locked or not?” She asks innocently.
Benjamin lets out a breath. “Yeah, I sure can.”
“Thanks,” Ginger says with a sweet smile before walking away.
As she walks to the door, she can hear Benjain waking up Tommy and his annoyance that follows. As to seem like she isn’t eavesdropping, Ginger grabs the door handle and jiggles it.
“Now you know why I hate it when I’m woken up.” Tommy finishes explaining.
Ginger turns to face the two. “The door’s unlocked. We can leave whenever you guys are ready.”
Tommy exhales as he stands up. “I can just create another portal.”
Benjamin pulls his head back. “I'm pretty sure we were portal-jacked. That’s how we are wherever we are. Are you sure you want to create another portal?”
Tommy shrugs. “A portal is the quickest way out of here and back home.”
Ginger nods. “He makes a point.”
“Don’t side with him,” Benjamin tells the half-fox. “You’re only agreeing with him because he’s your human. See my logic, Ginger.”
Looking away from the older man, she scoffs. “Whatever.” She mutters under her breath.
A new portal opens, this time standing upright like a door.
In the Overworld at the time Ginger begins to wake…
Toby and Rain sit in room 210 playing cards with Bumbledor. It appears to be early in their game.
“Where do you think Tommy is?” Rain asks, placing a card face up. “We haven’t seen him all day.”
Toby shrugs.
“Maybe he’s still passed out at Benjamin’s?” He suggests.
Rain hums. “Probably. I say we should head over tomorrow and check on him.”
Bumbledor lays a card down, letting out a little buzz.
Toby begins his turn, picking up a card. “That sounds like a plan.”
Toby throws down a six of moons with a grin. “Your move.”
Rain squints at his hand. “You’re getting lucky.”
“I got skill,” Toby corrects, leaning back in his chair.
Bumbledor hovers between them, wings humming softly. He bumps against the table’s edge before settling near Rain’s stack of cards.
Rain fans them out like a magician. “Huh.”
Toby watches him. “What?”
“What do you think was up with Tommy passing out like that yesterday?” Rain asks, still scanning his cards. “I’ve never seen anyone pass out so suddenly like that.”
Toby raises an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen that from him either. I don’t know what was up with that.”
“That’s something we should ask him.”
Bumbledor lets out a soft hum, fluttering up and nudging a single card loose from Rain’s grip. It lands face-up on the table.
The Ten of Stars.
Its edges shimmer faintly in the low light — distant constellations frozen on the card’s surface, like a sky holding its breath.
“I worry…” Toby breathes.
1…
2…
3…
Ginger…
Benjamin…
Tommy…
The three are standing in a room in some building in the Umbrosyne realm with a portal to the Overworld.
1, 2, 3. Ginger, Benjamin, Tommy.
They leave the realm.
As the portal closes behind them, a burst of new importance is born.
Six stands alone in a library, in front of a podium with a blank book, quill in hand.
“I feel it.” She mutters. “I feel a shift in the tides, an important one.”
Her quill scratches along the blank page. Her handwriting neat and quick, as though she’s recording something already unfolding — something only she can see.
Her voice echoes through the library as the quill in her hand comes to a stop. “Fate nor I saw this coming. It’s up to you, Ultimate Spirit, to decide what to do.”
YOU ARE READING
Black Strings: Threads of Revenge
FantasyFate marked him. Power follows him. Death haunts him. Tommy never asked to be the Ultimate Spirit. But when legends awaken and war begins to stir underneath, he's forced to accept a role that could rewrite the order of the realms. Hunted by the Spir...
