The Necklace: The Trial Realm

Chapter Twenty: Consequences

"Are we really doing this?"

His hand tightens around mine, our shoulders touching, the heat from his body furthering my heightened sense of awareness.

"We are doing this." He smiles, and I feel safe, I feel excited, I feel ready. Ready to take on the realms, ready to just one more time go against the Gods. If I think on it, I've been punished by them in the Ring for too many years for something that wasn't my fault.

The Gods owed me this one.

One good night that would make my life and carry me through all the many years to come of being in The Hub, only venturing when the odd vampire fights the random wolf or however it goes.

"My whole body is tingling." I laugh, giddy for the first time in my existence.

Oliver chuckles at my side. "I know what you mean," he says. "the first time I ever did this, my whole body, mind, soul, the lot of it was humming. There's just something about doing a thing you know you shouldn't do, but that you want so bad." He turns to me, his auburn hair falling into his crystal blue eyes, and takes my other hand in his. We both look down between us at our interlocked hands. "It's the adrenaline."

"The what?"

His laugh makes me smile. "I'll explain it to you later." He shakes his head and I at least take pleasure in knowing that one day, I won't be the Newb anymore. One day another Newb will come and I'll be the one who knows things and explains it all. For now I can handle being the one with all the questions. Especially if getting the answers is always this fun.

I peel my eyes from his face and look back down at our hands. "That's it?" I ask, inclining my chin to the large copper ring on his thumb. It's about two sizes too big and made of a twisted metal carved with beats and decorated by seven small gemstones in its center.

"Yes," He nods as I brush my thumb over the cool metal. "one of the original talismans gifted to the Custodes from the Gods themselves. It was lost centuries ago, but I found it."

My eyes widen on their own. I guess I'd just assumed he'd stolen it. Did it make it feel less outlawed now that I knew he didn't? Maybe, but it didn't change much regardless. "Found it where?" I ask, still enthralled with it. The pull to it is almost as strong as the one I felt to my own necklace, but only slightly weaker.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He says softly. "I was one of the unlucky few last year who got stuck with cleaning duties in the old quarters, spiffing up for new recreations to be built down there. I was digging around in the back of one of the rooms and found it hidden under a loose stone in the floor."

I find it hard to picture Oliver down on his hands and knees cleaning like a regular slave, but the strange ring distracts my mind away from that. "Did you know what it was?"

"No." He lets go of one of my hands and turns it around his thumb, examining it. "I just thought it looked cool at the time, but then when we went out for our next recruiting mission, I noticed Tonyedda had one when we traveled. I hid mine after that, and watched more carefully what she did the next time." I jump a little when he reaches between us and pulls my jacket up tighter around my shoulders. Oliver had found us clothes that wouldn't stand out as badly in other realms, but we were still loaded down with the heavy jackets that went with our Hub uniforms. "That night when we got back I took it to my room and did everything the same way I'd watched Tonyedda do it. It didn't work the first time, but the second...It was the most amazing thing."

"I'm scared." I admit, shivering into the layers of clothing

He nods quickly. "I was too." He assures me, then squeezes my arm. "Hey, Mal?"