Eight of Hearts: The Rift Blade - Book 1

Chapter 22

"Wait!" Aisa shouted after them, rising to his feet.

Tobias stopped, but James kept walking, ignoring the golden warrior.

"James?" Tobias said softly.

"We're not going to do this again, Aisa," James said, still not turning back.

Where are we going, though? Tobias had to wonder. It's not like either of them knew where they were, or what was going on. Only Aisa seemed to have any answers, even if he was deranged.

"You are the rightful wielder of the blade," Aisa said.

Something in his tone finally made James stop, though he still didn't turn around. "I told you, we don't want-" he started to say.

"This isn't about what you or I want. It's about what is needed."

"The only thing we want or need is to go home," Tobias said. Though James had given up on Aisa, Tobias still hoped the golden warrior could provide the means for them to escape this strange world. And his hope was confirmed by Aisa's answer.

"This blade is the only way to do that," he said, holding the rift blade out to them, handle first. "And it's the only way to save the ones you love from their fate."

That finally got James's attention, and he turned to face Aisa again. "Save who?" he asked, his voice now full of urgency. "From what?"

The darkness--the 'nothing' now gorges itself on the lives of all you've ever loved. Aisa's earlier words echoed through Tobias's head as he felt a sense of dread growing inside him. Everyone you ever loved...save them from their fate... "You mean Sarah?" Tobias asked, his voice cracking.

Aisa bowed his head solemnly. "I told you once already: everyone you've ever known is in danger of being lost completely. The Wise Men saved eight, chosen for the tasks that must be done to restore what you lost. If you reject this hope, there will not be another, and you will never return home again."

"You said there are eight?" Tobias asked, a spark of hope flaring in his chest. Sarah must be one of them! She's James's sister after all. "Where are the others? Who are the others?" he asked.

But Aisa shook his head. "I do not know. But you will know them, and they will know you."

James finally spoke up, though he looked more angry than anything. "You never intended to kill either of us!" he accused.

"Well, I'm not going to complain!" Tobias countered.

"It is not your fate to die yet," Aisa said.

His hands lifted slightly, bringing their focus back to the blade that he still held out to them. For a long moment nobody said a word, then James stepped forward and took the blade from the golden warrior.

He held the blade up, inspecting it carefully. The blade, though twisted and curved, was still very sharp, and the oily sheen on the dark metal was oddly beautiful to look at, despite the corrupted appearance.

"So what do I need to know?" James asked.

"The blade of rifts works two ways." Aisa said. James practiced his stances as Aisa offered his explanation. "First, it links two points of space within the same realm, as you have already seen. Second, it allows passage from other realms to the In-Between.."

"You mean this place? Why would we want to come back here?" Tobias asked.

Aisa turned to face him fully before answering. "The In-Between is a bridge between realms; a gap between dimensions. The blade of rifts can guide you through the In-Between to wherever you are most needed. Trust the blade, or you will be lost forever."