Chapter Five
Neith
I shake my head, "That doesn't ring true, Ty."
They glance at me curiously.
Ty chuckles, "Your mother always used to be able to tell when I was lying."
My eyebrows rise, that is not what I was expecting him to say, and because I have no idea how to respond, I simply say, "Well?"
"I was curious to see how they would respond," Ty replies, this time honestly.
The guy's frown, clearly liking that answer as much as I do, which is not at all.
"Don't do that again, Ty. If you want to know something, then ask," Van says firmly. "When have we ever not told you the truth?"
"I know, I am sorry," Ty replies, genuinely sounding sorry. He continues, "The Choosing has thrown a lot of things into question, and I promised Neith's parents that I would look after her, and after years of trying, I finally got her to SID, and within the first month, she's been pulled into the goddamn Choosing."
It's easy to hear the exasperation in his voice, and my anger toward him for trying to trick the guys and, in the process, give us false hope softens a bit. I'm still mad but not stab him mad, so it's a definite improvement.
"That's not your fault," I tell him.
"She's right, it's Draconian's mostly. Kylen messed up and has some stupid vendetta against us that has brought Neith into it," Evander growls.
"I'm sorry, guys, I shouldn't have done that. It was a dick move," Ty surprises me by saying.
"No problem, man," Evander replies.
"Can you explain what would happen if we were just to stay here?" Griff asks.
"It wouldn't make a difference where you were, if you're not at the portal at the correct time to take you to the pocket realm where the Choosing is held, then you will be pulled in regardless. No matter where you are, in the Earth Realm or otherwise. If you're in the middle of a shower, it will pull you in. The Choosing is ancient magic, and it's incredibly strong, there is no way around it," Ty explains.
"Well, shit. There goes that theory," I mutter. I think deep down, I knew that it wasn't a viable option, but I'm glad that we asked because I would have always been wondering otherwise.
We don't have another plan for how to save Coen anyway, and I absolutely refuse to leave him in the hands of those monsters for longer than I absolutely have to. It is for the best, well, maybe not the best. That is a bit ridiculous. It is what we have got to deal with, and we'll make it work because it's either that or I die. I'm not keen on going to the Darkness and having every supernatural in the realms witnessing it.
That would not be smart.
"I'm sorry, Neith," Ty says. "We've all been looking for a way out of this for you, and we can't find anything."
"We?" I ask.
"Yeah, Sully, Draith, Ernie, Murray, Ahren, Eamon, Calia, and a couple of other people," Ty replies. "We've all been looking into it."
"My parents?" Van asks, and I know that it's more for clarification than anything else.
"Yes, we were all tasked with keeping Neith safe," Ty replies, confirming what we all already knew.
"Thank you. I really appreciate you all looking into it," I reply. I am really grateful that I have got all of these people looking out for me.
"Of course," Ty replies. "I'll see you all when you get here."
"Bye," Van replies and then hangs up.
"Well, it was nice to think we had a solution for a moment," Reed mutters.
"It was," I reply, "I think we're just going to have to face it that the Choosing is going to happen, and I just need to make sure that I'm as prepared as possible."
"Agreed," Van says.
We all drift into our own thoughts, and in no time at all, we pull into Niamh's pub. The place is a lot less busy now that it's early morning and no one is here but Niamh.
"Hey, kids," Niamh greets us as we walk through the door. "I'm going to assume that since you have all of your stuff with you, that the hybrid has been taken care of?"
My eyes widen, "Shit. Sorry, Niamh, I should have called you yesterday. Believe it or not, so much has happened between then and now."
She grins, "I'm not surprised. Trouble does seem to follow you wherever you go."
"I think I may be offended," I tease, knowing that she didn't mean anything by that.
She grins, "Don't be. Do you have time for a coffee and to fill me in before you go back?"
I look at the guys, and they shrug.
"I could go for a coffee," River says with a smile.
"Sully is waiting for us," Reed says.
"Ah, Sully is too smart to mind if you spend a bit more time with me," Niamh grins, a twinkle in her eye.
I chuckle, "You're definitely right about that."
"It's settled then. Have a seat, and I will be right back."
We all take seats as she heads into the kitchen. It's not long until she's on the way back with a tray of coffee in her hands, and she hands them all out before sitting down herself.
"Right, fill me in then," she says before adding, "I haven't heard from Libby, but I sent her best friend over to her a couple of days ago, and she's kept me in the loop."
I grin, "Good call."
We quickly fill her in with everything that happened with the shifter and then go on to explain more about what they are and what they are capable of. We also let her know that Ty has now briefed the SID branch here and that they are aware of what to look for.
We stay and talk until we've finished our drinks.
She sighs, and levels me with a look that makes me wonder what the hell I have done.
"Before I let you get back, what aren't you telling me?"
My eyebrows rise, "How the hell did you know that I wasn't telling you something?"
She smiles, "Because I know you. Now spill."
I glance at Van in question. I have no idea what the rules are or if I can tell her.
"Ty didn't say you couldn't say anything, and besides, she's going to find out soon enough," he replies.
"Why do I get the feeling that this isn't a good thing?" she asks.
"Because you have good instincts," I reply.
Her eyebrows raise, "Come on then, stop stalling, out with it."
"Have you heard of the Choosing?" I ask her.
Her eyebrows dip into a deep frown, "Of course I have. Everyone has heard of the Choosing. What does that have to do with," she trails off, her eyes widening, "Fuck."
I grin, "Yeah, a team at SID has triggered the Choosing and wants me on their team; they are absolute assholes and don't give a flying fuck that I am human."
Niamh seems to think about it for a moment, considering her reply carefully.
Eventually, her expression clears, and she grins at me, "Well, while I know that it's definitely not going to be easy, I do know that if any human," she winks, a knowing look in her eye.
Which means she knows shit as well, whether that's just a catch-up with Sully or she is under the same silencing spell as everyone else. I don't know, and I can't help but interrupt. "Is there any point in me asking?"
She shakes her head, "Probably not." Continuing, she says, "As I was saying, I know that if any human can make it through the Choosing without dying, it's going to be you, Neith girl. You're as tough as fucking nails, and you've got the heart to back it up too."
A sudden wave of emotion crashes over me at her words. Niamh is not the kind of person to give compliments like that very often at all, so when she does, they mean so much more.
"Thanks," I manage to get out.
She nods and then clears her throat, "Alright then, kids, you better head off. I imagine that you have a lot of things to sort out before you have to head the Choosing."
She stands up, and we all do the same, grabbing our bags before we follow her out of the room and back to her office.
"Don't forget to message Sully," Reed says from beside me.
"Oh shoot," I reply as I fish out my phone. "I can't believe that I almost forgot to do that. I've been using the portal for years, and I know that he needs to know when I'm on the other side and ready to go."
Reed wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me close, "You have had a lot on your mind. It's okay that you've let a couple of things slip."
I sigh, "I know, but I don't like it."
He chuckles and drops a kiss on the top of my head, "Come on, let's get home."
"Home," I repeat, a soft smile accompanying the words.
Walking through the door to the office, I see that the wall that usually turns into the portal still looks like a normal wall.
"That's strange. He's normally not late," Niamh says, worry in her eyes.
I smile, "Don't worry, it's my fault. I forgot to text him to tell him that I would need the portal soon."
She shakes her head, "It will probably take a few moments."
I stare at the wall, and I have to admit that I am fascinated to see what the portal forming looks like. I don't have to wait long, and soon enough, a small spec right in the middle of the wall starts to glow, and then it swirls, spinning into different colors until the entire wall is taken up by the mass of swirling magic.
River groans, "Don't make me go back through there."
"Can we fly back?" Reed asks, "I somehow forgot that in order to get home, we had to go through this portal again."
Evander seems to genuinely consider it for a moment, and Reed's expression fills with hope, only to look disappointed moments later when Evander shakes his head.
"Normally, I would say that we could, but we don't have the time to fly back now," Van says.
All of the guy's shoulders, apart from Raiden's, drop in disappointment, and I hide my smile.
Feeling bad that I'm finding this so amusing, I try to reassure them, "It really is better the second time that you go through it."
"So, we're not likely to feel like the world is spinning?" Doc asks, looking slightly white.
I wince, "Well, it won't be as bad as the first time, but you will still most likely feel a bit dizzy."
"Great," Ransom mutters sarcastically.
I chuckle, "Hey, just be glad you aren't going through it with blood loss, that's a fucker."
"What do you mean blood loss?" Reed asks very carefully.
I wave off his concern, "The portal doesn't just lead here, and one of the places that it leads to, I was in the middle of fighting a particularly feisty group of mercenaries that were determined to take my head," I lift my neck and show the scar that is hidden under my chin, eliciting quite a few growls, "fortunately for me, Sully's portal appeared at just the right moment, and I escaped through it. Ahren and Sully finished off the fuckers while Murray healed me up."
"I'm not even sure how to respond to that," Doc mutters, his eyes troubled.
I shrug, "It's all good, I'm fine. It was a while ago anyway."
"It has just occurred to me that there is a lot about you that we still don't know," Griff says.
"Right back at ya," I reply. "Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, you're all stuck with me forever now."
Or until the Choosing puts you on the other team . My inner voice decides to play devil's advocate, and I am not okay with it. I flip her the finger and tell her to fuck off. There is no room for that kind of negativity.
"Not unfortunately, Neith," River says, his eyes intently watching me.
It makes me wonder if he somehow knows where my thoughts just went, and that deep down, I am absolutely fucking terrified that the magic behind the Choosing won't choose their team for me, and I will end up with the Draconian Team.
"Alright, enough stalling," Naimh chuckles, "through the portal with you."
"See you on the other side, guys," I say and then stride through the portal, my bag on my back and Betty and Asael in my hands.
The sounds of the guys groaning follow me through the portal, and I'm chuckling when I step out of the other side.
Sully grins, "I'm going to assume from your smile that those boys are bitching about having to use the portal again?"
I nod, "Yep. It's pretty funny, actually."
Raiden steps through next, a relaxed and happy smile on his face.
"They're playing rock, paper, scissors to see who has to go through next," he says with an amused smile.
"Why doesn't going through the portal affect you the way it does the others?" I ask curiously.
Before he can answer, all of the others stumble through the portal in quick succession, looking just as bad as they did the first time that they went through it.
"Neith, you lied to me!" River cries dramatically, making me roll my eyes.
"I did not. In my experience, it's usually better," I reply, trying not to laugh.
"Come on, boys, you sit down and get your bearings for a moment," Sully says, although he looks pretty amused by the situation.
The guys don't even argue as they all take seats, and Reed crashes out on the floor, throwing his arm over his eyes and groaning.
Raiden chuckles, prompting all of the guys to flip him off even though the majority of them have their eyes closed.
"I guess I'll answer your question while they are all recovering," he grins and then continues, "I think I can go through the portal with no problems, most likely because I'm used to traveling to the otherworld to drop souls off. Some of the paths aren't that easy, and I have some turbulence that I have to fight through. So that portal is nothing."
"Hmm," Sully says, and I look at him curiously. His gaze is on Raiden, though, "How many of the levels can you access?"
"Nearly all of them. I think there are only ten out of the thousands that exist that I can't take a soul."
Sully's eyebrows rise, "Wow, that's impressive. I don't think I have heard of a reaper having the access to that many before. Usually, reapers drop the souls off at the nearest one to the soul's destination that the reaper has access to, which depends on the strength and tier of the reaper. After that, the spirit guides take them to their final resting place."
All of the guy's eyes are now open, and watching Sully closely, it's clear that none of this is new to them, but they all seem to know that this is sensitive information.
Raiden tenses, "I'm aware. It's something that I have kept to myself for obvious reasons."
Sully nods, "Absolutely, I wouldn't be letting the Reaper Council find that out. It would put you in charge, and none of them would like that, which would put you in danger in a very big way. They're all pretentious pricks. That's why none of them are in the poker game. They weren't like this in Trieneliea, but these reapers that now make up your council aren't the elders that made up the one in Trieneliea. For some reason, they didn't make it across before the gates closed, and no one knows why. It's been a point of confusion for a long time because it wasn't just one of them that didn't make it across but all of them."
"Wait, what?" Raiden asks, looking confused. "I never knew that. I always assumed that they were the ones that ruled in Trieneliea, everyone does."
Sully nods, his face grave, "That's because there was a lot of turmoil straight after we came through the gates, the new council was put together hastily in order to stop mass panic and then it was decided not to outright teach it to any of the new generations. They painted it as if it wasn't knowledge that the younger generations needed to know because they thought that we wouldn't be going back to Trieneliea."
I shake my head, "It is never a good idea to try and change history."
"No, it's not." Sully agrees.
Raiden's frown is dark, "So the stupid fucks currently in charge shouldn't be?"
"No," Sully replies. He watches him cautiously, "Including your father."