"What do you mean 'we can't'?" Jeriah yelled, his eyes wide with disbelief. "We need to go to Ruxomar as soon as possible!"

Ianite shook her head insistently, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Mot deactivated the portal from his end, just to be safe. He's not supposed to open it again until he's 100% sure that it's safe there, and then he said he was going to come get you two and Alyssa."

"And you didn't think that there was ever the possibility that we could be in danger before then?" Jeriah cried, throwing his hands into the air.

"Did you tell anyone?" Mianite asked, shocked. "Did anyone else find out about this?"

"I knew about this," I said, just as Ianite was shaking her head. "I found the portal blocks when I was going through houses in the back of Aethoria."

"And you didn't tell me?" Mianite snarled.

I shook my head quickly, not liking that his anger was now directed at me. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know whether you were aware or not. This was godly business, and I stumbled upon it by accident. It wasn't my place to do anything about it."

That silenced the god. After a moment, Ianite turned to Redbeard. "Are you going to be mad too? Are you going to join them and say I made yet another huge mistake? Is this the final straw for me?"

The pirate shook his head slowly. "This isn't for me to be mad about. I was not involved in this. Jeriah and Spark have the right to be mad, since they were denied an opportunity to go home. Mianite has the right to be mad, because he was lied to by the one who should have trusted him. I have no place in this argument, and it isn't up to me to decide."

Ianite stared at him in shock for a minute. Once she'd recovered from her surprise, she turned to me and Jeriah. "Well, then I guess it's up to you two."

Jeriah stayed silent, so I figured it was up to me to make the decision on this one. "We have a war coming up, and a common enemy. We aren't going to break ourselves apart when we need to stay together as a team. We'll join together and take down the Shadows first. Then, we can talk."

"That's probably the best answer to this problem I can think of, for now," Jeriah said with a sigh.

Ianite bowed her head respectfully. "Yes, you're right, Spark."

Suddenly, we heard a faint whoosh behind us. Ianite let out a scream and jumped to her feet. Mianite scrambled to stand as well, and the rest of us dived out of the way. Jeriah grasped his bow, and I held tightly onto my sword.

"Stay... back!" Ianite cried, using all of her strength to push the ship back into the void. Sweat dripped down her face (I didn't even know goddesses could sweat) and she seemed to be struggling.

I could see the edges of the black fog trying to make it's way into Aethoria. Jeriah put an arrow on the bow and shot it at the fog, but it whizzed past the Shadows. Since he wasn't completely into the realm, nobody could deal damage to him, and he couldn't deal damage to us.

"Do you think they're going to be able to keep him out of Aethoria?" I whispered to Jeriah.

"I don't know," Jeriah replied quietly. "But we have to prepare for the worst." He stepped behind one of the houses, with only his arms exposed. He pointed the arrow at the ship, so he could release it the second the Shadows passed the barrier.

"Maybe they can..." I began to say, but was cut off by an ear-splitting crack. My mouth dropped open as I watched the ship explode into a million tiny pieces, flying everywhere. Belyssa leapt from the void onto the ground, desperate to avoid falling out of the world. The hybrid stood up and glared at the gods.

"Really, I'm appalled. This is petty, Mianite! I thought I trained my children better battle tactics than this!" As the Shadows finished taunting him, an arrow struck Belyssa in the eye. He stumbled backward, but recovered quickly. I ducked behind the house with Jeriah, terrified that this was going to be the end. Bella and Alyssa weren't going to split this time. They knew it wasn't going to work, or maybe thought it would be too dangerous. 

"Don't think you've won, Father!" Ianite hissed, shooting arrows at Belyssa with her own bow. "You're a coward. You ran away instead of fighting properly. You're the disgrace here, and I'm ashamed to be your child if this is the fighting tactic you wanted me to pick up!" 

The hybrid reached out and crushed her bow with one hand. "It's called giving myself a second chance," he snapped. "You're just as weak as you were when I left you, but I'm even stronger! No more getting distracted by your idiotic brother. This is between you and me, Mianite and Ianite. Nobody else."

It was a stupid thing to do. But logical thinking was a way of the past. I dashed out from behind the house and sprinted across the ground, swinging my sword wildly. I slashed my weapon through Belyssa's heart, which should have killed him instantly. However, it merely stumbled back and let out a cry of pain. Black blood oozed from the wound, a sight that would've made me gag if I hadn't been so focused on, well, the fact that I was about to be killed. 

"You're forgetting someone," I hissed, swinging my sword again and again in an attempt to damage the Shadows further. "Unlike you, the gods aren't alone."

"I am a mix of three powerful people!" Belyssa roared, the black fog swirling around it. "I am never alone!" Some of the fog detached from the body and spiraled toward me, and I somehow knew that it would immediately kill me upon impact. I fell to the ground, ducking out of the way. I heard the fog strike one of the houses behind me, followed by an explosion, but I couldn't focus on that now. 

"Nice try," I jeered in a weak attempt to have the upper hand. "But there are seven people on my side."

As if on cue, one of Jeriah's arrows struck Belyssa's shoulder, and Mianite landed a lightning bolt on his back. Redbeard, the priest, and Champwan, holding their swords out in front of them, advanced toward the hybrid. If any of us were going to die, we would die protecting the others. What a way to go. 

"I'll kill you... Spark... if...." Suddenly, Belyssa froze. The Shadows sounded like they were attempting to speak, but all that came out was a faint gurgling sound. Everyone extended their weapons toward the hybrid, waiting for it to move again. 

It didn't.

Belyssa began to split in half, much more slowly than last time. Ianite let out a small gasp, remembering the plan. This was the time for everything to fall into place.

"We won't go down..." Belyssa whispered, but it was in Bella's voice. "...without a fight!" Alyssa finished, her voice much louder and more confident. The hybrid burst into two, and the girls fell to the ground. The fog formed a person again, and rage was written all over his face.

"Ianite!" Redbeard yelled, panicked. The goddess nodded in understanding, and ran behind one of the houses. I didn't know how long it would take her to extract pieces of her soul, but I assumed that we would need to keep the Shadows occupied for a bit. 

"I won't go back on my word this time," the Shadows snarled, turning toward the two girls. Bella was hunched over, unable to move from pain. Alyssa, looking less hurt for whatever reason, was attempting to drag herself away.

"You've underestimated all of us," Bella said. She tried to sound intimidating, but her voice was incredibly weak. "Threats don't affect me and Alyssa anymore."

"Well then, this threat will be followed by an action." The Shadows' arm detached from the rest of his body, and it spiraled toward Bella. She didn't look scared. She didn't try to duck out of the way. She didn't cringe, or cower. She sat up even straighter, and glared fiercely at what was about to kill her.

In the last few seconds before it would arrive, all I could do was stand completely still and admire just how brave this girl really was. 

And then, just when I thought that the poor girl would die right then and there, someone moved forward. With one swift move, he flung his sword at the Shadows. It went right through his head, severely damaging him. 

Then, with only one second left, he flung himself in front of Bella. The girl was tossed to the side, and the black fog struck the center of Redbeard's forehead.

Even the Shadows looked shocked as the pirate fell to the ground, the light leaving his eyes.