The shadow gave us a few minutes to compose ourselves. It never dawned on me that leaving the body behind would result in someone absconding with it.

“Can we visit her?” Kalli asked, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

The shadow shook its head. “Only those with the blessing of sight may come to the mountain and, then again, only once they’ve risen above the mortal plane.”

“Okay,” I replied, lacking anything better to say as I grabbed Kalli’s hand for comfort.

We walked over to the throne to see if we missed anything when we liberated the artifact. The shadow followed. Joe gave it the side eye. “Um, it’s following you.”

“Is there something else?” Kalli asked, looking hopeful. “Did she leave a message for us?”

Again, it shook its head. “I am bound to the artifact. Where you go, I go. That is how it has always been and how it always will be.”

“Wait, what?” I asked, looking at the creepy shadow. “You can’t just follow us around for the rest of our lives.”

It only seemed to have one body gesture as it shook its head again. “I will pass with the artifact when she is born.”

“No!” Kalli screamed. “You can’t. You’ll scare her.”

“She will grow accustomed to my presence.” the shadow replied. “I will be with her all her life. She will come to know me as her shadow. Or Tuatha if you must give me a name.”

“Shadows don’t usually follow you around…” I hedged when I realized that’s exactly what shadows did. “Er, I mean, they don’t walk around, and they certainly don’t talk.”

The shadow melted into the floor. It was dark still in the throne room, so I wasn’t sure if it dissipated or went into my or Kalli’s shadow. We felt it as a warm sensation in the darkness which was the only proof it was still with us.

Is this acceptable? The voice echoed in our ears in a similar way to group chat. I knew we were the only ones that could hear it.

“That works,” I replied, looking nervously at Kalli.

Does it work for you?

She sighed. I guess there isn’t much we can do about it. Too bad it doesn’t fight. I’d feel better if I knew it was a bodyguard for Sin.

The voice heard Kalli through mate chat. I am a protector of the relic. No harm will come to her in my presence.

Ulli was furious. We’d locked her in her room after Marcelle abandoned her. She flew at us when we entered the room, before skidding to a halt when she saw all the people with me.

Her eyes locked on Kalli, who was holding my hand at the moment. “Um, who’s this?”

“This is Kalli,” I announced, holding her hand up like a trophy. “The one I’ve been telling you about.”

She gaped at her. “What? How? I thought she was dead or something?”

Marcelle stepped in, placing a hand on Ulli’s shoulder. “Calm down, Ulli. A lot happened this morning. Everything is about to change.”

“Please don’t kick me out,” Ulli pleaded, pushing past Marcelle to throw herself at my feet. “I don’t care if I’m the other woman. I don’t care-“

She ran out of words and knelt, looking at the floor. I held out my other hand to her, which she took and let me help her up. She still refused to look at me.

“Relax, Ulli,” Kalli said softly. “Nobody is going to be kicked out.”

It took a while for her to calm down, especially when she found out that The Creator was gone. It was becoming more and more clear that we were going to need to make an announcement to all of the tower maidens about the future of the tower. Rumors were starting to go around as the upper-floor women returned to their alcoves to find the throne room in desolation.

“I think I can help with that,” Zofia announced through a speaker built into the wall. I looked around for cameras, wondering just how much surveillance Dad had in my room.

“What do you have in mind?” Kalli asked, pushing past my discomfort to communicate with Zofia.

“There are a couple of options,” Zofia explained. “But the best one will probably be to record something and broadcast it through tower vision. That will take over any screen in the tower and display your message.”

So, that’s what I did. We took to the throne room to make the broadcast. That way the women in the alcoves could be in direct attendance while at the same time serving as a symbol of my coming into power. It wasn’t that I wanted to rule, but we needed some semblance of order to prevent pandemonium in the power vacuum left behind by Merlin.

“Greetings, ladies of the tower. My name is Melvin and I am the son of Merlin, The Creator. Due to circumstances beyond his control, Merlin has been forced to leave Origin. Rest assured, this will not change your current lifestyle in any way except for the fact that you aren’t grooming yourselves to be potential wives for anyone. In fact, you are free to find love elsewhere if you wish. The same goes for any other goals you may have. Live your best life!”

The thought of Mom’s catchphrase brought a tear to my eye. I coughed and wiped my eyes while pretending to cover my mouth.

“My door is always open should you have any thoughts or concerns. My goal is to leave Origin a better place than I found it. While I won’t always be on the planet, my two assistants will do everything they can to support you in my absence. In case you don’t know them by name, they are Marcelle Barlow and Ullrisa Cypress. I trust them both implicitly.”

Marcelle stiffened when she heard her name. I wondered if she still blamed herself for betraying me. Part me of agreed. She could have at least told me. However, I needed to get off Origin, and they were the best choices to take charge, at least for me. Viola might make a more mature leader in the long run but I needed to talk to her and set up some kind of election.

That reminded me. I motioned to the camera for Zofia to cut the stream before turning back to the others. “We need to figure out what happened to Viola and go tell Mika. She’s probably out of her mind with worry.”

“She went to Hideout B,” Joe said from the back of the group. “Don’t you remember I was there?”

“Why didn’t she come with you?” I asked, remembering Joe showing up with Mom and Lavender when the fight broke out.

“She couldn’t add anything to the fight,” he replied. “Lavender wanted to keep her safe.”

“What about Mom?” I barked. “She didn’t add anything and she died because she was here. Who kept her safe?”

For Joe’s part, he at least looked guilty. “Look man, I couldn’t stop her even if I wanted to. Lavender said she was necessary to make sure the universe didn’t end, and your mom insisted on coming to make sure you were safe. What was I supposed to do? Make a cage and toss her in?”

I sighed. “I guess not. Can you take us to Hideout B?”

Joe nodded. “Sure, provided you take me back to Hideout A so I can get my bearings.”

I glanced at Kalli, who’d teleported straight there during the fight with Merlin. She nodded.

I’ve never teleported so many people before, though, she confided in me through mate chat. Can you help me?

Sure.

Everyone I intended to take was already in the throne room except Zofia. She assured us through the intercom. “You guys go ahead. There are some more things I want to look into here in the holo lab.”

“I’m going to stay as well,” Marcelle announced. “I’m sure some people are going to have questions, so I’m going to wait here and do what I can.”

“I appreciate it,” I said, turning to Ulli. “What about you? Would you like to come?”

Ulli folded her arms, a look on her face like she’d eaten something sour. “I’m still a little upset that you left me out last time. I’m coming.”

Getting to Hideout B was ridiculously easy. Instead of heading down the path with A marked on the wall, we continued down B. Viola opened the door as we arrived, welcoming us into a cozy little room that looked like it was designed just for one person.

“Did you succeed?” She asked, giving us a look of concern.

“Yes,” I replied, not knowing what else to say.

“I see,” she sighed. “I suppose that means Lavender is dead. We will mourn her.”

“And my Mom!” I grumbled, mad that people kept glossing over that fact.

Viola sighed. “And your mother, though Lavender told me she won’t be lost forever. There is still a way to see her again.”

“I know that,” I replied, wondering just what Viola thought her comment meant. “I’d still prefer her in the realm of the living.”

She held up her hands to placate me. “I understand. I’m sorry if I came across as insensitive. Bear in mind I still have no idea what happened. You’re going to have to fill me in, but first, would it be possible to take me to Mika? She must be worried out of her mind.”

It was a short walk back to Hideout A where the door was. Mika jumped to her feet and rushed at us the moment we opened it. When she saw her mother, she flew into her arms, crying loudly and ignoring everyone else in the room.

Viola patted her head softly and said, “There there. It’s all over now.”

We waited in awkward silence while Mika cried herself out. When she emerged from her mother’s shoulder, her face was red.

I quickly edited a tissue and handed it to her which she blew her nose into loudly.

“Thanks!” She said, handing it back.

DELETE!

I was so happy to have that skill again. Hopefully, it didn’t still have snot on it wherever it ended up.

Mika stared at her hand where the tissue had just vanished before shrugging. “So, what happens now? Is the universe safe?”

“It is,” Kalli said. “Now, we have some business to take care of back on my home planet. We were hoping Viola and you could help out with Origin while were gone.”

“What do you mean?” Mika asked, looking at her mom in confusion.

I smiled. “With The Creator gone, there is going to be a power vacuum. While I’m prepared to take responsibility for that, I’d rather the planet not fall into chaos during the transition. I’m going to need help informing the different cities, as well as coming up with a solution for the local government system. I’d like to revamp the ranking system at the very least.”

“That’s a tall order,” Viola said. “I moved underground to avoid politics like that. I do know some people though, so I’ll see what I can do.”

“If you’re going to change things, I’d like to be involved,” Mika said, stepping past her mom.

“You will be,” I assured her.

“What will you guys do?” Kalli asked, looking at Joe, Wendy, and Shara.

“I need to get home,” Shara announced. “And just so you know, I may be calling in the favor you now owe me sooner rather than later. The vampire war you started is going to happen sooner or later. Try to get stronger before that happens. I doubt the other vampiric families will be friendly like my mom or Merlin was.”

“You considered that friendly?” I asked. “You realized he just killed Lavender and destroyed my mother’s body, right?”

Shara laughed. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

“I think we are going to stick around with you two for a while,” Joe said, breaking up the pending argument between Shara and me. “The only thing we have to do back home is wedding planning.”

“Wedding plan…” Wendy started, her breath catching in her throat when she turned to find Joe on one knee holding a ring in his hand. “But, how? When. Did you ask my…?”

“Because I love you,” Joe replied. “Since the first time I met you, and yes, I asked your father. It wasn’t easy when he spends so much time up in the clouds, but I managed to get a minute with him while you were packing to come here.”

“I can’t believe this!” Wendy said, dancing with Kalli.

“Um,” Joe stammered, still on his knee. “Will you…?”

“Yes!” Wendy exclaimed. “A thousand times yes!”