Epilogue

Belzinth dropped down from his roc, using magic to soften the fall. Dusty lay on the ground in the clearing, his feet took him as far as they were able.

A white glow surrounded Belzinth as he lifted Dusty off the ground. "Let's get you somewhere safe." He handed Dusty to another mage riding a roc then climbed on his own. "It seems we made it in time. Head back to Speluem at once. I have a lot of questions for him."

The rocs took off into the morning sun.

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Mary’s body fell backwards as she tore the dagger out of Sergeant Zivot’s throat. The faint outline of a person could be seen in the distance.

Exhaustion weighed heavy on her eyes, but she forced them open and turned herself around. The ground pushed away from her. The pain of overexertion was familiar to her, but something was different this time. It was the same, slight, dulled pain she felt earlier.

Radiation and lightning strikes can both cause nerve damage…

She remembered what the fox creature said. “All I did was remove some stuff that wasn’t working anyway…”

It was right. I did figure it out at some point.

Mary raised one foot and placed it on the ground then the other. She stood up, stumbling about until she caught her balance.

Vivian came up behind her. “Let’s get you home.” She scooped Mary up in her arms, surrounding her with a magenta hue she couldn’t see, her feet dangling just above the ground.

“I can walk on my own.” Even her voice was tired.

“Nope. I’m carrying you and you’re going to like it.” For the first since they met, Vivan looked concerned. “I know I hate it, but maybe you could rely on me a bit more. I don’t like seeing you get hurt.” She looked away.

“No. It is easier to do things alone and I can not risk any of you getting hurt.” Mary struggled to stay awake.

Vivian dropped her.

The sensation of falling gave Mary a brief jolt of energy. She felt the same dull pain as before in her back as she landed in the mud. Her arms wouldn’t move, neither would her legs. She stared upward.

Stars littered the sky and the constellations were unlike any on Earth.

Vivian stared at her, tapping her foot as she waited for Mary to concede.

Mary tried to move her arms and legs again, but they wouldn’t budge. “I will consider asking you for help more often.”

Vivian continued to stare at Mary. “What else?”

“Will you bring me to the orphanage?”

“Thank you.” Vivian picked Mary up like a princess and strutted to the orphanage.

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The same orphan who approached Vivian earlier walked up to Cassius. “There were a lot of explosions out there and now Miss Vivian is missing; do you think they will be okay, mister?”

“I’m certain they will be fine. Mere foot soldiers will be unable to strike Vivian down.” Cassius patted the child on the head.

“What about Mary?”

“Miss Mary wouldn't die that easily either; she’s really strong.” Fiivon replied.

“You promise?” The child looked concerned.

“I pinky promise."

The orphan gave Fiivon a confused look.

"It's an extra special promise that Mary taught me.” Fiivon held out his pinky and had the child to do the same, wrapping his pinky around hers.

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Lena’s classmates were organized outside the city walls, pairing up with Mary’s former coworkers.

Mary always kept on eye on them. She never volunteered to do anything like it. 

“Probably because you kept following her around.” A voice creaked from a fox-shaped keychain attached to one of her pockets.

"Well that's different because I'm her sister." Lena pouted.

Mrs. White's voice moved closer to them.

“Shhhh. We can’t let them hear us.” Lena put a finger over her mouth and looked at the keychain.

“Blaine Morrison. You will be assigned to travel with Stephen Ledyard.” Mrs. White announced.

“What are they doing again? I wasn’t paying attention.” The keychain whispered.

“They’re basically doing what I did alllll the time with Mary.” Lena moved her head in an exaggerated motion as she said the word ‘all.’ “Since Mary is…” She hesitated. “…missing, I need to keep a very careful eye on everyone and make very sure no one gets too hurt.”

One of the rangers looked towards Lena.

She ducked behind a bush.

“James Matheson. You will be paired up with Robert Burnham.”

Lena peaked out from behind her cover. The suspicious ranger was now distracted by James.

“Will you be able to do that?” The keychain asked.

“Of course I can.” Lena put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest. Everything I will ever need to know is in Mary’s notebooks. “I learned from the best after all.”

Once all of the students were paired up with a ranger, Mrs. White shambled back into the city.

The groups headed their separate ways, as soon as they finished briefing their wards.

Lena waited until everyone left. “Time to make Mary proud.”

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Dust filled the air. Fresh air forced its way through gaps in the debris.

Sergeant Morian coughed. Chunks of concrete pinned him to the ground. He reached for his staff. I’ll kill that woman if it's the last thing I do.