Due to her having to hide who she is, Max and Lady Rosalee have not been able to speak much since she arrived at Winsbrook. While they are traveling in a group of soldiers, they still can not speak. Lady Rosalee can’t help but glance at Max while he rides near her.

  He has changed so much since I last saw him. Not only has he grown and his hair is longer, but everything about him seems different, almost harder. He actually reminds me of my father a little.

  No longer is he the boy who struggled to fight needleleafs with a broken club, and eyes that showed how afraid he was, even if he didn’t. Now he rides with bow in hand, eyes hard and alert, even when surrounded by a guard.

  He carries a spear on his shoulder, and from what I can see, he has several knives and axes on his belt. I wonder what has happened to change him so.

  Around noon, the group stops to give the horses a break and stretch their legs. Lady Rosalee plans on speaking to Max, but notices that once he takes care of his horse, he seems to vanish. This leaves a downcast look upon her face. Since he is nowhere to be found, she moves to Sir Darvill and chats with her and her squire.

  They don’t have much to say; it is mostly just small talk to fill the time. After a while, they are ready to move on, and to her surprise, Max seems to have reappeared and is tying two rabbits to his horse. Where did he get those?

  Having stopped for a rest, Max can’t help but feel restless. It is already weird to be away from the forge. God, I hate riding horses. If we cannot simply walk there, they should invent cars already.

  After taking care of his horse, he turns and sets off into the woods nearby. If we haven’t scared everything off near here, maybe I can find some rabbits. I don’t think I’ve been around this many people since I came here. I just need some time alone, I think.

  While looking around, he stumbles upon a berry bush and stops to pick the berries. Hey, I know these; they are those sweet ones that Stephen showed me. That is one thing this world is severely lacking: sweets.

  He places them on a piece of leather he had brought, and once it is full, he ties it up into a pouch after tossing a couple into his mouth. Tying them to his belt, he notices something moving. Picking his bow back up and notching an arrow, he approaches carefully.

  Luck is on my side. It isn’t long before he carries his gutted rabbits back to his horse and ties them to it. Looks like fresh meat for me tonight.

  When they resume the trip down the road, Max makes his way over to Lady Rosalee. He takes the pouch off his belt and opens it, tossing another berry into his mouth before holding it out to her. “I found some berries; they are sweet if you’d like some.”

  Lady Rosalee is caught off guard and jumps a little. She quickly composes herself and reaches out to take a berry.

  “How did you find them?” Trying to keep anyone from hearing her, she spoke quickly before tasting the berry.

  “A hunter in Briargate taught me how to live off the land and hunt. I needed a break from all these people and noise, so when we stopped, I went to see if I could find anything. I managed two rabbits after I stumbled upon the berries.” Shrugging, he eats another berry before holding it out to her again. “These are the sweetest kind I’ve seen; luck must have been on my side.”

  Smiling Lady Rosalee takes another berry. Max ties the remaining ones back up and puts them back on his belt. They ride without speaking for the rest of the afternoon.

  Given the amount of people, it takes a bit longer to find a place to rest for the night. Once they do, everyone sets about seeing to their horses and setting up camp.

  Lady Rosalee had no idea how to take everything off her horse. She struggles with it a little and gives up. I guess I will just have to wait for Joshua to do it. I can’t seem to figure this out. She pouts a little and pets the horse while she waits, and nearly jumps out of her skin when Max speaks.

  “You are starting in the wrong place.” He leads his horse over to where she has hers and starts to remove things. “It is a lot more complicated than it looks, I know, just watch me and do as I do.”

  Lady Rosalee glares at him, but following his example, she begins to be able to take things off her horse.

  “Ganis had to show me, I don’t even know how many times, before I finally got the hang of it. Eventually, something just clicks, and it becomes like second nature, and you can just do it fast.”

  “Ganis? Who is that?” Glancing over at him while unfastening something, she asks, as she doesn’t recognize the name.

  “He was Elijah’s squire. He might not have been the bravest person, but he took his duties as squire seriously. He taught me how to mount the horse, ride, take it all back down, and even set camp.” He doesn’t glance over at her because he is struggling with a buckle, but manages to get it loose.

  “Where is he now? I don’t recall seeing him in Winsbrook. Urgh, can you help me with this one?” Max smiles and moves over, undoing what is stuck, and with a somber voice, tells her what happened.

  “When we left Summit Oak, me and Elijah weren’t in the best condition. We should have rested longer, but felt we should get back on the road to Ashbury. After we crossed the bridge, we were set upon, and Ganis was fatally wounded. Shortly after, Elijah was left unconscious by his wounds. After a couple of pretty close calls, I managed to drag him to Summit Hill.” After helping her, he moves back to his horse and finishes unsaddling it.

  Lady Rosalee doesn’t know what to say, so she just stays quiet. It seems as though he really has been through a lot. I knew Elijah had a squire, but I never met him and never heard what happened to him either.

  That must have been hard, losing a friend and then thinking you might lose another while being alone out here. Once Max has finished with his horse, he helps her finish hers as well.

  “Do you know how to set that tent of yours?” Kicking the tent lying beside the saddle, Max asks.

  “Umm… no. I usually let Joshua set it up for me.” Embarrassed, Lady Rosalee scratches the side of her head.

  Laughing, Max bends over and starts undoing its ties. “It isn’t very hard, I’m sure Joshua probably tried showing you the three-hundred-step guide that Ganis tried to show me. It really is not that complicated, but these knights and squires seem to like to overcomplicate things.”

  Taking the parts of the tent, he walks Lady Rosalee through how to set it up properly. Working together, they manage to get it finished as Joshua approaches.

  “It seems you do not need my assistance today.” He pauses weirdly, clearly trying to keep from adding ‘Lady Rosalee’ to the end.

  “Oh, no, I don’t, it seems. Max has been helping me. We have just about finished. If you’d like, you can help us set up Max’s tent next.” She smiles at the squire and points towards Max.

  “That won’t be necessary.” Max waves his arms dismissively and turns back towards the packs from his horse.

  “Oh, it is no bother, Sir Darvill asked me to see if you needed any help after I checked on…” He trails off and looks to Lady Rosalee and gestures in her direction.

  “Yea, Max, you helped me let us help you.” Lady Rosalee stands with her hands on her hips, looking at him.

  “You misunderstand. It won’t be necessary because I don’t have a tent, hell, I don’t even have a proper bedroll.”

  “What? Why didn’t you say something? We could have gotten you one! Joshua, do you think we might have a spare somewhere?” She turns to Joshua, exasperated with Max’s nonchalant attitude.

  Joshua shakes his head helplessly. “I don’t believe we do. We are traveling light.”

  While making air quotes, Max repeats the word “‘Lightly’. I clearly think we have two completely different definitions of that word. Seriously, I am fine. I didn’t have one the entire time I traveled with Elijah, either. I’m used to sleeping in the woods at this point.”

  “But it is getting colder; if you sleep out here, you will catch a cold!” She pouts, looking at him sternly.

  “I have a blanket I will fold up and lie on. This jacket,” Max holds the jacket wide, showing the many weapons beneath it, “is lined with beaver fur and is very warm. I will be fine.”

  Shaking his head, he moves to start a fire. Joshua and Lady Rosalee talk nearby while they watch Max. Both of them seem to think he is being too careless in the way he plans to sleep.

  Once he gets a fire started, he brings the rabbits over and sets up a spit over the fire. He gets to skinning the rabbits before skewering them and putting them on the spit. By the time he finishes, he notices that Lady Rosalee is sitting nearby watching him.

  “What?”

  “It’s just… You are so different from before.”

  “What do you mean?” Max takes a seat beside her and watches the rabbits cook.

  “Well, you seem more… confident? I don’t know. That isn’t right, you were always confident, even when you rushed off after creatures you didn’t even know about. Now it's like…”

  “Experience. I think that is what you are talking about. Before, I would just try and figure things out as I went.”

  “Oh, there is a monster, let's use a rock to fight it. Oh, I have a torch now, and something is attacking? Let's just use that as a weapon.”

  “I never had a plan. I just reacted to what was in front of me. Now, I know more and know better. I knew I might end up like this again, so I prepared.”

  “What do you mean like this?” Tilting her head, she turns to face him.

  “You won’t believe me even if I told you.” Max wraps his arms around one of his knees while the other leg is out straight in front of him.

  “It doesn’t matter, just try and explain.” She reaches out and touches his shoulder.

  Max sighs and takes a deep breath. “I don’t come from this world. My world is… different. Very different. We don’t even really have wilds anymore, and people don’t even hunt for their own food.”

  “There are many cities far larger than anything you have probably even seen. Specific people work and grow the food for us, while everyone else works in other ways. Nothing is as simple as it is here.”

  “I was shopping with my mother when I heard your voice. I don’t know how it is possible, but when I turned and went looking for you, I ended up in the forest. I had never been that far away from an adult before, never had to take care of myself.”

  “A needleleaf attacked me, and I managed to fight it off with a rock. It was the scariest moment of my life, being alone in a strange place and a monster trying to eat me. I spent that first day running away from and fighting Needleleafs.”

  “I got better at it and was less afraid to fight the more they attacked me. I just tried to survive and make it home. I heard your voice again and went behind the waterfall. I don’t know how I knew there would be a passage, but I knew.”

  “Everything after that was dumb luck. I grabbed the torch because it was so dark, and since I had it, I was able to fight off the needleleafs. Sinclair's men were drunk and asleep, so I was able to easily steal a dagger and kill most of them. They just happened to have food and bandages, so I could fix my arm and bring supplies for us.”

  “Wait.” Rosalee squeezes his shoulder, cutting him off. “Sinclair?

  Looking over at her, Max nods. “William Sinclair— he was behind your kidnapping. When the arrow hit me, it was him. He was upset that I rescued you and Liz. He tried to kill me, but somehow, I ended up back in my world.”

  “It was strange, it was like no time had passed, and everyone acted like I had only been gone a few minutes. My wounds were healed, and even my shirt had somehow been repaired and returned. I returned to my normal life and tried to look into what happened.”

  “My world doesn’t have magic, so that didn’t get me very far. Instead, I looked into how to survive in the woods and how to fight. I did everything I could to prepare in case I ended up back here again.”

  “Then on the first day at my new school, a umm… place we go for learning, I turned around after a lesson and was just back in the woods where Sinclair had almost killed me. Briargate wasn’t far, so I went there.”

  “I found work, food, and a roof over my head at a smithy. Once I had enough coin, I started buying what I would need to survive out here on my own so that I could go and look for you and Liz.”

  “I rescued an elderly hunter, and to repay me, he taught me what he knew. He grew distant after I didn’t listen to him and fought off some bandits to save a family. I accidentally found out I could send a message to you, so I did.”

  Max shakes his head, trying to shake the memories away. “You sent Elijah to come get me, and we made our way to Summit Oak. I didn’t want to be a burden and also felt it best to know how, so I did my best to learn how to take care of the horse and set camp.”

  “When we arrived at Summit Oaks, they were being attacked by goblins, and a mage blew up the gate to the town. I told you how they mutated the goblins. Once I figured out what to do, I convinced Elijah to help me save the townspeople. After that, he explained Eschaton to me.” Max whispers the group's name to keep anyone from overhearing.

  “Hearing they are trying to destroy your world, I convinced Elijah to stop them. In their camp, the mage almost killed Elijah and Ganis, but they managed to survive. A man appeared behind me and held some kid a little older than Ganis or Joshua hostage.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “He said he knew what I was and that they had expected me to come, just, they didn’t know when. He called me a weird name, carved a symbol into the boy's head, and then cast a spell. I thought I was going to die. Since the spell came from using the boy as a weapon, I was forced to kill him to survive.”

  “Doing that seemed to have affected the man and the huge crystal behind him, as it turned to dust. When I killed the man, he also turned to dust. I already told you what happened next about the bandits and dragging Elijah to Winsbrook. There, I sent word to you about what happened and looked for a way to survive until I got a reply.”

  “They needed a blacksmith, so that's what I did. Luckily, while I was there, the gnolls only attacked once, the day before you arrived. Using my bow, I helped them drive the gnolls back.” Max rests his head against his knee now that his tale is over.

  “What was the word he called you?” Lady Rosalee softly asks, seeing Max as fragile for the first time.

  “I had never heard it before. I think it was something like Echenthroes? No, that wasn’t it, it was more like Etch-Throws or something like that.” Max shrugs, trying to remember how the man said it.

  “I don’t recognize it either. So, you are saying you come from another world?” She tries to picture what that would be like.

  It is hard to believe. Magic can do some grand things, but I have never heard or read about it being able to move between worlds. Maybe he means planes? “You said this world doesn’t have magic, correct?”

  Seeing Rosalee sit up straighter and get excited, Max sits up and looks at her. “Yes? Why does that matter?”

  “Well, you see, there are spells that can send someone to and from other planes or places that exist outside of this world. We have people who have traveled to some of them and can even use magic to summon creatures out of them.”

  “Mostly it's the different hells, but there are stories about the higher planes where angels dwell. If there are higher and lower planes, maybe your plane is a, I don’t know, middle plane? Like the one we are in now.”

  “People from here might even have traveled there, but since there is no magic there, that is why they never returned and why we don’t know about it.” As the words come out of her mouth, she believes it more.

  “That’s great and all, but I don’t really see how that helps.” Max raises an eyebrow and wonders why this made her so excited. Worlds, planes, what's the difference?

  Calming down, she clears her throat. “Well, maybe it isn’t so helpful right now, but it might be a piece of a bigger puzzle. They recognized you, right? Maybe they know about your world.”

  “Maybe that is how this is all connected. They kidnap people, like the boy you mentioned, and seemed to think he was connected to the word they called you. Did the spell do anything to you?”

  “It was the worst pain I had ever felt. It just kept going on and on; I didn’t think I would be able to survive it. It took everything out of me to throw my tomahawk at the kid. I even felt very weak days later.” Scratching his chin, Max thinks about it.

  Maybe there is a connection there. If Sinclair had kidnapped the two of them for Eschaton, then that would be a connection that tied it all together. Somehow, I was drawn to her. One of the people they need. Taking them to use as a weapon against this Echenthroes.

  “The man who cast the spell, how did he react to you surviving?” Clenching her fists, she hopes her guess is right.

  “Umm... he said… ‘How? How could you?’” Thinking hard, he is pretty sure that is all the man said before he killed him. Lady Rosalee looks taken aback. “Why? What do you think it means?”

  “Well…” She hesitates. How could you? That doesn’t make sense, not with what I was thinking anyway. What could that mean? Wait… no… “He said, ‘How? How could you?’ not something like ‘ho-how could you?’” She tries to clarify what he heard.

  Max takes a moment to think it over and really remember. “No, it was definitely a pause. ‘How?’ Like he was in disbelief, then followed it up with ‘How could you?’ almost like a separate question.”

  She sighs and nods. Okay, it was two questions; the first bit still fits. “Okay, this is just a guess, but they are afraid of someone, someone who that word describes— Echenthroes, Etch-throws. They are taking people who have some sort of connection with this person.”

  “I don’t know how or why they would be connected, but it could be like how you said you heard my voice from another world. They are going to use them for whatever, but can use them in that spell to deal with this person they are afraid of.”

  “Only when they used the spell on you it didn’t work. When you killed that boy… wait, that’s it!”She jumps to her feet excitedly, then looks around and notices people looking at her before quickly sitting back down, clearing her throat before continuing.

  “This person can't or shouldn’t kill the people they are taking! That is why he was confused! You managed to survive the spell and counter it because you weren’t the right person. What he meant was ‘how did you survive’ like ‘why didn’t it work’ and then ‘how could you kill him’ because it shouldn’t be possible.”

  “But how does that explain me?” Now, even Max is getting excited because the pieces do seem to fit together. The only question left is how he fits into the whole thing.

  Lady Rosalee deflates a little, thinking it over. “You come from another world. That is why you were mistaken for this person. As for how you felt me or came here, that I don’t know. Yet. We will figure it out.”

  Something comes to Max. “He said he could feel ‘the energy’ inside of me, and the crystal could as well. Like, I think it was something like ‘I can feel the energy inside of you. The crystal feels it.’ and then after the spell failed, I got this” Max opens his jacket and vest, showing the Ω brand on his chest.

  Lady Rosalee reaches out and gently touches the scar. “That is old, like very old. This is Hellenistic, I believe. Oh, umm... You probably don’t know, but it comes from an ancient kingdom that once existed far beyond where the Dread Wastes now claim.”

  “They were a great civilization, more advanced at the time than most of the other kingdoms back then. They also claimed to be Imítheos or descended from the gods.”

  “See, unlike many of the other religions, they actually believed that their gods could descend and walk among them. That they would even have relations with some of the people and that these children, these Imítheos, had some of the gods' power or essence.”

  Max is confused for a moment and tilts his head. “That is weird, it sounds almost like an ancient people from my world as well.”

  Lady Rosalee freezes. “What?”

  “You see, there were these people, the ancient Greeks. They believed that their gods could walk among them. That they were like people, some of them even being petty and cruel. They would give offerings to the different gods that represented different things.”

  “The main god, Zeus, who wielded a lightning bolt, was said to regularly come down and sleep with the ‘mortals’. We even have myths about what these demigods would do and how they were so much more powerful than the average person.”

  “One of them was invincible, and another had the strength of ten men.” Max’s family had an interest in the Greek gods from TV shows and books that they had read, so he knew a little about them.

  “Zeus Olympios! King of the gods!” Lady Rosalee shouts louder than she should before covering her mouth.

  “Olympus was the name of where the gods lived!” Max is just as excited and tries to keep his voice down. “That cannot be a coincidence, can it? How can both our worlds share a god and myths?”

  “I—I don’t know… it is extremely strange.” Lady Rosalee’s mind spins as millions of ideas and possibilities swirl around it.

  “Wait… Hydra, a serpent creature with multiple heads—or—or a harpy, a half-bird half-person? Or even a minotaur, part man, part bull… Do they exist here?” Max starts to list creatures as a crazy thought goes through his mind.

  “Harpies are a huge issue in the northern Mastiff, along with the Minotaurs who live there! As for the Hydra, they are rare, and when you remove one of their heads, it grows back… wait, isn’t that kind of like the goblins you faced?” She freezes again as all the thoughts about the ancient kingdom collide with Eschaton.

  “Holy crap, you're right! I never even thought of that. Bloody hell! You even use fire to destroy creatures twisted by corruption!” Max covers his mouth, astonished.

  “One of the main ways my world discredits the Greek myths is because there is absolutely no proof monsters ever existed in our world. If somehow ancient Greece was connected to this world, it would all make sense.”

  “People would have been able to see the monsters and even fight them. They would all believe in the same gods and stories about the gods because they were one people.”

  “Now the question is, did they come from my world or yours? Or could they somehow travel between our worlds?”

  “The planes… we don’t know too much about them, but some mages, especially the fanatic ones that usually end up going really, really, evil, always talk about doing their gods' work. If the gods actually exist and your world is just another plane, they could have actually walked on both our planes.”

  “Demons do it, angels supposedly can too. Both ancient kingdoms might not have had contact with each other, only the same gods.” Lady Rosalee held her head in her hands, and her eyes darted back and forth; it was as if a large fundamental secret of her world might have been revealed.

  “The gods might have been how they traveled between worlds. In the myths, there were places that were said to lead to the Greek afterlife. There is no reason they couldn’t have made a place for people to cross to and from here.”

  It is said that a lot of the monsters came from the Greek gods. Eschaton,” Max whispers the word again, “might be trying to somehow make their own creatures, and with the hydra's healing abilities, using their strange magic.”

  “That would give a connection to my world! The energy they felt could just be something everyone has from my world, that they think it’s this Etch-throws’ solely because they are from my world.”

  She leans close and whispers the name as well. “But Eschaton isn’t trying to make creatures, sure, they use their magic to twist themselves and now those goblins, but they are primarily trying to spread the Dread Wastes corruption. Maybe… oh my god…” she trails off when a terrible idea crosses her mind.

  “What? What is it?” Max leans in, enthralled by their conversation.

  “What… what if… the person behind the corruption… is a god?” A horrified look is on her face as the words finally leave her mouth.

  “What!?” Max jerks back, shouting before covering his mouth and leaning in again.

  “If it were the gods who made the creatures, then the god who made the hydra. His power could have twisted a serpent into this unkillable monster. Now an energy is spreading, twisting everything, and the followers of this… well, religion, that the world will end and be reborn anew, changed by the energy, are using his energy to twist themselves and other creatures the same way he made the hydra.”

  “They aren’t many or strong enough as they are, but if they could perfectly copy the hydra's abilities, then they would have nothing to fear as they spread the corruption.”

  Max picks up where she left off. “And they are afraid of someone from my world who can threaten their plan. So, they are gathering people who act as a kind of weakness to fight against this person.”

  “Then I hear you and show up and start messing with their plans. They feel a similar energy and think I am this person that they fear and try to use this special spell to defeat me. Only it doesn’t work because while I am from the other world, I am not the person the spell is designed to be used against.”

  They both sit in silence and let that sink in. Max looks over at the rabbits and gets up. He removes the skewer and brings it over to where they are sitting. Lady Rosalee grabs two nearby bags and uses them to keep the skewer high enough that the rabbits don’t touch the ground. “It is too much for just me; feel free to have as much as you want.” With that, he sits back down, and they eat in silence. Both lost in thought.

  As Lady Rosalee eats the rabbit, she tries to think of what to do with this information. If we are right, then this is far bigger than anyone has ever suspected. The fact that we have slowed and even stopped the Dread Wastes from expanding, in certain areas, is pointless if there is a god behind this.

  Even if we stop Eschaton, then this god might just send down something worse, or hells even worse come down itself. I doubt my father will believe any of this. I mean, all of it rests on the fact that Max comes from another world, which is hard enough to believe on its own.

  Once that piece disappears, everything gets messy and starts to fall apart. The only other thing holding this entire theory together is whether the gods are real. No one will believe that, either, so the entire thing sounds like a child's fantasy.

  Max chews the rabbit more than he probably should, but isn’t really paying attention to it and is instead focusing on his thoughts. Gods are real. Holy shit. If they actually are, and one is behind all of this mess, what the hell are we going to do?

  Even my world won’t be safe in the end. Hell, they were already going between worlds in the ancient times. This is way above our pay grade, but who in their right minds will believe us?

  There has to be some proof, some way to actually show that the worlds were once one or that the gods walked on both worlds. Archaeologists have looked all over our ancient kingdoms, trying to find any clues or secrets. So, I highly doubt it will be found in my world.

  That means we have to find it here. We have to go to the Dread Wastes; we have to find the ancient kingdom of this world. How can we do that? How many days would we have to travel across this kingdom to even reach the Dread Wastes, and then, if everything is corrupt, how can we survive once we enter?

  When Max finally gives up on trying to solve this world's problems in one night, he glances around the camp and notices just how late it is getting. Several of the soldiers have already laid their heads down and are trying to sleep.

  Looking at Lady Rosalee, whose brow is furrowed, he can't help but laugh. The sound brings her out of her thoughts, and she looks at him.

  "What is so funny?"

  "You just looked like you had the weight of the world on your shoulders. I figure I probably had the same a little while ago. It is getting late, we should turn in. Here."

  Max holds out the pouch containing the berries. "In my world, it is customary to eat something sweet after your final meal of the day. You can have these."

  Lady Rosalee takes the pouch and stares at it for a moment. "Oh, wait, that's right. I have something for you."

  She gets to her feet and digs through one of the bags that has been placed beside her tent. Eventually, she finds whatever it is she was looking for and returns with a thin box. She hands it to Max, who had followed her over. Max opens the box, and inside is a double necklace.

  "They might not look like it, but they are one necklace. The top, smaller one has the crest of the Braye family upon it, and the small crystal is made of blood. It is a symbol that shows that the Braye family owes you a blood debt. To us or any of our allies, it can be exchanged for just about any favor.”

  “Since we did not know what, if anything, you might desire, my father and I settled on this. The second longer necklace is my own personal thank you. The sword charm on it is actually an enchanted sword. Once you place a drop of blood on it, the sword will bind to you and answer your call.”

  “The sword is made of a silver alloy that repels the corruption, so it will always come in handy. I figured since when you first saved me, you didn't have a weapon, this way you would always have one on you, no matter where you go."

  Max stares at the necklace for a long time. "I have no words. Thank you so much, Rosalee."

  Without warning, he hugs her. Lady Rosalee's face turns cherry red, and she doesn't know what to say. Max releases her and puts the necklace on, not noticing her reaction to his hug.

  “So how exactly does this work?” He asks while looking down at the necklace.

  “Uhm… like I said… ahem… before, just add a drop of your blood and it should bind to you.” Lady Rosalee holds her hand in front of her face to try to hide.

  Max nods and draws the dagger from the front of his belt, and nicks his left forearm. He brings the arm up and touches the small sword to it. The sword seems to respond to his blood and glows light lime green for a brief moment. “It seems weird that it needs my blood to work.”

  “That is because it was forged with your blood, so that way you can always summon it wherever you are, but I’ve never seen it glow that color before.” Lady Rosalee moves close and takes the sword into her hand while Max is still wearing it.

  “What do you mean?” They almost bump heads as he tries to look at the sword.

  “Well, usually it glows a light white color. I have never seen it glow a specific color before. I mean, these aren’t common where you see this every day, but they also aren’t rare enough for me to not have seen a few.” She drops the pendant and backs up. “Try and summon it.”

  “And how exactly do I do that?” Max tilts his head, having already asked this and been ignored.

  Lady Rosalee extends her arm out, and a light appears, forming the sword she was keeping on her waist. “Just like that, you focus on the weapon and use your desire to pull it into existence.”

  Max closes his eyes and tries to focus on the small pendant, seeing it appear in his hand. It takes a couple of attempts before a lime-green light bursts forth and the sword forms in his hand.

  It is a simple design with a lime-green gem in the circular pommel and a straight cross guard. The handle is about a hand and a half, so he can use it either one-handed or two-handed.

  The center of the blade appears to be a different color and maybe even a different metal from the rest of the blade. As it narrows toward the point, eventually the center color changes to the same as the rest of the blade.

  "Wow, that is amazing. I assume I just put it back the same way?" Before Lady Rosalee can reply, the lime-green light flashes, and it is a pendant hanging from his necklace once more.

  "Wait, resummon it." Lady Rosalee has a slightly concerned look on her face. Max resummons the sword after a couple of seconds of trying and holds it out to her.

  She glances over the rest of the blade and focuses on the pommel. "It shouldn't be this color, it was clear, I'm sure it was."

  Max looks at the pommel as well. "Just like the glow, when I bonded to it, and when it was summoned. You kind of glossed over it, having my blood in the forging process, but how did you get my blood? Me dripping some on it right now cannot count."

  "I used the blood that was on the bandage you left behind. I was sure one day I would find you and be able to give the sword to you. The drop of blood just reacts to and awakens the dormant binding.”

  “I think I should take it back, though; it really shouldn’t be glowing this color or have changed the gem’s color." Concern is written all over her face as she stares at the gem.

  "It is fine, so what if the color is off? It comes to my call and is what you intended. Maybe the color simply changed because I am from another world. The bad guys did mention I had strange energy." Max shrugs, thinking nothing of the color change.

  It was a magic sword after all, and he couldn't begin to grasp how it worked. He didn't know how strict the laws of magic were and how every variable had to be accounted for to make magic work the proper way.

  "Well, as long as you like it… If it gives you any trouble, let me know right away, okay?" She looks up and into his eyes, knowing he would never do such a thing. He grabs her shoulder and gives it a squeeze while smiling, which causes her to light up red again.

  "Thank you again, Rosalee. I really like it. We should head off to bed, though, we have a lot of ground to cover."