Zoe and Alex spent all night walking through the In Between. Considering that the stars were always out and the lighting remained constant, it was difficult to tell when the days ended and the nights began. Alex was equipped with a sword secured to his back. On his waist was a sack. Strapped to Zoe’s back were her scythe and the sack she had stocked before setting out.
The two were on their way to a portal very distant from the Spade headquarters. After some time, the lack of sleep began to catch up with them. “Let’s stop to rest for a while,” Alex suggested.
Walking slightly ahead of him, Zoe turned her head to respond. “I’m tired too, but we can’t afford to lose any time. Every second is valuable.” She looked forward and continued to walk.
Alex was disappointed with this answer, but complied. “You’re really determined,” he said. “Roshan is lucky to have you as a friend.” Unsure of how to reply, Zoe said nothing.
“So that guy that brought you the fragment,” Alex went on, “what makes you think he’s not cut out to be a Spade?”
“It was a gut feeling,” Zoe responded. “He was so... oblivious. He didn’t even realize he had the ability to use Light magic.”
Alex was intrigued. “Then, how did you know?”
“He read my emotions,” she replied. “I’m guessing his center has been active from birth. I used a counter-spell to block him and he was completely baffled. Trust me, he’s better off just staying in Aria and having nothing to do with the Spades. I can’t see how he’d benefit our organization anyway.”
After a few moments had passed, Alex spoke again. “There’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you.” There was a pause.
Continuing to look straight forward, Zoe responded, “Well, ask me then.”
“Why did you join the Spades?” Alex inquired. “Why did you leave all of that behind?” She didn’t respond to his question, prompting him to quickly add, “Not that I disagree with your choice... It just must’ve been hard to walk away from. I’m wondering what would move you to do that.”
There was another brief silence before Zoe answered, “It’s complicated.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? Come on, can’t you be a little less vague?”
Immediately, Zoe halted and faced him. “I don’t owe you answers to anything.” She continued walking.
“Why do you do that?!” Alex snapped.
“Do what?!” she replied sharply.
“Push people out,” he answered. Again, Zoe was unresponsive. Alex continued, “You never talk about anything other than Spade related business. Roshan is the only one of us who really knows you.”
“So? Why does it matter to you?!” She barked.
Alex walked faster for a few steps to catch up with her. “Because I want to get to know you.” There was another pause. “You’re always so aggressive and guarded,” he went on. “Whenever I try to talk to you at HQ about anything other than the organization, you just give me short answers and go off somewhere by yourself. Why?”
Without warning, a small glowing ball darted in a fury between them and shot off into a nearby forest. “Another soul,” Zoe said. “They’d better get to the Netherworld before it’s too late.” Without addressing Alex’s inquiry, she resumed walking.
“I asked you a question,” Alex asserted. Receiving no answer yet again, he became frustrated. “Ugh, why are you so difficult?!”
Zoe quickly turned around and snapped, “Why are you so annoying and nosey?!”
Suddenly, not far away, they heard the sound of voices.
“I heard something too,” one of the voices said.
“It came from over there,” said another.
Franticly, Alex turned to Zoe. “Knowms!” he whispered. “What should we do?!”
Thinking quickly, she grabbed his arm. “Don’t move a muscle. Got it?” He nodded. Shutting her eyes and taking a few seconds to concentrate, she softly whispered, “Umbra physica evanesces.” Alex was amazed as he and Zoe suddenly vanished, becoming completely invisible.
After a short duration, four Knowms emerged from the forest. “I do not see anyone,” one said, “they must have run off.”
“They were Spades most likely,” another remarked. “Let’s search in that direction.”
Once they had walked off, Zoe allowed several minutes to pass before removing her hand from Alex’s arm, causing them to become visible. Cautiously and quietly, they continued walking.
After the two had traveled well out of the area, Alex spoke up. “That’s a pretty useful trick you pulled back there.”
“It took a lot of practice,” Zoe explained. “It’s an advanced spell. Unfortunately, it only works when standing still. Otherwise, getting Roshan out of Valdis Prison would be nearly effortless.”
“Speaking of which,” said Alex, “we’ve been walking for hours... it’s most likely going to be daytime when we make it to Aria. I know you don’t want to use up any unnecessary time, but I think we’ll have a better chance of succeeding if we wait until nightfall to make our attempt.”
Zoe thought for a moment. “That’s a good point. I never even thought about that.”
“The portal takes us near Belmont Village, right?” Alex inquired. She nodded. Digging into the sack on his waist, Alex pulled out the gold he had brought along and counted it. “We should rest at Belmont Inn. It’s going to be hard enough to pull this off as it is. We don’t want to be sleep deprived on top of that. I think I have enough gold to get us a room... We’ll just have to be sure to keep our heads down while we’re in town.”
“We should be fine,” Zoe responded. “They have no proof we’re Spades. And you’re right, we need to be at our best. There’s no sense in doing this if we can’t do it right.” Neither of them said anything for a considerable period as they continued their journey. Then, unexpectedly, Zoe spoke. “I’m sorry.”
Alex was surprised. She elaborated, “You’re not annoying and nosey. I’m glad that you came with me.” After a short delay, she added, “Roshan is the only person I’ve ever really connected with. He was there for me when I needed someone the most. I’m doing this because I know he’d do the same for me.”
After a little more traveling, the duo at last reached their destination. They walked toward the swirling kaleidoscopic vortex a short distance ahead of them. “Here it is,” said Zoe.
Alex wiped his brow, “Finally.”
Once they were within a few feet of the portal, Zoe turned to him. “It’ll take us a few hours to reach Valdis Prison from Belmont Village. We need to be sure we don’t spend too much time resting, got it?” Alex nodded. Zoe jumped into the vortex and disappeared.
Hastily digging through his sack, Alex pulled out a wilted flower. “Dammit, it died.” He threw it to the ground and followed her into the portal.