Shadow Slave

He looked around, studying the barrier and the crowded pier that could be seen through the mesh. Then, suddenly, Sunny heard a familiar voice:

"Move back, damn it! Don't push! If you have a spot in the queue, present an ID! If you are a member of the First Army, come that way! Get a hold of yourself and behave like people!"

He looked around and saw a tall, handsome man with indigo eyes and hair that seemed somewhere between black and blue standing in front of the barrier, struggling to hold back the panicked crowd.

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

Pushing closer to the man, he called out:

"Naeve? What the hell are you doing here?"

The man — it was indeed Master Naeve of the House of Night — blinked a couple of times, then looked in his direction with a confused expression.

"...Sunny? Gods, it's you! What are... ah, doesn't matter. I'm now in charge of boarding, I guess."

Sunny led his group to the barrier, stopping right in front of the Nightwalker. Naeve gestured for a nearby Awakened to assume his position and took a step to the side.

He gave Sunny a somber look.

"That ship over there is where I'm assigned to. We are going to leave once we're at capacity… actually, we are already over capacity. But a few more people can still be squeezed in, so..."

Sunny frowned.

"What about Bloodwave?"

The Nightwalker sighed.

"He led the other ship away a few hours ago, with Saint Tyris aboard. There will be more ships tomorrow, and more the day after that… if the Winter Beast does not arrive sooner. But Uncle won't be coming back. He'll guard the strait until the… until the relocation is over. And then, we will resume evacuating people over the ocean, to the Northern Quadrant."

Sunny nodded.

'Figures.'

"Listen…"

Naeve spoke first, interrupting him:

"Do you need to get on the ship?"

Sunny grew quiet, suddenly ashamed for no reason. Strangely, he felt thankful to the Nightwalker for not forcing him to say it aloud.

of awkward silence, Sunny shook his

me. I just need

to bring them back to the waking world, to a safer region. Granted, there were no Saints

the waking world was not an instantaneous process. It required some time and absolute concentration, so doing it in the middle of a battle was usually impossible. Any Ascended that remained in the city would have to travel to the Dream Realm before the Winter Beast arrived, or risk annihilation with the rest of

taking up a spot on a

.

long decided to stay and try to stall the

He looked at Naeve.

need one.

at Beth, Professor Obel, and the members of his cohort.

His face fell.

for a few

I have three spots reserved, as a member of the crew. I will give you those. Beyond that, however… I can get the rest of your cohort onboard, too. Members of the First Army have a priority right to be evacuated. But those additional spots, they will come at the expense of civilians with officially issued

paused, and then added

is going

echo his words, the mesh barrier suddenly slid into the ground with a metallic screech. The soldiers started checking the

for a moment. His

'So…'

His heart grew heavy.

is what it

to displace civilians who had

Sunny turned around, looking at them. Kim, Luster, Dorn, Samara, Belle… Beth,

was he supposed to

'Curse it all…'

of his soldiers, Belle,

at Sunny and slightly

a moment, Sunny

lowered his head, then looked at Professor Obel. The old man met his gaze, and the two of them remained motionless for several seconds,

at the mob of frightened refugees crowding behind the line of the barrier, all desperate to be

He sighed.

did I want to be an officer? Gods… no amount of the damned contribution points

his back and

Professor Obel. You

pushed her forward. They moved past

Professor Obel silently

gentle. The two stumbled past Naeve, ending up on the other side of the

barrier rose with a screech,

Dorn, and Belle

Luster, and Beth were