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Tonight I will have answers.
    Tonight I will find out the truth about the crazy things happening to me.

10

Jordan
    I hear a gurgling, crackling noise, like a long-distance radio picking up static, and far-off, indistinct voices.
    But I’m in la-la land, aren’t I?
    Anaesthetic is the deepest sleep you can imagine. I’ve been under before. Cut my arm open trying to climb through a broken window a couple of years ago. I don’t know how long I’ve been under – time is tricky to gauge in this kind of nothingness – but I’m almost certain I shouldn’t be hearing voices.
    The last I remember, Todd asked me to count backwards from a hundred and I got to ninety-nine, then nothing. But now my brain is aware of stuff. I’m thinking again, and as I become more conscious, the white noise emerges as hushed whisperings of two men with a lot to say.
    I get a sudden urge to open my eyes, to see the faces that belong to these strange voices, but my eyelids won’t budge. It’s annoying because the whispers sound like a conversation I’m not supposed to hear.
    How is the lad holding up?
This is a deep, older voice and I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with the doctors treating me.
After searching the Earth for sixteen years, can we reallybe this fortunate, my prince?
My what? Did he say, ‘prince’?
How sure are you that this young man is the one?
    Isaac, you saw the illumination in the sky
, the other voice answers. It’s also male, but younger, polished, every word perfectly enunciated.
Nothing shimmers as bright as the connection between a Guardian and their human charge at the time of the human’s death, or, as in this situation, his near-death. It’s what alerts the Guardian to act fast
.
    And so the race with the Death Watchers begins. At least they’re not here yet
, the older voice says.
    Yet? What’s that supposed to mean?
    It is a good sign for the lad
, it goes on.
    Phew! Well, that’s a relief!
    This is the break we need
, the younger one says.
We have almost found her. She’s here, Isaac, hidden somewhere in this valley, cleverly concealed by those mountains we flew over
.
    Flew?
Flew?
    How were we to know the Dark Prince would select a valley so close to a Crossing guarded by
our own
people? It seemed the most unlikely choice
.
    OK, I heard
that
. He said ‘Dark Prince’! Someone tell me what’s going on!
    Two more years and she would be lost to me, Isaac
.
    But she’s not lost, my prince. She’s finally within our reach
.
    And this boy is our key to finding her. Now that the bond has formed, she will feel drawn to the boy, and he to her. She will sense his needs, and her instincts will compel her to be near him
.
    They go quiet. Good. I get a chance to try to figure out what’s going on. Who or what do these voices belong to? They sound like … Nah! No way, man, that’s impossible.
    I’ve gotta be dreaming.
    Oh no!
the older voice suddenly gasps.
What’s happening, my prince? Can you see inside his body?
    The young one doesn’t answer right away, like he’s too upset or something.
I wasn’t expecting this
, he says.
I thought he reached the medical facility in time. Their connection didn’t reveal this, so it must have occurred afterwards
.
    Is it certain then?
    Is
what
certain? I wish they could hear me like I hear them!
    Unfortunately for the boy, his fate is sealed. If he is to survive, I will have to assist in his repair
.
    This is a travesty! What happened, Thane?
    I see it now. The surgeon nicked a vital artery in his spleen. They won’t find the source of this new bleed without the wisdom of a post-mortem examination
.
    Human error from those he trusts in his time of greatest need! Is there anything more distressing?
    Not in the mortals’ world, nor ours
.
    How does his spirit appear?
    Strong. Still fighting
.
    Remarkable. But I suppose it won’t be long then
.
    I’m afraid it will be very soon, Isaac
.
    How long before the Death Watchers arrive?
    The ‘Death Watchers’ are