Ruger stopped in his tracks. They were already walking down the corridor.
He looked at the young child in his arms, her eyes brimming with tears, and froze for a moment. Was everything here truly over? Something seemed to have been forgotten, drowned out by their sudden victory and the silent crises they had overcome one after another. The Elder Bearer who had argued with Barry Danton was dead, and even the one who had killed him was gone. Yet his words still echoed through this place. As Barry Danton had admitted, someone had brought all of this about.
And that person had yet to appear.
Or perhaps there was no longer any need for that person to appear. Their goal had been achieved. They had guided the group down through the vortex used to dispose of discarded Oddities, brought them to the square, and led them to carry the Golden Eyeball out of the Hexagonal Tower.
The goal had been achieved.
Ruger looked down at the young child in his arms.
Was that thing your brother, or should he count as your father? You were born from a piece of his lower leg, after all.
The child could not answer, of course. Not long after throwing herself into his arms, she fell asleep with tears still clinging to her eyes.
"Sorry."
Mona's usual smile was gone.
"White Scale frightened her with a story. Varin wasn't inside to keep her company, so White Scale only wanted to play with her when she woke up," Mona told Ruger. "But I didn't let her out. She came out on her own."
Ruger blinked. He thought he understood what she meant. This Little One had come out of an Oddity that belonged to someone else, all by herself?
Was it because of this