Travelling to Saint John was uneventful. Because of the Chosen, we couldn't take any transportation in the Old World, so we boarded a plane, and flew to Saint John, New Brunswick the old fashioned way. When we landed, we immediately headed to the harbour.

  I had been anxious the whole time, dreading what it was we were headed to find. There was such a deep fear in me, that I vibrated at the thought of re-opening the old wounds from Partridge Island. I also had fears about what had happened with The Guilt; it had entered me during the failed Bonding Ceremony. Did that mean that it was a part of me now? Could I call to it like the Chosen did their Artifacts? Or was this just an easier way for it to torment me?

  Saint John Harbour was covered in a thick fog when we arrived. The grey, overcast sky hid much of the sun's light and it was difficult to see more than five feet away from myself. Aside from Kas, who stood loyally close to my side, the others were just shapes in the fog. I could hear them though. Sky and Liliana were arguing about something. Vance had been talking with Landon about the currency difference between the Canadian dollar and the British Pound, and how everything was so much more expensive over here. Even as a proud Canadian, it was hard to argue with them; the cost of living here was too high and many people had been moving away, especially to Europe, in the last few years.

  I thought of maybe permanently settling in London after all this. Get a flat a little further outside the city, settle down somewhere cozy and live out the rest of my life. Provide we didn't all die here. I wondered what the others would do after this. I knew that to the Chosen of the Citadel, this was just another mission, a detour in their lives. Victor was also likely to go back to the Citadel, resuming his research with whatever new found knowledge he was hoping to find here.

  I looked at Kas, who's head was on a swivel, surveying the area as best she could. The Citadel, and some of the people there, had not been kind to her. The prejudice she faced tormented her, along with the abandonment of her family. I felt bad for her. She hadn't deserved any of her pain. When she had first appeared to me, she was this vicious, mysterious monster hunter. But now, well now she felt kind like home. She reminded me a lot of Nadia, who I thought about contacting once we got out of the Citadel.

  When the communication network on my phone reconnected, I found numerous texts and missed phone calls, mostly from her. I assumed she had probably kicked down my door again looking for me. I felt a bit guilty, having not reached out to her yet, but my world had changed greatly since last we spoke, and I didn't know if I could trust her. As I stared at Kas, I wondered if any of us would make it out alive, if something truly was hidden and waiting for us at Partridge Island.

  Our group swarmed the docks, looking for a vessel that wasn't securely locked in the harbour. We spread out, searching every fishing boat and yacht, but everything seemed to be locked down in the harbour. All except a small motored fishing boat with a little white flag on the end tied to a post on a smaller dock. It was white with a red cross, moon and star; the Santé Mawiómi, the Mi'kmaq flag.

  "I hope you weren't thinking about stealing my boat, John Callum." A deep voice said behind me. I spun on my heels, startled by the sudden voice that came from outside our group. I heard the clank of metal as Kas brought hee crossbow up, but I held my hand up to stay her shot.

  "Who's there?" I called to the form standing in the fog. He was a tall and wide man, built like a freight train. As he came closer, I could see his long black hair sitting in braids over his shoulders. He wore a blue and pink Hawaiian shirt and white cargo shorts.

  "George?" I asked. He gave me a large grin before clasping my arm and pulling me into a hug. I was startled, but eventually wrapped an arm around the back of the large man. George Augustine was the shaman who had saved me when I washed up on shore after Partridge Island; I thought I recognized the little boat.

  "Good to see you my friend. I did not think our paths would cross again." George said, clapping me on the shoulder with his big mitt of a hand.

  "You too. It would seem you've showed up right on time to save my ass again." I told him. He cocked his head when he looked at me, causing the beads in his hair to clack together.

  "How's that?" He asked. Kas lowered her weapon and I could hear the shuffling as the Chosen and Victor moved about with less caution.

  "I...we need to get back to Partridge Island. Can you take us?" I pleaded, looking between him and the fishing boat. George looked around at the shadows in the fog stepping up around me, counting them.

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  "Might be a little tight. You brought a lot of friends this time." He said thoughtfully, before shaking his head. "John, you know I'm not supposed to bring anyone over there. It is against the law. And I don't want to give the RCMP anymore reason to be hanging around."

  I sighed heavily. Technically he was right, Partridge Island was off limits to civilians. It had been a hertiage site quarantine zone, and nothing was actually at the small island except for a plaque and marker. But I knew what was underneath, and I had to get there.

  "I understand the burden of what I'm asking. In this fog, I'm sure no one will notice." I pleaded. George looked between my companions and then back to me. Vance came up beside me with a large roll of cash, and pressed it into George's big hand.

  "I appreciate your help." Vance said, shaking George's hand. George looked down at the roll of British Pound cash notes in his hand and shook his head.

  "It's gonna be tight." He said again, looking at the small benches at the back of his fishing vessel.

  We crammed into the small boat, tightly pushed together and seconds away from capsizing if anyone so much as sneezed. But true to his word, George took us slowly across the foggy water to Partridge Island. There was nowhere to dock, so we had to wade through the cold shallows to the shore. Standing in the dark water here reminded me of my experience during the Bonding Ceremony and I shivered more than cold water should make you. I still felt violated, having this thing inside of me. I remembered how it pushed its way into my flesh.

  "You okay John?" George asked, bringing me from my thoughts.

  "Yea, just bad memories of this place." I lied. George was already shaking his head before I finished speaking. He waited till the others were out of ear shot, before leaning forward, dragging his boat to shore by a rope.

  "Something inside of you has changed. I sense a darkness that is drowning you my friend. What has happened to you? Does the Netaga?sit still haunt you?" He asked. I looked him up and down before nodding slowly.

  "Do they know?" His voice was quiet, but his eyes were serious and stared into my soul.

  "Kas does. The silver haired woman. I don't think the others know or understand. To them, this is just another adventure." I sighed. George pulled the boat up to the sand and dropped the rope. He stopped me by gripping my shoulders, turning me to face him.

  "John, Netaga?sit is powerful. It clouds our judgement. It keeps us up at night and casts a large shadow over our life. You must find a way to let it go. Use this place as closure. Shut it out, once and for all. It will eat you alive otherwise." George's eyes looked into something deep inside me. I watched as he seemed to look passed me, the corners of his eyes wrinkled in worry.

  "Do you have the knife?" He asked.

  I drew it from a small sheath on my belt. He smiled, his entire demeanor changing. He gave me a nod and patted me on the back.

  "I will wait here for your return. Hopefully no one comes out here and sees me sitting on the shore, fishing." George pulled a large fishing rod and bucket from his boat and left me to stand in the sand and rocks.

  Ahead, I could see Kas waiting for me. She had respectfully kept her distance, while still showing me she was close. The others, the Chosen and Victor, had headed to the marker in the middle of the small island, looking for a way inside.

  "You okay?" Kas asked as I caught up to her. I chuckled.

  "Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I replied. Kas didn't share my mirth.

  "You're deflecting. I know this place scares you, and with what happened in The Vault..." I held up my hand to cut her off.

  "I'm fine. I'll be fine. Whatever is down there, we'll take care of it. Honestly, it's probably just an abandoned lab at this point. Victor will get all excited, Vance and his crew will get disappointed and we'll all go home." I told her, shrugging. She stared at me for a long moment that made me feel foolish, before she also shrugged and trudged on toward the marker.

  As we approached, I watched as an Artifact sparked into Ashlee's hand. It was a small golden eye with a blue lense-like glass in the middle.

  "The Eye of Horus should tell us where the hidden entrance is." She told me, as I approached. Ashlee looked to Vance for approval, and he gave her the thumbs up. The girl always seemed unsure of herself, afraid to speak up, and uncomfortable in her own body. But Vance had assured me that she was an asset. Not only was she incredibly tech-savvy, she was one of the few Chosen who could bond to multiple Artifacts, cycling through them as she needed.

  I watched as Ashlee held the Eye of Horus up to her left eye and closed her right. She stepped back, looking through the blue lense glass, scanning the surrounding area. There hadn't been much around, other than the marker and a few small trees and bushes, but she pointed directly under the marker and its plaque. It almost felt too obvious.

  "How do we open it?" I asked. The group went to work, touching the marker, the plaque and even turning over nearby stones. Liliana was the one who knelt next to the plaque with the memorial on it, running her finger over a spot that seemed cleaner than the rest.

  "I think this is a keycard scanner. It's been used recently." She told us, the usual snark gone from her voice, replaced with excitement.

  I felt my heart sink into my stomach. If this secret door opened with an Order keycard, it would all but confirm my suspicions; that I had been led down this road, made to believe I was crazy. They had taken everything from me.

  "Oh, here." I suddenly remembered I still had Vance's keycard, and I tossed it to him. At first he frowned, looking between me and the card, but then he smiled and bobbed his head.

  "Pretty sneaky." He said, clapping me on the back. Vance approached the plaque, and sure enough, it beeped and the statue marker began to slide back, revealing a metallic staircase leading into the ground.

  "Well fuck." I groaned.