Nelly walked solemnly toward the gem that was the only memory left behind by Nadia Perenboom. She held her hand over her heart, watching the gem glitter in the shifting light. Every once in a while she felt as if someone was watching her with warmth.
She hoped it was more than her imagination. She hoped that the wherever the spirit of Nadia had traversed, it wasn't angry at her failure to keep her alive. Hoped that in some form or other she understood the actions Nelly had taken afterward.
Now Nelly had blood on her hands, she had increased to number of gemstones in the tower several times now. People that didn't have to die, were now gone forever. In her imagination she saw a crimson gem take the place of Nadia's. Nelly's own gem that was marred by a cloud of blood—of lives she could neither save nor spare.