Standing there on the fourth floor, watching the sun finally disappear, the last rays shooting up into the sky illuminating thin trails of clouds into purple rocket trails, it finally came to me. It came as effortless as a breath. Looking down, I was hardly surprised to see my palms were glowing. Humming with power, I felt it vibrate from my toes to my chest. It was different than before. The energy felt purer, almost clean in comparison to the magic I had wielded in the past.
I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew I was capable of doing whatever was needed now.
Closing my eyes, I reached out with my senses into the forest. Like water lapping at a beach, it sought for any disturbance as it flowed out. I opened my eyes. They were almost here. All of them.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
When I first locked eyes on Emma, my body surged of its own volition, almost jettisoning me from my hiding spot high up in a tree. My hands wrapped around nearby limbs so tightly my knuckles went white. I forcibly stilled the straining, tense muscles in my body, choosing to watch, carefully taking in as much information as I could. The pinprick tips of the pine needles brushed against my back and arms as if soothing me.Soon, you’ll get your chance soon.
The seemingly endless deep chasm was less than a quarter mile from Smoky Badger Liquors where it had all begun with the soul eater. I’d reached the unnatural fissure before anyone else. Climbing up near the tree line, I got a vantage point of the chasm at its widest yawn of eight meters.
My breath caught over the lump that had formed in my throat. Emma wore a white dress, similar to the one the Order had put her in when I’d first taken her to the Temple of Lux, except this one had sleeves and was made of heavier material to fight off the bite of evening chill in the mountains. Her mother’s necklace hung around her neck as always.The white gemstone caught the light of a torch and winked at me with a twinkle.Her eyes were wide and I caught the glisten of her lips as she repeatedly licked them in what seemed nervous anticipation. Her hair was wet and slicked back, as if she’d just bathed. Of course, they would want to anoint her before sacrificing her, I thought with disgust. My muscles tensed again with all the rage of the feral beast I’d been twisted into by lies and manipulation. I didn’t want them touching her, blessing her with their deceit, before sending her to her death.
This is what she wanted,a voice inside me parried.You came to enact her will, whatever she may choose.
Licking the front of my teeth, I tried to rid myself of the sour taste that unexpectedly flooded my mouth.
Emma pushed her thick pink glasses up her nose. She must have retrieved them when she returned to the Temple. There was tape on one corner, holding the frames together.She was surrounded by an escort of ten Order members who were leading her toward the fissure. They held torches to light the surrounding land. The green moon added its own sickly cast making me as uneasy as when I first saw it. The ground was a blanket of browned pine needles with patches of grass that had resiliently pushed its way through in places. The layout was a stark contrast of dark robes, hoods covering the faces of each member, to Emma’s feminine frame in white, billowy material.
This is what she wants,I insisted once again to myself, but it felt wrong. Everything about this was wrong. I had to find a way to make her aware I was here. I needed her to know I was here for her, no matter what she chose to do, but it was too soon to reveal myself. It was unwise to charge in blindly. My body coiled further into the tree in preparation as her escort spread out in formation, giving her more space.
Emma’s head whipped around, looking between each Order member, now biting her wet lower lip. One hand picked at the nails on her other hand. It reminded me of when we talked after she’d pulled over the car on our journey to rest. It ended with her confessing her mounting attraction for me, and I foolishly spurned her advances, thinking I was saving her.
My brow furrowed. She looked scared and unsure. This wasn’t at all the confident woman I knew. Even when she’d made hard decisions, she found certainty in them. Like when she resolved to take the harder path by my side rather than return home. Like when she left me to do the right thing. Though I had come to realize I’d never once thought for myself, I had been in awe of her ability to know what was right. Even when she’d left me in that cave, I knew she was resigned to what she must do, though I hadn’t reached that conclusion with her. Now, she looked like cornered prey, seeking a way out.
You just want that to be true so you can run in there and save her,I assured myself.Don’t move. Don’t do whatever foolish thing you think you need to do.
That was when I saw Master Wu walk out into the clearing to stand just outside the circle of order members. His deep blue robe was encrusted in jewels for the occasion, I observed bitterly. Closing his eyes, he raised his hands as if in prayer and mumbled words just out of my hearing range. The Order members remained still as stone except for one who twisted slightly to glance at Master Wu. It was brief, but I caught sight of the order member’s round face under the hood. Travis.
I bristled in enmity, sizzling blood flooded my face causing my breath to come in short hot bursts. It was his fault. Travis was the one who had made Emma go away. The cowardly weasel insisted she needed to die to save the world, and for the first time, I wished it was him who would die tonight. I grasped more firmly at the ridged, layered bark but ceased when it audibly crunched under my grip.
I still didn’t see anyone holding any kind of sacrificial blade to take her life and Emma didn’t hold anything to take her own life with. I wondered if that came later.
Emma’s eyes searched the darkness outside the circle of light, as if looking for something. Her hands continued their agitated dance. I was desperate to be with her, to soothe her. Desire to know what she was thinking flooded me. If only I knew….
Of course. Iwasa thick imbecile. I closed my eyes and searched inward. My anxiety to find her -- the anxiety wasn’t just my own. I felt Emma around me, in me, intensifying my emotions with her trepidation. Emma’s eyes were probing the darkened forest, searching for someone. She was looking for me.
That was all I needed. Quickly and quietly I slunk down the tree, focusing on the bark scraping against my legs and palms, steadying my breath the whole way down to keep from bounding down and toward her. The moment my boots hit the ground, a blade met the vulnerable flesh of my neck before I could even straighten. I froze, waiting to see if the knife would continue its journey into my jugular. The muscular arm that wrapped around my neck stayed firm but still.
“So glad you could join us, brother,” Gatsby hissed into my ear from behind me.
#
Gatsby led me out into the clearing, my hands carefully raised in surrender. He had repositioned the blade behind me, keeping it expertly pressed between my third and fourth rib, ready to strike at my liver if I made any rash moves. Though I could not see his face, I could sense his smugness over getting the drop on me.
“Look who decided to bless us with his presence,” Gatsby called out to Master Wu. Emma whipped around. When she saw me, her face was a mixture of relief, surprise, and sadness, no one single emotion winning out. I couldn’t help but notice Travis’s hood rise to catch sight of me, but I didn’t spare him a glance. He had chosen his path.
Master Wu’s robes swept forward as he drew near. He appeared to glide rather than walk. Ferocity gripped his features in a twisted expression of pleasure. “If you’ve come to stop us, I’m afraid that won’t be possible. We anticipated your attendance.”
Gatsby nudged me with the knife again, causing me to lean away from the pressure so it wouldn’t puncture through.
“And what are you doing here, Master Wu?” I asked smoothly. I spoke to Master Wu but kept my eyes on Emma who seemed to be silently pleading with me. Even searching the lines of our connection, I knew she wasn’t even sure what to hope for. There was so much conflict in her, I couldn’t determine what it was she wanted me to do. Part of her wanted me to send me away, another part desperately wanted me to stay, and it all covered up a deeper conflict that raged inside her.
I finally turned to Wu. “I was under the impression the Propheros was here to make the sacrifice of her own free will.” I glanced at the circle of Luxis members. “And even if not, you sent enough of an escort to make sure she wouldn’t change her mind.”
“Indeed,” Master Wu smiled. His pointed teeth, gave him the appearance of a malignant hyena when he grinned. I had the thought in the past, but immediately squashed any irreverent thought I had toward one of my Masters. Now, I let the unflattering comparison soak my impression of someone I had once respected and obeyed without question. Malice flashed behind his dark eyes. “Though this may be dangerous ground to stand on when the time comes, I assured the others I needed to see this through to the end.”
So there was no chance of him leaving. The bigger part of me wondered if he weren’t here to see me to my end. My disobedience had beyond incensed him.
