Odeyssa’s pleading eyes meet mine, and I lazily toss a ball of flames at the lunging creature, hitting it in the side. Its attention pulls to me. Fantastic. Its tongue slashes out, giving me a glimpse of all three rows of sharp teeth. With a tilt of my head, shadows lash out from my body, and I guide their way until they’re wrapped around its arms. The sound it makes is…pitiful. Silently, I command the fire to move from the first victim and toward the next, but before it reaches it, the thing bites at the restraints, severing the connection.
How rude.
Swiftly, it evades the flames, and I let them die out. “It won’tburn unless I want it to.” Something else rustles to the right of me. Seriously,more?
“Kallie. Your eyes… They’re–”
“If you’re not gonna help, the least you can do is shut up.” Her mouth slams closed, and I can finally think. All at once, more pop out from thin air, surrounding us, salivating like we’re the only food they’ve seen in quite some time.
Exhilarating.
Odeyssa stays on the ground, eyes wide as the creatures prowl by, teeth snapping, tongues slashing, antagonizing us before they take our lives. But just like the nightmares, I survived, and I know how to kill them.
The wind starts as a soft breeze, barely rustling my hair. Then it picks up, getting faster and faster. The dust flies around, taking any spare leaves with it. But this is only the beginning.
Thunder sounds above, but the creatures don’t pay it any mind. No, their soulless gazes stay transfixed on me, completely forgetting the other girl that’s there for the taking.
Lightning strikes next to one of the beasts, but it leaves it unfazed. Odeyssa, on the other hand, gasps—probably shouldn’t have picked the spot closest to her. I play with the fire the bolt created on the dry ground, coaxing it higher, fueling the flames until they surround us. Shadows envelop me, overtaking my vision until all I see is a tunnel of light leading me to the next target.
“What are these things?” I ask.
Her answer is hardly a whisper, “Demicrogens.”
“You didn’t care to share this informationbeforewe came?” I bite.
“Not that it would’ve kept us from coming, but I didn’t think I needed to. They’re supposed to be locked away in Mortis Regnum.” A Demicrogen to my left pulls my attention, the twig it stepped on sounding through the howling wind. I sendthe flames to it first, watching it burn from the bottom up. When it tries to step away from the growing heat, my shadows take purchase around its hind legs, keeping it hostage while it continues to burn.
The Demicrogen releases some type of battle cry, alerting the others. But it’s no use. My inky limbs lash out, tying them in place while they watch their friend perish in my hell fire. Lightning strikes again, electrocuting two of them while another burns to ash. My focus stays trained on the three remaining Demicrogens, so I miss it. There was one I didn’t track—didn’t catch—and it seizes its opportunity. Talons sink into my back, and searing pain blossoms over my shoulder blade.
“No!” Odeyssa cries.
“I’m fine.” Saliva follows my words through clenched teeth. Holy Gods itburns, the agony growing at a rapid rate. The hold I had on the others disintegrates, letting them free. They don’t hesitate, flinging onto all fours and running toward me. The one at my back slashes through my Achilles, and I fall to my knees. It’s like my insides are being set ablaze, replacing my blood with hot embers before suddenly freezing to ice. The contrast is unbearable, making it harder to breathe. My lungs constrict, only filling slightly as I fight for my next breath. My fingers dig into the ground, and it gives way, allowing me to curl them in as I gasp. Dots dance in my vision as the oxygen becomes fleeting, and it only continues as one of the beasts bites my exposed arm.
There’s not even enough air to scream; it just comes out as a huff. Then another sinks into my calf, another on my shoulder, and my pulse fractures. The beats become slower, and I feel as though I’m running out of time. The walls I’ve built in my mind melt with the spreading fever, and I hear the faintest sound of Voraxis’s voice.
Fight it. You’re stronger than this.
Another voice sneaks through.“Princess, I need you to fight.Get up. This isnotyour end. Do you hear me? Stand. Up. Show them who you are,whatyou are.”
My eyelids threaten to close, all the anger and resentment building with the sound of his voice, but it also brings back memories.
It’s him.
ThehimI thought I knew before he showed his true colors. And as the last remaining syllable echoes in my head, it’s as though he has breathed life back into me. Pulling my limbs into my body, it’s like slow motion and feels as if I’m tearing every ligament and tendon as I do. Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to burn out what’s eating me alive.
But how do you burn something already engulfing you in flames?
I curl into a ball as the Demicrogens slash at my back, my feet, as I travel deep within myself for whatever it is I’m supposed to find. It’s like a little bead, glowing with ethereal light, bouncing around in the confines of the darkness. I coax it toward me, but a face appears, and it’s like looking into a mirror. A twisted, demonic mirror. The reflection of the girl looks like me—or a version of me—but her eyes are as black as night, a spiteful grin painted across her lips. Quickly, she snatches the orb and pinches it with her long, bony fingers, snuffing it out, white dust sprinkling down until it’s gone for good.
“You don’t need that,” she coos before her grip finds my shoulder, and shadows surge through my veins, purging the poison saturating my bloodstream. The shadows bleed out with me, or maybe the darkness doesn’t recede; it explodes from my slowly dying form, obliterating everything in its path.
Opening my eyes, I see the twitching bodies of the creatures, withering on the ground, letting out one last wail before the land falls silent. My ears ring as I sit up, the throbbing in my head only increasing as I stand. Soon, it subsides, only staying as atingling reminder that I’m no longer alone inside my mind.
We are one.
Sometime between the horrific, mind-melting venom and now, the walls were rebuilt. I tear down the one holding Callum captive, showcasing the golden glimmer behind it.“You’re next.”My words slither down the connection, then I send a wave of destruction after them, unleashing the demons inside to feast.
Odeyssa’s footsteps pound against the ash-ridden ground, quickly closing the distance between us. Her arms envelop me in a tight embrace, causing nearly all the oxygen to deplete from my lungs. “Are you okay? I almost thought…” She trails off, but I don’t need her to finish the sentence. It’s left in the words unspoken.
