Edward and I edged together. Aarna’s shoulder was pressed on my other side, and Glacies, Finn, Pisceon, and Morgana must have been making up the rest of the circle, with Pháos in the middle. The dolphin was letting out short, sharp clicks.
“Yesss, that’s it. Panic... I thriiiiiive on your elated heartbeat, the pulse thudding in your throat, your quivering gills. Give me chaos... Give me fear.”
Glacies let out a scream that split through the darkness. “I-it’s showing me things!”
The snake’s scaly body brushed against my leg, and I shrieked. A vision started to form in my mind, even though my eyes were open.
No!I scrunched up my nose, squeezing my eyes shut, but it made no difference.
There was Parker, his eyes lifeless and his throat gaping... gapingfrom the cut that I had made. My hands, clasped in Aarna’s and Edward’s, suddenly felt hot and slippery... Blood. They were covered in blood.
My stomach churned as Parker smiled, a cruel smile, which turned into a wicked laugh, and the movement tore the slit in his neck further, dark blood belching out.
I vomited. Gasping with terror, my breathing came in short, sharp bursts.
“Layla,” Aarna cried. “My sweet sister, it is all my fault. I should have traveled with you.”
“Apep, also known as Apophis,” Edward was muttering beside me, his cold hand clammy in mine. “As the solar deity and bringer of light, Ra upheld Maat, the cosmic order. In opposition, Apophis was his greatest adversary, earning the title Lord of Chaos... and Ra was the Sun God.”
“Would you be quiet, Drowned boy!” Pisceon snarled.
“I’ve got it,” Edward cried. “We need light. Bright and pure. Now.”
“Sssssoooooo smart, Drowned boy.” The voice reverberated through the tunnel. “But I grow stronger with every frantic breath you take.”
“We need to calm ourselves,” Finn thundered.
“Yessss, Prince Aigéan Neptunus. I see the darkness that lives within you. Like calls to like.”
“Don’t listen to it,” Finn growled.
I tried to calm my breathing as Parker’s cold face appeared again. This time, he was holding something white-and-aqua-feathered and matted with blood. It was a wing.
“No, I will not let you affect my mind, ” I whispered, and the image faded.
Edward began writhing and crying out beside me as Apep’s tail flicked past his calf, and I squeezed his hand until his breathing steadied. Westayed with our backs to each other, facing the dark water as it stirred around us.
Aarna’s pearlescent light flared, then sputtered and blinked out like a dying star.
“We need lightning! The pearl isn’t strong enough,” Morgana cried.
“We’ve got this, cousin,” Pisceon shouted. “The rest of you, focus on calming yourselves and not giving the creature anything to feed off.”
Lightning flickered from the two Neptunus Mer, but shadows curled around the light, deepening until it extinguished. The serpent laughed from somewhere in the shadows, the sound chilling and hollow. As darkness twisted like ink through the tunnel, swallowing us, a cold knot formed in my stomach. I couldn’t see. It was too thick. Too close. I focused on my breathing, in and out. In and out—
Light flared, and I looked over my shoulder to see Finn raise his arm, lightning coiling around his tattooed skin. Beside him, Pisceon bared his teeth, summoning his own crackling current. But each strike was devoured—snuffed out when it formed, lost in the churning black.
“Again!” Finn grunted. The lightning sparked, then faltered.
I craned my head, looking over both my shoulders, searching for Apep, but I could no longer see the snake.
“It’s no use,” Pisceon groaned from somewhere in the gloom. “The darkness is too heavy, and our powers aren’t strong enough.”
A gleeful hiss sliced through the darkness, and Aarna screamed. “It’s going to drive us mad, and we’ll die here in this tunnel,” she sobbed.
“Wh-what if we do it together?” I asked, my voice wavering. “I mean, if it thrives on chaos, surely we can fight it united.”
“The Siren girl’s right, it’s worth a try,” Glacies called.
