He was now one of those assholes who used a sword.
Seymour lifted the blade over his head as he ran toward the wyrm, screaming, “Hey! Gyarados! Come get some of this!”
“Seymour…?” Sariel sounded weak. He was struggling to stay aloft, and golden blood gushed from countless wounds. “What are you doing?”
“Savin’ you this time, Daddy!” Seymour shouted back. “Stay the fuck out of my way!” He hurled himself at the wyrm, againbeing mindful of the army of lantern men, and stabbed the blade into the wyrm’s flesh.
A hot knife through butter wasn’t even this smooth.
The sword went all the way in to the hilt, and Seymour sliced a long gash up as high as he could reach. Blood gushed out from the wound like a busted fire hydrant, completely drenching him, but he didn’t stop. He stabbed and stabbed, running and slicing, and the wyrm screamed and convulsed.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sariel recovering and flying out of the wyrm’s reach.
It was happening.
He was doing it!
He was going to save Sariel because those stupid cards and all of Marsha’s predictions didn’t mean a damn thing, they were going to be together, all of them, they were going to be family, and?—
The wyrm’s tail swung.
Seymour suddenly couldn’t move, and he couldn’t figure out what had happened until he looked down and saw the spike at the end of the wyrm’s tail sticking out of his chest. It had stabbed him through his back and out through the sunflower pinned on his vest.
Oh…
Fuck.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
Seymour!” Sariel screamed.
Seymour dropped the sword as he watched blood pour out of the wound. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t move. His feet no longer touched the ground as the wyrm convulsed and swung him around. There was an odd ringing in his ears, and the weird world was fading into darkness.
He hit the ground, having been flung off the wyrm’s tail. He heard more screaming—Day? Maybe. He couldn’t be sure, and he let his eyes close. The agony was consuming him, his hands icy and numb, and it was difficult to focus.
He didn’t understand.
Had he not changed his fate?
What had he done wrong?
At least…
At least Sariel and Day were okay.
Sariel could take the Inro. He would take care of Day and then maybe Day would eat Mr. Heiss. Sariel would finally be free, and Day wouldn’t have to be alone ever again. They’d be all right…
Even without Seymour.
Seymour wanted to smile.
Hurt too much.
“Ugh. A wyrm?Really? How utterly fucking basic.”
Seymour knew that voice.
