It almost appeared human. Stringy hair clung to a gaunt face set with eyes the same color as the still sea. Tattered remains of clothing hung on its body, flowing unnaturally as though suspended underwater.
A keres. Lost souls who fell into the abyss and now existed solely to drag others to their doom. I had assumed them no more than old maids’ tales used to frighten children into staying within the bounds of the city.
Every bone in my body screamed for me to run. But I froze.
A second keres emerged from the trees behind me and slammed into my back. Claws hooked around my wrist and shoulders, constricting me against its frail, wet body.
Struggling to escape, I flailed against my captors. My heart pounded in my chest, feeling like it might crawl up my throat and escape. The keres’ claws dug deeper, ripping through my skin.
Nothing would have stopped them from dragging their clawed hands through my neck or driving them into my heart. But they didn’t try to kill me. They stood still, holding me in place as the edge of the Empty approached.
My fear vanished as I gazed into the still sea. A sense of inevitability fell over me. My life had never been kind, never been worth anything. What better end than to vanish and be forgotten by the world?
The blood-red halo surrounding the infinite darkness covered my view of the sky, bathing me in the light of death.
Someone I didn’t want to remember flooded my mind. Pain ripped through my shoulder, and a splash of red trickled past my vision.
Suddenly, it wasn’t about me, but the man I needed to see again. Red flashed around my eyes, like dancing lights in swirling water.
Aching nostalgia ripped through my breast, like a well of light begging to be grasped. Reaching for it, I extended my hand, willing the Empty to stop, or perhaps beckoning for it to come.
I winced, waiting for the abyss to sweep over me. But the Empty halted its advance.
Claws retracted from my skin as the keres released me. They moved like someone walking underwater, slinking past the Empty’s threshold into the canyon of still water, falling over its edge and disappearing into the dark, dead sea.
Gasping, I fell backward, landing in the murk. If I tookonestep forward, I would tumble down a fathomless canyon into the world from which no one returned.
Someone raced through the swamp toward me, but I didn’t register their presence until a bright red light flooded into my eyes. Wincing, I saw Eleos kneel beside me, the glowing Bloodstone clutched in his hand.
So that was why the Empty had suddenly ceased spreading. The thing worked, after all.
I burst out laughing, an unhinged noise one might expect from a man who’d been locked in the dungeons for years.
Eleos’ expression had finally changed from a calm half-smile. His sage-green eyes were wide, filled with either fear or wonder. Maybe both. Without speaking, he grabbed my arm and helped me up, guiding me away from the cliff where once the marsh had been.
With every step we took from the Empty, the Bloodstone faded until it glowed no longer.
Three horses cantered nervously in place atop a nearby hill. Seraphim leaned forward on her saddle. “It worked!”
“I don’t. . .” Eleos shook his head. His eyes snapped into clarity, and he started. “You’re injured.” He exclaimed, as though he’d only just noticed my wounds.
Releasing me, he grabbed one of his saddlebags and tore it open.
“Can it wait?” Percy hissed nervously. “Until we put some more space between us anddeath?”
Grimacing, Eleos gave my wounds a cursory glance before deciding I was fine, for now. Dazed, I allowed him to help me onto the saddle, and he sat behind me.
Blood streamed down my white gown, though pain hadn’t set in. Breathing heavily, I grabbed Eleos’ sleeve when he wrapped his hand around my waist, clinging to him for dear life.
Glancing back, I tried to see what became of the keres, but they were simply gone. Our horses flew forward into the wetlands until eventually the great black hole with the red halo vanished from sight.
Percy herded us like sheep. Though calm starlight and buzzing swamp were all I could see, he urged us on, terrified the Empty would resume its pursuit.
My vision started blurring when Seraphim finally ordered us to stop. She jogged over, helping me dismount and setting me on the ground.
Eleos quickly tended to me, finding the puncture wounds and packing them to halt the bleeding.
Seraphim paced before us. “Did I see that correctly? The stone worked?”
