Scotty picked up Bobby, ripped him in half, and swallowed him.Wow!
Suddenly, Dash turned toward the back of our supporters and grabbed my hand. “Double-sided attack.”
The two of us rushed through all the spirits who were there to support us.Can you hear her?Dash took my hand and stopped us amid the forward surge, spirits rushing around us as they attacked the darkness threatening to envelop us.
Above the onslaught, I could see Erebus, his head held proudly. There, next to him, was Nyx in all her dark glory. They suddenly separated and began knocking white spirits out of their way, left and right, the spirits incinerating as they flew through the air. Those souls didn’t know what hit them.
The smothering darkness was looming ahead, engulfing the rear of our supporters. I had a feeling if it continued advancing, it would meet the darkness from the other side and engulf all of those who were on the side of light, including Dash and me.
I couldn’t let that happen, so I pulled my hand from Dash’s and began running toward the rear without care for my safety. I had seen my beautiful daughter, and she was alive. I had every reason to believe that if this fight took my life, I would live on through her. I would ensure she had a world of light and love as she grew up.
“Hey! Nyx! I’m over here!” I was shouting, though I didn’t know if she could hear me over the carnage.
Dash grabbed me from behind.What are you doing, Dearly? Get behind me.He raced ahead of me and skidded to a stop.
His arms extended to stop me, and as we faced the darkness, Dash’s voice echoed in my mind.I love you. I will die for you. I beg you to always remember that.
The roar that arose from him drowned out the shouting behind us as he advanced on Erebus, the two of them engaging in a battle that would surely end with one of them ripping off the other’s head. Nyx crossed her arms and smirked, observing the fight.
The moves were so fast, it was like watching a superhero showdown in fast forward. Dash was snarling in a way I’d never seen and moving so fast it was hard for my human eyes to keep up with him.
A hand touched my shoulder, and I turned to my right to see my father. “Only you can stop her, Keir. Go now. Have faith in yourself.”
I hugged him and moved toward her, stopping a few feet away. “Why? Why are you doing this?”
“Because I can. Iwillrule the Human Realm. There will be no more death. All will continue to live for eternity. No more wars. No more starving children that greedy profiteers show on television to coerce cash donations they use for their own covetous ends.”
Dash and Erebus were still going at it, seemingly even matched. It was all a blur for the most part.
“But why? Part of being human is knowing that life is fleeting and not wasting the time you have. That each experience is unique. Every day is a new chance to help someone, learn something, or love someone. Do you love Erebus?” It seemed like an easy question.
“Love? That’s a foolish human emotion that causes more harm than good. You and the Key are emotionally and physically bound. Under human circumstances, if he ceased to exist andyou didn’t, you’d spend the rest of your days on earth with a crushing loss. Why is that something you’d want to experience?”
Listen to your heart.It was my father’s voice in my head. Knowing how much he loved my mother, I couldn’t imagine growing up without seeing that love expressed for each other every day.
“Have you never loved anyone or anything? You have children. Don’t you love them?” Why I was appealing to her motherly instincts was really a laugh because she probably didn’t have any.
As expected, she offered a hearty laugh as the only answer to my question. Suddenly, I had a pain in my stomach. I frantically turned around to see if someone had stabbed me, but there was no one there. I glanced to my left to see Dash on the ground.The cooler!
Heaven only knew where it was, but we had actually brought the damn thing along. How could I have been so careless not to keep track of it?
There was a tug on my jeans, and when I looked down, a small black creature sat on top of the cooler. Everything was so surreal. I was off-kilter.
The creature jumped off the cooler and opened it, so I reached inside and grabbed the bag of blood, making a run for Dash.Love, I’m here!I tried to get to him, but I was airborne and slammed into the sand in the blink of an eye.
I instinctively knew I couldn’t physically defeat Nyx because she was a supernatural being. She was a higher-level demon, and she was only toying with me for her own entertainment. I had to outsmart her.
Meanwhile, the battle raged behind us.
Dash began rolling toward me as Erebus tore through the white lighters who were trying to support Dash. I had justenough time to toss the bag of blood to him before he was picked up by his legs and flung into the murky waters off Omaha Beach.
I remembered how Dash’s journey to becoming the Key had begun—off the coast of Italy as he was on a speedboat headed for an island. It was almost as if our lives were spinning in a circle with different elements thrown in to add variety. We’d both evolved for this very moment.
I turned toward Nyx in time to see her eat the small demon who had brought the cooler, and guilt encompassed me. “Why did you do that?”
“He was an annoyance. I want to hear more about why you believe your life is so fulfilling that you refuse to consider what I have to offer.” She still wore that smirk.
“Don’t you crave a connection?”
