‘Hold still, you witch,’ he yells, defending himself from her attacks.
It’s a free-for-all now. We try to waylay the other Seaguardians, to bring them down. We can’t let them take Biba.
‘Stop!’ Biba yells, and a spark flies from her body to his. The Seaguardian seizes up, gripping his chest. He slackens, letting go, and tumbles to the floor.
‘What in Paranish?’ another Seaguardian rushes over to their leader, rolling him over. They listen for breathing and check his pulse. ‘He’s dead.’
We look at each other, and the air rushes out of the room. The Seaguardian lunges for Biba. ‘She fucking killed him!’
The rest of them attack with fresh relish. They’re no longer aiming to disarm us and take her. They are striking to kill.
We’re a tangle of limbs. I grab flesh and wrench hard, careless of whether it’s a friend or foe I’m hurting. All I know is I have to get to her. We’re a sweaty tangle on the bed and floor. There’s something wet seeping onto my stomach. I feel around for a wound, but it’s not my blood.
Cutting through the chaos is an unsettling, eerie sound, repeated over and over.
‘Vullis!’ Hoarse and desperate wails.
Ryla’s face is coated in grime and sweat. Their hands are shaking and there’s blood on their tunic. They double over, a retch threatening their throat. Their expression shifts like a storm, whipping winds deciding their course.
Now I see him. Vullis’s beard is matted with blood and his face is a pulp. It’s a piece of fruit smashed against a rock. His body is bruised and broken, lying at horrible angles. Biba has her hands on his chest. Tiny fingers covered in blood and guts.
I grab a Seaguardian by the collar, lifting him bodily off the floor. I kick away the fireguard and throw him headfirst. He wails in pain, trying to crawl away. I have my boot on his back. He’s going nowhere.
When he finally stops screaming, I see Ryla and Kopiro have taken care of the others. They’ve made less mess than I have, but it’s been more personal, hands-on, throats choking the life out of them.
I rush over to Biba, who is still lying next to Vullis. She’s wailing, streaks of blood in her hair and on her face.
The body stirs. It gasps and wheezes, bones cracking as its hands find purchase on the floor. Bruised knuckles, broken fingernails. It bends and crawls until it’s on its knees. I look at Vullis, his blue eyes milky and unseeing. He’s no longer my friend. This isn’t Vullis, but the shell of him.
‘Did it work?’ Biba asks quietly, desperate hope on her lips. She stands next to him, reaching for his hand.
‘Don’t touch it – that’s not Vullis!’ I yell and she starts back.
Fetch emerges from under the sofa. He pads quietly over to the figure, sniffing curiously. He begins to whine.
‘Fetch, come here, boy,’ I say, trying to keep my voice steady.
The dog looks at me, confused, and cocks his head, ear flapping.
Vullis grabs Fetch by the scruff of his neck and raises the dog off the floor. We all start screaming, desperate to go to him but keeping a distance.
‘Vullis!’ Kopiro implores.
Those milky eyes again. They turn clear for a moment, back to Vullis’s dark brown. There’s warmth and life to his look. He opens his mouth to speak and then screams. Vullis falls to the floor with a sickening thud. No longer moving. Fetch lands on his feet with a yelp. I grab at the dog and check he’s all right.
The corpse is on the floor, spurting blood from its belly. Everything is covered in dark viscera. I look at Biba.
‘I couldn’t do it,’ she says. ‘His soul wouldn’t stay inside his body again.’
chapter sixty-nine
finlyr
We have been talkingall night. More like arguing.
‘We don’t understand what any of it means. We don’t know what’s happening to you two.’ Morna says. ‘I think we need to let things blow over before we make any rash decisions.’
‘I wish I’d taken more emerald vine before all this,’ Ligaya frets. ‘I didn’t want to be greedy, but now it will all go to waste. Oh, that’s a wicked thought, isn’t it?’
