28 - Ryet
He doesn’t even wave
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine…
My eyes open and I realize I’ve got Josep by the ankle. I don’t know where I am, I don’t know what I’m doing, and I don’t want anything to do with this fight.
You have to, Ryet.You have to fight for us until I can get there!
“Syrsee?” Suddenly, I’m in the mist again, but it’s all gold now, and I am standing in between two full-length mirrors and no matter where I look, it’s an illusion of infinity. Me, in a mirror, inside a mirror, inside a mirror for all eternity.
This is the definition of Darkness.
You have to fight, Ryet. Because I’m busy! I’ll be there soon, but I can’t come until I finish!
“Syrsee! Where are you?”
But the mist fades and then I’m back in the cave, staring up at the Darkness himself.
He snarls at me, raising one arm up above his head like he’s about to attack. His claws are long and sharp and I am certain, without a doubt, that if he touches me, it’s over.
I probably won’t die, but there are worse things than death.
He swipes and I roll, getting to my feet like I’m committed to this fight. Like I’m going to do what Syrsee asked of me because I know I’ll be saved in the end.
Josep missed me, but he’s in far, far better shape than I am and when he raises his hand to try again, I force myself to stay still. If I move, I will collapse so I wait for it.
His attack is thwarted by a rumbling under the ground and we both go tilting sideways as the rock floor of the cave splits open and Paul comes up from the stony earth, his eyes red, his skin blue-black, and his wings slowly opening like he’s a god.
I stare at him, stunned, trying to make sense of what is happening. But I’m slow, and dizzy, and confused.
But Josep isn’t. Barely a fraction of a second passes before he is flying at Paul in a full-on attack.
The two gods of Darkness clash in mid-air. Levitating, not flying, because while this cave is big, it’s not big enough to contain the full wingspan of two demons.
They part, breathing heavy, and circle each other. Josep tips his head up, looking at the ceiling, and this is when I notice that there’s a black cloud of sorts flying around above him. It looks like sand, not smoke, and it’s long like a snake. It twirls in the air, flipping and turning. And for a moment I think that Paul brought this with him, because it looks like it’s attacking Josep.
But it’s not.
It’s not attacking Paul, either, it’s just… I don’t know. I don’t know what it’s doing.
Paul swipes a claw across Josep’s face and Josep responds by slamming Paul against the side of the cave so hard, a sickening gasp comes roaring out from his chest. I’m so stunned by the realization that Paul islosing, I can’t move.
I can’t even think.
This is when the earth rumbles again, but this time scions come up from the abyss Paul created. Scions I recognize as the ones who wanted me to feed them the last time we met.
They rush Josep, but he swats them away like they’re flies.
They get up, rush him again, and Josep starts tearing off their limbs.
It’s a distraction, I realize. A way for Paul to recover.
But when I look over there, he’s not moving. He’s still slumped against the wall, retching, blood seeping out of his mouth. He catches the blood in his open palms, greedily drinking it back down.
“What are you doing?” I yell. “Get up!Get up!”
Paul looks me straight in the eyes and laughs. “It’s up to you now, Ryet. I poured it all into you.”
