“You’re the only one.”
With a final look down the hallway in the direction Riley said was calling to him, I turn to the right, hurrying down a different hallway instead. But as soon as I step into it, the walls start to crumble and buckle. A chunk of ceiling collapses and I jerk Riley back just before it hits the ground in front of us. I barely manage to scramble back as the walls and ceiling cave in around us.
“What’s happening?” he asks.
“Whatever it is, it doesn’t want us going down this hallway.”
“Oh joy.” His head snaps around and I realize that something must have drawn his attention. I turn and look, unsure what it was, but the magic inside him is swelling.
Riley grits his teeth and I feel the way his hands begin to shake. He staggers into me, curling in on himself.
“I need to get rid of this magic. Quickly,” he says as his grip tightens on me.
But my eyes are fixated on the shadow of a man walking down that long hallway. Every candle he passes goes out while he moves toward us, featureless as he’s cloaked in the shadows. I slide Riley behind me as I hold my weapon tightly.
“Who are you?” I ask.
The whites of his teeth shine through the darkness when he smiles, and Riley falls against me, his nails digging into my sides.
“Fuck!Get me away. Get me away from whatever that is.”
Riley tries pushing away from me and staggers, falling to his knees and sinking to the ground. He grabs his head as he groans, and I question what’s happening and if that man is doing this to him. The magic inside him pulses when I reach down for him, but as I do, a force slams into me, throwing me away from him. I hit the ground on my back, smashing into it, but my only thought is to get back to Riley. I try to rise, but it’s like my limbs are too heavy for my body and I can’t lift them while that shadow draws closer.
“Riley, run!” I shout, incapable of helping him when I can’t even rise to my feet.
He struggles to get up, but the magic inside him seems to have a mind of its own, wrapping around him in this strange black fog while I slowly try to crawl toward him. I’ve never felt so weak in my life. So useless. Gritting my teeth, I force my way forward just as the lights go out around me. I see the shadowreach out to Riley a moment before the magic coursing through this world shudders.
And then everything around me explodes into a world of white.
My ears are ringing when I flip onto my stomach, thrilled that I can finally lift myself up, while dust and debris rain down around me. As the dust settles, I find myself surrounded by absolute destruction. Pain stings my cheek and arm, a long-forgotten feeling, but my eyes are locked on the man lying right in the middle of it all.
I hurriedly get to my feet, unsure how a human could have survived that explosion, but there Riley lies, looking better than I do. Kit must have reached him first because he’s hugging the catlike creature to himself and looking up at me.
“You look like shit. You sure you’re a god?” Riley asks as I swipe away the blood running down my cheek.
Clearly, he’s back to normal. “At least I still look sexy.You look like you went for a dust bath and the dust bath won.”
Riley scoffs and sits up before looking around as he seems to realize that the entire building has been absolutely leveled.
“Sure didn’t mean to do that.” He sighs and lies back down. “Tell them I’m dead. Just carry my body out.”
“I only know sex terms. I can shout, ‘Your dick is so large, it won’t fit!’ Will that help?”
I think he proceeds to die for real.
Just of shame this time.
Chapter Seven
Riley
I squeeze Kit to me, relieved to have her back. Not just because she’s my eyes, but because she gives me a sense of calm that I’ve needed ever since I lost my sight. She’s been what has kept me going and feeling like my old self. My fingers ache and I can’t get them to stop shaking, but holding her makes me feel more at ease while I play dead when Imani walks up.
“Riley! Riley, are you okay?” she asks, sounding concerned, which makes me feel a tad bit guilty. I really think the god should do me a favor and just drag me home.
Even though my eyes are closed, I can see her worried face through Kit’s eyes. I can see everything Kit does, which can be a blessing or a curse since the familiar is easily distracted.
“He’s playing dead,” Torin says in perfect English. I’m starting to question whether he actually already knows our language and is just yanking us around.
