by J. Clarice
“Seems like you’ve had quite the damage done to you,” Raxon laughed. “You’ve gone out already, and I haven’t even done anything.”
Scarlett grunted, and she kept her side in the shadows. Edgar had done a number as he turned out to be more experienced than she’d given him thought. He knew every move before she made it. Only once was she able to clock him, but before she could continue, he came back up with a punch that threw her against the wall. She’d been dealing with a Nightmare, not just any mere man.
With each breath, something scraped inside and sent a flare of searing pain through her chest. She wouldn’t be able to continue for longer.
“You’re a fool,” she gasped as she held Raxon’s eye. “Your father has plans you don’t even know of, and by the time you do, it’ll be too late. I pity you.”
Raxon scoffed. “My father and I are the closest; he consults his plans with me and me, him.”
“So, you know of his plans to kill what you love most?”
Her words slowed his pursuit, but he didn’t stop. The doubt that flashed across his face was enough to flourish triumph in hers. “He told me of things that you should already know, but yet here you are – a blind fool.”
In an instant, Raxon flipped his switch, having decided he was done with talking. Scarlett mustered the last of her energy to yank the blade from her thigh and aim for his torso. It flew past Raxon’s sight, and he noticed it a second too late. It embodied itself into his lower stomach.
“Fuck!” Raxon roared. His hands caught the center of her chest and threw her like a rag doll into the wall. As her body connected with a sickening crunch, her vision blackened.
‘They failed.’
The impact of her body reached Cain’s ears.
He turned his head and watched her fall to the ground with a thump. In that split second, his father took advantage.
A fist landed on his jaw and whipped his head to the side. Dots danced in his vision as it faded in and out.
“I never thought you could be so foolish, Cain.” Edgar shook his head with feigned sadness. “But then again, you were always closest to that woman, and I can see why. Weak-minded the like of you.”
Terror grew in Cain as he realized their situation.
The others were taken.
Scarlett was done.
Edgar and Raxon surrounded him.
“You really chose the wrong side on this one brother.” With a heavy sigh, Raxon lifted Scarlett’s body and threw her over his shoulder. He grunted from her weight and the pressure on his new stab.
Cain returned his fading attention to Edgar. Not a single scratch marred his clear face. He had a single stab wound on his leg, but that was nothing to a Nightmare. Everything had fallen so incredibly fast; Cain couldn’t wrap his head around it.
Edgar had been given everything he wanted for his plan to play out perfectly – time.
Cain could only watch as his father’s heavy fist flew for his face.
‘It was over.’
A slap brought Scarlett back to the world, and she groaned.
“Wake up.”
The voice was enough to snap her eyes open. She was in another cave, this one wider and taller than the chamber. Muck traveled along the ceiling but never dripped. Strands of it flowed up while others made their way down. Red flares flickering like fire lined the walls, casting a red haze on every surface.
Scarlett realized her position and an emotion she knew all too well coiled around her heart. Her power was back in effect and armor in place. Yet, with her hands tied behind her back and in a kneeling position, she didn’t feel any safer.
Edgar stood at the center of the room with one hand in his suit pocket and the other rubbing his jaw. The stitches still in place and he felt her gaze. “Finally, you’re up. Now we can begin.”
She glared before she followed the sweep of his eyes.
Jayden, Jenna, Trevor, and Cain were in the same predicament. No one looked any better. Blood spilled from the cuts on their face, and the amount of swollen tissue was exceptional. Scarlett caught each of their eyes as the glistening of hers was unmissable.
‘I’m sorry.’
“Don’t seem so glum,” Edgar chided. “While your time may be coming to an end, a new and fascinating era is about to arise.”
He turned around and pulled everyone’s attention to what rest behind him. At the end of the cave was a well. No pulley was attached to it, only a rock wall erected around a hole Scarlett knew led to the depths of Muck Mountain.
“There is where my good friend, It, lies.”
Scarlett’s heart was in her throat as she could feel the darkness emitting from the Well.
“Now, I suppose you may be wondering what will happen next.” Edgar snapped his fingers. Scarlett’s blood boiled at the person that entered the cave and planted themselves beside the devil, himself. “Thanks to the lovely Jude, new alliances have been forged.”
Jude’s hazel eyes were cold as she met everyone’s eyes. “No matter what you’d done, it still would’ve ended here.”
“You fucking bitch!” Jayden snarled as she struggled against the restraints. They were held in place by an invisible force.
Dots Scarlett never thought to consider aligned themselves in her mind. “You’ve been with him since the beginning.”
Her whisper reached Jude’s ears, who nodded in confirmation. “Queen Esma figured your mission would go unfulfilled one way or another. As a precaution, she didn’t have many options but to make friends where others normally wouldn’t.”
“A card played well by a true Queen; I’d say,” Edgar threw his two cents in, knowing they’d add to the steam leaving Scarlett’s ears.
“She first allied with the Rebels. They needed weapons and a place to set up quarters. She gave them the resources, and they gave an army and their word.”
“The attack had been fake,” Scarlett specified.
Jude nodded. “They were supposed to grab me and not Ca- the other girl. Damage control had to be done with Nova’s death, but the deal between all three parties is done and final.”
They heard her hiccup. The Havened Ones were hiding things from Edgar.
Scarlett remembered the spear Nova wielded with the white tip. It matched the same stone that made Jayden’s bow, Trevor’s knives, and Jasper’s sword; Jude randomly following them; Ren having the scroll on hand for them to fight for; Jude showing up so quickly after the battle. Everything up until that point flashed through Scarlett’s mind.
She glanced at Cain to see the same shock and realization dawning on his face. He hadn’t known either. None of them had.
Free Edgar and gain control of the Realms.
They’d been played.
“Enough of that.” His voice grated their ears. “A few more final touches need to fall into place. I need these damn stitches out of my mouth, and I need another request of mine. Jude, choose the first to go.”
Edgar headed to the edge of the Well, and Jude narrowed her eyes on a particular figure.
Scarlett’s heart shredded at what she knew would come next.
“Don’t you dare fucking touch her!” she snarled.
Jayden straightened her shoulders and glared at Jude. “Go ahead, kill me, you fucking coward.”
Jude raised a brow. “As much as I’d enjoy your death, I’d rather hear your cries first.” Her gaze swung to the one kneeling beside Jayden.
‘No…’
“Excellent choice, It will be pleased by this strong one.”
Trevor got lifted into the air, struggling to free himself. There was no use.
With a melancholy smile, he shook his head at Scarlett and Jayden. She knew the message in his eyes before she could act on her thoughts.
‘Save your one shot.’
Every muscle in her body tensed to release the power she knew would save his life. She could do it.
Her heart shredded as she didn’t.
&n
bsp; Tears shimmered in Scarlett’s eyes while Trevor shut his.
“You know what I wish for with this treat I give you,” Edgar hummed, and the darkness from the Well shifted.
A grotesque snarl ripped through the air.
Jayden stiffly kneeled as she watched Trevor’s back get closer to the well. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she stayed stoic. Cain’s nose flared as he struggled to hold himself together. It was a surprise his jaw wasn’t broken yet with the amount of pressure he clenched. Jenna’s expression hardened while Scarlett mirrored Jayden.
All she could do was wait and hope the chance didn’t get blown.
Trevor’s body jerked into the Well and their hearts shattered as the noises that followed broke through their walls.
Sounds they never thought they’d have to hear pierced and ingrained themselves into their minds. Trevor’s wails were laced with agonizing pain while the snapping of bone echoed from within the Well.
A sob escaped Scarlett’s lips. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. The unmistakable sound of ripping flesh rose bile from the back of her throat.
“I’m going to fucking kill you. I promise you that,” Jayden whispered with so much venom that the tiniest speck of fear flashed in Jude’s eyes. It was enough for Jayden.
Scarlett caught Cain’s eye, who kneeled beside Jenna. With a slight nod and a nudge of their bond. He got the message she tried to convey. She swept her eyes across Jayden and Jenna before staring him down until understanding filled his features. His face was tight, but the message was delivered.
Edgar kept his back to the group and threw his head back. He didn’t have to wait much longer.
They knew what he asked without him needing to say it.
The stitches from his mouth loosened, and the strand slowly slid from his lips – not a single flinch from Edgar. He awaited this moment from the second they’d been sewn. As the last of the thread slithered from his top lip, Edgar cautiously moved his jaw.
At the first part of his lips, a shift occurred in the Realms. Those in the Dark Realm knew their King had been released, and those in Ever Realm knew their end had come. The balance of the Realms switched in his favor once more.
Edgar straightened and moved his jaw while letting a dark chuckle rise from his throat. A haunted look crossed over Cain’s features at the sound, and Scarlett didn’t miss it.
If she thought Edgar had been terrifying before, she wasn’t prepared for what’s to come.
“About eleven to twelve years, I’ve gone without being able to use my own tongue.” His voice was rough and yet flowed into their ears like a beautiful song. The man was like a siren. “I really missed it.”
Edgar turned his head, and his sharp red eyes hooked Scarlett. Her heart pounded as his blood-covered lips spread into a devilish smile filled with razor-sharp teeth like those of a piranha. The hint of a forked black tongue appeared and teased the air.
Facing them, Edgar closed his eyes and sighed. “You guys want to know what I missed most?”
“Tasting your fear on the tip of my tongue.” His blood-red eyes swept across everyone before landing on Scarlett. “Last order of business.”
He neared, and right as he went to touch her, Scarlett released the ball she’d been letting build. Jude, Edgar, and Raxon, who stood by the cave’s entrance, all flew back from the force she let free. The force holding everyone down broke, and they were able to snap the power tying their arms.
Grandpa Byrne’s words on controlling her emotions pushed to the front of her mind.
She had one chance.
The familiar rush of energy filled her veins as she strode towards Edgar. He moved onto his forearms when she lifted him and threw him into the wall on the other side of the room. He left a crater in the hard rock and slid to the ground.
“Where did that extra strength come from?” Edgar coughed as he waved the dust from the impact away from his face. “You forgot one little thing… you got that from me.”
Edgar rushed Scarlett, and she allowed the anger and pain to fuel her hits. They collided with a force that shook the cave as they exchanged jarring blows. Her body was moving of its own accord and blocked most of Edgar’s strikes. A fight where they evenly matched.
Not far from them, Jayden went for Jude, thirsty for blood. They dodged each other with calculated ease, but Jude had forgotten about another member. Jenna appeared from behind and sent a whip that wrapped around Jude’s arms. Jayden fired an arrow straight for the soft exposed flesh above the collar of her armor.
The shock traveled through Jude’s body and rendered her into a seizure. Jayden wasted no time and made her way over to the twitching woman. “You fucked with the wrong people, and I’m going to make sure you never do it to anyone else.”
Panic assailed Jude as her plea shown clear as day in her eyes. Jayden couldn’t give two shits as she lifted Jude from the ground. She walked a distance before arriving at her stop.
Leaning down to her ear, Jayden whispered the last words Jude would ever hear. “When I make a promise, I fucking keep it. This is for Jasper and Trevor.”
The sound of Jude’s screams as her body plunged into the Well sent a wave of satisfaction across Jayden. Her cries fell upon deaf ears, but the ripping of her flesh let Jayden know she wasn’t given a swift death.
The bitch didn’t deserve one.
Edgar caught sight of Jude’s body vanishing into the Well and swung his gaze over to his fighting sons. If Raxon went down, it’d be four against one.
Scarlett could feel her energy running low. She thought of her parent’s death, Jenna’s betrayal, Jasper and Trevor’s death, anything to keep her fuel running high. But anger and pain weren’t enough. Edgar felt it and took advantage.
“You young ones, don’t realize that fighting with your emotions is for the weak,” Edgar laughed as he closed in on Scarlett. “All that anger, all that pain… it’s going to run out sometime.”
Edgar clenched his fist, and Scarlett’s powers ceased. Her limbs became heavy and to move them was like trying to free from tar. He approached and tilted his head.
“You would’ve been great by my side. What a pity to have to end such a magnificent creation,” Edgar noted while gripping her by the throat. “Your mind will no longer be needed. With Jude’s body and yours, I’ll have more than enough power to rip through the Realms myself.”
“Get the fuck away from her!” Scarlett saw Jenna and Jayden run for them. With a flick of his hand, Edgar’s power threw the duo into the wall. Disgruntled, they slumped to the floor.
Raxon and Cain continued their heated exchange. But Cain’s momentary glimpse at the others gave Raxon the window he needed. A fist surrounded by power connected with Cain’s back. It knocked him with a surge that sent him to his knees.
It was all coming to an end.
Scarlett’s arms were glued to her sides as if weighed down by a ton of bricks. She couldn’t move anything. The stretch of her spine and Edgar’s tight grip on her throat left her struggling to breathe. He effortlessly lifted her body over the Well.
She locked eyes with Jenna and Jayden before letting them rest on her partner. Cain’s chest tightened with fear while Scarlett’s sagged with despair.
“You… for- forgot about… one last e-emotion,” she managed to squeeze the words past her throat. “L-love.”
With the last of the power Scarlett could gather, she squeezed her eyes shut as every cell in her body expanded. They pumped out the last bit of energy available to her disposal.
A black hole appeared behind Edgar, and he turned in confusion. “What-?”
Before they could realize what she had done, Jenna, Jayden, and Cain were jerked into its darkness. It swiftly closed, and Raxon was left diving through the air.
“You’re more stupid than I thought.” Edgar lifted a brow. “I’ll find them later and kill them myself.”
“Maybe so,” Scarlett dragged out. “Or maybe you’ll be the one killed before you’re able to.
”
“I highly doubt that.” A sly smile crept across his face as he released her neck one finger at a time. “It was lovely meeting you, Scarlett.”
While fear seized her heart, Scarlett fell with a mind calmed by the knowledge she got them out. As Edgar’s hold lifted and her body lowered into the darkness, she grasped onto her last resort.
The bracelet barely clicked onto her wrist when her vision darkened around the edges.
A bright beam of light was the last Scarlet saw as she descended into nothing but darkness.
‘I’m sorry.’
‘I’m sorry.’
Cain was on all fours, hunched over as Scarlett ripped from the bond. Her last message echoed through his mind.
He couldn’t fight the tears even if he tried.
Jenna and Jayden stood off to the distance in shock.
“She… She’s not gone, is she?” Jayden hesitantly whispered; her body numb.
A surge of rage sparked within Cain, and he rose to his feet. “Is she fucking here, Jayden? Do you see her here with us?”
She flinched from his words but stayed still.
“Guys,” Jenna called with tears streaming down her face. “Scarlett did not risk her life for us to end up fighting each other. We’ll have to deal with that later. Edgar is on his way here.”
The portal had spit them out on the edge of Ever Realm and the Dark Realm, away from the Nether Realm’s entrance.
Jenna’s words had Cain backing off and silently seething. His anger wasn’t for Jayden; it was for himself.
He should’ve been stronger. He was supposed to protect her.
It should’ve been him.
They were bloodied.
They were bruised.
And the real terror had yet to begin.
Jayden followed the others like a mindless zombie. One limb in front of the other.
Weapon raised and eyes twitching in every direction.
No one was safe.
The Dark Realm swallowed more of Ever Realm and the cold that filled the air wasn’t the kind that created chills. It was the kind that stopped hearts. The kind that Nightmares thrived in.