by K R Leikvoll
"I can't believe I'm going to die this way," I said weakly to Codd. It was supposed to be a joke. Sort of. To be fair, I was delirious from lack of sustenance. It wasn’t my best work.
The ground shook beneath us again as its pointed tail shot from the earth's crust. It wasn't wasting a single moment. Its tail slashed over the heads of the distant trio. Zariya and Alex managed to duck just in time, while Kirin had moved completely backward out of the way.
"Blades aren't going to do anything!" Codd yelled, tensed for fighting. I tried to bring myself to my feet as the ground shook furiously again. The colossal skull brought itself down with tremendous force, smashing itself on top of Alexandra, Zariya and Kirin. I was almost sure it was going to flatten them, kill them.
At the last second, the massive skull connected with Kirin's scythe. I could see the silver crescent shaped blade, holding the beast back. Zariya grabbed Alex by her clothes and leapt from underneath the monster's head. The skull was still pushing with immense power. Kirin barely dived to the side in time when he was able to move his blade.
In the confusion, its tail attempted to sideswipe Codd, Lydris and me. I couldn't move; I stood paralyzed in fear. Codd didn't miss a beat. He tackled me back to the ground, almost getting sliced himself in the process. The chains pulled Lydris with us as well, though Codd was definitely not trying to save him. My adrenaline helped me climb to my feet.
Across the span of desert, Alexandra was firing arrows rapidly at the beast's head. They ricocheted, not even scratching the surface of the bone. The tail disappeared rapidly back into the earth. The ground burst in several spots, breaking in a line headed right toward her. She calmly pulled another arrow from her quiver and lined up her shot. When she released, it flew in the form of a golden comet, straight into the beast's eye socket. The force knocked the demon's head back.
Its tail was still coming at full speed under the earth. It broke out and extended upward before lashing out at Alexandra.
"Alex!" I yelled, trying to warn her of the tail from nearly twenty feet away. I felt my hand vibrate softly. A warm, white glow escaped the ring and hit Alex almost faster than I could keep track of. An invisible veil blocked the tail's attempt at impaling her. The barrier shimmered and dropped away, giving her just enough time to dodge it.
As the tail was blocked, Kirin brought his scythe downward at it. I watched the ghostlike blade travel through the ligaments before the trailing shadows severed it. The bony, pointed tip flew nearly a hundred feet away. The bladeless tail shook in the air. Space around us seemed to vibrate, causing my teeth to rattle against each other in my head. The pointed tip flew back as if it were magnetic, reattaching itself. Unreal...
The skull was positioned back in the sky. Purple light poured out where Alex's arrow had made contact, illuminating its grim face.
"Go for the head!" Codd yelled to Kirin. He had his arm out in front of me as if it would actually protect me. It was just a matter of time.
Zariya was to the east of us, so far I wouldn't have noticed her had her skin not been blue. She was holding her bone javelin above her head, aiming carefully. She seemed to be waiting on something specific from Kirin; she was following his movements.
He had hopped onto the demon's spine via the tail and began climbing up the beast with no fear. He swiped at every ligament he could, shadows obliterating the bone. The pieces would fall momentarily, then reattach themselves, no matter how damaged they were when they separated. How could we possibly beat that thing? The monster whipped its giant skull through the air, striking at Zariya on the other side of the battlefield. The momentum was so tremendous, Kirin slipped. He held on—just barely—by one of its rib bones.
Zariya was hit in the side and knocked into us from yards away. Her body crashed into Codd and Lydris, almost trampling them to death. She had to choose between hitting Lydris or hitting me and I was thankful she chose him at the last second. Zariya had to use her hands to struggle back to her feet. Codd had definitely messed up his back in the fall; he could hardly stand. Lydris was blind so the ordeal nearly killed him.
The demon took advantage of our poor positioning. A thunderous snapping noise erupted in the sky. Bones from its rib cage cracked outwards, launching knife like shards directly at us. The area was so great, there was no way I could escape them even if I ran. I held my arm over my head, trying to protect my face. The shards whistled as they flew through the air. I knew it was going to hurt, really bad. Kill me, even.
I stopped flinching in time to see the last shimmering from another barrier. Instantly, I felt like I had the flu. My body ached with fatigue. It was too hard to keep up. No way I could do it again. I couldn't even stand back up. It would have been nice if my damn ring would work exactly when I wanted it to!
"Zariya, now!" Alexandra yelled, shooting another golden arrow which struck near the same spot as before. Zariya didn't seem to be in position, but she held her javelin in the air regardless, aiming steadily. Kirin had climbed his way up to the base of its neck somehow. He was one more slip from falling to his death.
With all her strength, Zariya let her javelin fly. I thought she missed entirely as it flew in between one of the creature's ribs. As it passed through the bones, blue rays of light burst from the javelin's tip. The light spun around the beast's body, constricting it like a net. The lines of light then followed the javelin, which landed and staked the monster to the ground. The weight of the creature was irrelevant to the light; it tethered the beast to the dirt, bending its entire body in half.
The bottom half of the demon shook viciously, whipping the pointed tail around. It stabbed the ground near Alex's feet so close it almost took off her entire leg. In the distance, I could see the bones being cut off by Kirin and then reattach. He was desperately trying to reach the cracked spot Alexandra had created with an arrow.
The tethers snapped too soon, causing the monster to spring back up to its full form. Kirin was launched through the air, crashing into the ground behind us. I craned my head to see if he was still alive; he was our only chance. He struggled to stand.
The head swooped in faster than our whole group could react. I wanted to run, to move, to do anything in response. I tried to mentally force the ring to shield us, but I couldn't. The skull stopped abruptly, hovering in between us and Alexandra. A bellowing, gong-like sound erupted in my ears. I could only hear the ringing for a few seconds before it turned into a high-pitched screech. A bead of warm liquid began flowing down my neck on the left side. The ground cracked with the force of the sound. Even the space around us shook with the wail of the noise.
The skull swung itself back into the sky. It hovered for a moment before bringing itself back down to crush us. I didn't have time to scream. The massive skull was moving toward us faster, faster, faster. I was going to die... I was going to die. I was on the ground, useless. There was no stopping it. I wondered if everyone else was going to die with me, too. James... I'll see you soon...
I closed my eyes and waited for death.
"Pathetic," a voice whispered to me. I opened my eyes. The skull was so close I could reach out and touch it, but it didn't crash into me. Instead, it was frozen in empty space. I looked at the group. They were all still stunned, unaware of death crashing toward them.
My body was numb, unable to feel pain. I stood up slowly; everything else remained frozen.
The ethereal being from eternity appeared in a cloud of darkness. His eyes were the same as the flash I had seen in my mind earlier. The shadows from his form danced around my feet. He smiled wickedly, as if he were imagining our deaths. They were going to die, weren't they? Any second, everything could unfreeze, and we would be crushed.
"The Light has always been weak," the being whispered. His lips didn't move; I could hear his murmuring in my consciousness. Was he death, coming to greet me?
"What else could I do?" I whispered in despair. The shadows dispersed into nothingness.
"Fight."
Time unf
roze itself. The skull was mere feet from us. I braced myself and reached my arms out as if I were trying to embrace it. What was I really going to be able to do? I heard a snapping noise so loud I was sure I was becoming deaf.
I looked up slowly, expecting death. Instead, I was greeted with shadows. They seemed to flow from my left arm, straight into the cracks on the skull. It shuddered violently above us.
In one powerful explosion, the skull was obliterated from the inside out. The massive pieces flew into the ground, causing it to quake yet again. At the base of the spine, I could see the source of the purple aurora. A bright sphere, seemingly made of light, sat exposed.
Kirin's form leapt over us all. With a quick downward slash, he sliced between the light and the bone. Instantly, the monster shattered into a million pieces. Kirin landed gracefully on the balls of his feet in front of us.
The cinders of the beast traveled toward me, dancing over my skin. There was so much of it, I was caught in a tornado of its fiery shadows. It hovered over me before absorbing itself into my being, incredibly cold like I was in a blizzard rather than a sandstorm. Exhausted, I fell to the ground. Everything was drifting away into the dark; my world was spinning.
"Your horns hold your halo."
Chapter Ten
Not even the void of unconsciousness could stop the burning. It was crushing my body. I could feel my blood boiling under my skin. I wanted water. I wanted it so bad I couldn't stand it. I was prepared to beg for it with every fiber of my being.
"Water," I whispered. I could barely hear anything around me. I wasn't sure if it was because of hearing damage or because of my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I tried to sit up, but it felt like I had a boulder on my chest.
We were out of the desert. The land was still empty, but at least there was long, lavender grass around me. The only tree as far as I could see was above my head, stripped of leaves. A cool breeze caressed my face. It didn't soothe the burning. I was lying on Kirin's cloak, surrounded by our various bags. He was sitting with his back against the tree, his eyes closed, apparently asleep. Nobody else was in sight; just us, alone in that empty field.
I tried to reach into the bags and find a flask. Something, anything to stop the burning. I barely had the strength to undo the clasps. I groaned in pain and fought with it until my hand was able to fit into the gap I had made. I used the rest of my energy to pull out what felt like a waterskin.
It was. It also happened to be completely full. Thank you, dumb luck. I dumped its entire contents into my mouth. Only... it did nothing. I gulped it down over and over. No relief. I reached into the bag again weakly, feeling for another flask.
Kirin stirred from his sleep and looked down at my struggle.
"No," he whispered. He scooted all the way over until he was parallel with me. I didn’t care how close he got, I needed more. Kirin gently tugged my arm out of the bag with little effort.
"Water," was all I could say. It was all I could think of. I tried to fight his grasp, but I was pathetic. More weak than usual.
"It won't help you. I can’t let you waste water," he said. Of course it would help, dumbass! I was severely dehydrated! I stuck my other arm in the bag. My fingers strained to feel for something I could drink. Kirin grabbed my arm out again and held me by my wrists.
"Let me go, you fucking bastard!" I yelled. My fatigue was nothing compared to the burning. I was actually squirming my way out of his hold. I doubted it was my strength. He was only trying to keep me from hurting myself. He hovered over my body and held my arms still.
"Fight it, Val."
Had he ever called me by my name before? My feet kicked at him furiously. I slammed my head on the ground.
"Get off me! I fucking hate you!" I screamed at him as loud as I could. He switched his grasp and used one hand to hold my wrists together. He had to climb on top of me and use his legs to keep me from writhing around.
"Fight it!" he yelled in my face. His eyes were the color of the moon again. My muscles strained against his grasp.
"Please give me water," I cried. "I'll do anything, please."
He shook his head. That left me only one other option.
I would have to knock myself out again if it meant I wouldn't have to endure the burning any longer. I pulled my head up and smacked it back against the ground. The pain was nothing compared to the fire. I lifted my head again—
Kirin grabbed my face in his free hand.
"I can't let you sacrifice... Be strong," he said with sternness. Sacrifice? I tried to shake my face away, but I couldn't. I didn't care about embarrassment. I didn't care about any anxieties. I didn't care that Kirin could kill me without blinking. I just cried.
"Kill me! Do it already!" I heard my voice plead. I wanted to curl into fetal position, but he kept me still. "Fucking do it! I'm begging you to! Please!"
"You stupid, stupid girl," Kirin replied back weakly, climbing off me. I instantly tried to kick myself away from him again to get back to the bags. He pulled me into a submissive hold against his chest before I could. No matter which way I tried to move, his arms kept me from being able to struggle free.
"I'll do anything... anything," I whispered, reaching toward his throat with a weak hand. I wanted choke the life out of him. Anything for water. He brushed my hands away and held them down.
"Kill me or give me water."
"I can't do that."
Tears poured out of my eyes, and even crying seemed to sear my skin.
"Please," I whined.
"Don't make me do this," Kirin said, forcing himself to look away. "Fight it."
"I can't... I can't fight it," I whispered. His face was concentrated on the distance as I cried. Why did I save everyone? I should've let the monster kill us all. Death was always better than burning alive. I was writhing in agony from the flames, no doubt bruising myself against his grasp. Praetis was hell, truly. My echoing cries were the only thing that filled the night’s silence.
"Val," Kirin whispered in my ear. It sounded so far away.
"Please…"
"Don't ever make me do this again."
He brought his hand up to his teeth. After a few agonizing seconds of nothing, he pressed his finger against my lips. Before I was able to react, he pushed it slowly into my mouth.
The small glimmer of conscious Val that existed was absolutely disgusted. The tortured prison of my body said differently. There was a tiny cut on the tip of his finger that steadily leaked drops of blood onto my tongue. It tasted unusual. Not pleasant, but not disgusting. Possessed, I clung to his hand desperately. Each drop soothed the pain a little bit more. I couldn't help trying to drain him entirely, all by his fingertip.
"Too fast. Slow down," he whispered, starting to tense around me. I couldn't. I didn't think I was capable of his request. I wanted the flames to perish entirely.
"Shh... that's enough."
Kirin took his hand away from me. I tried to fight to get it back, but he held it away and shook me with his other arm lightly.
"Wake up, Val. Come back."
My body shuddered with relief as the final cinders were extinguished, but that didn’t stop me from being overtaken by another force. I was dazed with desire from nowhere. I craved skin-to-skin contact more and more with each passing second. It was entirely illogical and irrational, but I knew more of his touch would relieve it.
"Kirin," I groaned, trying to move him closer to me. I strained my body trying to embrace him; I needed to be as close as possible to the source of my pain relief. I attempted to move my hand under his tunic. My other hand tugged on his leg.
In response, he stood up and dropped me back on his cloak with a thud.
"Knock it off. Wake up," he said cutting the air with his tone. The fall hurt my tailbone to the point that I thought I may have cracked it. I shook my head. What was I doing again? I glanced at my hands and flexed them.
Without the flames (both physical and of desire), I felt myself coming back. Was I in his arms s
ucking on his fucking finger? I wanted to puke, but I kept it down so the burning wouldn't return. My face flushed. I begged him for death. How stupid of me! I couldn't even look at him. I just put my face into my hands. He had been in total control of that situation... and he could've…
"We need to talk whenever you're ready," he said. I still didn't look at him. My heart was pounding in my throat. I didn't want to talk, ever. No way. No thanks. At least he was staying far away from me. I could see him sitting with his back against the tree in the corner of my eye.
"I'm sorry," I was finally able to whisper after several minutes. I was sorry he stuck his finger in my mouth, that's for sure. I never wanted to touch him again.
"How long have you known?" he asked me. I wasn't sure what he meant.
"Known what?" I replied, barely audible.
Kirin moved across from me. He pushed my shoulder back and forced me to look at him. His silver eyes cut me into pieces. I recoiled from his touch and sat with my back against the bags.
"Nephilim," he responded. They loved to throw words at me I didn't understand. I shrugged.
"Don't know what you are talking about.”
"I saw what you did to the demon," he whispered back seriously as if he was trying not to be heard. "Stupid girl, the ring doesn't incinerate things."
"I didn't know what I was doing. I'm just letting my instincts take over instead of getting chopped up or smashed or impaled by arrows! Humans tend to use their instincts when they are threatened!" I said irritated. Fight or flight.
"If you were a human, you wouldn't be able to burn things, nor summon shadows," he replied. "I hadn't thought the grand Nephilim would bless us with their presence... I guess the end is truly coming."