In the time since losing her sight, Aveline had learned to compensate for the lack of peripheral vision. She turned her head from side to side. Now, in an unfamiliar environment with the potential lack of ground, she felt her loss more than ever. Everything here was dangerous, and she’d need all her faculties to survive.
Not for the first time, she cursed Dr. Bates.
Enough. Pitying herself wouldn’t change anything. Move.
She couldn’t stay here forever, on her hands and knees, panting like a dog. Something had sucked her out of the Concord, and thrown—or dropped—her here.
And wherever here was, it had to be better than the hell she’d just left.
She was alive—that had to mean something. What if her sister had landed here, too? If they could find each other, they could survive.
The thought of Marisol being somewhere inside the far-off city was enough to get her moving forward.
“Marisol!” she called and then coughed. Automatically, she lifted her elbow to her mouth. Something dark splattered the prison-issued garb. Touching it gently with her finger, she studied the blood on her fingertips.
Okay. Aveline wiped trembling fingers on her pants. Okay. Something to deal with later. She had, after all, tumbled through space and landed in a cloud. She was bound to have some injuries.
“Marisol!” she yelled again, and as if in response, a gust of wind shoved her back. It was ice cold, a shock to her system. How could the wind be such a different temperature than the air?
She continued to move forward, the ground beneath her feet covered by mist. It was pointless to watch each step. Either there would be something beneath her feet, or there wouldn’t be. Shuffling through the clouds wouldn’t save her when she tumbled into infinity.
The closer Aveline came to the city, the stronger the wind blew. She had to hunch forward, head down. It took all her meager energy to soldier on.
Initially, the fog had hovered around her ankles, but as she moved closer to the city, it became thicker. Soon, getting through the stuff was like lifting her legs out of muck. She had to stop and, with her hands on her knees, sucked in air that didn’t give her relief. Peering at the city, she focused on taking deep breaths, holding the air inside her as if it would give her the oxygen her body desperately craved.
The city hadn’t seemed so far away, the distance between where she landed and where she needed to go not so great. But it was taking her much longer to travel than expected.
And what could she expect when she got there? Aveline pushed against her knees, forcing herself to stand straight. It was one thing to stop and catch her breath, and another to stop when her doubts overwhelmed her. If she let herself think about how out of breath she was, how thirsty she was, how scared she was, she’d never make it to the city.
You can rest for ten more seconds. In and out. She timed her breaths, and then went on, only halting her journey when the alternative was to collapse.
And the damned wind didn’t help. Slogging through smoggy muck, battered by the ever-strengthening wind, Aveline marched forward.
Marisol. Marisol needs me.
The buildings loomed ahead.
One step. Another.
Aveline lifted her leg and pushed through the smog as she had with her last step, but instead of a slow descent, her foot glided through the thickness. Stumbling when her foot met solid ground, Aveline tried to get her balance. The land beneath her felt different. Lifting her foot, she stepped down again. The earth was substantial here, not spongey. Icy wind blew over her back and around her body, pushing aside the mist to reveal the surface beneath her.
It wasn’t pavement, or dirt, or anything she’d ever seen to make a road before. The surface, like the buildings, was reflective. It reminded her of the hull of the Concord, if someone had polished it to gleaming.
Had she landed on a ship? She studied the buildings. They were set apart, but there was no symmetry or balance to the structures. Nothing about them suggested they were part of one massive ship. The only thing they had in common was the material they were made of.
Kneeling, Aveline touched the surface. She grazed her fingers against it. It was smooth and, oddly, the same temperature as the air around her. The surface mirrored the sky above her head. If it hadn’t been for gravity holding her to the ground, she’d have wondered if she wasn’t still floating.
The buildings were so close now, there was no reason to stay here and contemplate the scenery. Pushing to stand, she was suddenly hit by a gust of wind so strong she landed hard on her side. It rushed over her head, obscuring the sky.
Wait.
How was that possible? The wind didn’t have shape or form. But this swirled above her, not like the clouds, but like a thousand ribbons of color.
As she stared in disbelief, the colors darkened—blue, green, black—and it hovered, floating above her.
Oh, God. It wasn’t wind. Whatever had been circling her, pushing past her body, was alive. The shape morphed and changed, charging toward her and then retreating at the last second. It reminded Aveline of fights she’d gotten into, where she’d had to stand her ground and not flinch, even when the person challenging her drew their fist back to punch her.
If these pulsating, churning colors were any indicator, this thing was angry, and it was dead centered on her.
Aveline flopped to her stomach before struggling to her feet. The hair all over her body rose as the thing drifted toward her. It was stalking her. At first, it remained compact, but as she backed away, it began to grow.
It didn’t want her to retreat. Well, fuck that. She wasn’t stupid—she couldn’t land a kick on a cloud. The darkness grew until it blocked the sky and turned the surface beneath her feet black as night.
Suddenly, the sky opened up, a flash of pink piercing the blackness. Warmth enfolded her, and for a second, she felt safe. At the small of her back, like a hand urging her forward, the warmth pushed her, relentlessly. Move, it seemed to be telling her, and then, when a blast of cold hit her, run.
She did.
Beneath her feet, the ground shook. The buildings shuddered like they’d been hit by a giant tuning fork, their edges smudged by the frequency at which they vibrated. From their surface, a hum rose like a warning, keep away. But Aveline had no choice. She could either find shelter in the structures or stay outside with the angry nebula hunting her.
The term seemed to fit. She was being herded, forced further into the city, but by which entity? The darkness, or the warmth rushing by her every so often, as if to encourage her? Run. You’re almost there. What sort of game were they playing with her?
The hum reached a fevered pitch, the volume increasing exponentially. It hurt. The sound pierced her eardrums so she wanted nothing more than to cover her ears. But Aveline needed her arms to propel her.
Blind.
Deaf.
Would she lose more pieces of herself until there was nothing left?
All at once, the air pressure dropped. Aveline’s ears popped, the way they had when she was blasted away from the Earth’s surface into the atmosphere, and something struck her.
Shoved by an invisible force, Aveline flew toward the building she’d been running for. She shut her eyes and held out her hands, but when she thought she’d slam into the wall, instead she flew through it.
Tumbling, sliding, she skidded across the floor until her back hit the opposite wall. She cried out once at the jarring pain before she clenched her teeth. The instinct to make herself small, quiet, and hidden was overwhelming. Once the echo of her groan disappeared, there was only silence. The sudden quiet was as deafening as the wind and howling had been outside. Aveline sucked in another breath and realized with a start she could breathe.
Nothing had stopped her momentum across the floor, which meant she was exposed. Before that thing found her, she needed to hide. Aveline uncurled. Her palms stung, the skin rubbed raw, and when she pushed herself to standing, she left a bloody smudge on the cool flo
or.
Keeping herself hunched over, she stood and studied the interior of the building. If her goal was to hide, she would not be able to do it here.
She was inside, but not. When she’d been sprinting toward this building, she’d thought the surface of it merely reflected one way. From outside, she’d been able to see the colors and clouds behind and around her. Inside, however, the walls were glass-like. She could see through them like a window. A huge, never-ending window.
So, she could see out, but whoever had chased her couldn’t see in. That was a relief. Aveline stood and released a breath, allowing herself to really explore her surroundings.
From floor to ceiling, 360 degrees, Aveline could see the world outside.
Amazed, she approached one wall, holding out her hand. The glass was warm, unlike the floor, which chilled her through the hard rubber soles of her shoes. Shivering, she crossed her arms and backed away from the wall.
The interior was shaped like an upside-down cone, the base wide and circular, leading upward to a point so high she couldn’t quite make it out.
What was the purpose of a building like this? There was nothing inside, no stairs, no furniture. Was it meant to offer protection against the elements?
Or maybe it was a place to escape whatever the thing was that chased her. She’d flown through a wall. Her eyes had shut instinctively, so she didn’t know how that happened. Aveline slowly circled the perimeter of the room, trailing her fingers along the wall as she walked. The wall was solid. Perhaps it had dissolved or something before reforming. Mentally, Aveline shrugged. All that mattered was she was safe here. The thing outside hadn’t followed her, that was something.
Of course, the thought occurred to her too soon. If she’d had her wits about her, she could have knocked on wood.
On her second turn around the room, Aveline noticed a fog gathering around the edifice. She watched it roll toward her. As it hit the wall, it drifted upward, forming a column of smoke.
Unlike the form that had hovered over her, pushing and shoving her, this one was white and gray. It gathered into one column, but swirled like a cyclone, the colors winding past each other before it split. One side was gray like a thundercloud, and the other a pinkish white. Aveline reached out. Could it see her? Or like when she was outside, would it only see a reflection of itself and the world outside?
The dark form was tall, taller than she was, and broad. Though it stayed where it was, she couldn’t help wanting to hide. She backed away from the wall. From the corner of her good eye, she saw a new mist, new colors, these golden and blue. Like the first shape, it tumbled over itself toward the tower until it hit the wall and then flew upward, swirling into a hazy tornado.
Behind her, something hit the building, and she cried out, startled. Whipping around, she gasped. Black, blue, green. Like some oozing creature, the darkness hit the wall, over and over.
There you are. Had the darkness found some friends and brought them back here to get her? Why was it after her so intently? All she wanted to do was survive.
The darkness hit the wall again, and Aveline jumped. It hit the wall with such force she expected it to shatter at any moment.
But it held firm.
Aveline’s gaze darted between the forms. Three of them danced around each other, moving to different positions, backing away from the building and then returning.
Only the dark one remained in one place. With each hit against the wall, the building began to shake. It began like a pebble falling into water. The darkness would strike the surface, and the building would shake from bottom to top before settling.
But then it struck the wall again, and again, and soon the shaking was constant, a never-ending ripple, and with that vibration, came a hum. The air around her shook, and her ears throbbed. The pressure of sound built until she was afraid her eardrums would rupture.
Aveline cowered, covering her head with her hands to protect her ears. Damn this thing! What did it want with her? What was she supposed to do?
She glanced up once, assuring herself there was nowhere to hide, but the vibrations were so intense now they threatened to shatter her apart.
The four forms had moved toward each other, like drawn to like. Aveline angled her body so they stayed on the side with her good eye. The four shapes hovered there, separate and distinct, both by their colors and by something else. Even though they were nebulous, Aveline could feel the seething rage of one, and maybe… curiosity from the others.
The world was plunged into darkness. Blinking, Aveline struggled to see. Spots of light danced behind her eyelid, but she forced her eyes open. Whatever was coming for her, she wanted to see it.
The darkness began to fade, but not like a sunrise, where the light chased away the night. No. The light came from behind the night.
As the light grew, Aveline began to make out a shape. Beautiful golden and white clouds reached higher than the tops of the buildings, and behind that cloud was the sun. Rays of light extended like tiny fingers, but began to grow longer and brighter. How could gold become more gold? The clouds took on shape, appearing, for all the world, like a giant. A humanoid giant.
It took her breath away. How could something be so threatening and beautiful at the same time?
The sun and the clouds seemed to be fighting to outshine each other, and Aveline threw up her hands to protect her eyes.
Blind.
Deaf.
Everything Aveline encountered wanted to shatter her to pieces.
The beams of light stretched past the walls of the building, and then, like it was the slingshot and the clouds the rock, the clouds came hurtling toward the building. It slid through the walls like water, rushing toward Aveline. The golden clouds dissolved, leaving a raging wind in its place. It wound around her body and through her hair like snakes.
Aveline threw her hand up in front of her face and screamed, but the sound was torn away, along with her breath.
As the wind streaked past her, something caught in her hands, something solid. Her hands weren’t big enough to hold onto the object, and a split second later, the wind stole it away again.
The darkness lifted quickly. Aveline had to blink against the daylight. Everything was as it had been before. The tower of clouds disappeared, and the sun was back in the sky, shining innocently. Exhausted, Aveline collapsed, catching herself on her hands and knees.
From the corner of her good eye, something flashed. A jewel, larger than her fist, whirled on a sharp point. Like a top, it spun until it lost momentum, then wobbled and toppled to the ground. The jewel fell gently. Not making a sound, it rolled across the floor to land next to her fingers. Aveline reached toward it, wanting to trace the beautiful angles and facets, but before she could touch the surface, the jewel shattered.
No. Not shattered. The jewel reformed, like it was alive, dividing itself into four equally beautiful, though smaller, gems.
She’d never seen anything like them. They were cut like the original jewel, with facets that reflected and refracted light, but their color was murky.
Carefully, she picked each one up, cupping them to bring closer to her face. One was dark, like it held a rancid smog inside it. As she watched, however, lifting it in her hands, the smog cleared.
But it didn’t merely clear. It oozed from the stone, winding around her wrist with a soft caress, and then darted away from her. A black streak, it smashed through the wall and right into a shadow—the worst one, black and green and angry.
The featureless beings from earlier were still there. The angry one jolted when the smoke hit it. It hovered on the surface of is skin, whirling and spinning. The colors seemed to energize the being, who lurched toward the building.
Horrified, Aveline realized the wall had splintered. A small spiderweb of damage grew as the figure hit it once more and then poured through the crack.
The other gems danced in her hands, and she dropped them. They skittered away from her as if the ground moved at a frequen
cy she couldn’t detect.
Aveline slid back, away from the growing shadow, until her back hit the furthest wall.
Soon, the gems began to spill out their contained hues. Gold, black, blue, pink, and white rushed toward the shadows still outside.
The crack grew, splintering higher and higher. The ground rocked beneath her like an earthquake. She flipped onto her hands and knees, trying to find her balance, but her gaze was glued to the shadows.
Even when the ceiling above her burst, the steepled top crashing away from the building to smash into the ground outside, she couldn’t look away from them.
The shadows weren’t merely shadows. Whatever had left the gems had mixed with them, changing their colors and shape.
It wasn’t possible…
The shadows became more opaque. Solid. They shaped themselves into humanoid forms—legs, arms, neck, head.
And then features.
Eyes, nose, mouth.
Until four men stood in front of her.
Aveline had survived experiments that had cut away at her body and soul, she’d fallen from immeasurable heights, and run through walls. But this? This was too much.
Panic squeezed her lungs, and her sight dimmed.
“Please don’t kill me,” she whispered just before the world went dark.
Chapter Three
Thanasis
The moment oblivion faded and left Thanasis completely aware was more painful than the one that took from him his identity.
His heartstone had been returned to him. He was no longer nebulous and untethered, full of rage, his only wish to destroy. Now he was Thanasis.
Thanasis.
Executioner.
From the temple of his people, he felt the remnants of the air that gave him life. His feet touched the floor of the temple, a vibration rolling from the center of Sonhadra into his very being. It filled him up with understanding and dawning horror.
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