by Amanda Churi
And she would prove hers too.
Screaming, she flew over the treetops and the blizzard of darkness, approaching her rival. A wave of heat suddenly flooded Tah’s bitten skin, and the moment that she turned to look at what it was, the enemy landed behind her, her flaming arms thrown around Tah’s chest as she was yanked into her burning stomach without a second of thought.
Pain shot through Reeve’s form in recognition to the heat that her Deceiver’s body immediately reacted to. She grunted, falling to her knees as she watched her Deceiver be whipped in towards Maeve’s chest, Reeve’s storm slightly weakening as true fear captivated her.
Tah did not move, knowing perfectly well who had her in a potentially fatal hold as Maeve’s enraged spirit struggled to stay somewhat collected—if she lost control, Tah could very well go up in flames.
“Maeve…” Reeve growled, gradually recuperating from the brunt of energy that slightly hindered both her body and powers.
“You’re so stupid,” Maeve jeered heatedly, holding Tah tight. “Even having everything, you are too prideful to accurately calculate the outcome of your actions. Thought you could get rid of me, did you?”
Reeve did not rise, fully aware of what a hasty decision could mean for her. “I’m not an idiot,” she retorted shallowly. “I knew that I could not end you completely without the Receiver; I only meant to torpefy you until I could take care of you both.”
Her words brought an avalanche of unrest to Maeve, realizing her own lapse in judgment; for some reason, the usual pull of spiritual energy between her and her other half was nonexistent. “Where is my Receiver?” Maeve demanded, the snow melting around her and the luminance of her body increasing as her pique reached the tipping point.
“Excuse me?” Reeve rounded, baffled by her sudden shift in interest.
“You heard me!” she snapped. “I cannot sense her presence nor location! Where have you taken her?!”
Reeve’s arrogance began channeling back into her when she registered the hidden meaning behind Maeve’s violence. Emotions did not affect Reeve since Sin was her mother, but Maeve stood on the opposite side of the spectrum. She knew how she would react.
“Why worry?” Reeve began, cautiously standing up. “You are trying to cross a bridge that no longer exists.”
“What the heck does that mean?!” she raged, her hair flaring around her uncontrollably and nearly scathing Tah’s face. The being of fire entrapping Tah began charring her skin, paining Reeve, but she tried to dismiss it, no matter how hard. She couldn’t show weakness—she couldn’t react.
“She is history,” Reeve informed her with delight as she watched Maeve cringe. “She is somewhere that you will never find her…” Reeve walked forward in a daunting fashion, swinging her hips and shoulders as she closed in. “You will search the Earth forever, just as I had for you, and you will never satisfy yourself. She will never fall into your eyes again… Nor her voice to your ears, or her skin to your palm. She is gone.”
“T-that can’t be true,” Maeve stuttered defensively.
“Ah, but it is,” Reeve protested. They now stood only a stride apart. Reeve held out her hand insistently, her eyes shining on Maeve’s folding face as she absorbed her misery with greed. “That is… You will not see her if you don’t release my Deceiver,” Reeve added lightly, Maeve’s swirling face becoming less distorted when she took in Reeve’s offer. “Hand her to me, and you will find that your Receiver will come back as well.”
Maeve tightened her grip on Tah, snapping her teeth. “How do I know that you aren’t lying?!”
Reeve was unfazed by Maeve’s reluctance to trust. The sharp blue hue dancing from Reeve’s sockets darkened with seriousness, Maeve’s flames becoming all the weaker the longer that she was forced to hear such terrible words. “Why else would I make such an offer, risking the life of my Deceiver?” Reeve responded nonchalantly. “We both know that we cannot do a thing without either of them.”
Maeve’s flames stopped circling all at once; she appeared to be stuck in time. That was true. While she could survive without her Receiver, the reason that she split her soul into two was so that the world essentially had another chance. Ever since the transfer of powers had been interrupted, although Maeve was still a being of fire, she could no longer use it at her will. Mabel had claimed her powers, and unless she found her again and completed the process, Mabel would never stand a chance, and neither would the world.
Maeve sighed, lowering her head as her grip on Tah loosened. She needed to get back to Mabel no matter the cost… There was no other alternative.
Tah flexed her muscles when she felt the fire pull back from her body. She could see what Reeve was trying to do, especially when she noticed her claws slowly elongating; she was just waiting—waiting for the moment that Tah was free so that she could destroy her rival for all eternity.
Tah glanced up at Maeve, her heart viciously wringing itself. If it weren't for her, everything would be alright…
She took a deep breath, clearing her mind as she made an irreversible decision. She closed her eyes briefly, collecting herself before they flew open, her gray irises more clear and iridescent than ever before. Screaming, she kicked out and impaled Reeve’s stomach with her foot, launching her master back into the snow. Tah’s stomach reflected Reeve’s pain, causing her to double over, but she did not let it stop her. Desperate, she turned her gaze to Maeve’s baffled face. “Maeve, do not listen to her! Mabel is not here! Reeve did nothing to her; she is in the future, and she is alive!”
“Deceiver!” Reeve roared hoarsely as she tried to pick herself up, the blizzard around them growing from rage and nearly knocking Tah and Maeve down as they fought to stand their ground. “Stop!”
“She will find a way to win on her own!” Tah continued loudly. “You know it, and I know it!”
“Shut up!” Reeve barked, finally managing to stand up.
Tah whipped her face to Reeve when she took a step towards her. Immediately, without bracing herself, Tah grabbed Maeve’s sweltering hand as hard as she could, allowing the fire to consume her skin. Tah screamed in torment as the flames tore into her hand, her cry mixing with that of Reeve’s as the ice spirit’s hand went up in flames as well.
Reeve tottered backward, crying as she waved her hand around, desperately trying to douse the flames. Tah sobbed and whined uncontrollably as her skin was burned away, but she knew what to do. Her clock ticking, she shoved Maeve’s hand over her heart, looking Reeve dead in the eye. “You picked the perfect child, Maeve!” Tah cried. “But she picked the worst child!”
“DECEIVER!” Reeve shrieked horrifically as a surge of flames raced out of her chest. “STOP!”
Tah did not hold herself back, her wire finally snapping. She had been oppressed… Lost for so long, and it was all her fault! “I am not your Deceiver!” Tah wailed as she was burned alive, finally finding the power to stand up for herself. “I am not your slave; I am not your pawn! I am not your anything! I am only me!” She looked back at Maeve, and the moment that she saw the twinkle of gratitude in her eyes, Tah knew that she had made the right choice. “DO IT! DO IT NOW, MAEVE!”
Closing her eyes, Maeve plunged her hand into Tah’s chest with the uncounterable force of a spirit. Her flame driven fingers tore Tah’s skin to shreds; her ribs splintered, her blood spewed forth, and her organs ignited as Maeve wrapped her sweltering fingers around Tah’s heart. Tah released a blood-curdling scream for not even a second before her cry of death faltered out and transitioned into a hollow breath of shock, her body shutting down at the speed of light as her soul began to detach, her life racing down her limbs and soaking into the snow that she was bound to.
Reeve’s chest exploded the same moment that Tah’s ruin was cast upon her, the inferno reaching out and smothering her entire spirit in a cocoon of roaring, vengeful fire. Her skull cracked and fell apart; her body melted and dripped like goo, her spirit sliced apart by the pure fire battling her possessed ice�
�ice which could not even bare the first wave of the assault.
Reeve turned her liquefying eyes to her murderer, glaring at her through the flames. Maeve stared down at Tah’s relaxing body, her Deceiver’s dulling eyes staring into the sockets of Death.
A growl festered in Reeve’s dispersing, incinerating, and bubbling throat. You bastard...! she cursed internally, baring her fangs. You think you’ve won… Do you?
“Well, if I’m going down, you’re sure as hell going with me!” she finished aloud, embracing her origins and allowing her darkness to reach such a terrible low that not an ounce of reasoning could ever touch her again.
Summoning the last reserve of energy and magic that she had claim to, Reeve sprinted forward as a flare, the natural tones of Maeve’s fire evolving into intoxicating blues and purples. A harsh whine broke the barrier of sound as Reeve shot towards her rival, Maeve looking up just in time to see her enemy come crashing down on her.
Reeve lunged, slamming her claw-like hands onto Maeve’s shoulders and trying to knock her back as Maeve threw her arms up defensively, still holding Tah’s heart in one hand as she pulled it out of her chest.
Reeve’s eyes bulged, what was left of her body giving way to its natural form as her tied fate did her in. Her body violently exploded outwards, the world freezing her in place and turning her into an unbreakable, mythical crystal. The remains of her spirit captured Tah, paralyzing her and locking her soul inside of her body just before it could break away for all eternity. The ice closed in on Maeve as well, the ferocity of Reeve’s stunt crushing her flames and breaking her spirit permanently, officially killing half of the fire spirit.
The blizzard retreated, and all became calm. In the middle of the large snow-covered field, where the dark clouds hung low and the winds howled like mourning wolves, the humongous crystal remained in place, breaking the hopes and lives of those both in and out of its devilish form—
For with Tah being preserved before her heart gave its last pulse, no matter how faint, the connection between the duo still remained.
And there, it would continue to exist—
Now. Tomorrow. Next week. Next month. Next year.
Forever.
Thirty-seven
Eternal
To him, there were no limits. If he did not use every piece of information accessible to him, every sense, every object… They would not get out alive.
“Daddy…” Daisy groaned, holding Kevin tightly around the neck as he ran up the stairs.
“J-just hang on!” he panted, risking a glance behind him as he pressed Daisy’s head into his shoulder so that she was protected from her own eyes. His heart jolted with electricity when he saw Orione tearing towards them, a trail of sharp icicles jutting up from the stone stairs wherever his feet tread. His eyes burned with dark magic, the blue chains in his hands spinning so fast that they were nothing but an illuminated blur as he continuously gained ground on his quest for flesh—he was only a few steps behind them, and Kevin’s knights had already been defeated. The Returned began to storm every square inch of the castle, many still pouring in through the shattered gate, securing the palace to make sure there was nowhere that Kevin could run. They swarmed the foyer like flies, Desmond standing in the center of his subjects and staring up at Kevin with black, unforgiving eyes as he squeezed his twitching knuckles soaked in Lucy’s blood.
Kevin swallowed hard, trying to keep his anxiety from affecting his judgment. He turned his gaze back ahead of him as his desired hallway came into view, knowing that he just had to have faith in himself; it was too late to turn back now.
He peeled off to the left, running down the hallway for only a second before turning into his bedroom. He ran over to his bed, heftily placing Daisy down before spinning on his heels and sprinting back to the door, slamming it shut and locking it.
Air would not reach his lungs fast enough, and with a heavy, grateful sigh, the last latch was turned, buying him time. Overwhelmed, Kevin placed both hands on the side of the door, leaning forward and resting his head as he forced himself to take a breath before he collapsed.
The door suddenly boomed beneath him, the old, thick timbers shattering like glass as an arm of ice shot through the barrier, grabbing Kevin around the neck and squeezing his windpipe as hard as it could.
“DAD!” Daisy yelped, her voice breaking. She tried to sit up, but it felt like a million pounds were resting on her crushed bones.
Kevin gagged, his throat gurgling with salvia as Orione tightened his grip, trying to pull Kevin through the door. “Stay… Back… Daisy!” he choked out, resisting Orione’s pull to the best of his ability. He groaned, gathering as much strength as he could in his arms and grabbing the frozen hand around his throat, trying to pry it off of him.
“Oh… Give up…” Orione hissed, giving Kevin’s neck another horrific jerk and slamming his head against the door. “Just hand her over… And that will be it!”
Kevin snarled, all light vanishing from his eyes as he intensified his grip around Orione’s wrist, small cracks racing across his solid frame. Never… Ever would he do that! “You… Stay away… From my little girl…!” he screamed, fire flying through his veins and ordering him to fight as long as he could.
A deafening crash slammed into the ears of all, nearly rupturing their eardrums. The floor beneath them suddenly convulsed a single time before it gave way to a tantrum so violent that the stone holding their feet up became rampant with scars. Kevin was forcefully thrown backward onto the concrete, Orione’s hand abruptly releasing him. He hit the ground on his back, the concrete around him continuing to fill with cracks as the walls shook back and forth, pebbles and dust falling from the ceiling, while entire rocks fell away from the elder walls of the castle.
Kevin did not stand up, sprawled across the floor as he shifted his dizzy head about in confusion. The Earth did not stop shaking—the intensity of its tremors only increased, causing the walls to crumble all the more.
Orione huffed angrily, staring through the hole in the door and pulling Kevin’s spinning eyes into his glowing azure ones. He was breathing heavily, his shoulders rising and falling as he locked down on his target, completely oblivious to the destruction around him.
The castle gave its strongest jolt yet, the foundation of the palace shifting beneath them. Kevin slid across the ground a short distance as the floor slightly titled, hardly seeing the fear in Orione’s solidified eyes before the Elite plummeted through the floors of the hallway, screaming and vanishing from view as the concrete gave way beneath him.
Kevin hit the back of the bed, his pupils wide and heart skipping a beat, hardly able to believe that the biggest threat at the moment was gone. Still, the collapsing castle proved that they were nowhere near safe; Time would just not stand on their side, smiling as he watched the remnants of the royal family frantically try to fight him.
Terrified, Kevin rolled over onto his knees, staring up at Daisy who was curled on the bed, her shuddering hands cupped over her head for protection from the falling gravel. Seeing her so frightened gave Kevin another boost of power, and in spite of the swaying stone floors, he got to his feet, stumbling over to the large armoire in his room. He hurled the doors open, grabbing capes, robes, shirts, and dresses, tossing them all to the floor as he searched for what he needed.
He gasped when it came into view, Kevin reaching down and whisking up the old pack as fast as he could. He stood there for a moment, his slight smile of relief dropping when his eyes reflected the slick, polished gold object residing in the shadows. He exhaled deeply at the sight of his crown, pain stinging his heart when he thought of how he had failed at protecting the innocent. They trusted him, and he let their lives fall to the darkness…
“…Oh, for goodness sake, knock it off!” he scolded himself, turning away and running over to Daisy, placing the pack down heftily beside her. “Daisy, come on,” he pressed, shaking her back with one hand to get her attention, while tearing through his possess
ions with the other.
Whimpering like a puppy, she cautiously raised her head, staring at her father with tearing eyes. He pushed aside the items in his bag as fast as he could before he finally found what he needed. He grabbed it firmly in his unstable hand, stealing it from the fabric and passing it to Daisy. Her eyes widened, an airy gasp escaping her bloody lips when she recognized the small item from her so shortly lived childhood. Puteulanus.
“What…?” she wondered, a cough taking her hostage seconds later.
“It helps you channel your powers properly, remember?” he told her briskly before lowering his hands and applying slight pressure to her broken chest, his palms making an eerie squish as they sank into her shredded muscles. “Hold it tight and focus; you are going to have to get us out of here.”
“B-but I’m not strong…!” she argued frailly. “I’m hurt, Daddy!”
Kevin looked up, his eyes solid. “Hurt, yes,” he admitted, “but in your body, not mind.” He turned back to her stomach, closing his eyes and trying to channel something, anything that existed within him, and push it into her skin. He didn’t know if Cecil was telling the truth about him being a healer, but he couldn’t not try. “Now concentrate.”
Daisy was speechless, but she nodded, putting all of her faith in her father. She pulled Puteulanus close, pressing it against her forehead as she released a subtle sigh of relief, a nearly unnoticeable sense of movement brushing over Kevin’s fingers that he kept down in her innards.
How are you feeling?” he pushed.
Daisy grunted. “A bit better… But it still hurts.”
“It will,” he informed her. “And I have no idea if I’m doing this right, but—”
“Daddy,” Daisy interrupted him, silencing him mid-sentence. She smiled, closing her eyes and finding peace even as the cinder-filled rain fell around them, masked heavily with the scent of salty blood. “You’re doing fine… Thank you…”