by Sara Page
Reaching the end of the hallway, I push open the door to my room and rush inside.
The air turns cold and everything goes black.
I can’t see, I’m completely blind, but my ears are assaulted by dozens of wailing voices.
“Please,” someone sobs. “Please let me out.”
“I’m so cold… so cold…”
I spin, trying to pinpoint the location of the voices. I swear they’re all around me yet all I sense is emptiness.
“Shut up! Shut up all of you! Get out of my head!” Someone screams in agony.
“I’m so sorry, I promise I won’t do it again. I’ll be good. Just let me out. Please let me out.”
Something brushes against my hand and I jerk back, recoiling. Whatever it was, it was cold and slimy. My stomach churns with sickness.
“Why?” Someone repeats, over and over.
Something brushes against my legs, winding between my feet. I stumble, trying to get away from it. Falling to my knees, I cry out.
“Ameia?”
I’d know that voice anywhere.
“Father?”
Leaning back on my heels, I cock my head, listening closely.
“Thank the stars! I knew you’d come.”
Something hits me in the shoulder, soaring past my head.
I jerk away from it.
“Where are you?” I ask, scrambling to my feet.
“I’m right here,” my father answers from behind me.
I spin around and reach out, expecting to touch him but feel nothing. My hands grasp empty air.
“I can’t find you.”
“I’m right in front of you,” he answers. “Can’t you see me?”
I shake my head and blink my eyes then something slams into my chest. I’m nearly knocked off my feet but somehow find my balance.
Whatever it was that hit me sails past my head.
“I see you…” he says, sounding so close.
I take one step then another.
“Come to me,” he demands and I must obey.
Walking forward, cold, slimy tendrils wrap around my arms and then I’m yanked up, off my feet.
The black is ripped away and my eyes are assaulted by light.
“Ameia,” the Devourer grins down at me in all his dark, shadowy glory.
Eyes two blazing infernos peering down at me, I gape up stupidly at him as my mind tries to understand what just happened. His image shifts, the shades stitched together swirling, condensing.
The Devourer laughs and the shades that make up his body echo him.
Gently he lowers me to my feet and as I touch the floor, I look up. Up there, on the ceiling, is the mural I used to stare at every night before falling asleep.
I’m in my old bedroom.
“How?” I ask. “What just happened?”
Looking around me, I take in my room. Everything looks as it should, yet not. Something is off but I can’t put my finger on it.
“You fell through a crack,” he answers and then clicks his tongue at me. “You should watch where you’re going. You might break your pretty neck.”
He grins and I pull away from him. His mouth is too wide; his teeth are too sharp, too monstrous.
“What crack?” I ask. Is he talking about the cracks in reality that I used to fall through when I was pregnant?
At the last moment his hands tighten around me, claws piercing my flesh as he pulls me close.
“That crack,” he breathes into my face and then spins me around.
There’s no mistaking it. The crack cuts across the threshold of my bedroom door, the floor split open in a jagged line.
Peering into the hole, all I can make out is darkness.
“Where did that come from?”
“Terrea suffered some minor damage during the transition.”
He sighs and something tickles the back of my neck.
All the little hairs on my body stand on end.
Is it him touching me or one of his shadows? I’m too creeped out to even look.
I’d rather not know…
“You should be more careful. You are too important,” he says more angrily, his voice smacking against my ear. “I can’t lose you.”
“Where is my father?” I ask, hoping to distract him. “Where are all the people that live in the palace?”
He laughs and I tense up, the sound crawling down my spine like one of those slimy things that grabbed me in the darkness. “I’m keeping them safe for you.”
“Keeping them safe?” I press.
“Yes,” he answers simply.
“How?”
He laughs again and then spins me around to face him.
“I put them in the pit.”
“In the pit?!” I cry out.
He nods and takes one step forward forcing me to take a step back. “Yes. It’s for the best.”
“How is putting them in the pit for the best?!”
Another step and then another step, he guides me back until my knees hit the back of the bed.
“Because they’re safe there,” he explains. “Taking care of them was so tedious, my men grew tired of it and started killing them…”
“No,” I gasp in horror.
“Don’t worry,” he grins. “I put a stop to it.”
Slowly, I shake my head back and forth while staring at him. I thought I could do this, I thought it would be so easy, but now I’m not so sure…
My reaction seems to anger him. Eyes blazing, he grips me tightly and his voice scrapes at my ear. “You should show me a little appreciation. I could have easily allowed them to die, but I saved them for you. For you, Ameia.”
“Why—” I stammer, unable to finish my question.
Why didn’t he just kill them? It would have been a mercy…
My family is trapped in the pit, living an eternity of darkness.
No, don’t think of that.
Clearing my throat, I decide to ask instead, “Why did you save them for me?”
“Because,” he says, grip loosening. Hand reaching up to stroke my cheek, he purrs, “They’re my gift to you, my Queen.”
My entire body revolts at the title.
I can’t do this, I can’t.
He leans down, and it’s either allow him to kiss me or find a way to escape.
“I am not your Queen.” I lean back and he pushes me off of my feet.
My back hits the bed. Before I can sit up or scramble away his dark form comes down on top of me. My worst nightmare is playing out right in front of my eyes. He cages me in with his arms and I’m trapped.
Why did I let him do this?
“You are,” he purrs, and his wailing shadows echo him.
“You are my Queen, and together we’ll rule over the Ravagers. We’ll rule over a galaxy of darkness…”
His head drops down and I turn my face away at the last second, narrowly dodging his kiss.
He growls and his breath is cold against my neck. “Thanks to you, we no longer need the light. We are finally free.”
“You give me too much credit,” I choke out, fighting the tears back.
“Perhaps,” he says and begins kissing my neck.
My skin crawls beneath his lips.
How can I do this? How can I accept this?
Looking up, seeking guidance from a higher power, my eyes fall upon the mural painted on my ceiling instead. Up there, the princes and knights are rescuing the maidens…
But I left my princes behind, and I can’t afford to wait for them to come and save me.
I have to save them.
“You taste so sweet,” the Devourer purrs with appreciation and I feel the skirt at my knees being lifted.
I turn my face to look at him.
“Ameia,” he growls and grabs me by the hair, forcing his kiss upon my lips.
His lips are so cold the kiss steals my breath and I can’t speak.
“You will give me the most beautiful daughters,” he murmurs and something tickles
my thighs. “Open for me, my Queen.”
I can do this, I can.
Locking my knees together, I take a deep breath.
For me.
“I accept you.”
For them.
“What did you say?” he hisses, recoiling away from me. The two blazing infernos in his eyes go out, leaving only two swirling pools of darkness.
For him.
“I accept you,” I repeat, looking into his eyes, feeling the pools sucking me in. Drowning out my light. “You are mine.”
“No!” he roars in fury, and a loud crack sounds out. The walls shake and the bed shifts. “You little fool!”
He lashes out, claws tearing into my stomach. “Take it back!”
I scream as the pain rips through me.
The world splits in half, the bed tips, and together we fall through the crack into darkness.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I fall
and fall.
It feels endless.
But I’m not alone.
The Devourer and all his shades are with me, screaming. Wailing.
They strain at their stitches, ripping themselves free, and one by one they drift up.
Floating away until only a withered shell is left.
Oh, how I wish I could go with them.
“Ameia,” the withered shell croaks, reaching for me. He’s been reduced to a skeleton covered in shrunken purple skin.
He looks so lost, so sad.
I grab onto him and hold him.
Together we fall
and fall.
Looking into my eyes, he tenderly strokes my hair back.
“I feel so warm,” he says, his dimmed eyes wide in awe.
I can feel little jolts of sensation on my scalp where his hand touches.
“So warm…”
My stomach throbs with agony. I can feel my strength fading. Each breath is shorter than the last but the jolts are a welcome distraction.
“Please,” I beg. “Please don’t stop doing that.”
“I won’t,” he says with raspy conviction. “I’ll never stop…”
Closing my eyes, I focus on the jolts, and I swear I can hear a familiar voice calling my name…
“Thank you, Ameia.”
There’s a bright flash and a wave of warmth sweeps over me. My body tingles with the most amazing electrical sensations. I think of Beast and Striker. Vis and Warrick.
“It’s so beautiful,” he says in awe.
“It is,” I agree, unable to hold on any longer.
I slip through his bony fingers but I don’t fall, I soar.
I’m soaring towards the light…
I can feel it calling me home.
Epilogue
“Your mother was beautiful in her fury. She walked right up to the Devourer and she—”
“What did she do? What did she do?” A rapt Esha and Ellany both ask, bouncing with excitement.
Striker sighs as if the girls are testing his patience. “Well, if you wait a minute, I’ll tell you.”
The girls settle down, the excitement fading from their chubby little faces.
“Shall I continue?” Striker asks, and they both nod their heads very seriously.
“Anyway, your mother was beautiful in her fury,” Striker repeats, and Esha and Ellany lean forward, once more becoming captivated by his storytelling. “She walked right up to the Devourer and she…”
He pauses for dramatic effect before exclaiming, “Kissed him!”
The girls look to each other, make a face of disgust and exclaim in unison, “Ew!”
I tear my eyes away from the scope of my rifle long enough to shoot him a dirty look. “That’s not exactly how it happened…”
“You kissed him, didn’t you?” Striker challenges.
“Yeah, but—” I mumble.
I’m cut off by the girls yelling out, “Ew!” again.
I roll my eyes and Striker grins.
“The Devourer was defeated by the strength of your mother’s love. The pit disappeared, never to be seen again. And everyone lived happily ever after. The end.”
Striker walks up to the girls and they both jump up. They wrap their little arms around his legs to hug him.
He ruffles their dark curls affectionately. “Story time is over. Now go play you two.”
I watch Esha and Ellany run off, giggling. My heart swells with so much love for them.
It’s been five years since I confronted the Devourer. They tell me I defeated him and saved Terrea. But after we fell through the crack, my memory kind of blanks out. I have no idea what happened.
I vaguely remember a bright light and the sensation of flying, but not much after that.
What I do remember is waking up in my childhood bedroom, completely unharmed on my bed. Somehow Terrea was brought back from the Other Side and restored to its proper dimension.
On video, there was a flash and then bam, Terrea was back again.
The Transgalactic Alliance tried to investigate the incident but the majority of the citizens, including my father, also had huge gaps in their memory. No one remembers what happened. In fact, if it wasn’t for the recorded evidence of Terrea disappearing, most of the people wouldn’t have believed it.
Well, that and all the people that suddenly went missing with no other explanation…
With a frown, I wait until the girls are completely out of earshot before saying, “Don’t you think they’re a little young for that story?”
“No,” Striker answers, walking over to me. “As Ravagers, it is important we don’t repeat the mistakes of our past, and that includes remembering our history.”
“Yes, but,” I sigh, completely agreeing with him on that. “They’re only five, and technically he’s their grandfather…”
Striker’s eyes flash and his face hardens. Usually, I try to avoid reminding him that the Devourer was his father, knowing it’s a sore spot with him—something that causes him shame and embarrassment—but in this case it just couldn’t be avoided.
“He is their grandfather, and he was a monster. Even more reason they should know.” He looks towards the girls and I follow his line of sight. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
Striker’s words have an ominous warning to them. A cold shiver travels down my spine as I consider his tone’s implication.
I watch the girls run up to Warrick and Vis. They beg Warrick to play their favorite game. A game where Warrick pretends to be the big bad scary monster that chases them and Vis is the hero that saves them.
Is Striker trying to hint at something?
I look back at Striker sharply. I don’t know what to say. I agree with him but I don’t agree with him. I suppose for now, there’s no harm in them knowing a toned-down version of the events.
Especially if it prevents the said events from being repeated.
Beast grabs my attention by growling, “Look, Ameia. It’s getting away.”
“Oh, no, you don’t!” I cry out and turn back to my rifle. Pressing my eye up to my scope, I search for the little fuzzy bugger.
I spot him running through the blue-green foliage with his little fangs bared as he chases down a creature that looks like a cross between a bunny and a puppy.
While the Transgalactic Alliance investigated the Terrea situation, I spent many hours speaking with Ambassador Halgary. We eventually became good friends, and after learning of my original crash, he dug up the identity of the planet where Beast and I first met.
Turns out the planet is owned by some wealthy dignitary out of the Corstar constellation, and he uses it as a vacation hunting resort for him and his hunting buddies.
Having such fond memories of this place, naturally I decided this was the perfect place for our first family vacation before I give birth.
Oh, did I mention I’m pregnant? Girls again, and twins. Who would have guessed?
I pause, take a breath, and pull the trigger.
The evil fuzzball stiffens and then drops to the
ground.
“Yes,” I pump my fist in the air. “Got him!”
“Good shot,” Beast says, slapping me on the back.
“Yeah, it was,” I say, pulling away from the rifle with a grin. “Think we can do the next one with live ammo?”
“Not yet,” Beast growls and reaches down to rub his bottom. “You need more practice.”
I pout and Beast grumbles, “Don’t look at me like that.”
I flutter my lashes and give him my best puppy dog eyes.
Beast shakes his head. “That doesn’t work on me, Ameia.”
Unfortunately, Beast will only let me shoot stunners for now. He’s worried I might accidentally shoot someone or something.
I got the guy in the butt once, once, when I was first learning how to load the rifle and he’s going to forever hold it against me.
“Please…” I start to beg then stop when I hear a loud pop.
We all look to the sky.
“Is that a ship?” I ask, squinting my eyes against the sunlight.
“Yes,” Beast sighs and stands. Reaching down, he offers me his hand.
I place my hand in his and he pulls me to my feet. Eyes locked on the sky, I watch as the ship comes closer and closer.
“What kind of ship is that?” I ask as we walk over to Warrick, Vis, and the girls.
“Ravager,” Striker growls.
“Oh,” I say, and my stomach twists with nervousness.
I suppose we’ve all been kind of waiting for this moment to happen… I just didn’t expect it to be now, during our first ever family vacation.
Beast and Striker flank me protectively while Warrick and Vis shield the girls. We walk out of the foliage and watch the silver, bullet-shaped ship circle overhead before landing in the clearing closest to us.
I look to Beast and Striker nervously then reach out, taking them both by the hand.
They both look to me and squeeze my hands reassuringly.
Perhaps I’m mistaken. Perhaps it’s just a message from Blackspire…
I look back to the ship, gulp, and then begin to slowly approach it.
The door to the ship opens with a hiss and then the landing ramp unfolds, touching the ground.
A Ravager clad fully in obsidian armor climbs out. Standing on the ramp of his ship, his glowing gaze sweeps over our little group before falling on me.