Semira stirred. Kara shuffled backward until she was out of her sister's reach. When Semira opened her eyes, the two of them stared at one another.
"Half-blood. Get away from me." Semira looked frantically around the room, then her eyes came to rest on the exit behind Kara. "Let me go."
Kara didn't move. "I know who you are, you vile, murdering swine."
Her sister started to climb to her feet. "I have nothing to say to you, husk. You should have died when I impaled you with my javelin before the temple of the machine worshipers."
"That was you?" Kara could only remember bits and pieces of that time of her life, though that event stood out.
Suddenly, her sister charged her. Kara tried to leap aside, but Semira shouldered her out of the way and ran out the door. Shaking her head, Kara watched her flee. I hope you die out there.
Then she caught sight of the egg-shaped object. On a whim, she scooped it up. She'd never seen anything like it before. It surely wasn't a weapon, or her sister would have used it. What could it be?
She could no longer hear Semira's running feet, nor any other sound. Where would her sister go? The sun must be setting by now, so there would be little daylight left. Then it occurred to her. How had Semira been able to see her in the dark? Did she also have altered vision?
Peering out the door, Kara scanned the train platform. No sign of her sister or anything else.
Remembering why she had entered the office to begin with, Kara searched around for a place to sleep. The door was broken off its hinges, so there wouldn't be a way to barricade it to stop her sister or anything else from entering. She would need to find somewhere else to spend the night.
The air rang with the sound of a scream. Kara listened. Had it been Semira? A deep roar echoed through the station. The Great Shadow. Another scream followed, this time more frantic.
Before she knew it, Kara raced toward a set of escalators. She had no idea why she was bothering to find her sister; it wasn't like Kara cared whether she lived or died.
And yet... maybe Semira could have her uses. She might know a way out of this world, the location of the ghost woman, or some other useful information. If her sister became a hindrance or ended up being of no use, then Kara could always leave her behind.
Or kill her, like Semira had killed Berda, Wrynric and all the rest.
Reaching the next level, Kara hurried through a ticketgate. The shadow roared again, and this time, Kara felt a tremor go through the ground. Speeding up another escalator, Kara raced into a large room lit by the dwindling light of the setting sun shining through the broken doorways leading outside.
Black tendrils reached through one of the doors and stretched outward to spread across the room. Semira cowered under a concrete bench, her face contorted in terror, her voice a high-pitched wail. The Great Shadow smashed into the front wall, shattering it to pieces.
Part of the roof collapsed above Kara and she leapt aside as tiles and metal girders fell around her. She dove back into the station and waited for it to be over. Once she was certain no more of the roof was coming down, Kara scanned the rubble for Semira. She found her, still cowering under the bench, the falling debris having missed her.
Before Kara could go to her sister's aid, a thick tendril engulfed the bench and smothered it in darkness, silencing Semira's scream. Though the light was near nonexistent, Kara's eyes saw clearly. The shadow had a face! An ill-formed entropic nightmare of human features. A nose, a mouth and what might have been ears.
She had to find a way to distract it.
The beast must have sensed Kara. Like a drunk vomiting up his dinner across a tavern floor, a blooming mass of tendrils erupted out of its body in a great sloppy mass. Covered in black goo, they splayed out across the rubble-strewn ground and began to slither toward her. Their look reminded her of the poisonous eels in Crystal Lake.
As she backed away, one of the tendrils shot out from the others to block her path back into the station. Kara ran along the wall toward another door. She had no idea where it led, but anywhere was better than here. Her sister was gone, and there was no point in sticking around.
Another tendril lashed out and tripped her, sending her flat on her stomach. Winded, Kara tried to get up, but the tendril looped around her waist and lifted her from the floor. The Great Shadow had her in its grip, pulling her closer, the touch of its flesh freezing the blood in Kara's veins. It roared in triumph, the gaping black hole of its maw opening wide, revealing a swirling maelstrom of gray emptiness that seemed to stretch forever, as if the beast was hollow. Flames of simmering ice blue ignited within its eyes, the pupils pits of darkness, blacker than a lightless cave.
Then its facial features twisted and malformed and became some hideous skull-like terror with jagged teeth of black obsidian and giant black scales, the gray nothingness of its gullet hungry for her flesh.
Kara struggled against the tendril, her skin freezing around it. Screaming, she raised her arms before her as she drew closer to the monstrosity's gaping maw. The tingling feeling in her head came again.
She waited for the surge of power to lash out again—but nothing happened. The mouth opened even wider as she neared, the teeth dripping oily black ichor. A foul stench wafted from its throat, as if everything the Great Shadow had ever eaten still rotted inside it. Gagging, Kara desperately tried to think back to what she'd done in the office.
All she could think was that she'd silenced her mind. She only had seconds to spare before the beast devoured her. Closing her eyes, she forced her mind to blot out everything and to focus on the power tingling inside her. Focus. Focus. I can do this.
Then it came in a great surge, down her arm and out her fingers.
I did it!
The beast wailed, snapping its maw shut inches from her face. Kara opened her eyes as more energy burst out of her. The tendril dumped her to the ground as the Great Shadow fell back. Another barrage of her power pummeled it, each bolt sending an electric thrill through Kara. It felt good. It felt powerful.
It felt right.
She drove the beast before her with bolt after bolt of invisible energy. After all the tendrils had withdrawn, the shadow spread its entropic wings and took flight with a roar of anguish. Kara watched it disappear into the dark gray clouds. It flew toward the setting sun and was gone.
Power thrummed through Kara still. She felt invincible.
A sound came from behind her, and she spun around, hand raised, ready to launch another bolt. Semira watched her from the doorway, eyes wide, chest heaving.
Kara lowered her hand and let out a long, satisfied moan of ecstasy. The tingling sensation faded, leaving her giddy and more than a little weary.
The power had fled. For now.
"I think it's gone," Kara finally said. Semira didn't move. Kara held out a trembling hand. "I'm not going to hurt you, but try to hurt me and..."
Her sister started to retreat into the debris-filled entryway leading back into the station. "Wait." Kara held out the egg-shaped object. That would get her sister to stop. "You left this behind."
Semira stopped backing away, and instead ran at Kara and tried to snatch it from her. Before her sister could seize it, Kara grabbed her arm and dug her nails into her flesh, enjoying the grimace of pain on Semira's face. This is nothing compared to the pain you've caused me. I will turn my heart to ice, so you can never hurt me again. "We need to talk."
"Why, half-blood? I have nothing to say to you." Semira tried to break free, but Kara only dug her nails deeper. "Give it back to me."
Her sister tried to reach the item, but Kara moved it out of reach. "I'm not giving it to you until we talk. You owe me answers."
"I owe you nothing, half-blood. I—" Semira's lower lip quivered. "Just give it back to me."
Kara refused to feel pity for her. My heart is ice. "No. Why should I? You tried to kill me, and you killed my friends at the Golden Keg, then you went on to slay Wrynric. Erinie said the old warrior loved you like
a father."
Semira dropped to her knees and hung her head. "Give it back to me... Give it back... He gave it to me."
"Then why did you kill him?" Kara let go as she felt the tingling again. "Why did you betray your own people at Sunholm?"
Her sister collapsed onto the ground and curled into a ball and snuffled softly. Kara glanced around, wary the Great Shadow could return. She needed to wait for Semira to gather herself, but they were too exposed. She briefly contemplated leaving her sister there and going back underground. But she wanted answers and there was only one way to get them.
Two minutes later, Semira still hadn't moved, and the tingling sensation in Kara's head had faded once more. Watching her sister, Kara put her hands on her hips. "Get up. We need to go back down to the station before the shadow returns."
Semira didn't respond.
"Fine, we'll do it your way. I have no pity left for the likes of you." Kara grabbed her by the hair and started dragging her.
"Let go," Semira shrieked, grasping Kara's arms. "You're hurting me."
"Far less than you've hurt me." Kara continued to drag her, enjoying her sister's screams. "You deserve every bit of this. If I were anything like you, I'd torture you to death right here."
"Let me go, half-blood, please..."
Kara yanked her sister's hair. "My name is Kara—not half-blood."
Semira wailed all the way down the corridor and to the top of the escalators. There Kara let her go before the desire to throw Semira down them overwhelmed her. When she tried to stand, Kara pinned her to the ground with a knee.
"Get off me." Semira squirmed. "What are you doing?"
"I said I wanted answers. If you don't start talking... I'll hurt you like I hurt the Great Shadow." Kara wasn't sure if she could go through with the threat. If the tingling sensation didn't return, she might be powerless—but Semira didn't know that.
"All I want is my toy. I have nothing to live for anymore." Semira sobbed, then her voice became like a child's. "Please, I need it."
"I don't care. Why should I?"
"Please..."
"Why did you kill Wrynric?" Her sister became unresponsive again. My heart is ice. Kara jerked Semira's head back by the hair. "Tell me, or I'm going to hurt you."
"He made me do it."
"Who? Kahan?"
"No. The voice in my head. He made me do everything."
Kara paused. Voice in her head? "Who was this voice?"
"It... He was Dwaycar."
Kara was so stunned by the revelation, she didn't know what to say. She let her sister's head fall.
"Dwaycar has been inside me for years," Semira said. "He cared for me when no one else did. But now, because of you, he has abandoned me and taken control of my body."
"Abandoned you?" Kara's mind still worked furiously to process what her sister was saying. How could two of the divines return from the dead to steal their bodies? Imogen—who was Ibilirith—had taken Kara's body from her and almost driven Kara insane in the process. Bits and pieces of the divine's memories were still in Kara's head. So many that if she tried to piece them all together, to try to understand everything Imogen had once known, it would drive her mad.
"Dwaycar made me go to his tomb and put his ancient armor on. Then he took control of me and banished me here."
"So you still had control of your body up until the end?"
Semira blinked. "Yes..."
My heart is ice. "So, when you slaughtered my friends at the Golden Keg and killed Wrynric, you were in complete control?"
"I never went to the Golden Keg. But Wrynric..." Her body shuddered. "Why did he have to get in our way? I didn't want to—"
Kara yanked her sister's hair so hard, she ripped some free. "He was trying to protect me because your father told him to."
Shrieking in pain, Semira cried, "Father..." Then she started sobbing.
Kara let go again, tossed away the broken hair, and gave her sister a moment to get herself together. After a time, Semira sniffed and glanced around. "Where are we? Surely that light outside wasn't the Lost Sun. One such as me is undeserving of seeing it."
"You don't know this place?" Then Kara remembered. "You were meant to be a failed scion, weren't you? You couldn't have visiondreams."
Semira snapped her head around to look up at Kara. "At least I'm not a half-blood like you. You dress like a seductress, just like your mother."
"Watch what you say," Kara snapped through gritted teeth. "I wasn't trying to insult you." She scanned the dark station. "As far as I know, this place is the world of the visiondream."
"You lie."
"No lie. This place is a mirror of the surface in the real world. I have walked here before."
Semira became unresponsive again as she sobbed and moaned. Assuming her sister wouldn't try to get away, Kara climbed off her and waited. How pitiful you truly are. Not so powerful now, are you?
Eventually, Semira looked up from the frozen floor. "Can I have my toy back?"
Kara ran her fingers over it, considering whether to keep it until she got everything she wanted out of her sister, or be petty and hurl it at the ground and shatter it. Semira looked so broken and vulnerable. The old Kara would have taken pity, and reached out to comfort her. But the new one has suffered and lost everything and has a heart of ice. "Fine. Take it." She struggled to resist the urge to toss it in her sister's face. "But don't try to run or I'll—"
"I won't, please give it back."
Kara held it out. Semira snatched it, then backed away and cradled it in her arms, whispering to it. Letting her sister be, Kara slouched against the wall on the other side of the corridor. Silence hung heavy and the air grew icy. Both of them were shivering.
"We need to go back down to the office," Kara said. "It's going to get colder and if we don't get warm, we mightn't survive the night."
Semira stopped whispering, her teeth chattering. "I want to die. I can't live with... what I've done."
"That's your problem. But I don't want to die, for I will find a way to return and take back my body." Kara blew out air through her nose. "Now listen, wretch. Like you, I had a being inside me. You had Dwaycar. Well, I had Ibilirith!"
Semira looked taken aback. "Ibilirith... Dwaycar often spoke of his sister. He said her name was Imogen and that she was evil and needed to die."
"That was her name before she became known as Ibilirith. His name was once Dressen. They lived long ago, in that underground city she called Annbar."
"He said she did something terrible because she was a coward."
Shaking her head, Kara said, "She's far more than a coward. She's insane. Imogen means to turn the people of Stelemia into machines so they can fight her Firstborn—the enemy that destroyed Deep Cave and Celestial Rest."
"Dwaycar and I tried to kill you so you didn't bring the device my father found to Annbar. Kahan, the leader of the Knives of Dwaycar, never knew of Imogen. He only knew you as the scion of the prophecy."
Kara frowned, her mind racing. "Are you telling me Dwaycar and Kahan were trying to save humanity?"
Semira curled into a ball, teeth chattering, breath misting. "Yes. I wanted to help them, and I don't regret that I did." She narrowed her eyes. "After all, it was you who was the threat to us all. I have done everything for the greater good." A cold gust of wind blew down the corridor. "So co-cold."
The greater good? Berda, Mihiri, Nyla, Wrynric and all the rest died for the greater good? No. Imogen is evil, but so is her brother. The bloodshed could have all been avoided had Semira reached out to me in friendship, rather than try to kill me. I would have listened. I would never have gone to Annbar.
But then, what of the Firstborn? How could they be stopped by anything other than Imogen's life-infused machines? My people are doomed, unless I find a way back to take control of these machines and turn them on the enemy.
Kara straightened. "Let's go back to the office and see if we can light a fire. We can talk more on the way there."
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CHAPTER 5
AEMON
Aemon slid on his stomach under the shelves as three of the flowers came after him. Beyond them, he caught glimpses of Minard and Erinie being driven back, and with them, his only light. As the torchlight faded and the vine-limbs reached for him, his fear almost got a hold of him. Sucking in a deep breath, he slid along, ignoring the shooting pain up his leg.
Something smacked into his foot and he kicked at it until it withdrew. There had to be somewhere he could hide where the enemy would not be able to reach him. But with each passing moment, the light grew dimmer and so did his chances of getting away.
Aemon was on his own.
Snatching his mace from his belt, he pushed it before him. If it came to it, he would swing blind and hope he took out a few of the flower-people before they got him. Something began sliding along the ground behind him. The enemies were climbing under the shelves in pursuit.
"Vy prinesli eto sebe," a voice said.
"Leave me alone." The torchlight disappeared and with it, any chance Aemon would get out of this alive.
"My mozhem videt' vas."
Aemon grunted as his injured leg smacked against something in the dark. "I cannot understand you. What do you want from me?"
The voice that answered was closer than before.
"Please, I am sorry for what happened to your people. We did not know—"
"Ubiytsy kotoryye prinosyat plamya."
Blindly, he went on until he bashed his head into a metal wall. Feeling his way along it, he soon worked out it was a large crate. That meant he was out from under the shelf. He slid against the side of the crate, hoping beyond hope the enemy would leave him alone.
"My po-prezhnemu vidim vas."
Lydan, protect me, he prayed as he struggled on.
Vines wrapped themselves around his legs and brought him to a sudden stop. Groaning in pain, Aemon sat up and struck them with his mace. A scream came from somewhere in the darkness, and the vines withdrew. Take that! He swung his weapon before him, hoping to hit something, but nothing was there.
The Lost Sun Series Box Set 1: Books 1 and 2 (Lost Sun Box Set) Page 47