A Song in the Rain

by Lydia Deyes

  Did my eyes look that way when he was controlling me?

  The humans wore primitive armor but carried weapons that seemed to be made of solid shadow. The beasts didn’t need armor — their scales were as thick as stone, and they swung their mighty tails like spiked cedars.

  All around me, the chaos was growing. My armies were losing, and it seemed somehow Nivek’s was growing. But when I looked closer, my jaw dropped in shock. The slain animals from both sides were standing up again, eyes as black as night, fighting for Nivek. The dead had little coordination or strength; they flailed their arms and bodies limply at my troops. But what they lacked in power, they made up in numbers. The more animals died, the more were fighting for the enemy. Disgusted, I steered myself straight for the darkest cave. I dipped and dodged my assailants with determination, never losing sight of my goal. It was time to end this.

  LIV

  As soon as I entered, I was attacked. I had no time to react. The cold grasp didn’t last long, but it pinned me in place, and I couldn’t move. I used all my physical might against the magical bonds, but it was no use. I didn’t want to use my powers yet, but I was sure they wouldn’t help me get out of this thing holding me, anyway. Whatever it was, it was made of strong, dark magic. I couldn’t see anything. It was pitch black.

  An odd blue brilliance suddenly filled the room; I couldn’t see its source. There was just enough light that I could barely see. I was thankful for my heightened senses from being deaf for so long. The shroud was absolutely dense in the cave, and I knew for certain I was in the presence of Nivek himself. I looked around me and found I was suspended in the air. The murky, pulsating shroud that was Nivek sifted around me, forming and dissolving itself. Finsternis had described him as a formless mass of dark spirits, but at its most condensed, it almost formed the shape of something that seemed vaguely familiar. I couldn’t quite put a name to it.

  I observed my surroundings, in case something might prove useful. The cave was rather small, but plenty large for a bird as tiny as me. Its shorter dimension was slightly longer than Samuel had been from his head to the tip of his tail; the longer was a little less than twice that. It wasn’t a definite shape, but nearly rectangular, with jagged sides and corners. One corner, the one nearest me and furthest from the entrance, was so rough, it formed a small crevice near the ground just large enough that I might be able to squeeze my body inside it. The floor, oddly enough, was nearly flat, and the roof was sloped, with a hairline crack that spread halfway across the diagonal.

  I was already beginning to formulate a plan when I was assaulted with a massive headache as Nivek tried to pound himself in again, but I was stronger now. I thought of my love for Amery and my determination to fulfill the prophecy, and after a while, Nivek backed off without success. With multiple raspy, whispering voices, the shroud spoke, and I heard Nivek’s booming voice in my head as well. I assumed he wasn’t aware of my newfound ability to hear again.

  “So, you have come to us,” the shroud that was Nivek said as wisps of darkness encircled me. They prodded my body, as if looking for cracks. They felt cold and sharp. “How pleasant. We have been waiting quite some time to see you, sparrow, the one they call the Silent Warrior.”

  It cackled a terrible laugh. “You see, Sheer, we know all about you,” it whispered. “You are connected to us. We wanted you in full, but even though you were still an egg when we passed by, something changed inside of you before we could fully possess your mind. You changed, and you fought back. We were forced to leave you, but not before one of us got inside of you. We’ve been trying to get it back ever since… but look where you are now! Soon, we shall be complete again!”

  I gaped, but this new knowledge made everything come together. A piece of the darkness explained my powers, and Nivek’s attempts to get it back explained everything else. Why I’d been targeted by Malvador with his fire when I lived with the squirrels, and why Nivek had been able to enter my mind.

  “Have you ever wondered why fighting us was so difficult for you?” the shroud asked. “Why you have struggled with your own motives for so long? But you will not be able to keep it contained and subdued forever. It wants to rejoin us, and eventually, you will permit it. You will submit. You will give up.”

  “I will never let you control me, Nivek!” I shouted. “I will never give up. I’ll fight until my death or yours.”

  The evil spirits swirling around me in darkness hissed at my reply. I struggled to identify something among them to focus on, especially since I could barely move my head. “We could not have you then,” they continued, “but soon we will. When you pushed us away, we found instead another. He didn't resist. He welcomed us. And now, he has become us. We may choose to reside in his form or in this one. He is no more. We are Nivek.”

  As I watched, the swirling dark spirits spun faster and faster in front of me, getting smaller and clearer until they coalesced into a form I’d long ago grown to love. A chickadee. Kevin. It was him, but at the same time, not him at all. It was the look in his eyes that made all the difference. When I looked into their depths, I saw only darkness.

  “No… no, I can’t believe it,” I cried. “You can’t be…”

  “Oh, but I am,” Kevin said, his sweet, innocent voice completely contradicting the story his eyes were telling — of lust for power. My sadness transformed into anger.

  “You used me! You used my need for friendship to gain power.”

  “Of course I did,” Kevin’s form said. “And you helped us greatly. But there is still more we want, and you will help us get it.”

  “What more could someone like you possibly want?” I demanded. “You’re the most powerful… thing… on the surface of the Earth, besides nature itself! Isn’t that enough for you?”

  “No!” He hissed, temporarily exploding into the multiple shards of darkness before regaining control of his bird form. “Nothing is ever enough. And besides, we are close to having the world, even without your help. We can control minds, but you… you took the piece that can control matter. You keep foiling our plans. Somehow, you released all three of our puppet tyrants. With your spirit back on our side, a major obstacle is removed. And with all our powers combined, together we will have the power to rule the universe.”

  I wasn’t sure whether “we” meant Kevin and myself, or just the shroud, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t tempted by the offer anymore, but I had to find a flaw, something I could build off. Was it possible for me to rescue Kevin like I had the others? I had to try.

  “And what of my friends?” I countered.

  “Friends? You mean Amery — that useless little worm? Well, you may have her. She’s yours. We want nothing to do with her. And Al, you can forget about him. If you really want him saved, he’ll be protected, but does he really mean that much to you? Now, will you join us or not, Sheer?”

  I tried to think of what to say. I wanted to come up with something to combat Nivek, but nothing came to mind. Nothing but the need to purge this evil from the world, once and for all. “I will not join you, Nivek. I will never stop fighting. I won’t let you win.”

  “Well then, you’ll just have to fight me, won’t you?” With that, I found I could move again. But before I could do anything, Nivek was upon me. Half-chickadee, half-dark spirit, it was a terrible sight. It pinned me to the ground, and I felt icy blades piercing through me as shards of darkness constrained me. It felt as if my heart was being torn out, and I cried in agony.

  My life flashed before my eyes, and I saw each of the lives that had touched my own. I saw Violet and Reika and was grateful for the time I’d been able to spend with my family, no matter how short. I saw Barrie and remembered his loyal friendship. I saw Nyoka, Spike, and Finsternis, and recalled all I’d learned in preparing to fight them. I saw Anna, and how she’d given me something to learn, and a way to help others. I saw Samuel and remembered fondly all he’d taught me, and how his kindness had given me hope. Last of all, I saw Amery. My love for her ga
ve me strength to keep on, not to give up, to fulfill the prophecy… and end this evil, once and for all.

  Using the muscular power of my legs given to me from weeks of walking, I pushed the half-bird, half-spirit form off me. With a shout, I ripped myself free of its deadly grip, but I slipped in the pool of my own blood and was attacked again in an instant. In that brief moment of freedom, however, I set my mind to a single task and didn't waver. The agony from Nivek’s attack forced my mind to withdraw to endure it, but I maintained fierce concentration. I thought of Amery and focused on what I intended to do, retreating entirely from the physical world and entering a deeper state of mind than I ever had before.

  Finally, a loud crack resounded through the cave, and I knew I’d succeeded. I’d shifted the roof of the cave, enough to collapse it. Nivek looked up, changing completely into bird form. The tugging inside me told me that the shroud needed the last sliver of spirit to stay outside a physical form for so long. While it was distracted, I used all my strength to feebly drag myself toward the small hollow in the wall nearest me. It felt as if I was going to split in two from pain, and the ground was slippery with my blood, but I pushed myself along with all the life I had left. I had to stay alive. For Amery. I had to see her again, to hear her voice, to tell her what I now knew.

  I was mostly to the hollow when the roof caved in. Nivek — Kevin — disappeared under a mass of stone. Dust and rock filled the rest of the cave, falling on top of my feet, which were still exposed, and all around me. I saw no more.

  LV

  I floated above my body, through the walls of the cave, above the fight. Nivek’s army stood, baffled, no longer fighting. They looked around in confusion, their eyes back to normal. The animals who had been the walking or flying dead were lying still and silent in the blood-red dust.

  The darkness in the sky was dissipating, and a beam of moonlight filtered through. The air was still and quiet. There was no sign of Malvador. The dust settled and I could see a few thin wisps of fog drifting around the cave; all that was left of the shroud.

  Anna stood near the collapsed cave, digging in the stones. “Amery!” she called. “Come quick!”

  I saw her form fluttering quickly towards the rock pile; hundreds of humans, Beasts, and other animals were now gathering around. She flew over their heads and landed in the middle, next to Samuel’s granddaughter.

  As the dust continued to settle, I lowered myself down. Two bodies had been excavated from the rubble: Kevin’s, and my own. My eyes were gray, and my broken feathers were stained with red, especially around a deep gash in my chest. My legs were a mangled mess from the cave-in. I knew that if I entered my body, I would feel its pain… but it was worth it, to speak to Amery one more time. I dove down, bracing myself for what was to come.

  ◆◆◆

  I coughed. Pain flared in my legs, my stomach, my chest, my head. Everything hurt. I struggled to open my eyes and located Amery peering over me.

  “Sheer! Are you all right?”

  “No,” I moaned. Suddenly, I felt foolish for not checking whether the chickadee was truly dead. I didn’t know whether I’d get another opportunity. “Is Nivek… Kevin…”

  “Kevin’s dead,” she replied. “I’m sorry.”

  I sighed in relief; Amery’s eyes flashed with surprise. “Good,” I said simply.

  “What? But I thought he was your friend?!”

  “Kevin is Nivek, Amery,” I said, trying to keep my explanation brief. I didn’t have much time. “I’m so sorry. I never believed you. You were right. You… were always right.” I shuddered, fighting the pain that tried to push me out again. I choked, and blood oozed out of my beak and broken chest. Amery stared, seeing for the first time the wounds where Nivek had tried to rip out my heart.

  Amery closed her eyes and leaned down to support my head with hers, and we were quiet for a while. The pain surged with another slow heartbeat, and I groaned involuntarily. “Anna!” Amery called, “He needs…”

  “No!” I cried, realizing what she was doing. “No, don’t. He’s not… gone forever.” I struggled to get out the words. “Only… his physical body… was destroyed. It’s still… here.” I tried to move my wing, but I couldn’t. Thankfully, Amery knew me well. She looked at me anxiously, afraid of what I was implying. Finally, my wheezing and coughing took over, and I was unable to speak for some time.

  When the fit had subsided, I took several deep breaths. I fought to keep my hold on my body; I could feel my grip weakening. “I love you, Amery.” I sighed, spending my last breath and closing my eyes. The last thread of life snapped, and my body expelled me once more. Beside it, I saw a badger taking Kevin’s body to be buried. I was grateful. Though he was the enemy, I was glad Samuel’s family — my family — wouldn’t stoop to his level and leave him to the buzzards. Amery was watching him as well, but then she turned back to me. She saw the relaxed expression on my quiet face and stood quickly in panic.

  “Sheer, wake up!” she cried.

  Anna stroked Amery’s head with her muzzle. “He’s gone, dear. He was too badly hurt. His pain is gone now.”

  All she could do was cry miserably and whisper, “I love you, too, Sheer. I love you.”

  I know, I thought pleasantly. I wished I could still be with her, to comfort her, but I knew I’d done the right thing. When I was gone, so too would be the last shard of the evil shroud.

  All around me, animals were bowing their heads in sorrow and respect for my sacrifice. Even though I would no longer live on this Earth, neither would the shroud. With the last sliver severed forever and its physical form crushed, it would never be whole, and it would never come back. Soft snow began to fall, coating my body and the stones around it with a thin white blanket, at first stained red, then fading. It hid my wounds and the blood around my body. A gentle breeze carried a single petal of a cherry blossom from afar, dancing softly in the air before it landed slowly and carefully on my still breast. The breeze picked up and whirled around the collapsed cave. “Thank you,” it whispered.

  Amery’s voice cracking with sorrow, she hummed the song she’d sung to me in the rain. That was when the true Sheer had come out, and I thought it was rather fitting that the same song would see my passing. Other animals and humans around listened to the whistling tune and joined along in wordless singing. Soon, the air reverberated with the voices of many creatures, all carried on the wind. As the snow fell, I let their voices carry me away, onward to wherever my spirit might go. I embraced it, thankful for my life and the time I’d spent on Earth, thankful for the many friends and allies I’d met along the way. I had fulfilled the prophecy; I had defeated the darkness. I knew Amery would be safe now, and that was enough to leave me with nothing but a deep feeling of peace.

  Afterword

  If you enjoyed A Song in the Rain, please consider leaving a review!

  Lydia Deyes has channeled her overactive imagination into writing since she was nine years old, and is excited to finally start sharing her words with the world fifteen years later. To learn more about Lydia and keep up with her writing shenanigans, follow her on social media (@LydiaDeyes) or visit www.LydiaDeyes.com!