by Lani Lenore
Chapter Thirty-Seven
1
“Damn!” the twins exclaimed at the same time. The top of the mountain exploded, but it was not just the highest peak. The entire range was spitting fire and lava beneath the menacing sky. It was dark, but the glow of the lava lit up the night.
“What do we do?” Henry asked.
“We get the hell out of here, that’s what!” Nix said, starting off the way they had come. The others followed him hurriedly. The lava wasn’t moving rapidly, but they could already feel the heat from it. It would reach them eventually if they didn’t get out of the path.
“We’re just going to leave them?” Henry wanted to know. “I can’t leave my sister!”
“That flow’s not going to stop and wait for us,” Nix said, his foul mood setting back in. “We’re not going to gain anything from standing here!”
“Trust us,” said Finn, clapping Henry on the shoulder, “we want to be up there as much as you do, but part of following Rifter is knowing when to back off. We need our lives.”
“What we need is a blessing,” Sly muttered, and then he perked up. An idea had wormed its way into his mind. A blessing… That was exactly what they needed – and perhaps not so far out of reach.
Sly looked around him. He knew the truth as well as Wren had before: Rifter may have banished Whisper, but she had not gone far from him. It was simply impossible for her to have done so.
“Whisper, are you there?” he asked. He got no response except Nix’s annoyed tone.
“Rifter sent her away, remember? She’s not here.”
Sly ignored him. “Whisper, we need a blessing. Rifter needs us. We need to fly.”
“Rifter doesn’t allow us to fly,” Toss said, frightened at the prospect.
“Rifter isn’t here right now,” Sly said harshly. “He needs our support. And he needs you too, Wisp, whether or not he’s too proud to ask you to come back. Help us.”
For a moment, it was as if he was only talking to the air. She must have been there. Of course she was! She may have been as stubborn as Rifter, but she would never abandon him.
“Sly, this is pointless!” Nix scolded. “We have to go!”
The lava was coming down, breaking the ice apart. What didn’t melt would soon be falling down on them as an avalanche. They couldn’t stay. To be honest, they would be lucky to get out.
“Whisper, please,” Sly entreated again. “We can’t wait for his permission this time. Sometimes, you have to break the rules!”
There was no response, and Sly began to think that maybe he had been fooling himself to believe that she was there. The others were moving on. The world had been taken by chaos again.
Maybe this really is the end, Sly thought, staring up at the fiery mountain.
He’d been here for decades and had seen a lot of terrible things – most of which he’d forgotten. Was this the worst? He had already lived a lifetime – maybe two. Perhaps they should call it quits and bow out gracefully.
Standing there, Sly thought – for the first time – that it would be easier to give up than to fight – and then a stream of light shot forward through the trees. The fairy had come into their midst, and there wasn’t one among them that didn’t notice her.
She gave them an earful at first, but finally ushered them all together for one last blessing.
She flew over their heads and spoke the secret prayer over them. Though it took a great deal of her own power – so much that she couldn’t fly and had to be carried by Toss – all of the boys became light as air, weightless as they’d ever been.
They had never been allowed to fly before, and they each had to say that it was the finest thing they’d ever felt, despite the danger all around them. The world was reeling, but they were soaring.
“Yahoo!” Finn yelled as he shot up into the night toward the dark ship with the rest of them, and they all began to howl.
Perhaps it was inappropriate considering the circumstances, but these might have been the last moments of their lives. They might as well enjoy them.
2
Rifter…are you there?
Snap out of it, boy; ya little shit…
Rifter!
A girl’s shrill scream echoed through his mind and he gasped, snapping awake. Somehow, he found the strength to lift his head.
Rifter knelt on the deck, propping himself up with his sword. He’d heard the things that the Scourge had said, but he couldn’t believe them. They seemed unreal! The man claimed he was a nightmare, and Rifter’s own nightmare at that. Impossible! Rifter looked at the man’s shadow hand, but he still couldn’t be convinced.
He is me? He’s the man I didn’t want to become? The one I’ve dreamed about for so long?
He stared into the Scourge’s one blue eye, and he felt fully enraged at the assertion. The Scourge was an evil man. He was a murderer, a criminal. He was all that was wicked, and even the land died beneath him. Rifter would never become that. Not ever.
“You’re a fucking liar!” he yelled, pulling himself off the deck to lunge at his enemy.
The Scourge wasn’t a man anymore, but he had grown into a sheet of darkness that slipped easily beyond Rifter’s attack and moved across the deck before becoming whole again.
“Try again,” he laughed, “but you won’t be any more right the next time you say it.”
“Are you going to mess with me, or are you going to fight me?” Rifter shouted at him. He tried once again to attack, but the Scourge slipped easily out of his path a second time.
“I’m going to feed off your ignorance and fear,” the Scourge said, “and then I’m going to kill you. That’s all. Want to attack me again? Go ahead.”
Rifter did, but not just because he was invited. He wanted this man to shut up! He took flight and shot toward his enemy as fast as he could, but the man only deflected his blows with a sword before shooting past him again.
He hadn’t been this fast before. Rifter knew that, despite whatever else his own mind kept from him. Even without being able to fly, the man had always been swift. Now it seemed that since he had embraced his claim of being part of the darkness, he had become more than human – even beyond what Rifter was.
Rifter stared across the deck at him now, and it was his own fury at this which caused the mountain below to explode in a burst of fire and magma.
“Your brothers are down below,” the Scourge said with a knowing smile. “They’re dead. You let them die. How could they not be? Have you even noticed what’s happened?”
Rifter was aware of how the earth was rumbling, but it did not affect the ship in the sky. He felt the heat and smelled the stench of the sulfur. He didn’t fail to notice the orange glow, but he thought little of it. There was only one thing on his mind, and it was standing in front of him.
But the others are down there. The lava flow could kill them if they can’t get away. I left them there…
“Don’t listen, Rifter!” Wren called to him. “They can take care of themselves!”
Wren… He saw her before him, a look of concern on her face, and he tried to focus on her. She’s the only thing that’s real. Nothing else is real.
“She’s a woman; what does she know?” the Scourge asked him leadingly. “It’s not like she’s important. She’s just something else for you to possess. She’s like your sword, like your coat. She’s something that the others don’t have, and you can be exalted by it. I know that you feel this way. Trust me. I know you.”
Did he? Rifter didn’t even know what he felt. Perhaps he should have given it more thought before now. Was this why she wanted to leave him?
“She’s not worth dying for,” the Scourge went on, trying to sway him. “Or is she? Is there something about her that you can’t live without – something that would make eternity not worth living if she wasn’t here with you? You could replace her easily – with that feisty Tribal, perhaps. She was something.”
Rifter was confused, but he felt his face heat up.
Was he embarrassed at that? How could this man claim to know those things?
“I’ll give you one opportunity, but I know you won’t take it. Throw down your sword to save her life.”
“Don’t do it, Rifter!” Wren urged. “He said he was going to kill me anyway!”
“Don’t listen to what she says,” the Scourge said dismissively. “We both know that she doesn’t know a thing. Is she worth it? Throw down your sword or I’ll kill her. She’ll be dead in an instant. You’ve seen how fast I am. You can’t hope to stop me.”
Rifter considered this. He peered past his enemy at the girl who was tied there, looking at him with so much fear in her eyes. Could he do this? Did he have what it took to put her before himself, even when the consequences were so severe?
You’re a selfish bastard, Nix had said to him.
Yes. Yes, you’re right, he realized.
Rifter felt his resolve slipping. Eternity without her didn’t have much to do with it. She had said she was going to leave him, but he couldn’t let another die because of him – especially her. He wanted her to have that life she wanted if she could find it – to be happy, even if it was somewhere else, with someone else.
Rifter let his fingers go limp, and his sword fell from his hand, clattering to the deck. He thought he saw something like surprise pass across the Scourge’s face, but that was quickly replaced by glee.
“Kick it over the edge,” he instructed.
Rifter hesitated, but then he did as he was told. The sword went through the railing and plummeted toward the streams of lava below, where it would doubtless return to the ore it had been forged from. He was left without a proper weapon, feeling naked, but he was aware of what he had done. For her, he was ready.
He was willing to die.
“You surprised me,” the Scourge said, eyeing him, impressed. “I was certain that you didn’t have such strong feelings for her. I wonder if this could possibly have any bearing on the way things play out. But I guess we’ll never know. Now we come to the important question. How do you want to die?”
Rifter lifted his clear eyes to look at the man he hated, and somehow, a smile formed on his lips.
“You’re the expert,” he replied curtly. “What do you suggest?”
The Scourge didn’t wait to give it thought. He thrust his sword at the boy, lightning fast, but Rifter stepped aside and the blade went past him, narrowly missing his body. He grabbed the Scourge’s arm as it glided by, making the man drop his sword.
The Scourge was quick to slip out of his grasp, but at the same moment, every last member of Rifter’s Pack landed on the deck behind him, their faces illuminated by the volcanic glow and their weapons drawn, ready to fight.
Rifter smiled at his enemy, knowing that the others were with him. He had known they were coming, for the same as he could feel the land, he was aware of those who were bound to him because of the Vow. Whisper was there as well. He couldn’t see her, but he knew. He was glad to have her near him again.
No matter what had happened in the past, it was important that he had them with him now. They were the ones that mattered.
With them backing him up, Rifter knelt down and picked up his enemy’s own sword that had been dropped, holding it toward the dark man menacingly. The Scourge stood back, appraising them all, but he didn’t appear intimidated, even though they were a small army against him.
“Ah, the Wolf Pack, standing up for your leader, despite the dog that he is.” He shook his head at them. “I want you to know that it won’t last forever. Nothing ever does.”
“As long as we’re together long enough to kill you for good, that’s enough,” Nix growled, and the others agreed in unison. The Scourge only laughed.
“You can’t kill me, pups. You think you’re wolves? I can give you wolves!”
Before they’d had time to prepare themselves for what was coming, the Scourge had changed shape, opening himself wide as a deep pit, and released a pack of great, black wolves that leapt out from inside him.
The creatures were fast, slick as shadow. One had lunged at Rifter immediately, but he would not fly away. He wouldn’t let his brothers take the full impact of this fight. If he could take at least one of the wolves down with him, that would aid them.
He caught the snarling beast by the neck as it knocked him over, but he didn’t fall completely. The jaws snapped near his head and the nails scratched at the boards, but Rifter let himself float up and took the nightmare off its feet.
For being a mere shadow creature, it was weighty and solid, but he managed to flip it over and slam it back down onto the deck. The Scourge’s sword was in his hand and he stabbed the beast in the throat with it, after which it turned to shadow vapors once more. That was a small help, but he had to redirect his focus now.
When Rifter looked up, searching for his enemy, he could no longer see the man. The Scourge had gotten lost in the fray. Rifter turned his attention to the most important thing – the girl tied to the mizzenmast.
She was gone.
3
Henry had never seen such a thing in all his life. He’d fought the nightmares with the others, but to see this man who could control the shadows was brilliant and terrifying all at once.
Henry had flown here to this ship and he could fly still. He used that to his advantage when he darted out of the way of the shadow beasts’ weight and jaws. The others were using these skills to their advantage as well, and Henry didn’t fear for them. He could hear their guns going off and their blades ripping flesh. The twins had even taken one wolf over the edge. The shadow had little trouble chasing them, since it was not bound by gravity, and the twins thought this was an amusing time.
“Look at us!” they called to the others, but Finn was quick to scold them.
“Kind of busy!” he grunted, pressed against the cabin wall. A wolf had its paws against his shoulders, snapping at his head. He put his gun in the wolf’s mouth and fired, causing an eruption of black mass to burst from the back of the skull. The thing fell in a heap, writhing on the deck.
As for Henry, he was content. He was flying and fighting. This was adventure, but it was also a dire time. This was no empty battle. There were lives at stake.
The others had warned him about death in this world. They had told him that he had to be ready to give his life for what was important to him. He’d always known that. He’d always been willing, even before coming here. He was not a coward, and he would not be one now.
He trusted Rifter to take care of the Scourge, but he wasn’t sure if Wren would be cast aside in the midst of it. Henry’s aim was to protect her, even if Rifter lost sight of that.
Rifter had been attacked by one of the wolves head-on, and Henry was given cause to leap out of the way and land on the railing as Rifter flipped the beast over to cut its throat. Henry was absorbed in watching – but that was before he remembered the spot of white at the corner of his eye. It was moving.
Henry lifted his gaze to see the Scourge with his hands on Wren, urging her toward the side of the ship. Rifter wasn’t aware yet. As soon as he had looked up, another wolf had leapt in and tackled him from the side.
Henry didn’t know what was best to do, but he didn’t think about it long. His time here had not taught him against being impulsive, and he knew only one thing then: that evil man was going to throw Wren over the edge, into the lava pit below, and he was the only one who could stop it.
Without giving it more thought than that, Henry was rushing toward them with his sword drawn, giving no regard to the true danger of his actions.
4
The dark man shoved Wren toward the edge of the floating ship as the others were occupied with the hounds he’d unleashed on them. She didn’t try to struggle, knowing that it would do no good. Instead, she screamed for Rifter, but she was certain that her voice was lost in the fray.
The Scourge held her firmly at the back of her neck, her hands bound behind her. He pressed her toward the glowing pit
of lava beneath them, hot as hell itself. She could feel the heat from here, rising upward, and she could hardly breathe just to stand over it. He didn’t have to speak before she knew what he intended, but she didn’t understand the purpose.
“I’m not going to force this on you,” he said, “but I expect you to go all the same. It’s not personal. I told you that. It’s just all part of what has to be. I knew the mountain would respond to our battle. I intended for it to split apart like this. I’ve opened the mouth of hell, and it won’t be for naught. I need this sacrifice, and I can’t think of anything more perfect than you.”
Sacrifice? For what?
“Dying won’t be so terrible. What do you have left, after all? He can’t give you what you want from him. A pretty girl like you has aspirations. You’d want stability – a family. You’d want to grow up and embrace responsibility. He doesn’t. What would it be like if you stayed here, caught right on the verge of growing up but never quite getting there – forever. Or at least until you fall to something that’s even worse than this. Either way, you will never be someone’s mother.”
Even though he was only trying to confuse her mind, his twisted logic made sense. What was forever? Was there anything beyond that? She would never have her own children – never be a mother, able to watch them grow up to see what they would become. She would never have that with Rifter, at least. That was why she had wanted to leave. Was death better than an unfulfilling eternity?
Why, Wren, my girl, the woman in her mind said proudly. Perhaps you’ve grown up after all.
“You’re giving yourself for your brothers,” the Scourge went on, complementing that other voice. “Isn’t that what you always intended?”
He pressed her forward, forcing her toes to meet the edge. He was behind her, but he held her by the arm, as if unsure whether or not to let her go.