I’m a fool, she admitted to herself. She didn’t want to let him go. She just couldn’t. Not just for her sake but for the sakes of millions of people who were about to lose their homes and their lives if she failed to stop him. She couldn’t afford the luxury of giving up. Too much was at stake. Her mission was simple: stop him or die trying.
I need to convince him that I’m alive… but how?
She heard Dimitri’s voice calling her name. The voice was getting closer and closer until she felt his hand on her shoulder. She attempted to shrug him off. Accompanying him were Chevalier and her brother, Trent. “Amara, don’t!”
“I have to snap him out of it.”
“He won’t recognize you.”
“I know that, but I still have to try.”
“You’ll end up dead. Even immortals think twice about contending with him, and you’re as mortal as it gets.”
“I’ve dealt with him all of these times, haven’t I?”
“That was when he still has some threads of sanity left. Those threads have snapped and what we have on our hands right now is a powerful deity who has lost control of his damned mind. As your friend, I can’t let you do this.”
“That is my choice to make, D!”
“I’m afraid your friend is right,” Chevalier said as he observed the situation. “We’ll take over now.”
“Take over? What do you mean take over?”
Chevalier turned to Trent and gave him a go-ahead nod. Her brother summoned his bow, Ragnarök the Destroyer, slayer of the gods.
“No!” Amara screamed her protest. “Don’t hurt him! You can’t!”
“We don’t have a choice, Amara. If he reaches the city, many lives will be endangered.” Chevalier pushed her toward Dimitri, who trapped her in his arms.
“I can still reverse this somehow! Please! Let me try!”
The three of them ignored her pleas. Her brother fit an arrow into his bow and aimed. If it landed, it would be all over.
“No!” She fought wildly to get free as Trent let the arrow fly “Noctis!”
Noctis halted, raising his hand to freeze the arrow inches away from his palm. The arrow lost its momentum and disintegrated. Her brother simultaneously shot three more arrows, but the distorted space around Noctis did not allow the arrow to penetrate. Without glancing back, he dematerialized.
In a matter of minutes, a large section of the city was covered in smoke and debris. The ravaging fire gluttonously consumed and devoured everything in its path. The gas pipeline gridded beneath the city leaked out from the condensing pressure, causing a series of devastating explosions.
Chaos reigned in the streets.
“Take her with you to the lair,” Chevalier said to Dimitri.
“Damn it, D!” Amara spat at him. “Don’t take orders from him! Let me go!”
“I’m not taking orders from him. I’m agreeing with him. It’s not safe to be here.” Dimitri turned her around, bent his knees, and then, he flipped her over his shoulder.
“Let me down or I’ll scream! D!”
“We need to put a stop to him,” Chevalier said to her brother. Ragnarök transformed into a sword at her brother’s command. He nodded and they too, dematerialized.
Panicking, Amara squirmed violently as she crawled her way down Dimitri’s back. He lost his grip and dropped her to the ground. He spun around and bent down to help her up.
“Are you alright?”
She shot a glare at him and he shrunk back.
“You’re still coming with me,” he persevered.
“No, I’m not!”
“Why won’t you just shut up and come with me?”
“Because I have to do something – Anything!”
“No you don’t.”
“Yes! I do!”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t leave him like this!”
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t lose him again! I just can’t!”
Dimitri opened his mouth to speak, but as her words sunk through, he didn’t know what to say. Their little argument died out just like that. He had nothing to add to it and neither did she. The two of them were stuck in awkward silence.
“I have to go to him, D. I’ll do it with or without your help.” She waited for him to make a decision. He couldn’t decide so she headed down the hill by herself.
Chapter Twenty
Amara went in the opposite direction of the evacuating crowd as fire rained down from the burning skyscrapers. The cars were lined up from bumper to bumper. Seeing that the line did not move, many people abandoned their vehicle and fled on foot. As Amara went toward the center of the city, many people tried to talk her into fleeing with them. Some even went as far as dragging her by the arm. She refused to go with them. Eventually they gave up on her and fled by themselves.
She wandered the streets without having any idea where she was going. She followed the trail of destruction on a hunch in hope that it would lead her to Noctis.
She noticed that the further she ventured into the city, the more distorted the space around her became. She thought it was her imagination at first, but then she realized that it was really happening when she saw that the speed of falling objects were visibly slow. Gravity weakened. And further into the city, gravity appeared reversed. The structure of the building seemed to be breaking down into chunks; from chunks to smaller pieces; and smaller pieces down to the invisible molecular level. Up in the sky, a thunderstorm was brewing. The clouds were pulsating with boiling energy as if they were going to explode from being overcharged. It felt like being in a dream, only it was real. Very real.
How could one man cause so much destruction and madness? She knew he was more powerful than other immortals, but she never realized he was capable of creating this kind of mayhem.
Amara turned back when she heard Dimitri’s voice calling her name among the crowd. He was moving against the crowd to catch up to her.
“I’m not going with you,” Amara said firmly.
“Yeah, I know. If I can’t stop you, I have no choice but to help you.” He lowered his brows and hiked his shoulders. “What are friends for?”
“Thanks, D.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? Get on.” He thrust his thumb toward his back. “You’ll never find him on your own two feet.” He bent down so she could hop on his back. When she did, he repeatedly told her to hold on tight and then took off. He was moving around the city on such speed that it made her dizzy. She couldn’t help but wonder how he could navigate his way around when everything was no more than a colorful blur.
It felt like coming out of a sonic boom when he came to a full and sudden stop. The first thing she saw that was in focus was Chevalier crashing back-first into the side of a concrete building. He peeled off the wall and fell on top of a parked red sedan. The theft alarm went off.
“Are you alright, man?” Dimitri asked as he let Amara down on her feet. Chevalier didn’t look at all happy to see them. He showed it in form of a frown.
Dimitri turned around on reflex and shielded Amara from an explosion. After the debris stopped blowing, Amara peeked to see what was happening. Her brother wielded Ragnarök as a lightning rod, storing the energy of the lightning strike, and then released it in his attack. Noctis stood by the public fountain, protected by a crystal orb that had the consistency of liquid metal. Upon contact with Ragnarök, the compressed energy resulted in another explosion.
“I have to stop them,” Amara muttered.
“Did you not see what just happened?”
“You don’t understand, D! I have to stop them!”
She didn’t have the time to explain to Dimitri that her brother could not control his powers at full capacity; not that she was in any position to give out the family secret anyway. Born from a mortal mother, Trent was not made to handle the kind of powers that he had inherited from his father. God forbid if they have another power being on the loose.
She waited for t
he atmosphere to clear and then charged forward like a brave soldier sent on a suicide mission.
“Stop! Please stop!” she pleaded to the both of them, but she knew only her brother was listening. For her, Trent lowered his weapon. She turned her attention fully to Noctis, whose piercing blue eyes – those same blue eyes – did not belong to the man she knew.
She saw this demented look in his eyes on several occasions, but it never took hold of him this long before. She feared that it was permanent and he would forever be lost to her. When she thought of going on without him, a dark and tumultuous emotion ripped through her. He may not have been a good man, but he was hers. She would be damned if she didn’t make an attempt to fight for what was hers and he would be damned if he didn’t make an attempt to fight for what was his!
“I don’t want any of you to interfere!” she warned her friends who were ready to jump in to her rescue. She didn’t need to be rescued. She tested the orb surrounding him by tossing a small rock at it and discovered that the rock did not bounce back from the barrier, but went through it. Seeing that she could physically reach him, she went for it.
She narrowed the space between her and Noctis in a few long strides and walked into the orb. Before his hand could reach her neck, she delivered a slap across his face in an attempt to snap him out of it. She could imagine how her friends reacted. When he closed his fingers around her throat, she delivered another. Her grey eyes never wavered from his blue ones. She knew that somewhere deep in his consciousness he had recognized her or else she wouldn’t have made it this far.
“Did you feel that, Noctis? That was me! This is also me…” She ringed her arms around his neck and shifted all of her weight on her toes. She pulled herself up against him and pressed her mouth against his. She kissed him like she needed the air that he breathed. She was waiting for him to respond to her, to share the kiss with her, to exchange each breath with her like he always did. When he did not do any of those things, she felt deeply hurt.
She gasped against his mouth when he tightened his grip. “I dare you to hurt me, Noctis! I dare you!”
“Don’t provoke him, Amara!” Dimitri warned her.
She ignored Dimitri as though he wasn’t even there. The space belonged to her and Noctis. “If you do, you will regret it because somewhere deep inside of you is the man who loves me. I’m gambling with my life, Noctis, because you told me – promised me – that you would never fail me again. I believed you. I believe in you... If you love me, you’ll fight for me because I’m trying so hard to fight for you! I’m not giving up on you so please… don’t give up on me either.” She felt his fingers trembling against her throat. “Don’t give up on me…”
A crack of emotion was showing through his face. Then it turned pained. The muscles in his arms and chest flexed so strenuously that blue veins underneath his skin was visible on his neck and even his face. For the briefest moment, she could have sworn it was her Noctis who was looking at her through it all. He released her and shoved both of his palms at his skull. He seemed to be in a great deal of pain.
“Amara, stay back!” Chevalier ordered her.
“No, it’s okay…” She briefly glanced back. “It’s okay, Chevy! He’s fighting for control.”
Noctis took two steps back. He growled and howled, more beast than man. She matched him, step for step, and framed his face to focus on her. She encouraged him in soft whispers that only he could hear. He continued to back away from her, but she didn’t let him get away. She was so afraid that if she let go, he would stop fighting.
Chevalier didn’t trust in her judgment. He trusted his own. He snatched her away from Noctis and then shifted back to where he was standing before. He held her firmly.
“No! You’re ruining everything!” She couldn’t let them destroy what little progress she was making. Desperate to do something, she bit into Chevalier’s forearm hoping that the pain would make him release her. But he didn’t. “Please believe me, Chevy! He can come through by himself!”
“Look around you, Amara!” The buildings were breaking down at a much faster rate. The distortion of the space around them became even more noticeable. “He’s tearing apart the fabric of time and space! If we don’t wrap this up, he might succeed, and I don’t know if it’s even reversible! I’d rather not find out what would happen.” He turned to Trent. “Access his mind and do what you must to subdue him. Whatever the method, just do it. We’re running out of time.”
The undeniable silenced her. The only thing she could do was close her eyes and accept the truth. Two lines of tears seeped through her dark lashes and rained down her delicate face.
Chapter Twenty-One
Miles upon miles of evergreen trees, mirroring lakes, and snowy mountains seemed to be an ideal place to keep an unstable god. In other words, there would not be much to destroy if Noctis came back to consciousness in the same state that he had been when he was awake. There was a sinking feeling in her heart as she watched Chevalier and her brother bind him in chains in the cellar of a log cabin and seal him with an ancient spell. It seemed barbaric and unnecessary.
“Now, listen,” Chevalier had said to her when they first arrived. “You must call me if anything goes wrong.”
“Must you chain him like he is some kind of wild beast? I don’t see how this is going to fix anything!” Amara protested. “He was locked up for most of his immortal life. This will only push him even further.”
“I don’t think he can be pushed any further, Amara. If you want him back to the way he was, this is the only way.”
“Are you sure?”
He didn’t answer her question.
“Are you sure?” she repeated her question with graver urgency to get an answer out of him.
“No, Amara. I can’t be certain, but I know that there is no other way to do this – no right way to do this. You can try to salvage whatever is left of the man he once was, or you can walk away. Those are your only two choices.”
Amara shook her head at the two choices. “I can’t walk away. You know I can’t.”
“Then work with me. The chains are there to prevent him from harming you.”
“He won’t hurt me,” she defended stubbornly.
“I don’t know that and neither do you.”
“Trent?” She turned to her brother. “What do you think?”
“I agree with Chevalier. His mental instability is caused by his inability to control the flow of his memories. Centuries of recollection can be a heavy burden. I’ve embedded a blockage in his mind to prevent his memories from flooding his thoughts all at once. His mind will be able to rest. However…”
“However?” Amara croaked out.
“The blockage may also impede higher mental functions. That is why we need to seal him until he regains complete control over himself again.”
“That may be just what the doctor ordered,” Chevalier said.
Amara couldn’t disagree with him. “His mind needs a good rest.”
“Forgive us, Amara. We did what we had to.”
“There is nothing to forgive. He reaped what he sowed. He made enemies and this is only the consequence of his own actions. You did what you must, and I don’t blame either of you.”
“I wish you would come with us. You’re too mortal to be playing an immortal’s game.”
“I’m all he has left in the world. I’m the only one who can help him through this. You must understand how I feel.”
Chevalier sighed and conceded. “Then take care of yourself, Amara.”
“I will.” She turned to her brother. “And you take good care of Raya. Her declining health worries me.”
Her brother gave her an acknowledging nod.
Chevalier left her with the keys to his jeep, a cellphone with his number, a stack of hundred dollar bills, enough tranquilizers to put out a herd of elephants, and instructions to get to the small town at the foot of the mountain to buy what she needed. That was two days ago.
Ama
ra was washing dishes when she heard loud clanking chains beneath the cabin. The first thought that jumped into her mind was that he was awake. She dropped what she was doing and rushed to the cellar with the pumpkin scented candle she bought in town. The old cabin had running water, but no electricity. Chevalier neglected to tell her when the last time he occupied the property was, but she could figure that out by the amount of dust collected on every inch of the place. She spent the last two days cleaning and washing to make the place remotely livable. It was one hell of a task.
Noctis was indeed awake. The first thing the candlelight caught was the intense blue of his eyes. She froze where she stood and held her breath when he lifted his head and stared at her. Her heart began to race. Did he recognize her? Did he know who she was? She whispered his name to get a response from him, but all he was concerned with were the chains bounding him. He yanked and pulled at the chains until the veins on his neck looked as though they were going to pop. She knew he wouldn’t be able to break free. The chains were forged from the rarest metal alloy found only in Hell; the same material used to construct the dungeon level of its castle. The seal he was standing over prevented him from dematerializing away.
When he realized that his effort was futile, he spoke to her in a foreign language.
“I don’t understand what you are saying.” She couldn’t help but wonder: was he still the man she knew or had he turned into someone else entirely?
“Free me!” he roared at her in English.
“Answer one question first. Do you… know who I am?”
The wait for his answer seemed to stretch on and on. She inhaled a deep breath when he turned to her. His blue eyes were incredibly distant. Amara felt faint, as if all strength evaporated from her body. She already knew the answer before he even voiced it.
Oh god, he really doesn’t remember me. Amara thought she was going to pass out on the ground.
The Dark God's Bride (Book 3) Page 17