Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Little Baby has stopped screaming, but only because she’s in shock and not because she’s dying. She can’t die when she’s already dead. Though her continued existence is something new that I don’t fully understand, what I do know is that even if this incarnation of Echo could die another death, I would not let it happen. Why should she get to escape this hell while I must stay behind?
That wouldn’t be fair.
I kneel down, slit my wrist, and let my blood drip into her mouth, which is open in a silent scream.
A few minutes of this and she starts coughing. The new blood has cauterized her arms and they start to make a sort of scab. Given enough time, they will grow back. But that’s not going to happen.
“Little Baby,” I say, leaning down into her neck so I can whisper this in her ear. “You will live in the hell of my choosing for all eternity for your betrayal.” Her eyes are open and she can see me. And even though she doesn’t reply or move, I know she can hear me too. “I will torture you until the end of time. And then, and only then, will I let you make it up to me.”
I grab her hair, lift her head up, and then slam it down on the ground, cracking open her skull.
Given enough time, and a reprieve from my well-deserved punishments, that too will heal.
But I doubt I have that much self-control, so it will never happen.
Now I have to make a decision because Dark Baby has been corrupted. The girl called Echo was a poor choice for an incubator. She was a throwaway halfbreed. And I should’ve known better than to be lured with the promise of a family.
I kick her body, making it roll away. “You bitch. You lied to me! You made me love you and then you betrayed me. You don’t deserve my Dark Baby.”
I walk over to what’s left of her body, push her with my foot until she rolls over on her back, and then swipe a claw down her torso from throat to belly.
The Darkness seeps out of her like smoke made of sand, whirling and twirling in the air, homeless and looking for a new vessel.
I open my mouth, ready to direct it back inside me, when a hand clamps around my ankle and when I look down, I see Ryet’s blood-red eyes looking back at me.
28 - Ryet
He doesn’t even wave
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine…
My eyes open and I realize I’ve got Josep by the ankle. I don’t know where I am, I don’t know what I’m doing, and I don’t want anything to do with this fight.
You have to, Ryet. You have to fight for us until I can get there!
“Syrsee?” Suddenly, I’m in the mist again, but it’s all gold now, and I am standing in between two full-length mirrors and no matter where I look, it’s an illusion of infinity. Me, in a mirror, inside a mirror, inside a mirror for all eternity.
This is the definition of Darkness.
You have to fight, Ryet. Because I’m busy! I’ll be there soon, but I can’t come until I finish!
“Syrsee! Where are you?”
But the mist fades and then I’m back in the cave, staring up at the Darkness himself.
He snarls at me, raising one arm up above his head like he’s about to attack. His claws are long and sharp and I am certain, without a doubt, that if he touches me, it’s over.
I probably won’t die, but there are worse things than death.
He swipes and I roll, getting to my feet like I’m committed to this fight. Like I’m going to do what Syrsee asked of me because I know I’ll be saved in the end.
Josep missed me, but he’s in far, far better shape than I am and when he raises his hand to try again, I force myself to stay still. If I move, I will collapse so I wait for it.
His attack is thwarted by a rumbling under the ground and we both go tilting sideways as the rock floor of the cave splits open and Paul comes up from the stony earth, his eyes red, his skin blue-black, and his wings slowly opening like he’s a god.
I stare at him, stunned, trying to make sense of what is happening. But I’m slow, and dizzy, and confused.
But Josep isn’t. Barely a fraction of a second passes before he is flying at Paul in a full-on attack.
The two gods of Darkness clash in mid-air. Levitating, not flying, because while this cave is big, it’s not big enough to contain the full wingspan of two demons.
They part, breathing heavy, and circle each other. Josep tips his head up, looking at the ceiling, and this is when I notice that there’s a black cloud of sorts flying around above him. It looks like sand, not smoke, and it’s long like a snake. It twirls in the air, flipping and turning. And for a moment I think that Paul brought this with him, because it looks like it’s attacking Josep.