Page 77 of Absolved In Death

“Good thing they didn’t, because tonight is the night you die. This dance between us ends tonight,” I said, my words a promise. One way or another, I would kill him.

He faded out from under the net so he was only a few feet away from me. I casted another shield, but this time it was between us, so his magic bounced off it and hit him. He cried out in pain as his own magic lacerated his face and chest.

He broke through the shield, and levitated me off the ground, binding my hands together. The same maneuver which caused me so many issues in training.

“Yes, and it’ll end with your uprising being squashed beneath by boot. We all heard your little speech in the transition quarters, but guess what? It was the ramblings of a stupid, mediocre girl who can’t control her powers. A fool who was stupid enough to follow her failure of a father off a cliff to her death.” Another binding wrapped around my throat, restricting my air. “Your men aren’t here to save you. You’re going to die alone. You’ll be the reason your soldiers die. All the people you love will be taken from you, and that’s the smallest way you’ll suffer.”

I breathed in an effort to slow my racing heart, concentrating on how to break his magic. I tried to break the bonds, shift, and morph my wrists and hands, but nothing worked. He squeezed my neck harder, and my air supply cut off. I can’t breathe. My legs thrashed, kicking out in an effort to free myself.

“Don’t panic. I’m not going to kill you. I want you alive to watch me kill and torture every last one of your soldiers. Then I’m going to burn down your camp, building by building. I’ll make you use your own magic to execute your boyfriends and family. Your personal Hell will be the memory of you ending their lives on replay.”

A crack sounded in the sky, and a loud shout. Red turned to see what the commotion was about, and thankfully I freed myself. Apollo rode in a cream and gold chariot in the sky, pulled by giant, menacing swans. They hissed and clamored as they drew his chariot closer to us with a surprising amount of grace. He swooped low, shooting Red with a blinding ray of sunlight.

I scanned the battlefield, and the tide of the war had changed. A wave of Red’s soldiers faded in, overrunning Morningstar troops at least three to one. The chaos has reached an all time peak as blood soaked the earth beneath them. My soldiers were tired, screaming, and struggling to defend the camp.

Where did all those soldiers come from? I had destroyed his camp, burnt it to the ground.

“Oh you foolish, moronic girl. That camp you destroyed was one of four—I have just as many, if not more, troops than you do,” Red laughed at me, his condescending tone grating on my pride.

Excruciating pain radiated throughout my entire body, bringing me to my knees. I could barely breathe, think, or stay upright. I keeled over, trying my hardest not to vomit.

“You dropped your shields, amateur,” he taunted me as he shot spike after spike of pain through my bones. They felt as if they were breaking, shattering into a million pins and needles inside me.

I tried to force him out, but he held strong, poisoning my mind with every second passing by. A slicing bolt of magic cut my throat, and I felt warm, hot blood rush down my neck and chest, drenching my uniform in blood.

“Enjoy one of many deaths you’ll suffer throughout the next millenia, Diana. When you come to, I’ll let you surrender in public, and we’ll start the whole torture-execution party,” Red promised in a sickly, sweet voice, as if he was promising me an incream party instead.

My body violently shook and the edges of my vision went black. Images of my men flitting through my mind reminded me how my failure cost millions of people worldwide their lives. How I let my army down. I let my men and family down.

I epically failed, I thought as I died on the concrete roof floor, with Red smiling at my demise.

25

DIANA

Ifelt my body come to, and groaned. The pain in my body was dulling, but I still felt the skin on my throat fusing together. My head and joints hurt, but most of all, my heart throbbed with the acute agony of failure.

I lost a war that determined the fates of millions of people. Red had been right when he claimed I’d wish for a fate worse than death. How could I live with myself knowing I let this happen because of my own incompetence.

I opened my eyes to see a white ceiling. Sitting up, I realized the entire room was white, from the walls, to the carpet and all the sitting room furniture. The daybed I currently rested on had a white, textured fabric, and I felt the little ridges under my fingertips. For some strange reason, I took comfort in swishing my fingers over them.

Where was I?

“Oh good, you’re awake,” a familiar voice said. It was the voice of many and none. Neither male nor female. Not old or young. It echoed from every corner of the space loudly, yet it was barely a whisper.

I turned to see Nonna wearing billowing white robes. Her hair was tied into a bun on top of her head, and she seemed ethereal. Unreal. Her skin was glowing with a preternatural radiance good skincare and medical science couldn’t touch. I immediately gasped, shooting out of the chair and covering my face with my hands as if they would block what was right in front of me.

“Nonna… Is this heaven? Are you dead?” I cried, sniffling back tears.

“Diana, I’m sorry for the confusion. I appear different to each individual, and sometimes people see me as a beloved family member or a comforting face. This is heaven, and your nonna is alive and well.”

I uncovered my face, and saw the Nonna look-alike smiling at me. It was the warmest smile I had ever received, the simple gesture holding so much. I exhaled a deep breath, willing myself to calm down. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t help staring at this being.

“Um… Who are you?”

The mystery being extended a hand to me, and my instinct told me to shake it. “Diana, it’s nice to meet you, I’m God.”

My jaw hit the floor. God as inGod? The being that separated me from my fathers, changing the course of my entire life? The same being that exiled Zaz? Now I was well and truly staring, making an ass out of myself.

---