Page 27 of A Game of Monsters

“You must do what is required. But before you go,” Duncan forced out, his words growing sluggish. “Will you… pray… over me?”

Duncan had lost his faith years ago, when he joined the Hunters. But it seemed, when possessed by a demon, he clung to it. Used it as a shield and a weapon against the monster inside of him. Would it harm Duwar to hear the Creator’s prayer? It brought me comfort to think it would, and if it helped ease Duncan, that was all that mattered.

I clutched at my chest, wishing to ease the pressure beneath my ribs. “Of course, I will.”

Returning to his bedside, I reached for his pillows to fluff them up and give Duncan’s weakening body a lick of comfort. It wasn’t much, and it didn’t make the guilt any easier to combat, but I hoped it showed Duncan that I still loved him, more than words could explain.

“Oh Father, thy being of endless love and resilience,” I began, leaning over Duncan as I righted the final pillow. “We pray that–”

I drew back, hissing, to see blood well on the tip of my finger. My eyes snapped to where my hand had been beneath the pillow, but found Duncan’s eyes were wide and he was spluttering out excuses, green eyes fixed on my bleeding finger.

“Duncan, what is this?” I asked, voice trembling.

“I am saving… you from making… a decision– ” Duncan stumbled over his words, unable to open his eyes as the Gardineum finally took over. “Please, do not take this choice from me.”

Ignoring him, and the throbbing spreading down my hand, I lifted Duncan’s head off his pillow. What I found turned my blood to ice. Light caught on the shard of glass, the edge coated in my blood. Instantly, I knew it was part of the mirror that had smashed. I drew it out, holding it up as my finger throbbed.

“Glass, Duncan?” I asked, lifting the large shard of glass between us.

Duncan closed his eyes against his will as the drug took hold. His breathing had smoothed out, telling me sleep had claimed him before he could answer me.

“Duncan,” I said again, looking down at the horror on my face. “Duncan, wake up! Look at me… tell me why you have broken glass beneath your pillow…”

The only noise he made was the slight rasp of a snore.

I starred at my reflection with a look of pure disbelief. There was only one reason I could understand why Duncan kept the glass there. With its sharp edges, he’d be able to use it to bring an end to his suffering. Was that why he wanted Erix to be with me? So I wouldn’t have been alone when I found him, bleeding out, in his bed?

Dread crept up my throat, wrapping unseen hands and squeezing.

Time really was running out. Duwar seemed desperate, and maybe this was why? Duwar knew what Duncan was planning, the next chance he had control over his body.

He was going to take his life, so that I didn’t have to make that decision.

Sickness overcame me, every muscle in my body trembling with shock.

I don’t know how I managed to leave the room, but I did so, still clutching the shard of glass. I stopped halfway down the corridor, needing to lean against the wall for support. The cold stone seeped into my body, offering me some clear-minded comfort.

I cried until there was nothing left in me. I reached the nearest window, threw it open and threw the shard of glass as far as I could manage.

It was then I saw the three winged bodies flying toward the castle.

Erix had returned to Imeria, with the company he promised. Two familiar gryvern I’d met days prior.

Sensing something had happened during his absence, and before I could talk, Erix made me wash and change whilst he placed the trunks of clothes and items into the carriage which arrived soon after him. My urgency was hard to ignore, but with the presence of ourguests, I had to keep myself calm.

Duncan was going to take his life. The truth of that made me act upon instinct, as if my body was not my own, moving by the accord of the final scraps of strength I had.

When Erix finally addressed me with the plan, I could barely hear him through the rushing of blood in my ears.

“Maren and Gregory have agreed to watch over Duncan whilst we are away,” Erix explained again, as the two gryvern guards stood vigil before me. If I expected them to react with hate, fear and vengeance at the knowledge of Duwar, they didn’t. Whatever Erix told them about Duncan, they weren’t fazed. I dared not ask for fear I’d give details away, ruining the illusion Erix had spun. “When you are ready, you tell them everything you need about his routine.”

That gave me focus, enough to unload all the information that would ensure he was safe, alive and well, upon my return.

I took my time giving them the guidance on how to care for him. They would keep him fed and watered, ensure he was washed and changed whilst also keeping on top of his Gardineum injections – which Erix referred to as his medicine for his mental decline. One of them had to stay guard with him at all times, a detail that Erix didn’t question. There was no mention of Duwar or demon-gods, for fear that the more who knew about them, the stronger the god would become, but deep down I knew they sensed the wrongness. I could see it in their eyes, a hesitation to the silent topic that no one brought up.

Belief was power after all.

When I finally told them about the shard of glass – and what I believed Duncan’s intentions were – Erix trembled at my side. Secrets on top of secrets wasn’t what I needed right now. If Duncan was serious about ending his life, I needed the gryvern guards to stay vigilant.

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