Page 18 of Shadow & Stars
I shuffled away from him, terrified of a new development where one touch stopped both his hearts.
“Roman…”
As much as I hated myself for thinking this, my death might be the best outcome. But would it destroy the device, or free it up for someone else to use? Would Butterfly snap out of his regret and fish it out of my corpse?
No. I couldn’t risk it, and I didn’t want to die. The sooner we got to Level 88, the sooner we’d start working on a solution.
I had to be stronger. Resist the device, these wishes. Get back on my feet, channel The Shadow. Never give up the fight.
“Roman?” Xavier said.
The blue door pinged, sliding open to reveal a clean and spacious elevator fresh out of a shopping mall. Only without the music.
“About time,” Darcy told it.
I got to my feet, pulling on every reserve of inner strength I possessed.
“Let’s do this,” I said, still not meeting Xavier’s eyes. “Before a shadowy twin shows up.”
“Don’t say that!” Darcy cried. “Bloody hell!”
6
ROMAN
Don’t think about anything.
Don’t make wishes.
My foot tapped on the elevator floor, my hands clasped tightly together. Sweat dripped off the tip of my nose, every inch of me flushed with heat. I needed more distraction, the hum of the elevator was monotonous and irritating. But I didn’t want to talk right now. My limbs ached for action, for some sort of physical activity to keep my brain empty.
With one wish…
Fuck off!
At least my headache started to ease off, as if someone turned down the pain dial.
Good riddance to it.
When the elevator door opened, I hoped for some action but was met with a cool breeze instead.
Shit. I ran my hand through my damp hair, following Xavier out, Darcy still on his back.
“You okay?” I asked my bestie.
“All quiet on the…” He didn’t finish.
“Western front?” I suggested.
“A silly thing to say,” he answered. “Ignore me.”
“Never, bestie.”
We walked across a gloomy, rectangular field. A cracked gray wall encircled the field, vines bursting through the stone, strangling the top edges. A series of lanterns cast their soft lights across dead grass, jagged shards of rock poking out of the ground in a frozen hello. There was a park in the middle of the grass, complete with swings, a slide, and a roundabout, all of them smothered in moss and various weeds.
The swings squeaked in the chilly breeze, the roundabout slowly turning.
No, not creepy at all.
