Page 94 of Midnight Reign
Crimson’s presence rages inside me, stronger than ever before. I can feel her desperation, her burning need to be free. It’s a physical pain in my chest, a tearing sensation that wants to rip me apart from the inside.
Let me out!
“We’re fucking trying,” I grit out.
The battle rages on around us. Malachar and Alec are locked in combat, their powers clashing in spectacular displays of light and shadow. Corvus and Zephyr are fighting back-to-back, fending off the bad shadow creatures that seem to be pouring out of nowhere. The shadow pets are still above us, shielding us from the worst of the rain and magick flying around in all directions.
It is utter chaos.
If we live through this, then it’ll be a major fucking miracle.
“Where is Ig?” I yell, but no one answers me.
“Here,” he pants, appearing next to Zaiah in a tower of fire. He slaps his hand on the book that Zaiah is using, and it stabilises enough for Zaiah to continue. “Hurry,” he pants. “I can’t hold it for long.”
Zaiah is unaware of any of this as he continues his transformation. I can see now what he’s becoming - a literal bridge between realms, a conduit for the immense power we’ve unleashed. His body stretches impossibly, becoming a shimmering pathway that extends up into the stormy sky and down into the earth beneath our feet.
The sight is knicker-wettingly scary, and I feel a moment of panic. What if this kills him? What if we lose him to this process?
But there’s no time for doubt. I can feel the ritual reaching its peak, the energies building to a crescendo. Crimson’s presence is a constant pressure, pushing against the boundaries of my consciousness with increasing desperation.
You can’t hold me forever, Adelaide. You are going to have to let go.
“Not yet. He isn’t ready!”
Orby’s chatter in my ear is a constant barrage of noise and in a moment of sheer panic, anger and frustration, clapping my hands over my ears, I yell, “STOP!”
To my utter surprise, the world doesn’t stop raging around me, but it does slow down. The noise is silenced, and everything happens in slow motion around me. The only thing I can hear is Orby’s voice, now melodious and slow, as he tells me what I have to do.
“Focus, Adelaide. Close your eyes and see. You must complete this now. But don’t let her cross over. It will kill Zaiah. It will weaken you to the point of death. Your bond is too strong.”
“What?” I stammer. “Stop. You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Listen to me, Adelaide. Do as I say and stop doubting it.”
“How do I know you’re right?”
“Are you willing to bet his life on it?”
We stare at each other, tiny pixie eyes flashing with fire, and I know somewhere deep down that he can be trusted.
The pain intensifies, and I cry out, falling to my knees. It feels like I’m being torn in two, Crimson’s essence fighting viciously to separate from mine. The rational part of my mind knows this is what we wanted, what the ritual is meant to do, but the agony is almost too much to bear.
“Addy!” I hear Corvus shout, but his voice seems distant, muffled.
I look up, vision blurring, to see Zaiah pulsing with energy. Tendrils of light reach out from him, wrapping around me, around Crimson’s presence within me.
With a final, desperate push, I feel Crimson begin to separate from me. It’s the most excruciating thing I’ve ever experienced, worse than when she first possessed me. I scream, the sound is raw and primal, as her essence is slowly, agonisingly pulled from my body.
Blood tears stream down my face. I feel it pouring out of my mouth and my ears.
I’m vaguely aware of the battle around us intensifying as time rushes back to normal.
But I can’t focus on them, can’t think of anything beyond the brutal, savage process of Crimson being torn from me. It feels like my soul is being ripped apart, reformed, and rearranged on a fundamental level.
Through the haze of pain, I see a dark, smoky form begin to coalesce above me. Crimson. She’s taking shape, becoming separate from me. Her face, so similar to mine yet twisted with rage and desperation, forms in the writhing darkness.
“No!” Alec shouts and he fires a bolt of magick at me that hits me in the chest and flattens me to the ground, struggling to breathe as Crimson’s essence is sucked back into my body as I lose focus.
