Page 104 of In Between Darkness
“You don’t see it?” He raises an eyebrow at me, and I shake my head slowly, trying to dismiss the possible thought of Ryder going mad.
“There.” He points to a grove of trees, their green leaves and branches entangled in one another, and I watch as they briefly shake, almost as if something is moving through them. The rustles send whispered secrets into the wind, but I still don’t see anything. “It’s okay, you can trust her,” he reassures the empty void beneath us, and my heart beats in an unfamiliar symphony as the unknown holds my nerves hostage.
He senses my worry and proceeds to rub soothing circles on my back; the warmth of his body eases me.
My lips part as a being shifts before me, morphing from transparent into a solid figure as if enchanted by a powerful sorcerer. Its large scales shimmer with an otherworldly sheen, a deep amethyst that fades into twilight and twinkles in the glimmer of the moon. Movements ripple like coils of violet silk across the forest floor as it slithers towards us. A duo of citrine diamonds target me from afar, blinking every so often as the creature holds my gaze. It pauses. Two great wings uncloak themselves from behind their lavender spine and extend themselves out across the land, fanning out to gain posture. They resemble leathery sails and are covered in a patchwork of bruised purples that hang bat-like. All I can think about is the immense power they must carry to lift such a mighty beast.
“Is that really what I think it is?” I whisper, my eyes entranced by the creature who leaps into the air with great ease.
A cool breeze blesses my bare skin with every flap of its lengthy wings. The slight chuckle of Ryder next to me breaks my eyes away from their disbelief. He is standing proudly with his arms crossed in front of him, looking over at the creature with a mixture of awe and dignity.
“This is Versivius…He may be the only sky serpent left in Palidonia.” His words affirm my thoughts, but I am still shocked at the beast in front of me.
“I thought they were extinct in this part of the world?” I state, still lost in the reptilian masterpiece I never thought I would see.
“So did I until I discovered him, that’s why this place must remain a secret,” he replies as Versivius hovers gracefully level with us. His snakelike diamond face is sleek and covered in a lilac mosaic of scales. Two great fangs hang like ivory tusks framing his jaw, poised and ready to deliver a vial of deadly venom if needed. The same venom that courses through Ryder’s veins. His forked tongue elongates fast and snaps back into his jaws like a rubber band, hissing quietly like steam escaping from a kettle.
“He is amazing,” I whisper just loud enough for Ryder to hear. My palm grows hot as Versivius breathes hot steam into it. He looks at me curiously, snaking his head slowly around me as if checking my identity.
‘You bring to me the Star Child.’
A low and raspy voice echoes through the cerebrum of my mind, making me jump back a little.
“You know who I am?” I question the enchanting creature before me.
‘I can recognise the smell of Star blood anywhere,’he responds as his wings flap gently and my hair whistles through the cool gusts.
His eyes flicker towards Ryder, who stands with his head held high.‘What is it I can do for you?’
“It’s about the missing Moons.” Ryder stares tentatively into his yellow eyes, and they soften at his gaze. He must have told Versivius all about them because he does not look surprised at the information.
‘Go on.’ His hisses fade into a faint hum as Ryder strokes the space between his olive-shaped nostrils.
“We are planning a stakeout at a suspected location, and the camouflage you provide would give us a great advantage,” he calls out to him and waits eagerly for his reply. Versivius flaps his wings harder and flies to a high tree stump, where he settles down and rests his wings.
‘Here I take refuge, I am hidden for a reason, Ryder.’
An icy chill runs down my spine as his tone becomes harsher, the amber in his irises darken as his eyes narrow. Ryder’s stance does not change.
“I know…and I would not be asking for your help if it weren’t important.” Ryder’s voice is sure and strong, but a hint of softness gentles the outline of his words. I can tell he and Versivius have a history. They are connected.
‘I am hunted.’Versivius drops his head low, and his words tremble. ‘My kind have been slaughtered, my family taken from me, and so my fate is sealed.’
I feel the pain in his voice, the sorrow on his scales that make up a sombre mosaic, the marks and scars on his pale underside a permanent reminder of his past. But it is hard to see even a hint of vulnerability in such a strong creature. How is such a fortified weapon even bruised by the mundane? Serpents are twice the size of elions, and they are fully loaded with bullets of deadly venom.
“I know what it’s like…to wonder every day if your fate is going to be the same as the rest of your kind,” I interrupt, a shred of truth peeking through the blur of my mind. “I have felt unworthy of my power…my shoulders are heavy with the weight of the destiny Oriah has forged for me, but it is a destiny I cannot outrun.”
My eyes roam the width of his angular snout before locking onto his amber eyes.
“The Moons are being plucked out one by one just as our kind were, and we have the power to change that.”
I break eye contact for a second to look at Ryder, who places his hand on the small of my back again. Versivius snakes his head towards us and waits a moment before answering, his tongue stretched out an inch away from my face.
‘You speak like a Queen,’he hisses, and his tongue snaps back between his jaws. I cringe at the title, another weight too heavy for my already trembling shoulders. ‘I can see why you like her.’He directs to Ryder, who folds his arms and nods like a soldier.
I clear my throat to turn his attention back to me. “So, what do you think?”
‘I think I have been in hiding for long enough…’
