Page 120 of In Between Darkness
“What is it?” I ask, worried.
“My father. He’s here.” He clears his throat and shakes me off him. “He wishes to speak with me.”
The branches snap as the trees part, making way for the armed bodies filtering into our camp. Their weapons glint under the moonlight as they stride towards us. A tall, defined man leads them with his head high; something about him feels familiar. He has dark hair and narrow eyes, and cradles his arrow like it is an extra limb. They continue walking in synchrony, their steps slightly vibrating the loose dirt on the ground. They flood into the camp, their bodies drowning out ours, two hundred heavily armed men outnumbering our small army. I let out a shaky breath as Ryder slips away and exchanges a few words with their leader, his father, as their army integrates with ours. There is no warmth in their interaction. They stand mirroring each other with stern masks, their eyes like chips of flint as they communicate with only words. Nothing more, not even a flicker of emotion. Ryder was raised like a soldier by a soldier. Their stoicism is unsettling. They stand ramrod straight, their joints stiff and unmoving until something changes. Ryder pushes back, clearly annoyed at what he is hearing, and I cannot see anymore. A fat soldier plants himself in front of me, blocking me from seeing anything other than his armoured vest, and I grunt in frustration, trying to push past his huge frame. I worm my way through a sea of immovable muscle, trying to get closer toRyder. I catch another glimpse of him, Ryder’s father, this time the moon highlights the scar that runs down the right side of his face, and, like a lightning bolt to my memory. I remember him. He was there that night in the dining hall with Miss Worthington. My heart begins to scream at me as my lungs fight for air.
“RYDER!” I shout to warn him, but the soldiers’ bodies draw in closer, constricting me as I squeeze past their torsos, ducking under their arms, trying to get to him. “HE’S WITH THEM!” I scream, but the bodies drown out my cries.
In the blink of an eye, they turn on us, and one takes hold of me by the neck of my shirt, his hands gripping tightly to my shoulders. I whimper and try to press my way out, struggling and clawing at his hands, but they are glued to me. I feel a sharp scratch as he holds a syringe close to the vein in my neck, and I watch in horror as the other Moons around me drop at the hands of the soldiers. I wince as he presses the needle deep into my skin, and my eyes become heavy, my knees weaken, forcing me onto the cold ground below. My vision is becoming blurred, and everything looks sideways. The faint outline of Ryder stumbling towards me with a needle hanging out of his shoulder pains me; his movements are heavy and sluggish as he fights the sleep serum. He reaches me and drops down beside me, his hand draping over mine.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers before sleep takes us hostage.
Chapter Forty-Eight
‘Asha, wake my child…’
Oriah’s voice shakes like an earthquake through my brain. My body tenses as I slowly remember the betrayal of the Xoro army and the pain etched on Ryder’s features as he fought his way towards me. I work at trying to open my eyes, my eyelids feel heavy and fight back as I try to lift them.
‘Oriah… what happened?’ The sound of metal clanking sends a cold jolt down my spine as I recognise the uncomfortable sensation of cold metal digging into my wrists. I blink, my vision swimming as I finally manage to peel my eyelids apart. My movement is restricted, and I try with all my strength to lift my arms. Panic flares through every cell in my body as I realise I am chained to a chair. Thick ironclad chains strangle my wrists, and no matter how much I resist and writhe, they are not budging. The strong smell of disinfectant poisons my senses, and a cold shiver screams down my spine. My mind races in a whirlwind of fear and confusion. I tug at the chains in a desperate, futile effort. The walls are white and sterile, and my bare feet feel cold against the white marble floor.
I know where I am. Right back where we started. Only this time, I’m the one in chains.
Shit! Shit! Shit! Panic takes over my body as I attempt to fidget my way out of the unforgiving, metallic grip of the chains clamped tightly around my wrists. It’s no use. The metal doesn’t budge and just eats its way further into my skin, leaving mywrists raw and irritated. I work at igniting the void and imagine the blackened ember dancing on my fingertips, but it doesn’t come. Instead, a sharp pain courses from my wrists, surging through my body, causing me to cry out in pain. I watch as the silver chains glow orange as if touched by fire, branding my wrists before cooling down again. The Enchantra chains. My breath becomes heavier and more erratic as I search for a way out of this vice, the chains clank and shout at me, stifling my cries.
“Oriah… Where’s Ryder and River? Are they okay?” I ask whilst trying to ignite my Gifts again. The pain surges through me like a hurricane, and I shriek out in agony again. The skin on my wrists inflamed and burnt.
‘Ryder is trying his hardest to get to you, but he is restrained like you,’Oriah answers, and I feel the slight unclenching of my muscles as I let out a shaky breath, the tension that had gripped my shoulders and jaw relax, only a little. He’s alive. Captured but alive. And I do not envy the person who tries to hurt him.
“And River?”
‘They have him in a cell,’she states flatly. The grip that relinquished from my gut reclaims me, churning and twisting painfully with guilt and remorse. I brought him here. I let him come with us. And now they have him.
“What do we do?” I ask, hoping she can get us out of this mess.
‘I can’t interfere; this is the way it must play out,’she replies, and I retaliate by fighting the chains again.
“You can’t be serious? Help us, Oriah!” I scream, but she does not reply.
Looks like I’m on my own.
My head jolts suddenly at the sound of the bolt sliding across the metal door. I feel red-hot anger seething in my bones. An angerI have never felt before.
“LET ME GO!” I scream, awaiting a figure to walk through the door. The hinge opens slowly, and my nails bite against the iron armrests.
“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?”
I thrash my body against the restraints until my bones ache and try my Gifts again. The searing pain of hot metal screams at me and chars my wrists again. Hot, stinging tears that feel like they are eroding my soul, well in my eyes. I feel so hopeless.
“Amazing things really, wouldn’t you agree?” Ryder’s father saunters towards me and crouches down to my level. “Those chains are engraved with an Enchantra spell…no Gifts for you…well, unless you want third-degree burns.”
He laughs menacingly and comes uncomfortably close to me, stroking the eaten skin on my wrists, making me wince. I flinch away from his touch and stare at him with hatred, a sickening pool whirling in the pit of my stomach.
“How rude of me, I don’t believe we have had the pleasure of an introduction yet, I’m Darryn.” He holds his hand out to taunt me, laughing at the chains making my wrists immovable.
“LET ME GO!” I shout, trying to conceal the shakiness in my voice.
His hand strikes me, and I tremble, feeling helpless… my fear is too immense to hide. His heavy footsteps invoke a sickening tension in me as he drags his finger forcefully under my chin so my eyes are forced to endure his icy stare. His pungent breath eats into my nostrils, and I feel like throwing up.
“Nice little stunt you pulled…freeing the Moons,” he snarls through gritted teeth. “Of course, we have them all back now.” He chuckles, and I feel the anger begin to seethe under my skin.
