Page 63 of Blood of the Fallen
Awful pain lay on one side and oblivion on the other. There really was no reason to fight, not when letting go would be so easy when my agony would end.
“I’m coming. I won’t fight it anymore.”
Garbled sounds built around me, trying to break through the darkness. I clammed up, refusing to listen. This place was safe. There would be no more pain, fear, or regret. It would all be gone.
Please!a single word broke through the barrier. It was a plea to stay, to keep fighting.
A lifeline.
Still…“No. I don’t want to do it anymore. It hurts too much.”
I know, and I’m not going to lie. There will be more pain if you come back. But there’ll be so much more. Hard work and satisfaction. Tears and smiles. Happiness. Family... Love.
A life.
A life? My life? The one that was being cut short. I peered through the dark fog that filled my head, trying to understand. This didn’t have to be the end—not if I chose to go on.
I yanked my hand back from the dark mirage my mind had conjured. I could choose differently. It was up to me.
Will you come with us?
“Y-yes.”
Air rushed into my lungs like shards of glass. The pain returned like a pendulum swinging back at its appointed time. My own screams filled my head. My rigid body convulsed, and part of me refused to turn its back to the oblivion that still pulled at my life strings. But my desire to keep going was coming from a much stronger place, a place that didn’t give up easily, the same one that had given me the strength to claw my way out of a common grave.
I clenched my teeth against the agony searing each and every one of my nerve endings.
And I fought.
It was like climbing a mountain when all the energy was spent, like diving deep when every molecule of oxygen was burned out, like trusting when betrayal was a fresh wound.
But I fought.
The pain lessened. My voice and body stilled. The same healing tingling from before inched its way over my body, a million ants marching diligently, repairing the damage Novus’s magic had wrecked. It should’ve been impossible. I didn’t have the strength to heal myself, but this was different. This wasn’t only me.
Kall, Maki, and Novuk were lending me their healing powers. I didn’t know how I understood this, but I did. It was as if I was inside each of them at the exact same time. A bond had snapped between us all. I could tell they were hurting. Kall was spent and in so much pain. Maki was unconscious, and Novuk… he was on all fours fighting to stand, a bloodied guard lying a few feet away. It was the fourth one Novuk had fought. The other three were dead. This last one seemed to be slipping away too.
I could sense their own strength waning as they channeled all they had into me. My body knitted itself at the same time that energy returned to my every limb. My eyes sprang open. The stars above me appeared as sharp pinpricks of light, brighter than ever. I took a deep breath and rose to my feet in one fluid motion.
Novus, who had been walking away from me, froze. She turned slowly, the glee in her expression disappearing as she saw me standing. My eyes drilled into hers like daggers, and the next instant, her death flashed before my eyes. I would be the one to kill her.
Shifting, I lunged for her.
Magistrate Novus must have seen her fate in my expression because she didn’t try to stand her ground and fight. Instead, she lobbed a ball of fire straight at my face, turned, and ran, her cloak flapping behind her.
I easily swerved out of the way. The flames slammed against the ground, scorching the earth and carving a wide hole. My jaw opened and snapped shut on a mouthful of her cloak. I jerked my head back, ripping a piece off. Spitting it out, I pressed forward. I got ready to bite away. I could almost taste her blood when I noticed a magistrate standing in an attack position, his hands thrust forward, fingers crackling blue-white.
A few yards away from him, a shape sagged on the ground, back slumped against a rock.
It was Desna.
He was going to kill her.
Without hesitation, I pivoted left, leaped over a dead guard, using him to propel forward with my hind legs, and smashed into the magistrate. My mind seemed to clear as my teeth sank into the sinew around his neck. There were no thoughts as a small current of electricity flowed into me, and my mouth filled with blood. As he toppled to the ground, I bit as hard as I could. Bones snapped under the pressure, and the magistrate’s body went utterly still.
I pulled away from my victim, shaking my head, and turned away from him without a second thought. Instead, I faced Desna and approached her cautiously, afraid to find her beyond help. Her eyes were closed, and her head slumped to one side, resting on her shoulder. Blood dribbled from her hairline and over her right eye. I listened carefully and detected shallow breaths whizzing through her half-parted lips.
Relieved, I nudged her hand with my snout.You’re going to be all right.
