Chapter 12 #2
A dark laugh rose in the back of my throat. A monster wishing to absolve his own monstrosities was absurd. “Then perhaps you shouldn’t have forced Corruption upon Noctis. You cursed an entire kingdom to live in fear and die in ruin. Your fate is fitting for such a crime.”
His hands squeezed the edge of the desk, cracking some of the wood into dusty splinters.
“My fate was torn from me the moment I was banished here. Time was stolen from me, my life was stolen from me, and—” Shadows flashed in his eyes, but he did not move.
“I did no harm to you or your kingdom. Believe what you wish, but that is the truth.”
My hands trembled with anger. He lamented his past and present, but what about Noctis’s future?
What about my future? There was nothing left for me.
I should have had my entire life to look forward to—decades filled with purpose and joy.
Perhaps even love. A family of my own, a house of my own, a life of my own.
The Shadow Bringer may have been rotting in his castle, but I was rotting, too.
And I didn’t have a choice. I was inches from the Shadow Bringer now, glaring up into half-dead eyes spinning with whorls of silver and night.
I hated him. He was the enemy of Noctis, the harbinger of Corruption, my family’s killer, and my future’s cruel thief.
The tales made him out to be wicked, soulless, and cruel.
So why did he look so achingly sad?
I wanted to shove him. Wanted to grab him by his stiff shoulders and scream with the same agony and intensity as his demons.
Instead, I said fiercely, “You have a responsibility to make things right. If you’re truly as miserable as you say, then change your fate.
If you can manage that, then maybe you’ll be able to change mine, too. ”
“Perhaps Noctis can be salvaged, but I don’t know where to begin.” He crossed his arms, mouth tightening. “My power once called to the dark, and dark things were drawn to it—drawn to me. I once thought I could contain all the demons here while I waited for an absolution that never came.”
The Shadow Bringer harbored demons within the walls of his castle prison to protect humanity? The tales never suggested as much. Still, the barest hints of truth were there, waiting for me to take notice.
“But you didn’t fully contain all the demons.”
“No,” he agreed. “And perhaps they never were fully contained, if what you’re telling me is the truth. The demons in my domain aren’t Corrupting anyone; they’re as trapped as I am.”
“Which leaves those roaming the Dream Realm to their own devices.”
Grrrrssschk. Rrrssschk. Rrrssschk.
We turned at the same time. A demon leered at us through the broken doorway, its shoulders so wide that it had to adjust itself to fit.
It lunged for me, moving quicker than what should have been possible, its grin wide and hair-covered arms outstretched.
Surprisingly, the Shadow Bringer threw himself in front of me, shadows up in defense, but he was either too distracted or too slow.
The force behind the blow was staggering, slamming the Shadow Bringer into the fireplace with a sickening crunch. He snapped to his feet, but the demon was faster. It grabbed the discarded fire poker, raising it to his exposed throat.
“Set… me… free,” the demon rasped. “Five hundred… years.”
For a moment, the Shadow Bringer’s eyes widened, but he quickly shook his head, clearing whatever thought had just passed. He brought his hands to his throat, shielding it from the spike. “The curse has no end, demon. Put the spike down before I impale you with it.”
“Five hundred… years,” it repeated. “He… is… coming.”
“You’re delusional and broken, just like the others,” the Shadow Bringer said sadly. “Pitiful.”
And then he grabbed the fire poker, spun it around, and shoved it between the demon’s eyes. It lurched back, poker protruding from its forehead, and lunged for me again. I spun to avoid it, diving for a half-open curtain at the far end of the Bringer’s room.
A balcony.
Curse it all.
Lit by a dusting of stars, the balcony looked straight out of the pages of a storybook—perfect for romance or reminiscing, but not for outrunning demons. The ledge was too far away from the forest that sprawled beneath it.
“Let me out,” the demon snarled. It tried to pull the fire poker from its skull, but it only managed to snap it. It wielded the broken piece like a dagger, poised and ready to strike me down. “You can free me.”
My back slammed into the balustrade. The creature had cornered me into a place it knew I couldn’t escape from. I willed the Shadow Bringer’s shadows to race down my arms, covering them in thick, writhing darkness.
When the demon took its next step, poker raised to strike, I sent the shadows flying.
They became swords, lances, pitchforks—and assailed the demon, sending it reeling into the Shadow Bringer, who had followed us to the balcony.
They crashed into the other side of the railing, assaulted by shadows both knife sharp and corporeal.
The demon took the worst of it, moaning from its injuries, but the Bringer was halfway off the ledge, cape pinned by spikes and blades.
The part of his body off the ledge—his right arm, shoulder, and head—began to smoke, burned by an invisible force.
I had never heard the Shadow Bringer scream, but he did now, writhing in torment.
His gauntlet sunk into his right arm, melding with the skin underneath, and his moon-white hair began to smolder under his helm, just as his skin blistered and peeled.
He tried to push the shadows away, but they wouldn’t listen, wouldn’t bend to his will.
Whatever force was burning him was also keeping him from using his abilities.
And he was dying.
I didn’t know what death meant in the Realm, but something told me the Shadow Bringer might not wake from this. And if he died—and the demons didn’t die—what then? I’d have to face the demons alone. Perhaps they’d riot, overwhelm me, and escape, plaguing Noctis with a rush of Corruption.
He broke free from the shadows at the last moment; the force of it sent the demon plummeting off the ledge.
The Shadow Bringer crumpled. He sat perfectly still, eyes closed, leaning his half-melted body against the balustrade. His skin had already begun to heal, resetting back to its original state, but it wasn’t quite restored.
“I’m tired, Esmer. I’m tired of living like this.”
I froze where I stood. “I—”
“Do you see now? They accuse me of Corruption, but there are no captured souls here beyond my own. There are only demons, pulled here by my wretched power, and darkness. Nothing but rot and my ruined soul on display.” His eyes fluttered open briefly before closing again.
“How can you expect me to believe you?” I asked in shock, tears springing to my eyes. He looked absolutely wretched. I’d never seen a person in such a state of decay. “What you’re saying goes against everything I’ve been taught. It’s a path I’ve walked my entire life.”
“Then let me convince you otherwise,” he rasped. “Help me find my freedom and purpose, and I will return the favor a hundredfold.”
I raised my face to feel the wind. It swirled around us, fragrant with the scent of the sprawling wilderness below, and threaded through our hair, caressing it with smooth fingers. “The tales say nothing about how to free you. They scarcely mention your fate at all.”
The Bringer let out a heavy sigh and opened his eyes.
The shadows were back under his spell, but they felt empty and dull compared with how they’d been rioting earlier.
“You said Mithras was marching you to your death. If he succeeds, you’ll never leave.
You’ll share my fate, bound to this castle and unable to watch your loved ones grow older.
You’ll live here as Noctis sinks further into ruin, oblivious to the waking world and numb to the passage of time. Don’t let them take you.”
“It’s already too late,” I whispered shakily, heart sinking. “They’re transporting me to Istralla for my sentencing.”
“Then find my tomb,” he said with sudden intensity.
“Your tomb?” I repeated, confused. “I’m not sure how your bones will help my situation.”
“Not my bones,” he growled. “If I still exist here in the Dream Realm, then my mortal body must live on in a fixed slumber. If you can wake me there, I can help you.”
This was new, too. The Shadow Bringer was supposed to be a monstrous beast with fangs and claws, not a man with a living, breathing body somewhere in Noctis.
My thoughts drifted, and I wondered what he looked like in his mortal flesh, if his sleeping body wore armor and a helm, too.
Perhaps he’d have scales underneath all his layers of metal.
Or, more likely, skin. Pale and flawless skin, like the stretch that could be seen around his lips and jaw—not the burning mess that was still trying to heal itself.
Stop thinking about his skin. Stop thinking about him at all.
I gritted my teeth, banishing the image from my mind.
I didn’t care what he looked like as a mortal.
If his tomb could be found, and he was, in fact, asleep inside, I could convince the Light Bringer of my loyalty.
I could help the Light Legion kill him, once and for all time.
Still, I felt torn. Playing into his hand was a risk, and the Light Bringer might not even believe me.
“I can never accept your help. You’re the keeper of demons, and—”
“Yes, just a monster ruling the Dream Realm from his cage like some twisted god,” he snapped, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Walking into your dream was the first time I’ve left these walls in centuries.
Unfortunately, as soon as you woke up, I was snapped back.
I want out of this castle, Esmer. I need out.
” He stood, gripping the balustrade for support.
One of his helm’s horns, which had partially broken apart in his hair, dropped to his feet, rattling against the stone.
He gestured to a crescent-shaped glade in the distance; it was identical to the one the Light Legion was currently camped in.
“There. In Noctis, my tomb is just beyond that glade. You’re asleep there right now with the Light Legion, aren’t you?
Mithras has a sense of where I am, but he can’t find me. Not the way you do.”
“I really can’t escape,” I whispered, close to breaking. I had tried to shove away my feelings of grief, but they were now squeezing my chest in an iron vice. “You haunt me and won’t let go.”
“I know you want to kill me,” he noted, bringing a clawed hand to my neck and dragging his thumb under my lip.
He pressed softly, coaxing a shiver of shadow to rise between us.
“Even though we share a similar madness, you’d rather die than accept my help.
You’d let Mithras drag you to Istralla like a dog, even if that meant being slain by his blade.
Even if you knew it wasn’t true justice, you’d offer your neck to him. ”
Shadows began a slow twirl around us, lapping at our arms.
“I’ll find your tomb, Shadow Bringer.”
And after we kill you, the Light Bringer will surely trust me enough to set me free.
A slow, triumphant smile ghosted his lips. “If you can find my tomb and wake me, I will ensure that you’re never scared or lost ever again. I will make them pay.”
Strangely, I believed him. But I could never follow him.
He reached for me, and I found myself reaching back. But just as my fingertips met his, I was ripped away, his hands and castle spiraling into nothingness.