Chapter Twenty-Five #2
“Surely not. It’s probably just something to do with this fucked-up place, like the magnetic field or something.” He shrugs his shoulders as if trying to brush off the possibility. I nod my head, but the pit in my stomach tells me something is not as it seems.
He adjusts River to a comfier position on his shoulder, his arm still glowing.
“Shouldn’t you summon the portal thingy now?” He says, shooting me a discerning look.
“Oh, right, yeah.” I shake my head as if snapping back to reality and focus on conjuring the portal.
I shut my eyes and embrace the tingles, resulting in the orb resurfacing.
Only it’s no longer black; the orb is now shimmering with small speckles of an orange glow.
I pool all my energy to enlarge the image, and the orange specks take form as the lanterns hanging from the trees around Moon forest. I can see the twisted trees staring back at me, back to the place we started this journey.
I nod my head, gesturing for Ryder to go through first, that way he is less likely to become trapped.
He walks through with ease, and I see him sit River up on a nearby tree.
I follow through the void, and it shuts behind me.
I crouch beside River, who is still unconscious, and stare up at Ryder. “What’s the plan now?”
“I suppose we wake him up,” Ryder says, standing over him.
I lightly shake River again and simultaneously say his name. He groans and his face twitches.
“It’s working,” Ryder says, taking a few steps back and crossing his arms.
Oh, really, now he’s going to act all bravado. I send him a look as if to tell him he’s being stupid. I mean, the boy’s been unconscious, cut him some slack. I turn my attention back to River.
“River?” I say quietly as he starts coming to. He opens his eyes, but they are still squinting slightly. “Asha?” He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and looks back at me with a confused look on his face. “What happened?” he says, his voice sounds weak and croaky.
“Ermm, you had too much to drink and hit your head,” I say kind of unconvincingly, but I don’t think he notices. His eyes snap shut again, and when he opens them, he looks like he has seen a ghost.
“N-no, that didn’t happen? The darkness.”
Oh no, he’s remembering. I’m an idiot for thinking he would just forget.
“What did you do to me?” He looks at me like I’m some sort of criminal.
“N-nothing River,” I say, but he just shakes his head in disbelief.
I lean in to comfort him, but he just shifts further back in his place, his back now tight against the tree trunk. I retreat in my stance, giving him space.
“What are you?” His face zeros in on me like he can see all my insecurities.
“I-I’m normal… Like you,” I say, trying to convince him as best as I can.
I glance back at Ryder, who I know is judging me right now, then back to River. I see his eyes adjust to Ryder, who is standing behind me, and his face grows a few shades paler.
“N-no… A-a Moon.” He points behind me.
“Don’t worry, that’s Ryder. He’s okay.” I shake my head and gesture with my arms in a surrendering-like position, trying to calm him down, but it doesn’t stick.
“You know him?” His face turns even more disgusted.
“He’s a Moon, Asha, you can’t trust him.
” He leaps to his feet. “I don’t know what lies you’ve been telling her, but you need to stay away from Asha, you freak!
” He lunges at Ryder, and I quickly stand in the middle of them both, placing my hands on River’s chest. Ryder taunts River by pretending to go in for an attack, making River flinch back.
“Jeez, this is the guy you wanted to save?” Ryder chuckles as he takes a few steps back.
“Save? What is he talking about?” River questions, anger boiling in his blood.
He looks me in the eyes, and the sweet River I know is no longer there. He’s furious, and rightfully so.
“So, I might have accidentally, kind of, got you trapped in some sort of void,” I explain, realising there is no right way out of this.
“What do you mean, void?” he asks, and I go to open my mouth, but Ryder cuts me off.
“Asha, don’t!” Ryder demands, fearing what will happen if I spill my secret.
“Don’t tell her what she can and can’t do!” River shouts back and then sends me a deadly stare. “Asha, spill.” I look at Ryder and give him a look as if to tell him that it’s okay.
“I’m not a light worker. I know I told you I was, but I’m not,” I say and then hold my breath for his response.
Ryder paces behind me, his head in his hands. I know he thinks this is a mistake, but I can’t help but have a small belief that River will accept me for me. He looks at me confused.
“Well, what the fuck are you, Asha? Are you one of them?” He points towards Ryder with a look of pure disgust on his face.
“Watch what the fuck comes out of your mouth!” Ryder snaps, making River lunge at him again, but he is stopped by the shadow hawks Ryder has conjured to stare him down. River backs away, and I signal for Ryder to stand down, manning myself between them again.
“I’m not all Moon… I’m from the Starkind, an ancient race that was extinct until, well, me. I’m a mix of both Sun and Moon.” I stare at him, trying to piece together his thoughts in my mind.
“That’s impossible. You really expect me to believe that crap? You know, I knew you were a lot of things, Asha, but I didn’t think you were a liar,” he spits, pointing his finger in my direction.
He turns to walk away, and I grab his arm. I can’t let him walk away knowing my secret.
“Get the fuck off me!” he shouts and shakes me off, resulting in me stumbling back and landing with a thump on the ground.
This must have infuriated Ryder because the next thing I know, thick smoke emits from him at lightning speed.
It takes tentacle-like forms, which feed into River’s mouth and suck the oxygen from his lungs.
There is no sparkle to Ryder’s dark eyes, despite the fiery rage within him.
I watch as the colour drains from River’s face and realise he is going to lose consciousness, again.
Shit! He is going to kill him. I pull myself out of the shock I am in and hoist myself up off the ground, pushing at Ryder, hoping to break him from the hold he has on River.
“That’s enough!” I shout at Ryder, and his head snaps violently in my direction.
River collapses and falls limply onto the ground below.
I run over to him, instantly checking his pulse and fearing the worst. A sigh of relief escapes my mouth.
He’s okay. I sit back on the floor beside him to catch my breath and blink my eyes a few times, trying to come to terms with what the fuck I just saw.
I gaze up at Ryder, who is now standing above me with his arm extended.
“Are you okay?” he asks, concern written on his face.
“Am I okay? You could have fucking killed him!” I say, batting his hand away and getting myself up. I brush the excess soil off my outfit and look down at River, lying on the floor.
“Yeah, but I didn’t. Let’s not forget who asked for whose help here,” he defends and gestures to River’s prone body. “New plan.”