Chapter 46
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
“ M ika,” says a woman’s voice I recognize.
I’m still in the black void, but something in the distance begins to illuminate and increases rapidly. Sitting up, I have to shield my eyes until a beautiful sunrise fills my vision.
The sunrise turns into a woman—turns into Lyss—as she kneels before me, taking my hands.
“Will you come with me?”
“No,” I say and lie back down. Down into an inky black puddle of my tears, slowly sinking into them. Perhaps these aren’t my tears, but the blackness of what’s left of my soul, leaking out of the cracks and broken parts of me.
A deafening screech reverberates around us as Lyss looks at me in alarm. “What is that?” she asks frantically, trying to pull me back up.
Large vibrations slam into the ground as the creature stalks toward us and screeches again, “My rage,” I answer and close my eyes.
“Mika!” Lyss wails. I open my eyes in time to see an enormous, hideous, black creature bat her away with its giant claws. She goes flying into the blackness, leaving a trail of sunshine. The creature takes flight, heavy wings flapping down and battering me with wind. The ground shudders violently as the creature slams down over the source of the sunshine, and I watch the beautiful light turn red, slowly dimming.
A red sunset. I love a red sunset.
“Stop!” I scream at the creature.
It whips its head toward me, studying me, sniffing as if tasting the air. I stand on wobbly legs, dragged down by the weight of my black river. The creature runs at me, picking up speed as its giant tail swishes violently behind it, the heavy thundering of feet on the non-existent ground beneath us. Lightning cracks loudly in the air. The creature dives into my chest, throwing me back in a heavy splash.