Chapter Thirteen
LILY
Something was wrong.
No, scratch that. Everything was wrong.
The ground, the sky, everything. Nothing looked normal.
Where I expected to find my raucous army, I saw nothing but a desolate hellscape.
A dark sky hung above me, smooth and glassy black, like polished obsidian.
Except, it had no texture, nor was the air thick with smoke or ash.
The ground was black and felt hollow beneath my feet, yet when I walked, my steps didn’t make a sound.
Hell sucked, but it always had a presence about it. This place didn’t. It was silent. Dead. And completely unnerving.
I moved across the odd terrain with no destination in mind. Ten minutes into this odd little hike, something shifted beneath my feet.
I paused and glanced down just in time to see the ground suddenly crack in half. The two sides quickly began to spread, forming a massive void beneath me.
“Oh, fuck!” I shouted, diving to one side before the chasm swallowed me whole.
I scrambled up and whirled around in time to watch as something pushed upward from deep within the fracture.
Great. The darkness wanted to go another round. Just what I needed.
At the sight of the familiar, black, spindly root—thick, gnarled, and dark as pitch—I burst into a sprint. I knew exactly where those came from, and I knew exactly what they wanted. But the last thing I wanted was to submit to it again.
My feet pounded across the terrain, but as I moved, so did the roots.
They punched their way through the ground, stretching upward, growing tall—taller than me.
Branches sprouted from their stalks, and those brittle limbs snatched at me as I ran, pulling at my clothes, my hair, anything they could grab.
I cursed and ran harder, but it seemed impossible to maintain a lead.
No matter how hard I pushed myself, I couldn’t seem to increase my speed.
It felt as though I was caught in tar, and my limbs became too difficult to move.
Every time I thought I might have gained a little distance, another crack split the rock and a root jutted up.
One to my left. One to my right. Three behind.
I weaved through the maze, darting in every direction in an attempt to avoid capture.
When five roots burst through the ground in front of me, I skidded to a stop, summoned my magic, and shot both flame and shadow at the roots.
A sharpened shadow poured free of my hand and cleaved one of the roots in half.
The two pieces flopped to the ground, but an instant later, knit themselves back together.
Then it wiggled itself upright until it pierced the sky.
“Yeah,” I muttered breathlessly, “because that’s not creepy at all.”
The nearest root took advantage of my distraction and struck, catching my leg just above my boot.
Before I could react, it jerked me right off my feet, and I slammed down onto the ground, my hands—and face—hitting the hard rock.
My palms, cheeks, and nose stung, but I didn’t wait to find out what these stupid roots had planned.
Instead, I shoved myself back to my feet.
I refused to let possessed vegetation win this fight.
I was Lucifer’s daughter, for crying out loud! I was stronger than a fucking plant.
I unleashed another shadow blade, which cut me free from the root, then resumed my sprint.
Except that little fall had cost me everything.
Before I could get far, a second root snagged my ankle. A third caught one of my wrists. A fourth snatched the other.
They pulled, the world tilted, and I went down. Hard. Without my hands, I had no way to brace myself when my head bounced off the rock. Stars exploded behind my eyes, and for one moment, I went painfully still, allowing the roots to coil around me and pin me to the ground.
Damn it, I’d already gone through this once before. I refused to let it happen again. No more invasions of the body snatchers, please and thank you.
But no matter what I did or what I told myself, I seemed to have no control over this situation, as seen when more roots burst from the ground and coiled around me, tucking me into a tight, woody cocoon.
A smaller root rose and hovered above my face, almost menacing in nature. I watched as its tip lengthened into a sharpened point. Then, before I had a moment to brace myself, it struck and pierced my throat like a damn vampire—sharp and quick.
Fuck!
The darkness slid inside me then. It invaded me and wound through my veins. My pulse thundered in my ears as I tried to summon my magic, desperate to protect myself.
Except, nothing happened. No fire, no shadows.
Nada.
The darkness had cut off my magic.
I twisted and squirmed, but every time I moved, the roots only tightened.
“Let me go!” I screamed.
Not that the roots answered. Because of course they couldn’t.
Because plants couldn’t fucking talk. But apparently they could possess someone.
What the hell was the purpose of this? What did the darkness want with me?
Was I some sort of outlet? Had I created this monster when I touched my essence?
Had I strengthened it by resurrecting my army?
I’d felt its presence within me all day, exploring all the weaknesses within me, and filling the gaps like caulking.
Anger surged within me, and I bucked against the roots, thrashing as hard as I could, screaming at them until my throat went raw.
But it didn’t matter how I struggled. The roots held fast, pinning me in place as the darkness poured itself into me, invading every inch of me until it hollowed me out and turned me into a shell of myself.
“Lily!” a voice shouted.
The sound of my name cut through the chaos. Rathiel. I fell still. So still. Where was he? He sounded close. Was he here? Where even was here?
“Lily!”
“Rath—” The roots snaked up my torso and coiled around my neck, cutting off my air and silencing my voice.
Yeah, I got the message loud and clear. No calling for help.
“Lily! Wake up!” Rathiel shouted again.
Wake up? Was this…a dream? Was that even possible?
His words renewed my strength, and I twisted against the bindings, desperate to free myself. A dream. A dream. This was a fucking dream! That meant I could escape this, I could get free, if only I would wake the fuck up!
The darkness writhed faster. It moved through my veins with abandon, closing in on my heart. How I knew that, I had no idea. But the how didn’t matter right now. I just knew if it reached my heart, game over.
“Wake up, damn it!”
I was trying! Oh, how I was trying. Knowing this was a dream helped somehow. Almost made the roots seem less terrifying and allowed me to reclaim some of my power.
I squeezed my eyes shut and ordered myself to take control. To stop letting fear dictate my actions. If this was a dream, I could free myself. I just needed to concentrate. I needed to calm down and breathe. As though that realization was the key, something cracked.
Not inside me, but below me.
The ground beneath my back split wide. And, without any warning, the black roots holding me prisoner exploded, shattering into nothing. Then, I fell into a black, yawning abyss.
I barely had a second to scream when I was suddenly gasping awake, my body lurching upward into a sitting position. Rathiel thankfully managed to jerk back before our heads collided, but his hands were on my shoulders, holding me steady.
“Lily,” he breathed.
Panic—and something far worse—sluiced up my throat. I shoved him. Hard.
Rathiel wasn’t expecting it, and the force knocked him back onto his heels. I scrambled to my knees, then shot to my feet and took off toward the nearest rock, my legs buckling as bile surged and shot out from between my lips.
No—not bile. Something more nefarious.
It came up in a thick, viscous stream of pure black sludge. It poured from my mouth and splattered against the dirt. Where it touched, the ground hissed and decayed. The acrid stench hit my nose, and my stomach convulsed again, bringing more up. It was endless.
Somewhere behind me, footsteps approached, the scrape of boots against the ground telling me it was Rathiel.
I waved a desperate hand, ordering him back between heaves. I didn’t want him near any of this. Hell, I didn’t want to be anywhere near this.
Another wave.
My entire body shook, my skin slick with sweat and burning with fever. The taste of burnt rot clung to my tongue, making my stomach twist again. Finally—finally—it stopped.
I spat what remained in my mouth into the dirt, then wiped the back of my hand across my lips, my breath coming in ragged pulls. I rested my arm across the rock, then dropped my head against it, my eyes wet with tears and my cheeks damp.
When I was finally brave enough to look, the black mess sat there, steaming faintly, even in the hot air. Then, suddenly, it rippled—like something alive lurked within all that. I gasped and straightened, only to watch it dissolve into the dirt, vanishing right before my eyes.
Like it’d never happened.
Like it’d never come pouring out of me.
Still panting, I sat back on my haunches and stared at the perfectly smooth ground.
Had I imagined the whole thing? Was this part of my dream? I’d never thrown up before, but I’d seen enough movies on Earth to know what vomiting was. That…that’d happened, right? Or was I losing my mind?
At this point, either was possible.
Clearly unable to keep his distance, Rathiel crouched beside me and rested a hand at the small of my back. I leaned into the comfort, though I kept my head pointed in the other direction. Just in case. I didn’t need him smelling whatever was on my breath.
“What just happened?” Rathiel asked.
“Bad dream,” I rasped, my voice so raw, it broke.
I kept my gaze locked on the dirt, waiting for the puddle of evil concentrate to reappear. For any sign of evidence that this had actually happened. A damp spot. A charred mark. A hint of goo. Anything.
But the ground looked horribly…normal.
I finally glanced at Rathiel, only to find him staring at me.
He seemed wholly unconcerned about the state of the ground, his eyes never once straying from me to inspect the spot where I’d thrown up.
Surely, he’d seen it all, right? Except, I’d told him to stay back. Maybe all he’d seen was me dry heaving?
If he had seen what came out of me, there was no way he’d be sitting next to me so calmly. He looked spooked, yes. But not, “holy shit you vomited pure evil” spooked.
So, had I imagined it then? Or was the darkness playing a trick on me? And why did that unsettle me more than the actual act of me throwing up?
“You’re pale,” Rathiel said as he brushed his thumbs over my cheek closest to him. “And clammy.”
Yup—I was drenched in sweat. My least favourite thing. Not to mention, my throat burned, my chest felt tight, and I could still taste it—whatever it was.
“Talk to me,” Rathiel pressed.
I swallowed and forced myself to meet his eyes. “I’m okay,” I assured him. “I’ve just never had a dream like that before. It scared me.”
He swept my damp hair back from my face, then leaned in to kiss my forehead.
“Is she okay?” came another voice.
I glanced over my shoulder to find Eliza, Calyx, Gorr, and Mephisar gathered behind us. Vol and Purrgy sat at Eliza’s heels, their eyes trained on me as well. Everyone who had heard me screaming, most likely.
“I’m fine,” I grumbled. “Just a nightmare. Go back to bed. Sorry to have woken you.”
No one budged an inch—because of course they didn’t. I wasn’t the only one with a saviour complex, apparently.
“Seriously,” I said. “I’m okay.”
“I’ll take care of her,” Rathiel said. “Go get some sleep.”
Eliza’s mouth slipped to the side, but she nodded and headed toward her charred bedroll, Vol at her heels.
Gorr and Mephisar drifted off as well, though both kept a close eye on me.
Purrgy, however, ventured closer and brushed against my legs, as though knowing I needed comfort.
I reached out and stroked his back, but for some reason, my gaze shot across the camp to Levi.
He sat across from the fire, the last low flickers of flame casting an eerie, restless glow over his face. His eyes weren’t on the ground, or the dying fire. They were locked on me, silently watching. For a heartbeat, I couldn’t look away. He looked almost ethereal in the flickering firelight.
Rathiel’s voice pulled me back. “You sure you’re okay?”
I nodded, maybe a little too quickly. “Yeah.” The word scraped out of my throat like it had to fight its way past barbed wire.
“What was the dream about?” he asked.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Not tonight. Not while it still had a hold on me. Perhaps not even ever. “Let’s just go back to bed.”
Rathiel led me to our bedroll. I reached for my half-burnt bag and rummaged through it until I found the one thing I currently needed—my toothbrush.
Thankfully, it’d survived the dragon’s attack.
As had the toothpaste. The thought of that sludge taste lingering in my mouth any longer made my stomach roil. Again.
After a quick brush and a few sips of water, my stomach had settled enough that I felt I could lie down.
Rathiel offered his hand again, and I took it, letting him guide me down next to him.
I curled up against his side and rested my head on his chest. His arm slid around me automatically, fingers tracing idle lines along my arm in an attempt to soothe me.
I closed my eyes and listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
The sound usually comforted me, but not tonight.
Not when that damn nightmare kept playing over and over in my mind.
I tried to match my breathing to his, to focus on the warmth of his chest beneath my cheek, but even that wasn’t enough to quiet the fear twisting through me.
The darkness had made another move tonight, spreading further within me.
I could feel it crawling around, burrowing into my bones, my muscles, my veins.
I just hoped I could keep it under control.