28. Willow
Willow
“Cin!”
I watch in horror as my beautiful, strong mate slumps to the ground, his bones turning to water, limbs splaying and broken, unnatural angles.
Nyx and Dravik rush forward to tend to him, but as soon as they crouch, Cin begins convulsing, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as a scream explodes from his mouth.
Nyx and Dravik freeze, their palms hovering inches away from him, their faces crumpling in helpless frustration.
“What’s happening?” I demand. My hands are shaking, my rising panic is making it difficult to think clearly, and all I want to do is run to my mate. “What’s wrong with him?”
Dravik shakes his head miserably. “I don’t…”
Suddenly, the Welwig pulses bright red. The light starts in the center, spreading through the tangles of root in quick, uneven surges—across the ceiling and down the walls until the entire chamber is cast in an ominous scarlet hue.
Then the air starts to move.
The eerie stillness gives way to a hurricane, and it whips around us violently, tearing at my loose strands of hair and slicing my skin with invisible icy claws. I raise an arm to shield my face, but it comes from every direction at once.
“I have you!” Rhune steps behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle while his wings curl around me like a shield—but even that does not do much to protect against the storm.
I peek through the slit between Rhune’s wings, staring straight up at the upside-down, glowing red tree from my dreams.
The beginning. The end.
The pit of dread in my stomach hardens, and my panic takes over completely. Why did I bring us here? What did I think I would be able to accomplish? What can I do in the face of that thing?
Vhalthor was right. This was a horrible idea. This was suicide.
My mind trails to the visions I’ve had of this room. I always assumed that they were an accident. That the serafyn didn’t mean to show them to me. But what if they weren’t? What if it showed me this place on purpose?
That low chuckle stirs in the back of my mind, and everything in me goes still and cold.
The beginning. The end.
The serafyn wanted me to come here. Of course it did. Where else would you go to end a world, other than the place it began?
It seems you are smarter than I thought.
The serafyn’s voice, having been silent for so long, startles me.
Just relax, it soothes. You did well, little human.
For one terrible moment, I realize that it sounds proud. My stomach turns over, and I taste bile at the back of my throat. I led everyone I love down into this place to be destroyed, and it's proud of me.
Of course I am proud. You proved we are a good match and that your vessel is stronger than it appears.
You lived through the journey, the infected horde, and the vespers in the forest. You did well, Willow.
You should be proud, too. We will assimilate, destroy this world swiftly, and move to the next.
We will be unstoppable. We will be together—forever, like we should be.
Horror hardens like a stone in my stomach as I realize what it's been telling me all along. The serafyn doesn’t hate me, or resent me, despite all the things it has said and insults it has hurled.
In its own strange way, the serafyn cares for me and perhaps even loves me, if an entity as powerful and old as Spoon can feel those emotions.
That is why it saved me all those times.
Why it has not outright taken control of my body, or killed me, even though it clearly could.
This realization is perhaps the most terrible of the day. All along, I never had a choice. All along, I was playing right into the serafyn’s hand.
And now it is going to kill my mates.
I shake my head, my body trembling all over. “No… No!”
Shh, it soothes. Just relax. Let me take care of the rest.
I feel its power rising in me, starting somewhere beneath my ribs and spreading outward.
My fingers go numb, and my skin crawls with fire ants as a powerful ache starts at the base of my skull.
The power pushes into my throat, squeezing the air from my lungs and filling my throat, and I can feel my consciousness slipping one piece at a time.
No! I snarl. You tricked me! You… You fucking tricked me!
I was testing you. If you could not survive the journey to the core, then you would not survive the assimilation of our souls. I needed to see if your vessel was strong enough.
I don’t care what you needed! You still tricked me!
Used me! I push back with everything I have.
I shove against that invisible force, teeth clenched, my fingernails digging bloodied crescents in my palms. I will not allow the serafyn to take anything more from me.
Not my mind, not my body, and not my spirit.
Stop throwing this tantrum and give me control.
Its power presses with more insistence, and the fire ants turn to real fire, racing across my skin, singeing everything in its path.
With the last of the air in my lungs, I manage to push out one last, defiant cry.
“No!”
The serafyn sighs. Give in, Willow. My power will tear your body apart unless you give me control.
I shake my head, unable to speak through the pain. I… It hurts.
I know. I am sorry, little human. Just give in, and it will all be better.
For one moment, the pain muddles my mind, and I find myself considering it. Then, I look to the side, taking in my mates’ worried faces. With one glance, I remember who I am and what I stand for.
And you know what? Fuck. That. I have been through hell and back.
I have seen and done things no decent human woman should ever have to experience.
I have frozen my ass off for too long, eaten too few good meals, been covered in too many strange substances, and lived through too many harrowing experiences to let my journey end here.
I fucking refuse, dammit.
No, I tell the serafyn. No, I will not give in.
I feel the serafyn growing frustrated. This is ridiculous. Just… just give in!
Never.
There is an ancient-sounding growl deep in the recesses of my mind. A shiver runs down my spine, and I’m terrified, but I don’t break.
Instead, I think of everything I had to go through to get here, and everything I have gained along the way.
I think of the pain following the cheating and betrayal of Nathan and Kimberly.
I think of this strange world, and all the fascinating things I have seen and learned.
I think of my newfound friendship with Dagny, and my strange, fluffy companion, Kevin.
I think of Sasu, Circe, and Rufus, and my special relationship with Noox.
I think of many things, but most of all, I think about the unlikely, inexplicable, wonderful love I found with my demon mates. Rhune, Nyx, Dravik, and Cin…
Now that I know what it means to love them, I cannot imagine a life without them. I don’t want to.
Ever since I arrived in this world, I have been reminded that I am weak, that my human body is fragile. And you know what? They’re all right.
I may not be as fearsome as a demon, or as powerful as a serafyn. I do not possess Vhalthor’s reckless bravery, nor do I have Dagny’s sheer magical prowess.
I may be weak and fragile, and all of the things they've said. But I am a woman, and I am strong in the ways that matter. In my heart, and in my mind, and in my willingness to sacrifice—to fight for what I love to the very bitter end. That’s what makes me powerful. That's what makes me special.
The serafyn doesn’t realize it, and likely never has. But this day, she will understand exactly how frightening a human woman can truly be.
I let out a sound that’s somewhere between warrior cry and tortured scream, and it does not belong to me. It feels like I’m being dipped in acid, like all my ligaments are being stretched and torn apart by the power. It is agony. It is too much.
I don't give in. I never will. Never. Never…never…never.
Dammit, Willow! The serafyn’s voice is pitched now, frantic with uncertainty. Just give up!
I shake my head, a demented laugh pouring from my open mouth as I stare up at that ominous red tree. You’ll have to… kill me first.
I feel that at any moment now, I will burst into a million pieces. I don't have long left. I’m really going to die. But my God, it will be worth it.
I slump boneless to the ground, savoring the feel of the ice against my flame-coated skin. This is it. This is the end. Goodbye Rhune. Nyx. Dravik. Cin… I’m sorry. Sorry I was not strong enough. Sorry I was not brave enough. Sorry that I was… not enough.
My vision goes white at the edges, and I allow my eyes to slide closed, giving up the fight, succumbing to the dark, to the blissful, painless nothing.
In the last moment, a rageful scream breaks through the fog of agony. I think I must have imagined it, but then a loud pop sounds in the recesses of my mind, and the serafyn’s power releases.
I roll to my back, body quivering, heaving in shuddering lungfuls of breath. My vision is blurred, my skin tender to the touch, and I do not have control of my limbs, but that wretched fire has at last been snuffed.
Alive. Alive. I’m… alive…
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to ask why it chose to spare me, because in the next moment, another pulse of swirling, dark energy comes from the Welwig above.
“Willow!”
Nyx, Rhune, and Dravik rush to me as the Welwig pulses again, sending another surge of horrible, ancient magic out into the chamber.
Nyx hauls me up by the arm, and Rhune’s arm curls possessively around my rib cage, keeping me upright and taking weight off my trembling knees. Dravik plants himself in front of the three of us, releasing a feral growl as his dark orange wings snap wide.
Above us, a mass of screaming creatures comes tumbling out of the Welwig—and these are even more fucked up than the ones we saw in the tunnel.
Some crawl across the ceiling and down the walls like spiders.
Others are too weak and malformed, and drop straight to the ground.
The ones that survive haul their broken bodies out of the carnage, their mouths gaping and hungry as they mindlessly claw toward us.
Their screaming fills the whole chamber, drowning out the pleading voice of the serafyn in my mind.
“Protect Willow!” Dravik orders. “They’ll try to rip her away from us like those other creatures.”
Rhune and Nyx press in tighter as Vhalthor and his soldiers rush forward, trying to head off the creatures.
They do well for a while, but there are too many and not enough soldiers to cover every gap.
Several dozen of the monsters break loose from the fighting and charge straight for our group, their heads low to the ground, saliva spraying from their mouths as they scream.
Dravik, Nyx, and Rhune spread out around me, covering me from all sides. I blink, and they’re on us, attacking with the viciousness of a starving predator.
One creature's claws rake across Dravik's forearm while another goes for his leg, and he lets out a pained grunt as he begins tearing into his attackers.
Nyx takes a bite to the shoulder and rips the monster off before tearing its head from its body with his bare hands.
Rhune staggers back a step when one slams into his chest, but he plants his feet and swings, knocking the creature so hard it flips through the air before smashing into the far wall of the cavern.
Cin is still on the ground, and now he is convulsing, foam gathering at the corner of his mouth. Whispered words punctuate each jerk of his body, but they don’t sound like any language I recognize, and each one sends a frightened shiver down my spine.
“Quick! We need to help Willow!”
I look to the side, seeing Dagny and her six mates rushing in to help defend me from the approaching horde.
Roark barrels through three at once while Malice lands atop a set of shoulders, ripping the creature’s head from its body in a glorious spray of violence.
Lir and Cyprien work together, their movements quick and deadly as they hack and slice at the gnawing monsters.
Fenryr and Kaebl take up the rear, using their telepathy to launch coordinated strikes on any creatures that try to break through the line.
For a moment, it's enough.
Then more come, spilling from the ceiling and piling atop each other in a horrible writhing mass. Dagny's mates get pushed back one by one, boxed in on every side, and my mates and I are forced to retreat farther.
The horde separates us, and I fall back with Dravik while Rhune and Nyx get pushed off to the side. Rhune and Nyx cry out, and the cord of the bond wraps around my heart and squeezes, spreading an icy cold throughout my veins.
“Willow!” Rhune screams my name, echoing pain and suffering throughout the cavern. I look toward him, and something cold and hard settles in the pit of my stomach when I see him and Nyx pinned down by at least a dozen creatures each.
“Watch out!” Dravik sweeps his arm wide, knocking me back several steps just as three snarling creatures descend on him—on the spot I was just standing.
They rip and tear at his flesh, filling the air with horrible wet, tearing sounds, and I can do nothing but watch in horror.
Three more descend on him while a fourth breaks off from the group and heads straight toward me, its head low, saliva spewing from its open maw with every piercing scream.
I back up quickly, not looking where I’m headed, and end up stumbling over a chunk of broken ice. Instead of the ground, my heel meets open air, and I pinwheel my arms desperately, trying to stop my body from falling into the abyss.
“Shit! Shit, shit, shit!”
My abdomen screams as I force my body forward, and then, finally, I’m back on blissfully solid ice.
My relief only lasts for a moment, though, because when I look back up, I notice that the horde is even closer.
My three mates are incapacitated, and Dagny and her demons are losing the fight badly.
The horde has adapted to the demon's attacks, and now they move as a unit, purposely isolating each one before pushing them toward the pit like me.
End of the line.
Give in! the serafyn screams, its voice pitched and frantic. Give in to me! Please! It’s the only way!