Chapter 18 #2
“Amantius, please grant me your Light so I can save him. Please, don’t let him die,” I begged through sob-filled gasps.
Memories of Glade flashed through my mind.
Him cuddling with Mir. Spitting out his water at dinner. Looking down at me with his hands on his hips. Smirking when we first met.
Gently wiping my tears away in my bedroom. Standing beside my bed, full of worry after I broke half my body.
Glade carrying me in his arms back to the castle. Singing on that stage, smiling at me.
His forehead resting against mine, anguish written all over him.
His face in my hands.
An electric sensation spread over my palms and detonated up my arms like a supercharge. It did not hurt but tickled as my limbs throbbed with a brilliant magenta glow underneath the skin. I could feel the energy swelling in my chest.
The alleyway was lit with a smouldering pink blaze of Light, illuminating up the tragedy about to unfold.
Beyond the monster, Glade’s bruised yet astonished face shone back at me in awe.
The creature detected the threat and whirled to face the perpetrator who blindingly brightened the side street. However, before the entity could fully rotate, I thrust my palms forward and propelled as much pure power as I could in its direction.
The monster was hurled back. With my limbs still outstretched, I unleashed wave after wave of energy, pouring every ounce I could muster as the thing before me writhed and screamed in agony, its form singed by my relentless assault.
After a few moments which felt like an eternity, the Light faded from my veins, and I collapsed to my knees, utterly exhausted.
The alleyway was shrouded in darkness once more, save for the lamp posts lining the path.
Gasping for breath, I glanced up and saw that the creature lay limp on the ground, bellows of smoke floating into the air above it like plumes from an engine.
“Holy shit,” Glade moaned from his spot on the ground, gazing at me with sheer wonder in his eyes.
I looked down at my palms, having now returned to their ordinary, unimpressive state. I felt my face for any changes, but everything seemed the same. I was still just plain old Jane.
But the carcass in the corner said otherwise.
Glade tried to sit up but struggled, so I rushed to his side to help him.
“Oh my God, Glade, are you alright? Look at me,” I insisted, cradling his face in my hands as I assessed each one of his injuries.
His lip was split in two, and his eye was swollen shut. Scratches marred his face, and blood crusted in his hair like mud.
But he looked up at me with one eye and flashed a toothy grin. “I’m alright, Jane. You saved me.” The thought still perplexed me, but he continued, “I knew you could do it. You really are Amantius’ chosen one.”
My eyes searched his, filled with confusion and sorrow. “What do you mean?”
“You wield pink Light. Amantius’ Light,” he managed to say between laboured breaths. “It’s unheard of for anyone to possess pink Light.”
I wished I could take a moment to process what that meant for me, but Glade was far too injured for me to pause and think.
Instead, I helped him lean forward. “We need to get you to Kaiyah,” I insisted, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
“Wait!” He blocked me. “We need to make sure it’s dead. It could hurt the villagers if it isn’t.”
He grimaced in discomfort, but he was right.
“You stay here,” I ordered Glade, pointing firmly to his spot the ground.
He shook his head vigorously, protesting, “No, just give me a moment.” He grunted as he tried to stand on his own but failed.
“Sit!” I scolded him, and he complied, shooting me an irritated glance.
“Just be careful, okay?” he pleaded as I slowly approached the corpse lying a few feet away.
I waved my hand in dismissal and crept closer to the body.
The beast was severely burned, its muscles fully exposed, smoking and giving off a scent reminiscent of barbecue. It lay face up to the sky, its expression distant and cold, utterly lifeless, as blood oozed from the sockets of its eyes.
“Urgh,” I groaned, forcing back the rising bile in my throat.
As I examined the festering wounds on the beast’s body more closely, I noticed its blood was a sparkling dark crimson, reminiscent of craft store glitter.
“Huh,” I muttered under my breath.
“What is it?” he asked loudly from behind me.
“Nothing. I just didn’t realize the Tenebrae’s blood was sparkly.” I shrugged. After all, it was entirely plausible. I imagined that many diverse species across the universe had an array of colourful blood. Perhaps some even had blue, like in the movies.
A struggle sounded behind me, and I twisted to see Glade trying his best to stand once again despite clearly suffering.
Rushing to his side once more, I wrapped his arm around my shoulder, attempting to lift his massive frame off the ground. One of his legs pumped upward, while the other appeared useless from the attack. Glade leaned his weight against me as we hobbled over to the creature’s lifeless body.
Despite the exertion it surely caused him, Glade knelt on his one good leg to examine the blood pooling on the ground. “That cannot be,” he mumbled. He reached out, poking the blood with his fingers and rubbing the substance between his index and thumb.
The lamppost’s light reflected off the blood like a little disco ball.
“This is not Tenebranian blood,” Glade said, his tone completely alarmed. His mouth fell open as he shook his head in disbelief.
I looked closer at the blood encrusting his fingertips and asked, “What do you mean?”
“This is not Tenebranian blood.” He turned to look me dead in the eyes before declaring, “This is the blood of the Fae.”