Chapter 25 Riven #2
“Look, I get it. If it weren’t for him, the imitation rooms wouldn’t exist. We wouldn’t have gone through what we did, and neither would Thayla.
But you know what will happen to us if we get caught doing this.
We lose everything. Any future plans of power and revenge get snatched out from beneath us. ”
My eye twitches.
“I know all that and I’ve weighed the risk. My Harmony isn’t fighting. It’s encouraging. Which means there’s another already strong and worthy enough to take his spot when he falls. And he will fall. Tonight. With or without you by my side.”
He holds my very deadly, serious stare.
For too long, Obsidian has enjoyed his reign, living in the shadows cowardly. He has no problem creating rooms that dig into the depths of others’ psyches. Yet, he doesn’t stick around to see what pulling those shadows from someone does to them.
That’s the biggest misunderstanding when it comes to this god.
He doesn’t feed only on the night like what’s surrounding us.
Our inner shadows taste just as sweet.
Repressed fears, secrets, guilt, trauma. Emotional “shadows.”
It was one thing when he fed from my brothers and me.
But he fed from my angel.
That will be his last meal.
Swords unsheathing echo through the forest like a warning and my lips split into a smile.
“Okay.”
My power swirls, as do my eyes.
Both burgundy and blue.
Two sides to the same coin will work as one tonight.
“Okay,” I agree.
My hum echoes around us as we take our first step onto the foggy, forbidding path.
I allow my lamp to swing between Kyzen’s and my body to keep the living, not very discreet, shadows from swirling around our legs.
Their master is already aware we’re here.
“One, two, three, four, five,
I’m gonna catch a shadow alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
He’s gonna pay me for his sin.
What sin did he commit?
His power made my angel submit.
What will you do once he’s dead?
Make my burden get out of bed.”
“So what’s the plan?” I don’t disrupt my hum to answer my brother, and he sighs. “You have a plan, right?”
“Yes, it’s quite simple. Kill him.”
He huffs out a chuckle.
“Obviously. But are you attacking him with some concoction in your pack or am I stabbing him in the heart? Who’s doing what?”
“That’s a very good question. You’re far faster and better with a sword than I am, so you should probably fight off whatever little beasties he creates. I’ll take him and if I need your help, I’ll give you the signal.”
“What signal?”
I cup my hands around my mouth and tilt my head back.
“Ca-caw!”
The critters of the forest respond to my call and I stifle my snicker.
“You’ll make an animal noise? Seriously?”
“Would you rather me scream, ‘Kyzen, save me!’”
“Yeah, actually. Then I know exactly what you need.”
Where’s the chaos in that?
I’m sticking with the critter call.
The sound around us silences once again and we continue to mosey our way down this damn never-ending road for a few more minutes. I keep my singing mental so I can focus on what’s around me.
“Riven,” Kyzen whispers as our footsteps slow.
“Yeah, I see it. You can’t really miss it.”
Maybe fifty or so feet in front of us, a massive, sleek, black house stretches into the night sky. There’s absolutely no fucking reason for one person to live in a monstrosity this large.
Okay, I’ll admit it’s not a monstrosity. I actually appreciate the old, timey, mortal castle kind of look.
Those powerless beings sure have—had maybe?—good taste in designs.
The only sources of light the God of Shadows has placed around his dwelling are glowing beams like what’s around the stronghold in the Abandon. The only difference is that these give off red rays rather than white.
“You two never would’ve been the sons of Obliteration I’d assume to find at my front door.”
Obsidian takes the steps out of his house one at a time as shadows stretch toward him, feening for his command. He lets them coil through his fingers once before fanning them away.
Damn, I hate when fuckers make a badass entrance.
I’m sure if I hadn’t grown up with the God of Death, that shit would be intimidating.
I need to up my scary like them.
“Love what you’ve done with the place, Obsidian. The all black really suits you.”
I’m not sure if he smiles back at me. He’s shrouded from head to toe in darkness. There’s a long-standing rumor that he no longer possesses a physical form beneath that cloak.
I can’t wait to find out.
Hopefully, there’s some flesh actually. I need to take Thayla a little souvenir back.
“You must have gone to great lengths to learn my whereabouts. State your business.”
I tilt my head to the side.
“You already know that answer. Don’t take my fun from me.”
A low laugh escapes him as shadows rise from the ground. Kyzen attempts to step forward with me, but I place my hand on his chest.
“Be ready.”
The words leave my lips and his power caresses my neck. My torch lamp hits the ground—the flame flickering to nothing—just as the first shadow figure attacks.
This is why he was the brother I needed with me.
He, his time, and his blades cut through the darkness just as fast as Obsidian commands more to form.
None of them get near me as I approach the God of Shadows.
His power pulses the short distance I leave between us.
Familiar. Fear inducing.
His eyeholes glow a faint red as he observes Kyzen’s every move.
“He’s even more graceful now than he once was.”
“Please don’t flirt with my brother,” I gag. “It’s uncomfortable for everyone.”
“You still hide fear behind humor.”
“I still hide a lot of things behind humor.” I shrug.
There’s no point lying to him. This may be the first time I’ve ever met the God of Shadows in person, but his energy is impossible to forget.
He and what he’s capable of have haunted me for years. He knows parts of me better than I do.
He knows all who’ve faced their fears because of him.
“You reek of chaos. Of instability.”
“You flatter me.”
His chuff is unkind and more shadows spill across the ground like ink dumped from a broken bottle.
I allow him to believe I don’t sense them circling my arms, but how could I not? They create an itch you can’t scratch. A hum that doesn’t sound like my own.
A clank echoes around us, and I dip my head toward the sound. My sigh is small as I rattle the constraints he locked around my wrist.
“Chains. Very fitting choice.”
“I thought so as well.” He drifts closer, floating across the ground rather than walking. I don’t jerk my head away as he grips my jaw.
“What did you hope to accomplish by coming to me today, Riven? You’re too impulsive, unprepared, and nonchalant. You couldn’t have truly believed it’d be that simple to kill me. Darkness cannot be defeated.”
“Of course I did. That’s still the plan.”
“Plan.” His harsh laugh is accompanied by more shadow figures falling from his fingers.
“You’ve marched your brother and yourself right into a room full of endless fears.
I could feed from you until my heart is content, then hand you off to your father.
What then? You’ll wait in your chains until your Binder comes to save you once again? ”
My powers sharpen to points, stabbing into the restraints on my wrist.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what? Tell you how she screamed so beautifully. I’ll do you one better. Let me show you.”
Fingers that weigh no more than smoke on the wind sear into my forehead. Shadows crawl down my face and plunge into my swirling eyes.
The dark landscape before me shifts into a blood-stained arena.
My breathing stops.
My body goes rigid as my power goes ballistic.
The sight of Thayla chained to a post will never be something I’ll get out of my head. No amount of Chaos can shield me from that.
She should never be on her knees…
Broken.
Bleeding.
Her eyes shouldn’t be glazed with terror she can’t blink away.
“No.” I fling my head back, attempting to force him and this image from my mind.
“Yes,” he whispers. “Listen to the sweet sounds she makes.”
A crack pierces the air, and Thayla’s back bows. Her scream of pain has me thrashing against his power.
“You motherfucker,” I bellow, but it’s no use.
He taps me on my lips, filling my cheeks with shadows that silence my sound.
“I didn’t do this to her. You and your brothers allowed this.”
The chains latched to her wrist shift, pulling her arms out beside her, and the dirt beneath her knees becomes a smooth black floor.
Her eyes roll back and her head tilts toward the ceiling.
Her hips sway with the music.
“You haven’t told her the fantasies that run through your mind. You’re too afraid to admit to her you want to try some of the things you learned from your…Mommy.”
Her clothes fade to nothing, leaving her breathtaking bare body spread into the shape of an X.
A whip forms in my hand, and my body twitches. The soft material at the end will protect her skin from any more scars. My wrist flicks against my will, landing against her back. A delicious pink stripe blossoms and my mouth waters to lick the trail.
“Yes, Riven. More.”
“No.”
“Yes, Empowerer. Don’t lie to me. You can’t hide that from me.”
She shifts once again.
A hand wraps around her neck from behind, and her eyes beg someone to do something. Long black ropes link around her body, which trembles in my father’s arms.
His satisfied smile has my power pushing against my skin.
Begging.
Things aren’t going according to their plan.
My chest cracks open with the whimper that leaves her lips. The glimpse of black streaks slithering beneath her skin shreds something raw and pulsing inside me.
This isn’t just a fear I have.
This is a possibility.
This is what I wake up sweating from.
What keeps me from closing my eyes.
What makes my Chaos hum in too-high frequencies.
Her.
Helpless to him. To her.
“This is fake.” My voice fractures. The chains yank tighter as my power tries to react.
“She calls for the others,” Obsidian whispers against my ear. “Not you.”
My angel looks me in the eyes.
Her mouth parts.