Chapter 22 #2
Standing right in the middle of the gate is Onyx, who looks out of place with how sharply dressed she is in a black formfitting suit while everyone from our party wears worn clothes.
She perks up when she sees us and starts toward us while her guards flock behind her.
I notice that her father is among them, being pushed in a wheelchair.
Sterling moves to the front with Lark. My group stays behind them, here for support but not jumping in unless it’s clear Sterling doesn’t have the situation under control.
“We were hoping to talk about the attack that happened yesterday. The bullets your people shot ours with have caused them great harm, and we have others who have been affected who were merely present.”
Onyx appears almost dazed for a moment until her father nudges her. She rubs her head and looks at us. “The attack… explain it to me in detail. I have heard it from my men. I want to hear it from you.”
Sterling turns to us to describe it since we were right up front when it happened. Torin takes the lead with ease, never feeling awkward about standing in front of a crowd and discussing anything.
“The two sides were at odds over the food, causing discord between them. We are still willing to share our food, but there needs to be some civility between us. This division can’t continue, but we will talk about that after we settle this.
When the attack happened, it was caused by the horseman Riley warned you about.
She has the power to appear invisible to most people, so I know it’ll be hard for you to trust us on this.
But she gained control over multiple people in the crowd by blowing sand in their face, causing them to lose control.
That is why your men began shooting. Didn’t you question why they also shot their own?
Famine, the person who has infiltrated your world, is a horseman of the apocalypse.
She’s hellbent on destroying the very world you live in, and in turn, all of you.
You will become sacrifices for a god who is seeking ultimate power. We need to work together—”
Onyx barks out an uneasy laugh, but I notice she’s lacking the confidence she usually exudes.
“You come from another realm, spit nonsense, and tell us how to…” She trails off, and I get an uneasy feeling in my chest as I spin around and look for where it’s coming from.
It doesn’t take long for me to discover that Sterling is no longer beside us but is slowly backing out of the crowd of people who’d come here to support her and Lark.
That’s when I see she’s not alone—the arms wrapped around her, drawing her back, belong to Famine.
“Sterling, stop!” I yell, trying to shove through the crowd.
They’re startled by the sudden movement, and I end up stumbling into someone as I realize what’s happening.
How long has Sterling believed that she’s been speaking to her sister?
No, the one who has been whispering into her ears has been Famine, likely orchestrating things in a way that benefits her.
So… does that mean she orchestrated this meeting today?
“That’s not your sister! Jan isn’t talking to you! It’s Famine!” I call an instant before Famine smiles and seems to step into Sterling’s body. Sterling’s eyes flash a glowing green as she drops down and slams her hand on the ground.
The ground shudders and the dust that had settled on the road is eaten away by what looks like a magic circle drawn in blood, but I don’t notice it until I’ve stepped just outside of it in my attempt to reach Famine.
“Torin, get back! Everyone run!” I scream, rushing toward Torin while the ground shakes and Onyx starts to scream.
The men and women in the circle from both sides begin to crash to the ground, one after another.
Torin, who is near the edge of the circle with Lark, rips her and another person out of the circle before he reaches for more, but his hand can’t penetrate the circle.
I slide the bow off my shoulder, unsure whether I can even use it here, but an arrow appears in a flash of white and I release it.
But before it can slam into Sterling, Famine’s horse dashes in front of it, taking the arrow to the chest. It doesn’t seem to affect the horse since the arrow seems more determined to peel souls out than anything, but the fact that the horse rushed forward to protect her from the arrow tells me that if I could hit Sterling, I could possibly stop this.
“Torin—”
“On it,” he says, but it’s not him who’s on it, it’s Quill who Torin must have summoned.
Quill charges, head down as his antlers hook the horse, ramming it back just as I let another arrow fly.
It hits Sterling, tearing Famine right out of her.
Famine screams, and the anger darkening her face surprises me; it’s the first time I’ve seen her show so much emotion.
She’s enraged when her eyes settle on me holding Conquest’s bow.
Sterling is kneeling in front of her, appearing pale and weak, and Famine reaches down and sinks her fingers in Sterling’s hair while the woman deteriorates before my eyes.
It’s as though the spell is draining her very life from her.
Suddenly, Famine stops and smiles. Her eyes flicker past me, and I feel reluctant to look behind me to see what has pleased her so greatly.
“You’re too late, Brother. It’s already begun,” Famine says with a laugh that chills me.
Kit glances back to the circle as I realize that the people who were caught inside it have shriveled up, their bodies wasting away until their skin is stretched over their skeletal remains.
And in the very center kneels Onyx, blood running from her eyes and nose while a strange glow radiates around her…
the same glow that is shining from the brands of those who’d been marked for having magic.
The people outside the circle appear unharmed beyond their glowing brands, but they’re terrified as they draw back, uncertain how they could possibly help when they’re magicless and weaponless.
Onyx’s people begin to shoot at Famine, telling me that she’s finally shown herself, but their weapons seem to be of no concern to her.
She waves her arms and the bullets fling away from her, hitting the men and women who’d shot them at her.
The ground starts to shake as I look at Torin who is a good twenty feet from me and moving closer. We need to stop Famine and he knows it. Torin throws his scythe to distract Famine, which gives me a chance to use my own magic.
With a finger pressed against the third notch in my pendant, I call for ice and send it toward her, but she’s already thrown out sand that hits the fleeing people.
The second it does, they lunge forward and throw themselves in front of my assault to protect her.
The shard of ice I’d directed at her strikes a man in the chest, and he doesn’t even cry out when it tears through his body.
It makes me instantly stop what I’m doing, too afraid of hurting another person.
Torin calls back his scythe, no longer needing the chain to do so, while Vero tries to get closer to Famine but is hindered by the people. I’m afraid he’s going to hurt them to get to her, but so far he seems to be trying to work around them.
“Riley, does your bow work on them?” Torin asks.
“I… I don’t know,” I admit, scared to try after I’d just hurt a man. What if I had killed him? What if it does kill him?
“Riley, focus,” Torin yells.
Famine has practically disappeared behind the bodies of the people she’s controlling. Anxiety eats at me, but I push it back and lift my bow. I aim it at the same man I’d hit with the shard of ice, hoping that if it helps, he can immediately get medical attention.
The white arrow strikes him, and he cries out in fear as he pushes away from the monster who’d taken control of him.
The problem is that she has at least fifty people surrounding her, and each arrow isn’t instant.
It takes me a moment to draw up the magic to create the arrow to shoot.
There’s no way I’ll stop her at this rate.
“You just have to make an opening, and Vero and I will do the rest,” Torin says. “You’re doing good.”
I nod as I focus and realize that the hourglass feels hot again, but the pain that I would normally have been feeling at this point hasn’t returned to me. Usually, my hands and legs would be throbbing by now, and my body would ache while the stain spread. Has this hourglass really fixed the curse?
I release an arrow that feels stronger and proves to be when it rips through three people, exposing Famine.
Torin rushes in, but I see elation cross her face and it chills me. It’s like she’s thrilled he’s made this decision.
“Torin, pull back!” I yell a second before the ground explodes in front of Famine. It throws Torin back, but he easily lands on his feet, prepared to strike again as immense power spikes behind me.
I quickly twist and throw myself back while Onyx tries cleaving me in half with a sword that flickers and shimmers, almost like an iridescent seashell.
“Selena,” Famine whispers as Onyx screams and the ground shakes.
Onyx looks up, her eyes glowing an iridescent hue just like her sword. “I gave you everything! Humans are such greedy creatures. Such sickening creatures.” She pays no attention to her dead father, a victim to the magic circle.
Famine leaps onto her horse and dashes toward Onyx, but Torin is faster. He strikes, hooking Famine with his scythe and throwing her off while lightning crackles up his weapon and wraps around her. I’m surprised to see it and wonder what else he can do as his power grows.
Before Famine can even move, the ground beneath Torin’s and Famine’s feet explodes, and Torin drops down into a hole created by the explosion. I see his scythe catch the edge of the hole as I rush toward him, but Vero drags him out first.