Chapter 29
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
The mist whirled. A thin man with dark hair, wearing a shiny suit, sobbed in a corner, cradling his broken hand. A tiny bit of guilt pierced me, and my footsteps faltered for a second. I hadn’t really thought about this one, yet—it was too recent, and I know I hadn’t talked about it with Bronwyn.
I did feel bad for what happened to him; it was a little extreme. But then I remembered who I was, and what I was here for.
The man lifted his head as I passed him. He whimpered in fear and cringed away.
“Come on, Richie,” I groaned. “You brought that on yourself. If you weren’t such a slimy douchebag, you wouldn’t have gotten your hand broken and peed yourself in the meeting room.” I kept walking.
On and on it went. Old lovers lurched out of the mist, jilted friends, employees I’d had to reprimand… Sad faces from every part of my life. Some, I threw a quick apology, others, I ignored.
I checked the tattoo on my wrist while I skipped past Hyacinth the mermaid, holding her microphone and sobbing dramatically. The sand was still trickling slowly through the hourglass. I only had a quarter of the time left now.
Soon, the faces slowed. I noticed the mists were starting to thin a little. Solid ground appeared beneath my feet, first sandy, then rocky.
“Was that it?” I asked myself aloud. “Am I done? Have I finished facing all my demons?”
Abruptly, the landscape opened up ahead of me, and I skidded on my feet.
I was on the edge of a cliff. Behind me, a mountain soared up into the sky, disappearing into white puffy clouds.
Below me, an army roared.
I gaped, looking down on them, my heart thudding in my chest. Thousands upon thousands of soldiers, lines and lines of them, as far as the eye could see.
They screamed, roared, and stamped their feet.
I could almost smell their bloodthirst on the wind and see the battle lust in their eyes.
Inexplicably, from my perch way up high on the edge of the mountain, my vision zoomed in, focusing on each member of the army individually.
Twisted furry faces screamed and brandished teeth and claws. Pale-skinned creatures with red eyes hissed and bared their fangs. Gaunt soldiers with hollow cheeks held fireballs in their palms, ready to hurl them.
Slowly, I backed away from the ledge. “This isn’t real,” I whispered. “Not real.”
It couldn’t be. This couldn’t be Connor’s army.
I swallowed roughly, still backing away from the horrifying sight unfurling itself in front of me. These creatures… these monsters.
All of them screamed for my blood.
I knew without a doubt this was real. Not here, but in the Over. As above, so below.
The Under was showing me what was to come.