Page 35 of Pain Run Rampant
I turn away from the piles of bodies, intent on figuring it out, but the moment I turn, a large, cold hand wraps itself around my neck. I’m lifted off the ground easily, as if I weigh nothing, by an eight-foot-tall, six-winged creature with no face. Invictis’s opposite, the black being, the absence of light.
His unnerving, creepy voice enters my brain as his large hand squeezes my neck: “You have seen the chaos I bring. Find me, so that I may end you and free my brother from his shackles once and for all. I will be waiting for you. Prepare yourself. Your end is nigh.”
His grip around my throat tightens, and my vision grows blurry. Seconds later, everything turns black.
Although it doesn’t stay that way for long. I wake up with a sick feeling in my stomach, greeted by a beautiful blue sky and a gentle breeze, telling me we’re out of the final labyrinth. I struggle to sit up, a queasy feeling in my gut that just won’t go away.
What I saw… the sick feeling in my gut only grows when I remember everything I saw. The burnt bodies, the pile waiting for their turn, the weird sickness they all had, like some kind of plague…
Frederick sits a few feet to my left, working on something in his journal, but when he sees me and the expression on my face, he shuts it and asks, “Rey, are you all right?”
The question causes Invictis, who stands ten or so feet away with his arms crossed, gazing off into the distance like he’s deep in thought, to turn around and study me.
Okay. Nope. Can’t hold it down.
I turn away from Frederick and heave up whatever’s in my stomach. At this point, it’s mostly bile—it ain’t like we’re living in the lap of luxury while traveling—but it’s still disgusting, and the feeling of that bile coming up my throat and out of my mouth makes me want to vomit even more.
We’re thirty or so feet away from the waterfall that covers the labyrinth’s entrance, so once I finish vomiting, I get to my feet and shuffle over to the water. I cup my hands together and stuff them beneath the waterfall, catching some water in them and bringing it straight to my mouth.
Both men are right behind me, though it’s Frederick who asks again, “Are you okay? What’s wrong? What did you see?”
Once my mouth is rinsed out, I turn toward them, knowing I have to face it. I pushed it away for so long, it’s come full center now. The time to ignore the truth has passed, and when we return to Laconia, the conclave needs to know the truth.
I don’t look at either of them. Instead, I stare at the grass between us as I whisper, “I didn’t want to come to the labyrinths because of my magic. I thought… I thought they’d have answers.” I swallow, my knees suddenly weak. It’s like the wind had gotten knocked out of me.
Fuck. When I think about how hard it was to fight Invictis… how the hell can I face another?
“I had a vision, after I bound Invictis to me,” I explain. “I saw another one.”
“Another one?” Frederick starts, “What do you mean, another…” He must realize it, because the way he trails off, coupled with how his eyes widen in shock, tell me enough.
“He’s… not golden. He’s black, the absence of light. He called himself chaos, and he said he was your brother.” I finally lift my gaze to Invictis, unsure of what I’d see, but all Invictis does is stare back with a stony expression. “I think he’s… terrorizing some other kingdom. He wants me to find him so he can kill me and free you.”
Frederick shakes his head. “No. No, he’s not your responsibility to fight—”
“He’s killing people, Frederick. Kids like Prim. I have to try. You know that.”
The look he gives me in return tells me he knows and he understands, but at the same time he doesn’t want me to do it because it’ll put me in harm’s way once again—and this time, I have no magic.
But I do have one thing I didn’t have before.
I look at Invictis, who’s remained oddly silent during the truth bomb. “What do you say? You up for a family reunion? You might have to kick your brother’s ass for me if I don’t get my magic back in time.”
“A brother,” Invictis whispers, strangely thoughtful. It’s times like these when I wish I could peek inside his head. His gaze refocuses on me. “I have no brother, but I am up for a challenge. Let’s find this chaos-bringer and, as you say, kick his ass.” The smirk that spreads across his face after that makes my stomach twist for a whole different reason.
Whether I want to admit it or not, I’m in it with him. Right or wrong, it doesn’t matter. Fate brought us together, and it seems fate still has more in store for us.
My gaze shifts to Frederick, and with the way he stares at me, I can tell he’s wishing things were different. I can also assumehe’ll try to go with me, just as he invited himself on this little quest. The sad thing is, I don’t know if I have it in my heart to forbid him from coming.
I think… fuck me, I think I’d miss him too much, but it’s going to be dangerous and I don’t know if I want to put him in harm’s way just because I’ll miss him otherwise.
A dramatic sigh escapes me. I guess an empress’s job is never truly done.
Here we go again.
