We run another half mile before slowing our pace near the vehicle’s location, taking precautions in case she is being followed or tracked–it’s not a coincidencethatgloom appeared when it did. I ensure it’s clear enough to approach, my ears straining off in the distance for any sounds that may pose a threat. The night’s air cools the sweat dripping from my forehead, but nothing seems off.
She breaths heavily, asking, “Why’d we stop?” Pausing to rub her thick, unmuscular thighs. It’s obvious she doesn’t work out much.
“We’re here.” Nodding my head towards the vacant spot, I feel her defenses slide back in place as she squints with a few retracted steps.
“I don’t see a car.”
“Not yet, but wait,” I voice, tugging more on my internal power. “What’s hidden, give way to sight.” A white sigil appears over the dirt patch, and my vehicle manifests.
Her eyes grow larger than they already were, and I return a smile for good measure. We hurry over, and she hops in first, slamming the door. Once my friend is safely seated, I run and open the driver’s side, but something crashes into me, piercing straight through my back.
Blood gushes out of my stomach, and I peer down, viewing a shadow-like tentacle bulging out. It’s cold to the touch and different from what the other gloom wielded. Heat escapes me at a rapid pace, the agony darkening my vision.
Its appendage isn’t entirely black. Light circles through it with sludge leaking down my abdomen, blending seamlessly with my blood, and electricity burns over my skin in sporadic lines similar to veins. Sharp sparks of pain pinch my flesh with each shock.
“Nooo!” she yells, banging against the window. Another tentacle slams into my back and out the front, lifting me up and away.
Plasma waterfalls from my mouth, and I choke out the decree, “You need to…get out of here.” Flicking my wrist, “Regressus,” the ‘return’ incantation, barely escapes me. Even if I don’t make it back, she needs to.
Another sigil appears beneath the car, sending a barrier of light towering towards the sky like a calling beacon as waves of tentacles hurdle towards it. The vehicle vanishes, leaving a fog of dust, and I smile at completing my task.Mission two, successful.
Tentacles retract at lightning speed, and I plummet, landing on my back with a loud snap from my leg. The taste of copper coats my tongue, and screams of misery ring out.
Huffing deeply, I try to regain my composure. “Shit, this isn’t good.” Placing a hand over the broken bone protruding from me, Ipush it back in. Torture shoots up my leg as I bite into my lower lip to stifle the groans, and healing magic begins flowing within the wound. It’s not the first time something this large has broken, but the pain always reminds me of how much it sucks.
With the gloom’s attention now on me, a murderous rumble emits from its throat. Even the trees surrounding us seem quiet.
“You’ve failed. She’s safe now.” Releasing a grunt, I fall backwards, colliding with the coolish dirt as dim lit stars gaze from their ethereal domain.Are the heavens angry? Did I dishonor them in a way to besmirch their names?Reaching for my stomach and healing there next, the gloom approaches, consuming every ray of light as though manifested from a black hole.
A humanoid entity of melting shadows. A walking abyss.
“Where did she go?” it snarls, but I remain quiet, pondering a way out of this situation. “Do you know who I am?” A question laced with a magical truth serum appears inside my head with such force I can’t help but respond.
“Yeah–” *cough*“Yeah, I do. You’re Osiris’s puppet,” I chortle. There are eight special glooms rumored across my realm to have the strength of an ascended fay. Each one is known for having unique abilities, and based on what I’ve seen this one do, it’s easily recognizable. More-so ranks highest out of the eight.
“You laugh, but you will die here.” The unholy entity’s arms shift into massive blades with sparks of lightning shooting in every direction, crackling and striking the dirt around me like whips of destruction.
“Do your worst.” Peering into its soulless gaze, I face my end. Life Bargain took a considerable amount of magic, and on top of fighting, healing, and transporting her away, I’m near depletion. Though being surrounded by my own blood plays a major factor.
Swinging high before barreling down towards me, a flash of golden light appears in the blink of an eye, slicing through the gloom’s arms like a thin piece of parchment, and the groundtrembles from their robust weight. Dust kicks up, and my executioner stumbles back with a painful shriek.
“Angie, what are you doing?” An angry voice snarls past the soot. A spear waves inches from my face, clearing the circling fog, and I stare in amazement at who stands before me. “I asked you a question. You know I hate repeating myself,” Ethan speaks low, keeping our enemy in his sights.
“How did…you find me?” I question, bewildered. Fighting against gravity, I sit up, grunting as more pain steals my breath. He points at my left arm, using his spear, and my head tilts down in confusion. “What?” I ask.
“Look at the back of it.” Rotating my arm, I notice a miniature golden sigil placed below my shoulder. I crane my neck and force my arm into an odd position.What the fuck.
“When the hell did you do this?” Anger forms my brows into a thin line, and my thumb runs over the mark left against my will.
“Language, Angie. Someone of your status shouldn’t use such words. You never know who’s listening,” he mocks as his finger rotates towards the sky.
“Fuck off, Ethan,” I pout. “Answer my question.”
He chuckles with a side-eye, flashing those perfect, white teeth that match his ice-white braid. He never ceases to find ways to piss me off. All the same, I’d be dead if he hadn’t arrived.
“No time. Our enemy approaches. If you’re not helping, at least heal yourself while I take care of this,” he demands, swinging the spear behind his back.
“Be careful, that’s one of Osiris’s eight elites. If he sent this one–”
