Forsaken Dreamscape (Nevermor) (59 page)

This
hasn’t happened.  How could he do this to himself?

Her
sorrow turned quickly into anger. 
Stupid, stupid boy!
  How could he do
this?  Calico didn’t care how sentimentally he felt toward Wren!  She was
nothing! 
Nothing!

“This
is your fault,” she accused, her tear-blurred eyes settling on Wren. “This is
your
fault
!”

The
huntress moved too fast for anyone to stop her, throwing her fist forcefully
into the pale girl’s face.  Wren was still too weak to comprehend the blows. 
The fist beat down on her relentlessly, accompanied by screams of fury that
were incomprehensible, even to Calico herself.  It was only because of strong
arms wrapping around her that she was able to stop.

Calico
was hoisted into the air by Toss, and though she struggled and sobbed wildly,
she could not break free of his large arms.  She thrashed until she was tired,
but this still did not quell her rage or her sorrow.

Sly,
this is not what you promised me!

None
of it was right and none of it was fair.  Calico had already lost one boy that
she’d loved, and now she would lose the other?  Past the many thoughts in her
mind, she knew one thing that was true.

This
was Wren’s fault.  All of it was because of her.

2

“Are
you alright, Wren?”

Her
eyes, terribly dry, turned to see Mach beside her.  He looked sad somehow, but
also very surprised to see her.  He touched the back of her head and her arm as
if he could hardly fathom that she was a physical being.

“I’m
fine,” she said, her words coming out in a dry, scratchy voice. “What
happened?”

“You–?” 
Mach started, but stopped again.  Wren’s eyes drifted up to Calico, who had
calmed down to simply hang from Toss’ grip, sobbing.  Wren looked down then,
catching sight of Sly.  A gasp escaped her, a blood-covered hand rising to her
mouth.  She looked at her fingers in confusion, but disregarded them to move
toward Sly.

“
Stay
away from him
!” Calico screamed, and Wren consented to the girl’s wishes,
though it did not fail to take her by surprise.

She
watched quietly as Finn bent down to examine Sly’s body.  Her face and arms
hurt from Calico’s attack, but she was too busy trying to recall what had
happened to give it much mind.  She remembered catching Whisper, aiming to use
the whistle, but the fairy wisp had slipped from her fingers.

I
was with Rifter.  There was pain.  Then I was falling.

Her
eyes went to the sky, and they rounded to see a large black serpent zooming
through the air.  Was it heading down toward them?  Where was Rifter?

“Rifter?”

“Wren…” 
Mach’s voice had gotten through to her once again, but she could not see what
he saw.  Her face had swelled from Calico’s punches, but it was beginning to
fade as if she’d not been hurt at all.  She was, however, aware of something
soft and cool beneath her hand.  Looking to the ground, she saw that there was a
patch of grass growing between her fingers.  It surprised her so greatly that
she jerked her hand away from it, but she could not remove her eyes.  How had
she done this?  Sly was the only one who could–

She
looked once again at his limp body, and her memory came back to her.  She had
been falling, and she hadn’t been delivered.  She’d fallen until she’d hit the
ground.  She’d
died
.  Sly had attempted to heal her, and he’d pressed
his power to the extent that he’d lost his own life.  In the process, he had
passed his healing gift on to her.

Wren
could hardly think.  Her mind was a tangle of impossibilities and fears and
troubles.  It was not long before a voice broke through her mind, and while it
did not abolish her many thoughts, it crossed over them.

“Hey,
mates…”  Finn’s voice rose up above the rest, somehow even breaking Calico’s
sobs.  “I don’t think he’s dead.”

3

Within
the demon, Rifter was wedged tightly in the fleshy pipe he’d been swallowed
down into.  It was dark and hot, thick and wet.  He couldn’t move – could
hardly breathe.  He felt the twisting of the demon’s body, struggling to force
him down into the pit of fiery acid in its belly, but Rifter could not be
dislodged.  It was horrible, suffocating, and claustrophobic, but he was not
going to allow himself to rot within a demon’s stomach.  Rifter believed it was
possible for him to die – despite his earlier claim of immortality.

Not
like this!

He
kept his eyes closed as his hair was plastered down by the demon’s inner
fluids.  All his weapons had been lost to him before this had happened.  On top
of that, his body had been badly injured by the demon’s teeth, but those wounds
had begun to heal.  It would be days before the pain vanished completely, but
for now it was enough.  He had to get out.  He had to have revenge!

Wren…
  He could not
stop thinking of her.  Though he was contemplating a plan, his thoughts kept
returning to the image of her mangled body on the ground.  Just after he’d
thought he had saved her, she had died right in front of him.  This entire
time, he’d only cared about protecting her, and he’d not done it.

Like
so many other times when he’d watched his family die, his mind was overwhelmed
by pain, but he could do very little inside here.  The smell alone was making
him wish he’d stop breathing, but he could not give up.  There was one more
thing he had to accomplish before death – at least one more – and he could only
think of one way to make it happen.

Rifter
had wondered if the demon was aware of what it had done to him back when they’d
first met.  In order for the demon to get inside Rifter’s body, it had lit a
fire for itself in his core.  He’d later let the demon out into Nix’s body, but
there had been something left inside him in the demon’s wake, and that fire
burned still.

Rifter
had not lived in that ever-burning forest because he’d liked the smoke, or even
because it had once been home.  He’d gone there in order to counter what the
creature had left behind within him – its fire.  He’d been hunting the burning
bear to see how it had lived with the fire scorching its skin.  It had been
years, and Rifter had never tried to burn himself for fear that the blaze would
consume him completely.  But now, he couldn’t find it in himself to care.  Wren
was dead, and he had nothing to live for other than his revenge.  He needed to
know it would work, and there was no better time than now.

Gathering
air down deep within him, he gave all his energy to one effort – his attempt to
combust.

Fire
from within rolled past his lips, burning him like acidic bile.  He did not
watch it, but he knew that it was blazing over his skin and scorching the
insides of the demon.  He strained himself, finally feeling the fire as it
burst out of his fingertips and toes.  Gradually, the red flames swallowed him
completely.

Was
he burning?  Was his skin cooking to a thick, withered mask like the pirates
below?  He couldn’t tell, only knowing that the heat was intense.  Tongues of
fire licked him, but he was hardly concerned about himself.  Rifter pictured
Wren’s face – his last angelic vision of her – and dug his feet harshly into
the demon, aiming to push through.

4

If
Rifter was to be considered a satisfying meal, then the demon felt it might as
well go back to the pit and rot there.  Granted, it had seemed like a good idea
to eat him – an agreeable end – but there was something very
dis
agreeable
about it now.  The angry piece of food had gotten himself lodged inside the demon’s
body before he’d passed into the stomach, and now the nightmare demon was
suffering from an uncomfortable lump in its throat.

The
demon circled around in the air, twisting its long, sleek body of black scale. 
Being free was a nice sensation, but it had to admit that it enjoyed being a
human more.  It had abolished all the roles that it cared about in this land,
but it would find another that it enjoyed with time.  Still, this decimated
island in the sky would remain as the nightmare demon’s property.

There
was just one more thing that needed to be dealt with, and that was concerning
the Wolf Pack.

The
slit pupils in the center of its yellow eyes narrowed as they focused on the
group below.  It was impressive really, how such a small group could destroy
all the pirate minions that the demon had blessed.  Not even the mechanical boy
with guns in his arms had been able to best them it seemed.  But look at this:
they’d all gathered together in a nice little cluster, just for the demon’s
taking.  They should all be eliminated, but especially the animal boy.  The
demon could not have him healing the land it had worked so hard to corrupt.

A
shrewd smile pulled at its stiff lips, and the demon temporarily forgot about
its own pain.  It turned in the air, swooping down toward the unsuspecting
group, ready to be done with all this.  It plummeted downward, enjoying the
feel of the air around its tight skin.  It enjoyed that as much as it enjoyed
killing.  It–

Massive
yellow eyes widened as pain flared within, much greater than what could have
been expected.  There was a horrible tearing sensation somewhere along its
length, which made the demon unsteady in the air, and when it turned its head
to examine, a burst of black blood gave way to a large ball of flame that ripped
through its flesh.

The
demon could hardly believe what it had seen, but it did not have time to
contemplate the horror before it was hissing loudly with pain.  The air would
no longer hold the serpent up, and it began to fall without control.

The
wound was serious.  Was this truly how it was meant to die?  Without even
knowing the truth of its own death?  No!  It could heal itself!  It could–

The
flaming form that had shot from its side was hovering in the air, and as the
demon fell away, it saw that the fire had a face, a
body
.  It was in the
shape of a young man, not a boy – a man who had turned his weaknesses into
strengths and conquered his enemy, just as he had conquered before.  The hell
beast continued to fall, but somehow, it found a smirk.  It could appreciate
this battle.

The
next one would be even better.

5

It
wasn’t even a full breath that Sly had taken in, but still it was proof that
there was some amount of life left in him. 
I think he’s still alive
. 
Finn’s declaration had gripped everyone’s attention, but none with greater
concern than Calico.  She twisted in Toss’ restraining grip until he was forced
to put her down.  Without regard to anyone else, she moved to Sly’s side.

He
wasn’t moving, but she could hear the sound of labored breath deep in his
chest.  No, he was not dead, but he was certainly
dying
.  Stupid,
terrible boy!  There was no doubt that her anger would reach new heights later,
but for now she only cared that he lived.  She lifted him up to sit, and when
his blood-smeared face was closer, she saw his lips tremble just a bit.

“Don’t
talk, you fool,” she scolded him gently.

He
had heard her, or he was simply too weak to do it, but he gave up his attempt. 
Calico held him closer, letting her tears run into his hair.  They had been
through so much – too much to say goodbye now!

“I
am not going to let you die,” she swore, though how she hoped to have any power
over that event, she could not fathom.

They
all stood around silently, accepting this.  If this had not been what Sly had
wanted, he would not have done it, but it did not keep her from hating him for
it.

6

Mach
helped Wren to her feet, and while she might have liked to go to Sly, she
didn’t dare.  Calico alone had the right to hold him as he died.

Wren
choked back a sob, and then raised her eyes to the sky.  That black monster was
still there, and it seemed so much closer than it had before.  Where was
Rifter?  Though he would have been a tiny spec compared to the demon, she could
still not see him anywhere.  He was alright, wasn’t he?  Of course he was.

Of
course he was.

Wren’s
line of sight inspired the gazes of the others, and it was not long before
Finn, Toss, and Mach were all looking to the sky.  And there was not one among
them that didn’t gasp when a mass of flame ripped itself free of the demon’s
side.

7

At
first sight, they had all guessed that the ball of fire would be crashing down
upon them, but it moved farther upward into the sky instead of to the ground. 
If there was one unmistakable thing, it was that a rain of black blood was on
its way down to splatter upon them – and that downpour was followed shortly by
the demon itself as its dying mass plummeted.