65. Kami

65

Kami

I 'm a soul-taker. That sounds…right.

Ries is smiling down at me, and I swear he's looking at me as if he likes me.

Like- likes me.

I can't help blushing, especially because he's beautiful and I?—

—can't breathe as I'm sliding down through the muddy earth, squished between mounds of dirt and clawing roots trying to grab me before I'm sucked away and moving through water.

But as quickly as I'm wet, I'm shot out of the water and land hard on dry land, coughing to clear my lungs.

It's dark, the damp room lit in sections by bowls of glowing blue crystals set on small pedestals stationed at intervals around the…cave?

A glance around me shows I must have launched out of the glowing underground lake behind me. It's large and illuminated.

As I catch my breath, I watch Oz, Malkar, and Crash appear, tossed out like I was onto the hard ground next to me. Of Ries, there is no sign.

They groan, some landing harder than others.

Malkar, of course, manages to hit and roll onto his feet, so that he's crouching and looking as if he planned to land that way.

"What was that?" He wipes his wet hair back, that strand of white braid stark against his cheek while the rest of his hair slicks back from his forehead.

His eyes glow, much like the rocks, and I'm taken aback by his primal beauty.

I stare and see what looks like a flash of scales over his skin before it disappears.

"That really hurt." Oz sits up carefully, cradling his hand that's bent the wrong way.

"Oh, Oz." I hurry to him, aware he's kept a careful distance from me since he's come back to us.

That group hug we shared is as close as he's been, and even that felt a little bit distant.

I don't like it. But I like that he's hurt even less.

I wish I was stronger as a necromancer. I've heard that some of them can steal life force and share it with others.

But according to Ries and Malkar, I'm a soul-taker.

As no one around us is dead yet, I'm saved from having to perform any necromancerly rites.

Oz grimaces and looks down at his wrist.

"I can help, but it will hurt." Malkar approaches him.

Oz sighs and holds out his arm. "Just do it."

Before I can blink, Oz is bellowing, Malkar is stepping back, and Oz's wrist faces the correct way again.

"Is it broken?" I move closer.

"No. I'm hard to break."

"And aren't we all glad about that. "

The three of us tense as Enwiss steps forward from the shadows, accompanied by a horde of Lancer guards. Mages, sylphs, and elves appear ready to fight.

I can't help my racing heartbeat, fearful of Enwiss's malevolent grin.

Can't we just once catch a break?

"Nice place you've taken us to, Oz," Malkar says drily as Crash swears. "Was this part of the shortcut?"

"No." Oz stands, his gaze blood-red and growing darker. He points at Enwiss. "You wanted us here."

"We did." The asshole chuckles. "I can't believe you thought anyone would talk to freely in front of you. Seriously? The monarch and his guard would just casually mention an exit strategy, a secret tunnel, in front of a monster? "

I don't need to see Oz to feel his shame for having fallen for that. But I don't blame him.

I hate this place and everyone behind the Radiant Trials. If I overheard a possible escape route, I'd run for it without asking too many questions.

Enwiss continues, "Don't worry, Oz. No one needs to know of your pathetic gullibility. No one will see this part of the match. It's just for our entertainment."

Fire lights my feet, and I'm shocked at how fast I'm burning. The pain is excruciating, and I can't help screaming as I try to put out the fire several fire mages are controlling.

Malkar tries to move toward me, but he's attacked by a ton of people. They're stabbing, cutting, and electrocuting him over and over.

Oz moves to help and finds himself tackled by three muscular elves who think pummeling an orc to death is funny.

Crash screams in rage, and someone catches fire. But the blast of his fury is smothered by a water mage who throws him into the lake we came from .

He struggles to climb free. Then hands made of water grab him, smother him above the lake while I watch. His flailing grows weaker before those arms pull him under, and he vanishes.

Drowned in the blink of an eye.

I can't fathom what's just happened. How we went from being a group trading jokes to being attacked.

Oz tosses bodies from him, one of which knocks into Enwiss and ruins the arrow he had aimed at the back of Malkar's head.

I desperately need help. My feet are still burning, the flames magical that are cooking me from the inside out.

I can't call upon any trees, blocked by the water magic saturating the space. That's if I could think clearly enough to call for aid.

I hurt. So much. I'm dying, and this time I can't stop it.

My friends are overwhelmed.

There's an unholy scream that makes my ears hurt, and I see a pair of talons land near me that quickly morph into pale fingers oozing blackish blood that shimmers a blue-green.

Malkar has been wounded.

And he's hurting.

I feel the pain throbbing in my left hand, as if I lost fingers too.

I can't stop sobbing and screaming, trying to stop the fires crawling up my legs.

I don't see anyone else, but deep laughter ripples in the nearby water. The cave echoes all around us, the rocks vibrating against the darkness.

Enwiss seizes, and his body ruptures, exploding outward and freezing in mid-air.

My small burst of joy is short-lived.

His muscle, bones, and organs are exposed for a split second then reform into an elf twice as large as Enwiss, one who looks exactly like Beyrthnel.

He's insidiously handsome and in no way like Enwiss except for the pointed ears.

This god is majestic, powerful, and so much more than a mere dryad could ever handle.

And Sebastian wanted me to stop him?

He picks up Malkar's fingers between his thumb and forefinger, making the digits look tiny, like small snow candy. He licks them clean of blood and sighs with pleasure.

Malkar swears, his voice deep, his body still buried under the many warriors surrounding him, stabbing at him.

Beyrthnel grins and pops the fingers into his mouth. The crunch as he ingests bone causes Malkar to shriek so loudly he cracks some of the walls around us, the stone splitting in veins of distress.

In a booming voice, the god says, "Ah, I haven't tasted that in ages . Make sure you don't overly damage that one." He turns to me, his eyes night-black, no iris or pupil to speak of. "Well now, my sister sends her regards, does she?"

I keep waiting for Caethybdue to make her entrance, but she's holding back.

And I'm beyond terrified. The god's whole attention is on me, but I can hear the sound of blades sticking flesh, of my friends crying out in pain as their torture is played out for Beyrthnel's benefit.

"Oh, darling. There you are. Come, give us a kiss and help us step into this world as proper and befitting your new god." He awkwardly steps closer. "Such a clunky form, but he's strong enough to contain me for these few moments while I take my fill."

Then Beyrthnel laughs, and I'm shivering, my fear born from the knowledge he means to hurt her through me .

"Penance, Dearest." He smiles, and I see his fangs growing.

He grabs me up, holding me off the ground by my shoulders, his grip shockingly tender.

The kiss, when it comes, is gentle as well.

But the invasion into everything I am and ever will be is worse than death. It's an assault on my body, soul, and mind.

On all that I am.

I'm screaming but make no sound, crying but make no tears, and my body is tearing itself apart cell by cell as his magic penetrates and rips me apart.

You are undone. I hear the truth as he remakes me into war and conflict with no chance of rebirth.

"The power, such glorious power," he bellows and laughs.

I bleed everywhere, awash in his scent, his rage, invaded and used and found promising.

A toy to be played with often.

"Over and over," he whispers as he licks the blood off my cheeks. "No, my sweet. Death is not for you. Not for a long time yet. We have so much to do."

I will never be whole again.

And the soul-taker is taken.