25. The Remnant

KUSHIM

All the little dolls quickly dash to me. It has been a long time since I have had to use this much magic and hold this much time. I miss using all this power. It is a nice feeling. I hold out a hand, a red glow emanating from it, and one by one, they all high five me before they form a circle around the room.

“Is now really the time for that?” the Aldrich doll asks, turning his back to us as if he can see something we can’t.

“Yes, he is using his power on them so they can’t age or degrade,” Fitz informs him.

I enjoy the Unicorn’s presence slightly more than the Fae’s. However, part of that could currently be because the Fae’s current body leaves much to be desired.

My magic wavers as I get slightly distracted by a soft hum of magic that begins to creep into the air. The cavern felt off before we arrived, and now it feels almost oppressive.

“I am almost certain after watching that biker get devoured that it is feeding on the life force or essence of the being, so if I remove his ability to do so, he probably won’t be able to kill them,” I tell the Fae. He wasn’t here for the birth of this plan. I should be patient.

“Are you not certain?” Aldrich asks, turning his head to look my way.

If the room weren’t slowly filling with a layer of fog from a chill I did not create, I would laugh at the man. Because he’s looking at me with what I’m sure is supposed to be ire or a how-could-you-risk-our-woman’s-life-on-a-hunch expression. Instead, I’m facing a wide-eyed, oh-my-god face due to our mate’s unique choice for eye placements. It honestly reminds me of the shocked otter GIF that Amias sent me a week or so ago.

“I am certain I removed their time,” I snark.

“You mean you aren’t certain about us not being eaten by it?!” Mip whisper-yells at me.

“Enough talk. Focus up,” Fitz says, taking the position on the other side of Clover until we have her surrounded on all sides.

Clover is already on it. In her hands is a small purple and black doll. Her eyes are fully shut, completely relying on us to protect her. A small glowing circle starts to fill the center of the room.

Within seconds of it opening, black goo starts creeping out of it like some eldritch monster, reaching out, searching. It slowly creeps out into the room, almost mindlessly checking. A silence takes hold of the room as we collectively hold our breaths, watching as it reaches the small ring of dolls around the room.

It bumps into the first one, then keeps going as if it bumped into nothing but a pebble. We all let out a breath.

“Thank goodness,” one of the little dolls says.

The goo rotates toward the sound and rushes to that doll. We all gasp, but nothing happens as it simply rolls over it.

“My turn,” Aldrich says, holding his hand out in my direction.

I sigh and touch the doll, having to use considerably more power on him than the smaller ones. I get a bit dizzy with the strain, and I grit my teeth. I need to use my powers more often. I have clearly let myself go.

Aldrich’s little doll body shakes, and he charges at the remnant. The remnant meets him, crashing into his body like it’s a brick wall and sloshing back in our direction. Shit.

From corner of my eye, I catch Fitz shimmer and shake until a small Unicorn stands in his place. Unicorns don’t normally breed with other species, so it is quite surprising that he is so small. Cutesy, even. A soft pale white glow emanates from his horn, surrounding us in a shield of light, and he whinnies as the goo crashes into it.

My magic starts to wane as the pressure of other magic pulls on it. That’s not good. “Clover, love, I need you to hurry, please.”

Sweat trickles down the sides of her face. “Trying,” she grimaces.

The remnant steps completely through the portal, his gaping mouth and sightless eyes turning in the center of the room as it gradually fills the room like a slow-rising tide. The portal grows a bit more and glowing red sightless eyes stare out of it. Aldrich’s doll body gets launched back into us as a huge wave of it gushes through the hole. He crashes into Clover, and I reach out, grabbing them both to stop us from falling.

Fitz falls to one of four knees, the shield he has flickering as wave after wave of goo crashes into it. At this rate, it will fill the room and engulf us all. Including my Clover.

A cold sensation runs through my veins and clogs my throat as dread pools in my gut. It takes me a moment to recognize the feeling. How long has it been since I felt fear? Have I ever felt fear? This isn’t even a feeling for myself.

I quickly turn, moving my body in front of theirs. If that shield falls, it will have to take me out first. Then if I go, the doll barrier will fall. And while I don’t wish for Clover to suffer the loss of her friends, that thing escaping the cave and going out into the world would be a far better option than killing her. It would also give her another chance to break the curse.

“I got it!” she shouts.

Fitz’s glowing shield drops.

A small trail of foggy goo slowly starts to funnel into the doll in Clover’s hands. It grows in size rapidly as more and more of the goo gets sucked into the doll. The whole remnant shudders and changes. A roaring groan echoes through the air. Clover and the remnant are in a tug-of-war, and slowly but surely, my mate is winning. Its roaming foggy tendrils turn to sharp spikes, and it stabs out wildly. I feel it jab through a few of the barrier dolls, and I shudder as it grasps at my time magic as if to try to feed off it.

It pounds at the walls and dolls around the room who are punching and kicking at the goo now, not that it is doing much. The goo in the room starts to disappear faster and faster as it enters the doll.

Just a little longer.

When thrashing out at the dolls and walls of the room fails, it turns toward the source, and a spike moves straight towards Clover. Without thought, I jump in front, as does Aldrich. He is a moment faster than me, and all I see is his doll body jump in front of my own. A sharp pain hits my chest, and my magic falters.

I focus solely on my magic. I must hold it.

My vision goes blurry around the edges. The room shakes around me.

Hold it.

Clover screams my name behind me. I turn my head to try to look at her, my hands balled into fists.

Thump.

Thump…

…Thump…

The pounding of my heart in my ears slows. The pain slowly grows dull, but I focus on keeping my magic on the dolls. Soft hands cup my face, and Clover’s perfect face appears before me. Her mouth moves, but all I hear is the slowing thumps.

…Th…ump…

I open my lips, and a single word escapes with my last breath.

“Run.”

I let go.