Page 157 of Anathema

Rykaia lifted her gaze to the woman, who stared back at her, frowning. As if on cue, both of us sprinted out of the store and down the street, to the alley where we’d first arrived. By the time we reached the center of the alley, both of us were laughing hysterically again.

When the laughter had died down, though, I sighed. “I feel bad.”

“Don’t. Lady Gyweth wears vivicantem as jewels, while the spindlings and Nilivir starve. She makes a point to wear that necklace everywhere she goes, and it makes me sick.”

“Jewelry?” I remembered Zevander telling me vivicantem was necessary for Rykaia. “Why?”

“Because they can. Never show pity on them. They don’t give a damn about anyone but themselves.”

“So, why mingle with them at this celebration?”

“Because we can.” She drew a line in the wall of the building, which, as before, glowed a bright blue.

“Do you think this is going to be a good idea at The Becoming Ceremony? I was nearly recognized.”

“No need to worry about that at the ceremony. Everyone wears a mask.” She stepped through the glowing seam, and I followed after, but instead of stepping back into the dungeon, we found ourselves on a misty patch of an upward sloping yard, with decaying grass and the monstrous black stone castle in the distance. Too far of a distance.

“Oh, no,” Rykaia said beside me. “Run.” She darted toward the castle, and on a gulp of panic, I gathered up my dress bag and took off after her. The upward trek had my lungs burning, my thighs weak with exhaustion.

A strange, guttural growl rose up from the side of me, and I turned to see three black scaled creatures with spikes along their spines bounding toward us on all fours, their long tails whipping behind them. The fyredrakes I’d seen from the balcony. Instinct told me to drop the dress, but I didn’t. I clutched the damned thing and ran like a madwoman.

“Faster, Maevyth!” Rykaia shouted over her shoulder on a wheeze of breath. “If they … catch us … they’ll … eat us!”

Eat us? I didn’t know what I’d imagined they’d do if they’d caught us, but eating hadn’t been a thought, for some reason. “Can’t you … blast them … with something?” The waning air in my lungs thinned, the faster we ran uphill, a burning agony that clamped over my ribs.

“I don’t … have that … kind of magic! I’m an empath!”

One of the drakes leapt out in front of her, and on a scream, she skidded to a stop. I plowed into her from behind, nearly knocking her forward, and the other two caught up to us, prowling and pacing, as if waiting for the order from the bigger animal to dive in and feast. Long, black claws pierced the ground with every step, the spikes on their backs sticking straight up.

“We’re too far from the castle to call on Zevander.” Rykaia’s voice shook with fear, but something kept me from believing this moment was the end. Denial. Ignorance.

I couldn’t place what in seven hells was keeping my hysterics at bay.

I twisted around, standing back-to-back with Rykaia, watching the two beasts that prowled closer. “Can you cleave?”

“I need a surface to cleave. I can’t just cleave into the air.”

“So, what do we do!”

“I don’t know! This has never happened to me.”

“Ever?”

“Well, no. But to be fair, I don’t typically cleave back. Zevander usually comes and fetches me.”

The beasts, tall as a carriage, loomed over us, like giant, black-scaled lizards. Starving lizards, I’d bet.

“They’re getting closer, so we need to do something.” I could hardly speak, my jaw so tight with tension.

“If you …. If you show dominance, they’ll back off. But you have to challenge the alpha.” She roared at one that stepped a little too close, and it backed away, snarling at her. Still, they prowled, their teeth sharp and dripping with saliva. “I’m sorry, Maevyth. I’m sorry I dragged you into this. Literally.”

“Are you toying with me, Rykaia? Because if you are, this really isn’t funny.”

“How could I possibly toy about this! I learned to cleave because of these awful beasts!”

The bigger one lurched forward and roared, and while the urge to scream and cower rattled me to the core, I swallowed back the fear, eyes blurred with the threat of tears. My muscles turned weak, the air heavy and suffocating with terror.

“This was so stupid.” Rykaia smacked her head. “Stupid!”

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