Page 53 of A Song of Death and Desire

Kairi and I walk quickly ahead, determined to get to Vala as fast as possible before she realizes what is happening to her familiars. We reach the part of the cave where we assume Vala resides, the collection of objects and bones lining the walls a familiar and sickening sight.

“Tut tut tut,pretty siren, and handsome boy, you do have a death wish, don’t you?” her voice bounces around the cave. I startle at hearing her clearly despite the earplugs. My stomach drops at the realization that these won’t protect me this time, so I take them out, discarding them on the floor. Kairi stands back-to-back with me as we circle, looking for Vala.

“I showed you mercy last time, pretty siren. I will not be so kind again.” Kairi stiffens, and I whirl around, taking in the appearance of the dark-haired woman that has appeared. She would be stunning if it weren’t for the bat-shit crazy look in her pitch-black eyes.

“I’m so happy to see you again, handsome boy,” Vala purrs as she walks towards me. I shiver as she runs a taloned finger down my chest and Kairi lets out a quiet growl from her position next to me.

“Have you come to fight me?” she murmurs, running her tongue up the side of my cheek.Keep her distracted. I have to keep her distracted.

“Hmm, we could fight, or you could make a bargain with me,” I suggest, trying to keep the revulsion from my voice.

“What could you possibly have to offer me, handsome boy?”

“I’m sure, we could come up with something,” I reply, trying to put as much flirtation into my tone as possible. If she is interested in me, I’m going to feed into that. I remember Kairi telling me that her beauty is important to her so maybe I can use her vanity to my advantage. I aim to keep her eyes on me so when she begins to turn her attention back to Kairi, I reach out to Vala in a panic. I run my hand down the side of her neck and down her waist to rest on her hip.

“There must be something I can offer you, beautiful enchantress,” I say softly, my thumb moving in circles on her waist. Bile rises in my throat, and I fight against the urge to pull away. God this feels so wrong and I hate every second of it. I hope Kairi recognizes the distraction I’m trying to give her.

“Handsome boy, do you like to play?” Her eyes are bright with interest, and I know I’ve caught her in my snare.

“Oh, I’ll play. For a price,” I lean closer, moving my lips to her neck, trying to keep my breaths steady to not show my rising panic. She closes her eyes as I commit to the act, kissing her neck softly until…

Vala lets out a wild scream as Kairi takes the small moment of opportunity I have given her to launch at Vala with her knife directed towards the mark on her bicep. She puts as much force into her strike as possible, slashing deeply across the mark, dissecting it completely. Vala continues to shriek as black blood pours from her wound and her appearance begins to change.

While Vala looked to be in her early twenties just minutes ago, the witch that stands now before me is a crone. It’s like the youthseeped out of her skin stealing all her beauty along with it. She’s barely recognizable.

She whirls on Kairi, throwing out a hand and causing an unseen force to fling Kairi across the cave and into the wall with a sickening crack.

“No!” I bellow, as Kairi lays crumpled on the floor. Unmoving. Fear floods my system and everything in me is pushing me to run to her aid, but Vala blocks my path.

“Now that wasn’t nice, handsome boy. Look what you’ve done.” She glances down at her arm where the remains of the dark tattoo have faded to an almost imperceptible color. The sight provides me with the slightest glimpse of hope that maybe we can overcome her. When Vala turns her gaze to me once more, and her face contorts into a frighteningly cruel expression, I know that any chance I had of continuing the charade of the naive pretty boy has well and truly gone.

I chance a fleeting look towards Kairi again and a sob escapes me when I see she still isn’t moving. I can’t tell if she is alive. All I can see is her contorted body and the mess of sunset hair. I can’t even see her face. A red haze fills my vision at the thought that Vala may have killed Kairi. Rage and despair intertwine in a maelstrom of overwhelming emotions. All thoughts fade into the background while my emotions fully drive my movements.

“You fucking bitch!” I yell lunging towards Vala with my knife in hand. This time, she’s expecting it and darts out of the way with ease. I throw everything I have into trying to kill Vala. I have to get to Kairi. She has to be alive. I can’t lose her after we’ve fought so hard to find our way to each other.

Lunge, stab.

Whirl, stab.

Vala dances out of the way of each of my attacks, laughing as she does so like this is all a fucking game to her. She lets out ahiss as I manage to draw blood, my knife barely catching her side and causing only a shallow cut.

“You have to do better than that,” Vala taunts, a short dagger appearing in her own hand. “I wonder how beautifully you bleed.”

I don’t know how I’m going to survive when she seems to be anticipating my every move but all I can do is keep trying. I have to do this for her. I have to get through Vala to make sure Kairi’s okay.

Chapter 49

Iwork hard to suppress the groan that threatens to escape when I regain consciousness. My head is pounding, and the wet feeling of my scalp tells me that I’m likely bleeding as well. It occurs to me that I might be in an advantageous position right now. Well not physically, as I’m pretty sure my head has sustained some damage. But Vala thinks that I have been disposed of. I can hear their voices. She’s taunting him and not focusing on me at all. Not wanting to alert Vala to the fact that I’m awake, I tentatively open my eyes, trying not to move any other part of my body. If Vala believes that she has killed me or at least assumes I’m still unconscious, then I might be able to end this.

I can’t believe that Eagan’s impromptu plan played out as well as it did. At first, his flirtations confused me, and I questioned if he had fallen under her spell. As he continued though, Irealized what he was doing. As much as it disgusted me to see his hands and lips on the witch, I recognized that he was playing on her own hubris. And it worked. Vala, so vain and desperate for attention, latched on to his attention and forgot about me completely. I only hope that severing the mark did what I had expected it to. There’s no way to tell from my position.

I can see flashes of fighting between Vala and Eagan—well, it looks a bit more like Eagan is trying to fight, and Vala is just toying with him. Anguish pours from Eagan as he yells with rage, trying desperately to gain the upper hand. The urge to get up and help and to let him know that I’m okay is strong but I will my body to remain still, to save the advantage of surprise for when it’s most important.

I mentally scan my body, pleased to find that apart from my head, there doesn’t appear to be any other damage. A yelp from Eagan has tears welling in my eyes. I don’t know how much longer he can keep this up.

Vala doesn’t seem to be using her magic, which strengthens my belief that she’s just playing a game and, at any moment, she could choose to end it.

“Dance, handsome boy, dance. There’s no escaping me. You’re simply a human, the most pathetic of creatures. Even without pretty siren’s song, you are no match for my power.”

---