Page 79 of A World of Ruins

Something is then thrown to my feet.

All I catch is the brassy gleam before I realise it is the pendant to open the rift. As I grab it, my knees slam onto the ground, my head lifting to find Gus amidst the shadows.

A gust of wind circles the cave. I can hear their struggles as I finally focus on Gus battering Aurum everywhere possible.

He fights like Darius. Savage and more human than a dragon.

Gus notices me as he turns his head, but that crucial moment allows Aurum to send Gus tumbling back against the edge of the pit.

‘No!’ I scream, lunging to my feet and running towards Aurum and jumping on his back. I put my all into hitting and scratching before he pulls me off him. I land on my forearms, glaring up at him as he looks at me. I find the strength to grin maliciously at the state of his bloodied face, the ruined clothes and the decayed cuts along his neck and chest.

A seething energy emanates from him; it’s almost suffocating. ‘How I would love for Darius to be here while he watches me rip you apart.’

I tip my chin up at him, gritting my teeth. ‘Fuck.You.’

He raises his hand to strike me, but Gus’s arms wrap around his neck, dragging him backwards.

Growls escape Aurum as he spins around, but Gus adeptly dodges each blow Aurum aims at him. Their feet are close to the edge of the pit. They’re on the precipice, going at each other’s throats. One wrong move, and Gus will plunge into the hole.

‘Gus, stop—’ I yell at him as he sends another punch Aurum’s way and seizes the collar of his coat. He twists Aurum around so his back is to the pit. ‘No—’

‘I hope you rot along with the rest of those who served you.’

I shake my head, and my legs move of their own accord as I sprint to intervene. If Gus pushes him in, the flame will die.

Aurum’s head sways, bloodied teeth exposed as he laughs. ‘If I rot,’ he says, ‘then you’ll rot with me.’

Wide-eyed horror fills me as Aurum clings on to Gus and pushes himself backwards into the pit.

My hand reaches out, fingers brushing the back of Gus’s shawl, but not enough to catch him as he steals a final glance over his shoulder and closes his eyes.

I call out his name, the sound scratching the surfaces of my throat as I collapse onto the ground with my chest halfway over the pit. I watch them both drop into the abyss, and sorrowpierces my chest as silence falls. My gaze shifts to the pillar, and the Isle seems to wail in agony as the flame extinguishes.

Mountains crack, the cave shatters and the waterfall releases its last bit of magic into the pit, shaking me to despair.

‘No,’ I whisper, paralysed, and as I look down into the pit, chilling fear grips me by the throat.

What appears to be a crack along the walls of the ditch soon oozes a black substance that looks like tentacles reaching towards the surface. Staggering back, I witness a surge of green shadows and inky liquid erupting from the pit.

Shrill roars and cries fill the air as creatures – no, dragons – emerge. Their bodies are comprised of shadow and decay as they swarm above me. There are dozens of them, with still more flying from the ditch.

A rotten hand then slams against the edge of the ditch, and without waiting, I rush out of the cave, knowing who the person is, climbing out of there.

Rocks fall around me as I reach the outside, where once-grey clouds have turned pitch black.

‘Nara.’ The singsong voice of Aurum echoes from the cave. ‘No point in hiding now! After all, it was Gus who made the wish, not me.’

My chest cracks, but I don’t look over my shoulder.

His maniacal laughs near, and I run.

I slip and slide down the sloped pathways, debris coming down on me like rainfall as I dodge and cover my head.

I pick up my pace and focus on getting as far from the cave as possible. Yet my throat burns with lodged tears, picturing Gus by the pit, his eyes closing right before he fell in.

I think of Darius, and a sob wracks my body.

The shrieks of ruined dragons follow me as some are now out of the cave, flying high in the skies. I grip the pendant, ensuringI still have it before throwing it to the ground as it opens the rift ahead of me.

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