Page 152 of Malicent
The fall back down is worse. Bark slices my front and my ribs once again crack.
I hit the ground with a cry I can barely voice. Oliver is there, his expression growing with panic.
He shields me, creating a bubble around us. He lands by my head, stroking my hair with trembling hands.
“Me missus ….” His voice shakes with fear; his skin flushes to a sickly yellow.
He should not be protecting me.I should be protecting him,but I’m weak again.
I swore I would never be that girl again.
Let me in,the Nightmother coos.
The trill in her voice taps up my spine like clawed tips against bone. Her claws scrape up my neck, over my skull. I have to fight the force of her attempts to roll back my eyes.
Sheep for slaughter…sheep for slaughter…
Her laughter builds as she tastes the blood around me.
No.
I am not weak. I am rare. Chosen. I will kill them all.
Kill, kill, kill them all!
Her voice claws at my chest, rising like a fever. I begin to let go. My body slackens, letting the Nightmother take over. My eyes finally roll back and oblivion swallows me. Decadent, like the richest chocolate. Decadent, like death and decay.
Cage barrels through the trees. His presence breaks my focus and my eyes snap forward, my world light once again.
My collar ignites. The searing pain lances through my throat in response, cutting off the Nightmother’s rise.
“Le Strange, donotmake me deal with you in the middle of all this!” Cage roars.
Chaos spills in behind him as shadows writhe, shaping into blades—dozens of them, each with their own mind.
They launch like missiles, piercing the surrounding charging Edaxes with ruthless precision.
He charges on the queen, taking her head-on.
With her damaged back leg, her movements are unsteady and choppy. Cage takes full advantage.
He slashes at her left flank, his flame-wreathed blade carves through the flesh. The stench of burning meat floods the air.
Howling and thrashing, she becomes increasingly desperate.
His next blow drives the long sword deep into her side, and the flames on his sword surge.
She erupts.
Silver and black flames consume her body, roaring upward in a column of heat and fire. All around us, the other Edaxes wail in a sympathy of pain as if tethered to her soul.
One by one they collapse. Their legs buckle and their bodies twitch until the woods fall silent.
Oliver is still gently petting my hair.
My throat burns from the collar. With the Nightmother gone again, she recedes into the dark recesses of my mind. I can no longer feel her stirring.
I’m too tired to check my injuries. I canfeelthem splintering all over my body. The ground shudders as the alpha finally collapses. The odd dreary presence she emitted dissipates, cleansing the air.
