Page 78 of A Heart Of Bitter Poison
“Let me tell youexactlywhat you will do next,” Ember says with a menacing smile as the others press in closer to Ashen. “And you will do everything I say, or I will make Leucosia suffer, and I will start by forcing her to watch as you die an everlasting death.”
I hear that crackling sound, louder than ever before. It splits my mind apart as the vision changes.
Now I see Ashen standing at the edge of the Bay of Souls. Black water laps across shimmering onyx stones toward his bare toes. His naked chest rises and falls with deep, heavy breaths as he looks out upon the water. The waves move unnaturally, as though something menacing swims just below the oily surface.
Every muscle seems to tense as Ashen takes his first step into the sea. It looks like the mere touch of the waves sends a shock of pain through his body. His brows draw together. His hands fold into tight fists. His jaw looks ready to crack his teeth. Despite the obvious discomfort, Ashen keeps his gaze fused to a set of small islands in the distance and takes another step, then another. Each one seems worse than the last. By the fifth, he looks ready to drop to his knees and succumb to whatever torment laps at his body. But still he keeps his eyes trained to the islands. He presses on and coasts forward into the water, starting to swim. A terrible sound of anguish passes through his gritted teeth as he surges on. With each stroke and kick, Ashen suffers in an invisible torture. Hesuffers.
I see him next in the broken van at the bottom of the hill. I hear his heart beating. I know its normal cadence and this pace is too fast. His breath spills visible clouds into the cold air. He’s rolling up the sleeve of his shirt.
“Ana nurika nami azziz. Ana elleti tiparika azziz,” he whispers, and a hidden tattoo burns to life into his flesh.
To the brilliant light I call. To the shining light I call.
A few labored breaths later, a star appears outside the window of the van, no bigger than a pinprick but brighter than the sun. It expands and consumes the empty air, filling it with a hum of power encased in glowing filaments of light. It grows to an orb and Ashen shields his eyes as it bursts and sparks of color rain down on the snow.
Aloros steps forward from the glittering debris.
“You summoned, demon?”
Ashen breathes heavily. His movement is slow when he turns his head to watch as the angel opens the warped door with a powerful jerk of his hand. Aloros takes a long moment to survey Ashen’s injuries with his shimmering green eyes.
“The vampire,” Ashen says. His voice is weak and slow. “We were ambushed. My sister pursues her. She means to bring Leucosia back to the Shadow Realm.”
Ashen points in the direction of the passenger window and the angel straightens to look over the crushed roof of the van.
“Do you have a portal nearby?” Ashen asks.
“Yes.”
“Bring her to your realm and let her choose where she wishes to go from there,” Ashen says.
“And your sister?”
Ashen’s expression turns venomous. “Kill her. It might be the only chance we get.”
Aloros looks down the length of Ashen’s body as the Reaper tries to suppress a rumbling cough. “What of you? You swore your allegiance to House Esagila.”
“I am not long for this land. I will keep my word when I return to the Shadow Realm.”
Aloros looks at Ashen for a long moment and then gives a solemn nod. His wings unfurl.
With a single snap of motion he propels himself into the sky and my mind back into the Realm of Light.
I fall forward, panting as I press my forehead to the cold marble floor. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to swallow the painful knot that grips my throat.
Everything Ashen said was true.
My awful words come back to me.You’re good at telling me everything youdidn’tdo.
He never told me everything hedid.
Deals with angels.
Saving my sister.
Protecting me.
He sacrificed his choices so I would have mine.
