Page 30 of The Shadows Beyond
Then one shadowmote in particular caught his eye. It waslookingat him. And Cinnfeltit as if it were a part of himself. He pulled it towards him, and miraculously, the other motes followed, as if magnetised together. The ground gave another almighty shudder. On instinct, he flung the motes towards the increasingly large splits in the tarmac.
The shadowmotes multiplied. First dividing into two, then four, then eight, each emitting their dark glow.
Soon there were hundreds, thousands even, all heading to the same place—the splintering earth that was surely about to collapse any second. For a moment the ground reminded Cinn of a piece of pottery that had been broken and then glued back together, for the motes had filled the cracks with a glowing seal.
Hisssssssssssssss
He’d been so focused on the disintegrating ground, he’d almost forgotten about the monster. If it touched him, would he bring it back to his reality, just like he had done only a few nights ago? At least that had been recognisable as a ghost. A murderous ghost, true. This…thing,however?He couldn’t risk bringing it back with him, no matter Darcy’s promises that it couldn’t happen.
Glancing around for more shadowmotes to draw on, he found the air now empty of them. Had he used up his finite supply? As the creature’sinky tendrils lurched towards him, he stumbled backwards, tripping over something and falling to the ground, hand flying up in a futile attempt to protect himself from the creature.
A repulsive amalgamation of decay and sulphur hit his nostrils.
Hisssssssssssssss
There was nobody to hear Cinn’s primal scream, but he unleashed it anyway as the black mass changed shape to become a voracious void, a hungry maw desperate for its prey.
A flash of light to his right.
The bright—oh-so-blissfullybright—light grew and grew to the point of blinding him, forcing Cinn to close his watering eyes. Was this ‘the light’?
Well, if this was it, it had been… something.
A warm hand wrapped around his and squeezed.
His eyes opened slowly to reveal the absence of the monster, and the blurred outline of a woman with a shade of blonde hair instantly recognisable. She even had her brother’s grey eyes.
“Béatrice?” Cinn practically screeched.
Blinking to clear his vision, he scanned the length of her body, clothed in a sparkling -silver sequined dress. This, and a silver headpiece, created the sense she was in some sort of costume. No visible injuries jumped out at him. The spirits he saw when he shadowslipped sometimes had obvious ailments, but Béatrice’s body, although pale, looked unharmed.
“Béatrice?” he asked again, slowly.
Her grip on his hand tightened, and she opened her mouth as if attempting to speak, but only silence filled the air. Frustrated, she repeated the futile effort, widening her mouth until Cinn glimpsed her tonsils, mimicking a soundless scream.
“It’s okay!” Cinn grabbed her shoulders to calm her down, but as he did so, his fingers sank deep into her, her flesh turned to putty in his hands.
Darkness enveloped him.
eight
Cinn
“Cinn!”
“Béatrice!” he screamed, reaching into the empty air. The golden bangle was back on his left wrist. Three concerned, shocked faces stared at him with wide eyes, expressions grim.
Darcy pushed him back down onto the table. “Christ! You’re okay. You’re back with us. Now lie still, Cinn.”
“Did you find her? Did you see her?”
“Julien, give him a second!”
He’d made it back. He was back, and he was alive, and thatthinghadn’t followed him.
However, something was wrong. Very wrong.
“My skin… my skin is burning,” Cinn croaked, rubbing his hands over the black marks etched into his chest and stomach with that strange black ink.
