Page 116 of In Between Darkness
I search the room for anything to get them off her.
Think, Asha, think. There is no way I am getting close enough to a guard without blowing our cover.
I hold on to the metal connecting the chains to the walls and put all of my power into heating them up. The chains glow red as they conduct my heat, changing shape and deforming before eventually melting like molten lava on the marble, setting herfree. The cuffs still cling to her wrists, but at least she is able to get out.
“The others are out there. Go find them,” I whisper to her, and she wraps her arms around me, mouthing a small ‘thank you’, before running out to them.
I break three more people out of their prison cells. All of them looked frail and unfed. Just skin and bones with little flesh.
“The creatures are not down here?” I question Ryder, the realisation making me feel uneasy.
“The Moons are all unchanged so far,” he replies, checking the now-empty cells to make sure no one is left behind.
“Thank the Gods.” I breathe a sigh of relief as his fingers briefly touch mine.
“Don’t thank them too soon,” he says, a reminder that we are not out of the woods yet.
He shoves at each cell door, opening them wide enough for his eyes to peer around each room. They don’t fight him and open with ease, most of the cells are now empty, but one door remains closed. He pushes at it, but it is locked.
“Stand back.”
With a thunderous crack, Ryder slams his boot so hard into the so-called impenetrable door, splintering the steel and stone as it tears free from its frame and clattering against the far wall. Gods, he is strong.
Dust swirls through the air as we step inside, him slightly in front of me. My muscles tense as my eyes scan the dimly lit cell. It appears empty - just cold walls, chains and silence. I was half expecting to see another half-dead, starved Moon in here, but there is no sign of life in this room. The air feels thicker, a far cry from the fresh air that blesses the mountain peaks just outside of this facility. The Moons have been trapped in here, starved of food and all the things that make a life worth living. I shudder as I think about their pain and helplessness, seen as nothing buta sick experiment, wondering if they will ever get a taste of their old lives again.
Suddenly, a strange chill creeps down my spine, a primal sense that something is wrong. I usher Ryder to a halt and feel my muscles stiffen. He senses it too, an unease that clings to the walls of this room. He looks up and takes a slow step back.
“No sudden movements,” he mutters under his breath as if even the slightest quiver of his lips could cause an avalanche.
My eyes trail up to where he is looking. Clinging to the ceiling, its body defying gravity and physics, the creature I have been dreading watches us with rage in its fiery eyes, its limbs coiled and mouth twitching in anticipation. It hasn’t moved yet. It is waiting.
Without warning, the creature drops from the ceiling in a blur of twisted limbs and bone-snapping motion, its gaunt humanoid form unfolding midair like a broken marionette. Ryder and I take a fast step back as its spindly arms lash out at us with terrifying speed, clawing towards us with a jerky and unnatural grace. Ryder keeps me behind him as he conjures his shadow hawks to protect us, but they are no match for this creature. The heart of a Moon trapped in the body of a beast.
“We can’t hurt it. There’s a Moon in there,” I say, fear taking hold of each word.
It slams itself into Ryder, the impact sending him hurling into the marble walls. He lands with a crash, the abomination snarling on top of him. Ryder holds it at arm’s length, its long, pointed teeth snapping only inches away from his face. My heart pumps out of my chest as blood rushes to my head. Ryder’s arms are buckling with the relentless weight of the creature. If I don’t do something soon, it will kill him.
“Over here,” I taunt the creature, hoping it will prey on me instead.
“Asha, what are you doing?” Ryder strains to me, still under the weight of the beast.
“Hey you, tough guy, over here,” I taunt again. This time, the beast’s head swivels round at me slowly, opening its mouth, revealing its rows of sharp teeth. I gulp. With unnatural speed, it lunges at me with talons aimed to tear me open. I stand still, paralysed by fear. It hurtles towards me with narrow eyes.
“NOOOO.”
A bloodcurdling scream escapes Ryder’s mouth as the beast leaps only inches away from my face. I cower slightly, and as soon as I can feel its hot breath on my cheek, I raise a trembling hand, ripping open a swirling portal of dark energy. With a final guttural screech, the creature is caught mid-attack and dragged into the void. Its limbs flailing wildly as the portal snaps shut with a crack of silence, leaving behind only the sound of our relieved breaths.
Ryder jumps up and races towards me, his arms wrapping so tightly around me they take my breath away.
“Are you crazy?!” he says, his words laced with a mixture of anger and relief.
“It would’ve killed you,” I defend. “I had to.”
Silence follows us for a minute as I take refuge in the strong grip of his arms. My safe haven.
“Where did you send it, anyway?” he asks, my eardrum next to the loud beating of his heart.
“Astra Nova,” I say simply, it can stay there until we find a way to change it back.
