Page 61 of King of the Damned
Amatisi though, comes straight to me. She attempts to take the stone from around my neck, but I back further into the dark water.
“Give it to me!” she roars, her demonic voice resonating through the sky.
A cyclone begins to form above the small island, the wind making both of us lose our balance. A red streak of lightning strikes Eternity’s statue, causing the golden elements to shine a bright white. The ground begins to shake and the wind howls louder.
And then, a moment of serene silence before being broken by another crack of lightning that resonates from the statue directly to the Bloodstone around my neck.
The force knocks me into the water, and I find myself unable to breathe in the intense weight of the Well. I sink further and further, watching red lightning streak in the sky far above me until I’m so deep I can no longer see.
You shall be punished…
You shall be punished…
You. Shall. Perish!
That voice fills my mind again, and I see a black thread appear above my head, sinking with me like a delicate locket lost at sea. It glows with a red aura, appearing to almost be painted in the water. I reach for it, and the very tip of my finger brushes against it.
It begins to consume me, wrapping my arms first, and then my chest and legs until I am a glowing void floating in an unforgiving black lake.
“Kaius…” I say, bubbles escaping my mouth.
And then, he’s there. In the distance. Trapped behind a wall of water. I can see him on his knees, crying in the ruins of the Obsidian Palace.
“Kaius!” I say again, but he does not hear me.
I attempt to swim closer, reaching for him through the water.
Something grabs my shoulder from behind and I turn, the water disappearing at the same time. I cough what's left of it out, and another robed figure sits before me. It breathes heavily as I do.
“Who are you?” I ask. But I receive no answer. Hanging from her neck is a bloodstone, and clutched in her hand is an eyeball with a red iris. I look down to see that clutched in my own hand is the same eye, and around my own neck is the same chain.
I blink rapidly and then turn to look at Kaius, still distraught behind whatever plane of existence separates us.
“Please,” I beg quietly to the figure in front of me. “I want to go back to him. I love him.”
You were created for things greater than love…
Resurrection is forbidden…
You shall be punished.
You shall be punished.
I take a deep breath and look behind me one more time.
My Kaius, my bloodking, my heart, all alone in the world again.I would face any punishment to keep him from feeling that way. I would face any punishment forus.
You shall be punished.
You shall be punished.
I ignore the words in my head, and with tightly shut eyes, I jump towards Kaius through the wall separating us.
He. Shall. Perish!
Twenty-Nine
Kaius
