Page 116 of Obsidian Dream
“How do you feel?”Ninhursag whispered in his mind.Her tone was stronger than before as if, just like the reptile she was, she had discarded her humanoid-bound form.At least in their previous encounter, he had been offered a field of pretty peonies before the threats in the dungeon, and now, he wanted the comfort of something, even if it was a manipulated memory.
Talik coughed, wiping the blood from his mouth.He pushed himself upright as another wave of nausea threatened to take over.He pulled his wrist back—there was no sign of the consort mark.And no matter how much he strained, he couldn’t feel Khalida anymore.Ninhursag may be a vindictive bitch, but she had destroyed the consort connection just like he had asked.“I’ve had worse hangovers.”
“You did not live up to our bargain.”
Talik violently coughed, pretty sure it was his lung, or something equally as vital, that was damaged.“I found the artifact.You didn’t stipulate I had to hand it over.”
Ninhursag snarled.
“You can get it out of my cold, dead hands.Oh, wait.You can’t—can you?It has to be offered freely.And for the record.It will not be,” Talik said.Without the connection to Khalida, it had been an easy decision to make when it was just his life on the line.After all, he had never expected to live beyond a human lifespan—every year beyond had been a bonus.The longer he kept Ninhursag occupied, the better chance Khalida had of getting away.He didn’t think the god had the power to focus on more than one objective, not in her weakened state.
“TheŠa,or you will watch Khalida die over and over again.”
Lucien’s words came back to haunt him.The chaotic Atlantean had been right.
Talik glanced at the pouch and shrugged his shoulders.He slowly lowered the belt buckle, ensuring everything was done as slowly as possible.Ninhursag hissed between her teeth.Opening it up, he made a dramatic showing of looking surprised as he tipped it over.
Dirt and bone fell onto the ground.
“This pouch?”
The words were barely out of his mouth when Ninhursag attacked him.Pain hit him in agonizing full force.Each piece of him was on fire as he struggled to breathe, his eyes bulging as he tried to strike out at the invisible hands.Claws slashed at him, faster than he could heal.Wound on top of wound, he didn’t know where they began or ended.The strikes kept coming, faster and faster, each one harder than the previous one.At this rate, his heightened healing ability stood no chance.
His body began to shut down, the pain too much for him to focus.Everything around him dulled, and he could barely remember anything.His mind splintered under her onslaught as she tore his memories from him and ravaged every part that had remained his.But he still had one thing he had left to do.
Ninhursag grabbed him by his hair, gripping it with godlike strength as every part of his body screamed for her to stop.But he refused to voice the words.It was what she wanted to hear.Talik needed to be close to her, close enough that he could feel her breath against his skin, and she would have nowhere to run.She dragged him to her—her long black hair matted with sweat, a gleam in her eyes that he had never seen before.The scent of power rolled off her in waves.
Hubris was not just a flaw in humans and Atlanteans.
The hilt of the blade behind his back grew warm.His hand snaked around and for a moment he was connected to Khalida, even if it was only through her knife.
“Sorry, Kiki,” he murmured to himself.It was just another broken promise he had made to Khalida.She wasn’t going to deliver the death blow to Ninhursag—he was.
A look of surprise crossed the god’s face a second too late.He plunged the knife into Ninhursag’s heart, easily sliding the blade through her unprotected ribs, and twisted it until the scrapping of metal on bone and their heavy breathing surrounded them.She was too weak to stop her body’s reaction to the iron.
His fingers threatened to slip from the hilt, sweat and blood coated his hand, but he tightened his grip before Ninhursag could retaliate.Quickly removing the knife, he re-stabbed Ninhursag, aiming for her black heart.He managed two, three more strikes before she grabbed his hand and removed the knife from his weakening grip.
She twisted his hand into an unnatural angle, unimaginable pain shot through his arm, quickly followed by numbness as he was forced onto his knees.The once pure white surroundings were now coated in molted browns and pale greens—another one of Ninhursag’s tricks.He forced himself to look up at Ninhursag as she stood over him.Blood slowly dripped from the god’s mouth.She wiped it away as a snarl marred her once beautiful face.She swayed on her feet, black blood cascading from the wounds he had inflicted.The blood didn’t appear to be slowing down.
“You could have had the world at your feet.”She turned and plunged the knife into his heart, just before she fell next to him.
He half smiled to himself.Perhaps Khalida had been right—gods could die.
Gasping for air, Talik focused inwards, trying to bring up Khalida’s face, her yellow eyes...but it was slipping from him, replaced by darkness.It was becoming all so heavy and hard, and the will to continue was draining from him, just like his blood.All he wanted to do was curl into the fetal position and close his eyes.For just a minute.Just like in the catacombs—enough to regain a quarter of his energy.
A part of him was yelling at himself to get up, but that part was becoming quieter, less and less coherent with each passing breath.But there was something he was forgetting—something he didn’t want to forget.
The cold wrapped around him like a returning lover, engulfing him in an embrace he didn’t want to leave.The iciness was comforting—it dulled the pain within him.It was a peace he’d been seeking for centuries.
A rush of adrenaline went through him, but it was gone before it was able to take root.He opened his eyes, but the embrace was too strong.It was quiet, welcoming even.
Ah.That was what he’d forgotten.
He never got to say goodbye to Khalida.
