Page 20 of Dancing with Vipers and Shadows

“We need to get farther back,” I instruct.

She doesn’t question me for a second as we begin to move away from the fountain. We only manage ten steps before something pierces the surface with every intention of escaping the black muck of desolation.

All we can do is watch, the figure looking human in figure while their magic energy is at the peak of its reign.

Their eyes are glowing, their body burning with marks of red, but despite them using every effort to escape the liquid’s clutches, the vines are already making their way to seize him.

They move swiftly around his legs, taking over as they wrap around and around. Those same vines multiply, sporting new ones with black thorns that sink into this individual’s flesh, causing them to scream in shrill agony.

There’s no possible way out as the vines wrap and pierce this person’s head, their screams haunting as they echo through this courtyard.

“No! No! I… I made it this far! I was abandoned! My partner abandoned me! I was there! At the bottom! I deserve… to LIVE!” His screams get an octave higher, the pain reflecting in his shrilled pleadings for freedom.

It’s no use, though.

This fountain has decided he’s their chosen prey.

One second, he screams a final cry, then with a blink, he’s gone. The only remnant of his existence is the bubbling spot that gurgles away until the last bubble blobs and leaves the fountain water in complete stillness.

As if that wasn’t enough confirmation that we watched two people perish, it’s the sudden shift of color as the black liquid becomes a dark red.

Blood.

The metallic scent is the strongest I’ve ever smelled, but despite the horrible display, I do my due diligence not to look away.

To acknowledge that death has plagued these very lands and we’re survivors of its merciless wrath.

This is proof that I made the right decision to go after Blair.

Or that would have been our end.

Blair’s hand slips into mine, making me realize it’s as trembling as the rest of her body.

I expect her eyes to be overflowing with tears, but I’m surprised to see the glint of perseverance as she stares back at me.

“Thanks…” Her voice is but a whisper. “For not abandoning me.”

There’s more to those words.

Hidden sorrow and immense agony, I hope to have the opportunity to discover more.

Squeezing her hand back, I give her a smile I haven’t given to my own parents in years.

“Shall we head to the gates?”

“Yes.”

One last glance at the fountain shows its normalcy once more—the water clear blue, the vines a wondrous green. The eerie sight is no longer present.

It’s just a normal fountain.

5

GATES OF SNAKES AND ROSES

~OPHELIA~

“We’re back on the path.”

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