Fate's Revenge (Twisted Fate, Book 4)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lachesis's voice rang above, keeping me vigilant when all I wanted was to block the sight out. The frenzied circle began to narrow itself inwards, swirling closer and closer, faster and faster. I could feel the breeze on my face, but my hair stayed down, and sound remained obsolete. It lingered an inch away, every detail and vein in the leaves whirring by clear like they were being scrutinized beneath a microscope. For nearly a minute—it felt like eternity—the impossible detail of the cyclone mystified me without coming near.

Then, like the manifestation was breathing, it inhaled until it was within a centimeter of my face, and then burst outwards as it exhaled.

The colours faded. The swirling ceased its spinning, the remains falling in shades of grays, blacks and whites from the air. The sun grew dark, everything changing from day to night as a shadow large enough to block the natural expanse of the sky slithered from a distance towards me, blocking out all that it passed from sight. Everything it touched shrivelled and died, melting down to flow in thick trails rich with the unmistakable colour of blood. I sucked in a breath, feeling my lungs contract as it hurt to breath. No. This isn't real. The shadow grew darker, expanding to appear ten times the size of the one that had appeared on my birthday. It is taking out everything!

It made me too sick and I had to force myself to remember it wasn't real.

I turned to run but was blocked by a wall made of thorns. Dark, deadly, and sharp, nobody could survive them without a means of cutting them down. I twisted. To the right, I watched as a brick wall was built with an invisible hand, as impenetrable as it was impossible. Barely catching a breath, I turned again, my arms circling at my sides to catch myself before I toppled over the edge—to my left there was nothing. The earth crumbled, dropping into an abyss clouded by the fog of death.

The shadow kept coming.

With nowhere to run, I stared at its approach with fear numbing the hysteria threatening just beneath the brave façade I hoped to project. Darkness was too strong to fight in such a large proportion. But, even if it managed to take me out, it wouldn't win unless it found panic in its prey. Right now, keeping my emotions hidden was all the fight I had left. Remember you are stronger than the shadows! You may not be able to beat a shadow of this size, but the only reason they can win is by cheating, merging together until you are outnumbered. Don't let them know you are afraid. Fight the fear, Aly, not the shadow.

"Can't you come any faster?" I shouted, my mouth moving without sound being made. Of course, I heard nothing in response, not even Lachesis. But it helped me keep control. "Creeping up on me won't scare me!"

A crack of light shone from the top of the shadow. The Darkness recoiled and then fought back, and the sliver began to seal, greyer than the seething black of the rest, but no longer bright.

"You can't have me!"

The light grew.

"Darkness won't win!"

The crack split wider until rays of light beamed down, my voice rasping out in a whisper. A hum, constant and low, began to echo in my ears.

"This isn't real!" I pushed down on my diaphragm as I screamed, and my voice rose in volume until it screeched out with the breath I expelled. "I will destroy every shadow you send until Darkness is gone!"

The light grew blinding, like an exploding star. The shadow misted, falling as waves of the ocean crashing against the side of a rocky cliff. The rivers of blood flowed upwards, reforming and blossoming back to the natural colour and image of trees. The brick on my right crumbled, piece by piece, the earth solidified to my left like a puzzle being built from below, and the thorns vanished into nothing, not even smoke.