Six Will Stand (First Draft)

Chapter 26

Riv was running from something. No surprise there, except for the fact that she was trying to run from something that surrounded her. She never liked fire. She'd had her fair share of it and didn't care to relive any of those times.

She pushed forward, leaping over roots and ducking under branches. Riv suddenly realized why the trees in Fai's dreamscape were charred. Or maybe it was a completely different reason, who knew?

Riv thanked her lucky stars that she had been strong enough to finally heal most of her other injuries. She did have plenty of time between visits from Fai. Unfortunately, she wondered if those injuries she had just healed would be replaced very soon. And this time, she couldn't fight her way out.

As she ran, she thought about what had happened earlier. The blood poison wasn't new to her, but everyone hearing her voice for a short period of time? What was that about? She hated to wonder if it had to do with her becoming less....her. If her consciousness was somehow merging with Fai.... Perhaps she could start to control him sometimes. With a flash, she thought of Ky. That's what he feels...if a demon feels anything, that is. She was beginning to get sick of this confinement and she had only been here what? A few weeks? Ky was here 24/7 for years. Of course he wanted to get out. She wanted to get out more than anything she'd ever wanted before. Even more than she wanted to see the world again.

A flaming branch over her head broke off and plummeted toward her. Riv leapt out of the way, but even though she got away, her hair caught fire anyway. "Stupid hair!" She muttered under her breath. She patted it to put out the fire, burning her hands in the process, but she hardly felt it.

She was about to take off again when she saw a figure in the flames. She squinted, trying to see more clearly, but she definitely heard a voice. "Riv. There you are. What do you say about my offer, sis?"

Riv glared at the figure. "You know my answer, Aya," she snarled.

"Oh, but what about that old oath you took years ago? When will that be fulfilled?" Aya came closer to Riv, the flames curling around her body but seeming to not hurt her at all.

"The fire," Riv growled, ignoring Aya's question for the moment. "You brought the fire."

"I had to, to deliver my message. So I ask again, my dear sister: when will you fulfill your oath to fight on the side of the guardians? Hmm?" Riv could now see the older girl more clearly, and for the first time. She had long blond hair and piercing blue eyes, just like the twins. Just like her father. People knew the twins were the spitting image of their father, but Aya looked quite a bit like him, too.

"When the guardians no longer fight for the Dark," Riv snapped.

Aya made a disapproving noise. "That's only a term your people use, hun. Just because we use other creatures does not make our side evil, you know."

"No, the citywide slaughters do."

"Oh, you're cute." Aya came up to Riv, so close that Riv could feel the heat of Aya's flames on her face. She knew her dress must be in flames by now, as she felt the scorching heat on her face, hands, and even through the dark green cloth of her dress. Aya continued. "Those people are just people who are deceived. Deceived and stubborn. There will be no place for them."

"No place for me then, either." Riv looked up at her sister, but only slightly; her sister was only an inch or two taller. "There will never be a place for me there, and there won't be one for you either when you finally wake up and see the carnage you've left in your wake. That day that you finally go back to being you, which will be someday, you will realize that there isn't a place for you there. But that won't be the most terrible part, no. The worst part will be that you know you created that world, and you know that no amount of time will bring back what you mercilessly took from it. The lives you took from it." Riv's tone was quiet but fierce, and she spat the words in her sister's face.